Theme Song

When you look around, and all seems small (Luke looks around his bedroom and sighs)

You want to climb, but always fall (Luke slides backwards across the ground in pain, Hood in his arms)

Glancing up, your goals look far (Luke stands beneath a mountain with three figures standing above him, blocking a trophy)

Get through the past, you'll be a star! (Luke, Hood, and two other Pokemon stand together on a pedestal)

Stand up! (2) We'll win the fight! (Hood shoots a Razor Leaf, another Pokemon uses Bite, and the last Pokemon uses Iron Tail)

Look up! (Luke holds a gray crystal into the air with his right arm, grinning widely)

Your future's bright! (Luke shakes hands with a brown-haired adult)

Fight hard! (2x) (Hood and a bipedal, fire type Pokemon stand across from each other in battle stances)

Your dream's in sight (A silhouette stands across from Luke in a huge stadium)

And if the fight gets too rough (A four-legged Pokemon falls to the ground in pain)

Your friends are there to help you up (A blonde girl and a brown-haired boy hold out their hands to Luke)

Never hold your dreams inside (Luke sits on the ground as the sun sets in the west and the moon appears in the east)

Let them out, and you will thrive! (Luke travels along a dirt path with Hood flying beside him)

Pokémon!

Well, everyone, after having to wait for three months for an update, you only have to wait less than a week. Because screw consistency xD Anyways, last chapter was pretty big. We met Luke's best friend, Abby, and his new rival, Jason. They all then received their starters from Kukui.

Naturally, I had to throw in a battle, so Luke and Abby fought with their starters, Hood the Rowlet and Popplio respectively. Despite their lack of communication, Luke and Hood won. All three trainers then left, with Luke and Abby going back to Iki Town with Kukui's aide.

For this chapter, I recommend listening to Yume Sekai from Sword Art Online. It fits the mood pretty well for most parts I think. Enjoy!

Tomoe Mami: I've already responded to you via PM, so I guess all I have to say to you is thanks for the review!

ShadowDragon9000: I'm glad you appreciated the interaction between Luke and Abby! She is definitely one of those friends that know you more than you'd like to admit at times xD As to the worry Luke has, it'll certainly be with him for a long time, and as long as I work it as planned, it should turn into some good character growth (I hope!). Hood is honestly my favorite character (Except maybe tied with Jason) right now, so I'm glad you and everyone else seems to be enjoying him, too. Thanks for the review!

El Torro: So this is the monster you made me fear xD There is a lot of stuff to comment on in here, but I'm just gonna hit on a few. The Abby/Popplio relationship is probably one of my favorite- if not favorite trainer/Pokemon- relationships that I've ever written. And this is only Chapter 3. This should be good. As to Hood, he and Luke are extremely alike, but the self-realization comes sooner than you seem to have expected xD I'm glad you noticed the mini conflict (For lack of a better word) between Kukui and Jason. That bit will be very important later on. Thanks for the review!

Blaze Falcon: I'm glad that you're liking the new trio! These are some of my favorite characters ever from anything I've written, including ideas that never made it to FF. Your team predictions were interesting, and I'm glad to see I thoroughly stumped you on the last one. That's my favorite 'mon on the team ;) Thanks for the review!

Luke's Team:

-Hood (Rowlet): Tackle, Leafage, Growl, Peck

"What a cutie!"

Luke and Hood had made it back to the Jackson home in Iki Town, and the blond's family was eagerly looking over the youngest Jackson's new Pokemon partner. Nicole especially was excited at the sight of Hood, going as far as to grab him up off of the floor and admire him. That was where her outburst came from.

"He's just so cute!" the younger Jackson sister repeated. Looking over to her brother, Nicole added, "What a nice pick here, Luke! He seems pretty strong, too."

The blond nodded his head, but kept his attention on his starter Pokemon. Luke knew for a fact that Hood couldn't have been enjoying this attention he was receiving at all, but put up with it anyways. While the bird didn't say anything to the Jacksons, he at least didn't attack them. Luke was grateful for that fact.

'I'll have to really thank him later,' he thought.

Before he could muse any further, though, Nicole finally set Hood back down on the ground. Luke's oldest sister, Alexa, bent down on her knees at that exact moment, however, coming closer to Hood's height. Luke made a silent wish that she didn't pick him up as well, and thankfully it came true.

"Hey there, buddy," she greeted, smiling at the Rowlet. Luke let out a small sigh of relief when Alexa didn't grab his starter, but that calm didn't last for long. "You seem like more of a quiet guy, don't ya?" she continued, asking the Pokemon a rhetorical question. "Just like my little bro here."

Hood tilted his head slightly at the comparison. Apparently he hadn't realized that similarity yet. He wasn't alone there, though. Luke, too, was surprised when he heard Alexa mention how alike he and Hood were. His eyes widened immediately, and the blond looked down at his starter just in time to see the creature looking back, a confused look on his face. Luke supposed that the comparison probably had seemed obvious to Abby earlier as well, yet she hadn't said anything about it. Alexa opened her mouth to say something else, but before she could, a deep, masculine voice came from behind she and Nicole, interrupting her.

"Tomorrow's the day, Luke," Marcus, the father of the Jackson family said, changing the subject.

The blond nodded his head automatically without thinking. He wasn't really paying attention to the conversation anymore. His mind was caught on the similarity between himself and Hood.

'I never even noticed…' he mused. 'I've been around him the majority of the day, but never once realized the fact that he and I are almost exactly alike…I guess I've figured out why he doesn't much enjoy talking to strangers.'

Luke could have been stuck in his own head thinking about that topic for a while still, but was interrupted by Alexa snapping her fingers in front of his face.

"Helloooo? Anyone home?" she asked jokingly, a small grin on her face. "Are you here in Alola or some other world?"

Nicole chuckled a bit at the joke while Marcus rolled his eyes, a small grin appearing on his face as well. Luke flushed at the attention. He had nearly forgotten that they had been talking to him when he zoned out. The blond looked down towards the ground for a moment to regain his composure before responding.

"Sorry," he replied upon looking up again. "I was just thinking about tomorrow," he lied, placing his right hand atop his head, running his fingers through his blond hair.

Each of his family members' faces grew more serious when they heard that, relating to the teen's thoughts. They could all remember the night before they had left on their adventures, and each and every one of them knew how stressful yet invigorating the feeling was.

"That's no problem," Marcus replied after a few seconds. "I'm sure you've had quite a long day."

Luke nodded his head in reply- yet another automatic response- and turned his head towards an analog clock that was hanging on the wall of the family's living room. The time was 7:30 PM. Luke was pretty surprised how fast time had gone that day. He had gotten home from the lab a little bit before 7:00, and that felt like it was only minutes ago.

Apparently not.

"How about we just get a quick dinner in then you head up to your room and get some sleep before the big day?" Marcus asked after noticing the look in his son's eyes.

Luke looked towards his father and smiled slightly, thankful for the chance to get out of the spotlight his family put him under upon coming home. Alexa and Nicole nodded their heads, but looked slightly disappointed.

'They probably wanted to adore Hood for a little longer, I suppose,' the blond assumed.

Just then, Luke had a sudden realization.

'Hood!'

Luke head nearly forgotten that his partner was also in the room, and he was probably feeling just as anxious to leave his trainer's family as Luke was. He glanced downwards to look at how Hood was feeling just in time to see the Rowlet looking up towards him, an inquisitive look apparent in the Pokemon's eyes.

Luke was surprised to see Hood looking at him, let alone staring. The creature had hardly looked at him all day and barely spoke. The blond thought Hood must have really been deep in thought to be staring at his trainer.

'I wonder what he's thinking about…'

Luke, once again zoned out from his surroundings, was jolted awake when Alexa poked him in the side with her right index finger.

"Maybe you just want to go to bed right away, Luke," the oldest Jackson child suggested, a look of actual concern in her eyes. "You seem to be really out of it tonight; even more than normal."

Nicole nodded her head after hearing that and continued the thought, saying, "Sleep would probably be the best thing for you right now, buddy. I'll make a really nice, huge breakfast for you tomorrow before you leave to make up for tonight. How about that?"

Luke looked between his two sisters with a look of surprise. With all of the worrying he always did regarding his family, Luke never seemed to remember how much that they seemed to care about him.

"That sounds good to me," he agreed after a moment. "I'm gonna head to bed. Goodnight, guys."

With that, each of his family member bid Luke and Hood both goodnight before the new duo headed up the steps that were on the far side of the living room. Hood followed right behind his trainer, still not sure of where anything was in the house.

Within minutes of getting to his room, Luke was ready for bed. He slipped under his covers as Hood floated down to the mattress and laid down on the opposite side of the bed as the blond. The lights went out, and the two then tried to get some sleep.

6:57 AM

Luke woke up just before his alarm went off, and so desperately longed for the stolen three minutes of precious sleep. However, he knew that if we went back to sleep, he wouldn't be willing to get out of bed when his alarm clock went off at 7:00. Begrudgingly, the blond slowly began to sit up on his bed, slowly sliding upwards as he back glided across the mattress. The Charmander alarm clock on his table seemed to stare right at Luke as he struggled to get up, almost as though it was mocking him.

"Man, do I wish I could've slept even another ten minutes," he groaned quietly, his voice still not completely functional yet. Luke wasn't expecting to hear a response, but apparently one was needed.

"I do not understand why you are complaining about this. I was awake nearly two hours ago."

The sudden voice in his room, nearly made Luke leap into the air, shocked by the unexpected comment. The blond scanned his surroundings like a hawk, not sure where the voice came from. There wasn't another person around that he could see. The only things on the floor were scattered books and his blue and black backpack.

"We will not be getting anywhere near the amount of sleep you just had while traveling."

It was the same voice as the first time. However, this time Luke was much more alert after having freaked out from the first. This time, he could hear where the voice was coming from, and surprisingly enough, it was from above him.

Perched on the top of Luke's bed frame was none other than Hood. The owl's claws had grabbed the top of the frame, and he was sitting there staring out the window that was on the left side of the room. The sun had just begun to rise recently it looked like, because the star appeared to be just beneath the palm trees outside. Hood seemed to be staring intently outside. What at, though, Luke had no clue.

"Good morning," he greeted awkwardly. Luke wasn't really used to someone chilling out next to him as slept, even if it was his new partner.

'Something I'll have to get used to soon, I suppose,' he thought.

Just then, the Rowlet looked down again. His eyes met Luke's, but he never spoke up. Instead, Hood just nodded his head towards his trainer in a way of greeting. Luke had to fight the urge to sigh.

'I have to wonder if he even heard me yesterday when I said we'd have to be able to talk to each other…It certainly doesn't seem like it so far.'

Nevertheless, Luke gave his starter a small smile, hoping that Hood would return the favor if he took the first step. Just as the blond smiled, though, the Pokemon shifted his focus back to the window, seemingly missing the gesture. Luke couldn't help it that time. He sighed out of half annoyance and half longing.

'I think it would've been easier if he openly hated me,' Luke thought bitterly. 'At least then I wouldn't be guessing.'

He got out of bed a moment later and walked over towards the bathroom on the other side of his bedroom. He went in and proceeded to get ready for the day, showering, putting on clothes, brushing his teeth, and combing his hair. Like always, Luke wore his usual outfit of a striped shirt, cargo shorts, and his porkpie. His black tennis shoes were sitting by the door downstairs, waiting for him to leave.

With that finished, Luke walked back out of his bathroom and into his bedroom. Hood was still sitting on his bed frame looking outside when he came back in, but turned towards his trainer when Luke walked in.

"Ready for breakfast?" the blond asked, his tone steady.

Hood didn't say anything in response, but he did nod his head. He then flapped his wings once and began to float downwards towards the floor. Within seconds, Hood was standing on the ground next to his trainer, looking upwards expectantly but still silent. Luke grew to expect as much, so he began to walk out of the room towards the kitchen. It felt like it was going to be a long day.

Luke and Hood were standing outside of the Jackson house after they were treated to quite the large breakfast as promised by Nicole. She certainly wasn't stingy. Luke could still catch a bit of the scent of bacon, maple syrup, and eggs from outside the kitchen window. He and Hood were ready to leave. They just had to wait on Luke's family to be ready.

Nicole and Alexa were smiling as they waved off their little brother, but it wasn't quite as easy for Marcus. The proud man had a small tear in his right eye as he looked at his son standing before him, ready to leave on his own Pokemon journey through the Alola region.

"If only your mom could see you right now," he told his son, the lone tear finally rolling down your cheek. "She would have been so proud of you, too."

The statement brought sad smiles to each of his children's faces as well, all of them recalling their mother. However, Nicole and Alexa didn't stay on the subject for long. They each glanced towards the other for a moment before nodding their heads in unison. Then, continuing as one, they walked over towards their father, one girl on either side. They each placed one of their hands on one of Marcus' shoulders, all the while Luke watched his sisters with a small smile forming.

"You, dad," Alexa began, getting her father to look over towards her instead of her brother. "need to stop making this too depressing. It's his first formal day as a trainer leaving on his journey."

Nicole then stepped in, continuing on for her sister. "Which is why you need to say goodbye, and then the three of us will go back inside before we make this any more embarrassing for Luke over there."

The blond blushed when his name was brought up, but didn't argue. He loved his dad, but he didn't overly want him being emotional outside right before Luke left. It didn't feel like a good note to leave on.

"I suppose you're both right," Marcus agreed, sighing as his daughters grinned madly. He then looked back over to his son, smiled, and continued, "I'm sorry about that, Luke, but just stay safe out there. I know things are safer since the attack all those years ago, but I still worry."

Luke locked eyes with his father at this point, but neither of them could say anymore. Marcus was too worried about saying anymore without tearing up again, and Luke simply couldn't think of what to say. He was out of his comfort zone here. Thankfully, Alexa was there to save him, though.

"Everything is much safer than it used to be, dad," she told him, her eyes rolling towards the heavens. "It was a freak accident thirteen years ago. That's it. The Champions took care of it, and are much stronger now than they were then. Nothing will go wrong."

"And if something does happen, Hood will be there to keep Luke safe, dad," Nicole added, smiling at the little owl. "He seems like a tough little guy."

Hood blinked his eyes once, appearing to be confused at the recognition, but nodded his head anyways.

"I'll do my best," he promised, surprising Luke.

He looked down at the Pokemon, but Hood kept his gaze steady towards Nicole, and the girl smiled in response.
"Thank you," she told the bird. "It means a lot to hear that."

With that, the group finished their goodbyes, and Luke and Hood were on their way. The teen smiled back at his family as he walked on, Hood flying by him at head height. They were off, their adventure finally started. They just had to meet up with Abby now.

'She said she'd be around Route 1,' Luke recalled, thinking back to their conversation last night when they arrived back in Iki Town. 'She wanted to get to training ASAP.'

With a clear goal in mind, the duo set off, heading south towards Route 1.

The sun shone above them as Luke and Hood marched on towards their destination, Luke on foot and Hood in the air. It was about 11:00 AM now, and they had been moving for about an hour and a half. They'd been in Route 1 for the past hour, causing the blond to be slightly confused as to where his best friend was.

"I could have sworn she planned on being at least near the entrance," he muttered, looking around for some sort of sign. "Where in the world are you, Abby?" he asked of the sky.

While the sky didn't respond, he did hear a sound not far off from where he was. It sounded like a girl's voice, so Luke perked up pretty quickly.

"Let's go, Hood," he said. "I think I heard Abby up there!"

Without another word from either trainer or Pokemon, the duo sped up, Luke now running while Hood picked up the pace which he was flying. After thirty seconds of the heightened pace, the figure of a girl could be spotted ahead of them with two other, smaller figures around her. One was Popplio, but the other was too far for Luke to make out. The sight of a girl and a Popplio inspired him to go faster, though, now sure it was Abby.

"Water Gun one last time!"

Luke heard the command from where he was just before a geyser of water shot towards the other figure by Abby. The creature was hit dead-on by the attack, and shot backwards, further away from Luke. Abby then grabbed something from her pants pocket, but due to the distance, Luke could only guess what it was.

Before the girl could do anything, though, Luke got close enough to yell, "Abby! I've been looking all over for you!"

She had just looked ready to toss whatever she was holding when he spoke, and the sudden outburst clearly was unexpected. Abby dropped the object to the ground. She pivoted backwards in a response, her face giving off a very annoyed expression.

"Damnit, Luke!" she replied, scowling at her best friend as he closed in on her and Popplio, Hood right behind him in the air. "Give me a second!"

Abby took a deep breath before grabbing the object off of the ground. Being right behind her now, Luke could easily see what it was. A Pokeball. Abby was about to capture her first Pokemon.

'She's so far ahead of me already!' he thought, happy for his friend, yet also disappointed in himself at the the idea of being behind.

Before he could think about the subject any further, Abby threw the Pokeball towards the creature lying on the ground in front of them. Now within seeing distance, Luke could see exactly what the Pokemon was. It was a common woodpecker-like creature seen everywhere on Alola. The capsule hit the bird with a thud, and the the Pokemon was absorbed with a bright red light.

Shake…

Shake…

Shake…

"C'mon, Pikipek!" Popplio cheered from his trainer's side. "Get caught! Get caught! Get caught! We'll be able to train together, play together, eat together, battle together...it'll be great!"

As if the creature could hear Popplio, the Pokemon was caught right afterwards.

Ding!

The center button on the capsule lit up brightly, signalling that Pikipek had been caught.

"Yes!" Abby whooped. "We caught another teammate, Popplio!"

"Yay!" the Sea Lion Pokemon cheered again in response. "We did it! We did it! We did it!"

The duo ran up to the Pokeball, and Abby scooped it up. The two treated it like it was a beautiful trophy, and Luke couldn't help but chuckle. It was good for him to see his best friend enjoying herself, even if she was progressing much faster than him…

'Stop being so negative,' he thought, scowling slightly in spite of himself. 'Be happy for her, damnit.'

With that thought, Luke went to go congratulate Abby, Hood right behind him. This was the first day for their journey. He should start it off right. With his best friend.

Well there we are, ladies and gents. Another update within a week xD I hope you don't all start expecting this now, because I'm not sure that I'll be able to provide these all so quickly lol. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and please leave a review! Thanks for reading!

Abby's Team:

-Popplio: Pound, Water Gun, Growl, Disarming Voice

-Pikipek: Peck, Echoed Voice, Growl

1. What did Luke's family mean when they said something happened thirteen years ago?

2. Who do Luke and Abby meet next chapter?

Next Chapter: The Expert Soldier

Resuming their traveling to Hau'oli City, Luke and Abby see a house standing just on the outskirts of the city. When they hear the sound of Pokemon battling, they decide to check it out for themselves. However, what they find isn't just a Pokemon battle; it's someone much more powerful than either one of them. They both know exactly who this person is, too! Who is this trainer!?

Melemele Arc

Chapter 5: Duped by the Dex!

Chapter 6: Battling for Brunch?

Chapter 7: Standoff in the Sand!

Chapter 8: First Taste of a Trial

Chapter 9: Dimming the Star

Chapter 10: Feeling the Heat!