Every day since Gladion left Alola his sister would call him. They weren't really about anything specific; she would catch him up on Hau's antics, she would ask him about his day, and much to his chagrin, she would always add a section about Moon. How she was still unbeatable, still the source of safety and comfort for the residents of Alola, and still waiting for his return. But as weeks went on Lillie stopped the lighthearted fun and dropped her concerns about the Champion instead.

Headaches. Fatigue. Fainting spells. Forgetfulness.

"Is she staying at the League too late or what?" Gladion demands, only to hear an exasperated sigh.

"No, she just mentioned helping a force of some sort," Lillie says sadly "but don't worry! Hau and I will make sure she's okay! We promise!"

That call was only a day ago. And now his phone was vibrating wildly on the nightstand, stirring him awake.

"Lillie," Gladion answers his phone groggily. "It's 3AM here"

But when his sister responds with a sob, instead of words he could feel his body involuntary get up. And then the sirens made their appearance in the background. "Lillie what's wrong? Are you okay?" his voice raises with frantic worry when Lillie finally chokes out.

"We don't know what's wrong with Moon."

So now Gladion was running through the halls of Alola general hospital after an 8 hour flight from Kanto.

214.

215.

216.

His hand dramatically pulls the door open, much to the startled reaction of the medical staff. But he ignores their reactions as his eyes scan the room. Doctors, nurses, a man in a trench coat, a woman in a suit, his sister, Hau, and Moon.

She was in the hospital bed, very much awake, but looking extremely drained. The dark circles under her eyes emphasized how translucent her skin looked. A nurse was fretting over the girl's head bandages becoming stained again. And if the visual proof wasn't enough, the insistent beeping of the EKG she was attached to made everything all the more real.

When he took a step forward, however, that's when reality decided to crash into him. Panic overcame her features. He could hear her breath hitch. Her eyes grew wide. Her short hair hits her in her the face as she rapidly turns to look at his sister, pleading for an answer.

"Lillie, what's a Team Skull member doing here?"

'I would say this is Retrograde amnesia," the doctor announces, "which is usually temporary, but if it seems like other factors were leading up to this, we won't know when her memory will return."

Lillie finds herself fidgeting as Hau places a reassuring hand on her shoulder. The doctor's words providing little to no comfort, but her diagnostics turn into background noise when Gladion notices the two older adults silently slip away behind the corner.

He excuses himself to walk towards the mysterious figures.

"Anabel, we might've pushed her too far," the older man whispers, but the regret in his voice is undeniable.

Her brow furrows at the accusation. "Looker, we never told her to get it done as fast as she was doing it. We warned her about the possibilities of getting trapped, getting hurt, ge-"

"Who the hell are you and what do you know about Moon?" Gladion interrupts, as the two are pulled out of their side conversation. Anabel's face stays firm and unaffected by the eavesdropper, but it's Looker who let's out an exasperated sigh.

"This isn't the time or p-"

Gladion's fist hits the side of the wall, creating a loud thud that soon gets Hau and Lillie running towards the source. He was angry, there was no doubt about that, but the adults find themselves in a situation they could not get themselves out of.

"Gladion what is going on?" Lillie cries, but her older brother wasn't there to be reasonable.

"Our best friend is in the hospital because of something you know. Speak. Now."

Anabel crosses her arms as she looks down at Gladion. "We're from the International Police," she begins "and the Champion was going to Ultra Space on our behalf to capture the Ultra Beasts."

What they shared did little to alleviate the stress the group of friends felt. Guilt. Concern. Anger. It was all there, and the two detectives finally showed remorse at the end of their explanation. No one was supposed to get hurt, that's why she was going on the mission in the first place, to protect the region!

They would be lying, however, if they said they didn't notice Moon's strange behavior. But the Champion was stubborn and every time they brought it up she simply smiled and waved their worries away before jumping into yet another wormhole.

Until it came with repercussions.

The day of the girl was stumbling, her responses were slow, it seemed like she hadn't slept in days and yet she still jumped onto the back of Solgaleo and went off. She appeared a couple of hours later on the ground of the Altar of the Sunne, empty handed, next to a sad legendary.

Now Lillie and Hau sat at the side of her bed; Moon's thumb rubbing small comforting circles on Lillie's hand as the girl cried and apologized for not being there for her. Gladion notes that it should've been the other way around. But leave it to Moon to comfort those around her before herself. She smiles softly at the two, and whispers.

"Will you fill me in then?"

And Gladion unable to bring himself closer to the girl who couldn't remember him, stands against the wall across the room.

"So you're telling me I'm Alola's Champion?" Moon asks apprehensively.

They both nod excitedly.

"And Lillie's little cloud Pokemon is actually a legendary?"

"Yes!" Hau shouts, hopeful that something was being triggered.

"And that I somehow saved a region from alien-like Pokemon that your mother brought over?"

"Yes! Yes!" Lillie's nods get more excited, until she sees Moon's lips twist into a small scowl.

"Listen you guys, you seem like such nice people, but all of this sounds too farfetch'd," Moon murmurs. "Like everything sounds so far out there I imagine the simplest thing you could tell me is that I'm dating the grumpy boy standing over there," Moon finishes her sentence with a laugh. Clearly reveling in the preposterous idea, but when Lillie and Hau's faces drop and Gladion looks up at her with complete shock, her giggles begin to quickly fade.

"You're kidding…"

Lillie stands up rather quickly, pulling Hau up with her. "You must be hungry we'll come right back!"

"But Lillie she has food right th-" Hau begins, only to get a glare out of the blonde and a quick head gesture towards the door. "We'll be back."

And just like that the two disappear, leaving a flustered Moon, and a distant Gladion in silence accompanied by the sounds of her hospital room.

But who was he to add more stress by telling her of their own history.

"We're not dating," Gladion declares before the silence got to be unbearable and all Moon does is chuckle.

"I figured, since you weren't very nice to me."

Gladion winces, "we had a bad first impression."

"And a horrid second," Moon adds matter-of-factly before she bites her bottom lip, "but I don't remember anything after that."

Her gaze falls on her hands as she twiddles with her thumbs. A habit Gladion recognized she did when she was nervous. "I don't expect you to…" he mutters, prompting a quirked eyebrow from the girl. "I don't expect you to remember things, that is."

She nods, accepting what she thought was his attempt at comforting her, but then it all hit her.

"What if I never remember?"

Her voice was quiet, but it sounded so broken. Dejected. Unlike the girl everyone knew to be Alola's savior.

He couldn't have that. "Then we'll just have to help you make new memories now won't we, Moon?" His face might've been serious, but to her surprise she could feel the sincerity in every word he spoke.

She lets out a small giggle as she extends her hand towards him in a truce of some sorts.

"Maybe Lillie was right about something between us, huh?"

But of course, nothing was going to be easy because the pressure became unbearable. Everyone wanted their Champion. Everyone wanted their friend. Everyone wanted Moon to be happy and welcoming and instead all they got was confusion, frustration, and anger.

Nothing like the Moon they knew.

So she would break out in tears as she tried to reestablish her life. She tried to fight the overwhelming feeling by begging for everyone to show her around. To tell her stories, to tell her what she was forgetting, but in doing so came a whole new problem.

The physical pain.

Moon would scream, would cry, would say her head felt like it was being crushed under the weight of gravity. And all Gladion could do was hold her as she felt her world was caving in on her.

"How's she doing?" Lillie asks one evening over the dinner. The tired and concerned look on Gladion's face giving away all his emotions about the situation.

"Not good," was the simple reply, and the siblings could only find themselves hoping for a cure of some sort soon, until Professor Burnet came along with a hypothesis.

"Ultra Space, like Nihilego, is probably riddled with poisons," Burnet began, "given your lengthy exposure, the dimension jumping, and any physical trauma you may have experienced, it's no surprise your perception of reality has been affected."

"So are you saying there's nothing we can do to bring back my memories?" Moon says rather blandly, already desensitized to disappointing news.

Surprisingly, Burnet shakes her head. "On the contrary, I think if we can send you back to collect some samples we might be able to find a cure of some sorts."

It's Burnet's exact words that brought her and Gladion to the Altar of the Sunne.

"Why does it have to be you," Gladion whispers as they watch an Ultra Wormhole open up at the center of the site and its Moon's curious gaze that makes him shut up almost immediately.

"Gladion, why did you come with? You barely know me," Moon questions as she watches Gladion's face shift from anger to hurt.

But what was he to do? Confess his love to a girl who thought they were mere acquaintances? Tell her to not go into the wormhole and lose her only possible hope?

He answers her with silence and Moon pouts in response.

"Fine, be that way," Moon says as she clicks her tongue, beckoning Solgaleo to her side, "but I expect you to tell me when I'm back."

His eyes widen at the request as he turns to face her. "Moon, I would rather not-"

She quickly mounts the legendary who looks over at Gladion. It's eyes were filled concerned, and Gladion was pretty sure his own expression reflected the Pokemon's.

"You're the only one who hasn't pressured me into things, but I'm starting to wonder if me being like this is really hurting you too," Moon says quietly before flashing him a coy smile. "So you're telling me, regardless of memories, whether you like it or not."

The command was the closest Moon-like action he's seen in a while, but before he could give an answer she quickly says "Nebby, go" and the two ran into the wormhole.

Gladion finds himself soon accompanied by Lillie, Hau, Looker, Anabel, and Professor Burnet. They mostly stand in silence, like many do when paying their respects at the Altar. But internally they were there praying nothing would go haywire. But as a few more hours pass Anabel can't help but note that "she's been in there longer than she has before."

And that's when it happened.

The wormhole started blinking. In and out, in and out, growing duller as if it was losing its power source. A loud whirring sound started blaring as the rip in space continued to grow smaller and smaller. And a roar could be heard right as the portal shut and Solgaleo and Moon came shooting out.

Solgaleo came down with a massive crash; the ground shaking ever so slightly under the impact. But when the earth settles the Pokemon walks forward, it's strides covering ground quickly, as it lowers itself onto the ground. It's eyes looked heartbroken, the sparkling tears visible. It lets out a low, whiny, cry, in a pitch one could only describe as devastated as it shifts ever so slightly to show the girl.

Moon lied limply, empty handed, unresponsive to the Pokemon's nudging and the call of her name.