Sun & Moon
By: Aubrie1234
"I'm home!"
"Lit teten!" (Hey there!) The adults turned to see the girls enter the house with the three pokemon behind them.
"Well now, it looks like you girls are going to have a blast!" Kukui smiled, "Anyway, here are your PokeDexes." he handed them the machines, "Come by my house tomorrow and I can make the finishing touches."
"So, who did you pick?" Lillie asked, smiling.
"Ailani got Rowlet and I got Flareball, who's a Litten!" The pokemon gave happy cheers. Balboa, though, just collapsed on the couch, over Gladion's lap. Rolling his eyes, the man stroked the Lycanroc's fur to help him calm down.
"That's great, girls. And make sure you both have your Trainer Passports, okay? You won't be able to go to the other islands and do the Trials without them."
"We've got them, don't worry!" The girls held up their passports proudly.
"Girls, as a gift to help you start your journeys, I bought some Pokemon Refresh kits for you." Gladion pointed to the orange and purple box-like bags on the coffee table, "They're already stocked with everything you need, but use your Poke Beans wisely. You can only get them once a day from the Poke Cafés."
"Thanks Uncle!" Moon and Ailani began examining the bags and all they had, along with their pokemon. Soon enough, a wheezing Hau stumbled in.
"Not...so fast!"
"A bit too much for you? You could have done that run easy when you were younger!" Hau gave Lillie a glare as she giggled.
"Sorry Dad." Hau collapsed in a kitchen chair, trying to slow his breathing back to normal.
"Well, Moon," he began once he had his breath back, "Tomorrow we're having a festival, if you want to join in, and could I borrow that Sparkling Stone of your's?"
"Sparkling Stone?" The other three adults' eyebrows shot up as Moon gave Hau the stone.
"Don't worry, I'll have this thing made into Z-Band in no-time flat! For now though, why don't we just share some stories?"
"Yeah, tell us everything!" Ailani begged. Moon nodded, then began telling about what happened at the bridge.
"I think you both were right, brother. Moon did a similar thing to what he did all those years ago, so maybe history really is repeating itself."
"Then I wonder who that 'Star' is. Maybe he'll appear soon and we can learn more about what's going on." After most had gone home and Moon off to bed with Flareball, Gladion and Lillie were still talking, out on the porch. They were sharing the swing, as they had done so many times before when they were together.
"Will Moon have to get involved?"
"Probably. She does have his personality, in a way. She's going to get herself involved, one way or another." Lillie sighed.
"That's what I'm afraid of. I don't want to lose her like I lost him." Gladion slid his arm around his sister.
"It wasn't your fault, it was no one's. The only thing we could take out of what happened was that he was kidnapped in such a way that even his own pokemon didn't know where he was."
"Yes, but something still seems a bit off to me." From her pocket she pulled out a letter, "This was dated a week after I left. He mentioned in it that he had caught all the roaming Ultra Beasts and was becoming friends with them. But when we checked his PC Box, we didn't see any Ultra Beasts. He never got rid of any pokemon unless he had no choice, and I doubt he would have released the Ultra Beasts."
"How many did he list?"
"He caught a Nihilego, like the one that our mother was after, a Buzzwole, a Pheromosa, a Xurkitree, a Kartana, a Celesteela, a Guzzlord, and a Necrozma, which technically isn't an Ultra Beast but a Legendary Pokemon."
"I see. So none of these were in his PC Box after he was kidnapped?"
"No, and he even sent me these pictures." The pictures she showed Gladion were old, but still bright in color and undamaged. Each showed a boy with bright blue eyes and blonde hair posing with one of the Ultra Beasts and Necrozma, "I saw none of them in the PC Box."
"This truly is troubling." They were silent for a while.
"Brother, you should be getting off to bed. It is late, after all." They stood.
"So should you, sister. But until we know more, let things play out. Moon will be fine, I promise."
"...Alright. Goodnight, Gladion."
"Goodnight, Lillie."
"It's morning!" Moon leapt from her bed, startling Flareball in the same way she had startled Balboa the day before.
"Litten!"
"Sorry!" She picked up the cat, "Anyway, ready to see Grandpa and the festival?" Flareball nodded.
"Li litten!" (Of course!) The two scampered down the stairs, finding Lillie fixing breakfast with Nebby fast asleep on the kitchen table. It was the only place in the house that had enough room for the Solgaleo to sleep on and was strong enough to hold it, as Lillie sensibly didn't let the pokemon sleep with her in bed. She didn't want to get crushed by the sleeping and heavy Psychic/Steel-type, after all!
Moon then gained a mischievous look on her face and beckoned Flareball to quietly come with her. The Litten curiously did so, then jumped as Moon shouted in the Solgaleo's ear: "WAKE UP NEBBY!" What happened next was quite comical.
Moon dove under the table with Flareball right behind her, Nebby jumped awake and hit the ceiling, (luckily) not breaking it and latching onto it with its claws, shivering. Lillie and the Pidgey were unsurprised, just rolling their eyes as Moon laughed heartily.
"Nebby, you should have seen the look on your face! Hahahaha!" The Solgaleo, who was now fuming, landed back on the table before jumping and stalking off to sulk somewhere.
"Litten teten." (You're crazy.) Moon shrugged at her partner's statement.
"But it's fun."
"Moon, stop doing that to poor Nebby." Lillie said, "You had run Balboa ragged yesterday, too, so please try not to do that with your other pokemon."
"I'll try, but I can't make any promises." They then sat down for breakfast, leaving a bowl of Poke Chow out for the sulking Nebby. As soon as they finished, the doorbell rang, where Moon got up to answer it. It was Kukui and Gladion.
"Hey Grandpa, Uncle! Here to escort me to the festival?"
"I came by to talk with Lillie, Moon, sorry."
"And don't call me Grandpa! But yeah, that's what I came here to do. But first, we've got to stop by my place. You and Flareball ready to go?"
"Yep!" Moon nodded and soon the three were off, leaving Gladion with Lillie.
"Star came back last night."
"He did?" Lillie was curious as her brother nodded.
"Yes, and he told us that he came back to apologize for worrying us so much. He just wasn't used to being around people he could trust and he also wasn't used to telling people where he went."
"I see. Did he tell you anything else?"
"Yes, and from what we got, it looks like his story is similar to your's. However, he doesn't have a sibling, so we can't assume the one who is to play my role will be related."
"Is he still at Kukui's place?"
"Yes, and that's one of the reasons why they're going by there first. Both Kukui and I think that, just like how you were, he might open up a bit if he travels with Moon and Ailani."
"..." Lillie was silent.
"...Sister, if you're worried about Moon-"
"No, it's not that." she shook her head, "I was just remembering our journey, back when we were kids. How I had to become a trainer to take care of Nebby because it wouldn't go with anyone else." She lifted her head to meet her brother's eyes, "I know Moon will win, but I can't help worrying. Any mother would, any parent. Especially one like myself that's been forced to look after her child alone."
"Lillie..." Gladion took his sister into his arms, knowing she was going to cry, "No one knew, least of all you, he would just walk out. It's not your fault at all. It's all his, especially when he took Moon's twin with him."
"That doesn't make it any better or easier." Lillie sniffed; she was a quiet crier, surprisingly, "A mother's job is to protect her children, and I couldn't do that!"
"He took Moon's twin while you were out with her. You didn't know and couldn't have done anything. Nebby was with you, so it couldn't have done anything, either. Your trust was shattered, and I know that. Our trust in our mother was shattered as well when we were young."
"But it was her fault!"
"And that doesn't make it your fault this time. Lusamine let her obsession get in the way with us, you only weren't there. We could have had a better relationship with our mother if she had let it, but she didn't. You would have stopped him from leaving if you were there, but you weren't. Do you see the difference now? Lusamine had a chance to be good with us, but she didn't use it. It was only luck that what happened to you happened." Lillie was silent, sniffing every once-in-a-while, until she finally pulled away.
"Yes...yes, you're right. Thank you for reminding me again." They hugged, "Again, I can only worry about Moon and hope for the best. We both can."
"I was happy to help." A small smile crossed Gladion's face, "And yes, we can only hope for the best. She may not be my daughter, but I will always treat her like one."
"He escaped. He escaped and didn't even think of the consequences." Cold blue eyes gazed at the holographic screen in front of him, replaying the video of Star's escape over and over, "He has no idea of the power that pokemon carries. Without it, my plan can't be brought to fruition. My sweet Ultra Beasts won't get what they deserve without it." The pencil he had been twirling snapped in half when he suddenly grabbed it. He ignored the pain in his hand as the splinters dug in and he stood, waving the hologram away.
"Nihi..." (Again...) His hand was opened by psychic power and the splinters removed, floating into a small bag being held by a creature than was not quite a pokemon. Still using the psychic power, a roll of bandages and sanitizer was floated in and began doctoring the man's hand.
"Nihilego, it would've healed fine."
"Go ni nihilego." (No it wouldn't.) Once the man's hand was bandaged, Nihilego released him from its psychic power and put the medical supplies away, throwing the splinter-filled bag out as well. The man rubbed Nihilego's head gently with his unbandaged hand.
"Thank you for taking care of me, but I'm fine. And once I have that Cosmog, I'll have the power to bring all of your brethren here, to the Pokemon Dimension. Those fools who raised me thought that you couldn't live together with pokemon, but I'm going to prove them wrong. That's just the crowning jewel, though. I have something else planned for you and the others, something wondrous. Something that none could have dreamed of!" Nihilego only floated there, watching as the man, happy in his madness, left the room.
Oh sir, what happened so many years ago that has wronged you so much? Nihilego thought, You used to be so kind, so gentle... But you forgot all that and now you want something impossible to do for us, the Ultra Beasts. You may have become our friend over the years, but we weren't here first. No, your team was, but you've forgotten them, just like you've forgotten everything else except your name...
Like I said, the Ultra Beasts play a big part! And now you see the biggest, baddest bad guy! Can you guess what his plan is? It's not much like Lusamine's except for the part where he needs Cosmog's power. And Nihilego's thoughts are important, as they give hints!
Another idea of mine is that Moon has a twin, but doesn't know about it. Lillie's husband walked out with Moon's twin and she hasn't had the heart to tell her daughter yet. She also didn't have a chance to name Moon's twin, so he's basically a John Doe (points to those who know what that means!). Don't worry, though, things will connect later, everything will.
And please, read & review!