I wish real life have montage moments. Specifically things like battling other trainers, and traveling around Alola. I'll be the first person to tell you that I have an awful attention span, and I got bored so easily. I had errands to run, but I needed money before I could get it done. Thus were the days I spent wandering around the islands of Alola, finding any trainer willing to battle me. Most of them thought I was a member of Team Skull, but they were so mad at the group they were willing to battle just to vent some frustration. I had a few close calls, but with some potions and regular trips to the Pokemon Center I made enough cash to buy a new outfit in Malie City. I needed to make one stop before I went to Poni island however, so I took a boat trip over to Akala Island.
The travel is the main reason I wished life had montages. I wanted to imagine my battles in quick still frame shots, myself and another trainer laughing about something as we sat on the boat together. Then I would walk in and out of the dressing room at one of the shops with different outfits on as my friends made comments about them. This would all take maybe five minutes and then it would end with me on Poni Island ready to go with a cute new outfit and stronger than ever. Instead I had to put in the work, grind and grind until I felt my pokemon were strong enough to move forward. Sit quietly on a long boat trip, scrolling through my Dex to pass the time. Another good part about montages is that you don't see the people obsessing over every trivial problem in their life, they're just getting shit done over a fun catchy song. There was no pop music playing in the background, just the constant nagging of my mind as I tried and failed to think about anything but Guzma.
I got so bored on my boat trip that I even called Professor Kukui. From the encounter at Maile Garden I got the impression that he and Guzma knew each other. He answered after a few rings, sounding tired and out of breath.
"Rockruff no! I said we're taking a break, not to keep breaking things!" he shouted before addressing me, "Alola Moon. How are your island challenges going?" There was a small crash in the background and he cursed.
"Good, I'm making a quick stop at Akala Island to pick up a few things, then I'm headed over to Poni Island. I should be done in a few weeks if I don't hit too many bumps along the road." I answered, chuckling at the barks I could hear from his Rockruff in the distance. "You sure you did your island challenges Professor? It seems like you can't control any pokemon, no matter their level."
"Yeah, this little guy is just a bit riled up from our training session. That's good to hear though. Your mother has been missing you a whole lot. She'll be happy to have you home soon."
"She'd miss me if I was in another room," I grumbled, "So Professor, I called to ask you a few questions about Guzma." He was silent for a long while, I could practically hear the frown on his face.
"What do you want to know about Guzma?" Kukui asked, the usual cheeriness in his voice gone.
"I got the impression that you two knew each other back in Malie Garden. I was just curious what you could tell me about him. I've had more than a handful of encounters with Team Skull and I'm hoping if I learn more about him I might be able to take them down." I barley believed myself as I lied to Professor Kukui. I was just like Guzma's grunts, a dumb girl with a stupid crush trying to learn as much as I could about the guy I liked. I just had an upper hand on the rest of them.
"We were friends a long time ago. We both grew up on Melemele Island. You probably passed his house on Route 2 on your way to your first trial. We uh, we went to Trainers School together, we basically grew up together," he paused to think. I could tell talking about this hurt him but I had to know. "When we were of age Guzma and I even started our trials at the same time. I guess he was like my best friend. Things weren't great for him though. As we got older I could tell his home life was really rough. Guzma would always push himself to be better and better; he constantly entered competitions and would beat himself up for not winning. Not like most people would, he was really hard on himself. Almost like what he was saying was coming out of someone else's mouth. One day he started showing up with bruises, and that's when he really started to change. His island trials didn't mean anything to him anymore. He had beaten his first one, but when I forced him to do the second one with me he barley tried and failed it. Guzma went home after that despite me trying to convince him to stay. I heard his dad ended up in the hospital for a few weeks once he got home. After that I didn't see him for years until Team Skull started popping up around town." Kukui finished.
"Wow Professor that's really horrible." I replied, not know what else to say. What else could I say? It explained so much about his behavior, just not his motivations.
"Yeah it is horrible. It turned him into a horrible person. You stay away from Guzma, Moon. He's bad news." Kukui told me.
"I will Kukui. I haven't seen him since Malie Garden, just the grunts. Thanks for that though, it helped a lot. Gotta go I just arrived at Akala Island." We said out goodbyes and hung up. My mind raced as I made my way to Kahuna Olivia's shop. I remember seeing one accessory in her store that I had to buy. From what Professor Kukui was telling me, Guzma was abused. I guessed his dad was the one who beat him since he's the one who ended up in the hospital. How could someone do that to their child? My heart ached for Guzma then. I wished I was back in Po Town now. Up in that room so I could hold him and make him feel safe and cared for. I wanted to battle our pokemon again so I could see the fire and passion in his eyes. I wouldn't throw the fight, but I would root for him to win. I didn't want Guzma to feel like a failure. Part of me wished I had his number so I could call him on my Dex. I don't know what I would say, but just hearing his voice would make me happy. We said we would meet on Poni Island though. Or we joked about it. Did he really mean it when he said he would go to Poni Island? My heart raced at that thought. How I hoped he would.
I finally reached Olivia's shop after an annoying trek through Diglet Tunnel. There wasn't enough Max Repel in the world to keep those things away from me, and the ones in Alola had hair. I was baffled by this and had to take a rest every time I saw a Dugtrio in the cave from laughing myself to tears.
I found the item in the shop with ease, made my purchase and then headed to the salon. This accessory needed a proper hair style, one that I was not capable of doing on my own. The stylist worked quickly, I was out of their and back to the Ferry Terminal by nightfall. My trip to Poni Island was also uneventful. My mind still dwelled on the thoughts of Guzma's past as we sailed through the night. I could picture him as a young teenager, going through his first ever growth spurt and shooting up three inches in a month. How his mom must have hated buying him new clothes for him to grow out of them in no time. Butterfree fluttered through my stomach as I smiled down at my hands.
Fucking Guzma. He might have been a nice little boy at one point in his life, but he had changed. I couldn't sit here romanticizing my own version of him when I knew what he was really like. He was mean, violent, and possibly an alcoholic from all the bottles I saw in his room. He stole from people and ran an entire town of people out of their homes. Guzma was not a good person. Guzma was not a good person. I kept telling myself that over and over again. It was my mantra the entire trip over to Poni Island. As much as I told myself that, I knew that I really didn't care what kind of person he was. Guzma's attitude and personality were what drew me to him in the first place. If he were a nice good two shoes little trainer like Hau I wouldn't be obsessing over him like I was now. I wanted his violence, and I wanted his bad attitude. Hearing him curse and yell excited me. I felt truly alive every time he got mad and I thought he might lash out at me. I haven't met a man that has been able to keep up with my personality like Guzma has. He snapped back at every snarky comment I made, and he didn't let me walk all over him like my past boyfriends would.
"AUGH!" I exclaimed, startling the passenger next to me. My face fell into my hands as my frustration built up. Fucking Guzma.
I don't know what I was expecting when I arrived on Poni Island. It's not like I was going to take a step off the boat and Guzma would be waiting for me on the docks; bouquet of roses in one hand and lube in the other. Or maybe a group of Team Skull grunts all in weird poses to form my name and the word Prom with his Golispod as the question mark at the end. For that to happen Team Skull would have to throw their own prom, and the thought of that was just ridiculous.
No, when I arrived to Poni Island there was no romantic gesture waiting for me. Just a small town of people living in uniquely shaped boats. I headed to the pokemon center first and foremost, I don't know why, but every time I go to a new town I have to make sure my pokemon are healthy. I know they're fine, I took them to a Pokemon Center before I left for Poni Island and I haven't battled since, but I just had to go in. I'm a creature of habit.
Once inside my heart practically stopped. Everyone inside was up against a wall or standing with their hands above their heads. A pair of Team Skull grunts was inside harassing everyone and trying to steal a Corsola from a young girl. I couldn't help but smile. They really were here. Wow great job Moon, you're excited because a girl is getting mugged. Time to take a step down from that high horse I light to ride.
"Alright boys that's enough. Leave the little girl and her Corsola alone." I said walking up with more bravado than a five foot girl should have. They turned to me looking more than a little annoyed.
"Yo yo yo, don't you know who we are shorty?" Taunted Grunt A.
"Team Skull ain't fuckin' around no more, so turn around and go out the door." Chimed in his partner, walking up to me in the ridiculous manner that had been associated with the gang. I rolled my eyes. Did Guzma pay for these kids to take poetry classes? They rhymed way too much.
"Yeah, I know who you are, I'm surprised you don't know who I am!" I snapped back, getting up in his face. Thank god everyone in Team Skull slouched, or else I would have to stand on my tip toes to even be eye level with his chin. Pointing to the accessory in my hair I continued, "I'm the princess of Team Skull, dubbed that by Guzma himself." A shiny silver tiara glistened at the crown of my head with shiny pink gems accenting it. I had gotten my hair washed and curled at the salon, as well as having the girl place the tiara properly on my head. Along with my new dress and the short heels I wore, I gave of a casual princess vibe. Or at least that's how I hoped I looked, not just some stupid girl in a tiara.
The grunts did not have time to respond because the door swooshed open behind us. Everyone turned to see who the new person was. Every sweat gland in my body began to work on over drive, and my heart demanded a defibrillator because it had just stopped.
It was Guzma.