Nova awkwardly walked alongside Altair as they stepped out of Professor Kukui's lab, heading back up the hill in a long, uncomfortable silence. Well, it was at least uncomfortable to Nova. Altair was fine with not saying anything, and he just continued to take the lead and guide Nova back up the hill and in the direction of both Hau'oli City and the Trainer's School.

Nova kicked at small rocks as she stared down at her feet, wracking her brain for something to say as they walked along the dusty, dirt road. She tried to think of literally anything to break the tense, awkward silence between them. "...so you're a teacher at the Trainer's School too?"

"Yeah, I started teaching there last year." Altair seemed distant about the subject as he jammed his hands into his jean pockets, and Nova internally kicked herself for that socializing fail.

Rotom poked its head out of Nova's bag, mockingly laughing at her. "Kzzzt! Epic converzzzzation fail, Nova."

"Shut it." Nova bitterly sighed as she harshly whispered that to Rotom, shoving it back into her bag. She flashed Altair's back a quick glare as she wondered if this is what it was like to be Lillie. "Seriously, is there anything you don't do?"

Altair paused and turned to look at her curiously over his shoulder, and his eyebrows disappeared into his hairline. "Huh? Did you say something?"

Nova awkwardly averted her gaze and bit her lip. "Nothing..."

Altair seemed to go back to his usual self as they walked past Nova's house and began approaching a large white building with a red roof. "Anyways, before we head out for the Trainer's School, let me show you around the Pokemon Center, Nova." He gestured toward the large building as they walked up to the door, and Altair graciously held it open for her.

Nova looked displeased as she stared ahead with the most horrified look of dread on her face. "Ugh... This is about to be a really boring tour, isn't it?"

Altair let out a little laugh at Nova's facial expression, and he gestured to her to go inside. "No, of course not! Don't worry, I'll try to make things interesting."

Somehow that really wasn't reassuring to Nova, and the white-haired girl just rolled her eyes as she strode in through the front door. "Great..."

However, the second Altair stepped inside, he was blitz attacked by a little boy who looked to be no older than seven years old.

"Altair!" The young boy with the biggest face-splitting grin ran up to Altair, beaming up at the older boy as he excitedly spoke to him.

"Oh, hey kiddo!" Altair seemed to recognize the kid immediately, much to Nova's confusion. He didn't even seem to mind suddenly being bombarded by the kid's enthusiasm as Nova watched their exchange with a scrutinizing look. "How did training with Yungoos go? Did the tips I gave you help at all?"

The little boy's whole face seemed to light up brighter than the sun as he clutched the Pokeball in his hand tightly and pressed it against his heart. "Yeah, they really did! Now, when I battle with Yungoos, coming up with a strategy is so much easier!"

"That's great!" Altair's lips turned up into the biggest, most angelic smile Nova had ever seen, and she felt her mind turn to mush as she looked at the dazzling, boyish grin on his face. "I'm glad I was able to help!"

The little boy seemed to finally take notice of Nova standing beside his role model, and he tugged gently on Altair's pant leg as he gestured to the unfamiliar white-haired girl. "Altair, who's that?"

"Hmm?" Altair turned to follow the boy's line of sight, and he smiled gently when his eyes landed on Nova's awkward face. "Oh, this is Nova, my new apprentice. She just moved to town, so I'm showing her around."

The little boy appeared to have stars for eyes as he looked at Nova and beamed at her. "Wow! You're so lucky, miss!"

Nova stared off to the side in irritation as she grumbled her real feelings quietly under her breath. "I really don't see it that way..."

"Anyways, we've gotta get going." Altair reached down and ruffled the kid's hair with his big, strong hand, which seemed to envelope the little boy's whole head. "See you later at school, kiddo." He took a step forward in the direction of the front counter and walked past the kid, ushering Nova to follow him.

The little boy looked at Altair's back as he walked away, smiling and waving as he did so. "Bye, Altair! Bye, Miss Nova!"

Nova let out the breath she was holding now that she was no longer in the spotlight, and she felt herself staring oddly at Altair as she followed him up to the front of the Pokemon Center. "...you sure are popular, huh?"

"Hmm?" Altair turned to her at the sound of her voice, and he instantly shot down her question the second he processed what she had asked. "Nah, I don't really think so."

Nova stopped and let him walk ahead of her as she stared dumbfounded at his back with an irritable look on her face. "...okay, I take it back. He's not just modest, he's ridiculously dense."

"Alright, Nova! Come over here and meet Nurse Joy." Altair turned back to look at her with his usual, charming smile, facing a woman in a nurse's uniform with her pink hair tied up in two twintails.

"Hello!" Nurse Joy waved to Nova as she hesitantly approached the counter, and the nurse seemed to be just as stupidly friendly and upbeat as all of the other locals Nova had encountered since she moved here.

"Hi..." Nova awkwardly stared at Nurse Joy as she pressed her lips together into a thin line, not being very good with introductions.

Social anxiety is just the worst, is it not?

"I'm Nurse Joy." Nurse Joy smiled brightly as she delicately gave Nova a small, welcoming wave. "My family and I work in all of the Pokemon Centers across the islands, and we heal Trainers' Pokemon, as well as rent out rooms for traveling Trainers to stay in while they are on their Island Challenge."

"It's nice to meet you." Nova gave Nurse Joy a little uneasy wave back, anxiously letting her eyes wander around the huge, polished Pokemon Center.

Altair noticed Nova fall quiet, and he gently nudged her with his elbow. "Go ahead and give her Popplio's Pokeball so she can give her an once-over before we head to the Trainer's School in a bit."

"Oh, okay..." Nova's eyes snapped wide open at suddenly being addressed, and she instantly looked down and began rummaging through her bag for Popplio's Pokeball. "Um...here." She held out the Pokeball flat in the palm of her hand to Nurse Joy, who carefully accepted it from her.

"Thank you!" Nurse Joy smiled brilliantly at Nova, who practically shied away from the sight of her sheer enthusiasm. "I'll just borrow your Popplio for a few minutes and make sure she's in tip-top condition for you." She leaned over the counter slightly and pointed over at a small cafe off to the left of the Pokemon Center, gesturing Nova and Altair over in that direction. "Why don't you have a seat at the cafe while you wait?"

"That's a good idea." Altair looked over at Nova with a smile, jerking his head a little in the direction of the cafe as he ushered her to follow him. "Nova, let me introduce you to the owner of the Pokemon Center Cafe chain."

Nova awkwardly trotted behind Altair as he led her over to the cutest little cafe built into the left side of the Pokemon Center, and a gentle, older man was working the counter. His eyes naturally closed as he smiled at the two young adults coming his way.

"Why, hello there!" The older man smiled and waved to Nova, who was just as awkward with her introduction this time.

"...Hi." Nova grabbed the hem of her navy skirt with tight fists, awkwardly pulling at the fabric as she looked off to the side.

"Raul, this is Nova." Altair spoke familiarly to the older man, Raul, as if he had known him for a long time. Nova couldn't help but envy how easy Altair found it to talk to people. "She's the newbie who just moved to town."

As Nova rolled her eyes at the word 'newbie,' Raul looked over at her with a welcoming smile. "It's nice to finally meet you, Nova! The professor's told me so much about you!"

"He has?" Nova's eyes snapped wide open in shock. This was the first she had heard of this.

"Yeah! He's been real excited since the day he found out you were planning on moving here." Raul's smile never broke once as he continued to relay to Nova everything he talked about with the professor. "He's probably bragged to the whole region by now about you."

Nova held the most unbreakable poker face as she began to internally squirm from this embarrassing news. She quickly melted into a sarcastic, self-deprecating smirk as her tone dropped, and she bit out the words, "Ha... Really now? Well that's just...great."

"Anyways, what can I get you two?" Raul seemed to be oblivious to Nova's annoyance as he leaned across the counter and smiled at his two customers.

"The usual for me." Altair gave Raul a simple nod, taking a seat at one of the bar stools in front of him.

Nova looked at Altair strangely as she realized he must be a regular to the cafe, and she took a moment to look over the menu as she sat down next to him. "...Roserade Tea for me, please."

Raul snapped his fingers in the direction of his two customers sitting before him with a chipper, positive attitude. "One Komala Coffee and Roserade Tea coming right up!"

"Here you go, Raul." Altair held out enough money to cover both of their drink orders without missing a beat, not even giving Nova the chance to reach into her purse for her wallet.

Nova stared at Altair wildly for a moment before her eyes narrowed into a hard glare. "Wha...I can pay for myself, you know!"

Altair shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, not really caring that she got annoyed by his kind gesture rather than being thankful for it. "I know you can, but this is on me today."

"But..." Nova looked defeated as she held up a finger to protest, but she was cut off by Altair suddenly whirling around in his chair and leaning in dangerously close to her face.

"If it really bugs you that much, you can pay next time." Altair smirked as he pressed his forehead against hers and looked her dead in the eyes, and it took all the strength he had not to laugh at the look of panic in her eyes.

Nova pulled back and instantly turned away from him, crossing one leg over the other as she folded her arms over her chest. She turned her chin up at the ceiling as she defiantly looked away from him with her eyes shut stubbornly tight. "Whatever."

Altair looked at her huffy posture as his lip began to quiver, and he felt the urge to laugh at how adorable she was when trying so desperately to be angry. "Pfft..."

"What's so funny!?" Nova instantly dropped her angry posture and whirled around on her stool, glaring at Altair harshly, which only seemed to make him laugh harder.

Altair forced himself to stop laughing, as hard as that was, and he shot her a devilish smirk as he looked at her with a scrutinizing gaze. "Do you make it a habit to be stubborn about everything, or does having a bad attitude just come naturally to you?"

Nova's jaw dropped so hard that Altair half expected it to snap off and clatter to the floor. "What...!"

Raul's impeccable timing saved Altair from a beating as the cafe owner swooped in with both a mug of coffee and tea, and his bright, irreplaceable grin lifted the mood of the atmosphere. "Here you go! The usual for Altair, and one Roserade Tea for the new young lady. Nova, was it?"

Nova frowned as she accepted the cup of Roserade Tea from Raul, pouting a little as she brought it to her lips. "Yeah... Nova Lise."

Altair didn't add any sugar or milk to his coffee and took one large sip of it black, shooting Nova a sideways glance as he continued to drink it. "I suggest that you stop by the cafe whenever you're in a Pokemon Center, Nova. Raul's pretty knowledgeable about everything, and he can offer useful advice for you while you're on your Island Challenge."

"Although that's true, I also love to have regular customers to chat with!" Raul chortled at Altair's compliment, and he folded his arms across the counter in-between the two as he held a conversation with them, meaningfully looking over at Nova. "And it's not often that I get to see Altair bring in a girl with him."

Altair stopped drinking his coffee mid-sip, stone-faced looking over at the cafe owner as he remained as calm and collected as ever. He spoke in a low, warning tone of voice. "Raul..."

Nova seemed to miss the fact that Altair's mood had dropped, and as Raul turned and walked further down the counter to help another customer, she laughed mockingly and looked over at him with a sarcastic grin. "What, you don't bring your girlfriend in here?"

Altair looked straight ahead and showed zero emotion as he brought his coffee mug up to his lips. "Don't have one to bring."

"Seriously?" Nova scoffed as she drew her head back in surprise, narrowing her eyes at him as she snidely smirked in his direction. "Somehow I can't imagine that girls aren't crawling all over you."

"I'm just not interested." Altair calmly deadpanned, staring straight ahead without a single trace of emotion laced within his grim expression.

"In what? Girls?" Nova shot him the most infuriatingly sly smirk as her expression twisted into a mischievous one. "Oh, I get it. So you're gay."

"No, I'm not gay." Altair looked over and stared into her eyes with a cold, dead stare, shocking Nova into silence while simultaneously knocking the playful grin off her face. "I'm just not interested in relationships in general."

Nova finally began to understand that they were discussing a serious subject, and her mischievous demeanor seemed to melt away as she looked at him. "That's hard to believe."

Altair turned to look at her with the most confused expression on his face at the sound of her words. "Why do you say that?"

Nova held her poker face as she met his gaze, quirking a single eyebrow suspiciously at him. "You're a twenty-year-old guy not interested in dating?" She scoffed and rolled her eyes, turning back to the counter as she sipped at her tea. "Either there's something horribly wrong with you, or you've got some serious baggage that drives all girls away."

Altair fell quiet at her rather blunt observation, drawing within himself further and further as this conversation progressed. He really didn't like discussing this topic. "...or maybe I just have no desire to be in a relationship with someone." He set his mug down on the counter and stared down at it as he masked his bitter feelings with an expressionless face. "Ever think of that?"

Nova shot him a sideways glance as she studied his body language, trying to understand what was so horrible about this subject that made him act this way. She sighed and shrugged her shoulders as she propped her elbows up on the counter and held onto her cup of tea with both hands, absentmindedly looking straight ahead, just like Altair was. "Well, I guess I can understand that."

Altair scoffed derisively at Nova's response, repeating her own words back to her. "Now there's something that's hard to believe."

"What?" Nova furrowed her brow as she turned to scrutinize Altair's oddly smug face, crossing her arms over her chest stubbornly. "What's so hard to believe about that?"

Altair's grim mood seemed to dissolve right away as he turned and smirked at Nova, as if it were never there to start with. "You're a nineteen-year-old girl who sympathizes with a guy who doesn't want a relationship. What part of that isn't hard to believe?"

Now it was Nova's turn to fall quiet.

Nova opened her mouth to speak, but when no words came out, she awkwardly stared down at her cup of tea as she absentmindedly stirred it over and over again. "Well, if you moved around as much as I do, you'd understand just how pointless it is to get close to people that you only just leave in the end." Her quiet voice was almost inaudible as her eyes remained fixated on the counter.

"I see." Altair frowned as he looked at her slumped posture, feeling the need to cheer her up all of a sudden. He was beginning to understand the reasons behind her distant and detached attitude even more. "So...is that what you're doing with me? Keeping me at an arm's length so you don't get hurt?"

Nova smirked as she kept her eyes glued down at her teacup on the counter. "No, I just really don't like you." She found herself naturally laughing as her frown shattered into a million tiny pieces, replaced by a wonderfully sarcastic smile. "Don't flatter yourself."

Altair comically clutched his heart and chuckled along with her, admiring her truly stunning laugh. It almost sounded like bell chimes. "Haha, harsh! I guess I asked for that one..."

Raul walked up to the two laughing customers sitting at the counter, having finished up taking the orders of the other customers waiting in line. "So, Nova, how are you liking Alola so far?" He smiled broadly to her, brimming with genuine friendliness.

Nova's smile seemed to vanish into thin air as her regular distant, cold demeanor took over. She put her walls back up as she casually sipped at her tea. "It's okay, I guess..."

Raul wasn't fazed by her distant response as he continued to grin brightly. "Well, you'll learn to love it in time, no worries! So, where are you two headed after this?"

"To the Trainer's School." Altair cut in, answering the cafe owner's question. "Nova has some training to do before she can get started on her Island Challenge."

Raul chortled as he began to reminisce about the past. "Ah, seems like only yesterday that you were doing that same thing yourself!"

Altair scoffed a little and shook his head, rolling his eyes. "Tell me about it..."

Raul refilled Altair's coffee as he made conversation. "How's that sister of yours doing, by the way?"

"Oh, Pandora?" Altair's attention was immediately captured at the mention of his kid sister he adored oh so much. "She's doing great! Just the other day, she did the cutest thing..."

Nurse Joy leaned over the counter and looked over at Nova from across the floor as she called out to her. "Oh, miss Nova? Your Popplio is ready to be picked up now."

"Hmm?" Nova looked over at the sound of her name being called, and she immediately hopped up from her stool and began to walk over to Nurse Joy. "Oh, thank you."

"No problem!" Nurse Joy beamed at her sincerely as she delicately placed Popplio's Pokeball in the white-haired girl's hand. "Come back any time you need to heal your Pokemon, okay?"

Nova flashed her an awkward smile and nodded her head before placing Popplio's Pokeball back in her bag. "I will. Thanks." She turned to walk back to the cafe and found Altair and Raul in mid conversation, and she hesitantly tapped on Altair's shoulder to gain his attention. "Hey, uh... Should we get going now?"

Altair turned to face her, and he almost laughed as he saw her face redden slightly from the lack of space between their bodies. A smug little smirk encompassed his whole face as he crossed his arms and looked at her. "Oh, what's this? Eager to have me really start acting like your teacher and begin training you?"

Nova was caught off guard by his sudden quip, and her wide eyes stared at him wildly. "What? No...!" Her gaze fell into a glare as she stubbornly folded her arms and turned away from Altair in a huff. "I'm just eager to get this over with and have you out of my life!"

"So cold!" Altair laughed and pretended to be wounded by her biting wit, and he stood up and ruffled her hair affectionately. "Well played, lady of the icy mask."

Nova scowled at him as she smoothed out her hair in annoyance. "Once Melemele Island is over and done with, we part ways and never see each other again."

Altair paused at her words, appearing to be a little speechless as he turned to face her directly. "Well... I guess that's true." He wore an unbalanced smile as he grabbed at the back of his neck, and he stared into her eyes endearingly. "But is that really what you want?"

Nova looked at him strangely and quirked an eyebrow, crossing her arms even tighter as she turned her chin away from him. "Yes, that's really what I want."

Altair let out the sharp breath he was holding as she bumped into him with her shoulder on her way out, and he found himself following her out of the Pokemon Center with an uneasy expression. "...You know, I'm really not a bad guy to have as a friend once you get to know me."

"Who said anything about wanting you to be my friend?" Nova stormed out of the front door with a bitter expression on her face, not even bothering to hold it open for Altair as she stepped outside.

Altair let out a tired sigh as he quickly jogged to catch up to her. "Hey, I'm just saying...OUCH!" He stumbled back when the door caught him right in the face, and he pinched the bridge of his nose as he pushed the door back open and walked outside with a pained look on his face.

Lillie's eyes snapped wide open when she spotted the two step outside of the Pokemon Center, and she quickly waved to them both. "Oh, Nova, Altair...!"

"Hey, Lillie." Altair made sure to wave to her as he continued to massage his throbbing nose and grimaced.

"The professor asked me to tag along with you two to the Trainer's School." Lillie's tiny amount of confidence seemed to falter, and she nervously met the eyes of the two in front of her. "If you don't mind, of course..."

"The more the merrier!" Altair had recovered from the door slam in no time, and he beamed at Lillie as he brushed past Nova and began to walk over to the Trainer's School. "Alright, girls. Let's head over next door to the school."

Nova grumbled incoherent curses to herself as she followed Altair's lead, and Lillie shot her a strange look all the way. Rotom kept making comments about the weather, and Nova was continuously shoving it further and further into her bag to muffle its snarky comments.

The Trainer's School was a huge, massive building encircled by a large fence and grassy areas occupied by several wild Pokemon. The school yard was filled with screaming children chasing each other and laughing as they battled under the shade of the palm trees. The colossal building behind them was deep brown in color, towering above the ground three floors. Nova stood at the front gate in awe at the beautiful place, wondering if this island-like landscape and architecture was normal throughout the whole region. If this was just what the Trainer's School looked like, she couldn't even imagine the rest of the four islands.

As soon as Nova set one foot inside the school yard, she caught sight of the back of her one and only cousin. "Kukui...!"

Professor Kukui was chatting with an unfamiliar woman his age, and he quickly turned around at the sound of Nova's voice, instantly smiling and waving hello to her. "Hey there, Nova! I must've passed you three somehow, yeah?"

Nova never looked more confused in her life as she tripped over her words, pointing a shaky finger at her cousin as she kept looking back and forth between Professor Kukui and the gate behind her. "Wha... What? But you were just... How...!?"

Professor Kukui laughed at the astounded Nova before quickly moving on, comprehensively clapping his hands together. "Anyways, welcome to the Trainer's School: the place to learn how to be a Pokemon Trainer!"

Nova shook her head briefly to snap herself out of it, and as she looked over the incredible landscape once more, she voiced her thoughts aloud this time. "Wow... This place is huge."

The dark-haired woman wearing thin-framed glasses smiled from where she stood next to the professor. "Professor Kukui! Is this the child you told me about?" She then had a strange look come across her face as she took in Nova's appearance. "Oh, well, I suppose she does look a little too old to be a child..."

A vein bulged from Nova's forehead as her face reddened in anger, and then threw her closed fists down to her sides. "Probably because I'm not one!"

Altair had to bite down on his lip and look down at the ground to keep himself from openly laughing. "Pfft..."

Nova whirled around and smacked his arm as she redirected her anger towards him. "Shut up!"

As Altair laughed and massaged his sore arm, Professor Kukui grinned as he directed the woman's attention to Nova. "Yeah, this is her alright! Put her through the wringer, Teach!"

Altair shoved his hands in his pockets, relaxing his posture as he looked down at the girl beside him. "Time for you to get started, Nova."

A look of panic flashed across her face as Nova wildly looked at Altair. "Get started on what!?"

Professor Kukui held out his hand and stuck up four of his fingers with a giddy grin on his face. "Four trainers! You've got to beat four Pokemon Trainers here at the school, Nova! The experience will surely help you and your Pokemon grow stronger, yeah!"

All of the blood drained from Nova's face as she stared at her cousin in horror. "W-what...! I have to battle four Trainers and win right off the bat!?"

Nova jerked when she felt a hand suddenly on her shoulder, and a sense of calm washed over her the second she felt the warmth of that hand spread to her fast-beating heart. She looked up and to her right, and she sharply gasped when she caught a look at the genuinely sincere look in Altair's eyes.

"Don't worry, Nova. I'll stick with you through the whole thing." Altair's charming smile was so soothing and sincere that it threw Nova off balance, and she felt her stomach do flips. "I did promise I was going to help you learn the ropes, didn't I?"

Nova's heart sank as she disappointingly slumped her impeccably straight posture. "Somehow that just makes me feel even worse about the whole situation..."

Rotom poked its head out of Nova's bag again. "Canzzzz you actually get any more bitter thanzzz you already arezzz, Nova?" It quickly let out a distressed "KZZZTT!" when Nova scowled at it and shoved it bag into her bag, zipping it shut tight.

The lady teacher smiled kindly as she looked at Nova, and she began pointing to both the school yard and building entrance as she spoke. "The Trainers who will take part in this lesson may be inside or outside the school. And if you visit the classrooms, you might learn a few things." She grinned and clapped her hands together. "Alright, let the lesson begin!"

Professor Kukui leaned over to Nova and nudged her arm with his elbow. "She may not look all that tough, but that teach trains her kids right! After all, she mentored Altair when he was still just a kid starting out!"

Nova widened her eyes at that, staring at her cousin in shock. "Really?"

Altair smiled awkwardly as he ran a hand through his hair. "Well, yeah. It's not like I just naturally started out as a good Trainer." His eyes met hers as his tone dropped to a very sincere one. "Everyone has to start somewhere."

Nova fell quiet and drew within herself as she thoughtfully stared down at the ground. "Everyone has to start somewhere, huh...?"

Professor Kukui clapped Altair on the back with full force, and Nova almost fell over when she saw that he didn't even flinch. Again. "Alright you two, go get started, yeah! Have fun!"

Nova just let out a heavy sigh and rolled her eyes, stiffening her rigid shoulders as she folded her arms across her chest. "No promises..."

Altair had already walked ahead a ways, and he waved Nova over to where he stood underneath a palm tree. "Nova, come here a sec."

Nova frowned with a sarcastic look on her face as she strode over to him, and she quirked a skeptical eyebrow as she kept her arms locked in place across her chest. "What, are you going to lecture me on my bad attitude now?"

Altair just simply shook his head no with an air of nonchalance around him. "No, I've already accepted the fact that your bad attitude is just a permanent part of you that will never change."

Nova's jaw fell hard and fast as a look of frustrated annoyance came across her face. "Hey...!"

Altair scoffed under his breath at the face she pulled, and he smirked at her with a glint of deviousness in his eyes as he stood in a confident stance with his arms crossed. "What I pulled you over for was your first lesson."

Any trace of anger on Nova's face immediately melted away, followed by a confused expression. "My first lesson?"

A wry smile came across Altair's face as he skeptically looked at her, drawing his head back a little. "What, you thought I'd just let you blindly walk into your Trainer School challenge with no help at all?"

Nova immediately opened her mouth to say something snappy, but she awkwardly closed it and looked off at the ground when she realized he was right. "Well..."

Altair's whole face lit up like the sun as he slowly broke out into the most wonderful laugh, and Nova's face grew red as she angrily glared off to the side. "Haha, don't worry! I'm not going to leave you in the dust." He regained his composure as a serious look came across his face, and Altair placed his hands together flat and pointed to Nova with them. "Alright, so I've seen you battle."

Nova's breath got caught in her throat as she could have sworn her face started to turn blue. "Urk..."

And that was when Altair said something completely unexpected.

"...and I have to say, you've actually got a natural knack for it." Altair cracked a small grin, looking down into her eyes.

Nova was so surprised that she leaned forward to look at him more closely with the most dumbfounded look on her face. "What? You're kidding, right? I lost both times I've battled so far."

Altair shrugged his shoulders as he began to pace around her in circles. "Maybe so, but your technique was actually pretty good. You've got the idea of how to battle down; you just need to learn a few things about Pokemon before you try battling again."

Nova frowned, crossed her arms, and kept her eyes on him as she watched Altair circle around her. "Like what?"

Altair suddenly appeared behind Nova's shoulder as he spoke, causing the white-haired girl to jump a little. "Well, Pokemon battling is all about strategy." He drew back and circled around to her front, counting a list of things off his fingers as he continued to pace in circles around her. "Everything is a factor in what your outcome will be; your Pokemon's type, your opponent's type, what moves they each know, the types of those moves, stat changes..."

Nova felt dizzy just thinking about all of these facts bouncing off the walls inside of her head. "...okay, you're making this all sound really complicated."

Altair sheepishly grinned as he grabbed the back of his neck. "Haha, sorry, sorry! Come on. Come to my classroom and sit in on my lesson with me, and then we'll get started on the Trainer's School challenge." He smiled excitedly in Nova's direction as he ushered her toward the front door. "How does that sound?"

Nova stared ahead blankly and deadpanned, "Miserable."

Altair let out a loud laugh at her cynical bitterness as they walked together side-by-side. "Haha, come on, Nova!"

Nova sighed and rolled her eyes. "Whatever... Let's just go already."

Altair smirked at her walking beside him with a knowing look on his face. "I think you'll really like it." He grinned mischievously to himself as he dug his hands into his pockets again and swiftly walked ahead of her. "The kids know you're coming too, and they're excited to meet you."

A look of panic flashed before Nova's eyes as she stared wildly at Altair's back. "Wait, what!? What did you say?" She groaned in annoyance and jogged to catch up to the boy who was completely ignoring her. She gasped and looked offended when he started to laugh and run away from her, and she glared and picked up her speed as she called after him. "Altair! ALTAIR!"

Altair ditched the leather jacket and swung it over his arm as he strode into the classroom, now just wearing his light grey button-down that was left open haphazardly at the neck with the darker grey vest over top. Nova was trailing behind him, panting to catch her breath, but she froze at the door and hovered awkwardly as Altair just walked right into the classroom filled with eight to eleven-year-olds. "Hey, guys! How is everyone doing today?"

"Mr. Knight!" The whole class roared with excitement as the all gasped at their teacher's sudden entrance, and they all had an intensely awe-struck look on their faces at the sight of the man.

One little girl with blonde twintails looked sad as she slumped down in her chair. "We heard you're taking a couple weeks off from school... Is that true?"

"Are you leaving us?" The little boy next to her panicked, expressing his worry through the distressed look on his face.

Altair held up his hands defensively after he threw his jacket onto the back of his chair. "Whoa, okay. Settle down, everyone." He frowned and waited for the excited and panicked chatter to come to a complete stop, locking eyes with his students as a sudden silence fell over the room. All it took to silence a room of screaming children were his eyes. "Yes, I am taking a few weeks off, but I'll be back to teaching you guys before you know it. Trust me!" His usual grin was back again as he clapped his hands together. "Now, go ahead and take a seat, and get out your notebooks!"

The little blonde girl with twintails caught sight of a shadow in the doorway at the front of the room, and she shyly smiled as she looked back to her teacher. "Um... Mr. Knight?"

"Yes, Terra?" Altair looked over at his student and ushered her to go ahead and say what it was she had to say.

The little girl, Terra, grinned girlishly as she looked back to the door again. "Who's the pretty girl in the doorway?"

Nova's eyes widened in panic from being called out so suddenly, and she shied away from the door further when all of the students instantly looked her way.

Altair looked at Nova with the warmest, genuine smile, and he held his hand out to her as he spoke. "Class, this is Nova. She's the new Trainer just starting out that I was telling you guys about yesterday." He told Nova to come in with the look in his eyes, and she slowly crept into the classroom and stood right next to him. "Everyone, say hello to our guest!"

"Hi, Miss Nova!" The whole class cheered, bombarding her with their innocent, child-like smiles.

Nova felt her heartbeat quicken nervously as a bead of sweat rolled down her forehead. "H-hi..."

Altair rested his hand on Nova's shoulder and he gave her a little push forward. "Nova, go ahead and have a seat with the students."

Nova was quick to glare at Altair intensely after she had glanced at the comically small desks that were clearly meant for children. "You've got to be joking."

Altair didn't even break under her terrifying scowl, and he held her eyes perfectly as he smirked with an air of smugness around him. "Nope. Dead serious."

Nova looked over at all the eager children staring at her with stars for eyes, and she traced her eyes back to Altair as she pouted slightly with a pathetic look on her face. "Altair..."

The little blonde girl named Terra instantly shot up and waved her hand to Nova excitedly. "Oh, oh, you can sit next to me!"

Nova took in one deep breath and then sighed, awkwardly looking at the eager little girl as she walked down the aisle of children sitting at their desks. "Uh...thanks." She struggled to sit down in her own, finding the chair and desk to be ridiculously small. Nova had to awkwardly shift her body back and forth just to fit in the chair, and she eventually just gave up and sat in her tiny chair sideways with her legs hanging off the side. She still sat up straight with proper posture despite everything.

Terra rested her head in her hands as she looked over at the older girl with a transfixed look of awe in her eyes. "So you're a new Pokemon Trainer?"

Nova let out the breath she was holding as she pushed her desk forward a little so it would no longer be crushing her lungs. "Sure looks that way."

"That's so cool!" Terra gushed, beaming at Nova brightly.

A little boy on the opposite side of Nova with bright green eyes and dark brown hair leaned over to grin at her excitedly. "You're so lucky Mr. Knight is teaching you! He's really nice and good at explaining things."

"Is that so?" Nova frowned, bitterly crossing her arms as she turned to face the front. She had to hold back from gasping in shock from what she saw up ahead in order not to draw attention to herself.

"Okay guys, settle down." Altair, who was now the perfect embodiment of a teacher rather than an annoying guy she had hit in the face with a door just a few days prior, stood proud and tall at the front of the classroom. He had that stupid charming smile on his face as usual, but he seemed to be more relaxed now; in his own environment, even. "Just for today, in honor of our new guest, today's class will be on Trainer basics." He held out his hand to point at Nova with the most brilliant smile she had ever seen in her entire life.

As Nova drew in a sharp breath from the look of intensity in his eyes, the whole class cheered.

Altair leaned up against the front of his desk, pulling at his open shirt collar for a moment before clapping his hands together comprehensively. "First thing's first, let's discuss type match ups. Can anyone tell me what that is?"

The boy sitting behind Nova rose his hand, and he wore a giddy look on his face when Altair called on him to speak. "It's when a Pokemon's type is either weak, strong, neutral, or unaffected by another one."

"That's right!" Altair looked so amazingly happy and natural when he snapped and pointed to the kid who just answered the question, and Nova was stunned into silence by his fantastic smile. "So, class, the three basic types of starter Pokemon are fire, water, and grass." He turned around and grabbed a piece of chalk as he headed over toward the chalkboard behind his desk, and Altair began scribbling across it wildly at an incredible speed, drawing amazingly elaborate diagrams with great artistic skill. "Fire is strong against grass, but is weak against water. Water is strong against fire, but weak against grass. And then grass is strong against water, but weak against fire."

A brunette girl across the room from Nova rose her hand with a curious look on her face, but she instantly smiled when Altair turned to call on her. "Mr. Knight, there are more than just those three types though, right?"

"That is correct." Altair snapped and pointed to the girl, who only grinned brighter at the charming smile on Altair's face. "Overall, there are eighteen types of Pokemon." He paused and grinned wryly to himself as he locked eyes with Nova in the room. "Now, true or false: one Pokemon can have multiple types. Nova?"

Nova snapped out of her trance as she stared at Altair in horror as her anxiety rang throughout her entire body. "M-me?"

"Yes, you." Altair smirked, crossing his arms over his chest as he confidently leaned up against the blackboard. "Go ahead and give the question your best shot."

It was like he was only his snarky self to her, and her alone. Although he could be snarky, though, he wasn't arrogant; he wasn't rubbing the question in her face. He was just giving her a chance to learn something too.

Nova nervously bit her lip, reaching up to twirl a strand of her hair around her fingers. "...it's true, isn't it?"

Altair stared at her with his usual poker face, when suddenly... His lips slowly stretched up into a big, bright smile. "That is correct." Nova let out a sigh of relief as Altair locked his intense gaze on her, staring her down with a challenging look flickering in his eyes. "And up to how many different types can a Pokemon have?"

Nova caught sight of the taunting look reflected in his deep, midnight-colored eyes, and she found herself slowly beginning to smirk back as her confidence began to build up once again. "Two, right?"

Her heart was beating a mile a minute. She had barely known him for a day, and she already knew that the one word Altair could be defined as was intensity. He always had this intense look in his eyes whenever he locked those enchantingly alluring, midnight-purple eyes on anyone, because he gazed at them like they were not just the only person in the world, but the most important thing in the entire universe. He had this air of confidence around him that could stop the world from rotating, but he wasn't arrogant. Snarky, yes, but not self-absorbed. Incredibly smart, but didn't have a god complex. Amazingly talented, but modest about it. Just...

Who was this guy...?

"Good job, Nova." Altair stood back up straight again as he gave her a slight nod, and he turned to direct his attention to the whole class once again. "Alright, so with the ability to have up to two Pokemon types, how strengths and weaknesses work here is..."

Terra leaned over to the white-haired girl beside her, whispering harshly in her direction. "Psst, Nova!"

Nova looked over at the girl in alarm from suddenly being called out to, and she narrowed her eyes in confusion. "Huh? What is it?"

Terra had a mischievous look on her face as she grinned at Nova. "Are you and Mr. Knight dating!?"

Nova was quick to harden her eyes into a glare as she instinctively pulled her head back from Terra. "Definitely not."

Terra seemed to be really shocked by that as she stared at Nova slack-jawed. "What, seriously? You're not?"

Nova grew even more irritated by that as she glared at the little girl in confusion. "No, of course not! Why would you think that?"

Terra seemed to not be fazed by the angry look on Nova's face at all as her innocent expression was accompanied by a matter-of-fact tone of voice. "Because we've never seen him with a girl before."

Nova was half surprised, half not surprised to hear this. She curiously looked at the girl with the strangest look in her eyes. "You haven't?"

Terra frowned and absentmindedly kicked at the floor with her Mary Janes. "Nope. It's kind of sad..."

Nova awkwardly sat back in her chair as she rested her head in one of her hands, propping her elbow up on her desk. Clearly, Altair wasn't bluffing about not being interested in relationships. "Why do you guys care so much if he's in a relationship?"

Terra shrugged her shoulders with a childlike look of nonchalance. "Well, because he's so nice and helps us out all the time, we just want to see him have a happy ending too..."

Nova felt like her heart had just been run through with a knife by the girl's innocent wish, and she somberly stared down at her desk as a depressing mood washed over her. "Well, I hate to break it to you kid, but his happy ending just is not with me..."

"Nova, do you have something you want to share with the class?"

Nova shut her eyes tight as a shiver of dread ran through every inch of her body, and she felt the blood drain from her face as she slowly turned around to face the amazingly smug grin on Altair's face at the front of the classroom.

Altair paused his lecture the moment he caught sight of Nova whispering to one of his students, and although he was absolutely sure that Nova was not the one who initiated conversation, he was still going to mess with her for it. He leaned up against the chalkboard with an air of nonchalance, looking over at Nova curiously with a sarcastic grin. "Well, Nova?"

Nova bit down on her lip as she awkwardly stared at him with a look of Deerling in front of headlights. "No, it was nothi..."

"She was just telling us how cute she thinks you are." Terra innocently beamed at her teacher, cutting Nova off in the middle of her sentence.

Nova's eyes widened in horror as the whole class erupted into a huge burst of laugher. "What!? I was not!"

"Oh, is that so?" Altair held his breath in order to not laugh along with his students, and he smirked over at Nova with unwavering confidence. "I'm flattered, but next time, please save that sort of commentary for after class."

Nova's whole face was redder than a tomato as she slowly sank down into her chair further and further. "I told you, I wasn't..."

"Moving on." Altair cut her off and tried not to laugh at the look of dumbfounded shock on Nova's face. He smiled wryly to himself as he faced his class and resumed the lecture. "Moves have types, just like Pokemon. If you use a move that's the same type as your Pokemon, it will have a much stronger impact in battle. Certain moves can also leave a Pokemon with a status effect." Altair rested his hips against the edge of the desk with his arms neatly folded over his chest. "For example, the move 'yawn' will cause the foe Pokemon to become drowsy and fall asleep. Can anyone list the six types of status effects?"

A little boy with blonde hair and grey eyes eagerly rose his hand and waved it back and forth until his teacher laughed and called on him. "Falling asleep, paralysis, poisoning, getting burned, being frozen, and confusion."

"Nice job, Steven." Altair smiled endearingly at the kid, then flicked his eyes over to a certain white-haired girl who was still struggling to fit herself in the tiny desk meant for a small child. "Now, when your Pokemon sustains one of these status effects, what happens? Nova?"

"Me?" Nova pointed to herself in disbelief, and she waffled a little when she met Altair's intense, unwavering gaze. "Uh... Well, if they fall asleep, they miss out on attacking for a few turns until they wake up." She bit her lip and twirled her hair on her finger as she wracked her brain for whatever common sense and prior knowledge on Pokemon she had stored in there. "When they're paralyzed or frozen, they can't move. When poisoned or burned, they will be afflicted by those wounds and gradually lose HP." She looked up from her desk and stared directly into Altair's eyes; something that was not easy for anyone to do, including herself. "And being confused can result in the Pokemon's move missing, and them getting hurt in the process."

Altair's blank, focused expression twitched into the most ecstatic grin as he paid his undivided attention to the white-haired beauty in the room. "Wow, I'm impressed." He tilted his head to the side and smiled sweetly at her. "See, I told you you've got a knack for this."

Nova felt her neck flush as she stared down at the floor beside her, feeling her brain start to fry from the amazingly alluring expression on Altair's face. "I-I... Uh..."

A little red-haired girl next to Nova gently nudged her arm with a look of concern. "Miss Nova, why's your face all red?"

Nova's temper snapped as she slammed her fists down on her desk and glared up at the ceiling. "BECAUSE IT'S LIKE A THOUSAND DEGREES IN HERE, THAT'S WHY!"

The whole class was quick to erupt into a burst of uncontrollable laughter at the silly girl's antics.

Nova had to admit, Altair was a pretty good teacher. It was entrancing seeing him interact with the whole class, making sure to answer all of their questions, and allow each and every student to participate in the lesson if they so desired. He would naturally smile and laugh along with the students as he excitedly scribbled diagrams and explanations on the chalkboard, and Nova felt her stomach unsettlingly buzzing with a strange, unfamiliar warm feeling as she watched Altair in his own element. Altair had so much to teach her, and each subject was carefully explained with expert wording. It wasn't hard for Nova to understand what Altair was talking about when he moved to the subjects of held items or Pokemon abilities. And although she was not too excited about the idea of attending the Trainer's School for a day and sitting in on one of Altair's classes, as the class went on, she found herself slowly leaning in more and more with her head in her hands, hanging on every word Altair spoke. That kid was right; Altair was a pretty good teacher.

Not that she would ever say that to his face.

There was something about him that Nova just couldn't understand. He was smart, funny, friendly... Champion of a region, held a job as an amazing teacher at the school... He appeared to get along with anyone he ever met, whether it was someone he had known for years, or a stranger he met two minutes ago; he treated them both with the same level of respect and friendliness. He was cunning, charming, and albeit a little cute...

But deep within his alluring, midnight-purple eyes... Nova saw something she imagined that most people who looked into them would miss.

Sadness.

And the only reason she saw it was because she had the same thing locked behind her own eyes.

"Alright, class. That's it for today." Altair let out a tired chuckle when a roar of disappointment washed over the whole class of eager students. "One of the other teachers will be taking my class over for the next few weeks." His unbalanced smile only grew more and more sad when the class let out a long, "aww..." of disappointment, both touched by how much they adored him and sad that he had to go. "I know, I'll miss you guys too." That uneasy look upturned into a bright grin, and he clapped his hands together excitedly as he looked upon them. "But don't worry, I'm not leaving for good. As soon as I get back, I'll be right here ready to start teaching you kids again!"

One of the boys in the class whined in disappointment, frowning sadly as he looked up at his teacher. "Mr. Knight, where are you going?"

Altair looked over at Nova and laughed when he saw her sink into her chair and cover her face with her hands. "Well, I'll be accompanying Nova on the first part of her Island Challenge."

Terra's eyes suddenly turned into large red hearts as she leaned forward so far that she was practically hanging off the edge of her seat. "Ooooooh! But why?"

Altair leaned back against the wall casually as he shot her a smug grin. "Because she's basically hopeless without me."

Nova reacted exactly how Altair expected her to, harshly glaring at him with the most terrifying look on her face. "Hey! That's not true at all, and you know it!"

"HAHAHAHAH!"

Altair smiled and chuckled quietly under his breath as the class's roaring laughter quieted down, and as the school bell chimed and dismissed the class, he reached over and grabbed his jacket off the back of his chair and waved good-bye to the students filing out of the classroom. "Okay guys, I'll see you in a few weeks!"

Terra waved with a sad smile on her face as she walked out of the classroom. "Bye, Mr. Knight! We'll miss you!"

One of the boys waved good-bye as well with a stellar grin on his face. "Come back soon!"

Altair wore an unbalanced smile as he watched every last one of his students file out of the room. "I will, I promise."

Nova stood and walked over to him, unable to understand why she felt so sad just by seeing how uneasy Altair looked at watching his students leave, knowing he wouldn't be able to see them for a while, or enjoy teaching for the time being. She felt her hand begin to rise from where she stood behind him, and she hovered her open palm over his back for a moment, internally debating back and forth with herself whether she would place it on his back in comfort.

But as soon as Nova pulled back her hand and looked down at the floor awkwardly, a blur of something dashed into the classroom at a ridiculously incredible speed.

"Altair! Altair!" Pandora Knight had a stupidly giddy grin on her face as she ran straight for her older brother with open arms, Stufful running behind her on the tile floors as he struggled to keep up with her.

The unbalanced look on Altair's face immediately slid away at the sight of his little sister, and he had the biggest face-splitting grin as he watched her barrel towards him. "Panda Bear!"

Nova's brow furrowed as she stared at the two very strangely. "Panda Bear...?"

"Oof!" Altair laughed as Pandora slammed into him at full force, causing him to stagger ever so slightly. "Careful, kiddo! You really surprised me there."

Pandora grinned sheepishly as her brother lifted her up into his arms and smirked wryly at her. "Sorry! I just wanted to give you a hug before you leave."

Altair wore an unbalanced smile as he looked at his sister's sparkling eyes. "I'll miss you too, Pandora." He pressed his forehead against hers, smiling brightly at her as he spoke. "But I'm still going to call you every day just to talk, don't forget that!"

"Really?" Pandora's whole face lit up at her brother's words.

"Of course!" Altair chuckled and deviously looked into her eyes. "I'm going to call you and talk your ear off so much that you're going to get sick of me!"

Pandora sweetly giggled at her brother's teasing, and she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her face against his cheek. "Hehe! I'd never get sick of you, Altair!"

Nova felt like an awkward wallflower who was intruding on something she shouldn't be, and she awkwardly averted her gaze and began quietly slinking away.

Altair heard her almost inaudible footsteps from behind him, and he turned to face her with Pandora still in his arms. "Hey, Nova... I'd like you to meet my little sister. This is Pandora."

Nova froze in her attempt to back up out of the classroom, and she blinked at Altair and the little girl owlishly. "Pandora? Wait, this is your sister?" She pointed to Pandora as that fact dawned on her, unable to help herself from noticing the similarities between them. Those two were definitely related, now that she thought about it.

Something seemed to dawn on Pandora as she slowly nodded her head at Nova. "Ohhh, so you're the lost cause my brother was talking about!"

Nova dropped her jaw and was quick to accusingly look at Altair, who looked just as surprised as she was at Pandora's pretty fearless word choice. "Lost cause!?"

Pandora lightly shut her eyes as she nodded her head. "Yeah, he said you're pretty clumsy, so he has to watch you on your challenge so you don't screw up."

Nova felt as if she had just been smacked across the face with a two by four. "Wha...!"

Altair never looked more embarrassed and awkward in his life as he waffled to shut his little sister up. "Ahah hah... That's enough of that, Pandora..."

"My class is over for the day." Pandora seemed completely oblivious to the chaos she had just caused, innocently looking at Altair. "Can I go play out in the school yard for a bit before I go home?"

Altair hummed as that question went through his mind. "As long as you keep Stufful with you at all times and don't push yourself, I don't mind if you stay a while longer." He looked at his sister with an unusually serious look on his face, conveying the urgency of the situation to her. "Just make sure you don't keep Mom waiting too long, okay? She'll get worried."

Pandora eagerly nodded her head as she hugged her brother tight around the neck once more. "Okay, Altair! I promise!"

Altair smiled despite himself as he set her down on the ground, and he gave her back a little push in the direction of the door. "Alright, go have fun." He waved good-bye to her as he called out. "I love you!"

Pandora stopped at the doorway and turned to grin at her brother one last time. "I love you too, Altair! Bye!"

"She's really... Something." Nova watched the seemingly ill girl bound out of the room with limitless energy, amazed by the girl's stamina. This was the little girl Altair had said was born sickly...?

"Isn't she?" Altair proudly smiled as he rested his hands on his waist, staring out the door in which his sister had left through with Stufful. "I don't know what I'd do without her."

Nova followed his gaze to the empty doorway, which matched the level of emptiness within her heart. "Can't say I know what that's like..."

"So, Nova. How do you feel about battling four Trainers now?" Altair asked calmly with his hands shoved into his jean pockets as he walked out the front door to the school, looking over at the white-haired beauty walking down the steps beside him.

Nova awkwardly smiled down at the floor as she twisted her hair around her finger. "Surprisingly...better, actually."

Altair's face instantly lit up with a grin. "See? I told you, you've got a natural knack for this." He wryly looked over at her as they reached the ground. "All you needed was some more information about Pokemon to back you up."

Nova reached up and grabbed the back of her neck as she kicked at the ground. "I make no promises that I'll win, but I think I've got a better idea on how to go about battling now." She rose her brow in anticipation as she eagerly looked to Altair. "So, where do I start with this Trainer School challenge?"

Altair was floored by this girl's level of impatience, and he narrowed his eyes at her as a smile found its way to his lips. "What, you thought that was it? That sitting in on one of my classes was all I was going to do to teach you how to be a Trainer?"

Nova's eagerness melted away as her hands fell down to her sides, and she stared at Altair like an open-mouthed Magikarp. "...you mean it's not?"

Altair shook his head side to side in amazement at this girl's level of ambition. "Nova, did you forget that I'm sticking with you for all of Melemele Island?

Nova had a bitter look on her face as she folded her arms tightly and gritted her teeth as she harshly whispered under her breath. "I'm trying to block it out..."

Altair let out a breathy laugh at the sight of Nova scowling off to the side at nothing in particular, and he took a step closer as he looked down at her face. "Hate to break it to you, but... You're stuck with me for at least another week or two."

Nova threw her head back and rolled her eyes sarcastically as she flung her arms up into their air. "Oh, lucky me! I get to be the famous champion Altair Knight's loser apprentice!" She wore the biggest Lillipup eyes as she puckered her lips and rested her intertwined hands under her chin, looking up at Altair doe-eyed. "I'm so excited to be under your wing and study your every waking move! I want to be just like you, Altair!" Whatever good mood she was in earlier had now disappeared, and she was back to being in her bitter, sarcastic attitude.

Altair dejectedly stared at her, crestfallen and taken aback by her attitude a little. "Hey, there's no need to be so sarcastic..."

Nova's glare was back on her face in no time as she menacingly scowled at Altair, completely forgetting about the good time she had in his classroom just minutes ago. "Well, I'm sorry, but sarcasm is all you're going to get from me. I'm not exactly thrilled about this whole arrangement."

Altair seemed to grow annoyed by her unwillingness and bitter sarcasm, crossing his arms as he rose an eyebrow. "And why is that, exactly?"

Nova stared at him in shock at the one-eighty his mood just did, never having seen him get remotely frustrated or annoyed by anything before, let alone angry. "What?"

Altair was careful not to lose his temper as he approached her, leaving no space between their bodies as he looked straight down into her frightened eyes. "You're so hostile and distant towards me, and you're completely against the idea of having me around, but I've never actually asked why." He stared directly into Nova's sunset-orange eyes as she helplessly looked back up into his midnight-colored ones. "So, I'm asking. Why do you hate being around me so much?"

Nova's eyes flickered down in shame as she took a step back from Altair, rubbing her arm as she stared at the grassy floor. "Well, if everyone in your life had so little faith in you that they felt it was necessary to send the literal definition of perfection your way in order to help you actually be good at something for once in your life, you'd be pretty pissed too."

Altair's annoyance with her was slapped right off his face as he now wore a look of guilt, and his eyes grew heavy with awkwardness and shame. "Nova, I..."

Nova turned to the side and held up her hand to silence him. "Just save it. I don't care. I don't need your help, either."

Altair sighed as he took another step closer to her, not deterred by the fact that she was keeping her back to him. "Look, I don't think of you as some charity case, Nova."

"Really?" Nova's bitterly sarcastic tone didn't miss Altair for a second, even though he couldn't see her facial expression. "You don't?"

"Yes, really." Altair took step after step until he was directly behind her, and he watched as his shadow on the ground completely enveloped hers. "Look, I know that we only met because the professor asked me to help you..." His voice grew quiet, and it was barely more than a hushed whisper as his words reached Nova's ears. "But even if he didn't, I still would have volunteered to mentor you anyways."

"What?" Nova whirled around so fast that she nearly crashed into his broad chest, and she staggered back and looked up at him with the most confused look on her face. "You must be joking..." She warily drew her head back as she let out a self-depreciating laugh. "No one is that nice..."

"I'm completely serious." If Altair was messing with her, Nova couldn't tell. Her eyes were fixated solely on the deadly serious look on his face, and she felt her breath catch in her throat as he spoke. "Nova, believe me when I say this: even if the professor didn't ask me to assist you, I still would have offered you my help anyways."

Nova shook her head back and forth in disbelief. "...but why?" She staggered as she pressed her hand to her forehead, accusingly staring at the ground in confusion. "I just don't understand...why anyone..."

Altair looked sad as he spoke to her, wanting nothing other than to get his feelings across without her misunderstanding him again. "I know you don't really know me all that well, but I'm a pretty upstanding guy." He reached up and grabbed the back of his neck as he flashed her a charmingly awkward grin. "Helping people out is just kind of my thing."

Nova scoffed in disbelief as she wore a cynical smirk. "Helping people is just your thing?" She internally kicked herself for being unable to stay angry at him, bitterly smiling despite herself. "Geez, what are you? An altruist?"

Altair awkwardly chuckled as he ran a hand through his hair, not looking her in the eyes as an unbalanced smile stretched across his face. "Well, I guess that's one way of looking at it, yeah."

Nova just shook her head at him as she studied the expression on his face with a look of stupor on her own. "Seriously...why do you even...?"

"Why do I care?" Altair finished her sentence for her plainly, then widened his eyes in surprise when she immediately snapped at him.

"Stop doing that!" Nova narrowed her eyes at him as they fell into a glare, freaked out by how he just finished her thought before she could.

"Stop doing what?" Altair stared at her innocently, and Nova sighed bitterly when she noticed that he looked just like his sister did when he made a face like that.

No wonder Pandora was so adorably charming. She learned it from her brother...

Nova grabbed at her hair and pulled on it as she grunted in frustration, shutting her eyes tight. "Stop finishing my thoughts for me like you're some kind of fucking mind reader! Stop that!"

Altair smugly looked at her silly expression as he shot her a wry smirk, crossing his arms over his chest as he rose an eyebrow. "Sorry, but it's kind of hard not to know what you're thinking when you literally have everything that's going through your mind written all over your stupid face."

Nova's jaw fell open and her eyes widened simultaneously. "What!? No it's not!"

Altair chuckled under his breath as he looked at her in disbelief, slowly shaking his head as an uneasy smile came to his face. "You're really..."

Nova pouted as she menacingly began shooting a thousand daggers at him with her eyes. "What? I'm really what?"

Altair smirked and pointed at her as he drew his head back in amusement. "Don't tell me that you don't notice it?"

"Don't notice what!?" Nova began losing her patience as she blew her top, and she threw her fists down to her sides.

Altair looked straight into her eyes with a meaningful smile on his face. "Nova, you're probably the most expressive, captivating person I've ever met."

Nova felt her face flush at his words, feeling horribly embarrassed as her breath caught in her throat. "C-captivating!?"

Altair coolly closed his eyes as he made an observation about her. "Ah, see? You're getting all embarrassed now because I paid you a compliment, and you instantly misunderstood the intentions behind my word choice."

Nova bit the inside of her cheek as she turned away in a huff. "N-no I didn't!"

"Really?" Altair smirked as he circled back around to her front, looking at her pissed off face in amusement. "So you're not embarrassed by the fact that I find you to be a very interesting person to be around?"

"N-no..." Nova frowned as hard as she could, forcing herself to breath under his scrutinizing gaze. "Although I can't see why you'd think that..."

Altair wore an uneasy smile as he looked at her, a little sad that she didn't see how amazing she was herself. He then flashed her a wry grin as he walked past her and purposefully bumped into her shoulder. "Well, I can honestly say you're the first girl I've ever met who never hesitates to yell at me, or hit me in the face with a door."

"Urk...!" Nova's words tripped over one another as she waffled to form a response as she chased after him. "I uh...um..."

Altair turned around and walked backwards toward an open patch of grass as he smirked at Nova, who was walking briskly to keep up with him. "And I've never met a girl who snores and wears the most unattractive facial expression as she drools in her state of being sound asleep."

Nova never looked more horrified in her entire life as she slapped the sides of her red face. "Ack! So you did see that!?"

Altair shrugged his shoulders with a wry grin as he innocently looked up at the sky. "Well, it was kind of hard to miss." He laughed at the look on her face and turned back around, and he stopped in the middle of the large field on the side of the school. He whirled around just as Nova crashed face-first into his chest, only embarrassing her further. "So, yes, I find you interesting. I'd have to say that it's pretty hard not to."

"Umm..." Nova bit down on her lip as she awkwardly took a step back, hesitantly flickering her gaze up to look at him.

Altair simply rose an eyebrow as he looked at her face. "See, now your face is getting all red again." He smirked devilishly as he leaned in closer to her, studying her every move. She really was quite the interesting person to look at. "Are you embarrassed? Flustered from being around me?"

"No!" Nova instantly hardened her glare at his innocent teasing, growing angrier and angrier with each passing word. "Of course not! Go to hell...!"

Altair drew his head back in surprise as he stared at her widened eyes. "Oh, you're not?" That devilishly charming grin found its way back to his lips as he took a dangerous step closer to Nova. "So, if I were to get close like this..."

"A-Altair..." Nova awkwardly tried to take a step back away from him as he closed in on her, but he stopped her from escaping by wrapping his arm around the small of her back and pulling her directly into his toned chest.

"...you wouldn't react?" Altair smirked as he finished his sentence, leaning down eerily close to her face.

Nova stopped breathing as she stared up at Altair's face in dumbfounded surprise, fighting herself to remain composed. "N-nope. I wouldn't."

The animal-like glint in Altair's eyes instantly disappeared as his regular demeanor returned, and he released Nova from his gentle grip as he removed himself from her personal space bubble. "...pfft." Altair's whole face lit up as he fell into a loud, uncontrollable laugh, and he fell down onto the grass and laughed as he shielded his eyes from the sun with one of his arms.

Nova's lungs inhaled sharply as she felt her anxiety melt away now that they weren't so close any more, and she pathetically whimpered as she stared down at him. "What's so funny!?"

"You're trying so hard to give me an angry look and not get flustered, and your face right now is just so hilarious that I can't help but laugh!" Altair's chest repeatedly rose and fell as his laughing continued, which only made Nova's face grow more and more red.

"H-hey! What're you...!" Nova tripped over her words as she struggled to make herself glare at him, and she let out a loud huff as she let her arms slam against her chest as she heavily crossed them.

"Look, Nova..." Altair calmed his laughter as he sat up and stared at her with an unusually serious look on his face. "You don't have anything to worry about being around me. I want you to feel comfortable with this whole arrangement." He looked up at her with a calm smile. "I don't have any interest in being in a relationship, remember? You have nothing to worry about."

Nova felt a heavy weight on her shoulders suddenly lift as she stared at the ground. "I guess that's true..."

Altair slowly stood and looked down at the shorter girl's sunset-colored eyes that reminded him of the brightest of shining lights. "If you ever get the wrong idea about something I say, or the intentions behind something I do... You can always just ask me upfront." He smiled at her when she let out the breath she was holding, feeling like he had managed to get through to her this time. "I can promise that anything I feel towards you will be nothing more than platonic." He bashfully stared down at the ground with his hands in his pockets, and he slowly rose his beautiful eyes to look at her. "So...don't feel uncomfortable around me, okay? I'd really like us to be friends."

"I..." Nova's lip quivered as she looked at him, at a loss for words. A feeling of overwhelming frustration bubbled up within her, and she finally snapped. "Ugh! I hate you!"

"Ow!" Altair had the most dumbfounded look of surprise on his face as he grabbed the arm she had just suddenly punched; and with incredible force, he might add. "What was that for!?"

Nova sharply exhaled as she threw her hands up into the air in annoyance. "You're so infuriatingly likable!" She glared at him as hard as she could, not even flinching at the surprised look on his face. "You make it impossible for someone to hate you!"

Altair's look of surprise slowly turned up into a wry smile as he massaged the spot on his arm Nova had punched, already feeling the temporary pain ebbing away. "Ah, so does this mean you think you can get along with me now?"

"I never said that!" Nova snapped at him, turning her chin up and away from him.

"Hmm." Altair looked at her thoughtfully as he stroked his chin. "Alright, would you say that the main reason you're against this partnership is because you had no say in it?"

"Of course that's why." Nova rolled her eyes with her arms crossed, as if that fact were completely obvious. "Who would want someone they trust to go behind their back and hire someone to help them because they think they're so useless that they couldn't possibly function on their own?" She looked completely defeated as she stared down at the ground, feeling as if she were worthless in every sense of the word.

Altair stared at her with his arms crossed, taking her feelings seriously as he listened to everything she said. "Alright, then how about we make a deal?"

"Huh?" Nova looked up incredibly fast and flicked her gaze up to meet his.

Altair let out a heavy sigh before taking a step toward her. "I don't break my promises under any circumstances, but I also don't ever want to do something against a person's wishes." He began pacing around her in a circle as he spoke. "So, here's my offer: stick with me for the rest of today, and let me help you through clearing the Trainer School challenge." He stopped pacing and hesitantly looked away from her eyes with a hint of sadness hidden behind them. "If you still think by the end of today that I'm just an annoyance who shouldn't bother helping you, I'll back off."

"...what?" Nova felt guilty that this was how Altair saw himself in her eyes, because undoubtedly he had come to that conclusion as a result of how poorly she had been treating him from the moment they first met. She had been misdirecting her anger and frustrations with her cousin and her mother at Altair, a nice guy who just wanted to help her, and still, after all of that, he still was doing all of this for her. "...you would seriously do that for me?"

"Yes, but you have to cooperate fully and let me teach you what I have planned for today." Altair nodded his head firmly, then met her transfixing eyes once more. "After all of that, if you still don't want me to be your mentor, I'll back off. Deal?"

Nova frowned as she stared at the grassy floor, mindlessly rubbing her arm. "But what about your promise to Kukui...?"

Altair matched her frown with one of his own, but his conviction did not falter once as he averted her gaze and stared down at the floor. "I hate breaking promises to people, but I would hate to hurt someone even more." His tone dropped to one that of a kicked Lillipup, and he pathetically looked up into her eyes. "I don't want to hurt you, Nova. And if being around me hurts you in any way... I'll go."

Nova felt like her head was spinning from how hurt he sounded, and all she could think about now was how she was going to apologize to him. "Altair, I..."

Altair didn't let her finish as he stared straight ahead with a serious look on his face. "So? Do we have a deal?"

Nova's frown hardened into a fierce look of determination. "...Deal."

"This is stupid." Nova stared ahead at the large rock in disbelief, hanging her head low in dumbfounded shock at Altair's ludicrous request.

Altair's chipper mood had returned as he laughed incredulously at her. "What? No it's not! It's a good exercise for beginners!"

Nova waved her hands back and forth in front of her as she shut her eyes. "Okay, okay. Stop. I think we need to set some ground rules first if we're going to be mentor and apprentice."

Altair smirked and crossed his arms over his chest as he stared at her from the side. "Alright, I'm all ears."

Nova spun around on her heel to face him with one of her fingers up. "Rule number one: no belittling words that undermines either me or my age, like newbie, beginner, novice, kid, kiddo, child..." She frowned and rose an eyebrow at him. "None of that."

Altair simply just stared at her in bewilderment as he deadpanned, "...you're really sensitive about the whole starting at nineteen rather than eleven thing, aren't you?"

Nova's face grew red as steam shot from her ears. "Shut up! Are you going to listen to me or not!?"

"Alright, alright!" Altair laughed, holding his hands up in defense. "Rule number two: you can't give up. If I tell you to try something that will help you, you can't call it stupid, and you have to actually give it a try." He leaned in with a skeptical look on his face, staring Nova right in the eyes. "Agreed?"

Nova frowned and grumbled under her breath in annoyance. "Agreed..."

"Anything else you want to add?" Altair ribbed her, smiling despite himself.

"No more messing with me!" Nova stomped her foot and threw her fists down to her sides. "Being teased by you is...is...!"

Altair drew his head back in amusement as he wryly looked at her. "Is what?"

Nova felt her words disappear as she caught sight of the look on his face, and she grew frustrated all over again. "Urk...well, it's just annoying, okay! So no more of that!"

Altair pretended to think it over for at least a second before immediately shaking his head no. "Yeah, no can do. I'll abide by the first rule, but I won't with this one."

Nova dropped her jaw in surprise as her eyebrows disappeared into her hairline. "What? Why not!?"

Altair's voice dropped down to an irritatingly attractive, low tone as he leaned in closer to her face and smirked at her. "Because teasing you is just way too much fun to stop."

"A-Altair...!" Nova slapped a hand over her mouth as her face grew red from his teasing, and she felt herself shiver from anxiety.

Altair simply took a hold of her arms and effortlessly turned her around to face the large grey rock before them once more. "Alright, now try this again."

Nova slumped in his arms as she pathetically stared ahead at the rock. "But this is ridicu..."

"Ahem." Altair cleared his throat, wryly smiling down at Nova. "Rule number two, remember?"

Nova was already starting to regret setting these ground rules as she glared ahead, pulling herself from Altair's grip as she huffily stomped over to the rock. "...fine. I'll stand on the damn rock. Not like it's actually going to do anything..."

Altair chuckled under his breath as he watched Nova climb up to the top, shaking his head at her. "Okay, good! Now that you're up there, here's what I want you to do." He laughed when she shot him an intense look of annoyance, and he looked up at her directly. "I want you to close your eyes, stick your arms out so they're parallel with the ground, and drawn in one long, deep breath."

Nova hung her head low in dumbfounded surprise at this unusual request. "What? Are you fu..."

"Ah, ah." Altair cut her off as he shook a finger at her, raising an eyebrow as if he was just daring her to say something back. "No complaints, just do it."

Nova gave up as she rolled her eyes. "Alright, alright... I'll do it." She closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath, listening to Altair's directions fully.

Altair smiled as he looked up at the oddly obedient stubborn ass before him. "See, now was that so hard?"

"What the hell did that accomplish?" Nova instantly fell from her posture and opened her eyes, complaining the second the exercise was over.

Altair chuckled and shook his head at her impatience as he studied her. "Well, for starters, you seem to be a lot less tense now."

"Huh?" Nova's face fell into a look of surprise as her eyebrows disappeared into her hairline.

"Nova, look at your posture. You're all rigid and tense." Altair called up to her, holding his hand out to direct her attention to the top of her body all the way down to the bottom. "You think too much, and that's your problem." He walked over to the large rock and held his hand up for her to take, silently offering to help her down. "Pokemon battling isn't all in your head, you know. It's a reflection of a Trainer's bond with their Pokemon, and how they can use that bond to achieve their goals."

Nova stared down at Altair's outstretched hand, then sighed as she looked to his face. "So what do you suggest I do...?"

Altair was not deterred by her reluctance, and he smiled at her warmly as he still held his hand out for her to take. "Get out of your head and start using your heart."

"That..." Nova stared at him in awe as her face slowly stretched up into a sarcastic smile. "...is the dumbest thing I've ever heard." She laughed as soon as he did at her snide remark, and she reached out and clasped her hand around his without giving it another second of thought.

"Haha, I'm serious though!" Altair laughed and pulled Nova off of the rock, catching her in his arms. "Nova, when you think too much, your Pokemon is going to feel more like a tool rather than a partner."

"What...?" Nova widened her eyes in shock as Altair let go of her, but not before he made sure she stabilized her balance on the ground.

"Yeah, that's something they don't tell you when you're handed a starter and a Pokedex." Altair shot her an unbalanced smile as he found himself staring at her glimmering sunset-colored eyes. "You have to figure that out on your own."

Nova tilted her head to the side as she looked up at him in confusion. "Then why are you telling me this now...?"

"Well..." Altair awkwardly scratched at the back of his head, a little unsure of how to answer that. "I guess I want to give you the help that I wish I had when I first started out." He turned and faced the school building with a peaceful look of nostalgia on his face. "I trained at this school for a month before I left for my island challenge, because I had the same problem you're facing now."

Nova had never heard something more surprising in her entire life. "What? Really?"

"Mmhmm." Altair nodded his head, staring up at the clear blue sky. "I was always so focused on studying type match-ups, or what move was the strongest. I never noticed that my Pokemon started to feel like tools rather than trusted partners, so I lost a lot of battles when I first started out."

"Somehow I have trouble picturing that..." Nova felt herself awkwardly smile as she brushed her bangs from her eyes.

Altair turned around slowly and looked at her. And not with some half-hearted glance, either; he really looked at her. "Well, even if you can't picture it, it's true." He took a step closer and took up Nova's hand in his, then placed her hand over her heart as he looked directly into her eyes. "If your heart's not in it, both of your hearts, you're not going to get anywhere as a Trainer."

Nova felt her breath catch in her throat, and she looked down at where her hand rested over her heart when Altair let go of her and took a step back. "So what do I do...?"

Nova stared at Altair's back in confusion as he began to look for something inside her bag from where it rested on the ground, and she gasped in surprise when he returned to her with Popplio's Pokeball in hand.

"Trust Popplio." Altair smiled sweetly at her as he placed Popplio's Pokeball in Nova's hands, then clasped his own around them. "A Pokemon battle isn't all on you, Nova. Get out of your head and do what you feel is right." He cocked his head to the side as he gazed at her. "Like I said, you've got a knack for this. All you need to do is trust yourself more."

"Trust myself...?" Nova's shoulders slouched as she gently pulled her hands from Altair's, staring down at her reflection shining in Popplio's Pokeball.

Altair nodded his head as he began to smile even bigger with each passing second. "Yes. Trust yourself, and your Pokemon will follow."

"That..." Nova fell quiet as she suddenly looked up from Popplio's Pokeball and met Altair's eyes, wearing a devious grin. "...is the cheesiest thing I've ever heard."

Altair sweatdropped as he awkwardly stared off to the side. "Ouch... You really know how to pack a punch to a guy's ego..."

"...but, I really appreciate it." Nova quietly finished her thought as she shyly kicked at the ground with her arms behind her back.

"Hmm?" Altair suddenly looked to her, genuinely surprised by her change in character.

And for the first time that day, Nova really...smiled.

"I think... You might be onto something there." Nova's lips twitched up into the biggest, brightest smile as she found herself beginning to laugh.

Altair dropped his jaw at the sight of Nova smiling and laughing, taken aback by this rare view. And then...he started to mockingly stare at her in bewilderment. "What is this? The great Nova Lise is admitting she's in the wrong, and I'm actually right about something?" He suddenly turned around and shouted to everyone in the school yard with his hands cupped around his mouth. "EVERYONE, BARE WITNESS TO THIS INCREDIBLE MOMENT IN HISTORY! THE MOMENT WHERE NOVA LISE WAS WRONG...!"

"Altair, cut it out!" Nova squeaked in embarrassment as she scrambled to pull on Altair's arm, causing the boy to laugh at the top of his lungs. "God, you're so embarrassing!" She whined, then pressed a hand to her forehead. "Agh, and right when I was about to give you a compliment, too. What a shame."

Altair immediately stopped laughing as his curiosity took over. "Oh, a compliment?" He smiled and leaned in close to her face, peering into her eyes innocently. "Well, now you have to tell me what you were going to say."

"Nope." Nova shut her eyes and crossed her arms as she turned away from him in a huff, tilting her chin up to the sky. "Not telling."

Altair laughed as a whine escaped his lips, and he ran around to her front. "Oh come on, Nova!"

"Nuh uh. Not saying it." Nova jerked her face away from him again, stubbornly refusing to give him the satisfaction of hearing her compliment him on something.

Altair sighed, seemingly about to give up. "Fine then. I guess I'll just have to make you tell me."

Nova's eyes snapped wide open in horror at that, and she barely had any time to react before Altair reached out and grabbed her. "Wha...hey! Haha, stop that, ahh! That tickles!" He tickled her sides relentlessly, laughing along with Nova as she squirmed to escape his strong grasp. "Cut it out, Altair...pfft, HAHAHA! Okay, okay, I give!"

Altair spun her around to face him with a taunting smirk on his face. "So, you were saying?"

Nova wiped a tear from her eye as she calmed her laughter. "I was going to say that I think you're right." She awkwardly ran a hand through her hair, refusing to meet his eyes. "I think I was so focused on winning because I had something to prove, and I didn't even think about Popplio's feelings..." She stared down at the Pokeball clutched within her hand with an uneasy smile on her face. "I'm sorry, girl. I shouldn't have rushed things, and I should have taken the chance to really bond with you before I let my ambition to show Kukui I can be independent make me go a little stir crazy..."

"I doubt Popplio holds it against you, for what it's worth." Altair curiously looked into Nova's eyes as he smiled at her.

"You think?" Nova helplessly looked up from Popplio's Pokeball, flickering her gaze to fixate on Altair.

"Yeah, of course." Altair didn't even hesitate to nod his head. "All new Trainers have something to prove." An awkward smile found its way to his lips as he amusedly narrowed his eyes at her. "You just had...a stronger will. That's all."

Nova let out the breath she was holding and giggled under her breath. "Well, I think that's the nicest way anyone has ever told me that I'm impossibly stubborn."

Altair couldn't help but grin at that as he laughed. "All jokes aside, I think you're ready now, Nova."

"You think?" Nova's lips upturned into a hopeful smile as the anticipation ran through her veins.

"I do." Altair decisively nodded his head.

Nova bit down on her lip before breaking out into a huge grin. "I... Alright. I'll give this my best shot!"

"Now that's more like it!" Altair made a fist and brought it down excitedly. "Come on, Nova. Let's go find those four Trainers you have to battle." He held his hand out for her to take, and this time, she didn't hesitate.

"Okay!" Nova smiled angelically as she let Altair pull her by the hand, excitedly awaiting her adventure that was soon to come.

There was really no way to accurately describe the feeling she experienced when she finally won. That sense of accomplishment and self-worth she gained the second she watched her opponent's final Pokemon hit the ground, while hers was still standing. Nova had never been so ecstatic in her entire life, and as she won time after time, she felt her insecurities of being a terrible Trainer begin to melt away.

Nova and Altair ran around the school yard together in pursuit of the four Trainers she had to challenge. The first guy was pretty arrogant, refusing her offer to battle until she defeated the other three Trainers on campus. Apparently, the guy thought that he was the best of them all, so she had to save him for last. The first Trainer she ended up taking on was a girl with holding a badminton racket, and she had a Pikipek with her. Nova was pleasantly surprised just how much easier this battle was compared to her last two against Hau. She wasn't nearly as pressured to win this time, and that alone made a considerable difference. This time, her audience was only Altair, and she strangely felt comforted by the fact that he was there to watch her battle. Nova and Popplio were amazingly in sync during this battle, and the commands came a lot easier to Nova this time around. Altair's words of wisdom echoed in her mind, and as she began to stop overthinking everything, she found herself acting more on her gut.

She was amazed by just how much that did for her.

Nova had won that battle with Popplio, and she had won her next one, too. Her next battle was against a little girl with a Bonsly, which proved to be extremely easy for Popplio, due to her type advantage over the rock-type. Popplio was able to beat the little boy with a Metapod with ease after winning her last two battles, and by the time Nova came back around to face the first guy she had approached who turned her away, her Popplio was much, much stronger.

The Alolan Grimer staggered and fell to the ground in a defeated puddle. He was completely drained of all energy as he lied there in a state of stupor. His green, sludge-like body pooled on the ground in a puddle, and the yellow goo around his mouth formed a solid line when his mouth closed. Popplio let out a victorious "bwark!" as she jumped up and did a flip in the air, having a renowned sense of victory wash over her.

Nova's lips stretched up into the biggest, brightest grin when the Trainer she faced muttered curses under his breath and returned his Pokemon to his Pokeball. "I... I won! Altair, I won!" She whirled around and grinned at Altair, genuinely thrilled and happy with her victory.

"You did great, Nova!" Altair laughed a little under his breath as he found himself lost in a trance at the sight of her smile, which burned a thousand times brighter than the sweltering sun above them. You would never guess that such a cold person could have the warmest smile in all of Alola. No...in the entire universe.

The low, melodic chime of the school bell rang out through the school yard as Lillie walked up to Nova to congratulate her on her victory. "Oh, that's the school bell."

"ATTENTION, ALL STUDENTS... WOULD NOVA PLEASE COME TO THE OFFICE ON THE SECOND FLOOR? NOVA TO THE SECOND FLOOR OFFICE."

As Nova screwed up her face in confusion, Lillie whirled around and stared at Nova in shock. "What terrible thing did you do to get called to the office so soon?"

Nova held up her hands in defense. "Nothing, I swear!"

Altair coolly joined the conversation from where he leaned up against the trunk of a palm tree on the sidelines of the battlefield. "She probably shattered all the glass inside with that icy glare of hers."

"Hey!" Nova half-heartedly scowled over in his direction, smiling despite herself.

Nova returned Popplio to her Pokeball before joining Altair by his side so they could walk back up to the school building together. Lillie said she would wait for them out in the school yard, suggesting that they walk to Hau'oli City together after Nova's challenge was over. The white-haired girl walked alongside the tall boy with black hair as they ascended the staircase, and when they got to the top, the lady teacher from before was waiting for them.

The teacher clapped her hands excitedly as she beamed at Nova. "Nova... I can't believe that you beat all of my students! Fantastic!"

"Yeah, neither can I..." Nova awkwardly let out a self-depreciating laugh.

Nova smiled cheerily when Altair supportively patted her on the shoulder, wryly looking at her. "Hey, have more confidence in yourself. You did amazing today, Nova."

"Well, I..." Nova grabbed the back of her neck as she bashfully looked down at the tile floor.

"After seeing such a performance, I think I'd like to battle you myself!" The lady teacher flashed her a look of confidence as she stood there strongly. "What do you say? Are you ready to take me on?"

"Definitely." Nova nodded her head before flashing Altair behind her a quick look.

The lady teacher laughed, flabbergasted. "As a teacher, I've got to see for myself what you did to beat four of my students!"

Nova stared straight ahead with a look of emptiness in her eyes as she deadpanned, "Internally scream throughout the whole thing and flounder around in a panic."

The lady teacher dropped her jaw in shock, and Altair had to bite his cheek to keep himself from laughing as he broke the awkward silence. "She's joking."

The lady teacher's mouth formed an 'O' shape as she awkwardly let out a small laugh. "O-oh, that was a joke? Haha, I see!"

Nova had to stifle her laugh too as she stared off to the side, speaking unconvincingly. "Yeah, I was totally joking."

Professor Kukui heard the sound of a Pokemon battle in progress as soon as he set foot inside the Trainer's School, and he couldn't help but grin to the man he was walking beside as he let out a loud chuckle. The tanned man had short pink hair and wore white pants, a white polo shirt, and had a brown diamond-pattern sweater vest pulled over top. He had a teal fanny pack around his hips and carried a small agenda and chalkboard in his hand, and he wore teal socks with white and brown shoes. His eyes were always smiling, and as he and Professor Kukui ascended the stairs, they both broke out into wide grins at the sight of the intense battle they just walked in on.

"Popplio, don't let Meowth scratch you! Knock him off his feet with a water gun, then pound him senseless!"

"Meowth, avoid that water gun and use your fury swipes on Popplio, and bite into her tail!"

Professor Kukui and the mysterious man joined Altair in leaning up against the wall, out of the way of the ongoing battle in the hallway.

"Hey, Professor." Altair grinned and fist-bumped Professor Kukui when he walked up, and he grinned and waved to the mysterious man to say hello. "IIima! Long time no see!"

"Hello, Altair." The mysterious man named Ilima nodded his head to Altair before retracing his gaze to the ongoing battle. "Well, this is quite the curious sight, now isn't it?"

Professor Kukui let out a laugh as he roughly clapped Altair on the shoulder. "Ho ho, great job, my friend! Nova's battling great, yeah!"

"You should've seen her earlier." Altair smiled proudly as he leaned over and spoke to the two men beside him, not once taking his eyes off of Nova as he continued to watch her battle. "She's amazing, Professor. A natural, even. It's been a long time since I've come across a Trainer this talented so early on."

"And it's all thanks to you, I suppose?" Ilima quirked an eyebrow with a small smile on his face, and he looked to Altair to study his reactions.

"Not in the slightest." Altair refused to take credit for Nova's progress, staring at her strong stature from where he stood with a renowned sense of pride. "She had the skills all along. I just...helped her see that."

"I see." Ilima found himself smiling too as he followed Altair's gaze, looking on at the battle before him.

Popplio was seconds away from defeating the lady teacher's Alolan Meowth, who was tattered and scarred from their battle as he breathed erratically. At the sound of her Trainer's command, Popplio's eyes sharpened with determination as she felt a rush of adrenaline swim throughout her small body, which was now tougher than it used to be. She rushed ahead at the Meowth sneering at her, and she slid across the floor in order to duck the Meowth's swipe of his claws. She stopped right behind him and back-handed him with her tail, sending him flying into the concrete wall opposite of them and eliciting a shivering crack from Meowth's spine. Popplio was brimming with excitement as she saw the Meowth crumple to the floor in exhaustion, not even making an attempt to get up again this time. He was too tired to keep trying, so the Meowth closed his eyes and allowed his consciousness slip from him.

The lady teacher was taken aback by her crushing defeat, staring across the hallway at Nova in shock. "Wow... You, my dear, are truly stunning!"

Nova grinned enchantingly as she high-flippered her Popplio, then returned her to her Pokeball for a well-deserved rest. "Well... I didn't do it alone." She turned and look at Altair over her shoulder to smile to him meaningfully, but her grin grew even bigger when she saw her cousin was there as well, along with another man she had yet to be introduced to.

"Good job, Nova." The lady teacher giggled at her opponent's performance, returning Meowth to his Pokeball to rest. "Maybe you'd like to take over as teacher here for me someday!"

Nova wore a sarcastic grin on her face as she looked at the teacher, pointing back at Altair over her shoulder with her thumb. "Why, so I can to work with him on a daily basis? I'll pass."

Altair playfully winced as he exhaled sharply, still leaning up against the wall. "Ouch, Nova. After all we've been through, you're still stone-cold."

The lady teacher erupted into a cheerful laugh at the two's playful banter. "Haha, you two work well together!"

Nova whirled around and stared at her in shock. "Us? No way."

"Oh, so there's an us now? You're acknowledging that we're a team?" Altair called out to her from behind, and he laughed when he saw her immediately cringe at the sound of his teasing.

Nova spun around on her heel to playfully glare at him. "What? No!" Her eyes widened in panic when Altair lunged for her and pulled her into his arms, and she began to furiously giggle as he tickled her relentlessly once again. "Hey, Altair, stop! Pfft, HAHAHAHA!"

The lady teacher smiled at the sight of Nova and Altair messing around, shaking her head a little. "All joking aside, though, you did really well today, Nova. I think it's safe to say you've passed your Trainer School Challenge and can move on to your Island Challenge."

"Really!?" Nova froze and immediately looked at the lady teacher with widened eyes, pushing Altair down and eliciting a small 'ow!' from him as he hit the floor.

"I'm glad to see that you seem to know your Pokemon and their moves now, yeah!" Professor Kukui walked up and ruffled Nova's hair, earning a scowl from her.

Nova rolled her eyes as she smoothed out her hair. "Kukui...who is this?" She looked over at the third smiling man who lingered in the corner of the hallway, intrigued by his pastel pink hair.

"Greetings!" Ilima walked up and shook Nova's hand respectfully. "Captain Ilima here. I couldn't help but observe your battles. You looked so very delightful in battle that I had no choice but to summon you here."

"Huh?" Nova cocked her head to the side at that fact. He...was the one who summoned her here?

"Ilima, I'd like you to meet my little cousin Nova, who moved here to Alola from the Kanto region." Professor Kukui placed his hand on Ilima's shoulder, directing his attention to Nova. "She's got a real sense for how to use moves, and I think she's gonna go far as a Trainer, yeah!"

"Kukui..." Nova tilted her head to the side and smiled, touched by his genuinely kind words.

"I see!" Ilima retraced his gaze back to Nova; the smile on his face did not waver, even for a second. "Then welcome, newcomer. I look forward to seeing the brilliance of your moves in my trial."

"Wait... Trial?" Nova's eyes slowly widened in recognition, and then they were immediately replaced by stars as she grew excited. "You're one of the Captains for the Island Challenge, aren't you?"

"Indeed!" Ilima nodded his head to her. "We Captains are the ones who conduct the trials you will face on your way to challenging the Island Kahuna." He placed his hand on his chest and gave a little bow. "My trial is held in Verdant Cavern: the trial of Captain Ilima." He glanced down at the single Pokeball in Nova's hands, fixating his eyes on her stature wryly as he spoke. "You can find wild Pokemon in any patch of grass around here. Perhaps you'll want to fill out your team a bit before attempting my trial? I sincerely look forward to your challenge."

The lady teacher looked over to the professor and gave him a thumbs up. "Oh yeah, Kukui, I reported to the people upstairs and they took care of the Tauros blocking the path to Hau'oli City."

Professor Kukui let out a hearty chuckle as he shook his head. "Hah! That guy's Tauros is pretty much a celebrity here on Melemele, isn't it?"

"Huh?" Nova quirked an eyebrow in confusion, then turned to Altair as she looked up at him and lightly tugged at his sleeve to gain his attention. "Altair, what is he talking about?"

"Hala's Tauros is infamous for always wandering around Melemele and getting in people's way." Altair explained simply, shaking his head at Nova's lack of observational skills. "It was wreaking havoc over by the entrance to Hau'oli City earlier."

Nova's eyes snapped wide open in shock. "Seriously? I wonder how I didn't notice that..."

Altair pretended to yawn as he began to walk down the stairs. "You were probably too busy releasing all the hot air from the inside of your head."

"Hey...!" Nova scowled at his back as he walked away from her, and both of them were laughing all the while.

The lady teacher chuckled at the two bantering once again, rather enjoying this odd display of friendship. "Hahah! Well, I guess it's time that we dismiss you from school, Nova."

At the front gate outside the school, all of the students and teachers gathered in a crowd for a huge send-off. Professor Kukui, Lillie, and Captain Ilima were among them all as well.

The lady teacher waved good-bye to the two as she called out to them. "Take care of your Pokemon! Good luck with your Island Challenge, Nova!"

"Bye, Altair! I'll miss you!" Pandora waved excitedly with her Stufful at her feet, bleary eyed from the tears that threatened to pour over her cheeks at any minute.

Altair flashed her an unbalanced smile, waving farewell to her too. "Good-bye, Panda Bear! I'll be back soon!"

Professor Kukui waved good-bye to them as well, grinning immensely in their direction. "Show 'em what you're made of, Nova! Take care of her, Altair!"

"Kukui...!" Nova cried out in embarrassment, not nearly as mad at him now for saying that as she was last time.

"Don't worry, Professor! I'm on it!" Altair grinned as he waved back to him, shooting Nova a sideways glance, which she returned with a playful scowl.

"You seemed to be in perfect sync with Popplio, weren't you?" Lillie awkwardly smiled at Nova as she approached the two, trying to work up the courage to say something. "Um... Since we've come this far together, why don't I show you some more of the city? There's a lot to see." She looked over at Altair shyly as she almost winced out a meek smile. "If you don't me imposing on your training time with Nova of course, Altair."

"I don't mind at all!" Altair chuckled as he turned and ushered Lillie and Nova to follow him out. "Come on, girls! Let's head out for Hau'oli City!"

Nova turned and began to follow Altair and Lillie out, but she paused at the gate and turned over her shoulder, smiling and waving to the crowd behind them before they left. "Good-bye, everyone!"

"You better notzzz screw up, Nova!"

"SHUT IT, ROTOM!"

WOOOOOOOOOW okay this was kind of long too. And by kind of long, I mean it was so long that I actually beat my record for longest word count in a single chapter;;; 18,930 words.

I feel like a majority of my chapters in this book are going to be kind of long? (Like 8000-10000 words on average probably)

LOL GOOD LUCK GUYS YOU BETTER GET USED TO IT! XD

Not that you can really complain, right? With how often I update, it gives you guys more stuff to read! XD it would be horrible if I published like 3000 words worth of content for you to read once a month, wouldn't it?

So after reading this chapter, you guys learned that there is no secret romantic meaning or ulterior motive to Altair's actions and words at the moment XD XD XD XD XD if anything, Nova is the only one getting flustered by the other at present.

...how mad does it make you guys that I'm already making this ship REALLY hard to sail?

Lolololololololololol...I should probably take cover now.

*ducks from flying chairs and tables crashing through the windows*

SORRY NOT SORRY LOL I TOLD YOU GUYS THIS BOOK WOULD BE DIFFERENT THAN ANYTHING I'VE EVER WRITTEN BEFORE SO BRACE YOURSELF FOR THE HELL OF AN EMOTIONAL RIDE THIS BOOK IS GOING TO BE! If you thought To Steal the Heart of a Thief was an emotional tear-jerker, oh, you have a surprise coming.

Read, review, and enjoy!