4-2: goodbye childhood clothes
There wasn't a single person in Kanto who didn't know the names Red and Blue.
In the years after that legendary battle for the title of Champion, their stories had become bedtime fairy tales. Fantastical promises of adventure, freedom, and glory tempted countless children who didn't understand what reaching the top entailed in the first place. Selene had seen so many other children try to "start" their journey as soon as they were of age. Whether they ran away or actually made their intentions known, all those young boys and girls were unaware that their parents fully expected them to come running back home before it got dark.
Foolishly, Selene had liked to think that she had known better. On her fifth birthday, the girl had thought herself a genius for asking her mother if she could go to a Trainer's School. If she learned the basics of being a trainer beforehand, if she asked all her questions now, surely her own pokemon journey would be a breeze, right?
There were many things five year-old Selene did not consider.
She didn't stop to question how her mother had gotten her enrolled in the most prestigious private academy in Saffron City, if not the entire region. Selene found out six years later that the price of her schooling had been her father's life, the Kanto League providing a scholarship as compensation for his disappearance while investigating Team Rocket.
She didn't realize how hard it would be live on-site, where no amount of luxury could serve as a replacement for the physical presence of her mother. Selene had cried herself to sleep for nights on end when it had finally sunk in that home was supposed to be a boarding house and not the house where her mother would be.
She didn't know that other children could be so cruel. The alakazam that the school had provided to her for teleporting between school and home often had its pokeball hidden by other students. All of that trouble, just to see see her panic and potentially lose that privilege. Selene hadn't found out about this until after that incident, but it validated a sentiment she had tried to convince herself was only paranoia. People did not think that she belonged there.
Selene didn't believe so either.
If the girl could travel back in time, she would have gone back to that moment when her five year-old self was trying on her new school uniform for the first time, her mother cooing about how cute she looked. Back to when she still had hopelessly optimistic dreams for the future. Back to when she had naively thought she was taking the first, more realistic steps towards her own fairytale journey.
Selene would have ripped that damned uniform to shreds. Would have begged her younger self to reconsider. Would make the five year-old cry in front of her mother if it would spare the girl the pain of losing her most beloved companion since birth.
In the end, Selene hadn't known better. The proof lay in her father's otherwise empty grave, the ashes of his dewgong the only connection she ever felt she had with the man she could not remember.
Maybe that was why Selene wanted nothing more than to run away as soon as the word "shop" had come out of her mother's mouth. The past always found a way to come crawling back, doing its best to reach out and drag her back into the hell that she had somehow survived.
But as her mother triumphantly strode by holding a massive pile of clothes two decades too young for her, the unrestrained glee on the woman's face reminded Selene of why she had let herself get dragged around the shopping district of Hau'oli. Her mother's newfound freedom and joy were so real and beautiful, and that was worth enduring her worst fears and doubts.
Now, Selene knew that there was even more to fight for. Fingers ran over the uneven surface of the island challenge amulet that the professor had gifted her. She had the power to bring happiness to other people. The brand of horrible childhood memories, the fear that ran through her veins like blood - it was worth braving all of that.
The Kantoan girl had settled herself down on a bench by the fitting rooms, "guarding" everyone else's purchases. Selene had found everything she wanted in the first store they visited, though the others had yet to be satisfied.
Her mother was fully embracing the move to Alola as a chance to start fresh, given the fact that she had bought almost a wardrobe's worth of clothes yet showed no signs of tiring. Hau, much to Selene's surprise, had spent a considerable amount of time in the fitting rooms, making the Kantoan girl wonder what had made the cut in the single bag he was carrying around.
On the other hand, Lillie hovered indecisively along the racks of clothes, leafing through clothes with a rather perturbed look clouding her face. She had a bag full of clothes, though Selene knew that Lillie would end up picking maybe one or two pieces in the end, just as she had in the other stores. Selene was a little curious as to what was going on in the younger girl's head, having seen Lillie wistfully regard some more colored pieces. In the end, she always appeared to retreat back to the safe choice of white.
As for Ilima…
Selene wasn't sure what business Melemele's trial captain had being there in the first place. Given his position, Selene was sure he had better things to be doing than chatting with store workers as he went about examining clothes with no pattern to his preferences.
But here he was, seemingly oblivious to the way heads turned in their way thanks to his presence within their group as they walked through the city. The whole thing made her stomach churn in an uncomfortably familiar way for some reason, but ultimately, Ilima wasn't doing anything that merited a legitimate complaint.
No, she couldn't say anything. After all, the professor had asked Ilima to show her and her mother around the city, Hau unceremoniously declaring that he and Lillie would join them. There wasn't a place for protest. She could trust the professor, so why was it so hard to extend that trust to people he endorsed? The tips of her fingers tingled uncomfortably as her hand clenched into a fist.
One other thing bothered her.
When Selene and Kukui had returned from the Trainer's School infirmary, both her mother and Hala had been there, though for very different reasons. Amidst her mother showering her with an embarrassing amount of attention to make up for the inevitable time that would be lost while she was on her island challenge, Selene had heard snippets of the conversation going on between the professor, Hala, and Ilima.
"I take it that you're not coming with us, young Ilima?" Hala had asked, making somewhat of an attempt to keep his normally booming voice low.
The trial captain only had chuckled before shaking his head.
"According to my parents, I won't need to attend for a few more years. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it."
The professor had snorted. "Trust me, it's an inconvenience at its best. I still can't believe switching to web conferences was almost unanimously voted against during the last Grand Council. I swear they're doing this in hopes that I'll give up."
A low rumble had come from the Kahuna at this remark.
"Don't laugh," the professor had grumbled. "I remember you voted against it too."
"You have a lot to learn about navigating politics, Kukui. The Old Families don't like you for a reason."
"Politics," Professor Kukui spat venomously. "That's a rather nice way of saying -"
"Things that shouldn't be said while in the vicinity of young kids," Ilima lightly had piped in, smiling thinly in Selene's direction. The girl had not so subtly had her head turned their way as the conversation progressed. Fortunately, neither Hala nor the professor had noticed, but…
"You're looking troubled."
Selene started in her seat, shocked to find Ilima sitting on the bench next to her.
Oh shit.
Oh shit.
The older boy shot her a relaxed smile that was probably meant to reassure her, but Selene's sick mind saw the taunting smile of a person dangling a bottle of water out of reach of someone on the ground dying of thirst.
"Where did the professor and Hala go?" she said quickly while turning away. She was praying that Ilima was neither a mind reader nor a face reader.
"Somewhere," Ilima breezily replied, appearing quite amused at how Selene whipped her head back to shoot him an utterly unimpressed look.
"Well," Selene huffed, "what are they doing… somewhere?"
"That's, ah, confidential." Ilima paused as two shoppers walked by, the women stopping to acknowledge the trial captain with a customary wave and an "Alola". Once the shoppers were out of earshot, he began talking once more in a lower voice.
"Well, the Kahuna calling for an Island Council - which is exactly what it sounds like - isn't sensitive information, but nothing more than that gets released to the public."
Selene scowled, trying to wrap her head around that. "Wouldn't people want to know more? I can't imagine the Kanto League doing something like that without serious backlash."
"People have unshakeable faith in the Island Guardians and thus those chosen by them, the Kahunas," Ilima explained. "It might seem a little strange to an outsider, but Alola has a more intimate and recent history with its revered pokemon than other regions. In the eyes of the people, the Tapus have yet to fail us."
"I see," Selene replied in a neutral tone, not sure what to think.
The trial captain had made a good point about how entrenched and active the legendary pokemon appeared to be in Alola, which was a far cry from how sightings of the Kantoan legendary birds were treated about the same as allegedly spotting a UFO. Yet, all the same, Selene couldn't help but agree with Professor Kukui's gripes about such an attitude. It was so helpless and dependent and so much like herself that she just had this feeling that disaster would strike one way or another.
"What about the Old Families?" Selene found herself asking before she could stop herself.
Shit.
"So you were listening in," Ilima chuckled when she grimaced a little.
"When you're moving to a new place, 'Old Family' sounds like the kind of stuff that would be important to know," the girl hastily said in her defense. "It's just… scary being in a place where I might not understand customs that everyone here just grew up knowing. Messing up is just..."
"Completely understandable," Ilima said gently. "There's only so much you can learn from secondhand information though. You need to experience a culture to understand it."
"Well, it's a bit old fashioned, but you could call the Old Families the aristocracy of Alola who take pride in upholding Alolan society and spirit." The trial captain made a perturbed face. "…Just don't call any of them that to their face, though."
"So, you're a part of them?"
"Mhm."
"But you're not attending the Island Council?" Selene coughed awkwardly. "N-no offense, but I thought… well, that you had better things to do."
"That's not an unreasonable assumption for you to make. Anyhow, each family is required to have a representative at Councils. Because my parents are attending the meeting, there's no need for me to join them."
"That's why you're showing us around?"
"Yes," Ilima said coyly, a smile on his face. "Something like that. I don't find them particularly interesting, so I might as well enjoy my youth while I can."
Selene couldn't help but feel that there was a bit more to the situation than Ilima avoiding having to attend Councils for as long as he could, but she didn't want to push her luck.
"Also, as a trial captain, it's my duty to serve the community - a creed that my parents have heavily emphasized even before I took on this role. You can actually learn a lot about the quality of living by talking to the average citizen or just looking at the product being sold."
He stopped to laugh a little. "Well, that and the professor was really insistent on it. He must really have high hopes for you. Normally, he just runs around doing research or working on his league dream without, pardon my manners, giving a damn about what anyone thinks of him."
Selene tried to maintain some form of dignity by holding back the urge to flush.
"Now that I think about your situation," Ilima continued thoughtfully, "I have to admit it's rare to have people immigrate to Alola."
This Selene couldn't wrap her head around. Alola seemed like an island paradise with friendly locals and an amazing relationship with the native pokemon. Sure the professor seemed to think otherwise, but Selene hadn't seen much proof of it. "Alola seems like the kind of place you'd never want to leave."
Ilima smiled once again, but this time, Selene swore it felt a little …strained.
"In a sense, you're right. There's a lot of things in Alola you won't find anywhere else. In fact, I heard you were at Melemele's Guardian Ceremony a week ago. It must have been quite a spectacle to -"
The boy paused as something finally clicked in his mind.
"You were at the ceremony! Is it true that Tapu Koko made an appearance before the people?" he whispered, eyeing some movement a few racks down.
Selene looked dubiously at him, not sure what to say. Right, hadn't he asked this question at the Trainer's School?
The Kahuna had strongly warned the Iki Town residents that leaking anything about the parties involved would have consequences, largely to put the stress off of Selene. As one of the parties involved, she wasn't sure if she was exempt from that request, but surely Hala had a good reason for the silence.
But Ilima was clearly a person of high authority in Alola, if the way he had been greeted by various Hau'oli citizens had made very clearly. If she said no and lied to him, only for him to find out later, the consequences could be -
"Not a simple no, hm?"
Selene froze.
Shit. Because she hadn't said no immediately, like any person who hadn't seen anything out of the ordinary, of course Ilima would jump to conclusions.
"The Kahuna asked for silence, I bet," the trial captain continued thoughtfully. "Doesn't surprise me, given the political climate."
Selene felt her hands shaking. She had let the Kahuna down by letting slip such confidential information, and who knew what Ilima would do with such information. The unpredictability of people terrified her.
"It's all right," she heard him say gently. "It's hard to be in a situation like this, especially when you're just an innocent bystander. I didn't mean to scare you or make you think I'm trying to take advantage of your age for some information. I already knew though, so it's not your fault. I just wanted confirmation from someone who was actually there."
Selene froze. So how did he find out?
Ilima let out a disappointed, dramatic sigh. "I'm just mentally beating myself up inside!"
"I was tempted to go to the ceremony this time since it's not every day a Kahuna's grandson is part of an offering battle. However, the battles are basic in nature and more symbolic if anything." He paused, looking like a kid who had been told Santa didn't exist. "Then I found out that Tapu Koko itself had appeared to judge the ritual itself! I can't believe I missed it!"
"Just because of a decision I made on a whim, I missed out on witnessing a key moment of Alolan history!" Ilima groaned dramatically. "I honestly don't care about all the other stuff... But to see our Guardian in action? You're so lucky!"
Selene squirmed uncomfortably at that remark, though the trial captain was still caught up in regret.
"Though," he muttered conspiratorially, "I wouldn't want to get on the Kahuna's bad side nosing around for information he wants to keep quiet. But still!"
Selene smiled thinly. If only he knew one of the major parties was right next to him.
"How'd you find out… since Hala told no one to tell?"
"Rumors have their way, I guess." The older boy shrugged. "I wouldn't dare try and go against Hala's will, but someone else did. They must have done it for money because, among the Old Families, it's spread like wildfire. Hala caught wind, so there's another reason to avoid attending this Council. That could be considered directly undermining the authority of a Kahuna."
"Fortunately, this isn't knowledge known to the general public." Ilima shivered as something came to mind. "Guardians know what Hala would do to the perpetrator then."
"I see," Selene said quietly, trying to process everything. "By the way, is there anything else I should watch out for-"
She was interrupted by the sound of her mother cackling like a madwoman with another pile of clothes in tow. Hau was following close behind, mostly likely perked up because her mother was practically radiating energy.
"I don't get why we have to go to all this trouble," Selene mumbled, losing the courage to ask her previous question. Upon second thought, it sounded like a touchy subject. Instead, she looked over at the small bag of clothes she had picked out from her mother's offerings.
Her mother had been insistent on making sure that her daughter would be the cutest trainer out there. Selene, on the other hand, had been utterly confounded by the lack of long sleeves and jackets. Not in fashion in Alola apparently, though it made sense given the humid, warm climate.
Still, the girl couldn't help but balk at how short the bottoms were, a far cry from the standard dress in back in Kanto, Lavender Town being a little more conservative than average. It was the product of an atmosphere caused by having a tower of the dead looming over the town, she supposed. The route south of the town met the sea, yes, but the shore was ragged and rocky, better suited for fishing than any kind of beach fun.
Selene had made the most of the situation, picking out some sportswear geared towards being breathable and comfortable. Even if her mother had been crushed by the plainness of the pants and long-sleeve shirts she had stubbornly marched up to the register, that was what she wanted.
With her own daughter done shopping in thirty minutes by the first store, Selene's mother had turned to showering Lillie with maternal affection instead. The girl seemed intimidated by the assortment of clothes available to her in each shop, unsure of what she wanted. Selene's mother had encouraged Lillie to pick out whatever she wanted, offering to pay for everything, which seemed to overwhelm the girl even more.
"So," Selene's mother giggled, "did you find any clothes you liked dear?"
"Um," Lillie began nervously. She held out a tiny bag full of clothes to everyone, peering into it apprehensively. "I guess all this stuff looks nice, but I don't know if they even go together."
"...Or if they'll suit me," she mumbled.
"Of course, it'll suit you, dear!"
"You'd look great in anything, Lillie!"
Selene did her best not to facepalm at how her mother and Hau had shouted those things out loud in the otherwise quiet boutique, hoping that they hadn't caused enough of a ruckus to merit being kicked out of the store.
"Well, why don't you try out a few possible combinations?" Ilima chipped in, not sounding concerned at all. "Might be good to get several different opinions."
Lillie nodded, seeming a little more relieved. "All right, I'll just… head off to the fitting rooms then."
As the girl walked away, Selene heard her mother let out an excited cackle. "Oh, I just can't wait to see what Lillie has in mind! I bet it'll be really cute, just like the precious, little doll she is!"
"Since the professor asked her to travel with Hau and me around the islands, something a bit more practical would be preferable," Selene couldn't help but argue. "Hopefully, it's not white either -"
"Lillie looks great in white though," Hau added thoughtfully.
"Definitely, but it's going to get dirty easily."
Her mother let out a sigh. "Honestly Selene, you need to learn to live a little! A little extra time with laundry is worth looking and feeling amazing."
"When did comfortable clothes become a crime?" the girl muttered as Hau proudly declared that his clothes were comfy and awesome all at once, a statement that Selene's mother couldn't find in her heart to refute.
Ilima then jumped in with his thoughts on what the best products considering comfort and appeal were, but Selene felt herself tune out of the conversation that they were now having. She... didn't have anything meaningful to contribute.
It was a sobering thought, to say the least, but it was something that could be fixed with time.
Right, the girl thought, I don't have to let things be like this. I can change.
Her hands began to tremble where they rested on her lap.
...Then why didn't you do it earlier?
"..."
Maybe you don't have what it takes.
"Shut up."
"...Hey Selene! Did you say something?"
The girl looked over at Hau, the urge to throw and smash something to pieces irrationally boiling up in her upon the sight of the young boy. Resentment crawled up and down her skin like invisible hands grabbing at her.
She shook her head and shot him a polite smile. This time, Selene wasn't sure if it was actually Hau who was causing a bitter feeling to line her insides.
By the fifth outfit, Selene resolved to never agree to go shopping with her mother, Ilima, or Hau ever again. Or at the very least, all three together.
The girl covered her face with her hands in embarrassment as her mother continued her very heated debate with Ilima over how to properly pair clothes together, Hau occasionally chipping in with appalling opinions always that seemed to unify the other two in complete protest. Selene was starting to think he was doing it on purpose, and that was a rather terrifying thought.
"H-how's this one?"
All heads turned in Lillie's direction, and the first thought that Selene's mind helpfully supplied was an emphatic damn. A change in wardrobe really could do wonders for changing a person's image.
As far as Selene was concerned, a shirt and skirt were roughly equivalent to a dress in everything but ease of wearing, but for some reason, the clothes made a huge difference for how they framed Lillie's demeanor. The blonde girl's stiff posture now felt endearingly awkward and not so much like a doll propped up for display, and the white and pastel blue of her clothes looked crisp and fresh. Perhaps because neither skirt nor top was lined with intricate lace and delicate embroideries like Lillie's usual dress and high socks, which Selene couldn't help but feel was a little too… fancy a professor's assistant to be wearing out in the field.
It was impressive, to say the least, yet…
"I don't care what anyone else says." Selene heard her mother say. "I'm buying that for you, dear."
"Honestly, it's perfect," Hau chirped, Ilima humming his agreement.
Lillie shyly bowed and thanked them for their kind words, her eyes trailing towards Selene with anticipation and perhaps anxiety.
"Hm," the Kantoan girl said finally. Everyone's voices conveniently died out just as she had spoken, and the girl couldn't help but reflexively cringe upon seeing heads turn in her direction.
"What is it?" her mother asked gently. "If there's something you'd like to say, don't worry. You're with friends here."
"Don't worry. Lillie, I, I think you look great," the girl said quickly, blushing furiously under all the pressure she suddenly felt. "Given the fact you're going to be dragged around Alola by Hau and me, it's actually more practical than your usual wear."
"It's just that, well, I think there's something missing that would really complete the look."
The others thoughtfully considered this for a few moments when an idea struck Selene. With that, she started to rummage through her shopping bag, pulling out a pack of black hair bands that she had decided to buy along with the rest of her clothes.
"Maybe you can use one of these," Selene suggested, fishing out the bonus white hairband to hand to Lillie. "A ponytail would look cute on you."
Lilie nervously regarded the band, the level of anxiety present on her face at odds with the small item in her hand.
"I don't know," the girl mumbled, fingers playing with the end of her braids as she stared down at the hairband as if it was a bomb. "It's just that, well, I'm not sure if I really should -"
"I'll do it for you, so don't worry!" Hau piped in helpfully.
In spite of what he said, the boy merely extended a hand out to Lillie, leaving the choice up to her. If it had been anyone else, Selene imagined that the blonde girl would have felt pressured into handing over the hairband. However, this was Hau, a boy who didn't seem capable of even thinking a malicious thought.
Noticing her hesitation, the boy gave her a sheepish smile, but before he could open his mouth to apologize, Lillie defiantly placed the band in his hands. The girl puffed up her cheeks in embarrassment, offering no further explanation.
Hau took the situation in stride, eagerly running behind Lillie to get started. Selene couldn't help but be impressed by how gentle Hau was running his fingers through the girl's long blonde hair as he gathered it together, the level of concentration he was exhibiting was a far cry from his usual carefree self. Lillie flushed a little as she saw everyone else smile in amusement, unaware of how Hau was unconsciously sticking a little bit of his tongue out as he meticulously went about smoothing out her hair.
Lillie's reaction spoke for itself once the girl was free to examine herself in a mirror, the girl blinking slowly as she looked over the person reflected back at her. Hesitantly, she spun around once, her eyes flitting from the sway of her new ponytail to the rustle of her skirt.
"I can't believe this is me," she said finally, her face somewhere in between grimacing and crying.
"You look great, Lillie!" Hau reassured her, shooting her a big thumbs up. "The light hits your hair and eyes without the hat, and it makes you about as bright as a star in the night sky!"
Selene snorted at the cheesy compliment, though she had a feeling she would be a lot more receptive if she was on the receiving end of one.
On the other hand, Lillie only nodded, oddly not flustered like she usually was. Instead, she seemed uncertain. Nervously, the girl played with her ponytail, looking lost in thought… distressed even. Then again, maybe Selene's eyes were playing tricks on her. The Kantoan girl was starting to think that maybe (highly likely, definitely, some part deep down in her knew) she was just projecting her own worries and insecurities onto Lillie's, yearning for anything to validate the distress that Selene herself had felt back in school.
If her distress had been obvious, then someone should have noticed. Someone should have done something. Someone should have been there for her, and the injustice of it all hurt.
And yet, her mind treacherously (rationally) supplied, the person who failed you most was -
Selene did not want to think any further on that.
Instead, Selene moved to grab a hairband from the pack, pulling her hair into a low, short ponytail. She then stood up, tossing an arm around Lillie and Hau as she looked directly into the mirror. On her left was a girl so different yet so like herself, a girl as distant as the moon. On her right was a boy almost too dazzling to face head-on, a boy as constant as the sun.
And Selene would be content with being the stars, the supporting role to the sun that blotted out their lights entirely and the moon for whom they were merely the pretty backdrop.
"Now we match," the girl said, feeling at ease.
As long as Selene could be part of that same sky, there was nothing she could complain about.
"And honestly," the Kantoan girl said with an attempt at a devilish wink, "I think we all look pretty good."
"You're right" the blonde girl murmured, shyly smiling somewhere towards her feet. The smile on Selene's face grew wide at the sight, Hau also beginning to grin from ear to ear.
"Still, the braids don't feel right…" Lillie commented, experimentally twirling one around. "The weight feels weird with the rest of my hair pulled back."
"Then maybe pull the longer strands back," Hau suggested. "You'd have to get rid of the braids, but it might feel better."
"When did you become a hair expert?" Selene asked drily.
"Tutu, of course."
As Selene considered in faint disbelief that the fact grandfather and grandson did have the same hairstyle, Hau nudged her in the side.
"If you want to look younger, showing the forehead does wonders."
"Why… would I want that?"
"Discounts at food places! Duh!" the boy said, looking surprised. "Kids are eleven and younger!"
"Most places check pokemon licenses, Hau." Selene frowned as she considered what Hau said a little more. "Hey! What does that make me?"
Hau gave her one of his innocent Hau smiles. "Two years too old for discounts, I guess."
"I await your twelfth birthday with much delight," Selene grumbled, shooting the younger boy a half-hearted glare. "Enjoy it while it lasts."
"Nah, I'll still have a beautiful forehead, even without the discounts."
"...You going for the Kahuna of Melemele look?"
"Nah, I'll probably just clip a bit of it back! It'll look really cool."
Selene squinted dubiously, trying to visualize what Hau was saying. She had absolutely no clue what he meant, but she definitely wasn't going to admit that out loud.
"How about we make a bet on it?" Hau said, shooting Selene a smile that was somehow incredibly teasing even though it was exactly like all his other smiles in appearance. The Kantoan girl frankly wasn't sure how he did it. "Give it five years."
"H-Hau!" Lillie stammered indignantly, having finally worked up the courage to speak up.
"Deal," Selene said immediately. "Remember we're talking about just the hair. Puberty isn't going to save you."
"Lillie as judge?"
"Sure."
Lillie looked over at the older girl in faint horror, most likely confounded by the behavior of the other two children. "Selene!"
"You're one of us, Lillie, part of the ponytail club!" Hau said with a huge grin. "We can't just leave you out!"
"Yep," Selene added helpfully as Lillie began to look more and more confused.
"Hey, do you think we should let Ilima into the ponytail club?" Hau conspiratorially whispered. From the mirror, Selene saw Lillie's eyes wander over to the trial captain, who did have a bit of hair tied by the hairband his trial captain's pin was attached to. He was talking to Selene's mother, hopefully engaging in discussion about clothes that wasn't so barbed with aggressive opinions.
"I don't think that counts," Selene said dryly, only for Hau to dramatically gasp.
"How could you! His ponytail is about the size of yours!"
"It's a pigtail if anything."
The two paused as they heard a sound, looking towards the blonde girl with them. Lillie was giggling uncontrollably now, and with that, the other two children couldn't help but laugh along as well.
"Your mother's so nice, Selene."
Said girl looked oddly at Lillie from over her ice cream cone, not sure what to make of the out of the blue comment.
After the bout of shopping, the group had decided to get some refreshments, Lillie and Selene opting for ice cream while Hau, Ilima, and Selene's mother were off getting something cold to drink. The latter three had yet to come back so Selene and Lillie were sitting at a public table with an enormous blue and white umbrella, shading the two from the orange-tinted afternoon light.
"What do you mean?" Selene said finally, preoccupying herself by squishing the melting ice cream with her spoon.
Out of the corner of her eye, Selene could see Lillie's hair shift back and forth like a curtain in the breeze, obscuring her face from sight. However, the way the younger girl shifted uncomfortably in her seat beside Selene made things clear. Not that Selene blamed her - this was the first time the two girls had ever been alone together since they had met a week ago. Given their relationship, things would be awkward, of course.
Selene scowled. How would one go about defining their relationship anyways?
Friends didn't seem right. They didn't really talk all that often, even when Selene had been studying for her trainer's license exam over at the professor's lab slash home. Occasionally the blonde girl did pipe in with some helpful tibbit if she happened to be doing chores in the living room, but other than that, Hau had done most of the teaching.
Selene couldn't help but feel really stupid. How the hell were you supposed to make friends with people? And asking someone - no, anyone - about that was just…
"Your mother… She didn't have to pay for me."
Lillie looked down at the small bag that held the outfit from before, abashed as Selene found herself unable to do anything other than blink confusedly.
"That's just how mothers are though. If you felt pretty wearing those clothes, of course she'd buy it for you."
Lillie had gone silent, the top part of her face shaded by the large hat that obscured her from Selene's vision yet again. Was she lost in thought? ...Had Selene offended her?
"...Right."
Selene coughed awkwardly, not sure what to make of that response. "Well, if you wanted a dress embroidered entirely with diamonds, maybe there'd be a problem but… if it's within a reasonable price tag, there shouldn't be an issue."
"That... makes sense."
Lillie smiled absently, and it was a strikingly perfect smile, if only because the rest of her face failed miserably to do the same in hiding her apparent confusion. The vacant look in her eyes unsettled Selene to say the least, even more so as they were cast in shadow by the girl's bangs. This was an expression crafted by years of use, so who had let such obvious discontent slide without saying a word?
In the back of Selene's mind, something stirred. The reason Lillie did not keep Nebby in a pokeball was to keep herself and Nebby off the electronic records available to the public. Could it be that the person Lillie was trying so desperately to hide from was…?
"I just wear the clothes that my mother says I should wear," Lillie confessed, looking down at her lap. "I know I'm at an age where I should be choosing things myself but…"
The girl's hands trembled. "I don't know what I look good in. Mother says I look fine, so it… it should be enough..."
Lillie trailed off before looking over at Selene, not directly into her eyes but close enough.
"Do I look… pretty in this?"
Selene stared blankly back, wondering if it was a trick question. She'd never really put too much concern into her own appearance unless it involved presentability. Her own taste in clothes wasn't the flashiest or most appealing, but she always felt comfortable and socially presentable, and to her, that's all that mattered.
Of course, Lillie might have completely different priorities so -
Damn, she was overcomplicating things again.
"I think you look pretty, but my opinion and your mother's opinion aren't important," Selene said finally, putting some conviction into her voice. "Do you feel pretty, Lillie?"
"Feel?"
"You're the one wearing the clothes, so I think you should get the most say in it."
There was a long silence. Selene tried not to squirm.
"I… I don't know," Lillie said finally. "I just… I'm sorry."
"There's nothing to be sorry for," Selene said. The girl scowled. "I don't think I know myself either."
"But it's okay. We have all the time in the world to figure that out. It might be hard to imagine your life changing so drastically. Well, I didn't think I'd be going on an island challenge two years ago. Life's full of twists we didn't expect."
"I know what you mean," Lillie murmured.
Maybe Selene was being overdramatic or perhaps romantic, but she couldn't help but wonder what the younger girl had experienced. The Kantoan swore she could hear a lifetime of sorrow behind that voice, which was far more than any girl deserved to experience at such a young age.
Selene thought of white lights, antiseptics and blood, and salty tears. Life could be unreasonably cruel. However, a brief moment, she could hear youthful, mocking laughter in the back of her head. A sudden change in heart. Now the voices were groveling, weeping for forgiveness like their lives depended on it. The Kantoan girl wasn't sure what was stewing in the pits of her stomach, despair or resentment. People could be equally cruel, if not more so.
Selene was struck by a strong, almost desperate desire to know anything about Lillie's story. She wanted to know why the younger girl felt such palpable grief because…
What was Selene going to do with that knowledge if she ever got it? What on Earth could she do?
No, it didn't matter. Selene wanted to see Lillie happy, wanted to see her smile, wanted to how she looked when she thought she was pretty. It made her think of how much she wanted the professor to succeed in his dreams, and she had only known Lillie for about a week. Maybe, just maybe, she was slowly becoming friends with Lillie? Since Selene had spent years keeping people her age at an emotional arm's length, she had absolutely no clue.
The paranoia in her cautioned her from making assumptions that might not be true in the first place. For all Selene knew, maybe Lillie was just putting up with her because the professor had told her to or out of some obligation for what had taken place on the bridge. She thought about her talk with the professor. She thought he had known more about her than herself, but even then, he had expressed uncertainty and worry about not knowing what she had been thinking.
That's right, Selene thought, mustering up resolve, I won't know unless I ask.
"Hey, Lillie," the girl managed to ask. "Do you think we could be friends?"
Lillie blinked, quietly pondering the question as if she wasn't sure where the two girls stood with each other as well. The girl flushed after a moment.
"Please don't take the silence badly. I-I don't really know how to make friends… actually…"
"I don't either," Selene admitted with less than shame than expected. "I think we might need to go to an expert on friends."
"..."
"..."
"Hau?" the two girls asked at the same time, bursting into giggles.
"Honestly," Lillie began, a hand daintily going up to her mouth to hide a giggle, "I think 'friend' might just be Hau's state of being. He gets along so well with everyone he meets."
Selene shot her an amused grin. "Don't forget about pokemon. Remember that time the professor let us have a break on the beach? Hau had pokemon following him around like the princesses in those fairy tale movies!"
"All we need is for him to break out in song," she added. "Knowing him, he could probably do it."
At that comment, Lillie almost choked on the spoon of ice cream in her mouth, a sight that made Selene burst into laughter. And as karma for laughing at her companion's misfortunate, Selene realized too late that her ice cone suddenly was a scoop of ice cream lighter. There was a beat of silence as the two watched the sugary treat melt over the ground.
"Man," Selene grumbled, "I should have asked for a cup instead."
A completely unladylike snort made Selene look up at Lillie, though the blonde girl suddenly seemed preoccupied with her own ice cream. Selene waggled her eyebrows (at least, that was what she was going for) at her companion the moment she looked up, trying not to snicker at the utterly mortified look on the girl's face.
This was actually pretty fun.
It was then that her mother returned, Hau and Ilima behind her animatedly chatting about battles from the sounds of it. Selene enviously eyed the smoothies they were holding, just imagining the cool sweetness on her tongue.
"Don't laugh," the girl grumbled, seeing how her mother had a knowing smile on her face and that pose, the one with a hand cradling her face. That pose that she'd do while leaning back in her chair in amusement, watching as Hitmonlee unceremoniously hoisted Selene's toddler self up in the air with one foot. It had always been an attempt to shame the small child for whatever trouble she had caused that time.
"It's all right," the woman said before throwing in a short laugh in just to get a sputter from her daughter. "I'll just get you another one."
Selene wanted to protest since the ice cream store was a bit far away by her standards, but her mother winked at Ilima, who was probably the closest equivalent of adult supervision.
"Keep an eye on the other two for me, would you?"
The trial captain nodded once, a look of amusement flitting across his face as he turned around to find that Hau had already managed to rope Lillie into their conversation. The blonde girl seemed a little more preoccupied with how he was gesticulating wildly with both hands, smoothie sloshing around precariously in its clear cup.
With that, mother and daughter walked off, struck by a heavy, pervasive silence.
It was strange, to say the least - her mother was usually such a talkative person. The girl couldn't help but nervously glance over at the woman, who seemed preoccupied with thoughts Selene wasn't sure of. It unsettled Selene because her mother was the kind of person who wore her heart on her sleeve for everyone to see.
No, that was the kind of person that she thought her mother was. Selene remembered how her mother had broken down after the incident at the bridge. How her mother, who Selene thought acted like everything was all right with the world, actually had so many worries and fears that she didn't express to anyone until she finally caved beneath them.
The whole thing upset Selene. That she didn't know better than to think that her mother's own struggles began and ended with her. That her willful disconnection with her late father meant that her mother quietly grieved all by herself. That she had essentially put her mother's life on halt for over a decade. That her mother was always there for her but the other way around not so much.
"...Have you ever wanted to get your hair done, Selene?"
Selene stopped to process the sudden question. Out of the corner of her eye, Selene registered the neon lights of a salon sign so that explained it, she supposed.
"It's kind of pointless to have a fancy hairdo right now," the girl said finally, not sure what had spurred on the question. "I wouldn't be able to maintain it on my journey."
"Yes, I suppose you're right…" her mother said distantly, coming to a stop before the salon's window, which had pictures of people modeling different hairstyles plastered unevenly across it. "I just wish I knew what fancy hairdo you would have like before you went off on your journey..."
"There really isn't a point in thinking about something that won't happen."
Her mother suddenly let out a laugh, startling Selene. The sound was pleasant yet...
"Erm, did I say something funny?"
The woman turned to face her daughter, a wistful mist to her eyes as she looked over Selene.
"You just… reminded me of your father." She let out another laugh, soft but filled with a faint longing. "You really did inherit most of your looks and personality from him."
"...I see," Selene said stiffly, not sure what else to say in this situation.
If that response bothered her mother, she made no indication of it. Instead, the woman pointed at a photo of a woman with all her hair pulled back to weave a single elegant braid, stray strands of hair falling loose to add a sort of softness to the appearance.
How beautiful, Selene thought.
"I had my hair done something like this for my most memorable date with your father." Selene stiffened. Her mother had never really spoken about her father to her in such a way before. "I felt like the prettiest girl in the world at the time."
"It wasn't a good idea, though. We were going on Cycling Road on one of those silly tandem bikes, and it suddenly started raining. I spent quite a bit of money prettying myself up, but it won't ever compare to what your father said to me when we finally made it to a checkpoint."
"'Wow, you wear dirt like glitter and sequins, Thea!'" she giggled girlishly.
Selene made a face. "That's horrifically cheesy. And a sin to oral language."
"And absolutely hilarious coming from your father," her mother cackled. "He was always a bit of a loser deep down."
A soft, nostalgic smile made its way onto the woman's face as she thought back on that moment. "He was always so worried about maintaining his 'serious' image… almost comically so."
"But yes, it was so unlike your father that I thought he had gotten horribly ill from being out in the rain. I panicked and dragged him over to the checkpoint while in hysterics."
"...And then?" Selene found herself asking. It was strange, hearing about a story that seemed so far and away and removed from her. Even her mother sounded so different, like another person entirely. Like a fairy tale, the story captivated Selene in a way that refreshingly childish.
"The checkpoint lady just looked at us like we were idiots and gave us a key to one of the overnight rooms. Your father was so embarrassed he buried himself under all the blankets and pillows and refused to show himself." The woman paused. "...Probably didn't help that I couldn't stop laughing at him."
Never mind. There was the mother she knew.
The woman turned back to Selene, a wistful look on her face. Selene would have called it the expression of a person in love, had it not been for the lines between the woman's eyes and mouth that made the girl think of Selene herself. Of the times when the girl would stare at her tearstained reflection in the mirror and wonder what was wrong with herself.
"It's moments like those that I cherish the most," her mother said softly. "I… I just want to have a memory like that with you, dear."
"It's a bit too late for that now though, isn't it?" Selene asked, wincing at how dismissive that sounded. "After all, I'm going to be doing my Island Challenge now."
"You're right," her mother said mournfully, resigning herself to a sad smile. "I… I should have spent more time with you than with my work."
That admission hurt Selene more than she had expected. It was one thing to overhear her mother confess that she felt a distance between them but another to have it be said to her face. But what choice had her mother had? Alone in supporting her child, the only thing the woman could do was work.
Trying to keep a grimace off her face, Selene pointed at another photo, the model's hair done in a simple romantic tuck. It was a pretty hairstyle that Selene would have called princess hair back when she was five. It still had its charms years later, but the girl knew she wasn't adept enough to do it herself.
"My hair's not long enough for this yet, I think," Selene said quietly. "But by the time I'm done with my Island Challenge, I think it should be."
Selene looked up at her mother and mustered up all her determination. This was her mother, who she knew loved her so much. Who perhaps loved her a little too much. There was no reason to be afraid in front of her.
"Would you... would you do my hair like this when I come home?"
Her mother only stared at her, her dark eyes shining with white stars. One fell from that glassy sky, streaking down across her face as a shooting star. And then the rest came crashing down in a brilliant shower, the sight so surprising Selene found herself frozen in place.
"Oh, Selene…" her mother whispered, "...I'll be looking forward to that day."
With that said, the woman wiped away at her cheeks, a quiet laugh spilling from her lips. "You aren't even gone yet, and I… I-I already miss you. I can't b-believe this."
"Mother, I… I…"
You're what? Sorry?
You're going on this 'island challenge' because you can't help but run away at the first hint of failure so that others can clean up your mess for you. You said you were starting off fresh when the move to Alola happened, but guess what? The moment things get uncomfortable, you suddenly want another redo.
Are you going to keep promising to yourself "next time, it'll go perfect for real" every time something goes wrong? How many more times are you going to lie to yourself and everyone else around you?
"I'll miss you even more," Selene managed to say, head swimming with self-doubt and other treacherous thoughts. Since this was probably going to be the last time she got to spend with her mother before she went on her journey, the girl would savor every second of it. "I mean, I'll be the one going without your cooking."
"Arceus," her mother muttered, her face darkening with worry, "I planned for that, but I'm still worried."
Selene stilled, not sure where the woman was going with this. "...What?"
"Oh, I uh, repacked your things for you while you were asleep in the morning," her mother sheepishly admitted. "I wasn't trying to avoid unpacking our things. Definitely."
The girl looked at her in exasperation. "Meowth's done more unpacking than you."
"Guilty as charged, haha," Selene's mother laughed, scratching her head. "Anyways, Mommy - don't give me that look - has some important trainer tips for you, dear."
"I've put a few extra pokeballs in the smallest pocket of your backpack. They're carrying some of your heavier things, and while I don't know if that's legal here in Alola -"
"Mother!"
"I'm kidding," her mother chuckled. "It's perfectly legal here. Just remember not to throw those out in battle. ...I most certainly did not do that a few times and break my gear beyond repair, hehe."
Selene felt a little sticker book get pressed into her hands.
"Because your mother really wishes she had bought some of these when she was your age, here are some puffy stickers that can help you tell pokeballs apart so you don't send out the wrong pokemon or break someone's nose with a flying portable stove."
"You what?"
Her mother winked at her. "It got me an adorable daughter I wouldn't trade for the world, but let's try to be on the safe side here."
"Are you saying that you met Father by -"
"Speaking of safe side, remember to use pokemon centers, okay? I know you might think you're a big girl now, but that license of yours means you can use them free of charge as many times as you would like for room and healing."
Selene blinked, realizing that there was actually a whole lot that she hadn't considered about going on a journey and, shit, how on earth was she going to remember all of this without it being written down somewhere for reference?
"...Trust the wildlife, okay? I heard that you can find spearow on this island, so watch out for them like I taught you. And even if Alola is foreign to you, remember to trust your pokemon's instincts. They'll usually sense danger before you can."
"And finally," her mother said, pausing to catch her breath, "I've got a little gift for you. Can't let the professor try to steal my one kid with his cheesy, homemade charm."
Selene did her best not to choke on air at the comment, even though she knew that her mother wasn't exactly aware of her… erm, crush. Preoccupied with fishing something out of her skirt, Selene's mother didn't notice.
In the woman's hands was a carved wooden talisman with a few feathers attached to one end, the highlight being the much longer and vibrant red and blue tail feather of a mega pidgeot.
"I know you don't really have too many good memories in Kanto, but you still lived there for thirteen years of your life."
Selene couldn't help but gape as she took the trinket in disbelief. "Where… where on earth did you get the mega pidgeot feather? Aren't these supposed to be really hard to obtain?"
Her mother let an amused chuckle. "Look a little closer."
Selene ran a finger over the barbs of the feather, coming to a slow halt upon noticing a section of barbs that were discolored white, a distinctive feature of the pidgeot owned by a certain...
"No way…" Selene sputtered, blinking rapidly as if she expected the talisman to vanish in her hands. "T-there's no way! How on earth did you get the tailfeather of Blue's pidgeot in mega form?"
"Mr. Fuji thought you'd appreciate something like that," her mother explained, overjoyed to see how her daughter was on cloud nine for receiving something so closely connected to one of her idols. "Apparently, Blue didn't even think twice about doing Mr. Fuji a little favor given Lavender Town's help in debunking that story once and for all."
Selene made a face, remembering how a few years back, the tabloids had caught wind of a potential scandal between the Viridian gym leader and his rival. A scandal that had to do with the supposed death of one of Blue's pokemon after a battle, leading Blue to take a detour toward Lavender Town on his original pokemon journey.
Between the tourists who didn't listen to residents and insisted that there had to be a secret grave somewhere and the intrusive journalists hungry enough for a profitable headline, serious fears that someone would be bold enough to try and break into a few of the tombs had run rampant among Lavender locals. The campaign led by Mr. Fuji in response had been harsh but completely warranted, even if it soured the reputation of the town for years after.
"Asides from the feather, it was a simple matter for Mr. Fuji to ask one of the channelers to craft this for you."
Selene held the talisman up to her face, recognizing the swirling lines carved into the wood as part of the calligraphy the channelers would write onto paper charms. If the girl remembered correctly, the intricate characters spelled out "fear". This talisman was specifically meant to chase away the owner's worries, and the revelation made Selene's bruised heart ache.
"Thank you," the girl said quietly, overcome with emotion. "...This is the Kantoan equivalent of what the professor gave me though."
Her mother puffed in defeat. "Technically, I came up with the idea first. Just saying."
"Yeah, yeah," Selene snickered.
Movement by her mother's waist caught the girl's eyes, and the girl found herself staring at one of the pokeballs upon the woman's belt, the capsule shaking rather furiously. The girl scowled; something felt off.
"Oh, that reminds me," her mother said with faint surprise, "I can't believe I forgot the most important thing!"
As the woman detached the pokeball from her belt, the light caught the object, so Selene could finally see what had been bothering her. The lack of scuffs and scratches meant this pokeball was brand new.
"A... pokemon?" Selene said slowly, not sure what to make of this. "Um, I think I'm good-"
"Wait, wait, wait!" the woman said hurriedly, rummaging through her personal bag. "Let me just... find part two of this gift from me and the professor."
Selene's hand almost immediately drifted towards the charm the professor had given her earlier. He'd already given her what she thought would be his parting gift, so the thought of another one left her feeling …surprised, to say the least. The girl couldn't help but wince at the sound of her mother jostling the contents of her bag, wondering what kind of item would be able to survive a prolonged onslaught in that cluttered, bottomless pit.
"Here we go!" her mother exclaimed, showing Selene a -
Was that a pokedex?
Selene blinked once. Twice. This couldn't be real. On top of being a very high-end pokedex, this gift had to be the pokedex she had seen the professor fiddling with last week.
"This is...!"
"A good to honest pokedex, yep," her mother said mildly, as though she wasn't handling state of the art research equipment but some bauble to hang around at home.
"I can't have this! The professor said, he, he said -"
An eyebrow was casually raised at those words. "The professor said?"
"...It's a new model that he ordered for himself," the girl indignantly sputtered.
"Dear, check the back."
Selene took the device and flipped it over, snorting almost immediately upon seeing what was engraved there.
You better take the gift, so help me.
"Wait." Selene looked at her mother in muted horror as it dawned upon her. "Because it's engraved, this can't be returned or resold."
"Nope," the woman said cheerily, completely unconcerned by the appalled look on her daughter's face. "Honestly, I don't know how I gave birth to a kid so afraid of free things. Now, let me set this up for you…"
Selene's mother began to press a few buttons on the screen, a delighted grin making its way across her face.
"Oh boy," the woman cackled as the device hummed to life.
She must be happy to get her hands on such an expensive model, Selene thought with a faint smile.
Her mother had seen a few schematics for different kinds back when she was working for Silph Co., a time when only Red and Blue had been the only civilians in possession of functional ones. After Team Rocket's takeover of Silph Co., the woman had quit for… personal reasons, but it hadn't killed her mother's passion. Recently, basic regional pokedexes had been made standard for trainers in Kanto, and her mother had spent so much time dissecting hers that she probably knew every single piece by heart.
Many times, Selene had hesitantly poked her head past the door of her mother's bedroom to see her mother window shopping online, wistfully looking at things like pokedexes that were probably far out of the budget of a single mother.
Selene now got a closer look at the pokedex, finally noticing the odd shape of the device and the screen.
"Why is the shape so funny?"
"Oh, silly me," the woman sighed, lightly slapping her forehead. "I'm so scatterbrained… I almost forgot the most important part."
Unclipping the new pokeball from before, Selene's mother breezily tossed it into the air, releasing the pokemon inside with a loud crackle. Selene was proud to say that she recognized the pokemon right away, the orange and blue electric pokemon the topic of many documentaries and research studies for its ability to inhabit manmade electronics, a feat that had later been replicated by the creation of the artificial porygon line in Kanto.
"Say hello to Rotom!" her mother said cheerily. "This little fella is a special feature that comes along with that fancy pokedex of yours."
"Hi," Selene began awkwardly, "though I don't think I need another pokemon -"
"No, no! Rotom here has been specifically bred to inhabit your pokedex. It's a new thing that's all the rage in the scientific community nowadays: 'the ability for pokemon and human to work together has been revolutionized by the power of technology'!" the woman said, using obvious air quotes and what sounded like her terrible impression of Professor Oak's voice.
"But basically, with a pokemon capable of integrating itself with a pokedex and the intelligence to make use of that ability, your pokedex can be more than just an electronic encyclopedia! Rotom naturally provides power to the device which means the pokedex can be built to focus on other features to make it the multi-tool of research with features such as -" The woman paused, realizing that she was getting swept up in her usual gush of technobabble when she saw the overwhelmed look on her daughter's face.
"Well, what you need to know is that this sort of integration had been legalized for about a year, but it was only recently approved in Alola. ...You might be the first Alolan civilian who has access to one of these, though," her mother said thoughtfully. "If things go well, maybe in a few years, everyone will have one. I still remember getting my pokedex in the mail like it was yesterday."
Selene nodded, still trying to process the deluge of information her mother had dumped on her. "So, uh, how much did this pokedex cost…?"
"I'm not telling," the woman snorted. "And if you ask the professor, I've already warned him to not tell you either."
"That's…!"
"Why, hello!"
Selene started upon hearing a foreign voice, jumping as she found the talking pokedex eye to eye with her. It was uncanny to say the least, seeing something electronic blink at her and speak in a voice that was too electronic to be a human recording but far too emotive and smooth in enunciation to be computer-generated speech.
"The hell?" the girl blurted, shaking her head as she desperately tried to backtrack. "I mean, hi?"
"Rotom, this is Selene. Selene, Rotom," her mother explained, shamelessly grinning at the spectacle. "You'll be inhabiting my daughter's pokedex, so please be a dear and keep an eye on her for me, would you?"
The pokedex (pokemon?) buzzed happily. "But of course!"
"Erm, isn't this a little much?" Selene said weakly.
"Well, it was the professor's idea," Selene's mother said with a shrug. "He might worry for you more than I do at times, heh. He thinks that having Rotom with you will provide you with some support without pressuring you to feel like you have to rely on other people."
"I see," Selene mumbled, wondering why she didn't feel as happy as she was expecting. Maybe it was just dread at how close her journey actually was. Yes, that had to be it.
"Bzzt! I'm not good at battling, so please don't try to send me out in battle!" the pokedex chirped. "I can't even hurt a caterpie!"
Selene chuckled at that. "Thanks for letting me know. Well, I guess I should introduce you to the team…? Even if you aren't going to be battling…"
In a flash of light, her two pokemon found themselves perched on their trainer's shoulders, putting them eye to eye with their new companion.
"This is Rotom, our new friend," the girl explained slowly. "Rotom will be coming along with us on our journey so try to get along okay?"
"Call me - bzzt - Rotomdex!"
"Rotomdex, it is then."
The Kantoan girl could see her rowlet squint suspiciously at their new companion before turning its head to its trainer, the tilt of its face a silent question for reassurance. Selene nodded once, and that was enough for Watmel, who quickly lost interest in the flying pokedex and went about preening itself.
On the other hand, Liechi seemed more excited than normal, clicking its mandibles rather energetically at Rotomdex in a way that had the pokedex-pokemon hybrid on edge.
"No! I'm not - bzzt - delicious! Neither is the pokedex!" the pokemon buzzed indignantly, to which the grubbin responded quickly. "N-no! We are not testing either!"
After having a good laugh over how Watmel and Liechi were lightly bullying Rotomdex, her mother urged Selene to go head off on her own. The girl had initially hesitated because surely she should say goodbye to Hau, Lillie, and Ilima, but her mother had given her a sly wink.
"I may not know you as well as I should, but as your mother, I could tell how antsy you were feeling during all that shopping." The woman regarded the visible guilt on Selene's face with a sad smile. "It's okay… I'm pretty sure Hau and Lillie will be staying at the pokemon center, so I'll tell them you can just meet them there. Feel free to leave me a call using your fancy Pokedex if you need me!"
"But -"
"Good luck sweetie." The seriousness in the woman's tone made Selene falter "I.. I know you can do it."
I don't know if I'm ready, Selene wanted to admit. However, at the cusp of her journey, the words halted at the tip of her tongue. Her anxiety did not ease as her mother quietly took in the girl's silence and expression.
"Go have some fun exploring the city on your own," the woman suggested gently. "There's some tall grass in between the buildings, so you can feel free to hunt for a pokemon in relative safety."
Reassured by having the structure of guidelines to tell her how to begin, the girl gave her mother a nod and a determined look before running off on the first steps of her Island Challenge, lit by the late afternoon sun.
What was probably a much needed chapter on various interpersonal relationships in this fic! I'll admit that I do forget about Lillie from time to time, but it's not her time to shine, just yet.
And the bit about the Old Families is here! I ended up creating an plethora of OCs and subplots for the political drama portion of this fic, since there's only so many roles I can give canon characters before it becomes comical. :P
The Old Families represent the highest class in Alola, second only to the Kahuna and royal family in political influence. As their name implies, their power comes from their lineage and their ancestor's association with the Tapus and original members of the royal family. Kukui's plans threaten their prestige, and they really don't like him as a result.
