Nebby made sure the journey back home took longer than it had to, as they took Moon around all of the islands, to formations in the water, and just generally enjoyed the time they had together before they had to part once more. It was a little chillier than Moon would have liked, with her jacket having been stolen by Tapu Lele, but it was nicer flying Nebby than the Ride Pager Charizard.
For one, she wasn't burdened by the gear. How clunky it was, how skintight it was, how she'd been quite sore her first few times in the saddle. But she could trust Nebby to carry her through the skies by doing nothing more than setting on their back.
But no matter how much they enjoyed it, Moon needed to get home before Mom became overwrought with worry. As soon as she let Nebby know, the Lunala let out a cry of acknowledgment and carried her back to Akala Island. She could see her mom sitting on the porch, beside Tanahashi the Meowth and Hau, sharing a box of malasadas.
They noticed her as Nebby came swooping down, with Hau leaping to his feet to wave with both arms, and her mother smiling widely as she waved them down. Nebby landed gracefully before them, their form taking up most of the road, and Moon slid down a wing. She wasn't completely free, as her Mom wrapped her up in a tight hug that was thankfully not so long as to make it embarrassing in front of Hau.
"Hey, Moon! And Nebby, too!" Hau beamed at the pair of them. "You sure put a scare in the people on the arena, and that was before that Tapu took you away!"
"I was very distressed." Mom said, nodding sagely. "If Hau hadn't brought these malasadas, why, I might have forgotten to eat entirely. Such a nice boy."
"Aw, shucks, auntie!" Hau's cheeks blushed dark as he scratched the back of his head. "I was just doin' what Moon would do for my mom."
"...do I know your mom?" Moon asked.
"Sure you d-" Hau's eyes went wide. "Whoa, I don't think you have! We should fix that, pronto!"
"Okay." Moon nodded. "Some other day."
"Sure, let's do it!" Hau nodded his head as Mom stepped up the stairs into the house. "How about I introduce you two after our next battle?"
"Yeah." Moon turned to Nebby and gave them a last stoke on the crest of their head. The Pokemon nuzzled back into her hand, then departed with a swish of her wings that made all of the trees tremble. "When do you want to get beat next?"
"Nex-Hey, I noticed that!" Hau laughed as he saw the little smile on Moon's lips. "Aren't you gonna be busy with being Champion? It's only two weeks until that speech!"
Moon went to follow her Mom's path into the house, and Hau followed her. But not before picking up the box of malasadas that Tanahashi had been eyeing.
"Yeah. We can spar or something." She offered. Type: Null could use more of the training, and Hau was always a good partner for training. "Do you want to face me?" She asked, as she grabbed a pair of her mom's sunglasses off of the side, put them on, then stroke her coolest pose. "Or the Champ?"
"Y'know," Hau scratched his cheek as he considered. "I think I'll fight Moon. The Champ is kind of a jerk."
"Okay." Moon took the sunglasses off again. She didn't want to spend much time around her friends as the Champion regardless. She'd gotten past most of her anxiety in dealing with people, especially with her closest friends, but still she worried that she'd gone too far or said something inappropriate sometimes. As the Champion, it was guaranteed she'd go all-in on the belittlement. "How's Hala?"
"He's good!" Hau leaned against the kitchen counter. "The way he talks about being Kahuna, it sounds like it's gonna be fun. It's not the kind of thing you wanna hear, though – it's all traditions and stuff like that."
"I could listen." Moon offered, as she took one of the doughy treats from Hau's box. It had been too long since she'd spoken with Hau at any length, what with having to spend so much of her time with Type: Null, with sparring, with Guzma or Plumeria, with The Masked Royal… "If you want to talk about it."
"Oh, sure." Hau rubbed his hands together. "I guess you've got to learn about that kind of thing anyway, if you're gonna be Champion for long."
The Champion wanted to say "I will be.", but Moon just furrowed her brow.
"Why?"
"Because Champions do all kinds of things!" Hau said. "Professor Kukui said that they help manage wild Pokemon, organize the Pokemon League, kind of like a Kahuna for the whole region, y'know? He didn't tell you that?"
"No." Moon said.
"Perhaps he wanted to keep these things from you until you'd settled in." Mom offered, from her place beside the table. "You would be rife with worries if you'd known all of that on top of your public appearances, wouldn't you?"
"I guess." Moon looked to Hau. "Now you've got to tell me everything."
"Are you sure?" Hau asked. "I mean, I know you're not done with the persona thing yet, and if the Professor doesn't think it's a good idea, I don't know if I should..." He mulled over his thoughts with the help of a malasada mouthful.
"I've done most of the work." Moon explained. "I've got the outfit. I've got the attitude. I've done some stuff in public now. I've just got to improve it." Her eyes drifted to the calendar that hung on the nearby wall, which had a big marker right at the center that pointed to the day when she'd make her first official speech as a representative of Alola's Pokemon League. Just two weeks until all of her work paid off. "I can handle it."