School was over. Definitely.
After five years of high school, Sam and Han could finally hang up their notebooks and devote themselves to what they most wanted: exploration.
Throughout their existences, the restless Torracat and the dubious Drizzile had remained confined to their comfortable atoll, Awawa o ka maiʻa, a paradise where the most disparate types of fruit were grown.
Sam had always been a tomboy, with constantly matted fur and ruby eyes perpetually burning with a lust for emotion.
As for her childhood friend of hers, he followed her meekly, watering her from time to time with weak jets of rain to calm her down.
As cubs, they were often at each other's home, for a snack, a new game or simply daydreaming, and then running at breakneck speed on the white beaches imagining completely different worlds.
Sam was also a true expert in maps and tools for explorers. She didn't know in detail the archipelago of Pola Hua, where she lived, but she planned to explore it all. Her idols were Ampharos and Wigglytuff, two star-rated adventurers.
As for Han, he had always been fascinated by the overwhelming energy of the cat, so much so that he dyed a part of his tuft red in her honor.
That same summer afternoon, Sam had invited Han to her house and between a drink and a wedge of melon she had confessed to him what she wanted to see:
"I would like to visit the four Elemental Caves: it seems that the color of the quartz changes inside each of them. And then the Makahiki Volcano: it seems to be ten thousand meters high. After crossing the archipelago, on the other hand, you reach the mainland through the Metal Valley, a place rich in mysterious, perhaps alien, history. Oh, Han, if I just think about how many things I could learn, I feel like fainting with emotion!"
The amphibian saw her spinning with the map between her paws, with a wide smile and hearts in her eyes.
He was moved by it: when she was still a Litten she climbed banana trees pretending they were full of golden nuggets and tore the fruits from the plants and then distributed them with her elementary school mates, whom she called "my crew".
Sam dragged everyone, even the most timid, like him, who had been a Sobble always ready to blend in with the background.
While Sam still hopped around the porch, her mother, Emma, a very nice Braixen, appeared.
"Where would this rascal want to go this time?"
"Mom!"
Han laughed; although she was already eighteen Emma continued to call her by her childhood nickname.
"I would like to go to the Elemental Caves this summer!" Sam exclaimed, jumping on the rocking chair.
"And then?"
"Then I would like to climb the Volcano..."
"Mhm..."
"If money is your concern, I've been saving it since I was fourteen."
"That's why when we went to the park with the others you always scrounged me candies!" Han pointed out.
Sam stuck out her tongue and winked at him.
Emma sighed.
"I'm afraid it's my fault. I was born and raised on the Isle of Light and traveled quite a bit before moving here permanently... Genes speak."
"And then there is me, who have never moved from this islet!"
It was Sam's mighty father, Ethan, an Incineroar who repaired machinery for a living.
"She got the physique from you." his wife teased him lovingly, and the two exchanged a kiss.
Soon after, Sam and Han went to her room, where an open notebook stood in the center of her bed.
"Look here!"
The frog carefully observed the beautiful pawwriting of his friend.
"Zero Isle. Never heard of it."
Sam's feline eyes glowed with sinister contentment.
"It's the extreme dungeon. Only the best equipped explorers manage to get there and explore it. It's a dangerous place, where the lava flows to the surface and it's incredibly hot."
"You and I shouldn't have any problems." Han considered.
"Never let your guard down. In any case, I want to explore the whole world, after which I will return home happy and fulfilled."
Sam had grabbed the notebook, held it tight to her chest and dropped back onto the bed.
"And if you fell in love with a foreigner, like it happened to your mother?"
The cat gave him an indecipherable look.
"I'll think about it later."
"I'd like to find a beautiful girl to dance with in the moonlight."
Sam chuckled.
"You? But if when I tried to waltz with you we both fell!"
The Drizzile blushed, and immediately threw a pillow in his friend's face. The battle had begun.