Forgot to say, but I'll put warning at the beginning of the chapter if it needs it. You are fully allowed to skip those parts, you'll probably still understand what's going on if you do.

'Sign Language'

"Speaking"

I don't own anything besides the OC and her backstory.

Warning: Panic attack (very lightly mentioned).

Constructive Criticism apprecieated!

-Autumn's P.O.V.-

"Ash!" I interrupted his call to Delia, "We need to get going!" I put his backpack on him and started pulling him out of the house, "Bye Delia! And thank you for letting us stay."

"Have fun you two!" I could tell she was smiling.

Ash got one final wave in before we left, "Bye mom!" And we were both running towards the school, Riolu and Pikachu right next to us.

We go there just in time, "I was afraid you two would be late," Professor Kukui said as he led us to the classroom, Ash in front of me.

"Your house is just so cool!" Ash gushed, "I was telling my mom about it before Autumn reminded me that we had to leave."

"Who else would make sure you're not late," I smiled.

He smiled as we followed Professor Kukui into the classroom, "Alola!" He called out.

Mallow, Sophocles, Lana, Lillie and Kiawe all answered with, "Alola!" In return.

Kiawe was the only one to notice Ash's Z-Ring. I had mine on, but I was hiding it from view, "Alola!" Ash and I said when we were standing in front of the class.

"Starting today, Ash and Autumn will be joining us at the Pokemon School. If they have any questions, please don't hesitate to help them out."

Ash was quick to add on to that, "See, I really want to become a Pokemon master! So, I wanna learn everything about this place!"

"I'm here because I want to learn new things and grow stronger as a trainer!" I smiled along with Ash, "We're glad to be here!"

"Professor!" Mallow's hand shot up, "Could we get to know them today?"

"I'll let you guys get to know each other," Professor Kukui agreed, "But only for a few minutes."

Everyone almost immediately crowded around Ash as I backed away with Riolu. Instead, I went to the Pokemon, "Hello," I smiled and kneeled down, "I'm Autumn, what are your guyses names?"

"Bubble!" Popilio answered enthusiastically, then frowned, "Wait, you don't understand what I'm saying!"

"I can understand you," I reassured her before she started crying, "I can talk to Pokemon."

"I'm Sparkly!" Togudomoru answered, jumping towards me, "Can you introduce me to that Pikachu? Please!"

I nodded and she started spinning all around the room. I chuckled, "I'm Berry," Bounsweet answered while giving off a sweet scent, "It's nice to meet you!"

"I'm Autumn," I said as I gave all of them scratches, "And this is my partner Riolu."

"My name's Lucy, but I've asked her to call me Riolu," Riolu answered from behind me.

I picked her up and placed her in front of me, "Why not try and make some friends?" I asked her as she sat in my lap.

Riolu looked at me with an expression that clearly said 'do I have too?'. I just pushed her a bit more forward. She sighed and walked over to get to know them. I stood up and joined the others, but stood away from them, "That's good enough," Kiawe finished.

"Autumn," Lillie asked, "Can you understand Pokemon?"

"Yeah, why?" I asked back.

"I noticed you were talking to the Pokemon," Lillie pointed to Riolu who seemed to be warming up to Bounsweet, but not much, "It looked like you knew what they were saying."

"Autumn's always been able to talk to Pokeon," Ash answered as he broke from the circle and put his arm around my shoulders, "We still haven't figured out why or how."

"Is that a Z-Ring?" Sophocles pointed to my wrist.

I nodded, "Tapu Lele gave it to me as a gift. She told me that I needed it to help me become the person I'm meant to be."

Kiawe looked like he was about to explode, but Lana was the next one to talk, "Two Island Guardians, here for two siblings. Interesting."

Ash was now a bit embarrassed, "Actually, Autumn and I aren't siblings."

"We just act like it because I've lived with him and his mom Delia since I was eight," I finished.

Everyone was looking at us shocked as Professor Kukui finally interrupted, "All right, class! It's almost time for Pokemon Science. Today's teacher is Principal Oak," I was so glad he interrupted or I think the others would have asked more then they did.

Principal Oak talked about Regional Variants, which I had read up on a little on the plane. Of course, Ash got up close with the lesson helpers, "There's something about it's tail you should know!" Lillie tried to warn, but it was too late.

Ash was thrown into the ladder leading to the second story in the room,"Oh, brother," Kiawe said exasperated.

Sophocles asked what we were all wondering, "Are you okay?"

Lillie continued like she wasn't interrupted, "The tail of the Alolan Exeggutor has a mind of its own. You need to be careful in case it decides to attack you, which is what I was trying to say before."

"You okay?" Pikachu asked as Ash started climbing down the ladder.

"Next time, get to the point a little sooner, okay?" Ash asked.

Principal Oak chuckled, "You see, learning here's like a wild Tauros! Have the patience of a Conkeldurr!" Ash just feebly laughed.

I raised my hand, "What if Ash's isn't able to be patient sometimes?"

"Then he'll learn through doing," Principal Oak answered with a smile.

Ash groaned and sat back in his seat, "I'm not that bad," All I had to do was look at him, Riolu and Pikachu giving him the exact same look.

Everyone chuckled, "Something tells me that this kind of thing has happened before," Mallow said.

"Plenty," I smiled, "Want to hear some?"

"Sorry," Professor Kukui interrupted, "But you're going to have to wait until lunch."

They grumbled, but we got back to the lesson. Then lunch time came and they gathered their desks in a circle, "Ash, Autumn, do you want to join us?" Lillie asked.

Ash beamed and quickly dragged his desk over, but made sure there would be room between me and the others, "Do you guys do this every day?" Ash asked once he was satisfied with where his desk was.

Lana nodded, "Easiest way to talk to each other."

"Autumn," Kiawe asked, "Aren't you going to join us?"

I smiled nervously, "I don't think I could carry my desk that far," I said, using it as an excuse to not go.

Mallow jumped right up, "We can help!" She proclaimed as she, Lana, and Kiawe walked towards me.

Sophocles and Lillie followed after, both a bit wary for different reasons, "It's fine," I promised once more and tried to slide my chair back.

Instead I ended up on the ground. I huffed and kneeled on the ground, collecting the many papers I had scattered around when I fell, "Here," I looked up to see everyone around me, holding at least one paper that I had dropped.

I don't remember much of what happened after that, but I do remember Ash forcing himself towards me and pushing the others back. Then he was holding me up and talking to Professor Kukui while I was holding Riolu and Pikachu was on my shoulder, giving me a tiny shock every once in a while. After that, it's all a blur and I wake up in my bed at Professor Kukui's house, "Autumn?" Riolu whisper-asked, "Are you awake?"

I nodded and sat up, looking around. The sun was just starting to set outside and I really hoped it was the same day, "New person!" I heard a new voice say.

I picked Riolu up and slowly walked outside, wrapped in a fuzzy blanket that went through Riolu's evolution line, including it's Mega-Evolved form. I slowly opened the door to see a Rockruff, "What's this Pokemon Professor?" Ash asked.

"That's a Rockruff," Professor Kukui answered, "He usually comes by every night."

"Is he yours?"

"No, I haven't caught him."

Ash just smiled and scratched Rockruff between the ears, "That's nice," Rockruff said, clearly enjoying the attention. Then he spotted me and beamed, "Another new person!" And he was running towards me.

I smiled and bent down to scratch his head, "Autumn!" Ash proclaimed as he ran towards me, but kept a bit of distance, "How are you feeling?"

Since my voice felt broken (like it had many times before) I signed my answer, 'Ok. Better then I felt before.'

Ash's smile barely stayed and it was easy to know why. I haven't had to use sign language for months now and that ment this panic attack was worse than I've had in months, "Are you hungry?" Professor Kukui asked, "I made some dinner."

"You know sign language?" Ash asked shocked as we went to sit on the couch.

Kukui nodded, "I used to have a friend who didn't want to talk. So, I learned sign language to talk to them. They're able to talk now, but he really appreciated what I did for him."

Ash's smile became genuine once again, "We learned sign language at the same time. We use it as our secret code now since not many people know it."

I chuckled and signed, 'I guess that won't work anymore when Professor Kukui's here.'

Ash must have just realized that from the pout he had, "Autumn," Professor Kukui asked as he placed two plates of food on the table in front of us, "What would you like me to do in situations like this?"

I blinked, a bit shocked that he even asked, 'I just need a bit of space for a few hours,' I signed, 'And a good night's rest. I'll be back to normal in the morning, I promise.'

Kukui nodded, "Would you like us to talk to you with sign language or just continue talking?"

'I don't care. Whatever you decide,' But I would like it better if they used sign language because my ears were hurting a bit, even from the normal volume of their voices.

Kukui set the bowl of Pokemon food down and sat on the other couch, 'I think I'll use sign language,' He decided on and I took note on the distance he put between us, 'I've been getting a bit rusty and need the practice,' That was obviously just an excuse, he could tell the noise was hurting my ears.

'Thank you,' I signed, then picked up my plate of food.

Ash interrupted what he was about to say, 'This looks so awesome!' He quickly picked up his utensils and started eating.

'It's called an Alola plate,' Kukui explained, 'And it's a popular dish in this region. You like it?'

'I love it!' Ash answered between bites of food.

I just smiled and nodded, eating as well, 'Really? Love at first bite. Glad to hear it,' I'll have to get the recipe for this later. Maybe we can make it popular in Kanto as well! 'Look at that. Pikachu and Rockruff are already friends,' Riolu was still on my lap.

'Cause Rockruff's friendly, too,' Ash answered as he put his empty plate on the table, 'Thank you.'

'You're done?' Kukui asked, shocked.

"Yum!" Pikachu said in delight as I stifled my laughter.

'Wow,' Kukui looked at the Pokemon, 'You guys too.'

I fed a little of mine to Riolu as we slowly ate it, savoring the flavor. Ash went to play with Rockruff and Pikachu, trying to pretend like they weren't worried about me, but it was easy to tell that they were. They kept stealing glances at me that I pretended I didn't see, "Autumn?" Ash asked just before we left for bed, "Are you really alright?"

I smiled, "I'm fine," I promised, then frowned, "But now I'm thinking that this was a mistake."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't think I should stay here. It's my first day of school and I get a panic attack so bad that I can't talk afterwards," Luckily, Pikachu, Rockruff and Riolu were playing tag and didn't hear us.

"I won't stop you if you want to go home," Ash wrapped me in a quick hug, "But could you give it one more day? They didn't know until today."

"You told them?"

Ash nodded, "They understood. It's like Lillie, she can't touch Pokemon or she freezes up."

"Except she's ignoring it, but also accepting it. I know it and accept it as part of who I am," We were silent for a moment, then I answered, "I'll give it one more day, but if it goes anything like today then I know I'm not ready."

"Alright," He gave me one last hug, then started for the loft, "Tomorrow's going to be great! Just you wait!"

Tomorrow came with a very unexpected surprise at the Pokemon School. We were running late because Ash slept in, "We're so late!"

"We might make it if we really push!" He started to run faster, "Faster Pikachu!"

"Hurry! Hurry!" Pikachu chanted, running alongside Ash. They made it before us and confetti came from the sides and fell down on him, "Wha-" Pikachu asked, but wasn't able to finish.

Ash and Pikachu were pushed back by Popplio, "What was that?" Ash asked as he landed on the ground and our classmates came out.

I arrived just as they all smiled, "Alola Surprise!"

"What?" Pikachu asked.

"Hey guys," Ash greeted.

Kiawe helped Ash to his feet, "Did we surprise you two?"

"You can say that again," Ash smiled.

"Why did you want to surprise us?" I asked.

"Well," Mallow answered, "First off we thought today would be the perfect day to have a surprise welcome party for you two. And that's just the first surprise."

"First one?" Ash asked

Sophocles was the one to answer, with a challenge, "And next, Togedemaru and I want to challenge you two. I'm sure you must know what I mean by that."

"A challenge?" I asked.

Ash jumped right to it, "A Pokemon Battle, right?" I had a feeling it wasn't like the one Ash was thinking of as Sophocles nodded, "Ok, Sophocles, I accept your challenge! Right Pikachu?"

"Yeah!" Pikachu cheered.

He was disappointed and shocked at what the challenge was, "Balloons?" He and Pikachu asked.

"Right balloons!" Mallow answered enthusiastically, "Whichever team pops all the balloons first wins the game!" Ash and Pikachu were supper disappointed, "Oh yeah, Pokemon or Trainer, it doesn't matter who pops the balloons."

"Sounds like fun," I smiled.

"Balloons? Pop them first?" At least Ash and Pikachu were getting excited once more, "That'll be a piece of cake!"

"What are all of the rules?" I asked as Ash and Pikachu lined up at the starting line.

Kiawe chuckled, "At least you asked."

"Ash heads into things, then asks what the rules are," I smiled.

"The goal is to be the first to pop the balloons," Lillie answered, "In any way possible."

"So," I shared a look with Riolu, "We can use Pokemon moves?"

Mallow nodded, "Just as long as they get popped!"

I joined Ash and Sophocles "Good luck Ash, Sophocles," I told them as we got ready

"Ready," Kiawe called out, "Go!" And we were off.

"Riolu," I whispered, "Get ready to use Metal Claw."

Riolu smirked, "Alright!"

"Hey," Ash muttered, "This isn't as easy as I thought."

Sophocles and Togedumoru were breaking through them quickly, "You can do it Ash and Pikachu! Autumn and Riolu!" Lana cheered.

"You ready Riolu?" I asked.

I had been trying to pop the balloons, but wasn't very successful, "Maybe you didn't know," Lillie informed Ash, "You can use Pokemon moves!"

"Really? That's cool. Okay, Pikachu, let's pop all the balloons with Thunderbolt," Ash smiled.

Pikachu cheered, "All right!"

"Now Riolu! Metal Claw!" I beamed.

"Metal…" Riolu raised her hand, "Claw!" And almost all the balloon's were popped.

"Again!" I cheered as Togedemaru started using the electricity it got from Pikachu to pop their balloons.

"Hey, what's all that about?" Ash asked, ignoring his pile of balloons.

"Here's the deal," Sophocles answered, "Togedemaru's ability is Lightning Rod. It absorbs all electric type attacks. Then it releases that stored electricity as a move. Isn't that great, Ash?"

"Wow," Ash's pile was still there while mine and Sophocles's were almost the same, "Togedemaru really rocks."

"Excuse me," Kiawe interrupted, pointing at both of our piles, "This is no time to be impressed," The others were clearly enjoying it.

"You're right!" Ash slightly freaked out, but he was too late.

Togedumaru and Sophocles popped their last balloon seconds before ours popped, "The game winners are Togedemaru and Sophocles!" Mallow announced.

"Good job Riolu," I scratched her head, "You were amazing."

"I know!" Riolu cheered, "We got in second!"

"We didn't," Ash stated.

"Definitely," Pikachu stated as he jumped onto Ash's shoulder.

"Ash? Autumn?" Lana stepped forward, "Ready for your third surprise? It's a challenge against us."

"We're ready!" Ash cheered.

I was a bit more hesitant, "What's the challenge?"

It turned out to be a race, "A Pokemon Aquathlon is a competitive sport where you run and then swim," Mallow explained as our Pokemon ran towards the river, "Now, let's see who wins it!"

"Pikachu!" Ash cheered, "Win it buddy!"

"You can do it Riolu!" I cheered as well, not realizing how close I was standing to everyone.

Sophocles cheered as well, "Good luck to all three of you, Pikachu, Popplio and Riolu!"

Pikachu dominated land, Riolu a few steps behind him, but Popplio was having some trouble. Our trouble began when Riolu slid to a stop right at the water's edge. I smiled and kneeled next to her, "Good job Riolu, you don't have to continue."

"Is Riolu scared of the water?" Lillie asked.

I smiled, "Kind of. She doesn't know how to swim yet and no matter what I do she doesn't want to learn."

"Coming through!" Popplio called out and accidentally crashed right into Riolu.

I dove after them, quickly pulling Riolu above the water, but we were both soaked, "Are you alright Riolu?"

Riolu just looked at me, "I need to learn how to swim and you're going to teach me, today."

"We won't stop until you learn," I put her on my back and swam to the edge, somehow moving farther away then I thought.

"Autumn, Riolu!" Ash came up to us as I got out of the river, "Are you two alright?"

"We're fine," I answered as Riolu shook her body to get the water off her fur and I wrung my hair out as best I could, "Just wet."

"Sorry," Popplio came over to us, "I didn't mean to push you in."

"It's ok," Riolu answered, "Autumn was fast enough to catch me."

"Why did you jump in after Riolu?" Mallow asked.

I smiled and used the towel they gave me to dry Riolu off more, "Riolu doesn't know how to swim. She's just barely agreed to swimming lessons."

"Why haven't you taught her before?" Sophocles asked.

Ash laughed, "Riolu didn't see the point in learning how to before."

"Sorry we don't have a towel for you," Lillie admitted as Riolu bundled herself up in hers, "We didn't think you or Ash would get wet."

I just smiled more, "It's fine. I don't mind being wet. Besides, the sun is out and it's a beautiful day, I'll dry up soon enough," I did try to wring my clothes out as best as I could before I stood up with Riolu in my arms. My jacket was taken off so it could dry on its own.

Kiawe stepped up, "If you're ready, it's time for your fourth surprise," He was a little red faced and looking straight at Ash.

"Really?" Ash was excited once again, "What is it?"

"Competing against me. One on one, what do you say?" He asked.

"If it's push-up's, I'm out," I said.

Everyone at least chuckled, "No," Kiawe answered, "It's a race, on Tauros."

Ash deflated, "Aw man! I know I'm going to lose that!"

"You could beat me this time," I pointed out, "We're probably going to be using saddles instead of riding them bareback."

"You can ride Tauros bareback?" Sophocles asked as we walked towards the Tauros.

"Autumn wins every time," Ash answered, "No matter who I ride, she always wins."

"I just practice more than you do," I set Riolu down so she could go join the other Pokemon in the middle of the race track, "Besides, Kiawe could win this time."

"I'm not going to hold back," Kiawe proclaimed.

"Neither will I!" Ash shot right back as we led the Tauros onto the race track.

In the end, it was a tie between me and Kiawe, but Ash was really close, "That was amazing!" Riolu cheered as she ran towards me, both of us a lot drier than we used to be.

"You both ride really well," Kiawe complemented as we dismounted.

"The saddle's weird," I admitted, "But it's not that bad," Then I patted Tauros on the head, "Thank you Tauros. You were amazing!"

"Professor Kukui? Hey, Rockruff," Ash greeted as they came over.

Professor Kukui was smiling as he pointed to himself, "You're now looking at your fifth surprise. If your Pokemon agree, let's have a Pokemon Battle."

Ash and Pikachu were definitely going to agree, "Wow," Ash started, then got more excited as he continued, "A Pokemon battle? And against Professor Kukui? Alright! This is the best surprise of all."

Mallow stopped him from running to the battle field, "Before that… I'm the poster girl for my family's restaurant, so that means I'm going to prepare us all a little lunch."

"Lunch time?" I walked up to Ash as he asked, "Come to think of it I'm starving."

"Yeah," Kiawe agreed.

I just smiled, "What are we having?"

It turned out to be another Alolan dish that was on Aina's Restraunt's menu. Then Tapu Koko came, "I didn't get a chance to thank you for the ring, so thank you!" Ash answers, being the first to move.

Tapu Koko tilts his head, "Time for your test, Chosen One," Then he stole Ash's hat.

He ran off with it and Ash went after him, "Hey! My hat!"

I immediately ran after him, "Ash! Wait for us!" The others quickly followed.

When I got there, Tapu Koko challenged Ash and Pikachu to a battle. I quickly got my phone out and recorded the battle, but it was easy to tell that they weren't going to win, "It didn't do a thing," Mallow observed.

"Tapu Koko's just too strong," Kiawe added.

"Ash and Pikachu will be fine," I answered, "But they're not going to win this one. Not yet."

The battle ended in a crazy display of power with Ash and Pikachu using a Z-Move that Professor Kukui called Gigavolt Havoc, "That's a Z-Move?" I asked, shocked once the explosion died down.

"Ash!" Mallow moved first, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Ash smiled and turned towards us.

"That's incredible," Mallow continued as we all joined her to crowd around Ash, "I can't believe how strong you and Pikachu are."

"Well, uh…" He was at a loss of words from the praise.

"What happened to your Z Crystal?" Kiawe asked, noticing that it was gone, "I-It disintegrated," Is that not supposed to happen? "That means it's too soon for you to use Z-Moves. You haven't had an Island Challenge Trial yet."

Ash looked disappointed, but quickly overcame it, "All right, I'll take the Island Challenge Trial."

"Huh?" Lillie, Sophocles, Mallow, Lana and Kiawe asked.

Ash just continued, "I'll pass the trial, and I'll get another Z-Crystal and then I'll be able to use Z-Moves the right way."

I smiled, "Of course you will," I mumbled.

"Sounds perfect," Mallow beamed.

"Awesome!" Bownsweet added.

"We'll all be cheering for you. Right gang?"

Lana was the first to answer, "Okay!" She and Popplio answered.

Lillie nodded, "Of course we will!"

Sophocles agreed in his own way, "Togedemaru and I know lots about Electric types. Yeah tons of stuff!"

Kiawe was the only one who hadn't agreed, "Please?" I begged a little, but was mainly smiling at him.

He huffed, "I have too. After all, I'm the only one of us with a Z-Ring."

"Yay," Lana cheered quietly.

"Great!" Pikachu jumped onto Ash's shoulder.

We were soon walking back to the school, "What about you Autumn," Professor Kukui asked on the way back, "Do you like Pokemon Battles?"

I shook my head, "I leave the Pokemon Battling to Ash and Pikachu," I answered, "They love it."

"Plus," Ash added with a smile, "The only move Riolu knows is Metal Claw."

Kukui's eyes widened as I rolled my eyes, "She knows more than that! She also knows Copycat, Heal Pulse, and Aura Sphere."

"Since when?"

"Since you were traveling around Kalos," I smirked as he groaned.

"Why didn't you tell me before?"

"I wanted to surprise you."

"Are you sure you two aren't siblings?" Lana asked.

"I know! You two act exactly like siblings!" Mallow exclaimed, "It's weird!"

"We've been living together since Autumn was eight," Ash answered as he walked up to the others, "We tell eachother everything and we've been through a lot together."

They quickly went on ahead, leaving me, Lillie and Kiawe behind, "Autumn," Lillie started nervously, "I'm sorry… about yesterday."

"We didn't mean to make you that nervous," Kiawe added.

I smiled sadly as Riolu climbed onto my shoulder, away from Lillie, "It's alright. I'm just… scared to touch others. It took me months to get comfortable with Delia and Ash when I moved in and sometimes I'm still scared," I shrugged, "I'm learning my limits and I'm better than I was before just…"

"Not where you want to be?" Lillie finished.

I nodded, "Yeah. It happened years ago and shouldn't affect me anymore, but I guess being in a life or death situation whenever I got the courage to join Ash on his journey never helped."

"How many times has that happened?" Kiawe asked, shocked.

"At least once in every region he's been too," I answered.

Kiawe looked at me in shock as Lillie smiled, "I used to be able to touch Pokemon," She confessed, "But one day, I woke up and… couldn't. No matter what I do, I can't touch them."

I just smiled, "How about we help each other?" I asked, "I help you touch Pokemon and you help me touch people again. What do you say?"

Lillie beamed, "Of course! We'll figure out what we can do, then figure out a plan!"

"When would you like to plan it?"

"I would ask to do it today, but it's getting late," Lillie pointed out, "How about tomorrow?"

"Sounds like a plan," I nodded with a smile and soon we were leaving, all of us going back home.