AU NOTES

Finally another chapter of this one, right? I can only give thanks to all those that donated to me, helping me get back into the groove of things! I thank everyone too that commented and gave their opinions on my stories. Comments truly do help an author feel that the readers to appreciate our work, so please do comment your thoughts (not only on my story, but on any stories that catch your fancy) if you can.

Enough of the sappy thoughts, let's get right into this one! Ryujin Maou out!

PS: Do please visit the ko-fi page to help the creation of the other stories, I have been truly inspired and helped by those that "bought me a coffee".

Thanks to everyone that donated once more. Do you want your names mentioned or not? I ask so as to avoid embarrassing or using your names without your permission.

(-o-)

Ash would be the first to admit that he was a laid-back person with most matters. He preferred to take his time and deal with situations at his own pace, and whether that were quickly or not depended heavily on that business' relation to pokemon. It was one of the reasons he could effectively train a team of novice pokemon to league-worthy combatants in less than a year. That also applied to the many situations he dove head-first into, the many problems that involved the gods of the world.

The reality cracks that appeared atop the Aether Institute made the Aura Guardian huff in annoyance, even when he was surrounded by good food and dancing people. Ash had returned to his hotel, just in time for a celebratory party to begin. Many Alola-specific pokemon were dancing and playing around, the people also following along with the same enthusiasm. He wanted to follow through, but being connected to the world's aura meant that Ash was constantly being updated on his surroundings. It was something he fully developed after the annoying incident at Kalos, as before he hadn't had a true use for such skill before.

He hid his annoyance from his mother very well, thankful that the woman was being distracted by the many attractions happening around her. It also gave him spare time to take in more aura from his surroundings, tidbits of information that only someone intimate with the vital energy could understand. It would take time for the crack in reality to heal, even more so due to the constant meddling happening around the islands. The Kanto-born thanked Arceus that Alola was outside of the jurisdiction of Palkia, otherwise the Dragon Lord of Space would already have caused a major incident. The Omega Pokemon normally left the matters of each reason to its respective protector and since the Dragon had yet to make an appearance, it meant that either the damage wasn't as severe as Ash perceived it, or somehow the warping wasn't being picked on.

Whatever the case maybe, the Aura Guardian could not sit around and do nothing when he could sense such wrongness in the atmosphere. If he were to raise his focus to the maximum, the trainer could hear the faint sounds of the Unknown whining as their hard work maintaining reality was being spat on by whoever was responsible for this. It made their aura – and his by association - become restless.

Ash glanced at the bracelet he wore on his right wrist, the smooth white metal clashing with the tanned trainer's aesthetics. He had seen some of the inhabitants of the islands wearing the things, different stones slotted into each bracelet he saw from each person. He wondered if that was a region thing, but ended up shrugging his shoulders as he moved along the main street of Melemele Island. His mother's excitement at enjoying a vacation free of press's hounding and world-ending events had led the woman to try to enjoy all the events that where available to her; that meant that Delia was continuously moving from place to place, making Ash have to track her down with his Aura Sight. He easily managed to find his mother, the woman currently enjoying her time at a stage where she was dancing along with a few other young girls and pokemon alike.

He would never dare to say his mother was aging. Firstly because Ash enjoyed living, and second because his dear mother truly didn't seem to know that time made you age and look worn out, not enhance the beauty of a person. On its own it was impressive that she looked ever so gorgeous, almost as if she hadn't aged a single day since he left home at the tender age of 10.

He stopped in front of the stage, the fast pace of the drums serving as music for the dancers to wildly swing their bodies and hypnotize the onlookers. The teen hummed. May and Dawn would have a blast here, he mused to himself, sure that the two Contest Girls would no doubt find a way to fit the wild moves from the dance into their repertoire. Misty would enjoy it quite a bit too; the beaches would be right up her alley. The Aura Guardian smiled and clapped along the people as the dance ended, Delia spotting him among the bodies easily enough. The woman took a dive from the stage, jumping right into his arms without any doubt whatsoever.

Ash was quick to grab his mother, the crowd around them first giving the duo some space as they questioned if he would be capable of the feat. As he showed them his strength, the crowd then burst into another wave of applause.

"I knocked on your door a few times, but you weren't present so I went out to have some fun and search for you." The Ketchum mom explained to her son, the bikini and open shirt she wore making the teen narrow his eyes in doubt. The brunette pouted a bit, looking to the side. Ash rolled his eyes and glanced around, finding many eyes staring at them. Better yet, they were staring at his mother. He sighed.

"I went out for a bit, had to send Charizard back home." Ash stated as his mother began to walk around him, sniffing his clothes all the while. Her lips pursed into a thin line, Delia's hand snaked its way to grab one of his ears. Ash winced as his mother started pulling on the cartilaginous appendage, anger painting her features.

"What have I told you about smoking, Ash?" Her tone was clearly that of an annoyed mother, but the teen pulled his head away from her hold, massaging his reddening ear.

The trainer almost fished another cigarette from his pocket, if only to annoy his mother a bit more, but in the end the teen just tilted his head sideways. "Mom, don't worry about it." He stated, seeing the woman cross her arms across her chest. The glancing eyes of the onlookers became further focused on Delia as Ash confirmed he wasn't her boyfriend or husband. He couldn't fault them for checking his mother out, she was an amazingly stunning woman; they could, however, be more subtle about how they went doing it. The trainer made a show of looking at his surroundings, displaying that he wouldn't tolerate lechers' staring at his mom like this. "Where is Pi?"

At the mention of his loyal partner, Delia seemed to forget her anger at her kid. "Pikachu stayed behind, resting up. I couldn't bother the poor thing away from his sleep." She spoke sweetly, Ash groaning at the lazy behavior of his best friend.

"Now now, don't be making those groans, young man! Your partner needs his rest, and you need to escort me properly! Ever since we arrived, I've let you have your fun! Now you must make some time for mommy!" It was sort of incredible how his mother could go from incredible adult to an almost petulant child at the span of two seconds. As things stood, Ash sighed in defeat and offered his arm, the Ketchum Matriarch immediately latching on the limb. Now that she was closer, Ash could smell an alcoholic scent coming from his mother.

That will explain it, he let the thought swim in his head for the moment, putting his nightly worries in the backburner for the while. She was right, he had been left to his devices while she waited for her moments of fun. He decided to indulge the wishes of his mother for the while. There was still some time left on his supposed "vacations"…well, there was plenty of time considering he had no plans right now as to what to do or where to go.

(-o-)

(-o-)

The next morning came with the same excitement and energy of the previous one. It seemed like the people in Alola were always in a sort of festive mood. Or it could be the general vacation period that seemed to be permeating the island.

Ash yawned, a bit sleepy over having to stay up until very late. It was just short of early morning hours when Delia finally succumbed to tiredness and drunken stupor; leaning on her son as he carried her back to her room. His best friend was happy to sleep the entire day and night, a luxury Ash didn't get to have due to entertaining his mother. Well, he could take it easy for the day and relax. That began by having a good breakfast, thus the sleepy Ash and his smug yellow partner made their way to the city once more. Hotel food was good and all, but local cuisine was always a good bet. Besides, the trainer had heard some rumors about the food, mentioning it to be amazingly good.

He walked on the beach-walk, admiring the early morning and the few tourists that managed to drag themselves away from their beds to appreciate the early hours of the day. The trainer made his way to one of the open stalls by the beach front and chose a local dish to eat along with Pikachu. The yellow rodent had been fairly rested, thus opted to merely explore his surroundings a bit.

Ash waited for their meal while sipping on some coffee that the waiter brought to him, glancing around the place to observe the passing people. The smell of thick batter being heated wafted to his nose, his stomach being very vocal about its hunger and the received stimulation from the smell. The male Ketchum smiled and rubbed his hands together, his and his partner's meal just about done when he felt a gaze bare into his frame.

The young adult moved his head to find a pokemon staring at him with needy eyes. The 'mon had feline body painted in black with a few striking details in red. It seated patiently on its hindquarters, big eyes staring at Ash with that intonation that only young children or baby pokemon could make.

Pikachu returned from his exploration, quickly climbing up Ash's frame and perching on his right shoulder. He glanced at the feline pokemon with neutral eyes, looking back at his trainer with a questioning expression. Ash shrugged his shoulders and nodded with his head.

"I don't see why not." The human waved one hand to the waiter, asking for a second empty plate. Dividing a portion that he deemed suitable, Ash placed the crepe/waffle like foodstuff onto the plate and lowered the dishware to the feline pokemon (most likely a Fire-type if the color of its body was a giveway). The creature glanced at Ash and Pikachu with some suspicion, its tail swaying side to side as the feline sniffed the plate and carefully approached it. Once it cleared whatever suspicion it had over the meal, it immediately snatched the puffy mass and made a dash away from the duo, quickly vanishing from sight among the pedestrians.

Pikachu squeaked annoyed sounds, the red circles on his cheeks sparking a bit. Ash chuckled to himself, cutting a piece of his meal and offering it as a treat to the rodent. "Settle down buddy." He said in an easy-going tone, his partner eating the offered food, yet still grumbling about Ash's patience.

Their meal finished, Ash paid for it and made his way closer to the beach. He wanted to check something about the tears into the sky, but he wanted to avoid drawing attention to himself. It would be less troublesome if people weren't questioning his every move; it was one thing for tourists to be looking around, but they normally stayed in the path with tour guides, not off to the beaten path or snooping around close to the town's business spots.

He sat on the sand, closing one eye and pulling on his aura to once more ascertain the state of the place, leaving Pikachu to watch over in case he focused too much and didn't notice anything around him. It had happened a few times when he used Aura Sight, and it was an opening he wasn't willing to grant anyone anymore.

His bid proved to be the correct course of action, as in his concentration he failed to notice the volleyball that was rushing to meet with his head. Pikachu was quick to act, spinning around and batting the ball upwards with one swing of his tail. Ash opened his eyes and glanced upwards, finding some people coming towards him as they waved their arms and shouted at him.

The trainer patted his partner with his left hand, his right extending to catch the ball as it fell once more. The group coming towards him consisted of a few girls, two of them rushing on the front to meet with him.

As the first girls reached him, Ash stood from his seat on the sand and offered an arm for Pikachu to climb on.

"Hey! Sorry! We were playing, but someone doesn't know how to control his strength." The girl that explained the situation was of a healthy tanned skin, her deep green long hair waving due to the wind. She wore short jean shorts a cut jumpsuit that seemed adapted to the hot, tropical climate. Ash could see the straps of a white bikini hidden under the straps of the jumpsuit, and the girl wasn't shy about herself. She sent a heated stare at one of the slower teens that were approaching his location, Ash following her eyes and seeing a chocolate-brown male teen with his hair styled in a manner akin to flames.

"Don't worry about it, it is no harm done." Ash replied with a smile, presenting the ball back to the girl. At her side a smaller girl shyly looked at Ash; her aquamarine blue hair matched with her white sailor-like sleeveless shirt and light blue flowy pants.

"A-are you really alright?" The shy girl asked with a light stammer, looking at Ash from his feet up until his head. He turned his orbs to match hers, strangely making the girl flinch. The green haired one made the trainer's focus return to her, taking the ball from his hand and offering a smile alongside her head-tilt.

"Its fine Lana, he is just peachy!" The tranned girl declared, bouncing in place with enthusiasm.

"Oooooiiiiiii…." Before the trio could exchange any more words, another male voice called them out. "Is he fine or not? We don't have all day!" The taller male shouted his question from afar, talking with another smaller teen by his side.

Ash wiped his hands against his shorts, riding them of any remaining sand due to the volleyball. "Well, your friends are waiting for you, right? I'm pretty much okay, so you girls can get going."

The blue haired girl, Lana, nodded with a shy motion, pulling on the arm of her friend and giving Ash a small wave. "C-come on, Mallow, let's go. Bye-bye mister." With the smaller girl pulling her way, the now named Mallow had no choice but to relent and follow her friend. She offered a wry smile to Ash, who answered with a wave of his head and a friendly smile of his own.

The girls returned to their group, the rest of the teens having had remained a bit distant from Ash. He could see Mallow complaining to the taller boy, smacking him on his shoulder and pointing back towards Ash's direction. The teen tried to appease the girl's anger, but nothing that he said seemed to calm the green haired girl.

Ash and his partner looked at each other, smiling as seeing the group brought memories of their travels and friends. Although I could have done without the mister part...I am not that old-looking, am I? Ash wondered as he ran his hand over his jaw, feeling facial hair bristle up at his ministrations. The duo of trainer and pokemon let the teens have their fun, moving away from the beach and directing themselves at the visible jungle of Melemele Island. The trainer glanced at his partner and nodded.

"Let's get going then, buddy!"

(-o-)

(-o-)

Ash exhaled, running his hand over his forehead to wipe a few drops of sweat away. Pikachu was running ahead of him, examining the environment for anything out of place.

"Calm down Pi, I don't think that whatever appeared before will show this soon again. Charizard did a pretty job of intimidating it." The trainer stated, trying to get his pokemon to ease up on his search. The yellow rodent ignored the trainer's spiel, climbing atop a tree to get a better vantage point and scan the area. The forest/jungle was dense, but had a few trails which seemed to be walked in (most likely for the tourists to explore the region).

Ash pulled his pokedex, checking the time and recognizing they had been walking for the better part of two and a half hours in this search for the anonymous pokemon that had gifted the trainer the white bracelet; the trainer was sure that they wouldn't find the creature, as his Charizard had put the fear of Arceus into the hidden pokemon.

The trainer scratched his right cheek, the stubble in his face emitting a bristling noise. He glanced around the woods, spotting a few wild 'mons that cautiously observed them. It stood to reason that the creatures were shy/observant, as the duo was invading their habitat (the only reason the pokemon weren't behaving in a aggressive manner was the obvious power difference) and snooping around.

Ash sighed and picked up his pace, easily following his partner and snatching the yellow rodent from his perch on a tree branch after he lunged towards the 'mon. Pikachu whined, some static making the hairs on Ash's arms stand up, the trainer unbothered by the weak currents of lightning.

"Enough Pi, that's that. How about we do something more useful instead of just going around blindly?" Ash offered a better alternative to his friend, patting the rodent on his head. He understood why his partner was so urgently searching for the mysterious pokemon: They had seven years of back-to-back experiences with Legends and troublesome situations, thus the duo had developed a sort of instinct to spot this sort of problem.

Ash had had this feeling while in the island, but Pikachu's instincts were blaring full on since his trainer spoke about the encounter, making the rodent almost incessant in his search. They were here for a vacation, to take some time off from all the problems they had already faced.

His friend deserved it.

Pikachu relented to his trainer for now, making sure to display his annoyance to Ash with mild currents of lightning since the teen had been holding him between his arms.

Ash rolled his eyes at the infantile behavior of his initial pokemon, but was glad when his partner relented and allowed him to carry the rodent away from the forest/jungle. The trainer was quick in his step, allowing his partner to ride on his shoulder as he made short work of the trails he ran through. A few moments after Ash left the clearing, a presence made itself known in the trail. The surrounding pokemon quickly fled from it, perturbed by the otherworldly presence of this creature. It whined at being alone, looking around the trees to see if someone –anyone – had remained; the creature found itself truly alone in the trail, a few rays of sunshine being smothered by the canopy of the high trees and engulfing the clearing into a somber mood.

The creature whined again, dragging its feet to return to its den; at least it would have time to complete its project. It saw how the human treated the other 'mon, the love and companionship among them almost palpable for the creature, who wished to have even a tiny bit of that.

Some jealous anger sparked in it, a shadowy claw growing from its body.

*SLASH* *CRASH* /*SLASH* *CRASH*/ *SLASH* *CRASH*/ *SLASH* *CRASH*

The Shadow Claw attack carved three rough grooves into the thick trunk of the tree the creature aimed at, splintering wood with force and showering the clearing with chunks of broken wood. The creature attacked the tree a few more times, each swipe more powerful than the next; as its fury diminished, so did the intensity of the attacks.

As the last blow lost all power, the shadowy limb now barely scratched the broken bark and wood of the now stump that was previously a tree. The creature huffed tiredly, observing the destruction it had caused with stoic eyes, a tiny hint of guilt present as it tried to fold its body in itself.

It slowly left the clearing, cursing its own coward-like behavior. If only it had just showed itself to the human.

(-o-)

(-o-)

Ash took a walk around the island, making mental notes of any points of interest that managed to catch his attention. A few locals smiled or waved at him, sure that he was merely a tourist wandering around on his own.

They weren't exactly wrong, but Ash wasn't going out of his way to correct them. He was fine with not calling attention to himself.

He tried fiddling a bit with the white bracelet that was clasped around his right wrist, not sure what was the purpose of the accessory. It seemed to be a special item among the population of Alola, as the trainer had rarely seen anyone else sporting it. A few strong looking people (other trainers surely), but outside of that denomination, few seemed to have one of these around their wrists.

Pikachu sniffed it, not finding anything really special about it to. There was a strange scent that the rodent could not identify on it, but as he hadn't anything to associate to it, the pokemon left it aside. His ears also caught the sounds of shouting, the 'mon squeaking to his partner to call his attention.

"Hmm? What is it buddy?" Ash questioned his partner, the pokemon jumping from the perch over his trainer's shoulder and rushing towards a new direction. The trainer raised a brow at the rodent's behavior, but he kept pace and followed his friend. A few minutes at a jogging pace had Ash and his partner encounter a gathering of people around a gate (which lead to a medium-sized building).

Pikachu stopped a few meters away from the group, who seemed to be locked in a heated conversation. Ash reached his pokemon a few moments later, observing the groups as their conversation started to become antagonistic. One of the groups was an unknown for Ash, the trainer feeling stifled by merely watching them.

Even in his light clothing, the weather and climate in Alola made him sweat quite a fair bit. Now seeing the group of three men dressed in black, stuffy clothing while doing exaggerated motions and "gang signs" while trying to talk down the opposing group, whom Ash could identify as a few of the teens he had seen back on the beach, the trainer felt his skin clammy and disgustingly wet.

The dark-skinned teen with flame-like tattoos around his shoulders was clearly distressed by the "gang" group blocking his entry towards the building, the group a few sentences away from a full on physical confrontation. Ash slowed from his jogging speed to slow steps, trying to see if the groups would disengage or not. As he closed in, he noticed a chubby orange-haired boy hiding just behind the tall trainer, the smaller of the two clearly uncomfortable with the possibility of a fight happening.

"Come on, chumps! There is no need for you two to get hurt, right'o! All you kids need to do is give up your 'mons and done." One of the men dressed in black spoke in a mix of Alolan speech and Kalosian, the accent in his voice totally made up. The other two grunts serving as backup struck a pose, hands ready with their pokeballs.

"As if we would ever give you two-bit chumps anything! I suggest you guys get packing, else I'll give you something to really worry about." The taller teen shouted to the black-clad gang, his own hand fishing a pokeball from his shorts.

Ash couldn't help the smile that grew on his lips. The scene present here was something almost directly plucked out of his own younger years as a trainer when dealing with Jessie, James and Meowth was the most he had to deal with. He had his fair share of encounters with dangerous groups as he grow, and thus he felt that while this situation had plenty of bark, he could perceive no fight out of it.

Not a serious one, if he was being honest.

The groups did a few more rounds of shouting at each other, constantly threatening to release and sic their pokemons onto each other, but nothing of the sort really happened. It got into a point that Ash found the light amusement from the situation substituted by a boring staring match between the taller teen and the leader of the gang.

Ash yawned at the situation, Pikachu on his shoulders releasing a troubled whine. The yellow rodent was truly expecting some action, something a bit more…interesting than a shouting match. Even Team Rocket used to provide more stimulation (even when they became redundant in terms of fights (that being as far as the middle of Kanto)), but the pokemon supposed that this sort of action was best when dealing with usual life.

*RELEASE*

Finally, it seemed that someone had decided to put their money where their mouth is and released a pokemon. The flashing white light revealed a draconic body, the temperature around them increasing as a heat wave emanated from the Fire Lizard pokemon. The tall teen had released a Charizard, the goons dressed in black fumbling a bit with their pokeballs before they managed to release their own monsters.

A Golbat, Spinarak and Drowzee emerged from the goons' devices, the pokemon grumbling their noises and squaring up to face the Charizard. And so they would do, but honestly Ash had had enough. If they would battle as they had talked before, he would be watching the group all day. That was outside of the fact that they had yet to notice him, too focused on their antics to pay attention to their surroundings

Ash glanced at Pikachu, the rodent nodding to him, reflecting the same boredom at watching the unfolding scene. The trainer extended his arm and Pikachu used it as a mini-bridge, running along it and jumping to gain some distance from his trainer.

Before the groups could ever call their first move, Pikachu had already appeared in their midst, electricity coating the entirety of his fur and being released into an instant.

"What the hell?!"

"A Pikachu?"

The Thunderbolt attack was quick and powerful, lighting the area due to its intensity. It blinded the goons and the other teens for a few seconds, time that Ash took to further approach the groups. As the light dispersed and their vision returned, the two groups stared in shock at the toasted pokemon lying on the ground in defeat, their smoking forms truly pitiful. There was being low-leveled, there was being incompetent, and then there was this.

Ash coughed to gather attention to himself, the two groups finally noticing the trainer. He took off his hat and ran one hand through his hair, putting on his best serious face as he stared at the trio dressed in black.

"Had enough of harassing kids? Or should I have Pikachu give you more of a stimulus?" Ash asked in a dry tone, just enough roughness to show that he truly meant business and wasn't showboating.

The black-clad goons were quick to return their pokemon, hurriedly vacating the premises and leaving the other two teens staring at Ash, who in turn was overlooking the way that the grunts were going to make sure they wouldn't get any funny ideas.

Pikachu squeaked a greeting to the only other conscious 'mon present, the Fire-Type grunting something back to the rodent. The two exchanged a few words in their speech, leaving the humans to greet each other.

Ash let his hardened gaze soften into his usual friendly visage, turning to the two teens and offering a smile.

"Well, that was something." His words seemed to break the other two out of their silent, the taller of the two teens coming forward to greet him.

"I haven't seen anyone besides the Kahunas dispatch Team Skull grunts so quickly. That was really good." The taller teen complimented, circling around his Charizard and moving closer to Ash in a good-natured manner. The other younger kid approached him, now sporting a bright smile.

"THAT WAS AMAZING! That attack with Pikachu was sooooo powerful! How does it get so powerful like that? It was quick too! Are you a trainer? You've got to be a trainer." The kid began spouting words at quite some speed, approaching him with enthusiasm that impressed the senior trainer.

Ash smiled at the young, smaller one, finding the enthusiasm amusing.

"Pi and I have been together for quite a sometime. You pick up a few things when you've been on the road for a while." The trainer answered, being careful to avoid giving away too much information. He scratched his cheek, finding the smaller teen to be circling around him almost as if he would discover all of Ash's secrets simply by moving around him; that wasn't when he noticed that Pikachu was still talking with the other teen's Charizard, the boy rushing to approaching Ash's 'mon and began the weird ritual of circling around the pokemon.

The taller teen sighed and shook his head. "Sophocles, remember what the professor said about boundaries! Don't overstep it." Ash registered the name to memory, sending a look towards his partner in case the other did indeed step over boundaries. It spoke to their bond when he turned his head his pokemon's eyes were also turned to find his.

Do not shock the kid if he does something wrong.

…I make no promises

Ash sighed in a good manner, turning his head to look at the other teen. "Pi will be nice, don't worry about it. I'm Ash." The trainer presented himself, holding out on his last name just in case.

The dark-skinned teen smiled in return to Ash's greeting, crossing his arms and laughing in a grand manner.

"Hahaha, then I'll hold you to that, Ash! I'm Kiawe, from Akala. That bundle of happiness over there is Sophocles." The taller teen introduced himself and his friend, looking over to his Charizard. "We were just about to go to class when those numbskulls got into our way, demanding we hand over our pokemon for their cause."

Ash hummed and shook his head sideways. "I know the type. Met my fair of those." The trainer grunted, but then the following sentence registered in his mind. "Wait, class? Like, technical training pokemon school?"

Kiawe shook his head with another grand laughter manner. "Nah man, we don't really have the resources for that kind of tech in here. Maybe Lillie or her edgelord of a brother could afford to study at one of those fancy schools though? Anyway, we take classes directly with Professor Kukui." The teen explained, pulling a pokeball and enlarging it. He glanced at his simple wristwatch, eyes widening after it and quickly returning his Charizard. "Thanks for your help, Ash! We are already late! Come on, Sophos!"

Kiawe shouted at the chubby teen, hurriedly passing through the gates that they had been denied access previously. Ash stayed in place, merely waving the two teens as they rushed to avoid some probable punishment for their tardiness. The trainer waited until his partner returned to his usual place on the aura user's right shoulder, the two standing still in front of the gates.

Maybe he would some time to check these classes out, simply for the fun of it. Who knows, maybe the trainer would learn something new if he stuck around. For now, the teen decided to get some lunch, considering he and Pikachu had been out for quite a while.

(-o-)

(-o-)

It took about two days for the trainer to finally visit the gates of the supposed school. Delia wanted to enjoy a few more days with her son, thus the trainer had to follow his mother just about everywhere she wanted to go. He loved his mother, yet he found it somewhat hard to follow along with so much quiet and...platitude that followed the woman and her own pokemon everywhere they went. Maybe he truly was a adrenaline junkie. Anyway, the trainer finally had some time to himself now, which meant more investigation of the islands.

Now he hoped to be able to visit this school, as maybe someone would have a few more answers for him. The trainer had only progressed so far by walking around and observing Melemele Island with his Aura Sight. The whining of the Unown was a constant noise in his head, their work maintaining reality being messed with by people with no knowledge on such matters. Ash sighed, Pikachu nuzzling into his trainer to comfort him. It was clear that there was something bothering Ash and sapping him from full strength, but Ash never let any signs of bother on his face. The yellow rodent could only pick it up since he had been with his friend for such a long time.

The trainer went past the wrought iron gates that led to the building he supposed was the school, luckily not running into any other...Team Skull grunts. Arceus dammit, that sounds dumb. Ash mused in his head, approaching the place and finding it devoid of anyone. Well, there was one person that he could sense in his surroundings, but for a school it was fairly empty.

He glanced at his pokedex to confirm the time, the screen of his red device signaling 09:27 A.M and assuring the trainer that he wasn't either too early or late for the classes to be over or have yet to begin. He exchanged looks with his partner, the rodent glancing at him with a curious gaze.

"Don't look at me, I'm pretty sure it isn't a Sunday." Ash commented with his partner, the 'mon rolling his eyes at him. The trainer swiped at the pokemon and walked closer to the building. He reached the entrance (or what he hoped it to be one) and knocked on the door, waiting until someone came to answer it. He heard some commotion in the inside of the building, a male voice complaining about something as the noise from objects knocked on the ground echoed inside; the trainer backed away from the door as he heard footsteps quickly approach him. The wooden door was forcefully opened, banging against the opposite wall as a man appeared in the teen's sight.

"Lillie, have you really managed to get the funding?!" Ash supposed that this man was the Professor responsible for the school, by the coat draped on this man's shoulders (never mind the fact that he wasn't wearing a shirt) and the hanging pokeballs connected to the man's belt. The young trainer showed a wry expression to the professor, the man now realizing that he wasn't talking with this Lillie girl.

"I guess that I'm not exactly who you were waiting for, professor?" Ash joked, displaying a smile to the man.

(-o-)

To be continued