I stepped up to the arena again. I was about to fight in the final match of the tournament. The boy that now stood in front of me was no older than me, but he was taller. He had dark hair that was tied into a small man bun on the back of his head. He had dark skin and wore a black shirt and dark yellow pants with orange flowers on them.

"So, you're my opponent?" I asked as I pulled out Shiru's ball.

The boy smiled at me. "My name's Hau. I'm the grandson of Kahuna Hala."

"Eh?! Really?!" I looked him over. Now that he mentioned it, he had a similar outfit and hairstyle to Hala. If I imagined him a bit heavier, with gray hair, and a moustache like Hala, I could see the resemblance.

Hau pulled out a pokeball and tossed it forward, releasing a small cat-like pokemon. It was a litten, like I had seen the other day.

I tossed out Shiru's ball, releasing him to fight.

"Shiru, use Water Gun!" I shouted. Shiru unleashed a blast of water from its mouth, but the litten dodged it with ease. Shiru shot another blast of water at the litten, but it again dodged without a care. The thing was fast, I'd have to be careful. Having the type advantage would help, but it didn't guarantee a victory.

"Litten, Growl!" Hau shouted. The litten let out an almost cute growl, but I noticed it made Shiru flinch. "Scratch!" Litten rushed forward, bringing its claws across Shiru's face.

"Shiru, are you okay?" I called out.

"Bwar!" Shiru called out with a nod.

"Alright, try Water Gun again!"

Shiru shot another blast of water from its mouth, but litten quickly dodged out of the way. Attacking from a distance just wasn't an option, it was going to be able to move before my attacks could hit.

"Shiru, hold your spot."

"Giving up already?" Hau questioned with a smirk. "Litten, scratch it!"

Litten rushed towards Shiru, it's claws poised and ready to strike.

"Pound its face in!" I shouted.

Shiru quickly ducked under litten's claws, then brought its tail around, slamming it into litten's face. The impact sent litten flying to the other side of the arena.

"Whoa, smart move!" Hau spoke, awe struck.

"While it's disoriented, hit it with Water Gun!"

Shiru shot another blast of water at the litten before it could get back to its feet. It gave a loud shriek as it tumbled across the arena again, now doused in water.

"Litten!" Hau shouted. "Quick, give it another scratch!"

Litten growled and meowed loudly at Hau. It sat itself down and began to groom itself.

"L-litten?" Hau asked in surprise.

"Seems its concerned more for its looks than continuing to fight," I responded.

"Come on, litten! We're still in the middle of a match here."

The litten didn't pay any head to its trainer. It continued to groom itself.

"Seems litten no longer wishes to battle," Hala responded. "Mizuki is the winner."

"Oh, come on!" Hau shouted, but not in anger. His voice sounded sad. Hau returned litten to its ball, causing the litten to meow loudly in shock as it was absorbed back in.

Hala stepped up to me, grabbed my wrist, and raised my arm. "Mizuki is the winner of the Full-Force Tournament!"

I really didn't feel like I had won anything. Rapp had been an almost pathetic opponent, and Hau's litten had given up the first time it got hit.

"As a reward for winning the tournament, I present you with this island challenge amulet." Hala handed me the amulet he had shown me the other day.

"U-umm... thanks, Hala." I smiled nervously as I took it.

"So, you're now eligible for the Island Trials," Kukui spoke as he stepped up to me. "There's one trial right here on this island, actually."

"Th-thanks, Hala, but... I don't know if I really want to-"

"Nonsense!" Hala smiled and slapped me on the back, knocking the wind right out of me. I fell over and began to cough. "Every kid here in Alola wants to do the trials in a hope of becoming a Pokemon Master!"

I grabbed my inhaler from a pocket in my skirt and quickly used it. Breathing again, I stood to my feet and put my inhaler away. "B-but..."

"Oh, I'm so proud of you!" my Mom shouted as she rushed over to my side and hugged me. "You'll get to be a Pokemon trainer just like your father."

"I-I know, but, I don't-" I was interrupted yet again.

"You did really well out there." It was Lillie this time and she was smiling at me.

"Hey! Here's an idea!" Kukui shouted with a grin. "Why don't you accompany her, Lillie?"

"E-eh?!" Lillie shouted as her face turned red. "B-but, what about your research?"

"I got along just fine before you came, and besides, Mizuki doesn't know the islands. She'll need someone to accompany her and lead her around. You've lived here all your life, and you two get along really well, so why not?"

"But I don't-" I tried again, but Lillie shouted and interrupted me.

"But I haven't repaid my debt for you and Burnet helping me. I can't just leave!"

"Think of it this way, you'll be helping with my research by going out and exploring Alola with Mizuki. You can even send me reports every day if you want to show me your progress."

"I don't want to go on a pokemon journey!" I shouted. I had had enough of being talked over.

Silence. Everyone stared at me with wide eyes. I could feel it, everyone was staring, judging. Everyone wanted to be a pokemon trainer, so of course, I would, too, right? But that wasn't the truth. I didn't mind having pokemon, but I didn't want to be a trainer, I didn't want to go on a journey.

I turned and quickly rushed off down the path.

I was crying. I had found a secluded corner down the path, pulled myself into a ball, lied down, and began to cry. Why had I said that? I had always wanted to go on a journey in Kanto. I had even been given a pokemon by Kahuna Hala himself. So, why now did I suddenly not want to go on one?

"Mizuki?" I heard Lillie's voice. I looked up as I saw her walking towards me. She was moving slowly, stopping every couple steps.

"What do you want?" I looked away as I rubbed my eyes and cheeks, trying to wipe away the tears.

"I wanted to check on you." Lillie approached closer as I watched her out of the corner of my eye. "Are you okay?"

"I made a fool of myself. Of course I'm not okay."

Lillie was close now. Close enough that she could kneel down and put a hand on me. "I'm sorry that happened to you. If it matters, though, none of us think any less of you. Kukui is a little confused, though..."

"Because he knew I wanted to go on a journey in Kanto?" I asked as I looked up at Lillie.

Lillie nodded. "But, if you don't want to go, no one is going to be upset with you or hold any sort of grudge."

I sat up. My clothes were dirty now from lying on the ground. "Why wouldn't they be? Everyone wants to go on a journey. Even I wanted to go on a journey."

Lillie moved to sit down and I quickly tried to stop her.

"If you sit there, you'll get dirty like me."

Lillie shook her head with a smile. "It's fine. A little dirt never hurt anyone."

"But that's the only clothes you have..."

Lillie sat down right next to me and put her hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry about it. I mean, if I did leave the Professor's, I'd still just have these clothes. Only difference is, I wouldn't have a place to go get them washed where I could hide away."

I looked down. "Would you want to? Leave the Professor's, I mean."

Lillie sighed and I saw her glance up. "Honestly? I've always felt like I was just a burden to them... I know, I protested leaving to go on a journey with you because I do feel as though I owe them a debt for helping me... But I also feel as though I'm only going to keep building that debt by staying there. I know that if I ever do want to repay them, I will have to leave."

"Kukui did say that you sometimes wish you could leave so you can stop being a burden."

Lillie nodded gently. "It's true. They mean a lot to me, even though I've only known them for a month. They're more of a family than I have had these last few years."

"Why? What happened with your family?"

Lillie looked at me for a long moment, then turned back to look at the sky. "My father vanished a few years ago... He was working in one of the labs... There was an accident..."

"Your dad worked in a lab?" I tilted my head.

"You don't know? My parents are the founders of the Aether Foundation."

"That's amazing! They do a lot of work here in Alola to help sick and abandoned pokemon, right?"

Lillie nodded slowly. "That was the idea, yeah." She looked at me, then waved her arms nervously. "Don't get me wrong, they still do that. Aether is a wonderful thing for these islands. It's just..." Lillie stopped and looked down. "Since the lab accident, my mother has never been the same..."

"I'm sorry." I reached out and put my arms around Lillie. Almost as if responding to it, she lifted herself up and sat on my lap, then leaned against me as I held her in a tight embrace. "Is that why you miss hugs?"

"Yeah."

The two of us remained in that embrace for a long moment. We both sat in silence until we heard a strange crowing noise. "What was that?"

"Tapu Koko," Lillie responded. "He's calling for you."

"Calling for me? How do you know?"

Lillie lifted my arm that had the Z-ring on it and pointed at it. "He gave you that. Not just anyone gets a Z-ring. Most are passed down by the Kahunas, and usually only after you complete the Island Challange. For you to have been given one by Tapu Koko himself..."

I looked down at the Z-ring. "He also wants me to go on a journey..."

"Tapu Koko is never wrong about a person's potential, you know? If he gave you that ring, it means you have the potential to become someone great. And... you did want to go on a journey in Kanto... What's holding you back here?"

"I... I don't know..." I lowered my arm. "I just don't know anything about this place, about these islands, about this land, about how the League is going to work."

Lillie giggled. "No one knows how Kukui's League is going to work. It's not even built yet."

"Do you really think... I could be good?"

Lillie grabbed my hands and held them up with a smile. "You'll be amazing."

I stared into Lillie's eyes for a long moment. There was no deception, no distrust, in her eyes. She really did believe what she said. I let go of her hands and put my arms around her neck. I felt Lillie's hands move down around my waist. "Will you come with me?"

Lillie turned red. "You really want me to?"

"More than anything."

Lillie was moving closer as her arms tightened their grip around my waist. My arms pulled her closer until our faces were nearly touching. I wanted to just move a little closer, to kiss her, to love her. I wanted to be there for her.

"I will then," Lille responded.

"Lillie... I..." I wanted to say it. I wanted to say I liked her.

"What is it?"

"Have you ever... kissed anyone before?" Even I was surprised when those words came out of my mouth.

Lillie's face turned a deep crimson. "Once... a boy I thought I liked... But I didn't..."

"Why not?"

"I don't like boys."

I felt my face burn now. "Wh-what do you mean?"

Lillie didn't answer with words. Instead, she responded with action. Her lips gently touched mine. I couldn't resist. I let myself slip into the kiss as well.

I don't know how long we stayed like that, but when we did finally pull apart, we were both flustered. "S-sorry," Lillie spoke nervously.

"Don't be sorry. I like girls, too." I put a hand on Lillie's bare arm. "And... I like you..."

"I like you, too, Mizuki." We kissed again.

I suppose that made it official. We liked each other. We hadn't officially called each other girlfriends, but we had kissed and professed our feelings for each other. We also agreed, together we'd go and take on the Island Challange. I'd get the pokemon journey I wanted back in Kanto, and Lillie would be able to get away from the Professor's place and out on her own.

I didn't know what would come in the future, but I knew that Lillie and I would challenge it together. Our first stop would be Hau'oli City again.