Ash had been strangely distracted all day, but Rotom's explanation of his stolen lunch and decision to catch Litten explained that. Kukui was a little confused by Ash's logic – he didn't really understand how he'd gone from being furious over some stolen food to deciding to catch the pokemon responsible. There didn't seem to be much connection.

"Stealing food is the absolute worst!" he cried, Pikachu waving its arms and ranting in similar indignation from his shoulder. "Nothing ticks me off more!"

"Why?" he asked with a laugh. "It's just food. We have plenty."

"That's not the point!" he insisted. "You can't just steal someone's food – it's just wrong!"

Kukui shook his head, still amused but deciding it wasn't worth pursuing. Both Ash and Pikachu were clearly willing to go to bat for this cause for some reason, and Kukui didn't want to get into an argument over something so ridiculous. He went with the other question instead. "So how does catching Litten get it back for stealing your food?

That stopped Ash in his tracks, to the point that his arms snapped to his side and he stood at full attention for two seconds before abruptly swinging his fists up in front of him. "Once I've caught it, I'll teach it not to steal food! A-and I'll – I'll –"

"Pikachu pika," Pikachu said quietly, and Ash twitched, but didn't say anything in response.

Kukui couldn't help but be amused by that, too. Any other trainer, he might have been concerned that he would take advantage of the pokeball bond, or punish it. With Ash, however, he strongly suspected that Litten would be downright spoiled the first few days of its capture. "You don't actually know, do you?"

He dropped forward, head bowed and arms draped toward the floor. "Not a clue."

Pikachu sighed and patted his hair. "Pikapi…"

"To be honest, though, I don't know if it really deserves to be gotten back anyway," Ash said as he pulled himself upright. "I don't like how it stole my sandwich, but it doesn't trust humans, so I guess it's not that surprising that it tricked me. I still want to catch it, and show it that it doesn't need to steal, but I'm not that angry anymore."

Kukui smiled.

Still, the last thing he expected was for Ash to come home the next night holding a bandaged Litten in his bloody arms. He would have been confused even if it hadn't turned out that Litten itself was responsible, but once he heard that, the only reason he didn't immediately try and catch the damn cat himself was Ash's insistence.

"I brought it back here so it would take it easy and stop making its injuries worse," he said firmly, washing his arms off in the sink to show Kukui it was mostly just dried blood, not damage. "If we tried to catch it now, that would make me a liar."

"That's not really what's important here," he said, even as he raised his eyebrows in quiet disbelief. Ash's arms had looked terrible only seconds ago, but now Kukui was having trouble spotting a single scratch deep enough to have bled. "I know you want to help Litten, but your own safety takes precedence."

"Presidents?"

"Precedence. More importance."

"Oh! It's fine, Professor," he insisted. "I know how to take care of myself."

Eating dinner in its usual corner, Pikachu audibly choked, and then broke down in a coughing fit that had Ash ducking out from the water to hurry over.

"Hey, easy buddy! I know it's good, but you need to remember to chew!"

Kukui watched him go, biting back some half-brained speech about the difference between the ability and need to take care of yourself. He was the kid's teacher, not his mother. So instead, he turned his attention back to Litten, who was mulishly eating its own bowl of pokechow and glaring at them all.

Kukui had never really had a lot of time for felines – he preferred the easy affection of dogs. But somehow, despite the scratches and Litten's horrible attitude… Even if Ash had been his kid, he doubted anything he could say would affect that outcome.

He sighed and decided to keep the first aid kit in easy reach.

Surprisingly, Litten was gone in the morning, but Ash wasn't upset. In fact, he bounded down from the loft in as good a mood as ever, and when Kukui asked, he launched into an enthusiastic tale of an elderly stoutland, and how Litten had protected everyone from a vicious persian.

It always took a lot of willpower not to get distracted by Ash's ability to inhale food in seconds, and even more over his talent at doing so while talking, but Kukui got the gist, along with the idea that Litten apparently lived with Stoutland, who was getting old enough for Ash to be mildly concerned about its age.

"And so?" Kukui prompted, when the story died off. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to get some berries from that lady in the market today," he said. "A whole bunch of oran berries, and some sitrus berries… maybe leppa berries too!"

He blinked. "Those are just healing berries."

"They taste the best, too! I bet Stoutland will really like them!"

"Stou-" Kukui stared at him. "Talk about a Reversal; I thought you were trying to catch Litten!"

"Nah," he said, and smiled gently. "I couldn't split those two up. And Stoutland definitely doesn't need a trainer. It used to be really strong!"

Kukui tilted his head curiously, but Ash didn't say anything until he'd gotten up and taken his cereal bowl back to the kitchen. "That Stoutland… it's getting pretty old. I don't think it can move very far anymore. Not enough to get its own food, or even really defend itself. But it used to be really powerful; you can see it in its eyes," he said quietly. "I think getting old and tired has been hard on it. And needing help, that's been even harder. Litten's the same. But that's why it's good that they have each other… Litten gets it food, and in return, Stoutland teaches it things. How to be strong, how to fight. It's an exchange, you know?"

He slowly nodded, hesitant to interrupt despite his confusion. Ash seemed to be thinking something through.

"But I still want to help," he said, and looked up into the distance. "So I'll bring them some berries. And maybe they'll let me watch them train. And maybe, if they start to trust me, I'll be able to bring Nurse Joy to see Stoutland. They'll be so mad!" he added with a soft laugh, before drawing back into a quieter smile. "But I think Stoutland needs her, whether it wants to admit it or not."

Kukui just stared at him silently for a few moments. Personally, he doubted the two pokemon would still be there when Ash went back, but…

"You're worried about Stoutland?" he asked, and Ash glanced at him, then shrugged.

"I should finish getting ready for school. Don't go too far while you're waiting for me, Pikachu," he added to his partner, who waved back before refocussing on its attempts to get Rowlet out of Ash's bag. Ash grinned and avoided Kukui's gaze as he hurried into the bathroom.

Despite himself, Kukui had to squash an irrational spike of jealousy that Nurse Joy was allowed to know something when he wasn't. But there wasn't much he could do about it, so he just moved on with his day. He had a lot to get the class through, just in case Oak decided to give them that extra egg of his tomorrow. If it went ahead and he wasn't careful, a project like that could screw up his entire syllabus…

It was just edging into sunset, and Kukui was just starting to wonder how Ash would be getting home from Lillie's house when his mobile rang. He still found himself staring out the window as he answered it one-handed. "Kukui here."

"Ah, Professor. This is Hobbes, butler for Ms Lusamine and Mr Mohn's Melemele estate."

He frowned, restraining the urge to start walking toward the door. A phone call didn't automatically mean there was a problem. "Yes, Hobbes, I remember. It's been a while."

"I understand Master Ash is staying with you throughout his visit to the Alola region," he said. "I wished to let you know that the young master has now completed his visit and is being driven home by our chauffeur."

"Oh, right," he said with a laugh. Not that he'd been worried or anything. "Thanks for letting me know, Hobbes."

"But of course," he replied, and then hesitated before adding, "I hope this is not too presumptuous of me, but are you of any relation to the young master?"

"To Ash? Me? No, no," he said. "Just his teacher and boarding host."

"Ah…" He hesitated again. "Well, this is most awkward. Do you happen to know… does the young master have relatives?"

Kukui raised an eyebrow, again resisting an urge – this time to pull the phone back and activate the video function just so he could stare at the other man. "I haven't met her myself, but he originally visited Alola with his mother. She went back to Kanto almost a month ago. Why do you ask? Did something happen?"

"Not at all. Please do not be concerned by my hapless attempts at inquiry. I am being most graceless," he said with a self-recriminating sigh. "If you were his relative, I wished only to express my warmest regards. Master Ash is an exemplary young man, and if today is any indication, he is helping Miss Lillie a great deal. I am most appreciative."

"Oh. Well, thank you. I'll be sure to pass on the message if I ever speak to Mrs Ketchum," he said, making a mental note to track her phone number down. It seemed like a bit of an oversight, now he thought about it. "The class is very close, and they're all doing their best to help Lillie out."

"Yes. I also wished to enquire for another reason. I couldn't help but notice that Master Ash did not ask about Miss Lillie's family, or why the Missus is not present at the estate," he continued. "Even when he heard that Miss Lillie had once lived with the Missus. He did not comment on it at all, beyond asking for clarification as to who she was in a photograph. I was surprised."

"I wouldn't be," he said lazily, turning to head into the kitchen. Now he knew Ash was on the way home, he figured he should probably prepare some food for the little black hole. "Ash is from the East; you might not be familiar, but kids grow up pretty fast out there. Family isn't much of a concern at his age."

"I suppose that must be it," he agreed, and Kukui looked sideways again. Hobbes almost sounded disappointed.

"Is something wrong?"

"Not at all! I just… I had thought, from Master Ash's behaviour, that perhaps he might be able to empathise with Miss Lillie's situation," he said slowly. "And if that were the case, then he may be able to…"

Kukui smiled sadly. While they all kind of knew Lillie's situation—her missing father, absent mother, recently distant brother, whatever happened to make her afraid of pokemon—they all also kind of knew that she was dealing with it by insisting there was nothing wrong. That none of it bothered her, and she was 'just fine'. As an adult, who could see the behaviour for what it was, it was a little heartbreaking. Maybe Lillie talked to the other kids, but she definitely didn't want any adult's help.

He suspected her mother had a lot to do with that.

Whereas Ash simply didn't tell him or include him in anything because he was a teacher. Which was why Nurse Joy, less of an authority figure and more of a practical component in a trainer's life, was allowed to be included in his plans and not him. Not because he trusted her more, or anything like that. Kukui had no reason to be jealous or concerned about it, and he wasn't.

He twitched and tried to ignore the fact he'd just narrowly avoided a mental tantrum by skating past it.

"I know we've said this before, Hobbes, but Lillie is a strong young woman. She's going to make it through this. She just needs time and understanding," he said. "Even if they don't really understand her situation, I'm sure Ash and the other kids will be right there for her when she's ready to talk about these things. As will you and I, if she should come to us."

"Yes, I suppose you're right," Hobbes said reluctantly. "Please do forgive the fancy, but I must confess that when I remembered that this was the boy Miss Lillie had said to have met Tapu Koko, I daresay part of me wondered if this was the guardians gifting us just what was needed."

Kukui chuckled. "Nice as that would be, I'm afraid Ash is just your average travelling pokemon trainer." That was chosen as a rival by a living god. He found himself blinking at the reminder and forced himself to move past it. "But I'll be sure to let you know if I see any miracles."

Hobbes returned his weak laugh with one of his own. "It would be much appreciated, Professor. Well, I should get back to work. Thank you for your time. And for this assignment for Miss Lillie. I believe it will be most beneficial."

"I hope so too. Good night, Hobbes."

"Good night, Professor Kukui."

He hung up the phone and stared at it for a few seconds, before lifting his gaze back to the setting sun out the window.

Then he shook his head and started in on dinner.

Ten minutes later, headlights swung past the window as the first sign Ash had returned from Lillie's estate, so he barely looked up as the door opened. "Welcome back."

"Pi-ika!" Pikachu greeted, bounding in first only to stop when there was no responding bark. "Pika?"

"Rockruff isn't here tonight," he told it absently, before looking up at Ash and Rotom. "How'd it go with Lillie and the egg?"

"Pretty great," Ash said as he crossed to the loft ladder. "She can already touch it! She's gonna be a great pokemon trainer, you just wait!"

Rotom, however, flew over to the kitchen with a frown on its screen. "Judging by her continued fear of other pokemon even coming close to her, I do not think she will be able to train pokemon."

"You don't know that, Rotom," Ash argued. "You saw that picture – she used to be able to touch pokemon just fine."

"Oh, you heard about that then?" asked Kukui, glancing up at the loft as Ash disappeared over the edge. "Has she remembered anything about what caused the fear?"

"Nope. But it must've been pretty bad if it made her scared of pokemon," he said vaguely, before muttering something out of Kukui's hearing. He was still looking over his shoulder when he came back to the ladder, now sans bag, so Kukui focussed on the original tone rather than what he hadn't heard, assuming he'd been talking to Rowlet.

"You don't sound very surprised."

"It happens sometimes," he said, in a surprising display of nonchalance for someone that had been violently smacked across the room by an angry exeggutor tail and happily gone in for another look. He finished swinging his way down the ladder and walked around to grab Pikachu's bowl from the sink without so much as a glance at Kukui. "She just needs some time and a chance to get used to them. She's just gotta realise that not all pokemon are like the one that hurt her."

"Hurt her…?" Rotom repeated, while Kukui looked at him curiously.

"You think that's what it was?"

Ash was quiet for a few moments, apparently focussed on the thoughtless task of filling the bowl with pokechow and setting it down for Pikachu. When he looked back up, it was with his usual broad grin. "I wouldn't have a clue!"

Rotom face-faulted in the air. "Don't sound so certain when you don't know!"

But Kukui narrowed his eyes slightly. Between the ridiculous thoughts Hobbes had just put in his head and the fact that Pikachu—who could only be beaten in speed-gluttony by its trainer—wasn't eating, still watching Ash quietly… It reminded him of the way Ash had looked after they first dealt with Team Rocket, and the other day, with Litten and Stoutland. It made Kukui wanted to prod at the grin until he got something else.

But Ash had apparently already moved on, walking around to lean on the bench and watch Kukui cook. "Whatever it is, she'll work it out. She's stronger than she thinks. We've just gotta give her time and help out where we can."

Now he really wanted to prod at it. No one—let alone a hyperactive kid like Ash—should have been able to say something so insightful while using such a cheerful tone of voice. But actual poking, he decided, would probably cross a line. So he went for metaphorical instead.

"You surprise me again, Ash," he said, and Ash blinked back.

"I do? Why?"

"Well, a lot of people would say that they can't help Lillie overcome her fears if they don't know the root of the problem," he pointed out, but Ash just scoffed.

"Well, that's stupid."

Rotom beeped angrily. "It is an accepted psychological fact, verified by hundreds of the greatest psychiatric minds!"

"That doesn't make it any less stupid," Ash retorted. "It's not like she's scared because she doesn't understand something. She knows so much about pokemon, and she loves them a lot. So it's not like you can just explain away whatever she's worried about. She's gotta work through it inside."

Kukui looked at him from under his brow. "You think it's that easy?"

"I never said it'd be easy. It's just what she's gotta do," he said, and turned around, leaning back against the counter. "S'why I don't need to know what made her scared. It won't change anything. All I can do is help give her time. She'll get through it."

He continued watching Ash quietly for a few moments, debating responses. "You don't think it's a friend's responsibility to try and help her?"

"Responsibility?" he asked. "I want to help. But I'm not gonna do that by making her remember stuff she doesn't want to. I'm not gonna help anything by telling her how to feel, or what to do. She's the one who's gotta get through this." Ash paused, apparently noticing that he'd started raising his voice, because he took a breath and continued in a lower tone. "Lillie's really brave, and she's trying. But I realised today, I shouldn't just… It's like – it's like Litten."

"Litten?"

"Yeah. I might want to help, but… sometimes you can help most by taking a step back, and letting them do their own thing," he said, his tone firm like he was reminding himself of the fact. "I'll be there when they need me. But chasing them down, keeping an eye on them, trying to force them to do what you think they should do… you should never force someone to think the way you want them to. All that ever does is hurt people."

Kukui turned his head, watching from the corner of his eye. That heavy feeling in his gut was making itself known again, niggling for him to notice something. But after a second, Ash swung around to face him again, all broad smiles and innocent eyes.

"Don't you think?"

He hesitated, then nodded slowly. "I suppose it's true enough."

And it was. It wasn't really how most people approached emotional issues, but there was definite logic there. And it wasn't that different from what he'd told Hobbes: Lillie needed to work through this at her own pace, and she would hopefully come to them if and when she was ready for their help.

But something about the way Ash was explaining it…

He shook his head and continued lightly to change the subject. "So, what about the rest of your afternoon? What did you think of Hobbes?"

Ash immediately perked up again. "Yeah, he's really cool! Did you know he's a battler? He has this oricorio, it's so awesome! Beat me and Rowlet pretty good!"

He chuckled. "You're impressed that you lost?"

"Of course I am! Oricorio had these dance moves that really knocked us around. I'm not very good when it comes to dancing," he added with a wince that quickly morphed into a grin. "But it just goes to show that me and Rowlet have a lot of work to do. I've been all focussed on getting it trained up with Tackle and Leafage, I totally forgot to get it any practice against real opponents. Gonna have to fix that, right Pikachu?"

"Pika pika!" it shouted around a mouthful of pokechow.

Rotom groaned. "That will be no help at all! The power difference between Pikachu and Rowlet is far too extreme. The battle wouldn't last long enough to be of any benefit!"

Ash just grinned even wider. "Oh yeah? So I should get a pokemon more on Rowlet's level, huh? You'd be pretty close, right Rotom?"

"What?!"

"'Course, then you'd have to train with us! Ever been in a battle before?" he teased. "Now that's something I'd like to see!"

"I am not intended for battle! I am a RotomDex!" it wailed, and flew behind Kukui's back. "My data is for analysis, not implementation!"

Kukui laughed, twisting around to give it an evil grin. "You won't get any support here, Rotom. I fully believe in study through active experimentation, after all!"

"Wh-what?!"

"Yeah!" Ash cheered, and playfully ducked around the bench as if getting ready to pounce. "I think it's time to experiment. How do you handle a Tackle, Rotom?"

It beeped in alarm and shot out of the kitchen, around the corner and down toward the basement. "I am not meant for battle!"

"Ah," Kukui joked. "Now that's Extreme Speed."

"And this is Pursuit!" Ash shot back, before taking off at a run.

Kukui just grinned.