Every other time he'd taught this lesson, it had been simple. Mostly because he was usually dealing with kids that were more interested in the theory than the practical elements of training, or at the very least with kids who'd only ever dealt with people from Alola.

Of course, even if he hadn't, in hindsight Kukui had accidentally picked the worst possible time to give said lesson.

"Similar to regional variant pokemon, trainers from different regions will often have different battle styles as well. This is often related to how pokemon and the training profession are viewed by the regional culture," he began, only to stop when he suddenly noticed Kiawe was scowling. "Something wrong, Kiawe?"

"No," he said, closing his eyes imperiously. "I just can't figure out why any region would value holding back as a battle style."

Ash immediately whipped around, fist slamming against his desk. "I told you I wasn't holding back!"

"Here we go again," muttered Sophocles.

"Hey, come on now, guys," Mallow said weakly. "Didn't you go through this already?"

"That's right! Surely enough is enough!" cried Lillie.

"I'm not just gonna sit by while he says stuff like that!" Ash snapped, and Kiawe opened one eye to glare at him.

"And you think I'm just gonna put up with you treating me like some kind of rookie?"

Kukui blinked, staring between the two battlers. "Is something going on here that I should know about?"

"Nothing's going on," Ash said irritably. "Kiawe's just being stupid."

"What did you say?" Kiawe snapped, and Kukui held up both hands.

"Alright, alright, sorry I asked," he joked, and waited through a few seconds of awkward silence before prompting, "Kiawe, you want to explain what's wrong?"

"Ash," he said bluntly, and then clarified, "He says he never holds back in a battle. And yet there's never been a knock out when Turtonator battles Pikachu. Even when I land a Z-move."

"So what if Pikachu can survive a Z-move?" Ash shot back. "That doesn't mean I'm holding back when we battle!"

"Oh yeah? Then why don't you use the same kind of power in battle with me that you used against Tapu Koko?"

"Because I don't have a Z-crystal anymore!"

"Don't be stupid; I'm talking about that Thunderbolt you hit it with! That was –"

"Alright!" Kukui called over the both of them, and they fell obediently silent. He shook his head and held up a hand to signal the end of the discussion. "I'll see you both after school and we can talk this out. But for the meantime, let's just focus on the lesson."

"Fine with me!" Ash snapped at Kiawe, who glared back.

"If you don't skip out early."

"What was –!"

"Enough!" Kukui demanded, and pressed a hand to his head as Ash dropped back into his seat. It would be easier if they were being disrespectful to him, not just each other. As it was, while he wanted to send them both out of the classroom, without a mediator that would just escalate the problem. Man, he hated having to actually pull the authority card. "I don't want to hear anymore bickering. Understand?"

Ash turned back to face front, and Kiawe folded his arms in sullen silence.

"Alright. Now," He'd completely lost his place. Had he even started the lesson yet? "Regional battle styles. We learn about them so that—should you leave Alola—you don't accidentally insult an experienced trainer when commenting on their tactics. What is considered an advanced strategy in one region could be considered time-wasting or unnecessary flourish in another. This is particularly true in some of the Eastern regions—"

"Like Kanto?" Sophocles asked with a sneaky grin, which only grew wider at Ash's sharp glance.

"—such as Sinnoh," Kukui said darkly. Sophocles rarely started trouble, but he sure loved to stir it up. Luckily, a quelling look was enough to make him quiet down for the moment. Less lucky was that Kukui knew it was just for the moment. His class was usually one of the more mature and well behaved groups in the school, dedicated to learning and structured by Lillie, Mallow, and Kiawe's guiding personalities. But that just meant that on the rare occasions they did decide to be brats, it was all the more difficult to control.

Leaning back against his desk, Kukui drummed his fingers under the lip, debating the merits of locking this down versus continuing with the lesson. In the end, he decided to risk it. "Sinnoh values performance, and so they are more likely to train pokemon in a wider variety of skills than those from other regions. Double- and triple-battles are common, leading to a higher number of combination attacks, while one-on-one battles will almost always include detailed combo-manoeuvres. These can take some time to set up, and so many trainers from other regions will consider it needlessly flashy and even reckless, despite the amount of thought that needs to go into these strategies."

Lillie raised her hand. "Is there a special reason they do that?"

"There are a number of theories," he said. "Some argue that it's related to the region's love of what are known as 'Contests'. These are special pokemon performance competitions which combine pure performance pieces with battles specifically designed to show off a pokemon's beauty and talent."

"Sounds like a waste of time," Kiawe mumbled, and it was only Kukui's immediate warning glance that kept Ash from twisting around again. Instead, he sunk down in his chair and glowered at the balcony. Kukui watched him warily for a second before continuing as if it hadn't happened.

"Others have suggested that it is due to the region's unique connection to Arceus and the Creation Trio."

"Arceus?" asked Lana, and Kukui winced. Religion was next semester's problem.

"The short version is that Arceus is believed to have created the Sinnoh region, and some would argue the entire universe," he said. "The Creation Trio are Palkia, Dialga, and Giratina, who govern Space, Time, and Dimensions respectively. Due to the far-reaching and adaptable nature of these pokemon, some researchers believe Sinnoh pokemon trainers are paying respect to their deities by showcasing the far-reaching and adaptable nature of their pokemon."

"But Contests didn't begin in Sinnoh, right Professor?" asked Lillie. "I read that they began in Hoenn."

"Correct. However, Hoenn believes there is and should be a clear separation between performance and battle. To the point that they will actively discourage battle trainers from participating in Contests, and vice versa, whereas Sinnoh will encourage it. This has caused quite a lot of friction between the two regions in the past," he added with a slight grimace. Burnet had a lot to say about Hoenn. "Hoenn values a more simplistic style in both battle and performance, preferring beauty or 'cute' style for show, or overwhelming strength through battle." The implications of which he had heard far too much about. Burnet could rant about—apologies, debate the intricacies of—Hoenn's pokemon training styles for much too long, in his opinion.

So, before Lana and Mallow could catch wind of that problem, he moved on as quickly as he could. "Being a more academically-focussed region, Unova is more reliant on theory and strategy. Type mathematics, abilities, and power levels are deeply analysed in the Unova region, to the point that one of the most highly regarded careers for a pokemon trainer is the Pokemon Connoisseur. These trainers are able to identify a pokemon's full statistics from sight, smell, and touch, in addition to their unique compatibility with specific trainers."

"Whoa," Mallow said, succinctly. "That sounds hard."

"It is. Reportedly, in order to achieve the highest rank of their profession, a Connoisseur will have over ten years' experience and have studied theory for at least half of that time again. It is a very difficult profession," he said, and then shrugged. "But outside the Unova region, their techniques are often seen as lacking, because they don't take into account other factors, such as emotional or spiritual influence."

From the corner of his eye, he could see Ash was all but ignoring the lecture, still slouched in his chair and glaring out the window. Which was surprising. Given Ash's experience with the regions he'd mentioned so far, he'd expected this to at least interest the kid on a personal level.

"Is there a region that does?" asked Lana, and Kukui blinked, jerked back to what he was supposed to be doing. It took him a second to remember what that was before he could answer.

"Alola, as a matter of fact. We're particularly known for our close relationship with our pokemon, due to our reliance on our Z-crystals and –moves. They only function, after all, because of our strong bonds with our pokemon," he pointed out, then shrugged and continued. "This is reflected in our battle style, which revolves around the use of Z-moves. Timing is key to the Alolan Battle Style. Isn't that right, Ash?"

At the sound of his name, Ash visibly flinched and looked around, blinking rapidly. "What?"

Not even listening. Great. "As a visitor, what would you say is the biggest difference between Alolan battle style and that from other regions?"

He stared for a second before answering. "The – the Z-moves?"

"And how does that influence our battle style?" he prompted. When Ash just continued staring at him blankly, he added, "Is there anything you would do differently here to account for people who can use Z-moves?"

"Uhh…" He furrowed his brow, then shrugged. "I… well, you've gotta time stuff different. Because… because a Z-move can turn a battle around. But if it doesn't work, then your pokemon might not have enough strength to keep fighting afterward. So when you use it, you've gotta be sure it's gonna work."

"You don't even have a Z-crystal," Kiawe snapped, and Ash actually snarled.

"And when you're battling someone who does, then you gotta know how to avoid it or take the hit!" he snapped back, over Kukui's attempts to interrupt. "So you can come back from it!"

"Which you never bother doing!"

"Because if I did have a Z-crystal, I wouldn't have been in a good place to use it!" he cried. "Turtonator can keep fighting after using its Z-move, but if Pikachu missed its shot, then you could fire back a flame thrower and there's no way we'd avoid it!"

Kukui tried again. "Yes, and –"

"You don't have a Z-move to use right now!" Kiawe shouted. "So why not keep fighting without it?"

And again. "Kia-"

"Because if I get a Z-move and I use it straight away like I want to then I'm gonna mess it up!"

"You make no sense!"

"You –!"

"Enough!" Kukui yelled, and lashed his arms out in opposite directions. "Neither of you are welcome in this class until you calm down! Ash, on the balcony! Kiawe, in the hall! Now!"

"I'm not the one –" Kiawe started, but Kukui just jerked his pointing arm.

"Out!"

He didn't immediately move, before suddenly shoving his chair back and standing up. Ash hadn't even waited that long, already swinging his backpack over his shoulders.

"Fine." He glanced over at Pikachu, who had been watching this all play out from the corner, along with Togedemaru, Poppolio and Bounsweet, clustered around the egg and looking highly distressed. But Ash didn't even have to say anything before Pikachu bounded down and started hurrying over to him.

"Pika pika?" it asked quietly as it jumped up onto his shoulder, and he shook his head.

"Let's go, buddy."

Both boys stalked out, and Kukui took a calming breath before turning back to the rest of the class. "And that is why we have these lessons," he said evenly. "Not explaining your methodologies as a trainer can cause others to assume things about what you're doing. For example, I suspect Ash is trying to train himself to adapt to the Alolan Battle Style. However, Kiawe is assuming their battles are about training pokemon. So his refusal to finish a battle after he deems himself to have failed it makes it seem like he is 'taking it easy' on Kiawe."

The remaining students exchanged nervous glances, which he could understand. He didn't think he'd ever yelled at this class before. Eventually, Mallow raised her hand.

"Why wouldn't Ash just say that's what he's doing?"

Because Ash never explained anything, Kukui thought irritably, but as far as his students were concerned, his main response was a philosophical shrug. "His methodology is a little unorthodox, and wouldn't make sense to most people."

Lana raised her hand next. "Is that a Kanto thing?"

"No," he said with an unamused laugh, then sighed again. "The Kanto style is extremely blunt. They value efficiency over anything else, which means that they train pokemon to be very good at one thing and one thing only, be it attack, defence, or strategy. They stick to type strengths. Pikachu is actually an excellent example of this, though a more traditional Kanto trainer would have evolved Pikachu into a raichu early on, and changed their strategy immediately."

"Changed their strategy?" asked Mallow, and he nodded, trying to hide his impatience. He wanted to get this lecture finished so he could go and deal with Ash and Kiawe, but his well-behaved students needed to be his priority.

"Raichu are slower, but much more powerful. As a species, pikachu are very fast, relying on their ability to hit hard in short bursts while avoiding attacks. A typical Kanto trainer would prioritise power first, as it requires less finesse. However, while Ash hasn't evolved Pikachu, he has otherwise trained it in a very Kantonese fashion by playing to its strengths. If you remember the first battle we saw him take part in, his first move was Quick Attack, followed by a Thunderbolt. Speed, and then power."

"But you said Ash doesn't use Kanto style," noted Sophocles. "So what does he use?"

"I'm not sure," he admitted. "I honestly haven't seen him battle enough to identify it, and as I mentioned, I think he's trying to adapt, which in these initial stages would pollute his style considerably. Perhaps once he and Kiawe have calmed down, we can discuss it with him. But, in the meantime, I want you all to read up on the varying battle styles," he said, picking up their textbooks and moving over to hand them out. "Pages one-sixty-two through one-eighty."

Once they had the books open, Kukui waited a few seconds to make sure they were at least making a good show of pretending to be engaged before heading out to the hallway, where Kiawe was leaning against the wall in a very well put-together sulk. So well put together that it was positively screaming about how forced it was. So Kukui just folded his arms, leaned against the wall sideways, and waited.

In typical fashion, Kiawe did not disappoint. "Do you really think that's what it is? The training himself thing?"

"I do," he said.

"Then he should've said so," Kiawe snapped, and Kukui bit back a smile. He'd been far worse than either of them when he was their age.

"He could stand to explain himself more, yes," he agreed, then tilted his head and noted, "You're still angry."

"Of course I am!" he snapped. "He should have said that was what he was doing! He made me think…! He treats everything like it's a game! Like all of this is for fun, like pokemon are just kids playing games. Tapu Koko chose him, gave him that Z-ring and taught him how to use a Z-move, and he just shrugs it off like it doesn't matter!" he cried, clenching both teeth and fists. "That Gigavolt Havoc was so powerful, and from that little tiny pikachu. I expected to battle that! When I didn't… I thought he was toying with me! And all along, he was doing something completely different! He made me look like an idiot!"

"I doubt Ash saw it that way, Kiawe," Kukui said calmly. "I think it says a lot that he trusts you to help him train, rather than just practice battle techniques. He respects you and Turtonator."

Kiawe scoffed, and Kukui hesitated. He normally tried to keep his and Ash's home and school lives separate, but…

"He often mentions you at home, talking about your strength, and the bond you have with Turtonator," he said. Kiawe glanced up, and he smiled. "Really. He's learning a lot from the way you battle."

"That's what he says, but…" Kiawe struggled to hold on to his anger. "Just how strong is Pikachu? I can't even tell when he won't battle me properly."

"Does it matter?"

"Yes!" he insisted, only to stop and shake his head. "No, of course not. It…!"

"If you knew, according to stats and levels, that Pikachu was stronger than Turtonator, would you still battle it?" he asked, thinking of those scientific trainers Ash had once confessed to beating up on. "What about if you knew it was weaker?"

Kiawe started to argue, but then paused and pulled back with a grimace. He huffed irritably. "I guess it wouldn't matter. It doesn't necessarily change anything, and you can learn from every battle, win or lose."

"That's right. And speaking of which… are you ready to go back and learn from my class?"

"Yeah… sorry, Professor."

"Apology accepted. But I wasn't the only one you disrespected," he reminded him. "You disrupted your classmates' learning."

"Right," he said. "I'll… I'll apologise to them, too."

"Good. Now, I'm going to talk to Ash. Once class is over, I expect you to do the same. Understand?"

"Yes, Professor."

"Good. I left a textbook on your desk. Start on page one-sixty-two." He walked Kiawe back in, paused long enough for the others to make another good show of being focussed, and then carried on out to the balcony.

The decidedly empty balcony.

Kukui closed his eyes for a moment, worked his jaw, and then slammed his fist into the railing. "Damn it."

As far as the class was concerned, Ash had gone for a walk to cool his head and think about how his actions impacted others. Kukui, however, grew increasingly concerned as the day continued and Ash didn't reappear. As soon as class was over, he hurried down the hall to Principal Oak's office, knocking twice but not bothering to wait before opening the door.

"Don't worry, Ash, Rotom –" Samson stopped, and then blinked. He was sitting at his desk with Rotom hovering over his shoulder, both of them having apparently been focussed on the Kanto egg in front of him. He raised an eyebrow at Kukui. "Professor Kukui. Is something wrong?"

"Uh, not necessarily," he said slowly, shutting the door behind him. "Has Ash been by today?"

"Not since the two of you dropped off Rotom this morning," he said.

Rotom beeped. "I last saw Ash during the lunch break, when he and Kiawe battled. I calculated that Ash's timing has improved by zero point two seven percent, while Turtonator's flamethrower is continuing its heat increase by an average of zero point zero eight percent per battle!"

Despite himself, Kukui took a moment to appreciate that – it was his field of expertise after all. But he snapped out of it as Samson's look became increasingly pointed.

"Professor Kukui, why are you asking about the whereabouts of one of your students?" he asked. "Class only ended a few minutes ago."

"Yyyyes…" he said slowly, debating responses. On the one hand, Ash was (technically – in his home region at least) a legal adult who was perfectly within his rights to go wherever and do whatever he liked. On the other hand… he was a kid, Kukui's boarder, and more importantly, his student. During the school day, Kukui should have known where he was.

"Kukui…?"

"I sent him out of class for arguing with Kiawe," he explained. "I told him to go to the balcony. He… kept going."

Samson closed his eyes with a weary sigh while Rotom beeped rapidly.

"Ash left without me?!" it cried. "But I am supposed to go everywhere with him! How will he know what to do without my guidance and information? What if he meets a new pokemon and I am not able to document it? What –"

Samson calmly reached up, put his hand on the back of Rotom's casing, and then shoved it into the desk. He then levelled Kukui with a blunt look. "This is what we were talking about with your classroom management, Professor. You need to learn how to handle things like this better."

"I know, I know," he said, pushing up his glasses to rub at his eyes. "It's just Ash! He's…!"

"Blaming your students, are you?" he asked mildly.

Which in its own way was even more pointed than his look, so Kukui sighed and didn't bother responding. "Are you finished with RotomDex?"

He wordlessly released it, and it jerked back up into the air with an indignant squeal.

"Thank you. Alright, Rotom," Kukui said, setting his hands on his hips. "You spend the most time with him. Where does Ash go when he needs a good sulk?"

Rotom just stared at him blankly. "Insufficient data. Sulk?"

"Uhh… be upset. Angry at the world."

"Insufficient data," it repeated. "I have not yet seen this event."

"Neither have I," he said, and then sighed again. "What about thinking? Is there somewhere special he –"

"Existing data shows a seven percent probability toward extensive thinking. In other words: he doesn't do that," Rotom replied bluntly, and Kukui noticed Samson hiding a grin. He rolled his eyes and turned back to the door.

"Well, then I guess we're doing this the old fashioned way. Come on, Rotom."

He wasn't in the market, or on the beach, or the Pokemon Centre. Even when there was an explosion—usually a good sign of a pokemon battle or training—he followed it to find a couple of senior students practicing, but no Ash. Rotom became increasingly distressed, calculating increasingly low odds of them ever being able to find Ash (for a computer, it certainly had a flair for the dramatic – the academic part of Kukui wondered if perhaps it was its more simplistic pokemon mind overriding the data, while his more human side panicked right along with it), but Kukui made a point of keeping calm and quiet.

Worst case scenario, he decided, Ash would probably come home when he was hungry.

"Given Ash's personal finances and habitual spending, that is at a lower rate of probability than him simply buying food," Rotom argued as they started heading back to the house. "My models prove that he is likely to stay away. He will buy dinner from the market, and then fall asleep on the beach, and then the tide will come in, and then he will be accidentally eaten by a wailord!"

Despite himself, Kukui stumbled to a halt and slowly turned his head to stare. "…what?"

"It has a statistical chance of happening."

And that fact alone could have been worth discussing even if Ash hadn't been missing, until Kukui remembered he was talking to either a pokemon or a computer, and decided he wasn't that far gone yet. He moved on.

Besides, as his house came into sight, silhouetted against the setting sun, he realised they'd both been panicking for no reason. There was an added outline of a boy and pikachu sitting on the roof. Annoyance—both at himself for overreacting and Ash for this whole experience—surged, but he pushed it down as he continued on, focussing on how he should approach the oncoming conversation instead.

As a teacher, he needed to explain that a student couldn't just leave the school grounds whenever they felt like it. As a guardian, he needed to explain that Ash couldn't just take off like that without telling anyone what he was doing. As both, he needed to point out how the whole event had been unacceptable, rude, and disrespectful to himself, Kiawe, and the whole class.

And as… something else, he needed to ask if Ash was okay, and why the whole thing had clearly upset him.

But he wasn't given a chance to decide on anything, because he hadn't even stepped foot in the yard when Rotom suddenly shot past him to fly up into Ash's face.

"You left without me!" it yelled, and Ash jerked back while Pikachu yelped and nearly fell off the roof. Rotom ignored both reactions, instead furiously thrusting a wing into the narrow space between itself and Ash's nose. "This is not acceptable! I am travelling with you so that you may properly document pokemon, analyse battle strategies, and learn how to become a competent trainer! I went with Principal Oak so that you could better focus on your studies, on the condition that you retrieved me prior to leaving school grounds! What if I had gotten lost? What if I had been stolen? What if you had encountered a new pokemon and been unable to battle it without my superior knowledge and advice? You are my responsibility, but I too am yours! This was irresponsible and childish! This—"

Seeing that both Ash and Pikachu were utterly transfixed by Rotom's onslaught, Kukui took the opportunity to duck inside the house and clamber up into the loft. As he'd suspected, the skylight was propped open, providing easy access to the roof. He hitched himself up and out, amused to find Rotom still ranting as he carefully picked his way over to take a seat beside Ash.

"—you are not the only one who matters! I am your important companion and voice of reason! I am your insight into the Alola region! I am –"

"You are making excellent points, Rotom," Kukui interrupted. "But I think I'll take it from here."

"I am not finished!"

"Yes, you are," he said firmly, and Rotom paused a moment, furious emoji turned on him for several seconds, before it flew up and over their heads.

"I am going to put myself on charge. I will continue this when I have a full battery!" it announced furiously, and then zipped down and into the house through the skylight. Kukui rolled his eyes and turned his attention onto Ash, who remained completely still for a few more seconds in clear shock.

But eventually, his eyes slipped to the side, and he slowly turned his head to meet Kukui's gaze. He paused, then grimaced and lifted a hand to rub the back of his neck. "Sorry about what happened in class. I guess I let my temper run away with me again."

He hummed, acknowledging the apology but not accepting it yet. "When I told you to go out on the balcony, I expected you to stay there. You can't just leave campus without telling anyone, Ash. That's not how school works."

"Sorry," he said again, but this time he didn't sound even remotely apologetic. "I wanted to be by myself for a while."

Kukui frowned. "Even so. Don't do it again. Not without telling me."

He just looked away, and Kukui pressed his lips together in annoyance. "Ash."

"Is Kiawe still mad?" he asked, obviously choosing to ignore him, and Kukui took a deep breath to avoid getting angry.

Kid or not, Ash was a legal adult. He didn't have to do anything. He could drop out and go back to Kanto tomorrow and no one could stop him. He was only living with Kukui because it had been offered – he'd been more than prepared to sleep under a tree for a year if he had to. And as the weeks turned into months, it was becoming more and more obvious that Ash was getting less out of school than he was from just living in Alola itself. He had a lot of other options if Kukui pushed him the wrong way.

So he decided to let the sleeping snorlax lie, but made no attempt to hide his annoyed expression.

"Kiawe calmed down after I explained that you've been trying to learn how to adapt to Z-move timing," he said evenly. "You should have told him that earlier, when he first got angry."

"Why should I?" he snapped. "He didn't tell me anything. He just got mad and started accusing me of holding back."

"You called a battle to an end when you didn't seem to be losing, Ash," he pointed out. "How would you react if someone did that to you?"

"I'd ask how come!" he cried. "I'd say we weren't done yet! He didn't, so I figured he got it! It's not like this is the first time we'd done this!"

"And I admire your dedication, but you have to understand that not everyone has your background," he argued. "Most of the students at school aren't battlers, and the little battling they've done has been against other casual battlers. They do it for fun. Kiawe probably thought you were calling it for other reasons until he noticed you kept doing it."

"I battle for fun too! I have loads of fun battling Kiawe!" he said, and Kukui gave him a blunt look.

"You battled him to train."

"Only partly!" he objected. "It's not like real training. Right, Pikachu?"

Pikachu almost sounded amused at the idea. "Pika!"

"I just need to get the timing right," Ash continued, looking back out at the ocean. "Next time we see Tapu Koko, we're going to give it a real battle. And if I'm gonna do that, I need to be able to match anything it dishes out. I need to get this right."

Kukui narrowed his eyes, immediately confused. "Ash, pokemon need a trainer to use Z-moves. Tapu Koko wouldn't have them."

"Yeah, but…" He paused, as if seeing the flaw in his argument but somehow unable to get around it in his own head. "Tapu Koko… Tapu Koko wants me to use them. That's why it gave me the ring, and taught me what it did. So I've gotta get it right."

Kukui grimaced, but there wasn't really much of an argument he could make when Ash was clearly operating illogically. There would be no point. He took off his glasses to rub at his eyes. "Alright, fine. But next time you decide to practice something specific with someone, let the other person know beforehand, alright? You know Kiawe well enough by now to know he takes this all very seriously – a misunderstanding like this could end a lot worse than it did today."

"He takes it too seriously, if you ask me," he muttered, and Kukui rolled his eyes.

"While normally I would agree with you, I have to remind you, Ash," he said impatiently, "You were challenged by the Guardian Deity of Melemele Island. When Kiawe challenges you, he is doing the same thing as a god has done. A lot of people would take that a little more seriously than your average battle."

"It never bothered anyone before," he said grumpily.

"And how," he asked, "would anyone have known you were going to be challenged by the Guardian of an island you'd never been to?"

"That's –" Ash cut himself off, just scowling for a few seconds, before he abruptly shook his head. "Forget it."

For a moment, they sat in silence, Kukui watching Ash watch the sunset. He didn't seem interested in continuing the argument, and Kukui had to admit he wasn't exactly motivated to do so either. Sometimes things like this happened, and you could either obsess over them or move beyond them. He looked back out across the ocean as well, letting the calming sounds of the wind and tide eat away at his frustration. He hadn't really handled any of this that well himself.

"It's a late start to the school day tomorrow," he found himself saying, apropos of nothing much at all. Maybe he should take Ash to meet Hala in the morning. See what the kahuna had to say about it all.

"Maybe I should get some real training in beforehand," Ash said quietly, making Kukui glance at him and Pikachu groan.

"Pi-ika chu…"

He chuckled quietly and shifted to pet its head. "Hey, it stopped being a vacation for me ages ago! Besides, weren't you the one getting all excited about battling the other day? It's about time we got back into shape!"

"Pikapika," it grumbled.

Kukui hesitated, then shrugged to himself and stood up. There was no point in staying upset. "Well, in the meantime, let's go get dinner ready. It's been a long day for all of us."

But even as they climbed back down and into the house, Ash's words echoed in his mind, and he found himself remembering Kiawe's frustrated question from earlier. Not that it should have affected whether someone would engage in a friendly battle with them, but…

If Ash and Pikachu could already effortlessly defeat Team Skull, score a hit on Tapu Koko, and keep easy pace with Kiawe and Turtonator's Z-move…

Just how strong would they be when they were 'in shape'?