The last entry they assumed the First Champion had written was on a crumpled page.

The paper was dirty and torn in the middle. The handwriting was messy as if made by an untrained hand. Some parts of the ink were splotched, presumably had gotten wet when still freshly written. Unlike the others before it, there was no date inscribed, and it was written right on the very last page of the notebook.


I wasn't able to save them. Ilima, Kahuna Hala, Hau, Gladion, Lillie or even Tapu Koko. I can't save them. My partners are badly hurt. Alola…this Alola is gone. I'm scared. So so scared. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.


It went on like that. The rest of the entry was filled with 'I'm sorry'. The last one was almost illegible, the tail of the letter 'y' trailing to the edge of the page. The room was silent, not just because of shock but also of dread and confusion. The persisting question about why the First Champion left her post suddenly remained unanswered, but the entry itself has given them a clue. Their lovable and kind Champion, who always smiled and braved through the worst situations, has witnessed something that has shaken her to the core so much that it made her let go of everything she has in Alola. Whatever it is, it is something that no thirteen-year-old should have experienced.

Everyone almost jumped when Gladion rose from his seat and marched to the front. He snatched the notebook on the table and flipped at the pages furiously. What is it? His eyes darted word-for-word. What is it that made her feel this way? She should not have felt this way! She is Moon! She always finds a way to tease him, smile after battles, and laugh at the smallest of things. She should not have felt this way!

He paused, eyes staring blankly at the pages. "Five…" He murmured. It was a small detail in the past, yet so significant. How could he not have realized sooner? "Moon has five. When…when I last fought her, she only got five of her usual team with her. Her first partner, Primarina, wasn't with her. She said she benched her first partner to train Lunala for a while, but…."

The blond slammed the notebook on the table. "She should have said something…." Gladion murmured. "She should have asked for help! So, what if she's the Champion? She can't do everything everyone expects her to do! To hell with being a Champion!" He shouted. "She should have asked! We should have noticed! One…even just one of us…it would have been better! GODDAMNIT!"

No one dared to say anything. Their faces were riddled with guilt and regret. Why has none of them asked how she is? Why did not at least one of them dare ask about her troubles? Have they depended on her too much and placed unreasonable expectations on her shoulders? No one said anything because Gladion is right. They are supposed to support her, but none of them noticed nor suspected that something had been going with the previous Champion.

"Hah…" All eyes turned to the Kahuna of Ula'ula Island standing at a corner with his arms crossed. For some unfathomable reason, he was staring at everyone with red eyes that shared none of their feelings. "Don't tell me you're going to dissolve the League? That's a waste of time."

"Uncle!" Acerola admonished, but the older man simply waved it off.

"You know, if that kid Moon sees you all right now, she would be disappointed." Nanu peeled himself away from the wall and walked toward the other side of the room. He bent down and picked up Moon's adventure notebook. "If you're worried about her, don't be. She's been doing well the past years."

"Nanu," There was a dangerous edge in Olivia's voice. "You sound like you've been in contact with her."

"And if I were?" The Kahuna of Ula'ula Island rubbed the back of his neck. "Really, it isn't my decision who that kiddo reach out to. Whether she wants to get in touch with me or not, it doesn't matter to me. To be honest, it's such a pain to deal with her if she's like this. On top of that, he is also in this."

"Who exactly?" Gladion demanded. He cannot believe the usually laid-back Kahuna had maintained contact with Moon and said nothing when the rest of them were pulling their hair just to find the tiniest clue to her whereabouts. "How much do you know? Why didn't you say anything?"

"Eh. It's not really my place to tell." Nanu said airily. "It's too much work. Just ask her, or just read whatever that kid Sun gave to you." The Kahuna of Ula'ula Island gestured the notebook in Lillie's direction. "You got them, didn't you? The documents about the First Alolan Champion."

Lillie's eyes widened in surprise. "H-How did you –"

"Sun told me." Nanu interrupted nonchalantly. "The kid's been under my wing for almost four months now. I know a thing or two. He also has Moon's Z-Power Ring and Z-Crystals, if you're wondering."

"WHAT?" Hau almost toppled his chair backward when he stood up. "He's the one who stole it?"

"He didn't steal it," Nanu answered promptly. "He borrowed it because the First Champion lent it to him. Though, saying it like that doesn't make sense either. Besides, you're the one who lost it in the first place." Hau looked like he was seconds from a rant, so the Kahuna placed the notebook on the table and stared at the younger Aether sibling. "Show them to us. The documents."

"I…" Lillie's gaze landed on everyone who had gathered in the room. They put aside interrogating Nanu to look at her with mixed expressions of expectance and What in the Tapus' name is he talking about? She fumbled for the three envelopes tucked deep inside her pockets and reluctantly handed them over to the Kahuna. "Here. Umm…but I don't have the other two yet…."

"I have them here." Gladion produced the two envelopes Sun handed him earlier. "Sun gave it to me earlier." He passed it to Nanu before turning back to Lillie. He did not want to show his disappointment given what happened to Shiron, but he could not help it. "Now that I am reminded of that, you and I will have a lot to discuss later."

"I…" Lillie looked down at her shoes. "Yes…I understand."

Her brother sighed tiredly. "I'm not mad, Lillie." He assured her. "But we'll have to talk, alright?"

Lillie pursed her lips and nodded. Across them, Nanu sifted through the documents one by one and placed them on the table. The growing spread consisted of plane tickets, phone call transcripts, reports, and even official regional League documents – all laid out for them to see. He cocked an eyebrow as he scanned each. "The kid's not kidding. She was really busy the past five years. She's been all over the place."

He surveyed the spread for a few minutes. "Let's just speed through it. Five months of laying low in Sinnoh before going on a journey and taking up medicine." He flipped through a piece of paper. "She went and stayed in Hoenn for nine months, defeated the League there, and went to Orre for a month to find a professor who could help her modify a Beast Ball. Afterward, she went to Kanto and Johto to participate in the regional Leagues and train hand-to-hand combat and archery under a well-known dojo. It seemed she got a sponsor too. I could guess who they are."

"And who are they?" Olivia cast him a warning look as she crossed her arms. "Speak up. We're not going to accept nothing as an answer this time."

Nanu eyed her at the edge of the paper before relenting. Getting in a fight is too much work. "The Interpol."

"Wait…the Interpol?" Hau asked. "You mean those two who gave some super-duper secret missions to Gladion and Moon?"

"I don't know about 'super-duper', but yeah, those two are part of the Interpol." Nanu huffed. "Here, take this. I'm not going to read you a bedtime story." He passed the paper to Hau seated next to him and the Champion, who was waiting eagerly, accepted it and immediately immersed himself in reading aloud.

"It said here that she spent one year in Kalos and Unova, where she continued training and learned theater acting. Four months in Galar before going back to Orre and staying there for three months. After getting what she came for in that region, she went back to Galar for one month to continue the Gym Challenge there. It seemed she's studying medicine on top of stomping through the regional Leagues and other stuff."

The others have inched closer, looking at the spread on the table and listening to the Champion as he read the contents. An amused smile quirked on Nanu's lips. "Well now, it seems our First Champion is a Hall of Famer seven times and," He slid a photo on the table for all of them to see. "She decided to return to Alola almost four months ago. That kid Sun was kind enough to include a picture of her."

The only picture among the files was what seemed to be a recent candid shot of the First Champion. Moon was standing in a crowd of white punctuated against what appeared to be a sports field. She has her arms crossed while looking at something with a serious expression. She was wearing what seemed to be a white, sleeved jersey with a golden logo at one sleeve and had her now long black hair pulled back in a ponytail.

Gone were the baby cheeks and wide eyes that she sometimes takes advantage of. Instead, her features have matured into femininity while intensifying the composure of an esteemed Pokémon Trainer. Her sapphire blue eyes have become sharper, and if the photo were anything to go by, she would have grown a few feet. If any of them were shown the picture without any prior context, they doubt they would recognize the peppy girl from the stern-looking woman in the photo.

"That's…Moon?" It was a rhetorical question, but how Hau glanced at Gladion afterward made it seem directed to the blond. "Nope! I don't believe that. I mean," He gestured at the photo. "Can you believe that's Moon? She…She looks different! She doesn't look like Moon at all!"

"That is her," Molayne confirmed. He swiped through his phone and showed it to them. It was a news article, dated about a week ago, from a credible online newspaper in the region of Galar. The headlines read Top Ten Gym Challengers for This Year's Galar League Championship. Below it was a collage of the ten people, presumably the mentioned Gym Challengers, and after that was a list of names. Moon's name was right at the first of the list with the number combination 716. An ID photo that looked precisely like the same woman from the candid shot was placed on the top left corner of the photomontage.

"Moon was the first to finish her Gym Challenge and register for the Champion Cup almost four months ago. The event is set a month from now, and from the looks of it, she decided to return here and wait out the remaining months." Molayne tapped a fingernail on the plane ticket set to fly to Alola. "This ticket was the one I am investigating under the Champion's orders. I discovered that the details of a passenger from this flight were redacted from the official list. I was told that the Galar police took hold of the information under the regional League's orders. We suspected it may be connected to Sun's arrival here in the region but seeing that another League and the Interpol might be involved here, it might not be the case."

"But what does the Galar League have to do with her?" Kahili, who has been quietly listening to the entire discussion, finally spoke up. "I've been to that region for conferences, but I haven't had any contact with them. I doubt any of us here has."

"Except for Moon," Lana said, her hands were folded over each other. "But the question is, why didn't she tell anyone? If she's back, why not inform anyone? Unless…"

"Unless she wanted to hide it." Kiawe frowned and crossed her arms. "She doesn't want anyone finding out that she's back to the region for a reason. My guess is that it has something to do with Sun. That guy has always been a suspicious character. I am sure he got something to do with this."

Olivia turned to Nanu with a glare. "Well? Care to enlighten us? Why did you shelter that kid the whole time and tell no one? You're aware that he's under surveillance! You're a police officer and a Kahuna, for the Tapus' sake! What has gotten into you, Nanu?"

Nanu met his fellow Kahuna's glare with uninterest. "You're right. I am a Kahuna, just like you, Hala, and Hapu here. That's why I have to do it because it is the Tapus' will."

"What…?"

"The Tapus are aware of what was happening, and you know why?" He pointed at the notebook. "Because the kid told them five years ago. That kid, Moon, told them what might happen. Two alternate Alola were destroyed, and one of her Pokémon was inflicted with the same thing now going around in our Alola. She and the Tapus made a plan, and that kid even reined in the Interpol because it is inevitable. Her leaving the region was just a part of it. I might disagree with her actions, but I know that she did because it is her duty as the Champion."

Hala stepped forward. "Nanu, how did you know about this?"

Nanu pinched the bridge of his nose. This is really getting troublesome. "Because I was there." He admitted. "When she returned the last time from that wrecked world, I was the one she turned to. It was not just her Pokémon that were badly hurt. She was bleeding to death, but she still refused to go to the hospital or let anyone else know about this. I had to persuade the kid before I could call that Aether branch chief. She would have died at my station if Lunala didn't leave by itself and get Tapu Lele to help her."

"Really, that kid was stubborn as hell. Brave but stubborn. A migraine even." Nanu clicked his tongue. "Anyways, the Tapus gave her their blessings to leave the region. I don't know much what happened while she was out there in the world, but she succeeded in finding a cure for her Pokémon. You should ask that branch chief, but I heard that there have been plans to send the antidote here, though it does not work with Ultra Beasts or those that went mad because of that Ultra mumbo-jumbo."

He peeled himself off the wall and looked at them. Their pensive forms reflected on his red eyes. "I said my piece. Are the lot of you done interrogating me?"

The Kahuna of Ula'ula Island was answered with silence. Sophocles tried raising his hand to ask a question but immediately dropped it. Olivia, who was close to seething minutes ago, slumped on a chair with her hands massaging her forehead. Hala was pacing across the room, and even Hau, who seemed peppy earlier, stared across the table blankly.

A chair skidded on the ground as Lillie stood up, excused herself, and ran out of the room. There was a beat of silence before Gladion followed her. He silently left the room, but the tight clench of his fists told them otherwise. The rest remained there, seemingly suspended in time, before Molayne weakly called that evening's meeting to an end.


Moon's Gym number is 716 because the number 7 refers to Generation 7, and 2016 was the year when the Sun and Moon games were released, which is 2016. I don't know any Japanese wordplay, and I can't create a number combination out of the full release date since it only allows three digits, so I settled with 716.