Alola readers! Brav's back again.
So this delay's due to the fact that I went to Vancouver over the weekend and didn't arrive back home until late last night. It was a quick little vacation for me and my brother before he goes back to school and I go back to work. My aunt took us ziplining on a mountaintop where apparently, she and my mother had grown up with the place almost literally in their backyard. It was super fun and I'd go again in a heartbeat!
Maybe Elio should take Lillie ziplining!
So you know what: I'm going to address my schedule firsthand.
It's about to do a complete 180. More days off, but in essence, I'll have four 8 hour shifts that are almost back to back. Whatever...sleep's overrated anyway. With this, I will say now that I can't fulfill my promise of a weekly update. I really wish I could and you all probably wish that too. Sadly, I can't make that commitment. As much as I want to write all day long, the job comes first. Bills don't pay themselves. Updates will come as best they can, so if you do have that burning desire to know the progress, go ahead and send me a PM.
Now we're finally headed off to Akala and we'll get there next chapter, but here's another one of backstory, humor, more Elio X Lillie adorableness and such. I'm giving quite a bit of saturation on the ship part, since Lillie's going to be leaving in a couple chapters. The next one's already over 7k words where we're going to jump right into the Akala storyline. So buckle up for that ride.
Although it's vague and kind of brief; there's a scene of partial nudity in here. You have been warned.
Enjoy the chapter guys.
We went to Leonard's right at seven in the morning. Hau was definitely right. Malasadas are amazing! I heard that Elio tried a place with them over by the Marina, but these apparently blew them right out of the water. Both of us really liked the aguave flavor!
The rest of the day, we spent doing a bunch of things. Sun chatted with some of his friends back in Kanto and Elaine also wanted to show me his highlight reel from when he played different sports. Wow, he is pretty good.
And then the next morning, we had to scrub the boat before we went off to Akala. I was afraid Professor Kukui would only enlist my help, but it was such a relief when both Elio and Hau volunteered to make it to faster and easier. We got it done pretty quickly and before we knew it, Melemele Island was disappearing, the boat carrying us to the next part of our adventure!
"Woah." Lillie and Sun said at the same time.
They had taken an early tauros all the way back into Hau'oli City where Elio had programmed Leonard's bakery into the PokeNav device affixed to Rotom. He quickly pointed out a route that would get them there in twenty minutes.
If it weren't for the traffic.
Elio should've picked up the fact that cars beside them were slowing down. Back in Kanto, the worst would be going under the speed limit due to congestion on roads from maintenance or some accident. There were times where he'd fallen asleep inside the car as Mom and Dad drove wherever they needed to go. It never particularly bothered him about sightseeing as they meandered through cities and towns. Either his attention was diverted to a video game, book or with closed eyes.
One memory came up when they had flown out on a vacation to Olivine City in Johto. It happened all of a sudden while they were on the way to the airport as his mother was screaming in panic and his father had slammed on the brakes of the family car as they were heading along the highway. As they came to a halt, she had turned to look at him in the car seat, which the belt locks hadn't even engaged. However the concern etched on her face was like he had been catapulted through the front windshield.
Traffic had been so bad in Orinda that day. The cause was a fuel truck that had jackknifed and exploded on the freeway, blazing out of control and closing off a good four miles of highway. As they were driving to the airport past the scene, Calvera had gotten the call to his station and he had changed course, taking the nearest exit right back to the station so that he and the others of his team could arrive to battle the inferno.
More than a dozen lives were lost that day and the news of such a horrific accident were among the worst Kanto had experienced.
He had been four years old.
"But I don't want you to go away Dad!" A younger Elio had cried in his seat as they pulled beside the fire station. "It's dangerous!"
"I know son." Calvera had that reassuring smile on his face, but he was just as distressed at having to leave his son at the worst opportune time. "But Dad's got to go to work. People are in trouble and what does a Northstar do when we find someone like that?"
"We…we," Elio had been at a loss for words. "We always help."
"We always help out anyone we can." His father leaned closer and planted a gentle kiss on his son's forehead, causing him to giggle. "Be good for your mother okay? I love you son."
"I love you too Dad."
Calvera turned to Elaine. "Sorry I'm gonna have to change our travel plans. Best bet right now is to take the fifty five all the way over to Peri which will get you to the airport quicker. Not sure when I'll be able to fly out, but I'll do what I can."
"Northstar! We're rolling!" A voice boomed from inside that went over the blaring alarms.
"Be right over Bonds!" He turned back to Elaine. "I gotta go. Love you."
"I love you too. Be safe and come back to me." His mother whispered, kissing him.
Calvera nodded and turned away, hurrying inside the firehouse.
"Elio?"
I miss that Dad.
"Elio?!"
What?
"ELIO!" A feminine voice shouted from behind him.
"Wha-" He saw that Lillie had snapped him out of his daze and the light to cross the street on their ride pokemon had turned green. There were several others on different ride pokemon just behind him, inches away from being impatient.
Lillie wanted to spare them both the embarrassment and give him a heads up. She was a little concerned when he immediately didn't signal kick their ride and knew that he was daydreaming about something.
What could he be daydreaming about? The island challenge?
"Sun are you alright?"
He gave an apologetic wave to the people behind him and mustered the ride tauros across the street.
"Sun?"
"I'm fine." The response came out snappy enough for her to tell that he was far from it.
"Do you even know where we're going?"
"Leonard's." He was curt, not overly rude, but sounded like he didn't want to talk.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Even though it appeared that he wasn't in the mood, she decided to pry anyway.
"Talking about Dad last night. I just got this memory after seeing the traffic here."
They edged at the end of the road before Elio turned them onto another street. Downtown Hau'oli was approaching quickly and even in the early morning, people were out and about. Many of them waved their hands in a friendly "Alola!" when they passed by and both teens couldn't help returning such a warm greeting.
"Traffic reminds you of your father?"
"Well it was more of the memory." Sun sounded distant. "Although I still hate Dad for what he did to me and Mom, there was a point where I looked up to him. He was my hero and honestly, I think all fathers should be biggest heroes to their kids. For a while, mine was."
"Elio."
"We were going to Olivine City for a family vacation, just the three of us when Dad got the call for an emergency. Turns out that it was right in front of us as we were driving to the airport. What turned into a six hour day of traveling almost doubled because of delays. Dad wasn't even with us when we were on the plane."
Leonard's was on their left, so he halted their ride across the street and hit the terminate button on his pager. Quickly dismounting, he grabbed hold of Lillie's hand and gently guided her down. She blushed at his display of chivalry whenever they would go on ride pokemon together.
I wonder if we can ride something besides Tauros soon?
"Anyway, while we were going there, the highway had been closed because a giant tanker truck full of fuel had been knocked over and set on fire. Nobody was hurt, but that wasn't even the worst part."
He took a deep breath. "Lillie, have you ever heard of Team Rocket?"
"Team Rocket?" She had, but it had been so long ago that its familiarity wasn't able to be grasped.
"Team Rocket was one of the most dangerous crime syndicates in Kanto. They're long gone now, but used to operate somewhere in Viridian and Celadon City. They did a lot of bad things and hurt a lot of people. Three convicted members were responsible for causing that truck to jackknife and explode. Twelve people were killed and many were injured. Police on scene already had the three of them locked away in an armored car."
"That sounds horrible." Lillie averted her gaze down in sympathy.
"Yeah. When my mother traveled Kanto as a trainer, she had a few run in with some of their thugs. They put up quite a fight, but she beat them every time. Compared to these people at Team Skull, Rocket was far more dangerous and ruthless."
By now, the pedestrian light had turned green as Sun finished stowing his ride gear. They quickly crossed the street along with several others before finally taking in the long line that stretched out the side of Leonard's to the shop situated right next to it.
"Holy-" Sun glanced at it wide-eyed. "I really hope the wait isn't long."
They took their place at the end of the line, annoyed at it, but they began to move after a while. It didn't really help that even more people were coming in behind them.
The woman in front of them gave a short chuckle when she noticed their blanched faces. "Get used to it kids. This place is like this when it opens at five thirty in the morning just about until it closes at nine at night. You might get a brief lull in the mid-afternoon, so that's usually the best time to go. Otherwise, expect to wait a full half hour before it's your turn."
"Really?"
"It's the best malasadas, breads and pastries you'll find in Alola. Always look for the longest crowd kids, it's gotta be the best!"
Lillie made a cute and curious face at that before turning back to Sun. Her eyes locked onto his. "Elio, what happened after that?"
"Mom was crying as we kept driving and she couldn't stop thinking about all those people who lost their lives there. When we got back to normal speed, she whispered to me, "Elio. No matter what anyone tells you, there will always…always be evil in this world. And the only thing it needs in order to win is for good people to do absolutely nothing."
"You're not like that Elio." Lillie said after a few moments of silence passed between them. "You're not those people who do absolutely nothing. I've seen you. You stand up to Team Skull without a second thought."
"It was just instinct. I didn't want them to find you because they might take away my pokemon…or Nebby." He gazed back into her eyes. "You know I won't let that happen."
"I know."
"There are so many to choose from!" Lillie exclaimed as they browsed the display case of several malasadas. The interior of the bakery was nothing short of chaos. Raised voices, staff were hurrying around, replenishing empty trays of malasadas and other pastries. Even the cashier at the checkout section at the end looked a little tired.
No pokemon were allowed in the store, so Elio made sure his were secured in their poke balls before it was their turn to order.
"Hi, we'll take a dozen aguave malasadas."
"Do you even like that flavor?"
He shook his head. "No idea. We're about to find out."
After leaving the shop and calling in another ride tauros, the two of them made their way back, now going against the traffic and cutting travel time in half.
"Mom, we're home!" Sun shouted, throwing open the door and carrying the box of malasadas inside.
"Hello sweetie and hello Lillie!" Elaine happily waved from the living room. She was sitting on the sofa folding a new load of laundry with several stacks already in progress.
"Here's a dozen aguave malasadas from Leonard's." Sun set it down on the kitchen counter before letting out his two pokemon. By now, Grimer had displayed a much better control of the slimy trail he leaked whenever he moved, but she had already said that he wouldn't be allowed in the house until all the residue was gone entirely.
Litten and Rufflet met their new playmates of Nebby and Meowth. All four scampered on the floor, chasing one another in a fun-looking game of tag.
Lillie smiled at cosmog's playfulness. She was definitely quite happy to see it finally be able to enjoy itself out of her duffel without having to constantly hide it. The constant attempts to escape her bag didn't go unnoticed and the reasoning made her feel even remorseful of stuffing it inside.
I'm sorry I have to keep doing that Nebby, but it's for your own good. At least Elio and Elaine's house here is a safe haven where you can play around. It seems like you have made good friends with Litten, Rufflet and Meowth.
Over to her left, Sun set down his helmet and began stripping off the ride pads. His dark hair looked matted down and damp with sweat, causing him to brush his forehead.
He glanced at Lillie. "It's already quite hot out there. Do you want to take a shower? I'm gonna jump in."
"W-what?" She stammered.
He wants me to take a shower? With him?!
Elio's face contorted to horror as Elaine's turned into amusement. "No no no! That's not what I meant!"
She burst out into laughter, prompting both teens to glance in completely opposite directions, embarrassed by that.
"Let's go." Sun grabbed her hand and dragged them both into his room.
The four pokemon glanced at the adult with puzzled expressions.
"Oh my," Elaine's hysteria began to die down and she shook her head, smiling fondly. "Elio, you have no idea how alike you and your father are."
"Sorry about that." Elio said as he shut the door. "My mother sometimes really likes to make fun of me."
Lillie still hadn't gotten rid of the blush that was on her face but put her hands close to her chest when they separated.
"Lillie?"
"Wha-oh right. Sorry." She shook her head. "Don't worry about your mother. At least yours looks after you with your best interests at heart."
"She can also be a bit hyperactive and overbearing when I've got company over. Doesn't really help that you're a girl either."
Lillie giggled. "Sun, it's fine. Really."
Elio let out a sigh of relief, the matter having been settled. "So I was planning to take a shower when we got back home. I was wondering if you wanted to go first."
"First?"
"Yeah, ladies first after all."
His selfless statement made her feel warm inside. "Um…sure. Thanks."
Lillie's hand found the dial knob for the shower and she twisted it into the off position, letting the warm spray from the shower head die down into nothingness.
While Elaine and Elio were more than welcome to have her as a guest, both she and him had been confined to share the single bathroom from his own bed. It was a chivalrous gesture, but when she walked inside to use the toilet once, there noticed an overabundance of masculine toiletries beside the sink at on a shower stand inside the stall. In their haste to move her into the house so quickly, many of her own personal belongings, including toiletries had remained in the lab.
Professor Kukui promised to bring them when they were going to go to Akala Island. For the time being, Elaine offered some of her own in the smaller travel size, which was perfect for the occasion.
Elio kept it tidy, having a holder for his own toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste. There was an extra slot for hers and it turned out that they used the same flavor and brand.
There was also a stick of black APEX deodorant in a scent dubbed "MVP" and a bottle of bluish liquid that she assumed was cologne. The mirror just above his chrome sink was slightly fogged from the entire shower vapor, but the running fan had been hard at work, clearing it back up again. She caught a slight whiff of the coolish scent that reminded her of an ocean breeze. She was smelling his scent.
Elio wears cologne?!
She slid open the curtain, cautiously stepping over the edge of the tub and glancing around for her towel.
It was nowhere to be found.
I thought I brought it in with me. Where could it have gone?
She swore that she brought it in with her. Then again, the conversation with Elio ten minutes ago had been quite awkward and she may or may not have forgotten to take it.
No! This can't be happening! Now I have to wait until Elio is gone, but he won't leave until he takes his own. Oh goodness! What am I to do?
Horrifying thoughts dawned on her when she silently opened the bathroom's door and peered out, leaving the rest of her nude body concealed by the door.
There was her dark blue towel, sitting rather messily on her bed.
Looking over at Elio's desk, he was stooped over a computer on what she remembered to be a video messaging site, completely focused on something on the bottom. It seemed that he was trying to connect with someone.
Maybe she could get his attention to bring her the towel. It was a safer option, but the downside to that was she'd have to endure the embarrassment of not coming in prepared. Elio would probably brush it off as nothing, but if his mother Elaine got word of this.
Neither of them would hear the end of it.
Her white sundress was hung on the door's hook and she could wear it, but that would essentially defeat the purpose of having to go and get her towel in the first place. And it would look extremely wet.
Lillie contemplated calling him to bring her towel over, but then she saw that he had a pair of bronze or gold designer wireless headphones with a fancy logo on the side. He didn't even turn when she had opened the bathroom door, which suggested that they must be noise cancelling and he didn't hear anything external.
"Can you hear me?" He was asking, but she figured that he was trying to talk to whoever was on the other side. "I can hear you."
With his mind distracted, Lillie made her decision.
It was a tantalizing eight feet to the towel and she quickly covered her bare skin with one arm while lunging out, snatching the cloth in her hands and sprinting right back.
The whole thing happened in a matter of three seconds and her heart was beating so fast with nerves all frayed that she had slammed the door in her haste. That abrupt noise had actually been heard through Elio's headphones and he spun around perplexed at the sudden intrusion.
"What was that?" He had finally managed to get both voice lines working, but the video chat section was still being reset and connected.
"What was what?" His friend Edmund asked. Like Elio; Edmund had been part of the Orinda High School's varsity basketball team that had gone all the way to the regional finals in two consecutive years, winning it the latter time. "Ed" was passing six feet tall, the same age as him and was arguably the most talented as a small forward when they had their starting five. Compared to Elio, who was more methodical and coordinating of plays; Ed took the ball into his own hands, forcing mismatches by defenses and attacking the rim. Likewise, the two were part of the football team as well on its defensive side, but their talents shined much brighter on the court than on the field.
Elio was pretty sure that it was only a matter of time before Ed would be playing on a professional level. So would he if it weren't for his shorter height.
"I'm not sure. Hang on." He set the headphones down and went over to the bathroom door.
A couple raps of his knuckles on its frame. "Hey Lillie, are you alright?"
"Huh?" Her voice came from inside. "Um…yes. I'll be fine. Thank you for being so concerned."
"Uh sure." He had no idea what was going on, but just went with it. "You're welcome."
Lillie shuddered at his concern. What if he looked back as she retreated into the bathroom again?!
I'm thankful he had on those noise cancelling headphones and was so distracted. That would've been bad!
Lillie didn't come out for another ten minutes, spending most of it trying to dry her long hair and re-braid it. Elio had been completely oblivious to the partially nude figure that had darted into his room and snatching up her towel. Now that she was free from the constraints of how to dress and look, it was just as much of an ordeal to decide on what to do.
The only way she had dressed for months and years was the way her mother wanted her to. Without all those parameters, she had no idea how else to look.
The old way it is.
"And there's this strange group called Team Skull." Elio said, now having gotten the video feed back up and running on his laptop. "They're nothing more than a group of troublemakers really. I've beaten them in battle every time we've met."
"Woah." Ed grinned on the other side, showing his short dark hair and blue eyes in an easygoing smile. "Sounds like Alola is a lot more different than Kanto when I realized."
"Just like I said. It's a place where people say the name as hello and goodbye. It's hot as balls in the daytime and there's people who speak an impenetrable language and should be used to tourists and foreigners, but they all act like they've never seen one before."
"Traffic."
"Bloody sucks." His eyes lit up when he had forgotten something. "Oh but you can ride a tauros as transportation!"
"Oh so just like Rallypoint?"
"Kind of. Since I'm a trainer and all, the rides are basically free for me and a guest."
"That's pretty cool." Ed nodded. "What about the people? You said they look at you like you came from a different planet?"
"The term for foreigners around here is haole." Elio explained. "Most of them time, it's used in a teasing way, but I've heard that it can be interpreted as offensive sometimes."
"Huh interesting. Met anyone neat yet?"
"Professor's nice. He doesn't wear a shirt."
Ed chuckled. "Neither do you when you sleep."
"That's beside the point. Professor Kukui goes everywhere with nothing but a lab coat and shorts on! He talks a little strange, but he's been a huge help for me on the island challenge. Speaking of which, we'll be headed out to the next island tomorrow morning."
"Anyone else?"
"Oh yeah." Elio thought of Hau. "There's another kid doing the island challenge at the same time I am. His name's Hau Kealoha. His grandfather is the kahuna or chief of the island. The guy is so upbeat and energetic. He's such a fun person to be around. I've got a feeling that he's going to be my new best friend."
"That's pretty awesome." Ed smiled. "What about girls? Any cuties out there?"
"There's Leilani. Leilani Tauala. She's a trainer herself and really helped me out in winning the grand trial. Apparently a surfer too and she said she would teach me how to surf soon." Elio blushed at the thought of her before it deepened when it went to Lillie.
"Oh that's pretty awesome. She pretty?"
"Ed," Elio sighed, already knowing where this was going to go. Edmund had always been a huge flirt with the girls at their school. He never really accepted offers of dates from anyone and it really didn't help their case that he was certainly a handsome teenager that was the star player of the basketball team. "What is it with you trying to hook me up with someone?"
"I know you've never been that excited to be around girls, but they're not a different species. Just trying to help a little brother out. That's all."
"They might as well be."
"You still didn't answer my question," Ed smirked. "Leilani pretty?"
"Ugh." He shook his head. "Yes. She is very pretty. That's probably why all the boys are after her. Including Hau."
"That's pretty awesome. Glad you've got people there to support you. Me, Evan and the rest of the boys are really pulling for you and your mother. You guys deserve to be happy."
"Thanks a lot Ed." Elio made to say something else, but he stopped when he saw the other boy's expression change. Staring at his own feed, he saw why.
Lillie had come out of the bathroom, this time around in her white sundress and hung her towel on the rack.
Ed's face contorted into almost an instantaneous infatuation grin. Right then and there, Elio realized that he had come to a very perverse conclusion.
"Hellooo gorgeous."
Oh goodness no!
"Ed! Stop that!" He immediately got defensive. "That's my friend you're talking about!"
"Is that Leilani?"
"No! That's Lillie! She's the professor's assistant. His lab had a leak in her bedroom, so she's staying with me."
"Dude…you need to get on that as soon as possible! I doubt she's going to stay single for long!"
"Ed, please just lay off that for a second. If you know her, then you'll realize that trying to find a boyfriend is the least of her worries!"
"Oh." His smirk had faded and he turned more serious. "What's wrong with her?"
"She's hiding a secret." He explained. "And I promised to help her keep it."
"Ok. Sorry." Ed could see how serious Elio had taken the remark. "Secret?"
Elio didn't take the bait. "It's just…she's got a lot to worry about right now."
"I see. Must be a long story. Here," Ed waved his hand towards himself. "Give her your headphones. I want to talk to her."
"Be nice." He warned, before slipping them off his head.
Lillie watched as he turned to her. "So my friend Ed wants to talk to you. He can be a bit forthcoming…if you know what I mean. I told him to go easy."
Someone wants to talk to me?
"Hello?" She shyly asked, glancing at the teenage boy on the other side of the computer. There was no telling if he was able to hear her since she didn't see a mouthpiece or microphone to speak into. As soon as the outside had encased her ears, all the surrounding noise was instantly muted with a strange sensation.
"Ah." A gentle male voice said in her ears, with amazing quality as if everything else was completely silent. "You must be Lillie."
"Y-yes."
"Well it's nice to meet you! I'm Edmund. Last name's Dahm. Make sure you remember that because I'm going to be a pretty famous basketball player in a couple of years after college and declare for the draft!" The statement was true. Many kids, even straight out of high school were shown displaying raw talent in basketball, football and baseball, three of the four most popular sports in the world. Prospects were scouted by talent seekers for the professional sporting clubs as early as fifteen. Edmund Dahm was a new name circulating around the basketball world with many "experts" insisting that as soon as he declared for the professional league's draft where they would select players to play for different franchises; he'd be in the top five of the year.
"Oh." Lillie looked a little disinterested, but she was a little uncomfortable talking with a stranger. "I see. That's great."
"Sure is. But this isn't about me. I hear you're a good friend of Elio's."
"Yes. He risked his life to save something very important to me."
"Really?" Contrary to being taken aback, Ed didn't look surprised in the slightest. "That does sound like him. He's always been a selfless person and will do what he can to help anyone before addressing his own needs."
Lillie smiled. "Elio. He…he and Hau have been really good understanding friends."
"I don't know your situation, from what Elio's told me about your secret and all." Ed chuckled when she opened her mouth to protest. "But you seem to be needing in the friends department. I'll tell you right now that with Elio…you certainly struck gold."
"Struck gold?" She curiously asked.
"Yeah. Elio is one of the most loyal and caring friends you ever find. If you've gained his respect and trust, then he will never turn his back on you. I've seen it before. Someone gets down and stuff and he's there, putting two hundred percent into helping everyone improve themselves. I'll bet he treats his pokemon like family too."
"Yes." A thin smile was cracked at the mention of that. Elio didn't just look at them as partners or tools; they were all part of his family.
"He and his mother have been through a lot, as you may know. His father used to be a good man until he changed for the worse. They moved to Alola of sorts to get away from him and start a new life. I'm glad he speaks so highly of people like Hau and Leilani."
What about me?
"And you." Ed smiled warmly. "He didn't say anything about you."
What?! Why?!
"Because I think you're the closest to him."
Although she didn't notice, but Ed saw a smile crease her features and knew that he was right again.
"Wha-"
"Lillie. I've never seen him act so defensively about you. Trust me on that. Elio's like a little brother to me and I care about him very much."
"Okay, that's enough." Elio was starting to get a little irritated at seeing the smiles passed between Lillie and Ed. He could only imagine what was being said over the connection. "Give me."
"I better give this back."
"Okay." Ed smirked. "It was nice talking to you Lillie."
"He seems nice."
"You haven't seen the real Ed. I told him to be nice and all." He looked over at the bathroom's open door. "You done with the shower?"
You have no idea what just happened do you? "Yes. Yes I'm done."
"Awesome. Can you see if my mother has breakfast ready for us?"
"The malasadas?"
"I know. Go get one before they go cold. Hau will kill me if he finds out that we reheated them."
"Thank you Elio."
He knew by the knowing smirk across Ed's face that he was about to get a very embarrassing talk.
"I reaffirm what I said." He stated. "She is absolutely damn gorgeous. Shy, vulnerable. Dude, it's just like one of those romance stories all the girls liked to borrow from the library! You risked your life to protect her and her secret?! Wow, that ought to earn you a lot of points in her book!"
"Ed!" Elio shook his head. "We're just friends!"
"Yeah, but you have an opportunity to be so much more."
Why is everyone trying to put me and Lillie together? We're just friends right? He had hoped that it was the case, but it did sound good at the thought of him and her being boyfriend and girlfriend.
"Like I said, she's got a lot going on and a boyfriend really is the least of her concerns."
"Oh so you're not going to deny it?"
Elio stopped short. Ed had laid out a trap of sorts and he walked right into it. That was all the confirmation he needed.
He let out a defeated sigh. "Fine. No right now we're friends and I don't want to ruin that. But, at the same time I will not be upset if we actually start dating. She just doesn't seem like that type you know? I have no idea what she looks for in a soulmate."
"Then I'm going to send you both a destiny knot."
"Don't you dare. You know those things don't account for shit."
"What's the harm?"
"I don't know."
"I can tell she makes you happy."
"Thanks a lot doctor. Any more observations you want to make?"
"You also have a rising level of sarcasm."
That broke the bickering tension, causing both teens to laugh out loud. Elio found himself missing this. While on downtime, the basketball team would go out to dinner together, go see movies and practice on off hours. It was this close bonding that he really liked about his teammates. They were some of the people he had left behind that were considered very close friends. He had known Edmund since middle school and it was the older boy's suggestion that he try out for the varsity team. He made it in a surprise decision and started in his freshman year after the other point guard on the team had gone down with an injury. Together with him, Ed and the starting power forward of the Orinda Fighting Poliwraths, a tall bulky boy named Eric, the trio were nicknamed the ThrEEEs and became pretty well known in the school community.
"You know what. Why don't you show Lillie all of our highlights when we went to the championship? If that doesn't impress her, then I'll admit that you're just friends."
"Lillie's not going to know anything about basketball. Besides, why watch that when I can just watch all of your highlights when you're in college. Isn't that right mister U of Blackthorn?"
"You catch on pretty quick. Three years of this and I'm pro bound."
"You're not there yet bro." Elio smiled. "But I believe in you. The whole team does."
"I won't disappoint." Ed said. He glanced over at the clock on the computer's bottom. "Hey, I gotta bounce. It's already one thirty in the morning."
"Alright. See ya Ed. Say hi to Eric and the rest of the team for me."
"Later bro. Tell you mother I said hi and I'll see if I can come out to Alola to visit soon."
"I'd like that. Bye!"
"Bye!" Together, both boys hit the end call button, causing the display to wink off and return to its pitch blackness.
Another ten minutes of a warm shower and Elio emerged from his room, pulling on his striped blue tee and slipping his 'Canes hat over his head. His hair was once again, messily done, although the spray had matted it down. There was no such thing as gel that was applied, for the cap was going to cover up his bed head.
Elaine was laughing at something Lillie had said when he arrived. Again, she had that nervous, meek expression plastered on her face. She must not be used to getting people to laugh like that.
I bet ninety percent that it was something about me.
"Good morning Elio." Elaine set a warm mug of Tapu Cocoa and one of the Leonard's malasadas on a plate in front of him. "Was the bakery busy?"
"Yeah. Someone claims that it's like that all the time except maybe the mid-afternoon. Best bet is to order on the phone or online."
"He's right." Lillie added. "It really is that bad."
"Then I'm glad you both went!"
"I was talking to Ed inside. He says hi."
"Aww," Elaine gushed. "Tell Ed next time that if he doesn't get drafted in the top ten when he declares, I'm going to go hunt the team owners down and give them a smack upside the head!"
"They should!"
"You guys seem to like this Ed a lot." Lillie observed.
"Ed looked after Elio when they were on the basketball team together. He's been kind of a big brother."
"His height is the size of his ego," He chuckled. "But I love Ed to death. He's really good at basketball and a lot of people think he might end up going professional when he turns of age."
"You played basketball too?"
Sun's hand went to the back of his head and he scratched nervously. "Uh yeah. I was our school's starting point guard for the varsity team."
"Were you good?"
"Nah."
"Oh stop it Elio!" Elaine shook her head and smiled at Lillie. "Elio and Ed lead the Orinda Fightin' Poliwraths to a regional championship! I think he easily could've gone professional."
"Mom…"
She ignored her son's protests. "He's really good at basketball! And football and lacrosse! You should get him to teach you how to play!"
Lillie glanced down. "I really don't know that much about sports to be honest. Never paid that much attention of what we had."
"No worries." Elio said, taking a bite of his malasada. "You do know what the objective of basketball is right?"
"Yes. It's to shoot the ball into the net and score points."
"That's right! There are five main positions you can play. Point guard, shooting guard, small forward, power forward and center. We each have different responsibilities and attributes that are advantageous to each of us. I played point guard, which I think is the hardest position to play."
Elaine couldn't stop the smile from spreading across her face as she watched her own son explain enthusiastically about the game that he loved so much. Raising him, she knew that it was something besides being a trainer that he was passionate about. It was all in his body language of hand movements when he explained plays and positions, how he got Lillie engaged in the conversation and how he made sure what he was talking about made sense instead of a bunch of mumbo jumbo.
"I know," He got up and went over to his computer. "Here. It'll be much more useful here."
Elio powered the computer back up and went into a video player. A huge thumbnail under it read "highlight reels" and he opened it to dozens of different videos, separated into football, basketball and lacrosse.
He pointed out Ed as the two teams of five advanced to one side of the court.
A finger was tapped on one of them onscreen.
"That's me."
Lillie's eyes followed the basketball as he dribbled, keeping low to the ground. Their opponents were clothed in a white and yellow uniforms, spread out in one of their "formations" At the center of the brown glossy wooden court was a massive image of an anthropomorphic poliwrath with its fists upward in a smashing pose.
The clips even had an announcer who was commentating lividly on the playmaking. It was clear that he was a Poliwraths fan.
"Northstar's got the ball, now he's gonna attack the rim." Onscreen, Elio dribbled between two defenders, tossing the basketball upwards. It stuck the backboard, but he had put a little too much power on his shot and it banked back down. Luckily for him, the team's center saw its changed trajectory and quickly grabbed the rebound, passing it back to him as he slipped by.
"Watch me," He pointed to himself, now casually dribbling the ball. His eyes had been set on the boy in front, who had put his hand out to guard and cover him. To his left, Ed moved quickly across the court, going right behind Elio as he slowly advanced and the two seamlessly handed the ball off.
It happened so quick, she almost didn't see anything. Before the other team had realized the switch, Ed was already storming down the court's paint section, slamming it home.
"Woah," Lillie smile told him that she was impressed, even though she knew little to nothing about the sport other than what he told her. But the skill involved was undeniable.
"I wasn't that good of a shot." Elio scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Being point guard means you do a lot of passing and setting up formations. We've got to read the defense as well as read the other team's offense when we go to our side of the court."
They watched a few more of his highlights. Some involved him with more passing. Others were how he crossed his opponents, leaving them confounded, but Lillie really liked his shots. His poise when he rose up to shoot the ball in an arc that was perfectly timed and aimed, swishing right in the basket that made the home crowd go completely wild.
"I'm curious," She started after they were about to go through his football highlights. "How does someone like you with such an awesome shot of a basketball, have a poor throwing technique with a poke ball?"
Sun burst out into laughter at that and she had quickly joined in, finding that quite ironic.
"Really I don't know." The humor had died down, but the thought continued to linger. "Throwing poke balls actually do take some amount of skill and it's different than anything else I've thrown. You don't spin it right or hit the button hard enough and you'll end up throwing a brick." He gave an indifferent shrug. "I guess it's all parts of being a trainer and all."
"You're doing a fine job. Now tell me about football."
Elaine smiled when she heard two people laughing in Sun's room while folding laundry.
To her, that smile, that laugh from her son was something she hadn't heard from him in a long time.
She really makes him happy.
They were playing a familiar video on his computer in the other room as the avid announcer could easily be heard. "Snaps the ball back, looking for someone, throwing! And he's INTERCEPTED! Picked off by Northstar! To the twenty, fifteen, ten and five! Touchdown!"
An excited squeal from Lillie startled her out of her thoughts.
"And Elio Northstar seals the game with a pick six! Oh my goodness does this bring back memories or what?!"
"You bet it does!" A second announcer said over the computer speakers. "Just like how his father used to do, Elio made the right call in faking a double coverage and quickly made that play in clinching the win. Orinda's going to the playoffs!"
Her cell phone on the table buzzed, playing a fine tune for ringing. Meowth scampered up on the top, grabbing it in his mouth and jumping across to her side.
"Thank you very much Meowth!"
"Mrawr!"
The caller ID read; Kukui.
"Alola?"
"Alola Elaine!" The professor's energetic voice carried over the airwaves. "How is my great new trainer? Woo!"
She laughed. "Professor Kukui! What a surprise! Elio is doing well! He's actually very excited, talking with Lillie all the time about getting ready to go to Akala."
"Good. I hope Lillie's not been too much of a bother."
I wish she was here more to make my Elio happier. "Oh no! She's an absolute pleasure to have over!"
"Awesome! Well I'm off to go and ready the boat for our trip tomorrow. Do the kids wanna help me clean it?"
"I'll ask." She set the phone down. "Elio! Lillie!"
"Yeah?" Footsteps sounded from his room and the two of them appeared in the doorway side by side.
Elaine had to stop herself from gushing on the spot. Even without them willingly doing so, staring curiously at her, they continued to look unbearably adorable.
"Professor Kukui is going out to clean his boat. Did either of you want to help?"
She saw Lillie make a face at the mention of the boat, but Elio had a far different reaction.
"Sure! The quicker we work on it, the faster it'll get done." He glanced over, noticing her discomfort. "It's alright Lillie. Completely understand if you don't like it. Maybe Hau can come join us!"
From taking care of Professor Kukui's beloved boat, named "Pa'a" the rest of the day went by in a blur. The cleaning process took only a couple hours and Elio found his arms red and dirty from all the scrubbing doing the laborious task. He and Lillie quickly returned home to dinner before falling asleep and finish packing when they awoke the next morning.
"Don't forget your sunscreen." Elaine reminded him as he bustled around his room, piling some things on his bed and then into his backpack. Lillie held back her giggles at the motherly display and Elio's growing irritation at her overbearing.
Elio…don't take that for granted. Not all mothers are like yours.
"I know Mom."
"And you can always come back home. Please come back home soon."
"Mom." Elio's voice almost was snappy and short. "I'm going to Akala Island. It's not like I'll be in Unova."
Elaine shot Lillie a knowing look. "It's my responsibility to worry for you as a mother. You may not like it or find it embarrassing, but I've already lost many of my family members. I don't want to lose another one."
"You won't Mom." He turned back to her, figuring out the severity of her concern. "I'll be okay. I've got my pokemon with me."
"I know. You'll be careful out there."
"I promise."
Elaine got up to leave. As she passed the doorway, she had leaned back in.
"Don't forget your-"
"MOM!"
They had met Kahuna Hala and Hau at the docks. Professor Kukui was already aboard, raising a long flag close to the pilothouse. Today was a pretty calm day at the harbor, with only a few other ships heading in or out.
"Alola cousins!"
"Alola professor!" Hau and Elio greeted back before standing on the side dock.
"Well now that she's all sparkly and fueled up, we're ready to head out!"
"Oh boy." Lillie muttered to herself and eased on from the back. Her eyes grew wide in a bit of fright when the vessel shook from her added weight, but it had been nowhere close to being capsized. "It's okay. You can do this Lillie." She was murmuring to herself and trying not to think of all the disastrous things that could happen while they were at sea.
"Bye Mom." Elio gave her a hug. "I'm going to miss you."
"I will miss you too k'ou wahi anela. Be safe out there and make some new friends. Both human and pokemon. I want you to have twice as many partners when you come back from Akala as you do now."
"I'll do that."
As Hau gave one final embrace to his grandfather, the older man addressed Sun. "My boy. You and Hau are now going to be more independent and on your own for the rest of your island challenges. Much of it will bring moments to enjoy and there will also be difficulties along the road. Meet them with your hearts open and with all the power in your uhane."
"Thank you Hala." Sun gave a nervous glance in Elaine's direction before gently wrapping his arms around the Kahuna's stomach in a rough hug. "Thank you for giving me my pokemon and a means to go on an adventure."
Elaine's heart melted at such a display and Hala gave a comforting smile as he patted the boy's back. "'A'ole pilikia. Now go."
No sooner had they stepped aboard Professor Kukui fired the engine up and they eased their way out of the harbor. The three teens gathered at the stern, waving frantically and smiling graciously until it grew smaller and became a simple dot on the horizon. Not long afterwards, it vanished into the distance, going straight for Akala Island.
Both Elaine and Hala stood on the pier until they could no longer see their next of kin as they, Professor Kukui, Lillie and Nebby had just boarded the ship sailing to their next adventure. A breeze carried the salty tang of the sea and it whipped at their clothes and hair. The sun was now beginning to set, putting on a display of purple and orange to the west.
"Thank you Hala." Elaine said after some time had passed. Both of them had been staring out at the sparkling dark blue ocean, unspeaking. "Thank you for being so graciously accommodating of me and Elio here in Alola."
"'A'ole pilikia. As always, you both are ohana to me."
"He looks up to you." She turned to face him. "Elio…when he hugged you. That's something he normally doesn't do…it's normally something he wasn't supposed to do."
Hala's easygoing smile faded. "I suspect that there is something terrible plaguing you."
She nodded sadly. "Elio really looks up to you as a father figure. He's never really had one for half his life. The one that was supposed to be that person had left us long ago on bitter terms."
"E kala mai iaʻu. Sadly, something similar has happened to little Hau."
Elaine fought back the tears of frustration and sadness. "It-it's just that. Elio and I haven't had it easy since. We had the support of everyone back in Kanto, but things just weren't the same after my husband divorced us. For years, I tried to make it work with us moving on with our life as best we could, but it was really delaying the inevitable. With that, money and timing, I was afraid that I'd never get to give Elio that chance to do whatever he wanted."
"You're still his mother providing all you can to your keiki. Be that mother that unconditionally supports him. From what you've told me. He's all you've got."
"He is. And I have to lead us both into this blindly."
Hala nodded. "I had once told Elio that perhaps he was in Alola because this is where his hopena lies." He set a gentle weathered hand on her shoulder. "And perhaps yours does too."
"There's an old saying in Alola. My own grandfather used to tell me this all the time. Hiki i kekahi ke ho'opa'a i ka mahiole i ka wa e malu ai ke kai."
"Your grandfather?"
Hala nodded. "Elaine. Between you two, you are the leader. Being that leader is not about being perfect. It's about weathering the storm. It's about soldiering on, no matter what adversity life decides to throw at you. I can tell that you both have endured much suffering at the hands of your former husband. More may be coming, but remember that because of it, you are no ordinary person. Neither is your keiki."
"We've had our trials and we've passed them all."
"Yes. Now Elio will be on his island challenge on trials of his own. Some of it he will be ready for. Some he will not. You have done your job to prepare him best for them when they arrive and when they do; he will have to face them alone."
"Thank you Hala." She did feel worried about the last part of his advice. If that was the case, then if he fell, she wouldn't be able to catch him.
"Come." He gestured back to Hau'oli City. "My wife has been dying to share a bottle of wine with you. Come and tell us more about your reason to move here in Alola."
Full speed to Akala Island! This is a wrap of sorts and we're now heading back into the main story. I'm still trying to figure out the composition of his team in terms of balance and all, but hopefully I'll have made a clear decision by the time he's going to catch more Pokemon. And yes...Elio will have more than six and sometimes they'll all get rotated into his party from time to time.
Translations:
Uhane - Soul
Hopena - Destiny
Keiki - Child
'Aole' pilikia - You are welcome
E kala mai iaʻu - I am sorry
K'ou wahi anela - My little angel
Pa'a - Venture
Hiki i kekahi ke ho'opa'a i ka mahiole i ka wa e malu ai ke kai - Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm
As always, mahalo for reading and reviewing. You give my writing purpose.
Brav
