Greetings, salutations and happy 2019 everyone! Here's the first chapter of this fic for the new year. Hope everyone had a good holiday. I'm definitely glad the last chapter got a lot of good feedback that I was hoping for. This one is one I've had to do a bit of editing on since there are things I'm unfamiliar with. I apologize in advance if things aren't accurate.
You know the old saying that even close friends still continue to reveal new secrets? Yeah, I kind of found that out.
It truly is amazing how much Elio wants to help people. And he's really good at it! He stayed calm, didn't panic even though I would've already been freaking out.
The story's long and we ended up missing a lot of the surfing tournament, but when I did get back, something really horrible happened!
From even where Lillie and Elio stood among the stampeding crowds, it was obvious.
Sabine was a complete stunner.
High cheekbones, wavy golden blonde hair and mesmerizing blue eyes were enough to do more than allure any male watching. She was dressed simply, with a no-frills tropical orange dress that accented her very…curvy frame.
Lillie lightly tugged Elio's arm to guide them past the crowds, only he didn't move. Looking over at him, she could see a bit of a dreamy infatuated look plastered on his features. Her heart sank thinking he already had an instant crush on the other surfer girl.
Why does Elio have to hit on every girl that likes to surf?
"Sorry." He suddenly said next to her. "Spacing off there for a sec."
"It's okay." Lillie lied. "Did you put in the directions to the mart?"
"Yeah I did." Elio brushed past some more of the camera people trying to get a shot of the starlit. "It's only a few minutes down the road in the city. The sooner we get going," He stopped to wipe beads of sweat off his brow. "The sooner we can get out of this crazy heat."
"My thoughts exactly."
As they made their way through the throng of people, Elio could see that they were going to walk right past Sabine as she made her way over towards the private area where the surfers and their coaches would crash. The people following, cameramen, reporters and rabid fans followed, all clamoring for the gorgeous surfer's attention.
Sabine paid them little attention, almost ignorant of the flashes from the cameras and eyes pointed in her direction, only brushing a strand of rogue hair that blew in her face from the hot breeze.
Elio was glancing at her again when some higher power must've tipped her off. She turned her head in his direction and stared directly into his eyes. Blue on gray.
He felt as if his insides had frozen even in this hot weather as their gazes locked. Elio stared harder, as if he was trying to memorize her features in a more…intimate fantasy.
Then it was over as she gave him a curtsy seductive smile and turning to continue down away from them. A lovestruck Elio had to shake his head and clear his thoughts.
What was that all about?
All along the side of the beach close to the Hano Grand Resorts were some of the lesser known ones, yet still expensive nonetheless. Each one had a unique building design that held different attractions from lazyboy pools to pleasure gardens. They were all full of happy tourists, but most were flocking away from their own resorts to Hano to watch one of Alola's biggest events.
Elio let Torracat and Akela out to walk beside them and his attempt at making them behave themselves ended up with the two pokemon playfully engaged in a game of tag just ahead of the humans as they walked.
"Pew." A muffled cry came from Lillie's bag. She stopped, slowly zipping it open to see a rather distressed Nebby.
"I'm sorry it has to be even hotter today." She said. "But we can go for the famous pinap ice cream once we get back to Hano Grand Resort."
"Pew!"
"Famous pinap?"
"Yeah Hau said it was the best on the island. You know, the punch you in the face it's so good?"
"Not really." Elio shook his head. "I guess I'll have to take his word for it."
Other than the oppressive heat assailing the air, the day was rather pleasant. The wind blew the top of the palm trees lazily and they could see the sloped side of Mauna Wela that had a rich earthy green, turning the characteristic ashy brown as it neared the peak. Some clouds hung low around the peak.
After he had finished the fire trial, Kiawe made Elio promise to come back up to the top before sunrise. He showed him a picture on his phone where there was nothing to block its way and the orange light would radiate onto the clouds to create a spectacular scene.
"It's incredibly beautiful." He had said. "Makoa and I get to watch something like that almost every morning when I open the trial grounds. Nothing like it anywhere else."
Surprisingly, the streets were still full of people going about their daily business either on foot or in a vehicle. Much of the roads by the resorts branched off towards the valleys where they could see many neighborhoods clinging to the slopes. He had to bet that each one would fetch a fortune on the real estate market due to the limited space to build homes and the view of the boundless ocean from the windows and porches they provided.
Pricing is probably about the same back in Kanto. Cerulean City is the fastest growing in the region since it's close to Saffron and Celadon with a lot more room to expand. Vermillion is right in between them and the ocean and it's already costing an arm and a leg to afford a single studio apartment.
"Hey Lillie?"
"Yeah?"
"Um…what's your dream house?"
"Dream house?"
"Well dream home I should say."
"I-I don't know." Truthfully, she hadn't really put much thought into a future home for herself. Her parents already had that enormous house that sat at the Paradise's rear. Looking up at the homes on the mountainside, the foyer in their mansion alone could fit one of those houses inside.
"I've never really thought about it. It's just been so much lately."
"So much?"
"Well, keeping Nebby safe, helping it find a way back home and then needing to keep you boys from drooling all the time over girls." She playfully punched his shoulder upon saying that. "What? Someone has to keep you and Hau in line."
"I don't drool over girls."
"You did over Sabine."
"Yeah but-" He stopped short, realizing that Lillie had verbally funneled him into a trap.
Crap. She's almost as good as Ed.
"Okay, I kind of did look at her like that." Her gaze turned to her pouty one that Elio secretly found the most adorable. He made himself find more ways to get that expression. "What? I can't look at girls anymore?"
"Well I don't look at guys." Except for the one in front of me.
"Well I'm sure you'd probably see a lot more. Everywhere I go there are a lot of guys our age that look at you. You'd be surprised."
Should I say thanks?
"Elio?"
"Hmm?"
"Um….have you ever….you know."
"I don't." He looked over at her as Akela and Torracat were finally exhausted from their game.
"Have you ever had a girlfriend?"
He immediately felt his cheeks heat up from that question. The weather had nothing to do with it. "A g-girlfriend?"
Woah! Did his voice just squeak?
"I…I've…no! I've never had a girlfriend! Why do you ask?"
"I don't know." She timidly said, suddenly regretting it from his outraged look. "I just wanted to know if you've had that experience."
"I haven't had one." Elio said, much calmer this time around. "But I kinda did have a crush on this girl back in Kanto when I was in school."
"Ooh, Elio had a crush! That's so cute!"
"Pew!"
The boy rolled his eyes. "Both of you are funny. Her name is Jadyn. She had red hair, green eyes and a really cute smile."
"It sounds like she was really pretty."
"Yeah she was. A lot of boys considered her the prettiest girl in school. Lot of us even made a list and rated them. Jadyn was usually at the top."
Lillie gasped and put a hand over her mouth. "Elio! That's so bad! You're such a naughty boy!"
He couldn't stop laughing at those memories. "It's bad, but it's boys. What do you expect? Girls did it too, only difference was that the boys kept it to themselves."
"I…I've never had a boyfriend. I never thought I'd have the time or need to find one."
Seeing her slightly upset and sad made him feel a little concerned especially when the topic of their conversation was about relationships.
"Why the sudden question? Is something wrong?"
"No. I just…wasn't sure. It seems like everyone our age is already out there in the world, happy with someone they love and are going to marry. It feels like everyone except me."
"I'm going to stop you right there." Elio held up his hands. "I never knew there was some law that mandated you find a significant other at our age."
"But everyone looks so happy!"
"Nobody said you have to be in a relationship in order to be happy." Elio countered. "Stop thinking what everyone else sees you and do what Lillie wants. I don't want you to change who you are as a person…ever. You'll be sacrificing what makes you special for someone or something that probably won't be significant later. Don't do it. It's not worth the effort. If that means you have to wait to find a boyfriend or whatever makes you happy, then so be it!"
He saw that his words didn't do much to console her.
Taking a deep breath, he continued. "I'm sure you can probably imagine, but you've heard of that perfect family scenario. Mommy meets Daddy, they fall in love, get married and have kids right? Well my family…it wasn't like that. It's complicated…my father got my mother pregnant from a one-night stand. They hadn't even known each other for two weeks at that time Can you imagine how freaked out she was about this? And then him too?"
Lillie stayed silent, but nodded at him to go on.
"Yeah, two weeks of seeing this person and they're already sleeping together. Mom finds out she's having his baby. Dad finds out the baby's mother happens to be the daughter of his boss."
Lillie put her hands over her open mouth. "Your grandfather was a chief of your dad's fire station?"
Elio nodded. "So he was in a boatload of trouble for that, but somehow it worked. They moved in together in an apartment before I was born and when she finished school, he got promoted to Lieutenant. More money meant that they could move into a house, right at the same time he proposed."
"You were really happy huh?"
"Yeah. It's crazy the time I remembered meeting up with them after they came back from their honeymoon. My grandfather put me on Dad's shoulders for a piggyback while he carried Mom inside their new house for the first time."
Lillie felt happy hearing that and smiled imagining a toddler Elio in that scenario.
"The point is that you don't have to have a boyfriend, girlfriend, wife, husband or partner to be happy. If being around your friends make you happy or having the things you want, then go for it! Don't let anyone judge you at all."
"Okay…I won't. But what about you Elio? Have you ever thought of having a girlfriend?"
The question stopped him in his tracks, just as they finished traversing yet another crosswalk at intersection. Throughout grade school in Kanto, he had paid scant attention to the dating scene.
Gossip spread around the student body like wildfire, catching wind the slightest notion someone had a crush on someone. People would try to predict who someone would ask out.
Everything was overdramatized. Not my thing.
"No. I've never really thought about having a girlfriend." He could almost see her face fall at that. "But that doesn't mean I won't ever."
"What about Sabine? Would you ask her to be your girlfriend?"
"I don't know." He whispered softly. "Just because I find a girl attractive doesn't mean I'm going to date her. Yes, Sabine's really pretty, but I don't know her as a person. I'd rather do that before I ask for date. Doubt I'll have much success, she probably has guys lined up like a graph."
She couldn't help but find a bit of relief at that. At first it was apprehensive from his "attractive" statement, but some fluttering in her chest seemed to keep her hopes alive…for everything.
"You remember when you asked me what I'd like in my dream house?" Elio nodded.
"Well it doesn't matter if it has tons of fancy decorations or something simple. It's the people that make it a dream home. I want to have times where all of our friends and family can come together, laugh, enjoy ourselves and be a true ohana."
The store was on the corner of another street. Elio didn't recognize the name of the place and the interior seemed more like a local mom and pop joint.
As soon as they entered, they noticed the single clerk at the register was quite busy. Nearly half a dozen shoppers were in line to checkout; all with something cold; ice cream, soda from the fridge or bags of ice cubes.
That's in pretty high demand right now. I imagine the stock is pretty low. We better go find that frozen fruit fast.
"You go and find the yogurt, I'll get the fruit." Lillie agreed to that and they split up.
Elio had Torracat and Akela in tow as he browsed up and down the aisles stocked with various goods. Nearby, he could see a couple other patrons with trailing pokemon of their own. One was a cinnamon colored bunny with cream patches of fur around its waist and ears.
"New pokemon detected! Bzzt! Buneary. Rabbit pokemon. The reason it keeps one ear rolled up is so it can launch a swift counterattack to an enemy. Buneary is a normal type. Additional information is available upon catching this pokemon."
With his duties done temporarily, the 'Dex dove back into Sun's backpack.
"This isn't really what I was looking for."
Pork, beef, sawsbuck sausage…oh goodness that's tasty. Ribs. Hell yes.
Elio realized he had been holding the door to the refrigeration open, allowing the dry cool air to embrace him heavenly. He quickly shut it the moment the clerk at the register shot him a dirty glance, well aware of what he was doing.
Whoops.
Lillie approached him from the side, holding up a tub of chilled vanilla yogurt. "I got it. Vanilla okay?"
Elio nodded. "That should do. All we need is frozen fruit and we should be good to go."
"Elio this is the meat section. Where were you expecting to find fruit here?"
I'm kind of craving barbecue ribs. I wonder how Alolans smoke them?
"Oh shoot." He grinned sheepishly, not knowing Akela and Torracat snickering behind them. "Sorry."
It didn't take long for them to pick out mago and passho berry bags and make their way over the register. There were far fewer shoppers than when they entered. One was finished paying and on his way out the door. As they moved next in line, Elio was nearly shoved aside by a rather large muscled man wearing dark shorts and a tanktop that barged right in front. Lillie looked completely stunned and shocked that the man had rudely done such a thing.
Sun was smarter; keeping his own mouth shut, since picking an argument over manners wasn't worth it.
"I need to get some ice." The man said breathlessly to the store owner at the counter. "Now!"
"I'm sorry," He pointed to the chest behind, completely devoid of any bags. "Machine's broken. I just sold the last two bags to that guy over there." A thumb towards the other man walking right out of the store.
This guy cut us off for ICE? Are you kidding?
Before anyone could react, the man made an immediate beeline for the ice, stopping him right at the door. Both Elio and Lillie were next in line and he stepped forward to make their payment.
He practically thrust a couple of bills in the older man's face. "I'll give you twenty for that ice!"
The other one was unperturbed. "That's not happening."
"But I need it!"
"So do I!" He was starting to get quickly irritated with his upfront behavior. "Too bad so sad!"
Okay. That last part was kind of uncalled for.
He wasn't about to be dissuaded, even though he had been turned down three times.
"I'll give you forty! Please!"
"Listen." The older man sized him up and got right in his face with the confrontation drawing the attention of Elio, Lillie and the store owner. "I already said no, you can't have the ice! Go find it somewhere else!"
The tanktop looked at him in disbelief as he left. Elio could see the beginnings of desperation forming in his eyes.
What do you need ice so badly that you're willing to cough up forty dollars?
He stepped forward, striding out the door briskly towards the older man who was nearly to his car in the parking lot. Elio's inner alarms were already going off in that he was going to do something bad.
His intuition was spot on when the tanktop lunged out, snatching one of the bags of ice, he made a move to take the second, but the other was now aware of his intentions, holding it away.
Tanktop was pretty muscular, so the older man's shoves did little to stop him from trying.
Lillie gasped and held a hand to her mouth, terrified of seeing a mugging just down the street. Elio was already out the door, sprinting across the pavement with Akela and Torracat right on his heels.
The grunts and growls of struggle barely reached his ears as he leaned down, lowering his shoulder. Even though tanktop was bigger and probably stronger than him, Elio had the element of surprise on his side.
He collided into his back, using his shoulder and knocking all three of them away. With the other two stunned, he rolled right back onto his feet, pressing his weight onto tanktop's torso and using the shock of the intervention to pin his hands behind his back. The struggle was over in moments. Even though the larger man tried to get up and face his new attacker, a low growl from Akela to the side was an unspoken warning not to provoke him or his trainer.
"Oh thank you!" The older man exclaimed before walking in front of them and leaning down.
Elio wasn't a fan of this type of gloating, but he wasn't going to just stand by and watch someone get mugged. Still, there was something gnawing and nagging to tell him there was more to this than just ice.
"What did I tell you kid? You're not getting the ice! I don't care what you say!"
"I need it!" Tanktop's voice cracked a little. "Please! You don't understand!"
"I think we understand pretty well!" Elio was referring to the suffocating heat around them. "Look bro, we're just as hot as you are, yet something like ice isn't worth it to fight and mug someone over!"
"You don't understand! The ice isn't for me!"
"What?"
"I don't need the ice! It's for my girlfriend! She's pregnant!"
Elio's heart skipped a beat. Oh shoot.
While he was no doctor, he had been taught many things about emergency preparedness by his own father in case he had to administer first aid himself or help someone in need.
Tanktop continued reasoning. "The air conditioning in our house just stopped working and I need the ice to keep her cool!"
Elio was now beginning to understand why he had been so desperate to get hold of the ice. The excess heat in the air combined with a second life would increase her internal body temperature to dangerous levels. "What's your name?"
"Adam."
"He's lying!" The older man pointed down at him angrily. "How do we know you're not making up some story so you could take it from us?"
On the contrary; Elio was buying his story. Most of the other signs of Adam's anxiousness were genuine. Plus he knew that the heat could cause the mother of the baby to stress out, which could lead to many consequences including premature delivery.
"My right pocket. My phone's in there. The picture on the front."
Elio reached down, fingers finding the device and opening it to the lock screen. Besides the time at the top, he could see the image of Adam on his knees, kissing the stomach of a woman that he assumed was the girlfriend. Both looked local. However her swollen belly was a dead giveaway that she was pregnant with a baby.
He glanced up at the older man, curious to see if he was still stubborn to hold onto his ice bags despite the revelation. "So what did you need the ice for?"
He was given a bit of an embarrassed look in return, likely realizing Adam's need outweighed his by a ton. "Mai Tais."
"Do you think-"
"Yeah." The older man nodded, already knowing what Elio was going to ask. "I'm sorry about that."
Sun helped Adam back onto his feet. "Now let's get that ice to her."
Oh crap. Now looking back at the bags on the hot ground, there were only a few cubes left swimming in a puddle of water that drained onto the pavement.
"No! This can't happen!" Adam put his head into his hands. "What am I going to do?"
"Stop!" Elio stepped right in front and put his hands on his shoulders. He never expected himself at sixteen years of age to be consoling a soon-to-be-father. Then again, he didn't seem that much older. "The worst thing you can do is panic. That makes you stressed, which in turn stresses her out and makes things even worse for the baby."
"Okay." He breathed. "But the ice was a last minute option."
"I understand."
"Elio?" Lillie timidly approached from behind. She had witnessed the entire thing with mixed feelings of both scared, yet impressed. She immediately became concerned with his stressed behavior. "Is everything okay?"
Just the person I needed to see.
"Lillie, listen to me." He didn't want her to panic, so he kept himself to at least appear calm. "Go back to the store, tell the owner what happened. You saw everything. Emergency services are going to be very busy today, so see how long it's going to take to get an ambulance here."
"Why what's going on?"
"Adam," He jerked a thumb to the man, "Has a girlfriend who is pregnant and in an extremely hot room. We need to move her somewhere cooler."
"But where?"
Elio was already in motion, grabbing his ride pager. Maybe the emergency services wouldn't make it in time, but he knew that the Alola Transit system could get him a ride quicker.
Kind of strange how the tauros pizza delivery can get to your house quicker than an ambulance.
He looked at the older man, gesturing for his attention.
"Adam, take me to your place. This is what we're going to do."
Lillie and the other man had done just as he had asked while Elio and Rex left on a pair of ride tauros to his house down a couple of blocks. As he had entered the house, it was like going through the front of an oven with the temperature significantly higher. The vents blew in no air, all the windows had been opened fully and he saw the woman resting on a sofa desperately fanning herself with a folded newspaper.
It was sweltering outside and just as bad inside. They had to move quickly.
He swapped the ride tauros out with a stoutland, sacrificing the speed for comfort. It wasn't ideal, but they needed the ride to be as smooth as possible for Meghan the mother, whom Sun had learned the name from along the way. She moved slowly while he and Adam gently helped her onto the saddle. To make the ride less stressful, Elio wadded up some of his clothes in his backpack for her to use as a pillow before turning her around so that she lay facing backwards.
They took the trip slow, sticking to the shaded areas of trees and other buildings even though it did little good. The sun was beginning to move westward, but remained high overhead, cooking the land well done. Concrete and asphalt roads were already searing hot for bare skin to touch.
Previously taking ten minutes from the store to Adam's house, the return was nearly twice as long. However the traffic had died down just as they arrived and quickly crossing the lot.
The store owner had posted up the closed sign and they held the door open as Elio dismounted, helping Adam get Meghan off the mount and gently, but quickly escorted her inside.
In the meantime, Lillie had explained to the store owner about Elio's idea to use the store's refrigeration area to help cool her off since there was no other source to do such a thing quickly. It needed to be done to keep both the mother and baby comfortable and stress-free. Both the other man and the store's owner immediately agreed, now understanding why Adam had been so desperate to obtain the ice. He was telling the truth; it wasn't for him.
Meghan was breathing more heavily as both Adam and Elio carried her inside, taking the cleared pathway straight to the beverage section, where Lillie held the door open for their entry.
"It's okay Meghan." Adam soothed as the next door to the refrigerated part was opened by the owner. "We're nearly there."
Settling in, they had made a small bedding area where she could lay down. Gently putting her down onto the soft part of the floor, she was still heavily breathing, but the coolness was beginning to overpower the strong heat.
Elio, Adam and Lillie took bottles of drinks, putting them against her neck, arms and legs to accelerate the cooling. Her breaths became less labored and she smiled, laughing silently while crying with relief for both herself and her unborn child.
"Thank you." Adam quietly said. "Thank you all for understanding. I didn't want to hurt anyone."
"It's okay." Elio replied. "I'm glad we were there to do the right thing."
"I called the hospital." The store owner said as he walked back into the fridge area. "They are sending an ambulance to help stabilize her. It should be here in about ten minutes."
"Mahalo." Adam breathed a sigh of relief, leaning over to kiss Meghan's belly. "Mahalo. All of you."
The ambulance arrived right as the owner had said, nearly coming to the ten minute mark. A pair of paramedics got Meghan onto a stretcher and helped her inside. Elio and Lillie still didn't get their ingredients, but the owner immediately put in a request for maintenance to repair their ice machine as soon as possible. The teens did get bottles of cold lemonade for their efforts.
As the vehicle was about to leave, Adam pulled Elio over for a private conversation.
"Meghan wants to thank you again for both you and your friend's help in keeping her and our child safe."
"I'm glad I could help."
"She insists and I can't say much when it came to naming him. We found out just a few days ago that it was going to be a boy." Adam chuckled. "But with your permission…both of us want to make Elio as our child's middle name…named after the smart, quick thinking boy that saved us in a pinch."
That's…amazing and a huge honor! I've never had anyone named after me.
"Yes." He nodded. "Yes I'd like that."
"Mahalo Elio." Adam stepped inside the ambulance. "For everything."
The doors shut and it took off down the road, blaring its sirens on the way towards the hospital.
Sun blew out a sigh of relief, shaking his head and meeting back up with Lillie on the sidewalk. She looked tired and still a little shaken from everything.
"You okay?" She asked worriedly. "That was really brave of you Elio. You're an amazing person and it seems like you touch lives wherever you go."
"Pew!" Nebby agreed from inside her bag.
"Yeah thanks. I'm all good. Ready to head back?"
Much to their dismay, the Kumu Reef Triple Crown competition was already underway when Elio and Lillie finally returned from the store. Neither had their original drinks they sought after in the first place and they did not want to miss seeing their friend compete.
Elio could see the swells as they approached, rising up before crashing down in a spray of white foam. In front of its curl, lithe figures atop their boards skated effortlessly over the water, maneuvering with skill. Every time one did a spectacular trick such as a flip, it elicited a roar of applause from the audience sitting at the end of the beach behind the border.
It made Elio just stop and gaze up at the Hano Grand Resort to finally see people were even crowding the balconies atop their rooms and the building's roof to watch the competition. People on their ride pokemon flew up above everyone, getting a bird's eye view. He saw the street had multiple media vans parked curbside and long antennas attached to broadcast the event to viewers far away.
Surfing really is super big around here.
It seemed that the first events were for the men's competition since the center pedestal stood three surfers, all with large boards planted in the sand behind and holding up different colored medals proudly. This was followed by an announcement that the women's competition was going to begin shortly after a twenty minute intermission. The crowds began to break up, headed back inside to escape the heat and find any refreshments.
They're about to be disappointed with the shortage of ice.
Elio's mind wandered back to Adam and Meghan, silently thanking anyone watching from above that he was in the right place at the right time to help what could've been a disastrous predicament.
That bordered on theft, regardless of what he needed the ice for. I did the right thing…I solved the problem and saved the lives. Can't believe I did that. I saved a mother and her baby and they're going to name it after me.
Dad would be proud…
Well…the Dad I loved.
Setting his backpack down, he took out the small capsule that held the egg given to him by Dallas Kahananui. It remained intact, but he swore that he saw a tiny bit of movement swaying the shell sideways.
Thank goodness this one already has a mini temperature regulation built inside the incubator. I wonder when it's going to hatch and what it will be?
He led Lillie towards the last area where he had seen Hau before they left to get their things, however the amount of people moving to and fro was still enough that he couldn't pinpoint the exact place where they parted ways.
One thing that he particularly hated was when someone relocated without telling him and amused themselves watching him from a hidden spot while he spent so much time searching and confused about their whereabouts.
"Hey look." Lillie said, nudging his side. "I've seen that guy before on a surfing movie."
Elio followed her gaze to a rather tall, lean man that looked to be in his late twenties surrounded by a group of kids that were asking for an autograph. He gave a laugh and took out a marker to oblige, much to their delight.
She's right. I've seen him before. Where?
He had a wild untamed mane of sky blue hair with orange polarized goggles atop his forehead. While not in complete surfing gear, he had a similar rashguard that had orange trim that matched the goggles and boardshorts that matched his hair. It was hard not to think of the fashion as coincidental. The curved sword logo of Sabre Athletics was on the back.
Elio sorted out the different gym leaders in his head, trying to find him. He had no idea why, but that was the first place he looked in his mental album.
"Brawly." He said, matter-of-factly.
Although it wasn't his actual name; Erik Miller was a small town boy from the coastal island of Dewford in southern Hoenn. Growing up with the beach just a block down and his own father's old surfboard, he became a natural while balancing a second hobby of battling finding a niche as a scrappy, physical battler that earned him the moniker "Brawly" that eventually took over as his better known name. His skills got him entry into the World Surfing League being one of the youngest upon his debut. He had quickly made a name for himself, catching a lot of attention with the young people after one interview, saying to "the world awaits you as the next big wave" pushing that philosophy in not just surfing, but to tackle challenges in everyday life.
Brawly went on to earn more accolades, earning the championship of the Men's World Surfing League a total of three times, two of those in consecutive seasons. He was nominated part of the Pokemon League's best gym as well as Male Athlete of the Year, coming just short of the win.
Losing in either of those didn't matter, considering the high honor it was to be nominated in the first place.
"It's like everywhere we run into celebrities." Elio quietly said. "You should see some of the highlight clips of his hariyama Aries against challengers. It's basically immovable."
"That's amazing. I wonder who would win though, Aries or Kazuhiro?"
"Hala's hariyama? That's a good question." He waved his hand as Brawly sent the kids on their way and managed to get his attention.
"Mister Brawly!"
"Hey there!" The Dewford Gym Leader sauntered over with an undeniable swagger, but smiled warmly at the two teens. "Ya got me for sure! Enjoying the hot action out here?"
"Uh yeah." Elio felt his face heat up, the same way on meeting other famous people.
Say something!
"Imahugefan."
He almost saw Lillie facepalm, but she squeezed his hand to let him know to stay calm.
"Well that's awesome. Ya got good taste for sure kid!"
"I'm honestly a big fan of you as a trainer Mister Brawly." Elio said, finally getting his nervousness under control. "You're an awesome gym leader!"
"Well I guess so. It pays the bills, so there's that. These challengers are all getting gnarly and tougher by the day! Best to keep on your toes and hang ten!"
Both Sun and Lillie were amazed at his demeanor, he spoke so relaxed and carefree yet it ignited a wonderful urge to have another thrilling battle. But as much as he wanted to challenge him, he knew he was here for other business and they still had to locate Hau.
"But actually I've decided to hang up the board. Made the announcement just before the competition started on Festival Plaza."
Elio wasn't subscribed to him, not that he would say anything, but he took out his phone and looked it up under his name "BigWaveBrawly"
Sure enough, he saw the latest post just a couple hours back, depicting him in a silhouette on the pristine Akala beach with a hand on the tall surfboard.
"I'll stop riding the waves now. Wasn't an easy decision, but I don't regret a single moment. Ready for the next big wave!"
"You retired?" Lillie asked.
Brawly nodded, his expression softening. Even as he spoke, the teens could tell he was still struggling to come to terms with it. "At least from competitive. It was a long and difficult decision to make for sure. I used to be the hip and happening thing when I came to the spotlight and now all these new fads, trends and things people consider popular now look to me as something more dated. Strange people calling me old when I'm only twenty-nine."
"You can always go with the flow, like you've said before." Elio suggested.
Another nod. "That's true. I guess I kind of mulled going to help other people live the way they want to by being a gym leader and a surfer. Will I stop surfing? Of course not! But I've had my fun with the titles and awards I've won. It's time to pass the torch onto others. Could I change and conform? Absolutely. But that's not who I am as a person. Instead, I'll encourage others who are like that to not change."
Lillie giggled at that remark. "That almost sounds contradictory."
"You're right. It felt like I was on top of the world not too long ago and sometimes your moment to shine can last for many years or simply an hour. However long it is, make sure you seize and make the most of it!"
"Thanks Brawly."
"All of this means I have to step my game up." He looked over at Elio. "What's your name son?"
"Elio."
"I can tell by the fierce look in you that you're one with fire and heart. Don't ever lose that. I may not be the ones who can read your mind like those sharp twins who run the gym in Mossdeep, but I've seen only one other trainer with that same determination, only he kept his pokemon beside him."
"Who?" Lillie asked, curious.
"His name was Brendan. You know him better as the Champion of the Hoenn League."
Sun's eyes lit up in recognition of a trainer he had idolized growing up. Brendan Maple had only recently rose to stardom just a few years ago taking the Hoenn League by storm. He had unexpectedly come back into the spotlight again when the news had broken out that he had stopped a catastrophic level meteor from hitting the earth AND his wife May was expecting their first child together.
Brawly chuckled, thinking back to the lopsided memorable matchup against Brendan. "I'm a fully qualified gym leader, surfer, but that kid is something else. That was the start that maybe everything was beginning to catch up." He put a hand on Elio's shoulder. "Piece of advice. You ever come across him; watch out for that Gardevoir of his. In all my gym battles of battling psychic types and fairies, Gwen was only a kirlia back then and one of the scariest pokemon I've battled since."
"That's my intent." Elio said firmly. "I'm going to get stronger and stronger so I can be Brendan's equal in a battle."
"Best of luck kid." The famous surfer turned away. "Well, I've got to get back to the judge's booth since the women's is about to start. That Leilani girl is something else to watch." He leaned close to whisper. "You both may be Alolans and have a heated rivalry with Hoennites, but she's my favorite to win today. It's a long time coming."
Elio and Lillie's eyes went wide with excitement. "Leilani's our friend!"
And soon to be Hau's girlfriend. We just have to get them to confess.
"Then you best cheer for her! This is her moment!" Brawly said as he bid his farewell.
"Nice to meet you Mister Brawly!" He waved in return as he walked back towards the crowds, already others wanting to get attention from the starlit.
The two teens watched him go back, amazed that such a famous person could talk so down-to-earth to normal people like themselves.
"He was really nice." Lillie said quietly. "I like him."
"Me too. We'll do exactly what he says. Follow our dreams! Fly high!"
The blonde smiled at her crush's enthusiasm. Not too long ago, her confidence had taken a steep dive as every bit of hope plummeted around her. She shuddered at the memory.
But when Elio was thrown into her life, it seemed that everything changed. Things that seemed impossible like visiting the Tapu ruins were done with him. She stayed by his side as he bravely fought off many grunts of Team Skull and did exactly what he had instructed; to stay calm.
And not even thirty minutes ago, he resolved a situation where a mother and her unborn baby's life were on the line.
And none of that was even taking his battling skills into account. He had a natural talent for finding a way to win that was intensive to watch as it was thrilling.
Elio's rubbing his confidence on me.
She felt so at ease around him almost as if it was a norm and for the first time in quite a while, began to believe that the goal of getting Nebby back to its original home was doable.
"Hey guys!" Leilani gushed as Elio and Lillie finally found Hau nowhere close to where they left him on the beach. He had gone to Leilani's canopy, a long line of multicolored tents raised on tall poles where the sidewalks met the beach to provide shade from the relentless sun beating down. He discovered this was a place where the surfers would spend their breaks, relaxing, stretching or listening to their advisors and coaches for when they would go back out. The mezzanine above them was just as crowded with people coming by to watch the competition.
She had her shiny black bodysuit on, which had the logo of Sabre Athletics on the left side of her chest. All along her shoulders were small logos of other sponsorship companies that likely contributed to the tournament for revenue and publicity.
"Hey Leilani!" Elio waved back. "I was looking for this loser," He pointed at Hau. "And someone never told me where he went afterwards."
"Sorry."
"Whatever." He noticed Leilani's pokemon playing around with Hau's from brionne, steenee and a large muscled machoke.
"New pokemon detected! Bzzt!" Rotom buzzed, popping out of Elio's backpack. "Machoke. Muscle pokemon. It is the evolved form of machop. It willingly assists with hard labor because it knows the work is good training for its strong muscles. Machoke is a fighting type. Additional information is available upon catching this pokemon."
"You've been busy." Elio said. "Got him to evolve huh?"
"Part time surfer and part time trainer." She bounded over, opening her arms up for a hug.
Elio was halfway ready to return it when he realized he was still wearing his shirt. "Hang on."
Lillie's eyes shifted over to him as he pulled it off, wiggling his head and arms through the sleeves. Almost automatically, she found herself staring at his well-defined body and his-
Were his shoulders always that big?!
"Okay, now I'm ready for a hug!" Elio said cheerfully. Leilani just laughed and almost swamped the boy, considering she was just a little taller than him. As they hugged, she noticed Lillie's expression fall flat and the shy blonde turned away.
A smirk grew across her features.
Similarly, Elio was looking at the same thing with Hau. He was hard at work, waxing her signature black and orange surfboard, but the moment he heard that Leilani had wanted a hug from Elio, he had stopped what he was doing, staring longingly at the sign of affection from his own crush.
Elio had to forcefully look away, knowing that it pained his friend.
That means he hasn't confessed yet. Lillie and I need to step up our game.
"Mahalo you guys for coming! It's so good to see you! Feel free to let out your pokemon to relax too!"
"We wouldn't miss it for anything." Elio activated all his pokemon with Torracat, Akela, Rufflet and Nani going to play with Hau's and Leilani's team. Charjabug stayed by his side and he obliged in returning her. She had seen Hau's dartrix and Rufflet, deciding against going to hang out with the others since it included the birds.
Grimer glared at him as the sand stuck to his sludgy features.
"Sorry buddy."
"Grime."
"Don't give me that look. I don't decide there's sand here."
"Grime!"
"You want to play or something?" He pointed over to an area where a group of other grimer had congregated, eager to feed off trash others were bringing over. "Go have a snack. Play nice."
"Grime!" He minimized, zoning out to join the others of his kind.
"You were a little late and missed the men's." Leilani pointed out.
"We hit a few snags. Nothing we couldn't handle." And it was probably better we did run into Adam and Meghan.
"I'm actually glad you were there Elio." Lillie added. "You stayed really calm when everything was going nuts."
"Why? What happened?" Hau asked.
"You want the TLDR?"
"What?"
"Nevermind. In short, we were at the store when this guy jumped another guy for the last two bags of ice."
"What? He wanted to steal it?" Leilani exclaimed. "I can't believe people."
"Except he didn't want it for himself. It was for his pregnant wife. She was overheating."
"And it could make her uncomfortable." Lillie added.
"So then what did you guys do?"
"I went over to his place and we slowly carried her back to the store's big fridge where we cooled her off. An ambulance had just arrived when we started to make our way back."
Leilani's face broke out into a smile. "That's amazing Elio. You're so brave doing that."
I said that!
"Eh thanks. I'm just glad it was good timing. Lillie did a good job too." At the mention of her name, she perked up but looked shyly away.
"I'm not kidding." Elio went on. "She kept calm, did everything I needed her to do. The situation was definitely scary, but she pulled through remarkably."
You really think so?
"Yeah I do." Him answering her out loud made her suddenly realize she had unconsciously spoken her thoughts. "You were amazing out there. Huge props. The Lillie I met a couple months ago would've been too timid to move."
Lillie blushed at his response, feeling a little hurt until he placed a hand on her shoulder. Her own gaze looked into his softened gray eyes as he smiled yet again. It was suddenly exponentially difficult as she felt her own heart rate increase as their eyes locked.
"Hey, I'm really proud of you."
"Mahalo Elio."
Neither had noticed the amount of time passing by, nor the knowing smirks Hau and Leilani exchanged from across the room. It was the surfer who broke the silence by clearing her throat.
"You know, I can get you two a private part of my booth."
"Uh…I…uh." Elio snapped out of his daydreaming and looked down, too sheepish and embarrassed he had been caught yet again staring at a girl. "No."
"You sure? Us surfers got a lot of pull."
"It's alright." He said. "I'll manage."
"To be honest, I kind of like it." Hau had agreed with her. "Lillio! That's a perfect name for you two! I'll ship it all the way to Driftveil!"
"That's an awesome idea name Hau! I second that ship!"
"Well look what we have here." A smooth female voice interrupted their conversation, turning all heads. Sabine stood with a casual smile and a hand on her hip. She had changed out of that rather revealing dress for a gray bodysuit emblazoned with other logos and sponsors. Elio couldn't really understand much of them, but the names sounded Kalosian.
"Hi Sabine." Leilani's voice turned just a tinge of ice. "You're here."
"Yeah. For as long as this hot island can tolerate me…or vice versa." Her tone took a more snarky one as she shook her head. "I'm surprised they're not canceling it or anything. Not surprising that the opening ceremony for this was those topless guys waving a stick around on fire. Seriously…anyone can do that."
Elio wasn't sure about the frosty exchange going on, but he instantly took a dislike to Sabine.
"Kiawe is the best at what he does." Leilani said, speaking quickly so that nobody else could join in. "It's who we are as a culture."
"This place hasn't changed and I'm sure the outcome won't change either." Sabine huffed. She turned her head looking at Hau and Elio. "Oh…that's new. You've got some boys in your area. Which one of you has first dibs?"
Sabine's eyes looked over, finally noticing Lillie timidly hiding behind Elio and Hau.
"And another one too? What's that all about?"
"I'm going to get ready so I can start my heats." Leilani said matter-of-factly. Both boys nodded, hoping the disaster at the end would leave. "You best do it too…especially if you hope to win today."
"They might as well hand it to me right here. And you can watch the whole thing. The sooner I win, the sooner I can leave this godforsaken place."
"Hey!" Elio stepped up, not even bothering to let Leilani reply first. "What you call a godforsaken place has been my home, same with everyone else in this tent. Show some respect."
The blonde gave an indifferent huff, dismissing him with a wave of her hand. "It's just a place where I can ride waves to leave everyone else behind. Other than that, it's full of strange people who cling to moldy old traditions. Nothing more. Wish this place would get with the program already."
"Just leave Sabine." Leilani hissed, finding any more of this blatant spouting and she would start to consider decking the arrogant blonde worth the risk.
Hau was quick to be the rational one of the group, sensing that his best friend and crush were on the verge of snapping and probably doing something regretful. He stepped forward, putting a hand on both their shoulders. While he took her satiric jabs as an insult to his own heritage, he kept silent.
"Wow…it IS true that heat makes people argumentative. This sounds like something that needs to be settled on the waves and scoreboards."
Sabine seemed to back down from that answer, but radiated disappointment. Elio knew right then and there that she was trying to provoke a reaction…one that could make headlines and ruin Leilani's chances.
"Actions do speak louder than words." She turned away. "We'll see about that."
Leilani's glare continued to manifest until she had gone back towards her canopy a ways down from their own. She breathed a sigh of relief out and shook her head.
"Sorry about that guys. As you can tell…she's full of hot air."
"Sounds like the two of you have a history." Elio said. "Is that true?"
"Sabine…doesn't really take the time to appreciate the cultures and other places than her own native Kalos."
"I don't mean to say she's wrong, but it's commonplace that Kalosians believe they're above everyone else."
"There are a few exceptions." Lillie said, adding into the conversation. "Sina and Dexio don't fit that at all."
"She did the same thing in Kanto, Hoenn, Unova…everywhere else. I've learned to take it with a grain of salt." Leilani put a hand on Hau's shoulder. "Thanks for reeling me in. I was pretty close to hitting her in the jaw and my career could've been over."
He smiled at her appreciation. "I know. You're welcome. Now go and kick some tail. Show her that Alolans are the best surfers in the world."
A half hour later when the waves began to pick up for ideal surfing conditions, they had a surprise guest make his way over towards their canopy. Elio noticed him first with the distinctive dark tattoos over his tanned skin peeking out from underneath the sleeves of his T-shirt.
Is that?
"Hey there ipo." Makoa smiled warmly and letting out a grunt of protest as Leilani practically threw herself into his arms. "I missed you."
"I missed you too father." She whispered. "Thank you so much for coming."
"I wouldn't miss this for anything."
Elio and Lillie watched the exchange with confused expressions.
Wait a second, THIS guy is her father? He looked at the two of them, noticing their high cheekbones and jawline were nearly identical. They had the same shade of amber brown eyes that sparkled with love and adoration.
It was strange seeing Makoa again and even stranger in a much softer mellow mood than his hard-nosed self he had encountered back on Mauna Wela with trial captain Kiawe.
"I'm sorry, I haven't made proper introductions yet." Leilani said, turning to Lillie and Elio. "This is Elio and Lillie. Elio's a trainer going on the island challenge and Lillie is one of his best friends. You guys…this is my father."
He didn't tell many people this, but a little part of him inside would get rife with envy whenever someone introduced their father or father figure to him. Elio wasn't sure why exactly, but a likely cause was the absence of his own.
Like showing off a one-of-a-kind pokemon.
Stop. She's extremely proud of her father. At one point, I was too.
"Ke kaikamahine maemae 'a'ahu." Lillie wasn't sure what he meant by that, but still had a bit of red tint to her cheeks. "Nani."
"I koa."
Makoa nodded and then turned to Elio, who tried his best again not to yield to the weighted stare.
"I must say it's not much of a surprise you're here." His expression softened when he stuck his hand out for a shake. Elio was hesitant at first, but then firmly grasped it.
Just like Dad taught. Look him in the eye.
"It's very good to see you again. I know my daughter likes to make friends wherever she goes. Just like Hau."
"Thank you sir. I guess?"
"And that's my cue." Leilani hopped off. "I better get going."
"Good luck out there ipo." Makoa embraced his daughter. "We will be cheering for you all the way."
"Thanks Dad. Love ya." A swipe of grabbing her surfboard, returning her pokemon and she was out the door.
They waited in silence, enjoying the soft breeze that gently blew throughout the canopy. Off in the distance, they could see Leilani walk down the ramp and onto the beach. As she appeared, a big majority of the fans lining the balcony on the Hano Resort had started cheering loudly.
She turned around, waving with a huge grin on her fine features before casting her board out and diving headfirst into the closest breaker to paddle out.
Makoa watched her go with an expression of pride before addressing Elio and Hau beside him. "Well boys, how has your island challenge been going?!"
"It's great Mister Taula!" Hau jumped up and down on his other side. "Me and Elio have already beaten Olivia and gotten the Akala Stamp and Rockinium Z!"
"That's wonderful news. Keep the ku'una alive you two."
"I wanted to keep on going." Elio added. "But why not stop and see what else our friends are up to in the meantime? I mean it's always important to stop and enjoy those we have around us."
"That's correct. Just like surfing. It's always been a favorite of my pastimes."
"You used to surf?"
Makoa nodded, looking back out at the waves. "Back in my youth. I still think I can catch a wave or two. It was my life."
He reached into the pocket of his shorts and produced his phone. Unlocking it, he scrolled through a series of photos in his gallery before showing Elio one particular image.
It was clear that the phone hadn't taken it specifically, more photocopied digitally. The picture was in black and white coloring as a young man with long wild hair was cutting a swath across a massive wave on a thin board.
"That's you."
"Mhmm." He scrolled through some more pictures, showing him with a young island woman who had a white flower on her left side. He noted the resemblance between her and Leilani. Behind them was a massive mantine that had a pair of straps along its back.
Mantine surfing went that far back?
"Surfing on a mantine was just as thrilling as on a board." Makoa said. "They are kaikane…born from the sea and naturally drawn to the thrill of catching big waves to impress females for mating."
"That's incredible."
"Alola is the birthplace of Mantine Surfing, which is why many come to our islands to try it for themselves." A chuckle escaped his lips. "It is much pilikia than people anticipate."
"Just like everything else." Elio noted. "Pokemon battling is the same way. People look at the leagues on television, making the moves and matchups and think they can be just as good. Lots of times they forget these guys are professionals…best of the best. Cream of the crop. Same thing with surfing, cooking, dancing…probably even being a pro video game player."
"Every expert was a beginner at some point. You wouldn't believe how many times I've wiped back then. And even the best still do."
Elio looked back at the picture, suddenly curious about the woman he was with.
"Who is that next to you?"
"That's Leilani's mother. She taught me the most valuable lesson of all." There was the unmistakable tone of longing and sadness.
I'm almost afraid to ask.
"What…what happened to her?"
Makoa looked back out to the sea.
"Her name was Leilani as well…that picture." He pointed to a pair of small palm trees and then gestured just down the beach.
Elio followed his finger, finally seeing two trees in that exact identical placement just beside the canopies that was the "crash area" for the surfers. It was straight out of the picture with the exception of them having grown almost twice their height since.
"It was taken right there by Hala…Hau's grandfather. Leilani and I fell in love thanks to surfing and we had her." He sighed. "I still remember the day she held my little kaikamahine in her arms in the hospital bed. Ten months later, she just disappeared. Gone…went to circumnavigate the Alola region to honor her ancestors and she never came back. I put a report into the police and Alolan Coast Guard, but they never found a trace of her. They think she was last seen at the Cenobia Shoals northwest of Poni Island."
"I'm sorry." Elio said. "I should've had pried."
"Me too. I never even got the chance to ask her to marry me. I never looked at another woman since, except for my own."
"What lesson did she teach you?" Elio asked, mildly curious.
"Leilani taught me to always love and cherish your family and friends. You never know if tomorrow will steal them away from you."
"I promise."
"Good. You have a good heart. As does Hau."
"What's happening in the hizzhouse Akala Island!" The tanktop long-haired host asked into the microphone over the loudspeakers. He was greeted with a chorus of wild cheers from the fans watching and strutted across the stage in a pair of baggy shorts. "How about some more wild action with your very own Willie!" He gestured to the pelipper flying beside him; there was black straps attaching a camera to the bird's body. "And Drewski here is ready to shoot some more hot action on the waves! What about you Akala Island? Staying icy chill out there?!"
Elio could barely hear himself over the screaming of everyone else. Lillie wanted to desperately cover her ears from the volume and Hau was enjoying every second. She made sure to keep Nebby inside the bag, unsure if the intensive noise would hurt its hearing. However it seemed inert, so it was either sleeping or didn't mind.
"We've finished with the men's part of our very own Kumu Reef Triple Crown and move on to the women's! This is but the beginning of the long journey to the World Surfing League Finals that will be held this year at Suicide Gulch!"
Suicide Gulch? That sounds remotely terrifying.
"We've got a whopping fifty surfers who had qualified for today's tournaments! Without further ado! She hails from Cocona Village in the Oblivia Archipelago with swift moves and placing in the top fifteen last season in just her second professional year…give it up for Alexandria Aiman!"
The crowds erupted into more cheers as Drewski the pelipper flew close to her canopy where a black haired girl no older than them gave a cute smile and wave to the camera.
Willie went down the list for introductions which Makoa pointed out was normal for such a thing. He had joked that this took longer than the actual competition.
An hour passed by and he was on the final ten contestants. Makoa left about halfway through and returned with four chilled drinks with a tan liquid and ice cubes inside.
Elio sipped the straw, his eyes brightening at the familiar taste.
"You can drink Tapu Cocoa cold?"
"Yeah. It's one of my favorite drinks ever."
"You have good taste."
"I know I do." He handed one to Lille who stuck her straw over to Nebby. The cloud pokemon happily sipped away at some of the cold drink while nuzzling into the crook of her arm.
"Man I wish I could get to know some of these girls better. They seem like cool people." Hau said while sipping. Lillie was just silent beside them, but had her eyes closed and lips curled up in a calm smile. She seemed to be happy just simply being around her friends.
"Really?" Elio shot him a look of disbelief.
"They're just girls."
"Girls who happen to be insanely hot and probably make a ton of money."
"Contestant number forty nine! From right here in the Alola region!" At this the cheers and screams seemed to increase even higher than before. "A two time finalist returning for yet another shot at the title! Give it up for Leilani Taula!"
The crowds went wild as Drewski approached her in the surf. She had a foot on her board, smiling into the lens and blowing a kiss while the wind whipped at her hair. Her curvy body was snug in the suit, accenting her well-toned stomach, eye-catching breasts and shapely legs. It seemed the volume of their cheers doubled at that gesture. Elio kept his thoughts to himself…especially with her father right next to him.
Oh my goodness. She…is…just…gorgeous. If only Hau wasn't…and Lillie wasn't…ah…nevermind.
"Hau!" He had looked to his right and saw his friend with a goofy looking expression on his face. An elbow to his ribs snapped him out of his fantasy.
"What?!"
"Dude, you were about to drool." Sun hissed, trying to keep it between them. It was difficult with the crowds cheering. "Don't do that with her father around!"
"Oh right. Sorry." Hau mouthed a silent thanks for his best friend in avoiding a potential disaster.
"Last but not least!" Willie started. The crowd's cheering grew even before he formally introduced the final surfer. "The defending champion of the Women's World Surfing League Tour! Surfing since she was five at the coasts of Cyllage City! Sabine Joyeux!"
As the cheers rang out, just as loud for Leilani; the camera had panned out to Sabine on the beach just down a ways from her.
Elio didn't see her as much as the sexy appealing superstar from when she had first emerged from the limousine at the resort. Upon her visit and heated exchange with Leilani, she had shown her true colors as an arrogant, narsisstic…
She's way too full of herself. I hope Leilani makes her eat her words.
"Let's go Leilani! You can do this!" Hau shouted, earning a few surprised looks from the other canopies.
And then the tournament began. Elio watched with amazement as the surfers effortlessly rode the waves, cresting white contrails behind and even performing tricks.
Brawly and the two other judges were offering their own intakes, however none of the surfers would be made aware of their performances until it was the end of the particular heat event. Everyone else could see it through a scoreboard at all times.
Some were impressive and others couldn't stand up to the power of some of the oncoming waves and wiped before making a closure. The audience was cheering and "awwws" of shock and disappointment whenever a surfer finished.
Then it was Leilani's first heat in the longboard surfing. As soon as she spotted her wave, she started paddling and picked up speed.
Elio felt his heart race while looking at the screen coming from Drewski's feed as she finally stood up, navigating the board right into the tunnel of the wave, going up the rising side. The audio speakers was having the entirety of it as a roar of the water wall, drowning out the sound of her steady breathing.
She's so calm.
He felt relief as she ended her run onto the shore by falling off in shallower water and saw that her score from that particular heat had placed her in first overall by a large margin.
She might actually win this!
"You go Leilani! This is all you!"
"Yeah knock them dead!"
Following Sabine's own performance, complete with tricks, the judges had pointed out that she mistimed and nearly fell off balance on her run back, which placed her in second. The screen had shown that her look was one of contempt when she stormed back to her booth.
She ain't happy about that. Elio thought. Good. Leilani's gonna put you in your place and make you eat your words.
Another two hours went by as the rest of the competition dragged on. Alexandria Aiman had nearly stolen second from Sabine, however the latter was able to reclaim it in the final heat, which would allow the surfers to present their most difficult route and tricks to the judges. Another surfer named Carla de la Barerra had wormed her way into fourth and judging by the analysts, had a chance to make a run for at least second overall, but the highlight for first seemed to be between Leilani and Sabine. Aiman had a chance, but it was doubtful.
Elio, Lillie and Hau watched with disbelief as Sabine went on her first run. She navigated easily through, dropping as the wave began to curl before emerging out the end of the tunnel. Her stance was wide as she sharply turned back up, riding so that she was nearly vertical. It was executed perfectly before she exited at the swell's base before it crashed down on her. She emerged, holding her hands up high as the crowds cheered and applauded.
"Now it's Leilani's turn." She had a tall order to go up against. Sabine had jumped far ahead, requiring her to have a near perfect score to edge past her rival.
Leilani saw Drewski circle above with the camera automatically pivoting as he flew. She had stopped to pick her wave, knowing that everyone else was waiting with bated breath to see if the competition would swing in her favor.
Dad, Hau, Elio, Lillie, Rey…Mom…this is where I start…where I'll crush this competition.
The wave approached. She knew it. It carried a mix of elegance, danger, speed and power in equal from a storm that was likely raging far away from the islands changing the rhythm like a conductor. She paid the heat little mind, moving in perfect timing that caught the swell.
Just ahead, the pipeline was forming the signature curling top with a glassy smooth surface. Her board left a trail of white in her wake as she zoomed forward as if powered by a jet. She made her move; shifting back to the board, twisting around and going right up vertically.
The audience gasped in amazement. Nobody other than Makoa was more impressed…and surprised when she finished her maneuver that seemed practically impossible.
"How? An Over-the-Gyarados? I…I've done that once and nobody's been able to pull it off since."
"You did that?" Elio asked.
Leilani felt a surge of adrenaline and relief flood her body as she finished her final trick. She knew that without a doubt, this would put her in the front runner to gain an early lead in the tour.
A bit of regret filled her mind even as she raced along the waves. Going on this tour meant yet again, she was going to have to leave Hau and Elio and Lillie behind.
Her father understood it. She was going against the best in the world. But there was just a saddening feeling that months could pass before she could see her ohana again.
With thoughts occupying her head, she never saw the dark shape underwater that accelerated towards her position.
The creature rose rapidly and ominously out of the water, brandishing deadly looking tentacles. As the flash of motion caught her eye, she turned face to face with a massive pokemon.
Its eyes blazed with malice as the pair of longest sinewy stingers jabbed towards her. One of them caught her right inner thigh, slicing right through the bodysuit's thin lining and sending her off balance, inadvertently causing her to flip. A second set of tentacles cleaved effortlessly right through her board, sending fragments of fiberglass everywhere with the force of a hand grenade.
Leilani Taula never even had time to scream at sensing the unbearable searing pain in her leg before crashing harshly into the rough sea.
This wraps this chapter up with more twists and turns coming! I'm evilly excited for this next arc, now if I can just get the drive to sit and power through these chapters...heh. It'll come in time.
Translations:
Ipo - Sweetheart
Ke kaikamahine maemae 'a'ahu - Pure-dressed girl
Nani - Pretty
Pilikia - Difficult/Problem
Kaikamahine - Child girl
Ku'una - Tradition
Kaikane - Born from the sea (often refers to people who spend a lot of time by the ocean)
Not a translation, but Sabine's last name Joyeux comes from the French Polynesian surfer Malik Joyeux who died back in 2005 at the Pipeline in Oahu. He is known for having caught one of the biggest waves in surfing history.
As always, mahalo for reading and reviewing. You give my writing purpose. See you all next time.
Brav
