A/N: Thank you to everyone who has been reading this fanfic (despite how little of you there are. XD). I was surprised that the first chapter garnered a lot of attention and then by the second chapter it died down. I can't blame you if this story wasn't your cup of tea, but I'm hoping that's all it is. The site has been experiencing bugs recently, so I hope that isn't blocking people from my fic (even though I haven't had any issues finding it in the search and such). In the meantime, I hope this next chapter is entertaining enough and that it gives people a few laughs. I'm not too good with humour, but I still try... XD
Also, for clarification, any Pokedex entries that are used in this fanfic in the future will be mixed together from multiple games and not just one. It's just something I thought I'd get creative with. Plus more than one could apply to my fic's story, so it makes sense to match it for context sake.
Chapter 3: Auras Never Lie
Upon returning to Kukui's home, Viola felt her body slouch as she walked through the door, her arms going limp and dangling towards the floor. As Lucario, Lillie, and Kukui filed in behind her, she spied a small seating area somewhere to her left which she originally didn't notice the first time. Viola staggered over to it and allowed her body to fall forward onto the sofa, landing face-first with a loud thump against the bright green leather. She closed her eyes and let out a muffled groan, the exhaustion slowly washing over her.
'If I'd known I'd have to chase Lucario up a hill and then rescue another Pokemon being attacked on a bridge, I probably would have taken a long nap first…'
Lucario quietly huffed and shook its head at seeing Viola flat out on the sofa, with the blonde eventually peeking at the Pokemon as it sat beside the table on the floor and crossed its legs.
"I think it's too soon for us to contact Professor Sycamore," she said.
"Yes," Kukui replied, with Viola rolling onto her side to see the professor standing by the basement stairs, a hand to his chin. "It's still early morning over there. We'd have to wait a couple of hours at least."
Viola slowly pushed herself into a sitting position, rubbing at her face with both hands. "If you want to, we could talk about it. I feel like I still owe you a proper explanation."
"Don't worry, Viola. You've had enough excitement for one day. You should unpack and rest. I doubt you've adjusted to our time zone that quickly."
"I wish I had," Viola grumbled, causing Kukui to chuckle and shake his head in dismissal.
"I'll leave you in Lillie's capable hands then. If you need me, I'll be downstairs."
Viola nodded and watched Kukui make his way down to the basement, waiting until he was out of sight before she sighed and leaned back against the sofa.
"There's nothing to worry about, Viola," Lillie said reassuringly, prompting Viola to lower her gaze to look at Lillie across the room, standing by the counter in the kitchen area where she'd placed her shoulder bag. "Professor Kukui is very kind and generous. I'm sure you two can work something out if you can't help him with his research."
'How did she figure out what I was thinking? Or was it just a lucky guess?'
But that wasn't what Viola chose to respond with. "I hope so."
Viola slowly pushed herself to her feet and stretched her arms above her head with a grunt, while Lillie unzipped her shoulder bag to let Nebby out. The little Pokemon flew out the second the lid was lifted and started floating in a circle around the room, with Lucario silently following it with the movement of its head.
'Gee. Someone's full of energy.'
"Well, I'd better get to unpacking. Where am I supposed to be sleeping?"
"Up there," Lillie said as she turned and pointed towards a pink ladder, prompting Viola to glance up at the raised floor.
She couldn't see much from her current angle aside from a window and a wooden railing surrounding the exterior.
"Is that a loft?"
"Yes," Lillie quietly answered as she followed Viola's gaze, twirling one of her braids around her finger. "The professor was kind enough to let me use it since I've been staying here. And now that you've joined us, you'll get to use it too."
"So…" Viola slowly turned to look at Lillie. "… we're sharing that space?"
"Yes."
"Is there going to be enough room for two people?"
"Well…" Lillie gave a small smile. "Not for walking around. The professor has added a mattress on the floor to accommodate you and it's taken up a lot of space. But there is enough for your belongings. It's been clearly labelled, so you should have no trouble putting your things away."
Viola sighed quietly at this and nodded to show she was listening. 'This isn't what I was expecting at all. But it's not like this is the first time I've had a roommate.'
"Yeah. That should be fine." Viola turned to where Lucario was still sitting on the floor. "Hey, Lucario? Could you help me get my suitcase up to the loft? I think it's going to be too heavy for me to carry up the ladder."
Lucario nodded and stood up, approaching the ladder just as Viola went to fetch her bags from the room Kukui had let her put them in. In the meantime, Lillie decided to stay by the counter, with even Nebby stopping its flight around the room to observe what was going on.
While Viola was heading to the ladder with her shoulder bag after handing Lucario her suitcase, she caught Lillie watching from the corner of her eye and Nebby floating over to her side to do the same. She decided it wasn't worth questioning though, climbing up the ladder to the loft after securing her bag with a light tug.
'I wonder why she's so focused on us. It could be because she's taking what the professor said to her literally. Or maybe she's concerned I'm going to fall off the ladder. But who knows?'
Once Viola had entered the loft, she put her shoulder bag down and crouched in front of the ladder to retrieve the suitcase Lucario lifted to her from the floor. With her bags now in the loft, Viola stood up again and faced the area that was going to be her new shared sleeping space, deciding to continue getting her bearings. Lucario did the same after climbing up and joining her at her side.
As Lillie had already said, there was a single mattress placed close to the railings with a pillow and neatly folded pink blanket on top of it. To the left of the mattress was a wide and blue sofa bed, which Viola assumed was where Lillie slept. Between that and the mattress was a light green, circular rug, with the rest of the floor being plain and wooden.
'This is becoming less and less like my stays at the Pokemon Centres in Kalos. But I shouldn't complain. I'm sure if Professor Kukui had spare bedrooms, Lillie and I would be in them.'
At hearing Lillie climbing up the ladder, Viola grabbed her things and moved out of the way, going over towards the back of the loft, where two chests of drawers (one brown with two wide and two rectangle drawers and one white with six box-like drawers) and a small bookshelf with two shelves full to the brim lined the wall. Viola looked between the two sets of drawers at noticing the labels on them, with half with Lillie's name and the other half labelled 'Guest'.
'She wasn't kidding. I've been assigned places to keep my clothes. Probably to avoid us getting mixed up.' She placed a hand to her hip as her gaze focused on the assortment of knickknacks on top of the drawers, eventually fixing her attention on a Pokemon doll she recognised was a 'Clefairy'. She remained oblivious to Lucario sitting on the mattress and Nebby floating up to join them when Lillie had reached the loft, carrying her bag on her shoulder. 'It looks like Lillie has been living here a while though.'
Viola put her suitcase upright and her shoulder bag down so she could face Lillie, who had since left her bag on the sofa bed and was standing in front of a small wooden desk and chair just behind it. Nebby settled down beside Lucario on the mattress, but it was still observing everybody from its vantage point. She saw Lillie collect a pink book off the desk and open the top drawer to put it inside, waiting until she'd shut the drawer before saying anything.
"Hey, Lillie?" Lillie tilted her head at her. "How long have you been staying with Professor Kukui?"
"Um…" Lillie tapped a finger against her chin and sat down on the edge of the sofa bed. "I think it's been three months now."
Viola noticed she was sitting with her back straight, one arm resting on the skirt of her dress and her legs bent together. She was distracted at the thought of how graceful Lillie appeared to act, so it took her a moment before she properly processed what Lillie said. But when she did her jaw dropped, her response coming out a little high in volume.
"Three months?"
Lillie nodded. "Is that surprising?"
"A little. I mean… are you native to Alola? Do you have family here?"
At the mention of 'family', Viola thought she saw Lillie's eyes go wide briefly, a flicker of glisten crossing them. She looked away and pulled her sunhat over her eyes with a thick gulp. Nebby's bottom lip jutted as it floated straight to Lillie's lap, staring up at its friend with a low sounding 'Pew…'.
"S-Sorry…" Viola stuttered an apology and turned away with a frown. "I d-didn't mean to upset you. I thought you were in a similar situation to me."
"Similar situation?" Lillie repeated quietly, which made Viola look back over to see her gaze raised and her sunhat out of her eyes.
"Yeah. Like…" Viola trailed off, saying her next words slowly. "Like you came here from another region."
"Oh, no. I'm from Alola." Lillie gave a weak smile as she glanced at Nebby still staring at her, giving it a gentle pat on the head and making it grin widely. "But I can't be at home right now. I have to help Nebby, and that means staying here."
Focusing on Nebby had Viola remember there were many questions she wanted to ask Lillie about it, such as what she was doing on Mahalo Trail with Nebby in the first place or why she had Nebby in her possession to begin with. But since Lillie had already made it clear that it was a secret, she didn't think it was wise to press the issue after her previous reaction. However, there was still one thing about Nebby that Viola was sure was harmless to bring up.
"You really do care about Nebby, huh?" Viola questioned as she bent forward with her hands on her knees, getting close enough to Nebby that its attention soon switched to her. "It doesn't look like a Pokemon you'd normally see in the wild. And its name is a little odd…"
"Actually," Lillie began as her cheeks flushed a bright red, slowly turning her head away. "that's a nickname I gave it. It's really called 'Cosmog'."
"Cosmog?" Viola mumbled, breaking her gaze away from the Pokemon to look at Lillie with a snort. "I can see why you renamed it. 'Cosmog' isn't any better."
"It's not just that," she said sternly and peeked at Viola while pressing her index fingers together. "It looks like a nebula. Which is why I think 'Nebby' is more fitting."
"I couldn't agree more." Lillie faced Viola fully with a wide blink, watching the other blonde lightly poke at one of Nebby's arms before pulling away at the Pokemon's giggle. "I'm not one for giving Pokemon nicknames, but yours are certainly creative. I can see why Nebby likes you."
Lillie continued to stare as Viola walked back over to her suitcase. Viola noticed Lucario was still choosing to observe the pair in the meanwhile, but its eyes were drooped as if it was on the verge of closing them.
'Looks like Lucario's getting tired.' "I'd better get back to unpacking."
"Do you want some help?" Lillie asked. "It's the least I can do after all the trouble you went to."
"Thank you, but I've got it. It's better someone keeps an eye on Nebby."
Viola crouched in front of her suitcase, catching the basement stairs from the floor below out of the corner of her eyes. She heard Lillie's words from earlier return to her head, allowing her to break away and focus on the task at hand.
'I'm not sure how the conversation with Professor Sycamore is going to go, but I trust Lillie's words. Although, I'll admit her circumstances are as strange as mine.' Viola dared to peek at the Pokemon doll as she went to open one of the labelled drawers. 'Sounds like I'm not the only one attempting to escape from something.'
Loud yapping, howling and banging were the noises Viola found herself waking up to the moment her eyes opened.
The blonde sat up with a startled cry on her mattress, freezing up as she listened to the muffled noises seemingly coming from outside of Kukui's home.
'What in Xerneas…?' Viola scratched at her bed head and yawned, glancing down at herself with a heavy blink. She was currently wearing a long-sleeved, light pink pyjama top and dark pink trousers, which she recalled changing into before she fell asleep. 'What time is it?'
Kukui's encouraging yell pushed through the racket still going on outside, making Viola flinch and look to the front door.
"Oh yeah, Rockruff! Give it everything you've got!"
Viola pushed the blanket off her lap and knelt in preparation to stand, but she paused when she heard Lillie's tired groan from the sofa bed. The nearby skylight illuminated the loft with faint sunlight, so it wasn't difficult for her to see Lillie lying on her side facing her way, curled up in her own blanket with her eyes partly open. Her long blonde hair was down and scattered everywhere, making her look as dishevelled as Viola was. When the two girls locked eyes, Lillie was the first to quietly speak up.
"Is the professor at it again?"
"At what again?"
"His—" Lillie yawned loudly and raised a hand to her mouth, her eyes watering a little. "His research…"
Viola's eyes widened as she quickly glancing back and forth between the front door and Lillie, the commotion roaring on in the background. "You're kidding. That's research?"
"Mhm."
"What is he even researching—?"
A bang from outside caused the loft to shake slightly for a few seconds. Viola's body stiffened and Lillie sat up with a high-pitched shriek, her hands going to her chest. Once the shaking ceased, loud howling and barking soon followed.
"Raaaa-oooooohhh! Raff ruff!"
Both Viola and Lillie slumped at this, with the former groaning and the latter letting out a quiet sigh.
"Sounds like things are heating up out there," Viola grumbled.
"At least the professor is outside this time. We won't have to patch the roof." Lillie pouted. "But his lab coat is probably shredded. I'll have to mend it, and I'm not good with sowing…"
Viola glanced up at the roof when Lillie mentioned it, recalling the planks of wood she'd seen nailed onto the outside just yesterday.
"Then that's our cue to go and break it up," Viola replied as she got up and stretched her arms above her head, noting it had fallen silent for the time being.
Lillie went to follow suit, but as she lifted her blanket from her person, she blinked widely at noticing Nebby wasn't beside her like it had been last night.
"Nebby?" Viola glanced over when Lillie addressed the Pokemon and raised parts of the blanket to search for it, her focus briefly switching to the other blonde's sleepwear. It seemed to follow the same style as her previous outfit, but consisted of a sleeveless, white top, blue shorts and white ankle socks.
'I don't think I've known anyone who has matching clothes and sleepwear. But to each their own, I guess…'
"Everything okay, Lillie?" Viola eventually asked.
"I can't find Nebby," Lillie answered as she tossed the blanket from the sofa bed and stood up, her brow furrowing. "It was sleeping right next to me last night, but now…"
'Now that she mentions it… I haven't heard Lucario since I've woken up. And it's usually very sensitive to noises.'
Viola's eyes had a quick scan of the loft at that realisation, only to see that there was no sign of Lucario anywhere. She recalled the Pokemon had slept behind her on the floor with a pillow and blanket of its own. But staring at them now, she could only see the pillow and the crumpled blanket.
"Lucario's missing too," Viola stated, her gaze turning to the front door again as she placed her hands to her hips. "Although, knowing how that Pokemon is, I can probably guess where they both might be…"
Before Lillie had the chance to question Viola on what she meant, her attention was drawn to the front door as it opened. Kukui walked inside with his hands in his pockets and a big grin on his face, with a stoic Lucario, smiling Nebby in its hold, and an unfamiliar brown, puppy-like Pokemon wagging its fluffy tail filing in behind him.
"Good job, Rockruff! We made progress today!" Kukui praised as he faced the Pokemon in question, with 'Rockfuff' barking and staring up at the professor with bright blue eyes. Kukui reached down to ruffle the fur atop Rockruff's head, causing it to pant. "Your moves were so stylin'. If you keep up with this pace, you'll be strong in no time!"
Viola tilted her head to Lillie when she heard the latter sigh, watching her place her hands to her chest for the second time that morning.
"Just as I thought," she remarked, moving to the ladder to climb down with Lillie in close pursuit.
The sound of their approach had Kukui looking their way with a bright smile. "Good morning, you two. You look like you've slept well."
"A little too well…" Viola mumbled and rubbed her arm across her forehead, her gaze switching to Lucario and Nebby as she and Lillie walked over. "Lucario and Nebby were up before us, it seems."
Nebby giggled and floated from Lucario's arms over to Lillie while she wiped at one of her eyes, prompting Lillie to pat Nebby on the head with the shake of her own. "Oh, you! Why must you sneak off when my back is turned?"
Kukui crouched beside Rockruff to give it a quick scratch behind the ears. "Actually, Nebby and Lucario were watching Rockruff use its moves." He turned to Viola and Lillie with a forced chuckle. "I don't know if you two heard us…"
Viola's eyes drooped, her next words coming out sarcastically. "Oh. That was you shaking the house? Never would have guessed."
Kukui's smile became crooked. "Sorry. I thought conducting my research outside wouldn't disturb your sleep."
"What research, Professor?"
"Research of Pokemon moves, of course!" Viola's brows raised, which Kukui took as his cue to clarify. "My area of expertise is studying Pokemon moves and the kinds of effects that weaken and strengthen them."
"The professor normally does his research inside, so we were very lucky there was minimal damage this time," Lillie added while giving Kukui's lab coat a quick look, her cheeks puffing slightly. "I hope your lab coat isn't ruined though, Professor. I've just washed it."
"No worries, Lillie." Kukui tugged at the collar of his coat to prove his point, with Viola silently staring at Lillie with a blink. "It's still intact and clean. I know you do so much for me already. It's only fair I avoid burdening you with extra work in return."
'It sounds like Lillie's role as the professor's assistant is more to do with chores than partaking in his research.' Viola's eyes drifted to Nebby, who was hovering by Lillie. 'Unless part of that research somehow involves helping Nebby, like she said—'
"Oh!" Viola cried out suddenly and looked to the loft, where she knew her shoulder bag still was. "Is that why you're interested in studying Mega Evolution?"
"Exactly," Kukui answered. "I've already done a lot of research into Z-Power and its effects. And since Mega Evolution is supposedly used in a similar way with differing effects, I thought it was interesting to look into."
Viola put a hand to her chin as yesterday's events came to mind, along with the items currently inside her bag. 'Ah. That explains why he thought I was a Trainer. And that also must be why Professor Sycamore had me bring the Mega Ring, the Key Stone, and Mega Stone that formerly belonged to—' Viola tilted her head at processing the unfamiliar term 'Z-Power'. 'Wait…'
"Which reminds me," Kukui continued as he stood up and turned to Viola, causing her to blink herself out of her thoughts for now. "I spoke with Professor Sycamore while you were resting."
"You did?"
"I did." Kukui put a hand to the back of his neck. "Although he was quite surprised it was me and not you."
"Yeah. I was supposed to check in with him when I arrived to Alola." Viola shrugged her shoulders and let out a forced laugh. "But, as I suspected, my holo caster doesn't work outside of Kalos. I couldn't contact him. And then I completely forgot about it. Heh." Lucario grumbled and folded its arms at seeing her reaction. "He wasn't mad about that, was he?"
"No. The professor was very understanding. But I'll be sure to let him know what you've just told me."
"Thank you. And what about the misunderstanding? What did he say?"
"It turns out he forgot to tell me."
Both Viola's and Lillie's eyes widened, but only Viola replied. "He... what?"
Kukui nodded and grabbed at the front of his cap with a light chuckle. "The professor explained he'd originally planned to send someone else who was a Pokemon Trainer. But when he changed his mind and sent you instead, he didn't remember to check the details he'd already discussed with me."
Lillie tilted her head. "So, it just slipped his mind?"
"Yes."
Lucario leaned its head back and slapped a paw against its forehead with a loud sigh, clearly showing just how fed up it was with Professor Sycamore's antics. But then it noticed Viola staring at Kukui with her arms pressed close to her middle, causing its eyes to. Even when she spoke Lucario could hear how quiet and croaky her voice had become.
"Oh, yeah. I'd forgotten I was his second choice." 'That's a lie. But what he said makes sense. There was only five of us in our group, four of whom were trainers. And out of those four he was the only one to learn to use Mega Evolution. I was by his side more than the others, so…'
Kukui and Lillie frowned at picking up the change in Viola's demeanour, with the former being the one to speak as the pair shared glances. "Are you okay?"
Lucario's ears drooped as Viola loudly cleared her throat and placed a hand to it to help fix her voice, forcing a smile that occasionally twitched. "I'm okay. I was just caught off guard. You were saying?"
Kukui stared at Viola for a long time before closing his eyes and pulling his cap down on his head. "Anyway, the professor apologised for the confusion, since I was looking for a Pokemon Trainer who can use Mega Evolution. However, he mentioned his first choice could use Mega Evolution, and that you were partnered with them on your journey."
"I was." Viola pointed towards the loft behind her. "In fact, the stuff I brought belonged to that same trainer." She turned her gaze to the ground. "Still, I suppose it's no use to you unless someone can use it…"
"I wouldn't say that," Kukui replied with a grin, walking closer to Viola and putting a hand on her shoulder. "You witnessed something not many trainers get to see in their lifetime. That is very valuable to what I'm studying."
Viola leaned forward slightly and squinted. "So… does that mean I still have a reason to stay here?"
"Of course!" Kukui gave her should a rough pat and made Viola flinch. "But even if you hadn't, I wouldn't have turned you away."
Viola gave a quick blink. "Really?"
"Really. If you see a person or Pokemon in need, you help them. That's how we are in Alola."
Viola didn't say anything at first. But when Kukui pulled away she did peek at Lillie, who closed her eyes and smiled widely. 'Geez. She wasn't kidding.'
"… Thank you," she eventually said. "Your hospitality means a lot."
"It's my pleasure." Kukui rubbed his hands together. "With that being said, it doesn't end there."
"What do you mean?"
Kukui winked. "You'll find out soon enough. In the meantime, I'll leave you and Lillie to get ready. You're still going to show Viola around Hau'oli City, aren't you, Lillie?"
Lillie nodded, holding Nebby close to her person. "Yes, just like you asked."
"Great! See me downstairs before you go then. I have something to give you." Kukui pointed at Viola as he started to back up towards the stairs. "And don't forget the items from Professor Sycamore."
Viola gave a half-hearted salute, while Lillie nodded a second time out of acknowledgement. "Understood."
When Kukui left the room with Rockfuff bounding after him, Viola tilted her head back and exhaled loudly. 'Wow. Not how I expected my morning to go. But at least everything has been straightened out.' She closed her eyes. 'Although it sounds like the professor doesn't know the reason why I became the replacement. Maybe Professor Sycamore didn't feel it was necessary to go into detail unless I'd already brought it up…'
Lillie's giggle caused Viola to open her eyes and peek at the other blonde, who was smiling widely with flushed cheeks. "See? I told you not to worry."
Viola responded sarcastically, but there was a slight smile when she said it. "Indeed you did." She yawned soon after and scratched at her head, her fingertips encountering the tiny lumps in her hair that she could only assume were knots. "But I should take that as my cue to clean myself up before I eat something. It's gonna be a long—"
A paw put itself on Viola's closest shoulder, making the blonde stop and look back. Lucario was standing behind her with its ears still drooped and gaze unblinking. Viola should have been surprised by this odd behaviour, but instead she returned Lucario's stare and reached out to ruffle the fur on the Pokemon's head.
'Oh, Lucario. It affected you too, didn't it?'
Lucario closed its eyes and twitched its ears at the contact until Viola pulled away, while Lillie observed the interaction with a furrowed brow. Viola didn't speak again until she started walking towards the bathroom, with Lucario fixated on her back as she did so. "I'll be back."
Viola didn't look back to see the reactions of the three still standing around. But upon reaching the aquatic tank she began to let her guard down, her lip quivering a little.
'I hope our conversations about Mega Evolution don't lead to him being brought up.'
It was around late morning when Viola was finally ready to head out. Having changed into her usual outfit and tied her hair into its signature style, she went down the stairs to the basement after eating breakfast and grabbing her shoulder bag from the loft, with both Lucario and Nebby in tow. They were still waiting on Lillie, so she thought this was the perfect opportunity to see what Kukui was up to while also exploring the rest of the house.
"Professor?" Viola called out as she followed the first set of stairs down, only to stop at the top of the second at noticing how dimly lit it was. The two Pokemon with her followed suit, staring ahead at the punching bag, dumbbell and brown bench opposite the stairs.
'Geez. It's dark down here.'
When Viola was met with nothing but silence, she slowly made her way into the room while sticking close to the banister, her eyes wandering to the right side of the long room. "Professor? Are you still down here?"
More objects came into view by the time she reached the bottom of the stairs, such as the glowing aquatic tank at the far-right of the room. Unlike the tank upstairs it was smaller and cylindrical, containing two Luvdisc swimming around in front of three rectangle, transparent screens on the glass. Just in front of the tank was a black sofa, while two bookcases lined the back of the room behind it.
"Over here, Viola!"
Viola looked towards the far-left corner when she finally heard Kukui answer her, spying the professor standing next to a desk with two computer monitors and a large screen on the wall behind them. But that wasn't what caught the attention of Lucario and Nebby. They had their eyes fixed on the pokeball designed incubator just in front of Kukui, where eight pokeballs were placed in two rows of four.
"Pew!"
Nebby was the first to float straight over and stare at the pokeballs with wide eyes, prompting Lucario to bark and jog after it before Viola even had a chance to move. It wasn't until Kukui chuckled at Nebby and placed his hands on his hips that Viola approached him, briefly observing Nebby as it lingered on the opposite side of the incubator with Lucario standing beside it. The Aura Pokemon's eyes were fixed on the Nebula Pokemon, observing its every move in case it did anything to cause trouble. The incubator was open, so it suspected Nebby was likely to mess with one of the pokeballs.
"So, this is where you've been hiding all your tech, huh?" Viola commented. "Now I'm starting to believe this is a lab."
"Well, the basement gives me more privacy. Not to mention it was the only space big enough to store my equipment."
"I can see why you do most of your research upstairs though…" Viola had a quick glance around. "If you tried getting a Pokemon to use its moves in here, you'd put holes in the floor."
Kukui looked away from Viola when he noticed Lillie wasn't there, his eyes wandering to the stairs. "Where's Lillie?"
"She's still getting ready. She should be joining us soon."
"I see…" Kukui stroked his chin and focused on Viola's bag around her shoulder. "I was hoping to show both of you the surprise. But since we'll have to wait on Lillie, how about we go over the items you brought?"
"Sure. Better now than never." Viola slid her bag off her shoulder and reached in to pull out a bracelet and two small, round stones, putting the bag beside the incubator. "We'll need to be careful. Some of these items are easy to lose."
Kukui smiled slightly. "Spoken from experience?"
Viola returned it. "Not mine."
She placed the bracelet on the desk and the two stones beside it, allowing Kukui to move a little closer to see them. The bracelet was coloured plain black and had a thick exterior with a slight circular dent on its side. The two stones were different colours and had different markings on them. While one of the stones was multi-coloured with a black and striped sigil, the other stone was primarily orange with a blue and red streak going through its middle. Viola always thought that they could have easily been mistaken for marbles.
"Amazing," Kukui muttered and leaned over Viola's shoulder, running a finger along the bracelet. "This is a Mega Ring?"
"Uh-huh."
"This is the first time I've seen one up close." Kukui turned to Viola and held his hand out over the bracelet. "May I?"
"Be my guest."
Kukui gently lifted the bracelet from the desk and held it up to the light illuminating from the aquatic tank, twisting it around slowly at different angles. "Incredible." His eyes eventually locked with the dent, which he poked at with his other finger. "Is this where you put the Key Stone?"
"Yep."
"And which one would that be?"
"This one." Viola picked up the multi-coloured stone between her finger and thumb. "The other is the Mega Stone. The Key Stones always look the same, whereas the Mega Stones are different depending on the Pokemon."
The Key Stone glistened in the dim lighting, catching the attention of a certain Nebula Pokemon as it looked away from the incubator. Nebby's mouth fell open at the small stone in Viola's possession, which Lucario's eyes soon widened at. After a few seconds of staring, Nebby's gape morphed into a wide grin as it suddenly moved forward with an excited 'Pew!'. Lucario darted around the incubator in a blur, accidentally nudging the side with its elbow.
The group remained oblivious to the incubator briefly swaying the pokeballs, with one on the right side being forced forward as a result of the movement. The pokeball rolled to the edge and dropped to the floor before the incubator fell still, landing in Viola's bag by the time Lucario grabbed Nebby between its paws when it was inches away from Viola.
It quickly pulled it to its chest with a scowl as the Nebula Pokemon let out a high-pitched squeak. Viola's and Kukui's reactions were delayed, only turning to the two Pokemon with quick blinks when Lucario turned Nebby around and narrowed its eyes, causing Nebby's arms to droop and its lip to quiver.
"Lucario, don't be so hard on Nebby," Viola said sternly as she handed the Key Stone over to Kukui, allowing him to slot it into the dent. "It doesn't know what these are. It can't help being curious."
Lucario relaxed its expression and turned its gaze away, but that didn't stop the Pokemon from loudly snorting in objection.
"Professor Sycamore was right," Kukui's comments drew Viola's attention back to the professor, who was turning the Mega Ring and attached Key Stone around in his grip. "It functions similarly to a Z-Ring." Viola frowned at the unfamiliar term, but before she could question it, Kukui changed the topic at peeking at the Mega Stone on his desk. "So, the Trainer wields the Key Stone. But what about the Mega Stone?"
"The Pokemon has to hold it," Viola answered immediately, reaching for the stone on the desk and putting it in her palm.
"You mentioned the Mega Stones look different depending on the Pokemon who holds it, right?"
"Right." She held the stone close to Kukui. "Each Mega Stone is named after the Pokemon it's supposed to go to. In the case of this stone, it's 'Lucarionite', so only Lucario hold it to Mega Evolve."
"Lucarionite?" Kukui repeated with the raise of his brows, sideways glancing Lucario just as Nebby started lightly nudging the side of its face with one of its arms, which Lucario's eye and mouth kept twitching at. "Does that mean…?"
Viola knew exactly what Kukui was thinking even when he'd trailed off, prompting her to clarify the moment she followed the professor's eyes and brushed a strand of hair out of her face.
"This Lucario can use Mega Evolution. Lucario has had two Trainers. It learnt how to Mega Evolve with its first one."
Kukui remained fixed on Lucario as the Aura Pokemon eventually huffed and tilted its head away to avoid Nebby's nudges, causing Nebby to giggle and increase the speed of its actions in response. "Didn't you say the Mega Ring and its stones used to belong to the Trainer you travelled Kalos with?"
'And there it is.'
Viola crossed her arms and kept her eyes on Lucario, doing her best to avoid making eye contact with Kukui. At catching Kukui facing her from the corner of her eye due to her continued silence though, the blonde quietly gulped.
"… I did," she answered with a slight pause.
"And Lucario doesn't belong to you."
"It doesn't."
"So, if Lucario had two trainers, would that make the second trainer—?"
"Professor! I'm here!"
Lillie's voice interrupted Kukui, distracting the two humans and Pokemon enough to turn to the stairs and see Lillie making her way down with the same outfit and hairstyle as yesterday (and the same bag, Viola noticed). Nebby immediately floated over to the other blonde and stopped her in her tracks when getting right up into her face, while Viola placed a hand to her chest with a quiet sigh.
'Oh, thank Arceus. I was saved by Lillie.'
Lillie smiled and lightly patted Nebby on the head. "I hope you've been behaving yourself for Viola, Nebby."
Lucario grumbled and folded its arms at that, prompting Viola to side-step to the Pokemon and nudge it with her elbow. "Ssh."
Nebby waved its arms around and followed Lillie when she walked over to where the trio were. "I'm sorry for taking so long. I hope I haven't kept you waiting."
"No worries, Lillie! You're just in time," Kukui replied, beckoning to Viola with a hand while locking eyes with the Lucarionite she was still holding. "I'll take care of these for you, if you don't mind."
"Not at all," Viola said with drooped eyes as she handed the stone over, briefly looking at Nebby when the Pokemon's eyes followed her movement. "I doubt they'd be safe from Nebby in my belongings anyway…"
Kukui approached his desk and opened the top drawer to put all three items inside. It was here that Lillie took notice of the open incubator, her attention lingering on the empty spot. "Why do you have the incubator open, Professor?"
Kukui answered without looking up from the drawer, with Viola and Lucario watching as he took something red out after swapping it out for the Mega Ring and stones. "I'm taking three of them to Iki Town today for the kahuna. His grandson is finally starting his Pokemon journey."
"Grandson?" Viola repeated.
"That's right. I have a feeling you'll meet him at some point. He spends a lot of time in Hau'oli City. But anyway…" Kukui closed the drawer with a gentle nudge and faced Viola and Lillie. "Viola," he said with a grin and held the object upright towards her. "this is for you. Consider it my welcoming gift."
Viola carefully took the object from Kukui's hands and brought it close to her person with the tilt of her head, prompting Lucario, Nebby, and Lillie to move to her side so they could see the object for themselves. It was a small, red device with a square shaped body and an arch shaped head fitted with a black screen. There were oval shaped points protruding from the bottom and the sides of its head, along with two ovals on top of the screen connected by a small black arch. To Viola, these features made it look like the device had eyes, feet and arms, due to how similar it was to Nebby's body structure.
"What is it?" Viola questioned.
"It's a Pokedex."
"A Pokedex?!" she shouted, leaning back to stare at her wide-eyed reflection staring back. "But I'm not a—"
"I know. But since you're not native to Alola, it'll come in handy when familiarising yourself with the region's Pokemon."
"I suppose that's true…" Viola turned to Lucario at seeing the Pokemon lean over her shoulder, its nose twitching as it sniffed at the screen. But then the Pokemon pulled away with a low growl and bared its teeth. "What's the matter, Lucario?"
"Lucario must have realised it isn't an ordinary Pokedex."
Viola and Lillie looked at Kukui with a quick blink, with the former being the one to speak up. "What do you mean?"
Seconds after Viola had asked the question, though, the Pokedex's screen flashed on, revealing a white background and blue, diagonal magnifying glass symbol in the middle and the screen's 'eyes' (as Viola had chosen to nickname them) lighting up the same colour. The 'eyes' slowly blinked open, causing Viola and Lillie to briefly freeze up. But when a mouth appeared on the screen and morphed into a teeth-bearing grin, the pair gasped loudly and jumped backwards, prompting the Pokedex to float out of Viola's hands and hover above them with blue pupils. Nebby cried out and flew straight into Lucario's chest, forcing the Aura Pokemon to fall onto the floor with a loud cry and thump.
As the Pokedex continued to boot up its body's design shifted: two wide arms sprouted on either side from its back (one of which had a camera lens), its 'feet' stretched out to look longer, and a thin point grew on top of its head.
Kukui threw his head back with laughter as Lucario groaned and rubbed at one of its thighs, waiting until he'd calmed down before facing the girls with a wide smile.
"Did that surprise you?"
Lillie scowled and turned her nose up to the air, closing her eyes at the heat rising to her face. "That was not funny, Professor."
"You're telling me…" Viola grumbled while frowning and crossing her arms.
"Sorry," he apologised and scratched the back of his head. "I should have warned you about the Pokemon in there."
"Pokemon?" Viola and Lillie said simultaneously.
The Pokedex (who had been silently staring at the pair) floated down to Viola and hovered in front of her face, prompting Lillie to instinctively move closer and grip at her closest arm, which Viola peeked at her for. But then her attention shifted when the Pokedex spoke up in a robotic voice.
"Alola! Zzt-zzt! Pleasure to meet you! My name izzz Rotom Dex!"
"Rotom?" Viola muttered as she stared up at the Pokedex with a squint. "I recall Rotom having the ability to occupy electrical appliances. But not a Pokedex."
"I've read about the same thing," Lillie replied quietly, her green eyes fixed on the hovering Pokedex. "None of the forms Rotom can take mention a Pokedex, last I checked…"
"This form is relatively new," Kukui explained, walking over to stand beside the Rotom Dex with his hands in his pockets. "It operates just like a normal Pokedex, except Rotom is the one in control of everything."
Viola opened her mouth to ask what Kukui meant, but then Rotom Dex floated close to Lucario and Nebby when the former stood up with the latter in its arms. Lucario's shoulders tensed when the Pokedex hovered before it, while Nebby watched it with its jaw slacked. The trio silently locked eyes until Rotom Dex touched its screen with one of its hands, causing two bright flashes and loud clicks to follow its actions in succession. Lucario yelped and covered its eyes with an arm, while Nebby whimpered and squeezed its eyes shut.
With its job done, Rotom Dex whipped around and returned to Viola's front to show her its screen. Its mouth was briefly replaced by an image of Lucario as it popped up, alongside a lot of writing that detailed all the information currently known about the Pokemon. Instead of allowing Viola to read it, however, Rotom Dex said it as a quick summary.
"Lucario: The Aura Pokemon—a Fighting and Steel type. By catching the aura emanating from others, Lucario reads its opponent's feelings and thoughts. Only those with justice in their hearts can earn Lucario's trust."
Lucario snorted and rolled its eyes at this, but Viola's eyes soon lit up as they remained fixed on the Pokedex. "Oh. I get it. Rotom collects the data by itself."
"Exactly," Kukui replied with a bright smile. "Professor Sycamore told me you've had experience with a regular Pokedex before. I thought you could give it a test run while you were out today."
Viola nodded in understanding. "Thank you. I'll take good care of it."
The data on Lucario quickly flashed off the screen and was replaced by an image of Nebby soon after, prompting Nebby to close in on the screen with a wide blink. However, after a few seconds, three red question marks phased in front of the image, prompting the following words to leave Rotom Dex's mouth:
"No data. No data."
"Huh?" Viola said in confusion and frowned, glancing at Nebby as it tilted its head at the screen with a slight gape. "Where's the data for Nebby?"
"There isn't any," Lillie answered quietly, tugging at her bag strap when Viola looked her way. "Cosmog is a rare Pokemon who was recently discovered, so there's currently very little existing data and research on it."
"We're still compiling the necessary data to put into a Pokedex entry," Kukui continued. "So, until then Nebby won't be featured in the Rotom Pokedex."
'A rare Pokemon, huh.' Viola watched Nebby slowly circle Rotom Dex to look at it from different angles, while Rotom Dex silently followed Nebby with its arms and feet occasionally twitching. 'That explains why Lillie is hiding it in her bag…'
Eventually Lucario approached the group when Nebby got right up in Rotom Dex's face and made it lean back with a loud 'Zzzt!', its mouth flipped upside down. The Aura Pokemon grabbed Nebby's sides and pulled the Nebula Pokemon away, allowing the Pokedex to slump with a loud sigh. It straightened out and gaped when Kukui gave the Pokedex a gentle pat on the back.
"Rotom, give Viola a 'Helping Hand', yeah?"
Rotom Dex shook its body around to recover and went back to grinning, giving Kukui a quick salute. "Roger! Zzzt!"
The group observed Rotom Dex fly to Viola's bag and slip inside with a final buzz, prompting Kukui to turn towards the four still standing around and wave his hands as if to usher them away.
"That was everything I had to give you, so unless you have any questions then off you go. Hau'oli City isn't gonna explore itself." Viola took that as her cue to walk over to her bag and collect it from the floor, while Lucario handed Nebby over to Lillie so she could put Nebby inside her own bag. With their belongings collected and secured, the trio headed for the stairs, with Viola and Lillie briefly glancing back when Kukui spoke again. "Viola, I'll explain the mix up to Hala when I see him, so don't worry about it."
"All right, thanks."
"And Lillie, you take good care of Viola, yeah? I'm counting on you."
"I will."
"And be careful. We don't want a repeat of yesterday."
"We will," Viola and Lillie answered at the same time as they went up the stairs.
Kukui watched the trio disappear from the basement, putting his hands on his hips while listening to their retreating footsteps. He waited until he heard the front door close upstairs before shaking his head and facing the incubator.
"Right. I'd better get those starter Pokemon to— Huh?" Kukui's eyes widened when he saw the empty spot in the incubator. "Where'd that pokeball go?"
