A/N: Thank you to those who have been reviewing, favouriting, following and reading this fanfic. Your continued support is greatly appreciated. This chapter turned out to be a little longer than I was hoping for. But then again, I wanted to make sure it was written properly and that I covered all bases (especially where information regarding specific elements are concerned). I haven't been able to check the story's current stats properly as for some reason the site is glitching out again and won't let me view them. So I'm hoping publishing this next chapter is going to fix that. Please enjoy the next instalment in the meantime though. From what I can tell so far, people seem to like this story.


Chapter 6: A Tug on the Heart Strings

On the outskirts of Hau'oli City, dawn was slowly approaching over the horizon. The burning sky and rising sun were enveloping the empty beach and the front of Kukui's lab in its light, reflecting their mix of orange and yellow glows across the sea's still surface as it began to engulf the remnants of black and grey from the night sky. Through the calmness of the area sliced a familiar but commanding voice from the sand, removing the early morning silence for any people and Pokemon who happened to be nearby.

"Rowlet, use Leafage!"

Viola stood on the sand of the empty beach with a scowl and her legs spread apart, holding out her hand with her palm up and fingers splayed to direct her partner into attacking following her order. Rowlet was hovering a small distance ahead of its trainer with a matching scowl, quickly raising its wings back to summon a small horde of green leaves in a brief flash of green light. Rotom Dex was floating beside Viola and above her bag on the sand, silently watching the current events unfolding. With a loud "Woo!" Rowlet used one flap to fire the horde at a nearby large rock in straight rows, causing them to disappear in a flurry of dust upon making impact.

Viola balled her hand into a fist and relaxed at watching the dust disperse, grinning and pulling her arm towards her body as Rowlet glanced behind it to look her way. "Yes! Good job, Rowlet! You're getting better!"

"Woo!" Rowlet replied and raised one of its wings in a triumphant pose, flying back over to Viola soon after.

Viola crouched as Rowlet landed before her on the sand, reaching out to stroke its head. "Your speed has improved. Keep this up and you'll be dodging and striking your opponents like it's child's play!"

Rowlet hummed contentedly and nuzzled against her palm in return, its cheeks flushing a faint pink.

"You've taken Rowlet's training very seriously since agreeing to take it four dayzzz ago," Rotom Dex said as it lowered itself to Viola's current level, tilting its body to the side a little. "You're acting like a proper Pokemon Trainer for someone who claimzzz they don't want to be one. Zzt-zzt!"

"I don't have much choice," Viola replied with the roll of her eyes, pulling away from Rowlet and facing the Pokemon and Pokedex hybrid. "My journey gave me plenty of knowledge on battling techniques and Pokemon types, but neither Rowlet nor I have any battling experience. It can't defend us from wild Pokemon or Team Skull without at least some training."

A red and bold question mark appeared on Rotom Dex's screen. "Uzzz?"

"Uh-huh." Viola pointed to herself. "Me," She then pointed at Rotom Dex. "you and Lillie. And Lucario too, if we're talking about Team Skull encounters."

Rotom Dex blinked three times and gasped, while Rowlet turned its attention to Viola's open bag close by. "Me too?"

Viola chuckled and smiled slightly, remaining oblivious to Rowlet waddling its way over to where her bag was. "Of course. It's only because of you guiding me that I've gotten to understand Alola's Pokemon better. Plus, you've started to develop your own personality based on our interactions, so you're not just a tool. You count as someone who needs protecting too."

"R-Really? Zzt-zzt!" Rotom Dex let out a high-pitched buzz and covered its eyes and screen with its arms. "Oh dear! I feel my systemzzz overheating!"

Viola laughed and shook her head. "I think you're just embarrassed by what I said. Don't worry." She waited until Rotom Dex moved its arms away from its eyes before continuing. "Anyway, we should get back to training. Rowlet needs to- Huh?"

Viola cut herself off at noticing Rowlet squirming its way into her bag headfirst and disappearing. The blonde's brows raised when the bag moved around for a few seconds, prompting her and Rotom Dex to lean forward to peek at Rowlet through its opening after everything fell still. Rowlet had closed its eyes and tucked itself against the far-left corner, with its chest puffed out and feathers ruffled. Viola and Rotom Dex were silent until they heard Rowlet loudly exhale, causing the former to smack her hand against her forehead.

'Rotom Dex's entry was really accurate with this one, huh?'

"I think Rowlet's done for today," Rotom Dex said after a moment of silence, causing Viola to sigh.

"I think you're right." The blonde waved her hand in dismissal. "Thank you for your help again, Rotom Dex. You might as well join it. Rowlet isn't going to be changing its mind any time soon."

Rotom Dex grinned and gave a quick salute, proceeding to float down and slip through the bag's opening with an enthusiastic "Roger! Zzt-zzt!" to accompany it. Viola allowed Rotom Dex to settle in her bag before picking it up and standing, hooking it over her shoulder.

'I'd better head back to the lab.' She gave the beach's horizon a quick look, noting that the sun was mostly in view now and brightening the area some more. It was lighter out compared to when she'd first come down to the beach. 'The professor and Lillie are probably up and about by now.'

But Viola didn't move straight away. She kept staring out to sea for a little while longer, her mind preventing her from willing her body to start walking. When she'd first stepped out onto the beach, the surrounding sky was lacking light and bright colours. Now there was an array of brightness and colour seeping through, with streaks of blue mixing with the fiery colours already there.

'Huh… I feel like I've seen a view like this somewhere before.' A pang of déjà vu gnawed at Viola's chest in the form of a slight ache, making her frown. 'But where was it? Kalos doesn't have many places with an ocean view, from what I remember.'

It didn't take long for Viola's eyes to widen upon recalling it, a hand reaching for her chest as she spoke her answer aloud in a quiet mumble. "Ambrette Town…" She felt something shuffle inside her bag, but it did nothing to stop her from talking or break her concentration. She remained unaware of Rowlet looking her way, its beady eyes peeking over the top of her bag. "I saw this view with Calem in Ambrette Town."

Rowlet tilted its head one-hundred-and-eighty degrees as it continued to listen to Viola, despite having no clue what she was talking about. "It was the morning after our arrival. He left the Pokemon Centre without telling me. He couldn't even be bothered to leave a note." Her face scrunched up as she recalled the memory, her eye twitching. "It turned out he was doing some training along the coast. Augh. He worried me sick and didn't even care. But then we got distracted by the view and… everything I'd felt in that moment melted away."

Viola's hand trembled, her fingers closing in on her chest as she gripped at the fabric of her shirt. She was doing her best to keep herself together, but the ache refused to go away. And it didn't help when her voice started to crack. "He always prioritised training above everything else. He wanted to keep getting stronger. That's why he was such a reckless idiot…"

The blonde's legs began to wobble, her lip quivered, and by the time her eyes stung and watered she knew exactly what was happening; however, she couldn't do anything to stop it now. Viola collapsed onto her knees and hunched over, letting out a loud sob before lifting her palm to her mouth to muffle the ones that followed. 'Dammit. Not again.'

Rowlet shrieked at hearing Viola's sobbing, prompting it to hop out of her bag and settle in her lap. Meanwhile Rotom Dex poked its head out of Viola's bag at hearing the noises. "What'zzz going on-?" When the Pokedex saw the tears streaming down her face, its eyes widened.

"Viola!" Rotom Dex called out as it floated out of her bag and got close to her face, while Rowlet let out a quiet and disheartened "Woo…" and stared up at its partner with drooped eyes. "What'zzz wrong? Are you upset?"

Of course, Viola couldn't give a concise answer. Instead sniffling and hiccupping were the only noises Rotom Dex got in response, leaving the Pokedex and Grass Quill Pokemon to exchange glances, neither of them sure what to do next. With Viola showing no signs of stopping and appearing inconsolable, Rotom Dex eventually spoke up. "Oh dear. What should we do? Zzt-zzt!"

Rowlet tilted its head and forced a blink, unable to give any useful suggestions. But then the faint crunching of sand approaching their direction caught the duo's attention, prompting them to turn to the long stretch of beach between them and the hill where Kukui's lab was situated. Viola had chosen to do her early morning training very close to the middle of the beach to avoid disturbing Kukui and Lillie with any loud noises that either came from her or Rowlet. But now it seemed like her crying had managed to attract someone's attention.

Rotom Dex gasped at seeing Lucario slowly walking towards them, with Viola still failing to react to anything around her. "Lucario!" The Pokedex flew to the Aura Pokemon's side and waved its arms around in a panic, causing Lucario to pause and look its way with a calm blink. "We need help! Viola is-"

Lucario raised its paw to cut Rotom Dex off, shaking its head as if to dissuade it from saying anything more. When Rotom Dex fell silent Lucario pointed at Viola with one paw and then placed the other paw to its chest, letting out a quiet bark. Rowlet's eyes widened at understanding what Lucario was getting at, but Rotom Dex's reaction was delayed. The Pokedex blinked and looked between Lucario and Viola twice, only to let out a high-pitched noise as a bold and red exclamation mark flashed onto its screen.

"You- You want us to leave Viola to you? Zzt-zzt!" Lucario gave a stiff nod, prompting Rotom Dex to glance between the Aura Pokemon and Viola once more before focusing on the beach behind them. "Er… I-If you say so!" Rotom Dex turned to Rowlet and beckoned with its arm for the Grass Quill Pokemon to follow it. "Come along, Rowlet! Let'zzz wait over there!"

Rowlet watched Rotom Dex fly off towards a group of large rocks a small distance away from their location and made no move to follow it. It wasn't until the Pokemon's round, black eyes locked with Lucario's narrowed red ones that it suddenly changed its mind, its body shuddering with an electrifying tingle at the low growl the Aura Pokemon released. Rowlet loudly squawked and ruffled its feathers, jumping up and flapping its wings as fast as it could to get itself off the ground and into the air.

Lucario waited until Rowlet had flown over to where Rotom Dex was before letting out a long and loud sigh, its shoulders slumping. Its focus turned back to Viola in front of it, who had still been sobbing away during the brief conversation. At first the Aura Pokemon stared at its friend in silence. But when it heard the blonde hiccup and saw her beginning to rub at her eyes with one of her arms, it chose that as its moment to kneel in front of her. Lucario slowly wrapped its arms around Viola and pulled her close to its body so her face was against its shoulder, feeling the blonde stiffen out of surprise at the sudden contact. However, at registering warm fur and seeing the blur of blue and yellow through her watery vision, Viola was quick to relax, closing her eyes tight and loosening more tears from them.

'Lucario's here. Was I being too loud?'

The pair stayed as they were for what felt like a while, with the only noises audible being Viola's occasional hiccups and sniffles. But Lucario's presence had since ceased her sobs, replacing them with heaving and long breaths as she tried to pull herself together.

'Geez. I thought my meltdowns would stop when I came here. And once again Lucario's witnessed it. I'm trying to stay strong for it and yet I'm failing…'

Viola's eyes opened at feeling Lucario shift slightly and place a paw atop her head, hearing it grumble shortly after. The blonde swallowed and took a quick and deep breath to compose herself, waiting a few seconds to respond. In doing so her tone became steady again, but she continued to speak low for the time being. "… You heard that thought, huh." When Lucario didn't respond, Viola huffed and lifted a palm to one of her eyes, attempting to wipe her stray tears away. "Well, I don't care if you disagree. It's true and you know it." She grumbled the next part. "But thank you."

Lucario rolled its eyes and loosened its grip at feeling the blonde pull away, watching her sit up and wipe at her other eye with the back of her hand. "I know this is something I'll be spending the rest of my life coping with. But I hate feeling this way. Back home it was a nightmare. Everywhere I looked, something always reminded me of Calem and his recklessness and I just… I couldn't control myself. You already know that."

Sniffling, Viola reached her other hand into her bag in search of her handkerchief and fished it out. "Being in Alola was supposed to change that. Yet we're a week in and I'm crying because of a sunrise." Lucario's eyes drooped as it watched its friend pause to loudly blow her nose. "Oh, well. It was going to happen sooner or later. At least it wasn't in front of the professor or Lillie…"

Viola focused her gaze towards Lucario then, allowing the Aura Pokemon to see how red and puffy her eyes had become. "Speaking of which, what are you doing out here? Did you pick up on my crying-?"

"Woo!"

"Ah!" Viola cried out as Rowlet loudly interrupted her and flew onto her shoulder, naturally startling her. "Rowlet?" Rowlet proceeded to close its eyes and nuzzle the top of its head against Viola's cheek in response, causing the blonde to smile slightly and raise her hand to pat its side. "Aw. Sorry. Did I worry you?"

Lucario narrowed its eyes and clenched its paws enough to expose its claw, lowly growling towards the Grass Quill Pokemon. Upon hearing this Rowlet turned its head to the other Pokemon and stiffened at the anger it could see on Lucario's face, letting out a high-pitched squawk too close to Viola's ear.

"Ow." Viola cringed and held her ear once Rowlet leapt off her shoulder and into her bag as fast as it could, eventually directing a scowl at her friend at catching sight of its current expression. "Hey. There was no need for that. Rowlet wasn't doing any harm."

Lucario rolled its eyes and turned to look at the sea beside it. Viola raised a brow as she stared the Aura Pokemon down, deciding not to say anything out loud for now.

'Lucario's acting really odd lately. I hope that mess with Team Skull hasn't affected it too much.' She frowned. 'Although, thinking about it, most of that hostile behaviour has been directed towards Rowlet…'

It took a moment of staring before Viola managed to connect her earlier query and Lucario's behaviour with the current thought in her head, eventually causing her to gape for a few seconds and mumble. She looked like a Pokemon had just hit her in the face with "Water Gun". "Oh my Arceus…" Lucario glanced back at the blonde as she straightened out and waggled a finger its way. "You're jealous of Rowlet."

Lucario scowled and barked loudly out of objection, but its reaction only caused Viola to smirk and lean forward to poke the Aura Pokemon in the middle of its forehead. Its eye twitched at the contact. "Don't try to deny it! You've been acting weird since the day I agreed to take Rowlet! You were spying on our training session from outside the lab, weren't you?!"

Lucario slowly looked away with a snort that suggested it was denying Viola's claims. But the blonde wasn't easily fooled, even as she allowed the Aura Pokemon to swat her finger away with one of its paws. She could see the hint of a pink flush on her friend's cheeks that proved it was lying. Her assumptions were correct.

'I knew it. Lucario's attraction to the Trainer's School is more than enough for me to know why it's being funny with Rowlet.'

Viola tucked her hands into her lap and tilted her body to the side so she could stare into Lucario's red eyes, despite the latter quickly looking upwards the second its gaze locked with her brown ones. "… Are you upset I'm training with Rowlet instead of you?"

Viola saw Lucario's jaw tense at the enquiry. It didn't make any verbal response to her enquiry, yet its silence spoke loud enough for Viola to know that was a "yes". 'Oh boy…'

"… Lucario," Viola said through a small huff, shuffling across the sand to be a little closer to the Aura Pokemon. "You know I haven't fully committed to becoming a Pokemon Trainer yet. But that doesn't mean I can just keep Rowlet in my bag all the time. If we run into trouble, we need to be prepared. And outside of my knowledge, I have zero experience with battles. How can I work together with Rowlet if the two of us aren't in sync?" Viola paused to let her words sink in, but when Lucario didn't react after a few seconds she continued. "Plus, you still have some processing and healing to do too. You can't deny that you and Calem had your own special bond. Why else would you have frozen up in the middle of the battle like that?"

Silence hung in the air for at least thirty seconds, during which time Lucario closed its eyes and folded its arms, twisting its body around so it wasn't facing Viola anymore. The blonde's eyes drooped as she stared at the back of her friend's head. But her expression was soon relaxing when an idea came to her, prompting her to reach out her hand and gently place it on Lucario's closest shoulder.

"… I haven't forgotten the deal I made with Calem, you know." Lucario's ears and tail stood on end as it turned to face Viola, causing her to smile a little. It was clearly paying close attention now. "If Calem had managed to beat the final Gym Leader and head off to the Pokemon League, things could have turned out differently for you and me." She tightened her grip on Lucario's shoulder slightly. "But our circumstances have changed drastically since then. We're facing a reality none of us ever imagined we'd be in. And that's gonna take some time to process."

Lucario exhaled loudly and slumped a bit, prompting Viola to pat it on the head. "The last five months have been hard on us both. I still need time to get my thoughts together. But I promise I won't go back on my word, even if he's not around to look after you for me. If I ever change my mind, then you'll be on my team." She scratched behind Lucario's ear with a finger. "Okay?"

Lucario's reaction was delayed. Yet after a moment of blank staring the Aura Pokemon hummed and closed its eyes at the attention it was getting, a small smile making itself visible. Viola's smile widened in response to this. "Good to know you agree. Maybe now you'll stop taking out your jealousy on Rowlet."

Rowlet let out a muffled "Woo!" from Viola's bag as if agreeing with her, prompting the Grass Quill Pokemon to hop out onto Lucario's lap and Viola to pull away. Rowlet cooed and nuzzled its body against Lucario's front with its eyes closed, leaving the Aura Pokemon to glance down with narrowed eyes while Viola laughed at the interaction.

'What do you know. Rowlet has a soft spot for Lucario. Who would have thought it?'

"Viola! Zzt-zzt!" Viola glanced behind her at hearing Rotom Dex say her name, watching the Pokedex float to her side with its arms waving around wildly and its mouth flipped upside down. "Are you okay now? I wanted to come over and ask, but you two looked deep in conversation."

"I'm fine. Nothing to worry about." Viola folded her handkerchief and placed it inside her bag, bringing said bag with her to put over her shoulder when she stood up. "We should be heading back. The professor and Lillie are gonna wake up soon."

Rotom Dex returned to Viola's bag at this, while Lucario nodded and collected Rowlet into its arms as it stood up too with a scowl. Viola dared to glance at the horizon one last time as the group prepared to walk across the beach, her head tilting to the side.

'Hm. You know, I never used to understand why Calem trained so early in the morning. But now I think I'm starting to get it.' The blonde focused her gaze on the pair of Pokemon ahead of her when Lucario took the lead, prompting her to follow them soon enough. 'There's something oddly relaxing about the lack of noise and people…'


By the time the late morning rolled around on Melemele Island, the island's inhabitants (people and Pokemon) were wide awake and springing to life under the scorching sun and bright sky, which also included the residents of Kukui's lab. While Kukui was busy with his work down in the basement, Viola and Lillie were busy with their own tasks upstairs.

Lillie currently occupied the kitchen, pouring some Pokemon food into a small and white dish with Nebby silently watching her from where it hovered slightly above the counter, nestled beside her shoulder bag and white sunhat placed on top of it. She had her back to the Nebula Pokemon, so it ended up tilting its body to the side a bit in attempt to peek at what she was doing. Viola, on the other hand, was currently in the seating area, sitting before the square table on the sofa in front of the window. Aside from a sleeping Rowlet and a powered down Rotom Dex, she had the contents of her bag scattered across the wooden surface. This included her trainer passport (recently given to her by Professor Kukui in case she needed to travel to the other islands for any reason), her Pokedex from Kalos (a red, square device with a glowing blue circle and line across the middle), the two pokeballs that belonged to Rowlet and Lucario, her holo caster (a green and almost oval shaped device), a thick, brown covered notebook with a golden pokeball logo on the front (which Viola was using and had opened), a small, pink, rectangular wallet and a long, blank, white envelope that wasn't sealed properly.

Lucario sat cross-legged on the floor opposite while resting its chin on its arms and its arm on the table. Its red eyes were focused on Viola's hand as she wrote on one of the notebook's blank pages, having appropriately named said page "Rowlet's Known Moves/Progress".

"Alright," Viola mumbled to herself as she stopped writing, lightly tapping her chin with the end of her pen while she scanned the move list she'd just made. "Rowlet's pretty much mastered "Leafage" and "Tackle" now. But if it's going to get stronger, it needs to learn a Flying type move. It can't properly counter the Pokemon types it's strong against without it."

As Lillie turned around and placed the dish of Pokemon food in front of Nebby, she dared to peek over at Viola while Nebby grinned and proceeded to start munching on the food with a loud "Pew!". The other blonde appeared to be lost in her current train of thought, allowing Lillie to lean against the counter and rest her cheek in her palm to eavesdrop on Viola's mumbles without being caught.

"According to Rotom Dex, the next move that Rowlet is likely to learn is "Peck", which is a Flying type move. It wouldn't take much training to acquire that, but the question is how we can go about doing it…" Viola glanced up at the two pokeballs on the table, her eyes narrowing the tiniest bit. "Maybe we could have Rowlet practice pecking its pokeball? It seems to like doing that."

Lucario let out a loud snort and smirked a little at the suggestion, prompting Viola to shake her head and sit up straight, putting her pen down. "Yeah, you're right. It's stupid." She leaned back and put her hands together under her nose. "I'll keep thinking…"

Viola remained oblivious to Lillie continuing to stare at her from the kitchen, her green eyes alight with a distant look. The braided blonde was deep in thought, her mind having flitted back to the heartfelt conversation she'd had with Viola at the Pokemon Centre four days ago. Both girls were too occupied and in their own little worlds, which is exactly why neither of them were prepared for a certain Nebula Pokemon finishing off its meal rather quickly. Little Nebby eventually took notice of the two girls staring off into space, causing it to blink and slowly float forward. Its original destination was to Lillie's front, but it didn't take long before it caught the items from Viola's bag in the corner of its vision.

Nebby's eyes widened with a loud gasp, causing Lillie to blink and perk up just as the Nebula Pokemon darted right past. Before the trio in the room had any time to react, Nebby was squealing and crashing onto the table, sliding straight into the items gathered in a cluster. The trio's eyes grew wide as they realised what was going on, the three standing up just as Viola's pokeballs, trainer passport, and envelope went spiralling past Lucario and onto the floor. Lucario couldn't catch them because it was too focused on Nebby, who almost tumbled off the table edge but was blocked from doing so by the Aura Pokemon's arms.

'What in Xerneas…?'

"Nebby," Lillie addressed the Nebula Pokemon in a stern tone as she approached the table, putting her hands on her hips and frowning after closing the distance. "What have I told you about whizzing around the room? Look at the mess you've made." Nebby slowly turned to face Lillie with its arms lowering and its eyes filling with tears, making a whimpering noise in response to the scolding. That didn't stop Lillie from pointing at Viola. "Apologise to Viola."

Before the Nebula Pokemon had a chance to burst into tears though, Viola held up her hands and quickly side-stepped around the table. "Hey, it's alright. There's no harm done. I can pick it up."

Nebby fell quiet and blinked its tears away at watching Viola crouch on the floor to collect her belongings. Lillie waved her hands about and stuttered when Viola did this, kneeling on the floor next to her to help. "W-Wait! Let me help!"

"Really, it's fine. I've got it."

"Nebby shouldn't have knocked it off in the first place. I insist."

Lucario let out a long sigh as Viola collected her pokeballs and Lillie secured Viola's passport and the blank envelope, reaching out to pat little Nebby on the top of its body when it saw the tiny Pokemon tilt its body at observing what the girls were doing. However, as Lillie lifted the envelope from the floor, something rectangular dropped out of it. She instinctively reached out to catch it in her palm before it hit the ground but as she caught it, she got a glimpse of what it was.

It appeared to be a photograph of a woman with blue eyes and brunette hair swept to the left with a yellow hair clip on her fringe, dressed in a black t-shirt and a grey tracksuit whose sleeves were tied around her waist. The woman was outside in the front garden of a small house, smiling widely and kneeling beside a rhinoceros looking Pokemon with grey and rocky plates covering its body who she was hugging the neck of.

Lillie's frown deepened as she focused on the Pokemon, noting that it looked familiar despite its name not coming to mind. This became the reason why she reached out for Viola as the other blonde stood up and went to move back to the table, bringing her to a stop after lightly tugging on the end of her skirt. "Viola, who's this?"

"Hm?" was Viola's reply as she faced Lillie. But when she spied the photograph the braided blonde was holding out towards her, she put her items back on the table without breaking eye contact, collecting the photograph, envelope and trainer passport. "Oh, that's just my mom. Also, thanks."

Lillie gave a wide blink as Viola turned away to place the rest of her belongings down, slipping the photograph back inside the envelope. "Your mother?" When Viola nodded and moved to return to her seat, Lillie took that as her cue to stand, brushing the side of her hand against her skirt to smoothen out the creases. "And the Pokemon next to her?"

"Her Rhyhorn," Viola answered as she sat down again.

Lillie clicked her fingers. "Rhyhorn. That was it. I knew it looked familiar."

"You have Rhyhorn over here?"

"M-hm." Lillie walked over to the opposite sofa and sat down after tucking her dress skirt underneath her, prompting Nebby to float over and nestle in her lap. She loosely circled her arms around it in a protective manner. "I read they can be found on Ula'ula Island, around Blush Mountain. Otherwise they aren't commonly seen across the rest of Alola."

"It's the same in Kalos too. They're commonly found in one specific cave throughout the whole region. But it sounds like both areas are the ideal spot for them. They tend to thrive in rocky terrain."

"So I've read."

The two girls fell silent then, with Viola picking up her pen to return to her writing while Lillie glanced away, gently tapping her fingertips together. Lucario and Nebby also did nothing in the meanwhile, with the former watching its friend with drooped eyes and the latter staring up at its own friend with the occasional blink. It was obvious to both Pokemon that Lillie and Viola were quite comfortable around each other, but weren't close enough to keep up normal conversations, even despite some of the heartfelt ones they'd already had. Although Viola couldn't deny that she had picked up on the strange similarities between the two of them since living in Alola for the past week… But those weren't the thoughts that she found herself plagued with as she focused on her notebook and not make any effort to write in it, doing her best to avoid eye contact while Lillie glanced around in search of something she could fixate on away from Viola's general direction.

'Since our run in with those grunts, Lillie has been spending all her time in the house. She hasn't tried to return to Mahalo Trail at all, to the point where she even rejected an offer to accompany me and Lucario to Iki Town to check in on Hau yesterday. She knows the two of us can protect ourselves against Team Skull now, so I doubt she's afraid of them specifically…'

It didn't take long for Lillie's eyes to lock with the blank envelope resting on the table, causing the mental image of that photograph she saw to appear in her thoughts. Viola remained unaware of this, subconsciously tapping her chin with the end of her pen while continuing to dwell in her thoughts.

'I know she still wants to go see those ruins, but she seems really reluctant to after what happened. I can understand if the kahuna and professor having other things to attend to is the reason she's been put off, but… she wouldn't stop being so hard on herself during that conversation we had. She blamed herself for what happened to Lucario and Nebby when it got stuck on Plank Bridge.'

Viola's gaze drifted to the Nebula Pokemon in question, who had since shuffled closer to Lillie's middle and cuddled up to her front with a wide grin. 'I hope Team Skull hasn't planted the idea that she's a burden to me and Hau, which is why she hasn't bothered asking either of us to take her anywhere. The last thing I'd want is to see her coop herself up in the lab and-'

"You and your mother don't look much alike."

Viola's train of thought was interrupted by Lillie's quiet comment, causing her to blink and raise her gaze to the latter's green eyes. "Huh?"

"The two of you don't look like you're related at all. I never would have guessed the woman in the photograph was your mother if you hadn't told me."

Viola gave a small smile at that, her mouth twitching slightly at the heat she could feel rising to her face, flushing her cheeks a little. "That's because I take after my dad. My mom and I have little in common, both in appearance and personality."

"Really?"

"Really." Viola returned her pen to the table and leaned back against the sofa, crossing her arms over her stomach. "What about you?"

Lillie blinked at the question. "What about me?"

"Which parent do you take after?" Viola frowned after processing her question, quickly adding on "If you don't mind me asking, of course," after suddenly remembering Lillie's reaction the last time she brought up mention of family. She didn't want to go upsetting the girl again, after all.

Lillie looked down at Nebby in her lap as she fell into thought, reaching a hand up to gently stroke at the Nebula Pokemon's cloud-like body. "I suppose I mostly take after my mother. Although others say I have traces of my father too. Not that I would know…"

Viola hadn't expected Lillie to answer her at all so when she did, her brows raised. At hearing Lillie's latter remark trail off though, the blonde was quick to sit up, opening her mouth to prepare to change the topic. However, Lillie soon beat her to it, turning to Viola with a furrowed brow. "Does your mother know you're here in Alola?"

Viola's mouth fell open a little, being caught off guard by the question. After a few seconds of staring and a quick blink, she closed her mouth and righted her posture, giving herself a moment before responding. "Of course she does. In fact, she insisted I come here."

Lillie's eyes widened, her hand going to her chest. "She did? Even though she knew she'd be apart from you for a year?"

Viola nodded and clasped her hands together in her lap, a small smile coming to her face as she glanced at the holo caster resting on the table. "… Things haven't been great back in Kalos for the past five months and it's taken a toll on me and my friends. But compared to them I'm the worst off. I suppose Mom noticed. She wouldn't stop trying to convince me to take this experience the second it was offered to me." She chuckled and rubbed at the back of her neck. "I know she didn't really want me to go, yet she was sure coming to Alola would help. And the idea that I could still talk to her using the holo caster probably put her at ease a bit." Viola's eyes drooped at the blank, black screen. "Although that turned out to be false. Professor Sycamore has likely explained the situation to her by now. If I can't find another way to speak with her, I'll consider writing a letter. It's only fair I tell her how I'm getting on."

The entire time Viola talked Lillie sat there and listened to every word, her gaze never leaving the other girl. By the time Viola had finished though, she pulled her arm closer to Nebby as if to bring it in for a hug, which the Nebula Pokemon reacted to with a quiet squeak. It could see Lillie's eyes were drooped as she stared down at it, her lip quivering. "… I see. Your mother really loves you, doesn't she?"

Three loud knocks at the front door cut the conversation short, making Lillie and Nebby flinch and squeal while Viola and Lucario turned their heads to the source with a simultaneous blink. The group of four remained where they were until a muffled yet familiar and cheery sounding voice called out from the other side—a voice Viola and Lillie both recognised as Hau's.

"A-lo-la! Anyone home?!"

Viola and Lillie briefly exchanged glances as they stood up, the pair frowning in unison as Viola headed for the door and Lillie scooped Nebby into her arms.

'Hau's here? I don't recall the professor mentioning any visitors coming today…'

When Viola opened the door, she was met with the sight of Hau grinning and holding out his palms together in front of his chest, only to move them apart in a motion that resembled an arch. "Hey there, Viola! The salty breeze sang to me and brought me here to you!"

Viola's brow raised at the remark, followed up with a forced blink. "Uh… What?"

Hau chuckled and gave the blonde a light pat on her closest shoulder. "Just kidding! Nice to see ya!"

Viola managed to force a chuckle as she prepared to step aside, allowing Hau to get a glimpse of the inside of Kukui's lab. The young boy gaped and looked around the room with wide eyes as he stepped inside, doing a full three-hundred-and-sixty degree turn on the heels of his feet. "Whoa-ho-ho! This is the prof's lab?! Awesome!"

"Have you never been to Professor Kukui's lab before?" Viola asked as she closed the door and followed Hau towards the middle of the room.

"Not until now, no!"

Hau eventually stopped when his gaze landed on the ladder leading to the loft, prompting him to give it a quick look up and down with a loud gasp. "Is that a loft?!"

The young boy went to run straight for the ladder but was immediately intercepted by Lillie when she dashed in front of him with Nebby still in her arms. "You can't go up there!" She shrieked, forcing Hau to fall still as she took on a wide stance before the ladder and closed her eyes tight. "That's where Viola and I sleep! It's private!"

"Oops. Sorry, Lillie. My mistake," Hau replied, causing both Viola and Lucario to stare with slumped shoulders at the fact he appeared unfazed by Lillie's reaction. This even included when the boy bent down to Nebby's level and tickled the Nebula Pokemon under the area where its chin probably should have been, a big smile on his face as he spoke in a cooing tone. "And how's Nebby?"

'Geez. This kid isn't easily fazed by much, is he?'

Lillie answered on the Pokemon's behalf as Nebby giggled and waved its arms around a little at the interaction. "Nebby's been well. Although I suspect it's a little bored from being cooped up in the lab recently…"

Hau nodded and pulled away, his voice returning to normal as he righted himself. "I get that. Nebby's a curious lil' thing."

Viola loudly cleared her throat and took this chance to step into the conversation, getting Lillie's and Hau's attention. "So, Hau, what brings you here? Are you looking for the professor?"

Hau shook his head and quickly glanced between the two blondes. "Nope! I was actually looking for you two."

Lillie and Viola glanced at each other with a blink, speaking up at the same time. "Us?"

"Uh-huh." Hau jogged over to the seating area and slipped his backpack off, placing it upright on the table beside where Lucario was. As he continued talking, he briefly ruffled at the Aura Pokemon's fur on top of its head, making Lucario scowl and flatten the bits of fur that stuck up after Hau pulled away with its paw. "Gramps gave me an errand to run on Route 2 and I was hoping you two would join me, if you're not too busy."

"An errand on Route 2?" Lillie repeated, approaching the table along with Viola when Hau unzipped his bag and stuck a hand inside. "You mean the path past Hau'oli City leading to the northern parts of the island?"

"The very same!"

"Why would the kahuna send you through there?"

Hau pulled his hand free from his bag and swirled around to face the two girls with a teeth-baring grin, holding up a small grey object in between his index finger and thumb with his other hand on his hip. "To deliver this!"

Viola leaned forward and squinted to get a closer look at the tiny object, identifying it as a grey crystal with two black circles of different sizes on it upon closer inspection. 'What is that?'

Lillie soon answered Viola's internal question when she copied her actions, a hand going to her chin. From her arms Nebby was staring wide eyed and agape at the Z-Crystal. But Lillie caught this from the corner of her eyes, prompting her to pull Nebby closer to her person with her other arm as a precaution. "Is that a Z-Crystal?"

"Yup! A Normalium Z! It's cool, isn't it?"

Viola's brow furrowed as she and Lillie righted themselves, repeating the two unfamiliar terms like a Chatot mimicking another Pokemon. "Z-Crystal? Normalium Z?" She turned to Lillie. "I don't understand."

"Normalium Z is the name of the Z-Crystal Hau is holding," Lillie explained. "It allows a Normal type Pokemon or a Pokemon with a Normal type move to use a Normal type Z-Move. At least… according to what I've read." Lillie smiled slightly and tilted her head to the side. "It's connected to the Z-Power Professor Kukui has researched into."

Viola's eyes widened slightly at recalling her conversations with Kukui four days prior. "Oh yeah. He vaguely mentioned that. And about "Z-Rings" when we were discussing Mega Evolution." The blonde saw Lucario stand and put its face close to the Z-Crystal, its nose twitching when it loudly sniffed at it. "He said Z-Rings function like Mega Rings. That means this "Z-Power" is likely related to the bond between a Pokemon Trainer and their partner… right?"

Lillie opened her mouth, yet she never got the chance to say a word. Because a certain Pokemon Professor was quick to jump in and cause Lillie to flinch. "Good guess, Viola! You're very attentive!"

The children turned their gazes to the basement stairs to see Kukui approaching them. During this time Nebby tried to lean as close to the Z-Crystal as it could; however, Lucario noticed and gently pushed a paw into the middle of its forehead to keep it back, its eyes narrowing. The Aura Pokemon had learnt its lesson from last time…

"P-Professor!" Lillie stuttered, puffing her cheeks out and scowling. "It's rude to eavesdrop, you know!"

Kukui chuckled. "I wasn't, Lillie. I came up here to get a drink and happened to overhear your conversation." The professor waved a hand at Hau out of acknowledgement as he stopped between the two girls. "Alola, Hau! I thought I heard you. How are you and Popplio getting along?"

Hau pumped a fist in the air. "We've been great! Our training over the last four days has really paid off. Popplio and I have gotten closer every day."

"Good! That's what I like to hear!" Kukui turned his attention to Viola then, placing a hand to her shoulder. "But back to you. Z-Power and Mega Evolution aren't much different from each other. They both rely heavily on a Pokemon Trainer and their partner clearly communicating their feelings between one another. However, unlike Mega Evolution, Z-Power transfers these feelings into powerful energy, allowing Pokemon to use special moves that are much stronger than their regular ones in battle. In other words, what we usually call a "Z-Move"."

Lucario's ears twitched at this revelation as Kukui pulled away from Viola and held out his left wrist, revealing a thick white bracelet with a shape on top that matched the shape of the Z-Crystal Hau was still holding. "To use a Z-Move, a Pokemon Trainer needs to have a Z-Ring like this one," He tapped the top of it with an index finger. "and a Z-Crystal to place here. You and your Pokemon also need to learn the name and the pose assigned to that Z-Move, as well as making sure you have a compatible Z-Crystal and Pokemon or move type."

Viola's brows raised at the latter remark, with Lucario tilting its head as it stared longingly at the Z-Ring. "Pose?"

Hau nodded and balled his hands into fists, bringing them into his front. "Uh-huh! Like this!" Viola, Lillie, Lucario and Kukui watched as Hau spread his legs apart and stretched his right foot behind him, bringing his left foot forward. He positioned his left fist close to his side while punching his right fist forward, donning a scowl on his brow before speaking up in a deep and serious voice. "Crabrawler, use "All-Out Pummelling"!"

Viola and Lucario stared on at Hau with multiple blinks as they tried to process what Hau had just done. But Lillie and Kukui knew exactly what Hau was doing, prompting the former to shake her head with a quiet sigh and the latter to laugh and slap a hand against his thigh before saying anything. "That was actually a good impression of Hala!"

Hau broke out into a grin and closed his eyes, only relaxing his stance when Viola finally found the words to speak. "What was that?"

"The Fighting type Z-Move and pose my Gramps uses. Awesome, huh?"

Viola didn't say anything to that, prompting Kukui to laugh again and pat her on the shoulder. "Don't worry. You'll understand once you get to see a Z-Move in action. Which I suspect will be very soon." Kukui turned to Hau then. "Although speaking of which… I overheard you say Hala wanted you to deliver that Normalium Z to Route 2. Is it for Verdant Cavern?"

"Yeah," Hau answered, holding up the Normalium Z between his finger and thumb again. "Apparently Ilima doesn't have any left for his trial and Gramps is too busy with his kahuna duties to deliver it. So, he asked me to take it to 'im." Hau glanced between Lillie and Viola then, with the latter briefly frowning at the unfamiliar name and place recently brought up. "I stopped by to see if Viola and Lillie wanted to tag along."

Lillie allowed Nebby to float out of her arms as she went to fold them across her chest, with the Nebula Pokemon taking the opportunity to move close to the Z-Crystal again with quiet babbling. "But why? Viola and I haven't been anywhere near Route 2 since coming to Melemele Island. And you have Popplio to protect you."

And at that, Hau forced a smile and rubbed at the back of his head with his other hand, slowly turning his gaze away to stare at the ladder nearby. His next words were almost a mumble, yet still audible enough for Lillie and Viola to make out. "I know. But… I was kinda hoping you two could help me with my training for the island challenge."

Both Viola and Lillie widened their eyes at this, the pair speaking at the same time after exchanging quick glances. "What?"

Kukui decided not to say anything, choosing to observe the three children silently with his arms folded. So when Hau didn't answer it was Viola who pressed him for one, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Why do you want our help? Neither of us are Pokemon Trainers. And when I came to see you the other day, you and Popplio were doing great. Which you also just told the professor."

"I-I know. It's just…" Hau trailed off as he faced the two girls again, his smile finally disappearing as he focused on Viola. "I remember what you said the other day, about your Pokemon journey. I've watched many of my Gramps' matches against other island challengers when I was little. But I can bet you got to see a lot more battles than me through your friends, so you probably know tons of techniques that I've never seen before."

Viola gaped slightly, stuttering as she attempted to reply. "W-Well, tha- that's true…"

Hau turned to Lillie then. "And Lillie, you're really smart! You know lots about Pokemon from the books you've read and take good care of Nebby too! I'm always learning new stuff from you, even though my Gramps has taught me a few things as well."

Lillie covered her cheeks with her hands when she felt them heat up, quickly looking down at her shoes as she also tried to respond to Hau. "I-I suppose you're right, b-but…"

Hau frowned as he turned around to return the Normalium Z to his backpack, keeping his back to the trio behind him for now when his tone became serious. "My overall goal is to beat my Gramps. He has years of experience and knowledge under his belt though. If I'm ever gonna win, I need all the help I can get. So Viola, Lillie," Hau put his hands together at his front and quickly swirled around, bowing his body as low as he could. "will you please come with me to see Ilima?!"

Viola and Lillie stared at Hau in silence, neither of them daring to say a word as they processed everything Hau had just said. That didn't stop Viola from voicing her thoughts internally though.

'Wow. Hau sounds desperate, compared to when I'd spoken to him the other day. He was confident when talking about how he and Popplio were doing, and he'd even boasted about searching for a second Pokemon to join his team. I can't help wondering what might have brought this on…'

But as much as Viola wanted to do question it, she decided now wasn't the time. Instead she looked up at Kukui still standing behind her, while Lillie stared down at her braids as she fiddled with them. Hau remained bowed forward in the meantime; although he did raise his head to peek at their reactions. "Um… Professor, what do you think?"

Kukui smiled widely and closed his eyes, giving a shrug of his shoulders. "Well, that's not for me to say. It's your decision, isn't it?"

Viola leaned back with a blink. "Really? Don't you need me and Lillie here?"

"Not today. And if you run into any trouble, there's a Pokemon Centre located on the trail to Verdant Cavern. So, if you want to go with Hau, just make sure you take Rowlet with you."

With Kukui's confirmation and permission, Viola and Lillie locked eyes for yet another time that day, prompting the former of the pair to smile. "What do you say, Lillie? You wanna give Hau a hand? It might do you some good to get out of the house for a day."

Lillie closed her eyes and pressed her lips together for a few seconds before daring to open an eye, happening to glance in Hau's direction when the boy stared up at her with a tilted gaze of his own. "… I suppose it couldn't hurt." Lillie briefly looked at Nebby, who was silently staring at her from where it had since moved to Lucario's side. "Nebby has been cooped up too. It could use a change of scenery."

"Then it's settled." Viola grinned, turning to Hau with her hands on her hips. "If Lillie's in, then so am I. We'll come with you."

Hau let out a triumphant laugh and straightened himself out, a wide grin of his own coming to his face as he jumped and pumped a fist in the air. "Thanks a lot! This is gonna be so awesome!"

"Uh-huh. But at least give us a chance to prepare first." Viola's grin dimmed to a smile as she dared to glance in the direction of the table behind Hau. "I have to pack my bag up again."

"Me too," Lillie added, her own gaze wandering to her shoulder bag on the kitchen counter. "I need to stock up on repels and medicine."

Hau chuckled and moved to collect his backpack off the table, slipping his arms through the straps. "You got it. I can't wait to show you all the cool stuff at Big Wave Beach too! It's not that far away from-"

Viola chose that moment to tune out Hau as she went to collect her stuff from the table, with Lillie nodding to Hau's rambles when she prepared to move for her belongings. However, after picking up some of the items, she paused when she got to her open notebook, her eyes drooping as they locked with the written notes she'd made about Rowlet.

'It looks like I'm playing "notetaker" for another trainer again. I didn't expect it would happen again so soon.'