Chapter 5 - Arc 1 (Melemele Island) Watch It

"Elio… are you going to come out any time soon?" Selene tiredly asked as she rapped her knuckles against his door again. Professor Kukui was outside once more and he wanted to show them back to Iki Town for a festival of some sort. Admittedly, Selene hadn't understood all he had said, but from what she gathered, it was to honor the local deity Tapu Koko for its efforts in saving Selene and Nebby on the bridge in Mahalo Trail. He had practically begged her and Elio to come along and insisted that Lillie would be there, too. Amusedly, Selene had wondered if that was supposed to encourage her or not. Lillie hadn't exactly seemed interested in making friends. Groaning in annoyance when Elio still said nothing, Selene finally wrenched the door open and saw him still in bed, scrolling on his phone.

"Go away," he hissed without looking at her and hunched his shoulders. His bed was perpendicular to the door and he was sprawled on his stomach, facing away from her, a thin white sheet drawn across his form, while his frost-colored comforter was strewn across the floor. Various photographs of Kantonian pokémon lined his wall already and his room looked homely, as if he had spent all night unpacking every last one he could find. Even though she had seen the pictures thousands of times before, she still was drawn to look to the framed images. For all his jokes and one-liners, Elio was brilliant with a camera and it showed in how crisp and vibrant each was. Unfortunately, few back in Kanto had appreciated his work and wondered how he could want to dedicate so much time to something so 'frivolous,' as they said. Even Dad sometimes had difficulty taking Elio's passion seriously. She got the sense Elio was not handling their move to Alola as well as he let on.

"Hey… can we talk?" she asked tentatively despite the bite in his voice. "This isn't like you. Hiding from everyone else."

"I hate it here."

"Elio… we've been here just a couple days…"

Clutching the sheets to his body as he dropped his phone to the mattress, Elio sat upright and scowled at Selene. "I tried to tell myself today would be better, but all I could think was that… I'm gonna have more moments like that. Where I misunderstand something someone's saying, especially with the Tapus or whatever, and then I'm the asshole. I came here to Alola with you all because if I stayed in Kanto, I'd literally have nobody, as it would turn out, because nobody will talk to me." He pulled the white sheet taut over his shoulders and hung his head. "I tried talking to like, four people this morning. None of them were able to or wanted to or… whatever. The time isn't that different there, they're only a couple hours behind, and I know none of them were too busy…"

Stunned into listening to him rant, Selene panicked as she tried to think of something to say. Elio was almost never serious with her about anything and for him to just burst with emotion like that was almost… scary. She uncertainly picked her way closer to him and took a seat on the end of his bed, causing him to shift instinctively to give her more room. "Elio…"

"And," he abruptly tore an arm free of his sheet and gestured to the pictures all around his room, "nobody takes any of this seriously. Back in Kanto, everyone laughed in my face because they didn't see pokémon as artful or anything like that. Just a measure of each other's strength. I think that's such a shame, and I thought Alola might be different, but as we're leaving the day we get our pokémon to go out on this challenge thing that's so desperately important, we're challenged to a battle. I don't want to battle anybody. But now, we gotta travel everywhere, and I don't think it's gonna be that different from Kanto. Lucky me."

Selene nervously clasped her hands together. "Elio, we just got here… Let's just go meet Kukui and head out to Iki Town again, okay? Remember the girl you were talking to? Wouldn't you wanna talk to her again?"

"She couldn't understand a word I was saying and I'm pretty sure she tried telling me she was sixteen," Elio muttered. "So, yeah, no thanks… And then that Litten would rather spend time with Mom and Meowth than me."

Selene rubbed her temple and chewed her lower lip anxiously. "Elio… you're scaring me a little… Just give it a few more days, okay? There's still got to be tons of people we haven't met here. You're making a lot of assumptions… I'm sure there's girls around your age or that Litten might just need more time to get to know you. Like you said, it doesn't know any better yet. You have to bond with it."

Elio sulkily brought his arms back against himself again, further cocooning in the white sheet. "Thanks, sis," he said tensely, in that way that told her regardless of whether her words had helped or not, he was done talking about it. She felt a pang of sadness at that. It was so rare for him to open up to her like that and, even if it had made her nervous, she had enjoyed that moment of honesty. She didn't dislike his humor by any stretch of the imagination—in fact, he made her laugh more than anyone else she'd ever met in her life—she just wished he wouldn't hide behind that entertaining façade. Yet, this was her older brother, and if he didn't want to talk about it anymore, she knew she wasn't going to be able to pry it from him. Trying to do so would ultimately just upset them both.

"Of course, El… Now, you gonna come with us to Iki Town?"

"Yeah… I'll just take a few minutes getting myself together."

Selene still didn't quite know what to make of her Rowlet. He was cute, to be sure, but he could have such a… dead-eyed stare, and his silent nature was unnerving. Elio's Litten at least mewed and purred on occasion and when she had seen Hau the day before, his Popplio was constantly barking. That wasn't to say she disliked Rowlet by any means, oh no; she just had no idea how to interact with it! She'd never had hands-on experience with anything quite like it. Aside from Spearow. She grimaced. She'd had so many unfortunate run-ins with Spearow, even before that fateful encounter on the Plank Bridge. She was certain Spearow owned any region they showed up in by sheer power of bad attitude.

"And that," Kukui beamed proudly as he showed off a gleaming Poké Ball in his left palm, "is how you catch a pokémon, yeah!"

Selene and Elio had tried to tell him they already knew, but he had showed them as if he didn't hear, much to Elio's chagrin, based on the way he tapped his foot and crossed his arms. Selene had just rolled her eyes and watched distractedly while Kukui pocketed a Slowpoke. Following that, he strutted ahead of them, urging them loudly to follow all over again.

"I hope he actually needed that Slowpoke for something and didn't just catch it to show it off to us, especially since we didn't need to be shown," Elio mumbled under his breath as he stalked after Kukui, his Litten darting after his heels. Selene wanted to be frustrated with his guarded concern, but she had to agree…

In school, she had focused on pokémon recovery and rehabilitation, which meant studying lots of gruesome images and unpleasant firsthand accounts of abuse—mental and physical. It had all started with an introductory text she had been assigned in an ethics course some years ago called Pokémon Psychology, the Ignored Science, written by the Unovan professor Bianca Goode. The book had blown open her mind to the damaging, long-term effects socially accepted trainer habits could have. For example, pokémon holstered in Poké Balls for long periods of time, such as weeks or months, often presented with nervous and clingy behavior and, in extreme cases, could even become self-destructive. In conclusion… she felt Elio's concern over whether that Slowpoke would see any use was perfectly valid. She guiltily admired him for being able to speak his mind, even if it made her self-conscious.

Well, perhaps it hadn't all started with that book. Even before taking that class in school, Selene had always looked up to Elio's disdain for the bloody sport of battle, and how he argued that gym challenges and Pokémon Leagues were an outdated rite of passage that just tested how good a person was at convincing their pokémon to harm themselves for the trainer's social benefit. She did recognize though that sometimes, he sounded almost conspiratorial, and she didn't think all battling was bad. She had read plenty of texts in her time since first taking that ethics class about how plenty of pokémon grew depressed when they were barred from battle, or how pokémon actively battled one another in the wild for fun, and it made it difficult for her to agree that all battling was wrong. She just… admired Elio's passion on the subject, even if she didn't always agree.

Her feet carried her after Elio and back into Iki Town. It was comforting to see that homely little village again. She was hit with a rush of surprise and excitement when she saw Lillie again, approaching Kukui wordlessly. Across the center of town, Hau was playing with his Popplio, waving a makeshift toy—a stick with a leaf attached to the end—in the pokémon's face. The Kahuna laughed hardily and approached Hau as he did, and he paused to talk to the burly man briefly. Beyond those faces she recognized, the town was still teeming with life. She was still admiring the beauty of it all when Kukui waved a hand in front of her face, pulling her from her stupor.

"Hey, cousins! Ole' Hala will be making an announcement soon, yeah, but I wanted to give you and Elio some stuff to help starting your challenge easier," Kukui said encouragingly as he held out a few Poké Balls and a small spray bottle of purple fluid out to her. Selene recognized it right away as a Potion.

"Oh, thank you," Selene answered right away. She accepted the handout like she was overlooking something alien rather than just a Potion. This probably didn't cost a lot, but still… so strange of him to buy us stuff when he barely knows us… She awkwardly pocketed the gifts and then froze as she felt Rowlet move from her shoulder and… onto her head. She looked up even though she couldn't see him and just laughed. "Uh, what do you think you're doing up there, dude?"

The Rowlet clicked its beak back at her and offered no other reasoning. She felt his tiny feet shuffle on her hat and she just laughed some more.

Elio accepted Kukui's gifts to him silently. Then, he noticed Lillie partially hiding just behind Kukui with her arm once again anchored tightly to her bag. When she realized Elio was staring at her, she glared back at him with equal force. Selene pursed her lips thoughtfully and then a smirk pulled at the corner of her lips. Maybe getting Elio to talk to this Lillie girl wouldn't be such a bad idea, after all. She knew Galarish well and even if she had been incredibly standoffish the last time Selene had seen her, she had also been injured and watched her pokémon nearly get devastatingly hurt. She was sure Lillie was much nicer when so much wasn't on the line.

Except clearly, she shouldn't have been so sure. Elio nodded to Lillie and, lacing his voice with a teasing edge, he remarked, "Oh, hey. What's your name again? I might need it when I try and find you an island boy, since you were so keen on talking about that last time…"

Lillie licked her lips and smiled back at him innocently. "Sounds good. Then we can share him. I hear Alolans are excellent at ménage à trois, as ironic as that sounds. But if you must know, my name is Lillie."

Selene slapped a hand over her mouth and felt so bad as she watched Elio's face redden immediately. Kukui muttered something in Alolan, looked to the skies, and made some sort of gesture over his heart. Selene giggled even harder then, imagining he must have been asking the Tapus for strength, as he finally turned back to Lillie and Elio. "Listen, cousin," he said as he looked to Elio, "Lillie here might have a mouth…" He pointedly looked at her as he said that. "But she knows Alola pretty well, yeah. She's my assistant, after all! I really think she could help you and Selene out a lot if she traveled with you, yeah."

"A horrible decision, really," Lillie dryly mused. She slicked a golden strand of hair back against her head and her arm holding her bag still twitched involuntarily. "See—"

"Lillie," Kukui cut her off urgently, "no need to bring that up, okay, yeah?"

"Sure, if you don't mind them becoming outcasts, Professor. They have a right to know," came Lillie's searing reply. She cast a confused Selene and Elio a dark look with those piercing, minty eyes. "I'm sure you've noticed by now that everyone in Iki Town avoids me like a plague. That's because I'm eighteen, never participated in the Island Challenge, and have no regrets about it." She shrugged like it didn't bother her at all. "Might make making friends hard for you two if you're with me all that often."

"You didn't?" Elio asked interestedly. Selene raised a brow at him and how his entire demeanor seemed to switch on a dime. "Why is that? It seems, uh… very important."

"It is, but some people are a little cruel about it, yeah," Kukui interjected hesitantly. He sounded so uncomfortable, like this was the last topic of conversation he wanted to talk about. "I… admit, I was hoping that by having Lillie tag along, people might be more accepting because you two aren't from around here. People would forgive that, yeah, and I think it's a real shame Lillie hasn't gotten out there at all, yeah."

"Make the foreigners all group up," Lillie drawled, "is that it, Professor?"

Selene looked to Kukui expectantly. She suddenly wasn't so sure what to think of the professor's suggestion. Like Lillie suggested, it sounded like he wanted to stick the three of them together because they were foreigners. She thought back to Hau the day before and how she genuinely hoped to get to know that boy better. Worriedly, she wondered if the divide between Alolans and themselves would become more than just an inconvenience for conversations… Was Alola socially segregated? She clenched her jaw. Oh, she had so many words for Dad next time she saw him! With every passing minute, more and more of what he had said about Alola seemed like utter fantasy.

"Lillie," Kukui desperately whined, "it's not like that. You know I like having you as my assistant, yeah! And I care for you no matter what anyone in Iki says." He cracked a lopsided grin and looped an arm around Lillie's shoulders, teasingly pushing her sunhat off-kilter and messing up her hair with his free hand. "Nobody in Iki is gonna tell me who I can or can't associate with, yeah."

"You're already an outcast to everyone that isn't a Kahuna or Burnet, Kukui, it's different for you, you utter quack," Lillie huffed, her amused playfulness betrayed by the smirk pulling at the edge of her lips. She finally fought the professor off and pointed a finger at him. "Why don't you go back to wrestling a Rockruff or two so I can have to call to get the roof patched up again, huh?"

Kukui put his hands behind his head and laughed obnoxiously. "Alright, you got me, yeah."

"So, what you're saying is, you don't have to do this Island Challenge thing?" Elio pressed Lillie, completely ignoring the rest of the conversation's details. His Litten yawned and stretched at his side. "Like… I mean… you didn't…"

Lillie gave him another expressionless glance. "Sure, if you want to commit social suicide." She stepped closer to him and Elio froze in surprise as she drew a hand to touch Elio's chin. "I don't think you wanna do that, do you, Casanova?"

"I—I mean, uh…"

Their… whatever it was they were doing was cut short by the Kahuna taking a stand on that wooden platform in the center of town and calling something in Alolan, and Selene was glad. The conversation was bordering downright uncomfortable and she wanted to focus on anything else. Kukui gestured for everyone to follow and he shuffled closer to the platform as it was surrounded by throngs of townsfolk. Selene glanced over her shoulder and watched as Lillie held back, clinging to the outskirts of the town as everyone else filed into place near the Kahuna. Although Lillie hardly looked bothered, the image didn't sit right with Selene. It felt wrong to see someone standing alone in the happy, active Iki Town…

"Today, we are gathered in honor of Tapu Koko, who just yesterday, blessed us with his presence again!" Kahuna Hala bellowed across the town. He followed up with something in Alolan and Selene surmised he was repeating himself in their native tongue for those that couldn't understand the Galarish. She nosily shouldered her way to the front of the gathered crowd around the platform and stared up at that burly man in something bordering on wonder. It wasn't that she found Kahuna Hala spectacular or anything, but she did think the way the townsfolk clung to his every word was intriguing. She just wanted to know more! "As the Tapu of Conflict, what better way to honor our guardian than with a pokémon battle? Before my grandson leaves for his Island Challenge proper, I want him to have a battle with the girl Tapu Koko so bravely saved. Island Challenger Hau and Island Challenger Selene, please step onto the stage!"

Kahuna Hala repeated himself in Alolan to the further excitement of the gathered townsfolk. Selene eagerly hopped onto the stage after hearing him call for her, experiencing a rush of excitement as she saw all the people cheering for her. She walked up to Kahuna Hala and he smiled warmly. Within seconds, Hau had joined them on the stage, his Popplio wrapped in his arms again. Grinning like his life depended on it, he waved his hand earnestly at her again, looking every bit as interested in her as he had the day before. "Nice to see you again!" he clamored.

His starry-eyed exuberance was contagious. Selene couldn't help but wave back at him just as jubilantly. "Nice to see you again, too, Hau! See, told you we could battle today!" she laughed.

"Now, Selene, Hau, I expect a mighty fine battle to repay Tapu Koko for his effort yesterday," Kahuna Hala teasingly told them both. "To Tapu Koko! Let the battle begin!"

He jumped from the platform and crossed his arms, watching carefully as Selene and Hau both sent forth their pokémon. Selene and Hau's eyes met as they both gave their pokémon their orders.

"Popper, Disarming Voice!"

"Rowlet, um… Leafage!"

Elio slunk away from the crowd as soon as the battle begun. He had no interest in watching Selene's Rowlet or Hau's Popplio bloody each other, even if their current attacks were too weak to do anything other than a flesh wound. He bent down to offer to pick his Litten up again, both shocked and relieved when he relented and allowed himself to be raised from the ground. That alone made Elio feel much better than he had for most of the day and he stroked the soft fur of the pokémon's forehead as he crept away from the crowd.

"You're not going to watch?"

He jerked his head up and saw Lillie giving him a critical stare. Cautiously, he said, "No… I don't like pokémon battles." Because they're barbaric and bloody and awful, but I guess I can save that for another time…

Lillie visibly jolted as he said that. "You… don't?"

"No…" He cocked his head at her and that stupid smile crossed his face again. "What, do you not like 'em either?"

"No. That was one of the reasons I didn't go on the Island Challenge," she answered guardedly, her moment of weakness over. She seemed to scan him, and Elio had the uncomfortable feeling she was sizing him up. "Why don't you?"

Elio couldn't help his sarcastic response. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

Lillie raised a brow at him and then smirked, circling him with a curious, wandering stare. He watched her dubiously and hardened his icy glare at her when she didn't say anything for a long time. "What are you doing?" he asked cagily.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" she taunted, flashing him a gleeful, white smile.

Elio thought he might have been dreaming. "Oh, oh, so that's how it is," he remarked coyly. I like her already. Do people really let a stupid Island Challenge tell them whether they can hang out with her or not? He pondered that for a moment. Well, even if I do get dragged into doing their trials or whatever, I sure as hell am not gonna let them tell me who I can or can't hang with!

Hau was shivering with excitement even though his Popplio had ultimately succumbed under the pressure of Rowlet's repeated Leafages. He had only had a couple of battles since receiving Popper, but they had all been a slog, with the other person bizarrely seeming guilty at having defeated Kahuna Hala's grandson. Selene, however, didn't know anything about that and her cultural blindness meant she had a genuine reaction upon defeating him. She bounced up and down and pumped a fist into the air, all while her Rowlet annoyedly clacked its beak at her since he was trying to nest on her hat again.

Hala called the match and declared Selene the winner. He stepped back onto the stage and laughed as he tried to silence the roaring crowd around the stage. He cast Hau an easygoing smile and Hau felt a small sense of relief. Although watching Selene celebrate her victory had been refreshing, he had worried about what Hala would have to say about his defeat, so he was thrilled to see there was no hard feelings over it. Bending down at last to the unconscious Popper, Hau touched his Poké Ball to one of his flippers gently. "I still think you did great, Popper. I'll heal you up and we can be back together in no time!" he informed the sleeping pokémon as the Poké Ball swallowed him back up.

Hala proclaimed the battle a worthy offering to Tapu Koko and Hau felt a swell of pride in his chest. Even if he had lost, he had at least managed to provide a spectacle! The crowd, even as it dispersed from around the Iki Town stage, radiated positivity. See, this is what battling's all about! he thought to himself happily. Now, I know that Selene will probably be my friend and that I'm doing what I need to be doing! This is great!

He impatiently waited as Hala called over Selene's brother and then gave them both their respective Z-Power Rings. He was doing his best to explain it all in Galarish and truthfully, Hau barely understood a lick of it. He just did all he could to be still and not interrupt until it was over. Although he was eager to get to know Selene better, he balked at the idea of interacting with her brother… Elio was tall and proud, or at least, that was the impression Hau got. He had a bladed tongue and an even sharper, piercing blue gaze that made Hau feel like shrinking beneath his judgment.

Kukui waltzed over at one point, accompanied by Lillie, and Hau averted his gaze from her decisively. He hated acting like he wanted nothing to do with her, but with Hala right there, he had no choice unless he wanted an earful that night about how it was inappropriate for him to be socializing with someone 'like her.' So, he eyed his orange sandals as Kukui and Hala explained more about the Island Challenge to the two Kanto teens. Selene sounded progressively more amazed while Elio seemed increasingly vexed.

Yet, it soon was over and Hala and Kukui both parted ways from the group on the Iki Town stage. Surprisingly, Lillie didn't follow Kukui. She had her lips pressed to a thin line as she eyed Elio and Selene. After ensuring Hala was busy elsewhere, Hau grinned ear-to-ear at her and goofily waved. "Hi, Lillie!" he beamed.

"Hey, Hau," she answered almost softly. Turning her attention back to Elio and Selene, chattering away in their native tongue, she cleared her throat. "Hey, you two."

"Yes, Mistress?" Elio teased as he whirled on a heel. Selene gave an ugly snort.

Lillie was unbothered by his joke… not that Hau understood it, anyway. "Kukui wants me to swing by your place tomorrow to bring you to his lab before you head out on your Island Challenge… which I guess I'll be joining you for."

Hau gaped. "You will?" he shrilly asked, nearly throwing Elio out the way in his fervor as he bounded closer to Lillie. Unaware of Elio's murderous glare, he continued, "That is great! And it will be away from Hala!"

Lillie nodded just slightly at him, knowingly. Even if they hadn't talked much, Hau always had the impression that Lillie understood him better than anyone else in Iki Town. Oh, how he craved to get to know her better. "Yeah. I guess getting to talk to you more won't be so bad, Hau."

Elio jostled Hau back—he hadn't realized he was still practically leaned up against the other—and Hau staggered to catch his balance again. He winced beneath Elio's fierce glare. What did I do already? Hau wondered with a twinge of desperation. I'm just excited to get to befriend Lillie without having to worry about Granddad Hala breathing down my neck, is all… Feeling as if he had offended Elio somehow, Hau decided to silence himself, and was caught off-guard by Lillie's borderline snarling tone as she addressed Elio.

"Alola is known for people helping one another out," she growled to the Kanto boy, "so, if you want to get along with people here, you might want to try it sometime."

Selene awkwardly shuffled her feet and looked away.

"He bumped into me!" Elio retorted defensively after a startled pause. It seemed he hadn't expected her defensive words, either.

"Elio," Selene sighed exasperatedly, "just let it go—"

"We haven't even left on your Island Challenge yet," Lillie said in a frighteningly low voice as she got into Elio's face, clearly undaunted despite her appreciatively smaller stature, "don't piss me off already, okay?"

Elio swallowed hard, nervously. "Right…" He cast Hau a furtive peek just past Lillie's shoulder. His cheeks flushed red. "Uh, sorry, Hau…"

Hau fidgeted his hands. He didn't like causing conflict. Cheerily, trying to defuse the situation, he offered, "It is no problem!" Then, he longingly glanced after Selene.

Maybe he could get her alone at some points during the Island Challenge and they could talk without Elio's oppressive presence there…

Elio: (is mean to Hau because he's showing interest in Lillie, and he's anxious that she won't show any interest in him if Hau's there)

Lillie: pull up Elio no balls, don't piss me off

Elio:

Lillie does not stand for Elio's shit and honestly, writing them makes me so happy hahaha. What do you guys think?