Chapter 48 – Arc 4 (Poni Island) Winds of Change

"I'm sorry."

Hanging her head, Selene really wished he would stop saying that. She had been enjoying the Malie Garden, the quiet breeze, alongside Bowtie. The Decidueye had been lethargic in the last week or so. Not that Selene could blame him… She felt the same. Sweeping her blue-gray eyes across the rolling, grassy hills of Malie Garden, intersected by the occasional stream and rivulet, she felt cold and empty. The occasional trainer or local passing by her was enough to make her look sharply away and eye the ground and wonder how they could carry on so normally. Logically, she knew what had happened at Aether Paradise was far more personal for her than most native Alolans—for them, it was merely an exciting story and hell, for some, they believed those 'damn Galarians' had gotten 'what they deserved'—but the more reptilian parts of her brain couldn't wrap around it.

She refused to look at Kukui as he took a seat beside her on the wooden bench. He clasped a hand to her shoulder, and she flinched, expecting a vision, but nothing came. She almost sighed in relief at that. "I mean it, cousin," Kukui whispered. "I… I never had anything to do with your parents disappearing to Aether, nor do I know what they were doin' there, but I shouldn't have been pushin' so hard for you and your brother to head out on the Island Challenge with Lillie… Maybe if I hadn't done that—"

"Maybe if you hadn't have done that, maybe Elio would still be here, maybe Lillie and Hau would still be with me, maybe my parents would be held captive in international police custody—I know!" Selene abruptly snarled, wrenching her shoulder out of his grasp and glaring back at him with all the hate she could muster. And oh, how she had plenty of it to spare now. If she wasn't feeling numb and lifeless, she was downright pissed off. Those bluish eyes blazed with thunderous anger as she regarded him and the undersides of her forearms glowed ominously, even though no visions played out in the air for them to witness. "Stop bringing it up! Just shut up! It happened! It's over! Nobody can do anything to change it! I know!" Realizing her powers were starting to display themselves, she almost absentmindedly pressed her arms together to stomp out the glow. The reminder of her curse served to only make her think of the same thing that had been replaying in her mind ever since Nanu had led them to storm Aether Paradise.

All I had to do was grab Lusamine. That was the source of her anger. Truthfully, she didn't blame Kukui for anything, and deep down, she knew her incendiary words were unfair. But his constant, grating, annoying apologies just rubbed her last, raw nerves the wrong way.

Flinching under her outrage, Kukui swallowed hard. "I just want to do whatever I can to make this right, cousin… I was so lost in what I wanted for Alola, I… I didn't even realize I was just as stuck in my ways as everyone else here…" He chuckled uneasily and rubbed the back of his head. "Someone made me realize that lately. And knowin' Lillie was in danger…" He trailed off and sighed deeply. "And still probably is, considerin' she ran off to Poni and I can't get in touch with her…"

Putting her head in her hands, Selene almost regretted asking the question as soon as she did. "What are you talking about?" she almost begged, digging her fingers into her hair. Her arms had stopped glowing, at least.

There was some shuffling, as if Kukui were kicking his shoes against the earth. "I convinced the Kahunas to band together an' build a Pokémon League atop Mount Lanakila… It's a sacred spot, yeah… Related to some old myths…" He paused for a shuddery breath. "I wanted you two to go out on the Island Challenge with Hau and Lillie 'cause I knew you and your brother wouldn't be put off from a League like most native Alolans would, yeah. I knew Hau was kinda isolated from everyone else, 'cause he was always alone, an' I hoped Lillie would get close to you all and you'd grow to be good friends…" Snorting in morbid amusement, he muttered, "Mostly did that 'cause I didn't want you and Elio to run screaming once you realized just how screwed a lot of Alola was, yeah… You, Elio, and Hau were s'posed to challenge the League first, give it some validity, show the Kahunas that it was a good idea."

Peering through her fingers, Selene just blinked. "Are you telling me that you did all of that, throwing Lillie out, scaring the hell out of us with your Lycanroc before—that was all for politics? You… just wanted to push some agenda at the Kahunas?" Her hands falling away from her face, Selene's jaw slowly fell open in disbelief.

Getting up off the bench and shuffling away from her, Kukui ashamedly mumbled, "…Yeah… That's right, yeah."

Leaping to her feet, Selene got into his face and she pushed him. Both hands outstretched, she shoved him, hard, against his bare chest. "How is everyone here so awful?" she demanded, intending it to sound forceful, angry, but the way a lump rose in her throat and her eyes watered, it came out more as a broken sob. Yet, her eyes lit up furiously again—but this time, literally. They blazed golden, as did her arms again, and she clenched her fists, planting them at her sides. She already knew what she was about to say was unfair, but she was too overwhelmed and upset to care. "You know, I almost think you're as bad as Aether!"

As if dumbstruck by her accusation, Kukui floundered for something to say, but all he did was sputter incoherently as images formed in the air around him. They were various memories of Selene's, of her journey throughout Alola, mostly of the rare occasions in which she, Elio, Lillie, and Hau had found time to laugh and simply talk to one another. Selene hadn't summoned them on purpose, but hadn't the energy to devote to stopping them.

"You're so two-faced!" Selene exclaimed, her voice cracking halfway through. "You—you—you claim to want to help, but had you never showed your stupid face at our door—hell, had you never even talked to my mother, maybe we'd have never even shown up in Alola! Maybe Elio would still be here, maybe my parents would be, maybe I wouldn't be this freak of nature that can do this!" She vaguely waved her hands at the imagery forming in the air around both of them. "And who knows what's become of Lillie! She said you took her in and told her you wanted to help her, to take care of her! And when it was useful for your stupid political agenda, you kicked her out on her ass!"

Although he had started shaking his head, the more she spoke, he suddenly fell still. Then, he closed his eyes and dipped his head in acceptance. "You're absolutely right, Selene… And I wish I could do more to fix it, but… all I can do now is just… apologize…" His voice trembled as he whimpered, "And I really, really, really am sorry, cousin…"

"Sorry doesn't fix it!" Selene sniffled, wiping her face, inwardly cursing herself for breaking down again so easily. Looking down at the ground, she realized there was a puddle of water formed below her. That wasn't uncommon. Malie Garden was full of errant pools of water. But looking down at her reflection, she was taken aback by how she didn't recognize herself. Her hair was unkempt and tangled, her skin paler than usual, and her face was almost gaunt. Eyes puffy and red from emotion, she looked nothing like how she remembered. Then, she froze as she swore she saw someone else in the reflection: Elio, standing just behind her. Yelping in shock, she jumped away, nearly falling over, but Bowtie caught her with a swift shadow.

"It doesn't," Kukui softly agreed with her words, though he had opened his eyes and was looking wildly between all of Selene's summoned visuals with the most regretful expression on his face Selene had ever seen.

Unable to get the image of Elio out of her mind, Selene just clenched her eyes shut, trying to fight off the memory of him hugging her and pressing his forehead to hers back at Aether Paradise. "Selene, let go," he had said. She ground her teeth. "Apologies don't fix it," she whimpered, fending off the visions, "but finding Lillie and making sure she was okay… That would at least be a start."

"She wants nothing to do with me," Kukui whispered, tone raw and pained. "I'm sure of that, cousin…" Briefly opening her eyes, Selene saw him practically hug himself, and he seemed to be staring at his wedding ring mournfully. "I have a habit of doin' that to people…" She felt a prickle of annoyance at how he somehow had turned the conversation back to him. She was absolutely amazed by Kukui's ability to be so selfish without meaning to. It almost drove her to fly off the handle at him again… but solemnly, she wondered if that was really what she was upset about, or if that selfishness reminded her of how she had given Elio instructions that had led him to his downfall.

Selene, let go. Her brother's voice echoed in her mind again and she just felt a deep, sad pang of despair. Fleetingly, she wondered what being so miserable and numb meant for her lost brother… What had she survived for? No… She almost shook her head. What did he die for if I do nothing now?

Instead, she just took a deep breath, steadying her frayed emotions. "The right thing to do," she shakily said, unsure if she was talking to Kukui or herself anymore, "would be to find Lillie…" Blinking fervently, she tightened her balled fists. Selene, let go. "And if you aren't going to do it, then… maybe I should…" She sniffled and wiped her face again, desperately trying to get a grip. Or perhaps to let go… to let go of all the pain, anger, hurt. Selene, let go. "Maybe Hau, too…" A cold shiver ran up her spine as she remembered seeing what had become of Popper, Hau's beloved starter… Stamping her foot in determined frustration, she steeled her voice, and said, "I won't give up."

There was a long stretch of time where Kukui simply stared at her. "I hope for yours and everyone else's sake, that's true," he finally admitted, smiling brokenly at her, his eyes watery with emotion.

Remembering Elio… Selene, let go.

And thinking of what Tapu Koko had told her the last time she had spoken to him… You have the power to see them, to understand them, and to speak them, and Hau has the power to make others listen…

Selene made the solemn decision that she had to pick herself up and keep going. She had to persevere because she was the last hope Alola had—or, no; she and Hau, with Lillie's help, were the last hope that Alola had. She could see it plainly. With her family gone, with even Kukui having given up on his two-faced, political crusade, with how broken Tapu Koko had appeared last time she spoke to him, with Lusamine's fate unknown, she recognized that they couldn't stop. Although she was listening to Elio's dying message to let go of all the pain and numbness, she wouldn't let go of the mission that had been laid before her. She wouldn't let go of Lillie and Hau. She wouldn't let go of her gift and let it consume her. She wouldn't be another victim of these cruel, cruel islands.

Stroking Bowtie's head and tightening her grip on her backpack, Selene narrowed her eyes at Kukui. "I'm going to toughen up a bit, and I'm going to find Lillie, Hau, maybe even Gladion, and I'm going to fix this."

Instead of asking what she meant, Kukui only nodded, still giving that weak grin. "Arceus be with you, Selene."

She found that an odd choice of words, but then again, she supposed Kukui didn't respect the Tapus anyway. At least she could appreciate the respect he was regarding her with now… Awkwardly, she dipped her chin back at him. "Thank you," she muttered, before she pushed past him to head out of Malie Garden.

Feeling the rain splash down over his face as he stared up at the cloudy, raging sky, Gladion figured that he should have headed inside, but he found the idea of returning to the Shady House stomach-churning. It wasn't a happy place anymore. Well, not that it had ever been a 'happy place' to begin with, but… He sighed. The playfulness he had noticed in the younger members of Skull, the overall atmosphere of familial attachment, was gone. It had sunk alongside Guzma and the rest of Aether Paradise. Plumeria had tried to assume control in his absence, but he could see she was different, too. With a contemptuous snort, he knew that was more than understandable; after all, she had lost not only Guzma, but her unborn child in the chaos aboard Aether Paradise, based on what she had told him about getting attacked by Type: Zero and how ill she had been in the days following. Makua tried to assist in helping Plumeria, but he was acting as exuberant and skittish as ever—he was clearly high off his ass, and Gladion assumed that meant he was taking Guzma's absence just as poorly. With the lacking leadership, the grunts around Po Town were starting to fall into disarray. They hadn't just lost their playfulness and sense of brotherhood. They had also lost their direction and attachment to Po Town. Gladion noticed many of them leave the town without talking to anyone and noticed many of them fail to come back, their whereabouts (and possibly their fate) unknown.

He just hadn't expected to become one of them.

But after just a little over a week in that suffocatingly unhappy environment, he had felt compelled to leave. With a little thinking as he felt the rain wash over his face, he realized he didn't want to be there anyway. Heart aching, he felt drawn to find Lillie again. She had refused to stick by him following the horrors aboard Aether Paradise and she had even snapped at him afterward. She was furious with him for having tried to reason with Lusamine back on Aether Paradise and for having fought with Elio so much during their interactions… and although at first he had felt betrayed yet again, feeling as if Lillie was being unfair, it dawned on him that his sister was just hurt after losing Elio in exactly the same way she had lost Mohn all that time ago. Just as before, all his anger at her had melted away, replaced with sheer guilt and sympathetic desire to comfort her, even though he knew she likely wouldn't have let him.

So, taking a deep breath, Gladion looked down at Null, and pulled his jacket a little tighter over himself. "Let's get out of here, Null," he told the pokémon, reaching a shivering hand to pet his head. He leaned back against the touch, and off they went. He had a long way to go, of course. Lillie had been dropped off on Poni Island after being released from Interpol custody. If he wanted to find her, he was almost certain he had to head to the most rural and borderline barren of Alola's islands.

He just hoped that, somehow, despite everything they had been through, they could learn to let go of the past… and move on together. Truth be told, he didn't want to waste away in despair, even as awful as the events aboard Aether Paradise had been…

He didn't want to just be another sad story lost to the warped Alolan islands.

Losing one's starter pokémon was not only a horribly painful experience, but it was a taboo one, as well. An Alolan's first pokémon dying in battle or due to cruelty was considered borderline unforgivable, and people who had gone through such a thing were even rumored to be cursed with bad luck. Combine that with a deep-seated guilt upon learning that Aether Paradise had sank after a fearsome surge of electricity had fried every mechanical and digital component on the entire island just after Hau had accidentally let fly a shockwave of electricity in his despair at Popper's death, Hau… was not doing well.

For the first week or so, he had retreated to Ula'Ula Island, and stayed far, far away from Selene and the others. Losing Popper still stung like a fresh wound. In fact, he felt as if his entire body were wounded, like perhaps his skin had been torn away. Everything felt just that much more painful. Looking at his friends, thinking of Aether Paradise, even thinking back to his electrical powers—it all just hurt.

Of course, being alone only exacerbated that problem. At one point, he found himself overlooking the sea at one of Ula'Ula Island's many cliffs. Sometimes, in a terrifying, fleeting moment, he would think of how easy it would have been to simply toss himself from the devastating heights and be lost to the watery depths below… Where he could be reunited with Popper at the bottom of the ferocious seas that had laid claim to Aether Paradise. But then his Talonflame, Mana, or his Umbreon, Ho'ololi, would nudge or nuzzle him, giving him worried looks with their round, soulful eyes, and he would feel such a hot flash of guilt for even considering something so horrible.

The loneliness, even with his pokémon's help, became too much to bear and he ended up winding his way back to Akala Island. As if on muscle memory, he found himself in the Lush Jungle, and he and Mallow were quick to befriend one another. Well… perhaps 'befriend' was a nice way to put it. Upon spotting her again, Hau hadn't been able to hold back the way his eyes lit up, or the sad smile that graced his lips. She had looked as beautiful as ever. "Alola, Mallow," he had almost whispered to her. She had excitedly waved a hand back at him, though she was noticeably apprehensive, as if unsure.

Well, their uncertainties were quickly lost as they talked (about anything except Hau's friends, Popper, or Aether), and talking turned to experimental, nervous kissing, which grew to confident, hot kisses, and that turned to… Well… Put simply, Hau soon learned where Mallow actually lived, and he became quite well-acquainted there. Konikoni City, over the next few weeks, became oh-so familiar, and Mallow's embrace and voice was welcome and soothing. He loved how understanding she was, how she didn't judge him for Popper's loss, how she had kept her promise to keep his electrical abilities a secret, and how she never brought up any of those topics that were just too painful to think about. She healed those metaphorical wounds across his body, reapplying his torn defenses, even if it was by totally ignoring them and making him feel good in other ways.

Yet, even as much as he enjoyed the limbo in which he lavished Mallow's company, deep down, he couldn't help feeling like it was merely putting a band-aid over his wounds. Popper was still gone; he, Selene, Lillie, and Elio were still separated; he still had the Island Challenge and his granddad to think about; Aether Paradise had still sank; he still had those electrical abilities to consider, and the looming fear of what would become of him if he and Selene didn't fulfill the destiny she had claimed Tapu Koko had laid out for them.

No, he couldn't waste away on Akala, languishing privately under Mallow's livening, pleasant touch, but as he snuggled up close to her in bed one of those many blurred-together nights, he wondered how on Earth he could pull away. Even though he had learned she couldn't heal such deep, emotional wounds as well as she could physical ones… He sighed and drank in her flowery scent as he nuzzled her perfect, soft hair, a scent laced with the earthy smells of the Lush Jungle and the various spices she cooked with. Maybe she couldn't heal those wounds, but damn, if her band-aids weren't good at making him temporarily feel as if everything were just okay…

Groggily, she lifted her head, and he heard her whisper, "Hau? Everything okay…?"

"Mm? Ae," he responded, nuzzling her a little closer. "Sorry. Didn't mean to wake you."

"I don't mind," she softly giggled, reaching a hand behind herself to soothingly stroke his arm.

I don't either, he thought distractedly, relaxing immediately under her touch. No, he wasn't going anywhere.

Clouds of ice billowed out around the battlefield as the Ninetales skidded away from his opponent, though his eyes lit up in glee as the midday Lycanroc was left reeling in the aftermath of the attack. Struggling to get back to its feet, the Lycanroc's legs shook, and its tail quavered with the effort, an outraged snarl escaping its jaws.

From behind the Ninetales, a girl pumped a fist into the air. "Good job, Ninetales! Finish it with a Dazzling Gleam!"

Raising all of its nine, flowing tails together above his back, Ninetales bent low and bared his fangs as his silvery-blue fur glinted together, producing a bright, shimmering light that abruptly grew to blinding intensity, coating the isolated Poni Breaker Coast in a flood of glittering light. The Lycanroc collapsed for real, its dazed eyes rolling in its skull, and the Ninetales fluffed out his fur in pride as he admired his own handiwork. Once satisfied the Lycanroc wouldn't be getting back to its feet, he whirled around and ran back to his trainer—well, his new trainer.

Lillie extended a hand to stroke the pokémon's head as he ran up to her, smiling down at him. "You did such a good job," she crooned to him. Although he enjoyed her pets and her attention, he couldn't shake the feeling that there was something sad about her smile… something off about her touch. Although her tone was happy, her eyes were always watery, and she had dark circles beneath them. Nudging back against her hand, hard, Ninetales wished that he could cheer her up. For some reason, a while ago, the boy they called Elio had vanished, and since then, it was Lillie that took care of him. Admittedly, he liked her better, because she was gentler, not as bombastic, and she… well, she actually took him out to fight other pokémon! Whereas Elio seemed content to let the Incineroar he called Macho do all the battling.

That wasn't to say he was glad he was gone, though… Licking Lillie's hand in an attempt to cheer her up, he then sat down on his haunches and cocked his head at her, giving a whine. He still wished he knew what had become of Elio… Macho, the Mudbray (who was a Mudsdale now), and a few other pokémon were now with Lillie as well. For some reason, though, Macho didn't talk to him. The Incineroar didn't want to fight anything, or even do anything, either. Lillie could only bring him out to feed and water him, and even then, Macho barely had any interest in that. Ninetales remembered pushing a bowl of food toward him with his nose and urging his friend to eat. With a solemn look from his golden-red eyes, the Inceroar had slowly bent down to do so, even though it seemed like the last thing he wanted to do.

Bending to her knees, Lillie laughed halfheartedly. "You're a good boy, Ninetales… but we should probably be heading to the Center for the night—"

He quit listening to her at that point, as he smelled something on the wind that made him jump up and raise his nose to the sky. His ears swiveled, straining to hear against the ambience of the coastline. Mixed in with the overpowering scent of the crashing waves of seawater on the beach, he could smell something else in the air, something familiar…

"Ninetales? What is it?"

It's Elio! Ninetales thought gleefully, recognizing the scent on the air. With an excited bark, he started to run, chasing that scent like a dream. He flew across rocky terrain, through the occasional patches of tall grass, and found himself running down the myriad of docks at that village by Poni's shore. People jumped out of his way and called out in shock as he rushed by, but Ninetales had a mission. He halted as he reached the source of the scent, and looked up, expecting to see Elio. Yet, he almost whimpered, as the person standing ahead of him was not Elio, but the girl that smelled deceptively similar to him—Selene.

She reared away from him, almost flinching. "H-hi, there, fella…" she mumbled, awkwardly then reaching a hand to pet him. Crestfallen that it wasn't Elio as he had been hoping, Ninetales just deflated under her touch, letting her pet him however much she liked. Within a few minutes, though, he heard the clattering of hooves, and tossing a look over his shoulder, he saw Lillie riding astride Mudsdale. When she and Selene's eyes met, Ninetales immediately sensed a tension in the air, and he shuffled out of the girls' lines of sight.

"Selene," Lillie whispered, voice barely audible. Her eyes abruptly dropped to the Mudsdale she was riding, anxiously stroking the pokémon's neck.

"Lillie…" Selene trailed off, or perhaps her words were choked off. "It's been so long. I'm so glad you're alright… Nobody could figure out how to get in touch with you…"

"Nobody?" Lillie questioned. "Does that mean you… were talking to others…? I just see you…"

"Gladion is around. He stopped by the Pokémon Center," Selene explained. She tucked her hands in her pockets and cleared her throat uncertainly. "Lillie… I want to try finding Hau, and keep traveling the islands…" Swallowing hard, her eyes darted between Ninetales and Mudsdale both. "I-I see you've been busy training, too…"

A long pause. Ninetales worriedly nudged Selene, then turned back to Mudsdale, looking up at Lillie. When her green eyes met his blue ones, he whimpered and pawed at the docks. Giving her a soft bark, he shook out all his fur after. Why is it just Selene? Where is Elio? he wanted to ask her, frustrated at his inability to. I smell him on her, but it's so faint… and she smells so much like him, but she's not him… I never even got to know him that well… Why do you hide him from me?

Lillie closed her eyes. "They're not my pokémon."

"Huh?" Selene gave a start of surprise. "Wh-what do you mean?"

Lillie sounded like she might start crying, and that made Ninetales worriedly jump up, leaning his front paws against the Mudsdale. Mudsdale failed to react, just scuffing a hoof against the docks. "They're Elio's," Lillie admitted, a few tears streaking down her face. "B-back at… at Aether… he rolled his Poké Balls down before he went to you…"

"You… you picked them up?" Selene sounded breathless. She shook her head in disbelief. "Wh-why did you just, run off to Poni, why didn't you—"

Starting to sob harder, Lillie despaired, "I just… I shouldn't have been so defenseless… If I had had any pokémon, anything, to face that Type: Zero with in the first place… maybe all of everything that happened those months ago wouldn't have happened… Maybe Elio would—"

Ninetales cut her off with a bark. Yes, Elio! he thought exuberantly. He barked again. That's it! Where is he?

Heaving a deep breath to steady her emotions, Lillie looked away from him, as if she couldn't bear to meet the Ninetales' gaze. "So… I decided I'd take care of them… and I'd learn to battle…"

Selene scuffed a shoe against the docks. "Thank you," she glumly muttered after a few seconds. "I'm… I'm glad you're taking care of them… But we need to find Hau. Well… I need help finding him, anyway…" She stamped her foot and clasped her hands together in front of herself. "Lillie, I don't want us all to be alone anymore. I'm afraid of what's going to happen to us that way… I'm afraid everything that happened… it'll be meaningless, if we all just… fade away from each other…"

Mulling that over for a moment, Lillie finally said, "Yeah… I get what you mean…" She finally dared to look back down at Ninetales, giving the pokémon a weary smile. Ninetales just barked again in frustration at her. Why do you always look at me like that? he thought annoyedly. Where's Elio? "I think Hau is on Akala. I've only talked to him once since… well, you know… I think he's with Captain Mallow."

Puffing in relief, Selene nodded. "I'm glad you had some clue of where he was, because I wasn't sure where to begin looking… I talked to everyone in Iki Town already, and nobody had seen him…" She wrinkled her nose, then growled. "None of them seemed too much like they wanted to see him, either. Pricks."

"I'm sure news traveled about Popper even though people tried to keep it quiet," Lillie said, rolling her eyes. "There's some big taboo about that, losing your starter pokémon, here."

"Speaking of. How is Nebby?"

Ninetales yelped in surprise, jumping down off of Mudsdale, and when he glanced to his side, he saw the blond boy that reminded him of Lillie. He couldn't quite remember what the other humans called him, though… Still, it was exciting to see him again! Ninetales hadn't seen him since he was a Vulpix, after all! He rushed up to the boy but came to a skidding stop as he noticed the unfamiliar, scary pokémon at the boy's side. Its Skarmory-feathered head and brutal, draconic claws made Ninetales second-guess approaching, and he fluffed his nine tails instinctively to appear larger than he truly was.

"Gladion," Lillie almost squeaked. Blinking feverishly, she floundered, like she hadn't understood his question. "Oh, Nebby…" She grimaced. "He's still just… unresponsive… He's resting in the Nest Ball at the moment…" Awkwardly, she rubbed the back of her head. "How's Plumeria?"

"Bad," he scoffed, shrugging his shoulders. "Honestly, Po Town's… not in great shape…" Ninetales narrowed his eyes a little suspiciously as he noticed Gladion's lip curl into something of a snarl. "Not that it ever was to begin with, especially considering they kidnapped you, but still."

Selene shook her head. "We've got to find Hau. Then we're going to fix all of this."

"How?" Lillie and Gladion asked her practically in unison. They then awkwardly looked at one another, and Gladion pulled at his jacket collar, as if it were suddenly strangling him.

"I just wanted to find you," he mumbled to Lillie.

"I don't know yet," Selene interjected, "but I do know that Tapu Koko spoke to me a while back… and he said that I had the power to tell the stories of others, and Hau had the power to make others listen… I'll admit, I'm not really all that sure what he meant by that… But I do know that I need to try…" She shook her head. "Everything that happened to us on Aether can't be pointless… and it happened because I tried to do so much on my own… I didn't… I wasn't really working with everyone else like we were a team…" Selene gave a shuddery sigh. "I was wrong, but it can't be over. That's not what Elio…" She trailed off. "Nebby still needs help, we need to find Hau… Then, maybe I can figure it out…" Giving nervous looks between Lillie and Gladion, she beseeched them, "Will you both come with me…? If for no other reason than for us to be together? I meant it when I said I was worried about us being alone…"

As if on cue, Ninetales walked up to her and rubbed his body against her legs. I don't know what they're talking about, but I really wish they'd just take me to Elio already…

Lillie chuckled sadly. "I guess I can't say no to that," she teasingly mused, pointing out Ninetales.

Crossing his arms, Gladion shuffled uneasily and cleared his throat. "Wherever, uh, wherever Lillie goes… I'll go." He shuffled again. "I'm sorry for everything, in the past…"

"It's alright," Lillie shrugged, smiling nervously back at him. "Maybe it's time we just… let all of that go…"

Selene bent down, and gently scratched Ninetales' chest fluff, tilting her head sympathetically at him. "I'm glad you're all coming with me," Selene murmured. She suddenly hugged Ninetales, and he whimpered, not sure what to make of the gesture. Why are they all acting so strange? he thought worriedly. I like Lillie, but… I wish Elio would come and make them all stop acting so strange now… Yet, despite that, he uncertainly relaxed under Selene's embrace. "I've missed you all," she almost mewled, as if fighting off sobs.

Then, Ninetales noticed the Decidueye standing just behind Selene, his eyes narrowed suspiciously. Bowtie! Ninetales barked excitedly, startling Selene. Bowtie! You've gotta know something! Where's Elio? I mean, we didn't do much together, but still, it's been so long since I've seen him… at least he took me out of the Poké Ball to hang out sometimes, those other humans way back when I was a Vulpix before I met him sure didn't—

Bowtie jolted in surprise. You don't know? he asked in an owlish coo, tilting his head. Looking away, the Decidueye's face fell, looking so, so sad. He's gone… dead. Elio, Popper… And I don't even know where Macho is… our whole group fell to pieces after that scary island… He shut his eyes and wrapped his wings tighter around himself. I miss them so much, Popper and Macho…

What? Ninetales yelped in panicked disbelief, wrestling himself out of Selene's grasp. Jumping away from them all, he looked up at Lillie in disbelief. He's g-gone? He can't be gone! I mean, Macho's not gone, he's with us, so how can Elio be gone? Barking at Lillie, Ninetales shook his head, as if willing her to prove Bowtie wrong somehow.

Macho's not gone? Bowtie asked, ignorant to Ninetales' panic.

"Ninetales, it's okay," Lillie insisted, climbing down off the Mudsdale. She reached a hand out to gently pet his head, and he melted under her warm touch, even though he was still breathing heavily. She hugged him and shushed him. Distracted trying to comfort the panicking Ninetales, Lillie failed to notice Bowtie slink up behind her, and nudge a Poké Ball on her belt. The Decidueye flared his wings and jumped back, all of his feathers ruffling.

Macho! You're right! That's his Poké Ball! Bowtie's expression lit up. I'm… so glad to know at least he's still with me… I thought all of us were gone… It's… still so sad that Popper's gone, but…

But… then where's Elio? Ninetales whimpered, even though he was still accepting Lillie's comforting hug.

Bowtie flinched at the question. I think he's still gone…

"I think they're all still a bit freaked out, too," Lillie told Selene when she noticed the other's quizzical expression.

Bending down beside Lillie, Selene sadly forced a smile at the Ninetales. She slowly reached to stroke the pokémon's forehead. "What's wrong?" she asked gently. "What's wrong, Ninetales?"

When her palm met Ninetales' forehead, he froze, feeling strange in a way he couldn't quite describe. Selene's eyes glazed over, and something told him she wasn't quite there at that moment. Worried, he barked at her, trying to pull her out of her stupor. It took a few seconds for her to 'come back,' and she pulled her hands away, pressing her palms to her lap as she sat back on her knees.

"I miss Elio, too, Ninetales," she whispered, her eyes tearing up. "I'm sorry he's gone… I could see how much you missed him… All your memories I saw were of him doing little stuff with you…" She looked sharply away. "You were a bit confused by how angry he was toward… toward the end, but… you enjoyed him, even if you wished he would have tried battling more with you…"

See? Bowtie cooed as he pressed a wing to Selene comfortingly. She gets sad like that every time he is mentioned. Or angry… And I haven't seen him… He's gone.

Null, the pokémon at the blond boy's side, scuffed his claws against the ground, and he made a whirring, growling noise that was offensive to Ninetales' sensitive ears. He flattened them against his skull and wished that thing would just shut up. He didn't understand anything that creature had to say, and its voice sounded weirdly uncanny, as if it were speaking unintelligibly below a layer of white noise… Shaking his head as he ignored Null, Ninetales leaned further into Lillie's hold, then bared his teeth in a growl. Well, if Elio's gone, then we have to get him back!

That's not… Bowtie looked like he wanted to dispute that, but the Decidueye just shook his head and sighed dejectedly. Null also clawed the ground again, but this time, looked to be doing so more in frustration than anything.

"We should go," Selene said after a moment more, and she wiped her face clean of her freshly shed tears. "To Akala first, then? To get Hau?"

The others agreed, and Ninetales determinedly followed them. He was full of hope to prove Bowtie wrong and bring Elio back…

No matter where he had gone to.