A/N

Hello again! Here is the first chapter of a little side project. This is another continuation for Caged Wings, though I also consider this one a standalone. Unlike Fallout which is more of a bridge between Caged Wings and its successor, this story doesn't really depend so much on the rest of the stories outside of using Caged Wings as the premise. I hope you enjoy it and if you have any interest in the series, please check out Caged Wings!

Chapter 1

'Alola, huh,'

Sunday, July 16th

Buy a plane ticket. 'How hard could it be?' she asked herself. Well, a plane ticket to Alola was not only expensive, but it required an interview which she had to pass to purchase it…on Cinnabar Island.

It was a quaint little place, though the locals didn't seem to be too friendly. She didn't really care to make friends in the first place, so their temperament didn't bother her. Her focus was on obtaining-that-plane-ticket.

The interview was set to take place at eleven-thirty in the morning in the hanger of the only airfield on the island. There was a small room way in the back that one of the mechanics led her to and they assured her that the interviewer would arrive shortly. That was twenty minutes ago!

She exhaled softly and tucked her hair behind her ears as she sat in the folding chair that was set up for her. The office stank of the rabuta berries that were growing in multiple pots. She wrinkled her nose at the sight of the hairy berries. Not only did they smell bad, but they looked unappealing. How could anyone enjoy those things?

There was some commotion outside of the office. Two male voices were going back and forth as they drew closer. At long last, the door opened and a rather young man entered the room with a clipboard in hand. He had shaggy hair, wore a light blue coverall and there was a small black bird Pokemon perched on his shoulder. For once, she wasn't familiar with a Pokemon.

"Alola," He said with a wave and his small Pokemon gave a chirp. She did enough research to avoid basic mistakes like this.

"Alola," She said the common greeting in return. He grinned as he shut the door to his office and took a seat behind his desk. He set down the clipboard and looked up and down one more time.

"Alrighty, my name Oliwa and your name is…" He made a gesture to her. She straightened up in her seat and crossed her legs.

"I'm Giselle," She stated and Oliwa gave a nod.

"Great, I guess we should start with a disclaimer. Nine out of every ten people don't pass this interview for one obvious reason. They don't love Pokemon, so I'll ask you the first question. Do you love Pokemon?"

"That goes without saying, I'm a Pokemon trainer," Giselle answered promptly.

"Trainer or not, tell me a little about your upbringing. Were you raised around Pokemon? Or did you get involved later on in life?" Oliwa went on.

"I grew up in Lavender Town. When I was seventeen, my dad found a Cubone in our basement. He was pretty hopeless back then, didn't know how to fend for himself or survive on his own. So, we kept him. We've been together for about seven years," Giselle explained, and Oliwa pulled out a pencil from his desk drawer to check off numerous boxes on her interview sheet.

"And how active are you as a trainer?"

"Very. When I turned twenty-one, Cubone and I moved to Vermilion City to pursue a career as a professional trainer there," Giselle went on. "We never started a professional career. I focused more on Cubone's development."

Oliwa raised his brow as he smiled at her.

"I see. What did you focus on?"

"The goal was always to get Cubone to evolve, so we practiced and battled daily. He's learned new moves, but we still haven't made it to our goal." Giselle said with a shrug.

"That's a lot of time invested to not reach your goal…" Oliwa noted. "Do you have any idea why you haven't reached your goal?"

Giselle tilted her head and gave it a moment of thought.

"I'd say that he hasn't practiced enough," Giselle answered, which earned a small snicker from Oliwa. She narrowed her eyes in response.

"Have you ever thought to ask Cubone why he hasn't evolved?" Oliwa asked in return.

Giselle sat in silence for a few moments. Had she ever done that? She couldn't remember. She didn't really talk to Cubone that much, to begin with. Conversation between them typically revolved around training and not much else. Oliwa's snickers continued but he moved onto the next question.

"Don't worry about that one," Oliwa said as he raised a hand to pat the small bird on his shoulder. "Let's try this, what do you intend to do while visiting Alola?"

"It feels like Cubone and I haven't made much progress lately. I wanted to give the two of us a change of pace. We've known Kanto all our lives, so I thought it would be best to embrace a different style of life," Giselle explained, and Oliwa nodded as she made each of her points.

"Alola is very different from Kanto," Oliwa agreed. "I was raised in Alola, but when I accepted this job I had to move to Cinnabar Island," Oliwa rose from his seat and approached one of the rabuta berry plants. He pulled one of the hanging fruits from the small tree and bit right into it, ignoring its hairy exterior. Once he swallowed, he began to speak again. "Thankfully, my ma still sends me little gifts from Alola to make sure I don't get homesick."

Oliwa offered Giselle a portion of his rabuta berry, but she wrinkled her nose in reply. He gave a laugh as he cut a small portion and set it on his desk for his bird Pokemon to nibble at.

"I know it doesn't look too good, but the hair on the outside is good for your stomach," Oliwa explained with a smile. "That aside, you should be prepared because eating in Alola is also pretty different. You won't find fast food or anything like that. We grow everything and make our meals from that."

"That sounds perfectly fine," Giselle replied. She was already accustomed to 'roughing it' as a trainer. She and Cubone would spend days out in Route 6. They would manage just fine in Alola.

"Okay then," Oliwa said as he scanned his checklist. "I can skip this section because you're a trainer so…I'll ask you one last question." He set down the clipboard, leaned back in his chair, and put his hands behind his head. "What do expect to accomplish while you're in Alola?"

"Accomplish?" Giselle looked down for a moment.

"All of them can appreciate Pokemon in a way I still don't understand,"

"Are you really fine with not being able to understand Pokemon the way they do? It's because of Pokemon that they're always ready to commit to something that seems outlandish and stupid, but to them, it makes perfect sense."

"I've spent years studying everything I could about Pokemon…but some friends I made in the past who I considered equals have surpassed me in ways I can't even fathom," Giselle admitted. "They understand Pokemon in a way that I still haven't figured out…so I want to start from square one and try to develop the same appreciation that they have."

When Giselle looked back up at Oliwa, she saw that he had a broad grin on his face.

"Good answer, you pass! We'll leave tomorrow!" He exclaimed. And that marked the beginning of her adventure in Alola.

Monday, July 17th

They were airborne! Strapped to a seat in the small cabin of Oliwa's jet plane, Giselle could only stare out the window as her flight to Alola went on. She brought Cubone out of his Pokeball for him to experience this flight in its entirety, and he loved every moment of it. Oliwa even allowed him to sit in the cockpit and look out of the front of the plane at the vast skies ahead of them.

The process of obtaining a plane ticket was longer than the six-hour flight itself. Not to mention she had to sell her car, end the lease on her apartment, and inform her parents that she wouldn't be able to contact them while she was in Alola. It was a big commitment to go to Alola, and Giselle found herself questioning her resolve at different stages. But, during each of those moments, she was reminded of Ash and his incredible determination. She thought of Volkner and Flint as they marched forward and left her in their shadows.

No more waiting around. It was time for her to make some progress!

"Hey, Giselle," Oliwa called out to her from the cockpit. "You don't have to stay in the cabin the entire time. We're just cruising right now, so how about you join the rest of us up here."

Giselle pursed her lips at the thought. She didn't care to have a conversation during the trip, but since she had no phone service at this altitude, hopefully, this would help her pass some of the time. Giselle unlocked her seat belts and rose to her feet. She took a moment to make sure she was steady since she had yet to stand since they took off. Once she was comfortable, she ventured up to the cockpit.

Oliwa was lounging comfortably as he made a few adjustments to the autopilot settings. As always, his little partner named Pikipek sat on his shoulder and Cubone was in the co-pilot's seat.

"Have a seat," Oliwa invited her to join Cubone. Giselle quickly got settled and marveled at the array of control that went into piloting the plane.

"Oliwa, can I ask you a question?" Giselle asked him and he gave a nod. "Don't you think that the process to get into Alola is a just little bit overblown? I mean the interview and everything seems a bit over the top."

"It's done with good reason," Oliwa replied. "But since you're not a native, it's no surprise that it seems like a hassle to you."

"What do you mean?"

"The islands of Alola used to be open to tourists a few decades ago. Our culture, traditions, our entire history really, is closely associated with Pokemon. We depend on them, and they depend on us and nothing has ever changed that," Oliwa continued. "But, due to the events of the Great Crisis, foreigners and mainlanders especially, didn't appreciate our culture which led to some conflicts that could've been avoided. So, Alola decided to embrace isolation until the rest of the world became accustomed to Pokemon again."

"Wait, even after the Great Crisis, Alola never had any issues with Pokemon?"

Oliwa shook his head.

"According to my grandma, the Great Crisis didn't take place in Alola. The craziness that affected the mainland, we didn't see any of it," Oliwa explained. "Don't get me wrong, all of Alola shed tears for those that lost their lives, but the Great Crisis affected the mainland more than the island regions. In case you didn't know, places like Hoenn never broke their ties with Pokemon the way the mainlanders did. Sinnoh is an entirely different story when it comes to Pokemon, but that's beside the point."

Giselle furrowed her brow as she thought about it. Nearly a century passed since the Great Crisis, but the actual event was a vaguely told horror story. It was like some sort of mystery where different people gave different answers.

"Some people don't do their research about Alola and walk in blindly expecting an island paradise, which it is, by the way," Oliwa interjected with a chuckle. "But we got so many visitors that were afraid of Pokemon. So, we don't allow commercial airlines or cruise liners to come to Alola, which makes it difficult to enter our region. It's to preserve the peace more than anything else."

Giselle nodded a few times. She could understand their line of thinking. If Alola was a haven for people who loved Pokemon, why would they allow outsiders to ruin their long-standing traditions?

Giselle had no intentions of disturbing their customs. She would live quietly and refine herself as a trainer and tactician.

The bumpy landing was like a jolt of electricity that awakened Giselle. She looked around frantically for a moment before she realized that she back in the seating area. Having conversed with Oliwa for the first two hours, Giselle opted to sleep through the rest of the flight and she slept right through Oliwa's announcement of their arrival.

Giselle braced herself in her seat as the plane gradually slowed and came to a stop. Then came an announcement from Oliwa over the intercom to inform him of their successful landing in Hau'oli City on Melemele Island. He also thanked Cubone and Pikipek for being outstanding co-pilots, and Giselle could hear them both give a cheer through the speaker. Giselle released the restraints and rose from her seat. In the back of the cabin were her two suitcases that were strapped against the wall by a belt. She fiddled and pulled at it for some time, but she couldn't find the release on it.

"Need a hand?" Oliwa asked as he stood over her. Giselle exhaled before she moved aside for him. With one hand, Oliwa gripped the release and gave it a squeeze which caused the belts to separate. "It's a bit of a hassle with these things, but you don't want your stuff going everywhere if we hit some turbulence."

Giselle nodded as they collected her bags and together, they all went to the exit of the plane. There were two releases that Oliwa gave a hard tug to unseal the cabin and the door swung open. Giselle was startled by the sudden rise in temperature. The air in Alola was hot and damp!

As she peered out of the plane, Giselle saw that they were in the middle of nowhere. It was reminiscent of Route 6 back in Kanto, though it would take some time to adjust to the heat. A stairway was rolled to the plane and set-in place for Oliwa, Giselle, and Cubone to get down safely.

"Welcome to Alola," Oliwa declared as Giselle's feet touched the ground. "I hope you enjoy your time here!"

"Well now, look who came back for a visit?" Two men pushed over the staircase and they both wore a beige-colored coverall. They must have been pilots or mechanics at the airfield like Oliwa on Cinnabar Island.

"Hey, long time no see!" Oliwa exclaimed as he embraced each of them. It was clear that they were all old friends as their discussion centered around how Oliwa was living in Kanto. As they talked, Oliwa introduced Giselle to his friends, Mamo and Alika. They greeted Giselle with a cheerful 'Alola!'

As they all went the hanger, Oliwa gave a great shout at the sight of an older woman waiting at the entrance.

"Oliwa!" She exclaimed as he went running to meet her. They embraced for quite a bit of time and separated as the others arrived. "It's so good to see you again!"

Oliwa introduced this woman as his mother, Anela, and she was accompanied by a bright pink avian Pokemon that was introduced as Oricorio. However, Anela addressed her partner Pokemon as 'Dori.' They welcomed Giselle in the same fashion as Oliwa's friends, with a warm smile and an 'Alola!'

"My mother was the first to volunteer to take you in," Oliwa explained as he looked to Giselle.

"Take me in?" She repeated.

"Yes dear, you'll need a place to stay for the first few weeks, won't you?" Anela asked in return and Giselle pursed her lips. She certainly wasn't expecting to have someone offer their home to her. She brought money to purchase her own place, though she wasn't sure if she could afford a security deposit right off the bat. This sounded like the perfect opportunity to make some extra money beforehand to avoid going into debt.

Giselle gave Anela a nod in return.

"Are you planning to give her a tour of the city or anything?" Oliwa asked and Anela looked to Giselle.

"I can give you a tour if you'd like," Anela offered. "Or if you'd prefer to head straight to my house to unpack…"

Giselle gave it a moment of thought.

"I think I'd like to unpack," She answered and Anela smiled faintly.

"Alright then, how about we get moving," She suggested with a motion for Giselle to follow her. Oliwa came with them to behind the hanger where a small pickup truck waiting for them. As they placed Giselle's luggage into the back of the truck, Oliwa and Anela continued their lighthearted conversation. "How long are you going to stay here?"

"Just a few days," Oliwa replied. "I know Giselle is using the spare bedroom, so Mamo said I could stay with him."

"Wonderful, feel free to drop by for breakfast whenever you like," Anela said. "I can make rabuta berry pancakes tomorrow if you'd like?"

"Oh mom, you're too good to me!" Oliwa exclaimed as he latched onto her in a hug. Anela laughed until her son released his hold on her, and she invited Giselle and Cubone to a seat inside the truck. "I'll see you tomorrow!"

Giselle opened up the passenger door and allowed Cubone to climb in along with Oricorio. It was simply one large seat that occupied the front of the truck with multiple seatbelts for the passengers. As Anela said goodbye to Oliwa, Giselle took the time to strap the seatbelt across Cubone and Oricorio who had to share one. The two of them conversed as Giselle did so, and once Anela was settled in behind the wheel, she thanked Giselle for taking the time to do that for her.

After Anela started the engine, she set her hands on the wheel and looked to Giselle for a few moments. Giselle made eye contact with Anela and the woman gave her a soft smile.

"So, how was your flight?" Anela inquired. "I hope my son wasn't too much of a bother."

"Oh no, of course not," Giselle replied. "He's been very nice to meet since I met him on Cinnabar Island."

"That's good to hear," Anela noted. "Oliwa was known as a little trouble maker back when he still lived here. Perhaps living in Kanto helped him to settle down."

Anela looked to the road now as she shifted the truck into the gear. Anela drove slowly as they eventually left the open plain that the airfield was located in, and they ventured out into the dense jungles of surrounded the outskirts of Hau'oli City. The roadway pierced through the foliage and a thick canopy above gave them ample shade.

"Since you'll be living with me for a while, is there anything you'd like to know about me, Giselle?" Anela inquired to break the silence that set in.

"Ah, um," Giselle took a moment to observe Anela. "I am curious about your culture. Oliwa said that visitors didn't appreciate it."

"Alola's culture," Anela remarked warmly. "The heart and soul of our culture is the Pokemon. We are dependent on them, and in turn, they depend on us. We work together, and Alola lives and thrives because of it. We are one big family here."

Anela began to describe some of the intricacies of daily life on Melemele Island. As she spoke, the dense forest opened up as they reached the seaside. The sand on the beach was white and the water reflected the sunlight. It was so…peaceful.

Even as Anela spoke, Giselle felt herself nodding off. She did what she could to fight off her sleep, but she felt Cubone lean against her arm. With a glance, she saw that he was sound asleep and she knew that her efforts were for naught. She settled deeper into her seat and with one more glance at the ocean, she shut her eyes.

'Alola, huh?'

A/N

For whatever reason, I'm far more excited about this story than Fallout, so maybe you guys can help me figure out if my intuition is any good. I intend to post these two stories on alternating weeks, provided I am able to keep up with that pace. Thank you for all your patience during my 'brief' hiatus, I had god-awful priorities during the last few months and I wasted so much time that it is honestly ridiculous. My aim is to have more structure with the time going forward, especially since my work schedule is much kinder these days. Wish me luck guys, and I'll see you all at the next update!