Stray cats are a problem in Hawaii. When I went there as a kid, we stopped in the middle of a forest to see a view of the ocean. A kitten crawled out of a tree, crying in relief to find a human. I immediately swept her up, doing that whole thing to convince my parents to take her with us. A local lady happened by and said that the kitten couldn't possibly belong to anyone way out here. So we brought her back with us. For that week, she was our little house guest. The sweetest kitten ever. I named her Ipo, Hawaiian for "sweetheart." I wanted to bring her home, but I already had a cat. And taking a kitten out of Hawaii would probably have been very complicated. So we left her with a friend. Man, I love that little kitten though. I hope she got the best life.

What kind of person dumps a kitten out in the middle of a forest? The worst part is that it's kinda common.

Polaris-Ponyta, Shira-Reshiram, Mia-Cubone, Marin-Primarina, Zetty-Rotom Dex

Chapter 4: Strays in the Sand

The peak of Melemele Island was covered in a golden meadow. Rain fell, warm, smooth, and heavy. It felt amazing. I ran through the flowers, getting thoroughly soaked and enjoying every second. Marin rolled around in the drenched meadow, humming happily. The rain cleared, and a rainbow poured out of the clouds. The Oricorio came out as the weather cleared, fluffing their feathers and soaking in the fresh sun.

I didn't bother to change out of my wet clothes. It wasn't cold at all. The road was beautiful, past waterfalls and over bridges (stronger than the last bridge I crossed, thankfully). Beyond Iki Town, a white shape appeared over the trees. Shira was coming to pick me up. I grinned as she landed in front of me. "Thanks for coming to meet me!"

"I thought you might want to fly the rest of the way. I hear that you once had wings yourself."

I snorted. "Well, that was an outstanding circumstance. In another dimension. But you're right. I do miss having wings of my own. Luckily I have awesome Pokémon willing to carry me around."

Shira gave me a playful shove with her nose, then let me climb onto her back. For her, it was just a quick hop back to the lab. As she landed, the front door opened. Hari and Ben appeared, but something red zipped past them and circled around me. I blinked, trying to follow the shape. It came to a halt in front of me, grinning.

"Vrrt!" The thing chirped. "Alola!"

"Zetty?" I asked, realization dawning. He buzzed and chirped, pleased at my recognition. It was my Rotom. Ben and Professor Kukui had finished the Rotom Dex, and now Zetty was happily zooming around with his new shell. Not only that, but he had spoken aloud. Now any human could understand him – not just odd humans like me and Hari.

"You look amazing, Zetty! How does it feel?"

"Itzz great! I feel like a flying encyclopedia! Ask me anything!"

Why is it when someone says "Ask me anything," your mind goes blank? I shuffled around for a question, then said, "Did you learn anything about Nebby?"

Zetty considered this, then buzzed, "Nebby is a Cosmog: a mysterious Pokémon from another world. Its body it light enough to be blown away, and it has few defensive attacks. If under great danger, it will teleport to safety, though this causes a significant strain on its energy."

Ben, Hari, and Kukui came down the porch steps to meet me.

"Zetty looks amazing, you guys!"

Kukui watched my Rotom bobbing around. "This is going to revolutionize the Pokédex."

"And it will make us Rotom zzuper popular!" Zetty added.

"Yeah, every trainer will want one!" I patted Zetty's head, wondering how much he could feel now that he was a Pokédex. Zetty was a shiny Rotom, though it was difficult to tell while he was in this form.

"Hey, how was your trial?" Ben asked.

I told them about the totem Raticate. Ben shivered. "A Raticate that big sounds freaky."

"It's unnerving."

"Why don't you show us your new Z-Move?" Kukui asked. He looked eager, though I knew he had a Z-Ring himself. He was probably curious how I'd handle it.

Polaris was my first Pokémon, so it made sense to do our first Z-Move together. She knew Stomp, a normal attack, which would activate the Normalium Z. I'd knotted together a cord to hold the Z Crystal, and I looped it around Polaris's neck. But now I needed someone to battle. I glanced at Kukui by reflex.

He laughed. "Well, I guess I did ask for it." He joined me on the beach and sent out a Lycanroc-Midday form.

Polaris faced the Lycanroc with confidence, despite her type disadvantage. I relied on her as much as I did on legendary Pokémon like Shira. Lycanroc charged at Polaris, but she pranced out of the way, sending up a shower of embers. Lycanroc flinched, shutting his eyes against the raining cinders. This time Polaris charged, but Lycanroc heard and dodged in time. He used Stone Edge. Rocks erupted up from the ground around Polaris. She kicked out at them with hooves harder than diamond, and they shattered. Lycanroc retreated from the flying debris.

I took a deep breath, then threw my arms forward, out to the side, and then bent them to form a Z. My Z-Ring burst into gold light, and so did Polaris. The energy felt familiar. It was a little like that of the totem Raticate. Polaris broke into a gallop, engulfed in the Z-Move's energy. Her Breakneck Blitz slammed into Lycanroc, sending him flying. He left a skid trail in the stand, stood up, wobbled, then sat back in the sand, dazed.

"Whoo, that was amazing!" Kukui hollered. "A good hard hit for your first Z-Move."

"Thanks. I've been practicing the motions so I don't forget them."

"Smart. The moves aren't as strong if the motion's off."

"Makes you wonder who figured out these dance moves," Ben said.

Kukui nodded. "I think the Tapus taught the moves. That's what the story is, anyway."

"Really? That's amazing!" I laughed. "Now I feel a little less silly doing a dance move in the middle of a battle."

"Um," came a hesitant voice from the porch. We all looked up to see Lillie, who had been watching the battle. She looked uneasy. "Is your Lycanroc okay, Professor?"

"Oh, yeah. Thanks Lillie. He's handled many Z-Moves before this. Besides, he's a rock type. The normal type Z-Move won't do as much damage."

"Oh, okay. That's good."

Kukui went to tend to his Lycanroc. Lillie came down the steps to join us, though she looked like she felt out of place. Nebby followed at her heels.

"I don't really like watching Pokémon battles," she admitted. "I watched at the festival, since it's in honor of the Tapus. But I just don't want to see Pokémon get hurt." Nebby nuzzled her, and she picked her up.

Hari nodded, understanding. "I don't usually battle either. Gro doesn't like it." He gestured to his Grovyle, lounging in the porch.

"Sometimes trainers can get carried away." I had a lot of experience battling, but I knew all too well that accidents happen. Once I was battling with a Pokémon that was stronger than I expected. He shattered the tusk of our opponent's Piloswine. I felt awful about it. But I had to practice Pokémon battles so I was strong enough to help when I needed to. Which felt like an all-too-common occurrence.

Lillie stared at me. "Professor Kukui told me what you did in Kalos." I doubt I'll ever get used to people knowing all this stuff about me. "You fought the legendary Pokémon Yveltal. But instead of beating it, you managed to calm it down. That's really amazing. You are strong at battling, but you don't just beat Pokémon. You try to help them."

"Uh, th-thank you," I stammered, surprised by the praise. A couple years ago, I probably would have just caught Yveltal to stop her from rampaging. But N had convinced me that it was wrong to catch Pokémon without their permission. Especially Legendaries, who shouldn't be forced to serve a human. Shira was with me because she wanted to be. And I wanted to make sure that all Pokémon I caught from now on felt the same way.

"Lillie," Ben said, "if you don't like Pokémon battles, why are you working for a Professor who studies Pokémon moves?"

"Ah, well, Professor Kukui actually took me in. I didn't have anywhere else to go. I ran away to save Nebby. I've been here three months. The least I can do is help him, after all he and his wife have done for me. Though since I'm not a trainer myself, I'm probably not a very good assistant."

"Let us know if you want to learn," Hari said.

It should have been me offering that, considering I was the best battler. But I guess I was still a bit stiff around Lillie, considering I'd almost died when I met her. Though seeing how low her confidence was, I felt bad about my attitude. I tried to make up for it by saying, "We can let out our Pokémon. They use gentle moves on each other when they're playing. Plus the rest of my team should see Zetty in his new form!"

We let everyone out onto the beach. Kukui got the Pokémon from the lab to join in. Nebby floated around, excited by so many friends to play with. Lillie was fascinated too. Ben, Hari and I told her about the strengths and skills of our teams. As Lillie learned more, she actually started getting a little excited about it. She clearly liked Pokémon. It sounded like she'd given up a lot to save Nebby, which improved my opinion of her. It's hard for me to stay mad at someone like that.

"And Primarina can control their water bubbles, right?" Lillie asked. "I remember that from your battle during the festival."

"Yeah! Their singing is what controls the bubbles. Each Primarina has learned its song from its family. I have to make sure his throat is taken well care of, so his voice stays strong." I knelt in front of Marin, rubbing cheeks. "Isn't that right, pretty boy?" He laughed, rubbing his head against my shoulder.

"You call him that?" Lillie asked, almost shocked.

I blinked. "Well, yeah. He's pretty. He's a boy."

"I guess. But I thought people used that phrase like an insult."

Marin hummed happily and draped his arms over my shoulders. He was proud of his looks.

"Oh," I said. "Maybe. That's a strange insult though. There's nothing wrong with being pretty and a boy."

"No, I suppose not," Lillie conceded.

Hari introduced her to Gro, and I moved away. I'd forgotten that "pretty boy" was usually an insult, and I felt dumb using it in front of someone I didn't know very well. Marin was happy when someone called him "pretty."

I walked along the beach, barefoot in the surf. A sound caught my attention. A faint whine and rustling in the bushes. The whine sounded distressed, and I made a beeline up the beach to follow it. Something stepped out from beneath a bush, whining and wagging its tail. A Rockruff. He walked up to me, low to the ground, as though nervous. He looked very thin. But he kept wagging his tail. I knelt in front of him and he crawled into my arms.

Professor Kukui saw me approach with the puppy, who was whining in relief and rubbing his sharp little rocky mane against my shoulder.

"I found him in the bushes," I explained. "He was alone. But he came right up to me, so he's probably used to humans."

Kukui gave a low whistle. "Sometimes people release unwanted Pokémon. Rockruff in particular get feisty when they're older. This one doesn't look old enough for that though. Bring him in. We'll get him some food.

Hari dashed over, concerned about the thin Pokémon. Before long, our whole group was packed in the kitchen. Hari helped Kukui mix something up that would give plenty of nutrients to a hungry puppy. Ben helped me give him a bath, and Lillie brought us soap and towels. It was heartbreaking to see how relieved the Rockruff was to have someone taking care of him. By the time we toweled him off, food was ready. He dove in, polishing off every crumb. I talked to him, reassuring him that he was safe. Mia was fascinated by the little Rockruff and stuck close to him. Rockruff liked her too, but he wouldn't leave my side. He was afraid of getting abandoned again.

"What do you think?" Kukui asked.

"I think it's good timing," I said. "I've been wanting to catch a Rockruff." Rockruff looked up, cautiously hopeful. "That means you'll need a name," I continued. I ran through a few ideas in my head. I had a friend with a cool name, Lunick. But I dismissed it because it felt strange to name a Pokémon after a friend. But I must have accidentally passed it on through telepathy.

"Lunick," Rockruff repeated. "Lunick."

I shrugged. "Okay, Lunick it is. Welcome to the team."