Pokémon Radiant Sun
Breath of the Wild. So yeah…That's a fun game. A really, really fun game. I've had to set aside time to write this week so that I could actually get something done this week. And this chapter still ended up being way too long. Oh well.
For future reference, my ideal size for a chapter for this fic is 3,500-5,000 words. Doing more than that is honestly just too difficult nowadays since I'm so busy, and since I want this story to be updated on a weekly basis. I know I said I wanted it to be a two-update-per-week kind of thing at first, but that's just not really possible and I think I've found a good rhythm with this story as is.
But damn is working hard on this fic worth it, because I'm having more fun than I've had in years with this so far. I'm so psyched for what's to come. Especially since next chapter is Team Skull, which is going to be fun. And hearing people's feedback and perspectives on everything just makes it all the better.
Shoutout to the fantastic folks who reviewed since the last update, which includes Wings of an Eternal Blaze, Sai Og Sus, Cottonmouth25, Raikou927, a Guest reviewer, danlagunas14, My Wunderwaffle iz missin, as well as two new reviewers known as Zeyco and jordanlink7856.
We're nearing 100 reviews. Within a span of less than 3 months…What is this? Seriously, that is absolutely incredible. I've never done that so quickly with a story before, and I consider Jak IV and DOTD to be massive successes. To accomplish this so early into the life of this story is just…
You people freaking rock so hard.
Also, to close out this chapter AN, I would like to make a mini-announcement that I'll be meeting with an Air Force recruiter this upcoming week to hopefully discuss a possible future within the USAF.
This has been something I've been considering for several years now, and have been working hard towards for several months, culminating in me dropping 30 pounds in six months to meet the standards of the Air Force entry. So yeah, wish me luck folks. I'll keep you posted on what happens with that. By all rights I should be fine, but…We'll see.
Anyways, enough blathering. Onto the chapter!
Enjoy.
Chapter 15: Retail Therapy
Sun groaned as he woke up that next morning. He hadn't exactly slept all that well, but he had managed some sleep thankfully. Oliver was awake by the time Sun opened his eyes and blinked at him. Nearby, Penny was still slumbering peacefully.
"Hey." Sun mumbled to his starter, who hopped over to him and cooed softly as Sun stroked the bird's head. Oliver then pecked at Sun's fingers, making the boy retract them and give the bird a glare.
"Should've known you would kill the moment." Sun grumbled as he laid back down in his bed, shutting his eyes and attempting to go back to sleep. Oliver hooted at the boy as he rolled over, jostling Penny just enough to wake her up. With a tweet, she observed Oliver hopping over to Sun and nudging him repeatedly before the boy finally sat up, grumbling as he did so.
"Sadistic owl…I guess I'm up now." Sun muttered as he moved Penny and Oliver and got out of bed, stretching with a yawn. Hau was still sleeping on his own bed, his blanket and pillow strewn about as he snored with his mouth wide open. Sun was tempted to have Oliver peck him awake, but that'd be mean so he just decided to get dressed.
To Sun's surprise, his friend actually managed to wake up before he was done, sitting up with a loud yawn before spotting Sun as he slipped his (now dry) shoes on.
"Hey! Good morning!" Hau said as Duke and Cassy leapt out of the bed and greeted Oliver and Penny. Hau stood with a yawn, stretching before heading into the bathroom. Sun decided to be polite and wait for Hau to get ready before heading downstairs for breakfast.
A quick check with Rotom told him that it was still breakfast time. Sun decided to go check on Lillie as Hau put on his shoes. With Penny and Oliver flying behind him, Sun opened their door and found a small sheet of paper on the floor. Sun scanned it and nodded before turning to Hau.
"She's already downstairs, waiting for us. So hurry it up." Sun said to the boy, earning a raspberry in response. Sun walked over to the window they had in the room and looked outside, taking in the morning view of the city. The streets were still coated in the aftermath of the storm, slick with water with some city workers clearing up fallen branches and the like.
Fortunately, the storm had cleared up outside and they were free to explore the city at their leisure. Not so fortunately, there was more rain to come later that evening according to Rotom, so they would have to return to the Pokémon Center to escape the downpour.
That was alright with Sun, since he wasn't a huge fan of running around in the rain, especially after the previous night. He was grateful that he and Lillie didn't catch colds from how long they were out in that storm. With that, the boy stowed Rotom away and made his way downstairs to get some breakfast, with Penny in his arms and Oliver perched on his hat, rotating his head repeatedly.
Sun and Hau entered the buffet, where a myriad of breakfast items were put on amongst a large counter with heat lamps above. Scrambled eggs, bacon, pancakes, fresh fruit and much more. Sun and Hau both grabbed some pancakes and a bottle of syrup each and made their way over to the café, where they saw Lillie reading a book with a mischievous Cosmog peeking out at them from under her large hat.
"Pew!" Nebby cried, floating out from under Lillie's hat and catching her attention. The girl grabbed the Pokémon and put it in her lap, and then spotted Hau and Sun making their way over to her. Lillie carefully put Nebby in her bag and zipped it shut, much to the Cosmog's dismay.
"Good morning Sun. Good morning Hau." Lillie said from behind her book/plate of pancakes as the boys approached her. Nebby cooed a greeting from the confines of its prison, AKA Lillie's bag. Sun set his plate on the table before carefully setting the two other plates down on the floor for his Pokémon.
"Good morning, Lillie." Sun said to the girl, offering her a small smile as he and Hau sat down. Oliver and Penny flew down from Sun's shoulder and head to eat their food on the ground while Sun poured a liberal amount of syrup on his pancakes and dug in. Hau just garbled something as he attempted to inhale pancakes through his mouth socket, making Lillie shake her head slightly in mirth at the display.
"So…what's the plan for today, people?" Sun asked his two friends as he swallowed a bit of food. It still felt a bit odd thinking of the two children as his friends, but then again, he had never had a friend before this, so…Meh. He'd get used to it.
"Well…I was hoping we could do a bit of shopping today. Plus…Well, you did say that we could go by Seaside Melodies today. You know, the new music store a few miles away?" Lillie said to Sun, receiving a nod in response.
"I was just going to get some training in with my team and eat some malasadas a little later. If you don't mind, today's gonna kinda be a solo day for me." Hau explained with a sheepish grin, syrup dripping down his face.
"I'm surprised you're dedicating so much time to training. Usually you just play with your Pokémon, Hau." Lillie noted before she took a sip of milk.
"Well…Sun's already beat me twice and I'm finally going on my Island Challenge now. Got to step up my game just a little bit." Hau answered with a laugh, wiping his mouth and standing up. Sun looked down at the other boy's plate and saw it was practically spotless. Sun looked up again and saw Hau walking away with both of his Pokémon in his arms.
"Bye you two! Have fun! I'll see you later tonight!" Hau called back to them just a bit too loudly, drawing the attention of everyone in the lobby as he walked out of the building.
"That guy…Never a dull moment with him." Sun said as he continued eating his breakfast. Lillie giggled at that, but also continued eating.
A few minutes later, Sun and Lillie were walking down the street. The air was incredibly humid, with the sun shining brightly overhead. However, the forecast predicted more rain tonight, so they knew that today wasn't a day to hang out at the beach or anything.
"So, let's head to that music store first. Sound good?" Sun asked Lillie. The girl nodded, a happy smile appearing on her face as the duo made their way towards the newly opened music store.
After realizing how far away it was, they got a cab because despite being excited to go there, they weren't going to walk for 5 hours to get there.
"'Seaside Melodies'…" Lillie said reverently as she stepped out of the cab. Sun paid the driver, wished him a pleasant day, and hopped out to join his friend.
"Looks nice enough. Let's go in." Sun said as he walked forward, opening the door for Lillie. The girl thanked Sun and made her way inside, with Sun not far behind.
"Woah." Sun stated as he took in the sights around him. The music store seemed to be much, much more than what it seemed from the outside. Yes, gleaming instruments of all kind were displayed on the wall and inside glass displays, with shelves upon shelves of sheet music and the like available for purchase, but there were also a few Pokémon milling about the store, assisting customers. Sun could tell that they worked there because each of them had nametags and wore bright blue clothes of some kind.
"I didn't even know you could employ Pokémon. That's so weird..." Sun remarked, confused.
"Not really. They're all my Pokémon, so they help me out with the store. I pay them and everything." Sun turned around in surprise and found an older woman standing behind him, smirking. One look at her told Sun that she was the owner of the new store.
"That's really interesting." Lillie remarked, smiling as a Machoke brushed past them to assist a customer on the far side of the room.
"It'll sure make people talk about this place, which is exactly what I want." The woman laughed before she looked down at the two children before her. "Is there anything I can help you two with, or are you just looking around?"
"A bit of both. I'm wondering if you have any flutes for sale at the moment." Lillie asked rather timidly. The woman grinned at her and led them both to a large rack of instruments on the left wall of the store, which included a large assortment of flutes of all kinds.
"Oh my…" Lillie breathed, excitement gleaming in her eyes.
"Yep. I used to play trumpet myself back when I was a kid. But my sister made me make sure that I had plenty of flutes on display when I opened this store, since that's what she played. You interested in learning how to play, young lady?" the woman asked.
"I can already play. I just wanted to see about possibly getting a new one…" Lillie said breathlessly, almost trembling in excitement. Sun honestly found it adorable in a way. He then realized that he thought that and was privately glad Lillie was too enraptured in the flutes to notice him blushing.
"Which one do you think suits you, dear?" the woman asked as she picked up a small white piccolo and showed it to Lillie. The girl shook her head and stepped forward, grabbing a slender sliver and white flute with a small series of flowing flower-like designs on it.
"Ah, good choice. That was made in Sinnoh, in Pastoria City, where a decent chunk of my instruments come from. If you're an experienced player that one will suit you well. Plus it goes with your outfit." Lillie chuckled at that and assumed a stance with the flute and bent down to play a note, but was stopped by the owner.
"I'm sorry, but you're going to have to buy that if you wish to play it. Sanitary reasons and all that." The owner apologized, smirking at the now embarrassed girl.
Lillie looked over at Sun and asked, "What do you think?"
Sun grinned and said, "I think that I'll be seeing if they have any duet pieces on sale here. Because you should absolutely get yourself that flute."
Needless to say, Lillie bought the flute and was beaming the entire time. Sun decided to just go ahead and buy a whole bunch of sheet music for the both of them, with the promise that they would play together whenever possible. Lillie was so happy that Sun couldn't help himself from smiling at her happiness, as the two of them picked out music. It was nice to be able to discuss his newest hobby with someone more experienced but someone who enjoyed it even more than he did.
The two of them exited the store, with Sun carrying the bags full of musical supplies plus one flute. Lillie thanked Sun for offering to carry the bags for her, and with a wave of thanks to the owner, the two of them began walking forward again, eager to see more of the city.
As the two of them walked past a few stores on the main street of Hau'oli City, Sun's eyes caught a news report in progress that made him stop dead in his tracks. Lillie walked ahead of Sun for about ten seconds before realizing he was no longer with her. She doubled back and her heart sank at the sight before her.
It was a new report on Celadon City.
The city itself was filled to the brim with people attempting to help others evacuate to the half of the city that was still intact while firefighters and Pokémon Trainers continued to fight the harsh blazes that still consumed a few parts of the city. Most of the flames were gone, leaving rubble and ash and bodies in its wake. Cipher and Team Rocket had vanished after most of the Pokémon Trainers that had risen up to fight had been either captured, killed, or vanished into the night.
Erika, Gym Leader of Celadon, was recovered by a Trainer and brought to the Pokémon Center. She had been dead long before she arrived, but her funeral could at least be done with a body in the casket.
The city had declared a state of emergency and there was a hotline on the screen that callers could contact to help donate money to help those effected by the attack. Those who had attacked the city had vanished as quickly as they had appeared, though the report speculated that they were hiding within Celadon City just as Team Rocket had all those years ago.
The Moltres had been thankfully subdued, and was undergoing tests to see if they could revert it to its normal state. However, there wasn't much more stated about the legendary bird other than that.
Sun stared at the screen with a look pain on his face, hating every image he saw on the screen. He hated the feeling of helplessness he felt within himself. So many terrible things were happening and there was nothing he could do about it. Sun then felt two arms wrap around his stomach as someone hugged him tightly from behind. He was a bit surprised at the gesture, but felt himself smiling despite everything. The Kanto-native managed to turn around and return Lillie's hug, thankful of the girl's support for him. Lillie let go of the boy and Sun saw the rather sad expression on her face.
"Thanks Lillie. I'm good now. Let's keep moving. OK?" Sun said quietly. Lillie nodded silently and smiled a bit. The duo continued their trek with the mood now a bit lighter despite what they had heard and seen. Sun released Oliver and Penny and allowed them to fly ahead of them, though he warned the both of them to not get into trouble. He repeated the warning for Oliver, and with that the two Pokémon flew around the street while Sun and Lillie chatted.
The two children finally spotted another store interesting enough for them both to warrant going inside. It was a large store that advertised all sorts of Pokémon equipment, showcasing things like Food Capsules, Attachment Collars, and clothing for Pokémon.
"I've actually been in this store before. It's more geared towards Trainers than anything else, really. If you're really looking into Pokémon clothing, there are a few stores in Hau'oli Square that are more geared towards that." Lillie explained as she and Sun entered the building.
Sun was immediately blown away by the variety of things on sale in the store. Items of all shapes and colors assaulted his vision, and it took being lightly pushed by Lillie for him to enter the store further.
Sun opted to keep Oliver and Penny out of their Poké Balls and as a team, they browsed the store with Lillie making comments every now and then. Sun ended up buying two Attachment Collars for both Oliver and Penny, a green one and a white one respectively, as well as a few books on Pokémon Training in general. Sun figured there's quite a bit he could learn from reading books from Pokémon Trainers for Pokémon Trainers.
Lillie and Sun continued their trek through the city, with Sun now carrying a small bag of his purchases as well as Lillie's purchases. After another two hours of sightseeing, Sun and Lillie found themselves standing outside of a large and colorful clothing store that Sun recalled Lillie eyeing earlier yesterday.
"Sun, I have a quick question." Lillie said as they stopped in front of the clothing store. Sun looked over at Lillie, who was giving him a critical eye, looking him up and down. Sun felt nervous for some reason that he couldn't place.
"Go ahead."
"Do you pick out all of your own clothes?"
Sun blinked in surprise at the question and shook his head. "My Mom picks out all of my clothes."
"Oh! Well, um…Your mother has a great sense of style. I love the way that you dress." Lillie said haltingly, seemingly embarrassed at the remark. Sun found himself surprised at the compliment.
"Thanks. Same to you, Lillie." Sun said to the girl, feeling his face get a bit warmer. Lillie looked towards the shop, her expression changing.
"I…I've always just worn the clothes that my mother wanted me to wear. Ever since I could remember, actually. I don't really know what kind of thing would suit me…" Lillie trailed off, looking conflicted.
"Well, let's go inside and look around." Lillie looked at Sun and saw him giving her a grin. Lillie looked confused for a moment before she smiled and nodded. The duo made their way inside.
The store itself was a bit bigger than it looked on the outside, and was filled with colorful outfits and the like with extravagant displays. There was a section of the store that caught Sun's eye that looked exclusively dedicated to tourists, with shirts plastered about loving Alola and pictures of local Pokémon. Sun ignored that and walked further into the store, leaving behind Lillie as the girl chatted with someone at the front counter.
Sun was alone for about a minute before his companion rejoined him, saying, "Sun, would you be interested in having this?" Sun turned around and saw Lillie behind him, holding a very small box in her hands.
"What's that?" Sun asked.
"I got it from the lady at the counter over there. I haven't bought anything yet, but they said I was the 99,999th customer to visit the store…"
"Wait, does that mean I was the 100,000th person?"
"Nope. You came in before me, so you were number 99,998." Lillie said with a small laugh. "Anyways, I already have one of my own, so I was wonder if you might, well…want it?"
Lillie handed over the box, which Sun opened. In it were a set of what looked like contact lenses.
"It's a Lens Case. You can buy them at this store, actually." Lillie explained. "The company that makes the lenses and the case operates here in Alola, so there's all different kinds of colored contact lenses available." Lillie explained as Sun examined the case.
"That's pretty cool. Thanks Lillie." Sun said with a grin, putting the object into the backpack. He looked back up to see Lillie giving him a very amused look.
"What?" Sun asked.
"Well…It looks like we have another thing in common now, don't we? Hee…" Lillie offered Sun a sheepish grin, to which Sun replied by walking past her chuckling.
Sun made his way over to the boy's shirts and inspected them. Truthfully, he wasn't looking for anything in particular. That said, what Lillie had said did make him think a bit. Wasn't he supposed to be on this journey to grow as a person and be more independent? His mother had always picked out outfits for him, ever since he could remember. She had even packed his bag and supplies for this journey. Maybe he should get some shopping of his own done here.
He began going through the shirts with renewed vigor, unaware of a sneaky Lillie watching him from across the store with a curious expression on her face. She then realized what she was doing and dove back into the aisle.
Eventually Lillie walked back over to Sun after seeing him having some trouble finding things his size and decided to help him a bit. With Lillie's assistance, Sun managed to find and try on several outfits that he actually liked the look of. Lillie made the boy come out of the dressing room when he tried something new on so that she could see, and she offered him her opinion on the outfits. Most of her remarks were positive, so Sun actually felt really good about himself as he quickly changed back into his old clothes. He admitted to himself that it was a bit embarrassing having someone like Lillie do this with him, though he had no idea why, but he decided that she was his friend and that he appreciated her help with him on something he was very inexperienced in.
About an hour later, Sun set a few articles of clothing on the counter to be scanned and purchased, feeling a bit proud of himself. Yes, he had Lillie's help with picking a few things out, but for the most part he liked everything he had picked out and even got a girl's opinion on the matter. So yeah, he was feeling quite pleased. Admittedly he was a bit flustered at the praise of his appearance (Lillie had been fairly vocal in her compliments of him in his outfits) but he figured it was just because he was unused to getting compliments from a girl like that.
Lillie, for her part, didn't get much from the store. She got a pair of white sunglasses and a few other miscellaneous articles of clothing. She admitted that she liked her dresses too much to want to deviate too much from that, which Sun understood. As they were exiting the store, they bumped into a familiar violinist that was also leaving with a bag of her own. However, she was distracted by her phone and didn't see the two children at first.
"Hey, Vivian!" Sun called to the older girl, getting her attention.
"Oh. You two. Hey." Vivian turned around, smirking at them both.
"What are you doing here?" Sun asked the older Trainer.
"Buying clothes. Duh. Bought this fancy fedora. Pretty nifty, huh?" Vivian brought up a bright red fedora that didn't look like it would fit her. "How about you two?"
"Same actually." Sun remarked, holding up his large bag of clothing.
"Good for you two…Actually, speaking of." Vivian stepped forward and used her arms to push Sun and Lillie close together, making them both feel a bit awkward at this.
"Um…What are you-" Lillie began to say before Vivian let out a loud laugh.
"OK, now I see why I didn't see anything when you and Hau were together. Because you two are absolutely ADORABLE together!" Vivian nearly squealed, making Sun and Lillie both blush furiously in response, quickly scooting away from each other as several other shoppers looked their way to see what the fuss was about.
"Seriously, if you two more anymore sweet I'd get a sugar rush. That is just so cute! And you're both all embarrassed about it and everything!" Vivian remarked with a giggle, draping her bag over her shoulder.
"Will you stop being so loud!?" Sun demanded, not liking how much he was blushing right now. Why did everyone keep saying that about him and Lillie?
"Nah, messing with preteens about stuff like this is way too fun. Have you two been shopping together today? Showing off outfits for each other?" Vivian asked the two children, making Sun blush harder since that was kind of what actually did happen.
"Ha! Oh my God, I was just messing with you both. Did you actually do that?" Vivian asked, cackling with delight.
"Um…maybe." Sun admitted, scratching his head with a nervous laugh as he exchanged a glance with Lillie, who staring determinedly looking at the ceiling.
"Ma'am?" Sun and Lillie looked to the side to see someone who looked like the manager of the store, given by the name-tag on her shirt that said she was just that.
"You're being just a bit too loud there. Either please lower the volume or leave." The manager said to Vivian, who nodded in response before the manager walked away.
"I can see I'm not wanted anymore, so I'm going to head out. Later kids." Vivian grinned at them once again, winking at them, before walking outside.
"Sun, weren't we going to try and ask her more about Cipher?" Lillie piped up after a moment.
"Crap!"
"Well…I'm sure we'll run into her later. If not her, one of her friends. She mentioned that some of the other people who helped her deal with Cipher in Unova are in the city as well. I'm sure they would be more than willing to explain some details about the group," Lillie reasoned.
"Yeah…Good point. Let's just keep doing our tour of the city then." Sun relented with a small sigh, though he had a small smile on his face regardless. Lillie smiled at that and made her way outside, with Sun close behind her. When the two of them got outside, Lillie asked Sun where he wanted to go next. Sun was about to reply when he heard someone chuckling behind him, and turned around to see an old woman sitting on a bench, watching the two children with a wrinkled smile.
"You two…Heh. Seeing you two together brings back some memories. You're a Pokémon Trainer, right dearie?" the old woman asked Sun. He replied with a nod, and the woman reached into her handbag and brought out a small white scarf and handed it to Sun.
"Huh? What…what is this?" Sun asked, confused that this woman had randomly handed him something like this.
"It'd do my heart good to see this Silk Scarf get some use. An old woman like me isn't fit to be traveling around anymore, so it may as well get used by someone with a lot more years in them. I would like you to have that Silk Scarf. Consider it a gift from the old to the new, in a way." The woman said to the young Trainer, who nodded in reply, getting what she was saying and smiling at her now.
"Thank you ma'am. I'll put it to good use." Sun said to the woman, pulling out a Poké Ball and releasing Oliver. With Lillie and the old woman's help, Sun fastened the Silk Scarf to the Attachment Collar on the Pokémon's neck. The Rowlet looked bewildered at the scarf, but after seeing that it wouldn't clash with his bow-tie leaf, seemed to accept it and allowed it to be attached with no further issues.
"A Pokémon with a Silk Scarf will find its Normal-type moves packing much more of a punch than usual." The old woman explained with a kindly smile, chuckling as Oliver hooted with happiness as he fluttered up to Sun's head.
"Now that's what I love to see. A Pokémon completely at ease around its Trainer. You two both have a wonderful day now, OK?" the old lady said to the two children, who bid the old woman farewell and departed from the store.
"Look at you, Oliver. You look so spiffy!" Lillie said as she reached up to the owl and scratched his head, receiving a happy hoot from the Rowlet. Sun released Penny and carried her in his arms as he and Lillie made their way down the street.
With their purchases in tow, the duo continued their stroll around the city. Lillie pointed out sights to the Kanto-native and Sun took in the city alongside his friend. They even stopped at a small park to rest, taking some time to appreciate the weather while it was pleasant. Sun spotted several familiar and new Pokémon within the grass, and had Rotom give him in-depth info on each and every one.
Eventually, the two children made their way back to the Pokémon Center. Lillie called Hau as they walked to that side of the city so that they could meet up with Hau for dinner. The group returned to the Pokémon Center via taxi shortly before the storm hit them a second time. Once they arrived at the facility, Sun attempted to contact Captain Ilima through the Pokémon Center on one of the video phones after getting some help from Nurse Joy. This resulted in him getting a voicemail, telling him to call back later.
"Ilima is usually unable to answer his phone a lot of the time due to him being so busy. With his own training, his artwork, him being a Trial Captain, and him doing volunteer work at the Trainer School, he's a bit short on time. I'm sure if you keep trying to get ahold of him, he'll answer and you can sort something out." Nurse Joy suggested cheerfully. Sun sighed and resigned himself with the fact that he'd have to wait a bit longer to get the information he desired.
Sun, Hau, and Lillie contented themselves with just hanging out in the Pokémon Center, chatting about their day and letting their Pokémon play with one another in their room. Nebby was particularly animated, since it didn't get to leave the bag all that much and loved to play on top of that. Soon enough the trio went to bed and started the next day anew.
On the seventh day of them being in the city, Sun finally managed to get in touch with the elusive Captain. After getting an apology for being unable to reply to him for so long, Ilima arranged for a taxi to pick up Sun in an hour after Sun called him to drive him to Ilima's current location – The Marina. Lillie and Hau decided to actually let Sun go about this alone, as Hau wanted to go hang out at the beach while Lillie was supposed to meet up with Professor Kukui to do some research with Pokémon found inside of Hau'Oli City.
Soon enough, the Kanto-native was at the Marina, a large area of the city where boats were docked and were many people were exiting and boarding vessels ready to journey out into the sea. This was the first time he had been to the docks, as he had arrived into the Hau'oli City via plane. He actually didn't even get to see much of the city when they landed in Alola, since he had fallen asleep in the taxi cab on his way home.
The Marina itself was impressive, and Sun noticed that there were several restaurants and stores located near him, most likely since this area got a lot of traffic. Sun sidestepped several crowds and made his way to a much more empty section of the place where there was plenty of room to walk. Sun eventually sat down at the edge of the pier, deciding to just watch the ocean for a while. He had given the Captain his phone number, so when he arrived it would be easy for the two to meet.
Soon enough the child felt himself reflecting on the events of the past few days. His bonding with Hau and Lillie, his first two friends ever, as well as being out on his own away from his parents for the first time ever. It was such an odd experience, just being out on your own. Being able to make his own decisions and his own choices, without supervision was…oddly liberating.
Sun released both of his birds shortly after he sat down, content to just watch the ocean with them. Penny and Oliver seemed happy to just sit with their Trainer, who began petting his two birds while he continued to think about recent events. Cipher eventually came to mind and Sun sighed, looking down. Try as he might, he couldn't stop thinking about what they had done. What they might do in the future to Kanto…Where would they go then?
Would they come to Alola next?
"Greetings, Sun. Would you accept a penny for your thoughts?"
Sun looked up and saw Captain Ilima standing above him, smiling down at him. Sun got to his feet, with both of his birds fluttering into the air as he did so. Sun returned them after a beat and faced the Trial Captain with a weak smile that he hoped didn't look forced.
"It's nothing too crazy. So, you're a hard person to track down." Sun remarked as Ilima chuckled in response.
"Yes, my time has been rather occupied lately. I apologize if I inconvenienced you in any way." Ilima apologized sheepishly, putting a hand on his hip.
"It's no problem, really."
"I see. So, you mentioned that were curious as to how to proceed with your Island Challenge, correct?" Ilima asked the young Trainer. Sun nodded, and Ilima continued, "Usually I will have perspective Trial participant's battle nearby Trainers or a colleague of mine in order for me to assess their skill level. However, since I hurried to meet with you, we'll have to make due with you simply battling me."
"You? But you're a Trial Captain. Not to be that guy, but that's not exactly a fair match, is it?" Sun asked the older Trainer, who simply replied with a laugh.
"You'd be quite surprised. As far as the Captains go, I'm easily the weakest in terms of sheer strength. I only have two Pokémon on me capable of battling. Win or lose, I believe this will allow me to properly gauge whether or not we can proceed to your Trial." Ilima explained with a small smile.
"Sounds like a plan. So where are we going to battle?" Sun asked.
"Well, the Marina is quite a large place. There's plenty of room for a battle right here. As long as we don't get too riled up, a battle in the open wouldn't be too much of a bother to anyone. I'd imagine we'd give them a show." Ilima explained as he gestured to a nearby building with a picture of a plate of food on the front. Some of the people inside were actually watching them, probably because they recognized the Trial Captain and were wondering what he was doing there.
"That said, I certainly wouldn't mind a bit of lunch before the battle. Or after, really. I'll admit to being a bit hungry at the moment." Ilima laughed embarrassedly, making Sun shake his head in amusement. He then read the sign of the restaurant Ilima had indicated and raised an eyebrow.
"'Hau'oli City's House of Pancakes and Waffles'…I didn't even know that was a thing." Sun stated in surprise, though he had to admit that the special for today, strawberry pancakes, sounded pretty good right about then.
"Of course. Hau'oli City, as large as it is, contains many of the most popular and top-tier restaurants in the region. This little dive right here at the Marina, pun intended, is one of my favorite spots. Mainly because I'm someone who appreciates a tasty waffle now and again," Ilima admitted.
"Same, though I prefer pancakes. My Mom always knows how to make them just fluffy enough to where they stay together when you're cutting through them and don't fall apart, you know?" Sun said to the Captain, making him chuckle.
"I agree. My father actually works as the assistant manager inside there. If you're interested, we can go inside and get something to eat once we sort out your test. That way, I can prove that waffles are better than pancakes." Ilima offered to the other boy, making Sun grin in response.
"Sounds good. I'll have a pancake and a waffle, just so I can compare them side by side and see which is better." Sun said to the Captain.
"Oh, I'm sure you'll see things my way soon enough, my friend. Waffles are absolutely-" Ilima began to reply before two loud voices cut the Trial Captain of Melemele Island off.
"Yo, yo, yo, check it!" Sun and Ilima both perked up at the sound of two rather loud voices speaking up. "Whenever, wherever, we meet you…Team Skull doesn't even greet you!"
Sun and Captain Ilima turned around and saw two teenagers making their way towards them, both of them walking with a swagger in their steps and dressed identically. Both of them were sporting black baggy pants with a black tank top and armbands, both of which had bits of white adorning them. A silver S necklace hung from both of the young men's necks, with their faces covered by a black bandanna and a white skull-like cap that covered their dyed blue hair.
Both of them then struck a series of poses, ending with them curving their arms in front of them. The young man on the left then chuckled, his bandanna shifting somewhat as he smiled underneath it and addressed Ilima.
"So, Cap…just give up the Pokémon, yo." The Team Skull member called over to the Captain. Ilima slowly raised an eyebrow before turning to Sun and completely ignoring the two gangsters accosting them.
"So back to what I was saying about the waffles." Ilima continued saying, much to the shock of the two Team Skull members.
