I*A*C

Adjusting the very core of who I was, was understandably difficult. The very essence of who I'd been for nearly a decade in my previous life. I was not optimistic. I was not social. I preferred to do things my way, and damn anyone who thought otherwise. I could no longer be that kind of person. It wasn't who I wanted to be. It never was. I was fine keeping aspects of who I had been, but this was a fresh start. A new beginning. I wanted to make the most of it, and become that heroic, optimistic, never-say-die kind of guy I'd always admired as a kid. To be the kind of person who never gave in not because of spite and barely contained rage for how unfair life was, but because he genuinely believed that things would get better.

Again, far easier said than done. I never claimed I was a good person. In fact, I'd argue I was a pretty bad one. I wanted to be a good person, though. The first step to that would be being a good friend. I'd not had many friends growing up on Earth. I had plenty of acquaintances, sure, but not a lot of people I actively went out of my way to spend time with. By the time I did, I was so starved for attention that I practically smothered them. Now, I knew better. Now I wasn't so focused on proving myself to others, and instead could focus on proving myself to me.

So when I woke up the next day after spending that first night at Emmi's house, I made a promise to myself to talk more. I didn't know any of the other kids in school aside from Emmi and Kanu. That would change. I would no longer dismiss those I didn't deem important enough for my time. I would also just... learn more about my friends. Thinking the night before, I didn't know anything about Kanu, or even Emmi. I didn't know what kinds of music she liked, or where she met Chiipii, or even what her favorite color was. That had to change.

Determined, yet also practically dragging myself out of bed, I looked around the guest room that Emmi's parents had lent me. It was a small room, about the same size as my bedroom on Akala Island, and was filled with Pokémon paraphernalia of all sorts. Signed trainer cards, posters on the walls, and even a stuffed Bewear head hung from the wall as a trophy. On either side of the head were two Island Challenge amulets, both fully completed. Emmi's parents must have succeeded with their trials, then. Fire burned in my belly as I got dressed for school, my eyes wandering to the amulets every couple of seconds. That would be my first step. No matter what, I would become the very best. As I left the guest room, I was humming that silly Pokémon theme song.

The smell of bacon filled the house as Emmi's mother, Laina, cooked at her stove. Emmi and Kanu both lived in rather large houses in a nice neighborhood, Emmi's specifically having four bedrooms and three bathrooms, as well as a second floor. There were technically six bedrooms, but her father had transformed the first spare into a study, and her mother had taken the second spare as a crafts room for knitting, sewing, and other things of the sort. They even had a basement, which was rare in seaside houses; though given that they lived on the side of a mountain about half a mile from the ocean, maybe I was just being silly about it.

"Alola, Missus Alahi," I greeted Laina as I sat down at the brunch bar that separated the kitchen and the living room. "That smells delicious. Bacon and eggs, today?"

"Bacon and pancakes, dear," Laina replied, giving me a smile over her shoulder. "And alola to you, too! I'm surprised, I thought I'd have to go and wake you up. How are you feeling, honey?"

"Better," I told her honestly, glancing out the kitchen window to the sunrise outside. "As long as mom is still alive, then I think I'll be alright. I'll probably go to check on her every week, though. Is that okay, Missus Alahi?"

"Oh, that's more than okay, dear," the woman replied, seeming to relax a bit at my assurance. "Could you be a darling and go wake up Emmi? Breakfast is almost ready, and she's not much of a morning person." I wanted to reply with 'Neither am I,' but if I wanted to change my outlook on life and, better yet, be a Pokémon Trainer, I'd have to become one. I gave the woman a nod.

"Yeah, sure thing," I replied, getting a bit of an odd look before she returned to the last of her cooking. That was something I wouldn't be able to change; my vernacular. The way I spoke was just... I'm sure I could work it out if I had to, but it was easier to let everyone else think I was just some weird kid who talked like a casual adult. I could just blame the TV if worse came down to worst.

I gently opened the door to Emmi's room, which was down a hall parallel to the kitchen. Inside was a complete mess on the floor, and with walls painted a bright pink, posters of various 'beautiful' and 'cute' Pokémon taped up sporadically around. There was even a single poster of some boy band called 'Alphamane Roamers,' a group of four boys who were dressed up in ways inspired by equine Pokémon like rapidash and zebstrika. She had a laptop PC on her bedside table, playing a repeating video of jungle sounds into the open room.

Emmi, herself, was splayed on top of her covers, light pink pajamas riding up her belly and drool dripping from the side of her mouth. I shoved down a wave of disgust at the sight, chastising myself as I reminded myself that I wasn't much better with my snoring. "Hey, sleepyhead," I spoke softly, gently shaking her at the same time. "Time to wake up. Breakfast is almost ready."

"Don' wanna," the girl mumbled, half awake. She tried to roll over and shake me off, but I merely rolled my eyes and started pulling the covers off the bed, dragging Emmi along with them. She fell to the floor with a thump and was immediately awake, yelping on her way down. "Ah! You jerk!"

"Good morning, sunshine," I greeted her with a smile, reaching down to ruffle her already bedraggled hair. She slapped my hand away with her arm, getting up quickly and reaching out to me with both of her hands, presumably to strangle me. I twirled away, moving closer to the door. "Better get dressed quickly, Emmi, or I'll eat all your food, too!" I closed the door behind me as I heard it thump, Emmi obviously having just tried to lunge at me.

"Mooooom!" Emmi shouted from within her room. "Taiyo dragged me out of bed!" I smirked as I entered the kitchen, seeing Missus Alahi hide her smile and rest her hands on her hips. I met it with a grin as I sat back up at the brunch bar.

"She's awake," I told her, and saw her lips curl up at the sides as she tried her best not to smile and encourage what she thought was an incorrigible young boy.

"Now, Taiyo, that was very mean," the woman chastised me. "You should apologize to Emmi when she comes out here." I rolled my eyes, but nodded anyway.

"Yes, Missus Alahi," I drawled out, figuring Emmi would probably forget by the time we got to school, but it was probably the right thing to do. When Emmi finally walked out, dressed in her pink button-up shirt and sunny yellow skirt, I gave her a fairly solid, "Sorry for yanking you out of bed." She gave me a look, thought for a moment, apparently remembered that, yes, I did literally drag her out of bed, and forgave me with a smile.

We ate breakfast with light conversation and compliments to Missus Alahi's cooking from everyone who ate. Mister Alahi left for work after he'd finished eating with a kiss goodbye to his wife, and a kiss to his daughter's forehead as he passed her by. All the while, I slowly wrote in my notebook about what Pokémon I wanted to try and find. One thing that I'd never be able to change was the fact that I was competitive and picky.

I looked down at what I already had, rereading it for what had to be the second time that morning.

Important Entry #1 – First Pokémon Ideas

*Gible – gotta head to Haina Desert for this. Unlikely. Violent, likely to be attacked by mother as well as infants

*Pikipek – too common. Not like Pidgey or Fletchling, you can do better than this

*Bagon – very aggressive first pick, like Gible. Be ready to assert dominance. Maybe wait on this one

*Staryu – Solid choice, but not experienced with Water-Types. Pin this Psychic-Type. No go

*Alolan Vulpix – extremely rare. Unlikely to find, very likely to freeze to death. About 300-400 in circulation under official trainers. Definitely worth

I glanced over everything, double checking my notes and memorizing them. It was unlikely I'd be able to work on this soon, since I had school and I still really needed to save up for a poké ball. It was frustrating, for certain. Everyone else in school had a Pokémon, after all.

I shoved those thoughts into the back of my head as I finished my breakfast, getting ready for school soon after. I grabbed my backpack and slung it over my shoulder before waiting for Emmi to do the same. I was the first out the door, and we waved goodbye to Missus Ahali before heading down the road towards school.

The building was about half an hour's walk from where Emmi lived, since it resided on the main road outside of the neighborhood. I spotted Kanu trotting up to us from his house across the street, chowing down on the last of what looked like some kind of egg and bacon sandwich. "Sheesh, I'm jealous you two always got to come to school together," I told them as we fell in line together. Somehow, I managed to get stuck in the middle with Kanu on my left, and Emmi on my right.

Kanu was a kid with darker skin than most Alolans, and his head was shaved bald like his dad's. He stood just a bit taller than me, and definitely had the beginnings of an athletic body, something I would have to start working on. As I looked him over, I noticed his school uniform is unbuttoned, like always, and he was wearing mismatching socks. "I always ended up coming alone to school before since not many of the kids on Akala Island can afford to come here," I finished saying.

"Why?" Emmi asked, shifting her bag back up on her shoulders. "I thought you were really poor? If your mommy can get you to go to school here, why not others, too?"

"Mommy only was able to send me here because the resort was paying for it," I explained, a bit embarrassed of the fact, but I wasn't about to let that stop me. "I think it has something to do with some kind of scholarship program they have? I'd be willing to bet they want to sponsor a trainer that has ties to the resort and can advertise for them, so it's best to have a kid get a full-ride." I frowned a little, thinking back on the one and only time I'd met mom's boss. "Only thing I saw in that cue-ball's eyes were dollar signs when I showed off how well I got along with his purugly. I didn't want to, mind you, but it was either that or make mommy look bad."

"That's weird," Emmi said, not elaborating at all after saying that.

"Grown-ups are weird," Kanu amended, getting a nod from Emmi. I did the same. Honestly, I couldn't find any reason to disagree with him. "When I'm a trainer, I'm gonna go to Johto and beat their champion! I don't need any stupid sponsors or whatever!" I liked the kid's gumption, but I was gonna let him learn on his own. Like I've said before, anything involving Pokémon is a rich man's sport; it's just that the rich man sometimes takes pleasure in having the poor man play for him. That's basically all a sponsorship was, even back on Earth.

"Well, good luck with that," I told Kanu, not wanting to break his heart or his brain with the logistics of why having a sponsor was both a blessing and a curse. "I think I'll just figure things out as I go. I just need to save up for a poké ball," I grumbled. Both Emmi and Kanu glanced my way, but I couldn't get a read on what either of them were thinking. "I don't want to make a habit of borrowing other peoples' Pokémon at school, ya know?" I'd only done it a few times, mostly with Emmi's Chiipi, but it was starting to have some... unexpected side effects.

It seemed that the more I battled with someone else's Pokemon in a short period of time, the more that Pokemon would actively seek me out when it was out of its poké ball. I'd already had one of my classmate's rockruff get lost out in the city for two days because he'd let the Pokémon out to play, and it had run away searching for me. We only found it because it'd tackled me to the ground on the way out from school, and my classmate had been able to return it to its poké ball. He hadn't forgiven me, even though it wasn't my fault and I'd apologized.

"I mean, I can ask daddy if he'll buy you a Pokémon," Emmi said, drawing me from my memories. "Any Pokémon you want! And if you wanna catch it, then he can just buy you a poké ball and you can use Chiipii!" I smiled, appreciating the offer, but...

"I don't really know what Pokémon I want yet," I told her, thinking back to my list. "I just know I want it to be rare and powerful. I have a few ideas, but they're all really dangerous to find. I wouldn't want to put anyone else in danger over it."

"It can't be that dangerous," Kanu rolled his eyes, pushing me and making me stumble a bit. "Get real! There's like, no super dangerous Pokémon around here because of all the yungoos."

"Well, I'm not really looking for anything here on Melemele Island," I tell him. "I think the closest thing would be a bagon from the cliffs up north." Kanu shoved me again, even harder this time.

"Are you dumb or something!?" he yelled, glaring daggers at me. "Those things are super dangerous! I thought you were talking about a meowth, or something!" I shook my head, and watched him spit on the road. "What an idiot," he grumbled under his breath.

"Isn't there anything... safer?" Emmi asked, a bit shaken about my first choice of Pokémon. "I think daddy said Bagon attack people that get too close to them. you could get really hurt!"

"Well, the safest one would probably be a vulpix from Lanakila," I said, right before Kanu pushed me again. "Would you stop that!?"

"Geez, and I thought you were supposed to be smart!" he yelled at me, arms crossed in front of his chest. "You're gonna freeze to death up there! Even grownups sometimes don't come back from there, you idiot!" I shook my head, not sure how I could get these two to understand that to be the best, you sometimes have to take these kinds of risks. I decided to pretend to concede the point to them.

"Maybe you're right," I said, frowning a little from frustration. "I'll think of some other Pokémon, or something. That seemed to satisfy both of my friends, and we continued our walk to school without any further issues. "Hey guys," I began as soon as one more conversation ended. By this point, I could see our school a few blocks away. "What're your favorite colors?"

That seemed to take them both by surprise. They didn't answer for a bit, just glancing between me and the road every few seconds. I waved to a passing bicycle-cop and the growlithe in his basket as he went by in the meantime. "Did I ask something weird?" I asked my friends. Kanu looked away while Emmi shook her head.

"No, no, it's not weird at all!" she exclaimed, as if trying to justify herself. Her face was flushed with embarrassment, though. "It's just..."

"It's weird for you," Kanu completed her sentence, still looking out towards the ocean. "You don't ask any questions about anyone. Not unless it has something to do with Pokémon." He turned his head back to face me, a frown marring his lips. "Why're you asking?" I blink, a bit surprised at how perceptive the two of them are. Then again, I've always said kids are far smarter than most people give them credit for. I guess I'd forgotten my own words over the years.

"I just... realized I've been a bad friend, recently," I told them honestly. Lying or dodging the question simply would have been detrimental to everyone, and... this was what good people did, right? "So, I've decided I want to be a better friend to you guys, and a better person." Kanu rolled his eyes, looking like he either didn't believe me or didn't care. Emmi, though, hugged me.

"Aww, that's so nice!" she exclaimed, yelling in my ear. I gently pushed her away from me so she couldn't continue to do so. "That's so cool! You're like that character from Wishmaker Saga!" I guess the confusion was evident on my face, because she decided to explain. "He's like a super cool guy who wears all black, and he's kind of a bad guy, but he helps the heroes sometimes, so he's not all super bad," she said, and I had to smile at her words.

"That's called an anti-hero," I told her as we approached the doors of the school. Other students were already filtering in, so I grabbed both Emmi's and Kanu's arms so we wouldn't get separated. Kanu tried to pull away at first, but let it be when he realized what I was doing. "Oh, right, I wanted to know what your favorite colors were! Ahhh, guess that'll have to be for later." we'd arrived at our classroom, Class D1, and our desks were separated inside. Miss Luka usually wanted us to sit at our desks once we arrived in class, but there would be plenty of time to talk later.

"Mine is peach pink!" Emmi said before putting her bookbag on the ground and sitting down at her desk. "I can't wait to hear what yours is after class!" Kanu and I moved past his desk, and he sat down with practiced movements.

"Blue," he said, barely glancing my way before picking into his ear to clean it. "Like, really dark blue. Like the ocean." I smiled.

"That's a really good color," I told him before moving towards my desk at the back-right side of the room. I gently tossed my bookbag beside it, sitting down in my chair and leaning back against the backrest. The basic structure of Class D1 was about what you'd expect from a primary school classroom; it had twenty desks for students and a large one up front for Miss Luka, beige walls, a popcorn ceiling, and grey tile floors. On the left side of the class, opposite of the door to the hall, were large windows looking outside. Our view was of the back half of the school, gazing up at the large, verdant mountain that made up central Melemele Island.

The decorations, though, were bright, cartoonish, and overall more vibrant than classrooms back on Earth. Pictures of students and their Pokémon adorned the back wall, and cubbies full of books and other school supplies lined the wall underneath the windows on the left side of the room. The right side of the room had various posters of common and popular Pokémon found in Alola, as well as stat sheets about where they could be found, what their general behaviors were like, among other important and mundane details. The solitary image of an Alolan vulpix stared back at me, and I felt some kind of resonance as I stared at the image. My eyes narrowed. It was like a gut feeling fulling my thoughts towards it.

I pulled my notebook out of my bag and opened it up, crossing out the other Pokémon I had listed as potential candidates for my first pick. Underneath it all, I began writing down plans. I wrote slowly, trying to pool everything I remembered about the Pokémon.

First Pokémon Choice: Alolan Vulpix

Type: Ice

Rarity: Presumably extremely rare

Location: Mt. Lanakila and surrounding areas

Important Notes: It's said that Alolan Vulpix exist in small packs with an Alolan Ninetales at their head. Researchers of the area estimate four packs residing on the mountain. Easiest to reach is approximately... 13,000 feet above sea level on the north-eastern cliffs. Exact location is unknown.

I stopped, feeling my hand begin to cramp a little. I frowned to myself, gently reminding myself to grab a phone at the earliest convenience depending on costs. The cheapest model that would serve my purposes was probably around 140 Credits, more than I currently had saved up and definitely would be eating into my poké ball fund. Shit, I might need several to catch a vulpix.

"Alola, Taiyo," the desk-neighbor to my right sat down at her desk, a little girl from Galar named... ah... "How're you doin' today?" The only way I could tell she was from Galar was her accent, which was a vague mix between English and Scottish from Earth. She had paler skin than most people from Alola as well, and an upturned button nose that was kind of cute, honestly. Her eyes stared back at my own with a friendly gaze, and I remembered she had a rookidee named Chappen that her parents had brought with them as a pet. I remembered that Chappen was one of the few Pokémon I'd sometimes borrow that I'd regularly won battles with.

"I've been alright," I said, taking note of her surprised expression that I'd said something more than, 'Doing okay, you?' "Some things happened yesterday, so I'm staying with Emmi's family until... further notice."

"What happened?" she asked, getting over her shock of me actually talking to her fairly quickly.

"My mom is in the hospital is all," I said, quickly adding on before she could shout it to the rest of the class, "but I don't want any special attention, okay? Can you keep this between us?" Her mouth had been opened to speak, but she quickly closed it as I finished my thought, nodding instead. "Uh... I know it's kind of rude, but I forgot your name." The girl rolled her eyes, but didn't seem too offended. I wasn't sure if I should consider that a good thing.

"M'name's Paige," she said, brushing some loose strands of blonde hair to the side of her face, revealing her light freckles more clearly. "I understand. the only one you've really cared to know about was Chappen, right?"

"Uh... yeah," I nodded slowly, not meeting her eyes. "But I'm trying to change that. So... can we start over?" I asked, offering her my hand. She grabbed it in her own with little hesitation, smiling at me.

"Mhm!" she acquiesced, her tone light and chipper. "A'course, I expect ya to remember m'name next time."

"I will, Paige," I said, trying to quickly put it back into my memory. "Hey, do you want to hang out- um, play with Kanu, Emmi and I, later? I don't know if there's any plans for after school, but if not, maybe we can go to the mall, or the arcade, or something else in Hau'oli City." I felt awkward asking some little girl out, as if I were asking her on a date or something, but stamped down that feeling. We were all seven years old, it wasn't a date, and those kinds of thoughts probably weren't even a speck in her mind. I silently cursed the fact that my memories as an adult on Earth made this so much weirder for me.

"Yeah, I'll ask my mum when she comes to pick me up," Paige said, oblivious to my inner turmoil. "I heard there's a new malasada place at Station Square," she continued, eyes glittering at the thought of the sweet treat. I had to think a bit to remember where she was talking about.

Station Square was a place down by the beach in the more tourist-y area of Hau'oli City, a few blocks away from the lovingly nicknamed "Hotel Plaza," and as one might expect, most of the hotels in Hau'oli City were located there. Station Square was something of a local hotspot as well due to the plethora of things to do there, and locals were given a convenient discount on the tourist trap prices. I'd actually never been to Station Square before; most of my shopping previously was at the grocery mart on Akala Island, or online on my PC. Even then, my online shopping mostly consisted of textbooks.

"That sounds like fun," I told Paige honestly, watching as Miss Luka entered the room. She talked to someone briefly outside the door before propping it open and standing in front of her desk. "Ten Credits we have a new student," I mumbled to Paige, just loud enough for her to hear.

"You're on," she shot back, shooting me a grin before we both straightened up in our seats to avoid getting a lecture from our teacher.

"Alola, class!" Miss Luka greeted us, receiving an 'Alola, Miss Luka,' in return from everyone else. "I have exciting news, today! We have a transfer student who will be joining us, starting today." I smirked over at Paige, who rolled her eyes and shrugged. "She's coming all the way from Unova. I'd like you all to give her a warm Alolan welcome! Okay, dear, come on in." She waved the new kid into the class, and it took a massive amount of willpower to not react in any suspicious way.

The girl had wavy, platinum blonde hair that ran down to her waist, as well as green eyes like fresh, healthy grass. She wore a white blouse with a pale pink pencil skirt, and a pair of thin glasses rested on the bridge of her nose. A nervous smile graces her face as she stood in front of the class, giving everyone a gentle wave. "H-Hello. My name i- I mean Alola!" She panicked midway through her greeting, correcting herself as if we'd stone her if she didn't. "My name is Lusamine, but please call me Lucy!" She bowed low, something that in some kind of anime wouldn't seem out of place, but I'd learned over my years that bowing was primarily a Kantonian or Johtonian greeting. It was completely out of place here, and given the whispers from the other kids, it wasn't about to go unnoticed.

Lusamine, the primary antagonist of the Sun and Moon games, as well as... something of a misused character in Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. In the TV show, she's portrayed as a loving and doting mother, if a bit... strange. I never watched that part of the anime, so most of the details were lost on me. However, the girl standing in front of the class was as real as they came. I wasn't about to make the mistake of seeing her as some character.

"Alola, Lucy," I spoke up when nobody else would, saving the poor girl from a silent embarrassment. "It's nice to meet you. Forgive the scary faces, I hope everyone here is nice and friendly to you." I met every pair of eyeballs staring at me in surprise. Not only for the fact I'd been actively polite to someone in our class, but probably for the fact that it was to a complete stranger.

"Th-Thank you," Lusamine stammered, and Miss Luka directed her to the sole empty seat in the other back corner of the room, opposite of the window and my own desk. She sat down, shooting me a grateful smile before getting comfortable. Miss Luka seemed appreciative as well, given that she met my eyes with a beaming smile on her face.

From that point on was the first half of school. I've stated it before, but I'll say it again, Miss Luka is a boring teacher. She's passionate about teaching, there's no doubt in my mind about that. She seems genuinely excited to teach us new concepts, about history, and seeing how well we progress. The problem is that her voice never got the memo. She's flat, dull, and despite the grin whenever she reads straight out of the textbook, she's still reading out of the textbook. I was half tempted to take over the class for her if I thought I'd be taken even slightly seriously.

Thus, I spent the three hours of class, with short fifteen-minute breaks in between mind you, jotting down things into my notebook. It was something I'd started doing since my first day, and Miss Luka had learned that aside from history, I already had a solid grasp of the topics she was teaching; things like math, science, writing, and so on. It was so convenient for me that Alola at least used English letters, though here it was called Galarian. Apparently Galar had colonized Alola some time in the past, and when they eventually left due to civil unrest, the language had mostly stuck.

My current writing topic was trying to figure out ways to make money in order to buy not just one poké ball, but several. Honestly... I was coming up blank, even an hour in. At my age, there simply wasn't a whole lot I could do. Despite being incredibly safe, Alola still had child labor laws meaning I couldn't do much but continue going to school. Since I wasn't a trainer, I couldn't make any money that way, either. The only Pokémon battles I could do were in the playground with other kids' Pokémon, and those weren't official matches, so I gained nothing from them. I glanced at Paige, letting my eyes wander as I wracked my brain for ideas. Then it hit me.

Bets. I could make bets. I might not make a lot, since betting on me to win probably had better than average odds, but challenging someone cocky like Kanu with a 'weak' Pokémon would net me some decent amount of money, I'm sure. I might have to split it with whoever's Pokémon I was using, but making any money was better than making no money.

When lunch eventually came around, I spent the better half of it trying to ask around if anyone would like to battle during recess for wagers, and if anyone would be willing to lend me their Pokémon for said battle. Unfortunately, one thing stood in the way to hinder my plans. I had a bit of a reputation in school for being a battle maniac, and being a damn good one at that. After that initial loss against Kanu, kids must have eventually figured out that what I'd done and continued to do every couple of days after was crazy impressive for someone our age. As such, while I could find people willing to battle easily enough... Finding bets was near impossible. Nobody wanted to take such a high chance at losing their allowance money.

A bit dejected, I sat by my lonesome at a far table, eating the ham and cheddar sandwich Missus Alahi had packed for me. It was very simple, and I probably could have made something better for myself had I the funds, but I wasn't about to complain about free food. As I ate, I pondered a bit more over my options for making money. Inspiration struck like a comet. I could probably ask for an allowance from mister and Missus Alahi for doing chores around the house. Honestly, I don't know why I hadn't thought of that before. It was such a simple concept, and probably the easiest out of everything I'd come up with. I was an idiot.

My musings were interrupted when a certain blonde-haired transfer student sat down across from me at the long, empty table. "A-Alola," the girl spoke, offering me a shy but friendly smile. "Why are you sitting all alone over here?"

"Ah, it's just because I needed some time to think," I told her, glancing over to where Emmi, Kanu, and a couple other kids were sitting from our class. Paige was at another table with her own friends. "Normally I'd sit with Emmi and Kanu, but sometimes I sit alone to get my thoughts in order."

"What are you thinking about, exactly?" she asked, seeming not at all taken aback by how I talked or that I preferred to be alone when thinking. "It seems like it was very important since you were making a funny face." Was I? Huh, guess I'd have to be aware of that. I glanced down at Lusamine's lunch as I thought about my answer. It was a dish of baked chicken tenders, some greens that looked like green beans or celery, as well as a small pudding cup. Definitely not a school lunch, and way too expensive looking compared to what the rest of us brought to school. I'd always imagined that Lusamine had earned her fortune through her hard work, but maybe she was a rich kid, too.

"Just about ways to make money," I finally replied before taking another bite of my sandwich. "I'm kind of here under a... scholarship? Yeah, a scholarship. Anyway, that means I don't exactly have a lot of money to throw around. I don't even have enough money to buy a poké ball."

"Oh, is that why you were asking around about battling with other peoples' Pokémon, before?" she asked, cutting into her baked chicken tenders with a fork and knife. Her movements were dainty and slow, as if practiced and perfected over several years. I nodded in response to her question, looking up from her hands to meet her kind and gentle eyes staring back into my own. I looked away, not sure how to respond to such a look. "You're silly," she said, and I could hear a tittering to her voice.

"Yeah, well, I guess I gotta make up for my rotten personality, somehow," I shot back, though I did my best to keep my tone light so she wouldn't think she had upset me. Thankfully, I heard her giggle, which made me smile a bit. "Yeah, I was asking around so I could try and get some wagers going and make money that way. Didn't exactly work out," I explained. "So I'll probably just ask mister and Missus Alahi, uh, Emmi's parents, if I can earn some money by doing chores for them." All I received in return was an idle hum from Lusamine, and when I looked over to her, she seemed in thought. It took her a minute to decide on something, though.

"I have a Pokémon," she spoke slowly, as if choosing her words carefully in order to not offend me. Her eyes watched me closely. This girl had been raised in a house that probably emphasized diplomacy, and I got the feeling her parents were probably business oriented. "She needs some training, though. I can ask if daddy will pay you to train her."

"We just met today," I reminded her, not sure why she'd trust me with this kind of thing. Sure, I'd trained Chiipii into a metapod by this point, but there was no way Lusamine would know that, right? "Why trust me that much?"

"Because you were the only person who stood up for me," she answered simply, as if that made any kind of sense. I supposed in some kind of simple way, it did. Even if she was the only one here who seemed to at least somewhat understand me, and was years ahead of our peers when it came to conversation, she was still a kid at heart. I guess kindness really was all there was to it.

"I see," I said, gathering my thoughts before shrugging. Well, when life gives you lemons... "If your dad is alright with it, sure I wouldn't mind helping you train your Pokémon when I have time. What Pokémon do you have?" She brought out her poké ball from her backpack, a large clunker of a thing. Mind you, the poké balls of this day and age were nothing like the compact, streamlined red and white balls I was familiar with from the games and TV show. No, these things were made of iron, had a red, unscrewable cap on the top, and weighed around five pounds, each. I'm pretty sure the Celebi movie showed them off with some kid from the past, but it'd been years since I saw it and I couldn't say for sure.

"She's a petilil," Lusamine explained, and the fact surprised me. Lusamine had always been associated with clefable in my mind, but I supposed it made sense, thinking about it more. Clefairy, as far as I knew, wasn't native to Unova, and I'm pretty sure petilil was introduced in the Black and White games. "Her name is Lily, and my daddy bought her for me before we came here to Alola so I wouldn't be lonely while he and mommy are at work."

Alright, so we had a classic 'lonely rich kid' scenario going on. No wonder she seems to have latched onto me like this. I had to wonder if she'd ever had any friends her own age. I cleared my throat after finishing the last of my sandwich. "Okay, well that's one thing out of the way," I said, trying to come up with some kind of training plan in my head. Not easy. "So what are you looking to train Lily for? Battle, contests, something else...?" I asked, hoping she'd give me an easy answer.

"I want her to evolve, but I also want her to be good at fighting," Lusamine explained, looking excited at the prospect of having her petilil be battle-ready. Her smile was infectious as she even leaned over the table in her excitement. "I've seen how strong and beautiful liligant is on the TV, and I want her to be able to do that kind of stuff!" I thought for a few moments, realizing something. Liligant evolved via Sun Stone, though there was a Hisuian version that evolved... I could have sworn it was a different kind of stone that gave the Hisuian version. However, the logistics of that was strange. Would it even be possible, now? Did the location matter? Never mind that the quality of the stone would have to be taken into account, as well.

"Well," I spoke up, not letting the conversation lull for too long, "it seems like you have your work cut out for you. Petilil evolves through a Sun Stone, so it's just a matter of getting your hands on one. As for actual training, we can work on stuff like moves, physical conditioning, and battle power in the meantime."

"Why physical stuff?" Lusamine asked, a perplexed expression crossing her face. "Liligant mostly uses their powers for fighting, don't they?"

"They do," I acknowledged, "but say that you want to keep her in for a few rounds of combat, or a battle drags on longer than you expected, or you find yourself caught out in the wilderness with only her to protect you." I listed each scenario with a finger to count and emphasize my points. "While special and ranged attacks are this Pokémon's specialty, they won't be able to keep up without some kind of physical endurance to help them last for long battles. A Pokémon's abilities are only as strong as their endurance, after all." Lusamine nodded, and I had to admit that I'd had the same questions before studying all of this.

This world... was completely different from both the games and the TV show. The timeline was screwy, and honestly, Pokémon worked completely differently from stats on a screen. Proper training, diets, and care all contributed to the combat ability of Pokémon under a trainer's care, not just battling and experience points. Pokémon moves could be used outside of battle, too, in order to help circumvent problems. In short, it was perfect for a guy like me who loved to abuse broken mechanics.

"So, we'll first train Lily in the basics to help train her endurance, then we'll work on expanding her moveset, before finally evolving her whenever you're satisfied with her progress," I finished, seeing Lusamine's eyes sparkle with determination and excitement. "During recess, would it be alright if I met Lily?"

"Yes, of course!" Lusamine exclaimed, and once more I smiled at her enthusiasm. I couldn't help but find her love for battle and Pokémon endearing. "I think you'll be fast friends! No, I'm sure of it!" Her lunch had gone forgotten over the course of the conversation, and as she slammed her hands on the table in her excitement, her left hand struck her pudding cup, exploding it all over her hand and blouse. Suffice it to say, the rest of lunch was spent cleaning her clothes as best as we could.

I*A*C

Lusamine was nothing if not a proper, respectable child. Be polite. Be efficient. Have a plan to use everyone you meet. These were the rules her parents set for her, and she was proud of her ability to follow through with them. Manipulating that boy, Taiyo, was easy. He was blunt and brazen, and all it took was a little sob story about how kind he was to have him in the palm of her hand. She felt a little bad, sure, but who wouldn't when using the human with the personality of a herdier?

She watched as Taiyo fiddled with the cap of her poké ball, finally releasing her sweet little Lily onto the playground. Her little darling was what daddy called a 'shiny', a rare variant who was born with a different appearance than her peers. Only the best for his little girl, of course. Taiyo was, understandably, awestruck at the color of her Lily being different from what he expected, and his eyes met hers for a brief moment before he focused back onto the Pokémon. Her chest ached at his excited smile for some reason.

"Alright, hey there, Lily," Taiyo greeted her Pokémon. Such a simple, unrefined greeting. It matched him perfectly. He squatted down, meeting her Pokémon at as close to eye level as he could; a difficult thing considering just how small her little Lily was- Lusamine watched in shock and barely contained rage as that ruffian had the nerve to pick her little flower up! "Nice to meet you. My name is Taiyo, and I'll be your trainer for a while so you can get big and strong for Lucy." To her surprise, Lily didn't simply drain him dry with an Absorb attack, or paralyze him with a Stun Spore. No, the little thing... seemed to be happy.

How strange...

Watching Taiyo train Lily was a strange sight as well. He had the little Bulb Pokémon run laps around the basketball field, jogging ten times as many laps around the field and shouting encouraging words all the while. He had her do sit ups, or at least the closest equivalent, and during the last ten minutes, asked that Lily use a weak Absorb attack on him! It took several minutes for Lily to relent and give in to his requests, and the attack left him understandably drained of energy, but the sheer nerve to even suggest such a thing...

Lusamine decided, as recess ended and Lily was returned to her poké ball, to keep a close eye on Taiyo. The ruffian certainly seemed to know his stuff, and it would be helpful to have someone so useful in her back pocket, so to speak. Oh, yes, and paying him...

Well, certainly her daddy wouldn't mind a few missing Credits from her allowance card, would he? It was hers to use, after all. Besides, if she wanted her Lily to be nice and strong, she'd have to keep Taiyo motivated in order to continue their training.

I*A*C

Ten Credits. I guess I really couldn't ask for much more, considering I didn't actually teach Lily anything new. Still, being paid that little stung a bit. The beaming smile on Lusamine's face, though, was worth it. She seemed to be kind and considerate of me, and had even accepted me invitation to head down to Station Square with Emmi, Kanu, Paige and myself. That's how I found myself walking with this group of girls and Kanu down to Hau'oli City. If we were older, I'm sure Kanu and I would be beating back guys trying to flirt with the girls in our group. Thankfully, we were young enough that we were all off anyone else's radar.

"I'm just saying, Aster is way cuter," Emmi protested, earning an eye roll from Paige while Kanu and I shrugged to one another. The two girls had been arguing about the Alphamane Roamers band since we'd started walking to Station Square. Lusamine seemed happy to just watch them, not really offering her two cents until... "Lucy, Aster or Corman? Who's cuter?"

"Personally, I'm more interested in Elio," Lusamine stoked the flame even higher. Paige seemed personally offended by Lusamine's choice and started yelling at her, earning laughter from the other two girls. I glanced back to Kanu, who looked back at me, and we both shrugged again.

"Girls," I offered, earning back a 'Girls' as acknowledgement from him. I nodded, content with the exchange. I heard Lusamine scoff, glancing at Emmi and Paige.

"Boys," she smiled and rolled her eyes. I hid a smile of my own, glad that she was fitting in easily enough. I'd been a bit worried given how nervous she'd seemed in front of class, but I guess it had just been jitters from being someplace so new and not knowing anyone. We continued making our way to Station Square, entering the city limits after about a half an hour's walk from the school. Maybe most Regdon cities were reminiscent of those on Earth, with an actual city surrounded by suburbs, then rural areas. In Alola, that concept was greatly reduced given the relatively small size of the islands. Hau'oli City proper probably had an area of around twenty square miles, taking up the entirety of the south-western portion of Melemele Island. The suburbs to the north and east of the city probably had a combined area of about fifteen square miles. For comparison, New York City had about four-hundred and fifty square miles. The whole of Melemele Island was smaller than New York City.

Though, to be honest, I much preferred Hau'oli City to New York City. The architecture was far more pleasing to look at, and the streets were kept clean and tidy due to the number of tourists who liked to head out into the wilderness nearby and explore. See, unlike cities back on Earth, most Alolan cities had a sort of communal pride in them; something that was probably retained from the time when each island consisted of many tribes. Even the local Pokémon were privy to it.

This pride in our homes encouraged us to keep everything clean, even if it was out of the way and hidden. We loved our islands, our culture, and our town, and always made sure that outsiders would see the best possible version of them. Maybe that's why, in the future, Team Skull ends up trashing Po Town. They lose their pride in Alola, the region which practically forgot them for failing their Island Challenges.

"What do you think, Taiyo?" I heard Lusamine ask, and glanced towards her to see the cheeky smile on her face. Behind her, Kanu and Emmi hold back their laughter. Ah, I'd been caught.

"Sorry, I wasn't listening," I admitted simply, and I saw Lusamine's smile twitch at the admission. Guess she wasn't expecting me to just up and say it. "Could you repeat the question?"

"We were talkin' about what the best flavor for malasadas are," Paige explained from the other side of Lusamine as we passed by the Ku'ai Nui Mall. "My favorite is strawberry-chocolate, obviously, because malasadas are supposed to be yummy!"

"Please, if you haven't had a spicy malasada, you haven't lived!" Kanu argued, looking towards me. "You think so too, right!? Pepper jack cheese malasadas are the best!" I'd never had one of them, but I did like pepper jack... Shit, I might have to give that a try.

"You're both wrong," Emmi shook her head, resting her hands on her hips as we kept walking down the street. We didn't need to worry about cars, since motorized vehicles were actually pretty rare on Regdon. In Alola especially, since any vehicles like that needed to be shipped over. From what I understood, motor vehicles were expensive and reserved only for the super-rich, the super desperate, and companies that had a need for them. As I'd heard it stated before, if you had a car, you were either rich, or in debt.

"Strawberry-Nomel malasadas are obviously the best. It's sweet and sour and super good!" Emmi finished, looking at me expectantly. "You have to admit that they're the best, right Taiyo? There's nothing else like them." I glanced at Lusamine, who shrugged.

"I've never had any before," she admitted simply. Okay, that was fair. I gave it a hard think, eventually letting out a sigh and giving my answer.

"I have to agree with Paige," I said, watching her smile as both Emmi and Kanu rolled their eyes. "Strawberry and chocolate make a great combination. However, I'm more partial to strawberry and banana."

"I can forgive that," Paige defended me, moving to my other side instead of Lusamine's. "It's still really sweet, so that's good too." Lusamine seemed to think for a moment before nodding along with Paige.

"That sounds good, actually," she said, sounding pleasantly surprised. "I'll try that one, the strawberry and banana. In fact, it's all my treat, okay everyone?"

"That's assuming they have the ingredients," I told her, getting a confused look in return. I chuckled before explaining, "The malasada shops around Alola have something of a tradition. Each store has a particular specialty malasada that they claim to make better than anyone else. In competitions, they're usually broadened as described by their main flavor: sweet, spicy, dry, sour, so on and so on. The malasada place back on Akala Island that mom and I used to go to had really good chicken-jalapeno malasadas." I saw Kanu's expression perk up at that. "Maybe I'll take you to try them sometime, Kanu."

"Yes!" Kanu grinned, pumping his fist at the suggestion. A little bit of time and walking later, during which we talked about things ranging from the kinds of music we liked, to our favorite foods, to even our favorite videogames. Imagine my surprise when Lusamine told me that she enjoyed jazz and blues. I guess it came with being from Unova. Finally, though, we made it to Station Square.

Station Square was more of a strip of road by the water than an actual square, with a couple of roads leading inland towards Hotel Plaza. The strip bordered the beach, basically encouraging all of the tourists going swimming to shop within it on the way to and from the beach. There were even a few shops specifically for trainers, including the widely-renowned Pokémon Center, with a Pokémart located right beside it. Unlike in the Sun and Moon games, the Pokémon Center and Pokémart weren't within the same building. I'd looked it up, and found that the Pokémon Center was actually owned by Silph Company, while the Pokémart brand was owned by Devon Corporation. I guess later in the future they'll join the two in some kind of merger or partnership, but for now, the two were separate.

"Wow, look at that!" I heard Kanu exclaim, pointing towards a trainer who'd just let out a mudsdale and was climbing aboard it. "What Pokémon is that?"

"It's a mudsdale," I said immediately, looking the massive horse Pokémon over. It was huge, easily nine feet tall, towering over us kids. "It's a strong Ground-Type Pokémon that usually has the Stamina Ability, which hardens up their bodies any time they take a hit. It's usually best to try and take them out in one-go with non-physical attacks so they don't become a threat later." I saw Emmi, Paige, and Kanu roll their eyes with smiles on their faces, used to my comparatively encyclopedic knowledge on Pokémon. Lusamine, however, seemed to give me an appraising look, as if re-evaluating what I was capable of. I wasn't sure how to feel about that.

"Oh, there's the malasada place," Paige pointed out to a small, single-story building with a flat roof. It was painted yellow, with orange and brown accent pieces and decorations. Its sign, which hung over its glass, automatic doors, was in the shape of an Alolan meowth taking a bite out of a fluffy malasada, an entirely too pleased expression on its face. The place was called Meow-lasada, and a poster on one of the windows by the door claimed in big black letters, 'Home of the BBQ Chicken malasada! Comes in both sweet and smokey or sour and tangy sauce!'

"That actually sounds pretty good," I mentioned after reading over the sign. I heard Kanu hum in agreement. "Guess I'll give it a try. they wouldn't put that front and center if they weren't proud of it."

"I might try it, too," Lusamine agreed, sounding intrigued. "Is barbecue normal with malasadas?"

"Not at all," I shook my head. "First I've ever heard of it. Guys?" The other three all gave various negative answers. I looked around, and noticed the building next door was a bookstore. Outside were a few tables with sun umbrellas, and I could see other small groups of people eating while reading. "Mind if I check out the bookstore while you guys grab our snacks?"

"Oh, I'll come with you," Lusamine offered, but was quickly shot down by Paige.

"Wait, aren't you paying?" she asked, deflating the platinum blonde girl a little. "I'll go with our little oranguru. I want a strawberry-chocolate malasada, please and thank ye." She smiled, and I could have sworn I saw Lusamine grit her teeth a bit. "If they haven't got that, then just something sweet works. Come on then, Taiyo." Paige walked towards the bookstore, leaving the others behind with a wave. I glanced at them, shrugged, and followed.

As we entered the bookstore, I took a good look around at the shelves upon shelves of paper-bound knowledge. It smelled of textbooks and coffee, a scent I always found relaxing. To the back left corner was a large sign with decorated lettering for a Saws-Bucks, a popular coffee chain. "So, anything you want to look for fir-" I began to ask, but noticed too late that Paige had already wandered off to the fiction section of the store. I let out a sigh and jogged after her, but stopped as something caught my eye.

I stared at the offending display. A single book that was on sale, and in one single moment, the perfect solution to my poké ball problem clicked into place. Memoirs of the Ancient Sinnoh was the title of the book. Written and published by Dr. Oliver Laventon. It was bundled with a copy of his original pokédex, and the back cover described the book as a collection of the various memoirs, notes, and findings of Professor Laventon during his time in Hisui with the Galaxy Exploration Team. Front and center on the main cover of the book was a close-up image of a single apricorn poké ball sitting in a grassy field. I knew what I needed to do.

I*A*C

Entry 1

As a record of thoughts and ideas, I've bought a new notebook for keeping track of everything outside of my scribbles notebook. This will be full of my more cognizant thoughts and actual theories as to the world around me and how it functions. I've since studied up on the history of poké balls, given that I plan to make my own using apricorns and... I think they were called tumblestones? I have no idea what a tumble stone is, but hopefully this book I purchased today will have the answers. If nothing else, I can use the PC at home to look it up or ask Miss Luka if she has any answers. As it turns out, poké balls are a relatively new invention in the long history of Regdon. They first are referenced in texts around two-hundred years ago, about the time when Professor Laventon published his research in Hisui, now Sinnoh. He makes mention of a girl who fell from the sky. While his description of her leaves a lot to be desired, the photograph of her appears to be that of a young woman similar in appearance to Paige. I'm not sure I like the implications of that, and he does note that she vanishes some couple of years after arriving. I'll be keeping an eye out, just in case.

Beyond the primitive poké balls from so long ago, Silph Company apparently was formed about one-hundred years after the events in Hisui, and began mass producing poké balls for exploration teams and those seeking Pokémon companions of their own. In fact, they would have led a monopoly on poké balls if not for the efforts of Galar's Dr. Alfred Kensworth, who dedicated research into Pokémon health and diets. His lawsuit against Silph Company, in what is now known as Kensworth v. Silph, is widely used nowadays to ensure no company has the sole right to any single type of poké ball.

About fifty years after that was when the first mechanical poké balls were created. They were large and clunky, and made out of pure iron unlike the lighter alloy poké balls are made of, today. They were only perfected, and mass produced after another fifty years. I'm beginning to sense a pattern... Regardless, these are the poké balls we use now, with the twisty top. I don't know when the modern poké ball will be invented, but I really can hardly wait.

Anyway, delving more into the old, ancient apricorn poké balls, apparently there's three major components to them. The apricorn base, which has special properties which make capturing Pokémon possible in the first place, the tumblestone top, which amplifies the effects of the base, and then the capture device, which harnesses the properties of both halves to actually capture the Pokémon and encourage more friendly behavior towards its trainer.

I've looked into the mechanics of that latter bit, and from what I've found, it's a sort of psychic suggestion induced electronically into the Pokémon. It can't force a Pokémon to like its trainer, but it can at least nudge them in that direction. It's strange and... dubious ethically, but I really don't have any better options. I figure that capture device will be the hardest component to find, but maybe I can buy some online. Parts are usually cheaper than the full product, after all.

I'm planning on scoping out a few places to find viable apricorns in the coming days. There's two places on my list so far; Kukui Ana Cavern on Melemele Island, which is often host to the island's sole Island Trial, or Halei La'au Forest on Akala Island, which commonly hosts their Grass-Type Island Trial. Both can be incredibly dangerous, so some planning will be in order. I'm thinking I'll try and focus on Kukui Ana Cavern, given its close proximity to Hau'oli City and the higher chances of encountering Pokémon that would rather flee in the face of a kid like me than have me for lunch.

I*A*C

That's a wrap! Didn't have my editor this time around, but I'm pretty happy with what I've got here. I'm hoping to write this story with arcs within it, while keeping some things episodic in nature. I guess you could call this the Poké Ball Arc, with Taiyo trying to find a way to get his hands on poké balls to capture his first Pokémon. After this will be the Alolan Vulpix Arc, or the Summer Break Arc, which should be pretty self explanatory. I'm really enjoying writing these, and it's fun to come up with OCs for the story. I know there's not a lot of Pokémon just yet, but right now Taiyo really can't do a whole lot with them that we haven't already seen. I promise we'll get to them soon, though. I enjoy writing more interpersonal stuff a bit more, and it's hard to do that when the Pokémon can't actually talk. Wonder if I'll end up finding a way around that. Either way, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I'll see you in the next one! Please review, as it keeps the inspiration for this story strong. You don't even gotta favorite or follow, I just like hearing what people like about my stories, and what they think I can improve on.