An early chapter this time! I may or may not release the next one tomorrow depending on how editing goes, but I hope you enjoy this one, regardless!
I*A*C
The day after my heart-to-heart with my grandparents, Lucy and I waved them goodbye as they sent us off from the front gate of their house. The plan was to hike up Mount Hokulani, camp the night near the observatory, then get up early to take a look around inside. Lucy had already taken a look at their website, and the observatory opened to the public at eight in the morning, and even had guided tours every two hours until sundown. As much as I'd like an evening tour, I really didn't want to be rushed for anything. This was summer vacation, after all, and I intended to enjoy it.
"You two stay safe, now," Lakuni told us, handing me a small plastic bag with two wooden bento boxes inside of it. "Your grandmother made these for you this morning. Make sure to eat it today, since they'll go bad by this evening." I looked down at the small food offering before turning to Shiina and bowing slightly.
"Thank you for the food, grandma," I told her, accepting the bag and placing it inside my rolling cooler. Hopefully it would last a couple hours longer in there. "What's in it, anyways?"
"Oh, just some rice balls, a few rolled omelets, apple slices and some green beans," she explained as I zipped the cooler back up. "Everything you need for a filling, healthy lunch. Lusamine, you take care of my grandson, won't you?"
"Of course I will, grandma Shiina," Lucy replied easily, giving me a teasing smile. I rolled my eyes, looking back as Sunray stretched on the windowsill and watched us, split tail waving gently behind him. "Someone has to make sure he doesn't get himself killed. Tai has a habit of attracting disasters around him."
"Wha- I do not!" I protested, glaring at my traitor of a best friend. She gave me a disbelieving look in return. "You've been reading too much manga. There's no way I'm that bad."
"You went out of your way to go into an Island Trial area and got the Totem Pokémon upset with you," she began, and both my grandparents shot me concerned looks. "Then you do it again on Wela Volcano, this time getting even more people hurt when it erupted." I winced. That was a low blow...
"Didn't four people die from that?" I overheard Shiina whisper to her husband. Four people? I tried to keep my expression neutral, but I should have known I couldn't hide how upset I was from Lucy, because she shut herself right up about the topic.
"E-Even though things usually work out for you, I think it's best if you always have someone with you," she finished, fidgeting with her promise ring. I looked back over to my grandparents, who were whispering between each other.
"Is everything okay?" I asked.
"Actually, I just realized how long it's been since I've gone to the observatory," Lakuni spoke up, a smile on his face. Damn it, Lucy. Ugh, I can't blame her, but I wasn't sure I wanted to spend multiple days with my grandpap. "Tell you what, why don't we go together? Make up for lost time?" Uuuuuuugh.
"Yeah, sounds like a good idea," I did my best not to let my irritation show, but given the glare that Lucy shot me, I must not have had a great poker face. Well, Lakuni was smiling still, so either he was ignoring my pained expression, or Lucy was just that good at reading me. I really hoped it was the latter. "There's a shuttle bus that heads up and down the mountain, right?"
"That's right," Lakuni seemed impressed that I knew that. "It heads up and down once every two hours. Though the stop is a few hours hike outside the city, and those who want to get there early usually leave before the sun is even up." That sounded about right. Despite its portrayal in the games, Malie City is just as big of a tourist hub as Hau'oli and Heahea. In fact, even with the sun still rising, the streets down the way already seemed to be filling up with people and Pokémon.
"Well, grandpap, if you want to join us, you'll want to get a move on and get ready," I told him, admitting defeat. After the mess that Lucy had portrayed my adventures as, and she wasn't exactly wrong about them, there's no way a responsible adult would let me just go off without so much as an assurance that I knew what I was doing. I tried not to think about what that made Aster.
"Ah, you're right," he said with a chuckle, heading inside. "Iro, if you'd be a dear and pack me a bento, too?"
"Bah, make your own damn lunch," the older woman scolded him with a smile, lightly tapping his shoulder as they both went back to the house. I guess that meant we would be waiting out here for a while longer. I glanced over at Lucy, who shot me a sheepish smile.
"Uh, sorry?" She offered. "I didn't mean to get him mixed up in all of this."
"Ah, it can't be helped," I told her, waving my hand dismissively. "It's fine. Not like we were actually doing anything aside from camping. Actually, here, give me your bag. I'll take it in with all of our camping stuff. If grandpap wants to make this a day trip, then we won't need any of this stuff."
"Actually, can I take them in?" Lucy asked. I blinked, a bit confused, but I really didn't have any reason to refute her. I handed her everything and, after making sure she could carry it all, watched her head in. I leaned against the outside wall of my grandparents' house, watching people on the street pass by. Some men were dressed up for work, while I saw grandparents with their kids heading off to who-knows-where. I couldn't help but watch them a bit longer.
I still wasn't sure what to make of my own grandparents. They seemed nice enough, and while first meetings had been a little tense, I could understand all of where they were coming from. I guess it was just a shock that my own mom had been the one to cut ties, not them. I'm sure she thought it was for the best, but a part of me couldn't help but think badly of the woman who'd raised me all on her own. I grimaced at the internal admission. She'd done everything for me. given me everything I could have possibly wanted. Who was I to think badly of her? I was little better than a spoiled brat with that kind of thinking. No, she'd done what she thought was best. That was all that mattered. Nobody had been permanently hurt by it. That was all I should think about. Mom always did what was best for me... right...?
I frowned, deciding to stop that train of thought before it had a chance to leave the station. What was with me...? I decided to look around and take in my surroundings, hoping to distract myself a bit. The neighborhood was quaint and relatively quiet, even though there was quite a bit of traffic down the way to the east. Most of the houses looked pretty similar to my grandparents', though there were a few with two stories instead of just one. It seemed like that a lot of elderly lived around here, too, if the neighbors were any indication. I waved to an old lady watering her garden, who waved back at me with a smile.
I looked around a bit more, waiting patiently for Lucy to come back outside. Just how long did it take to leave our things by the door? I let out a gentle sigh, watching as an umbreon leapt up from one of the walls onto a nearby roof, before glancing my way. I blinked, wondering if my eyes were fooling me, but sure enough, the normally yellow markings on its body were instead a cool blue. A shiny umbreon. My eyes narrowed. Once was luck. But this... this was far beyond unlikely. I even had poké balls this time as well. They were- in my bag. That I'd given to Lucy to take inside. God fucking dammit.
The umbreon seemed to regard me for a few moments before it ran off, scampering between the roofs and walls between the houses. The universe was laughing at me. I was sure of it. Just why the fuck would I see two shiny Pokémon within days of each other, and just so happen to not have any poké balls on hand?
"Hey, Tai, we're back!" I heard Lucy call out to me from the door, and peeked my head around the wall to see her coming out with my grandpap. He also was carrying a bento box with him, and was dressed in jean suspender pants, a short-sleeved shirt, and a straw hat. He looked like a stereotypical old man. "Sorry it took so long, I wanted to ask your grandpa something."
"Well, as long as we head out soon," I told them, glancing at the sun in the sky. "I saw a shiny umbreon over there, but it ran off. What a lousy time to hand off my poké balls, right?"
"Wait, really!?" Lucy shouted, stomping the ground in frustration. "Ugh, that stinks! I wish I could've seen it!"
"That's very strange," Lakuni spoke up, stroking his chin. "Aren't umbreon normally nocturnal? To see one this late in the morning is pretty weird."
"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing," I agreed with him. "We saw a shiny eevee the other day at school, too." I saw as grandpap's eyes went wide. "Yeah, it was pretty crazy." I began walking as the other two caught up with me, and we all headed towards Route 10. "Couldn't catch it then, either."
"Hah, wish I could have seen it," Lakuni muttered. "My own grandson has already seen two shiny Pokémon at the age of six, and I've never even seen one!" That was... yeah, that definitely put things in perspective for me. "Hah, to think an old geezer like me could see Lugia, but not a shiny Pokémon!" My eye twitched. Lugia?
I looked at my grandpap as Lucy did the same, confusion etched on her face. "Lugia?" she asked, utterly bewildered. My grandpap didn't seem to mind her confusion at all. "What's that? Is it a Pokemon?"
"Hah, a local legend in Fula City, and a few other places around the world," Lakuni explained to us. "It's said that Lugia is a Pokémon that can create powerful storms just from flapping his wings! Of course, I think all that's probably just exaggerating grimer-wash, but who's to say? Fula City has a Wind Festival every year, and I was blessed enough to go to it one time when I was a trainer." So, Fula City existed in this world...
"So, how do you know its name?" I asked him. My grandpap just gave me a queer look, like I'd asked him how he knew the sky was blue.
"Well, its name isn't exactly a secret," he said, as if it were obvious. I pulled out my phone, quickly searching up the name 'Lugia'. "Is something the matter, kiddo?"
"Look at this," I told him. As expected, there were zero results for the name Lugia. Not a single one. "You said this was common knowledge, right? Porygle has nothing on it, though."
"That's strange..." he muttered, taking my phone as his expression fell a bit. "Over in Fula, everyone knew Lugia by name. This thing has information from all over the world, I take it?"
"It's supposed to," I told him. That just seemed to trouble him even further. "I've looked up other legends as well, and none of them come up by name except for Arceus. Even then, there's not much about the creator, either."
"No, that's-" Lakuni cut himself off, obviously deep in thought as we walked together. He handed me back my phone, and I put it back into my pocket. "When I was traveling, there were a bunch of legends who had names. It couldn't have been more than thirty years ago, I'm sure of it."
"I've noticed that there's a large gap in Regdon's history," I told him, getting a confused look from him. "Nobody writes anything down. Even the Pokémon professors only focus on Pokémon instead of other fields of study."
"That can't be true," the old man shook his head, crossing his arms. "In fact, I have a few textbooks written by Dr. Aspen about Sinnoh's history, and his corrections on Dr. Laventon's theories and findings." He had books? My mind flew into overdrive. I'd been relying almost exclusively on the internet, but my grandpap had a point. In fact, if Laventon had only focused on Pokémon, then his memoirs simply wouldn't have existed. After all, they went over things like common foods used by the Galactic Exploration Federation, as well as key historic details that I'd practically skipped over at the time. Not only that, but hadn't Emmi volunteered herself to help me brush up on history? If it was truly as censored offline as I thought it was how could she have made that offer with any sort of confidence?
Was my evaluation of our lacking curriculum within the history classes in school, off? Damn, and with it being summer break, I couldn't pay more attention to try and confirm anything. Still, assuming this was true, it created a more nuanced situation on the matter.
Could it be that just the internet was censored in some way? If so, then why not books? Anyone could go to the bookstore and access whatever they wanted that wasn't online. Then again... My eyes wandered to the other people on the street as we walked through a commercial tourist area, not too far away from Route 10. How many of them actually had books instead of looking at their phones or laptop PCs? I could count three from just a cursory scan.
Phones and PCs were just more convenient, so who would actually buy books? Paige had even teased me about it. Looking back, the bookstore I'd gone to didn't have a lot of people in it; I hadn't even paid it any mind at the time. I was used to bookstores being practically empty from my previous life. Electronics were still a bit expensive, so I'm sure that bookstores often catered to those lacking some money. Even then, who would take them seriously at all if they started shouting about how the things they read don't line up with what the internet was saying; if they even had the mind or care to compare them in the first place.
My head throbbed a bit as pieces started coming together. Still, why were bookstores allowed to sell this information at all? I'd have thought that if someone wanted to censor this stuff, they'd have gone all the way and destroyed any and all evidence, in any media. Just what made books special?
"You're doing that thing again, Tai," Lucy broke me from my thoughts, gently shaking me by my shoulder. I blinked, giving her a sheepish smile. "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, just thinking about all this, taking it in," I told her. I glanced at my grandpap, who also seemed concerned. "Sorry, grandpap. Sometimes I just get lost in thought."
"This is a common thing?" he asked Lucy, who nodded. He let out a sigh, looking up at the small gateway that marked the city's borders and led into the suburban and rural areas of Malie. "When your mom told us that you were some kind of genius, I didn't really believe her. You're really smart, though, aren't you?" I guess he was thinking about the conversation we'd had last night, too. "What were you thinking about?"
"Just censorship in the media and wondering why books seem to be the sole exception to it," I gave him a straight answer. He shook his head, obviously not expecting a six-year-old, almost seven, to get into details about that kind of topic. I swear, it looked like I just aged him by a year or two.
All was silent between us as we walked the dirt roads out of Malie City. While Lucy was perfectly used to how I thought, Lakuni definitely wasn't. I don't think he was ready for today, and today hadn't even really started.
"Let's talk about something else," I suggested, and I heard the older man let out a relieved sigh.
"Sounds like a grand idea."
"You said you were a trainer, right?" I asked, receiving a nod and a smile from my grandfather. "And you said you traveled outside of Alola?"
"That I did," he replied, his voice regaining its chipper tilt. "I traveled through Johto, Kalos, and much of Unova, in fact. Sponsored by Professor Sakura, at that." I wasn't familiar with said professor, and let him know that. "Oh, ol' Sakura was known for focusing his research on Pokémon reproduction. Er, in a variety of ways." Given his sudden change in demeanor, I could understand what was being implied. Fortunately, Lucy seemed to still be out of the loop. I dreaded to imagine what her father would think if she began asking about poképhilia. Eugh.
"Did he have any other focuses of study?" I asked, hoping to switch the topic quickly enough so that Lucy wouldn't begin to get curious.
"Ah, he did," Lakuni seemed happy for the out. "Sakura, the old codger, had a deep fascination with languages, and how they changed over time. Mistranslations, misunderstandings, where languages came from; you name it, he dabbled in it. In fact, he helped translate a lot of historical texts from foreign professors. If you've ever read any of Dr. Acacia's works, Sakura translated them into Galarian."
"Acacia?"
"Dr. Acacia's from the Kaluna Region," Lakuni explained, though I had absolutely no knowledge of this place. Maybe it was in a side game? Even then, I should have at least a passing recognition of it. "She studied the nature of Pokémon warfare, when conflict between regions was commonplace some couple thousand years ago."
"Pokémon warfare..." I muttered under my breath, trying to imagine such a thing. Sure, intellectually, I knew about it. Still, trying to think of how Pokémon were used for war was something I'd need time to process.
"Pokémon... were used for war?" Lucy asked. She spoke the word as if it were foreign. Perhaps it was; the last online records of a war were thousands of years ago, and not very clear. The world was in an age of peace, all things considered. It was a good thing we were on dirt roads in rural Malie by now, since I had a feeling that this was not a conversation meant to be spoken of in the general public. Still, my curiosity overtook my better sense.
"Do you have any books of hers?" I asked my grandfather. While he seemed concerned for a moment, it seemed like he was slowly coming along to the idea that I was far more capable than I should be for my age.
"I do," he replied slowly, thinking over his words. "Is there a particular reason you'd like to look at it?" With me already proving I was capable of extreme violence through beating a Totem Pokémon by age six, recklessness, and apparently extremely danger-prone, I'm sure he was reluctant to share even more tactics that would allow me to slaughter my way through any opposition. I doubted he knew just how bloody my hands were, but he probably wasn't far off. Dull eyes. Terror, then acceptance. I grimaced, stomping down the memory.
"How much do you know about an organization called Team Solar?" I asked him. Honesty was probably the best policy, here. Filtered honesty, anyway. He already knew I was danger-prone, but I wanted to show him just how much danger I could be in, just from associating with Lucy and her family. As I explained to him the basics of what Team Solar appeared to be, including the fact they seemed to be the ones behind the censorship of information online, I could see his brows furrow more and more. Everything about this seemed to bother him, as it should. I left out the fact that Lucy had been kidnapped, and I'd been willingly voluntold to rescue her. I didn't want to give him a heart attack, after all.
"So that's how it is..." Lakuni muttered half to himself, thinking over what I'd told him. The small houses that once dotted the road had since given way to the lush forests of Route 10. Lucy had been kindly quiet during my entire explanation, allowing me to go at my own pace this time. "I can't say I'll encourage this kind of thing, kiddo."
"You don't have to," I told him simply, shaking my head as we walked on. "Just please don't get in my way if I need to do something. That's all I can ask of you."
"This camping trip... does it have anything to do with these Team Solar fellas?"
"Actually, no. I just wanted to go camping, see some sights, catch a Pokémon, and then head home." I admitted. He looked me over for any signs of deception. He must have been happy with what he saw, since he visibly relaxed for what I think was the second time, today. Poor guy, to have been stuck with me as his grandkid. Unfortunately for him, me being a bastard would be the least of his concerns. "Honestly, if we could go a while without having to see Team Solar again, I'd be thankful for it."
"Alright, so you're not going out of your way to look for trouble?" He asked, probably just making sure.
"No, trouble just tends to find me," I told him. Maybe it wasn't the most reassuring thing to say, but it's not like I wanted him to be completely unaware if shit went down and I just happened to be present. Lucy did have at least a small point; I did seem to attract trouble to a small degree.
The hike up to the bus station that would take us up to Hokulani Observatory was about a mile- and a half away from the city, about half an hour's walk up a short, well-maintained dirt road. There were already other people there, as expected, waiting for the next bus. Several families, a few couples, and most noticeably, a certain young, brown-haired boy along with his two parents.
"Jaune!" I called over to the kid and waved. He turned in our direction, a bright smile crossing his face as he ran over to greet us. His parents tried to keep him where he was, but weren't able to grab his arm in time. I rushed ahead of my grandpap and Lucy, hoping to close the distance so he wouldn't get too far from his parents. "Hey there, little cuz! Looks like you're in a much better mood than you were, yesterday!" I bent down a little to give him a hug as we got close to each other, ruffling his hair. "Did you enjoy your pork cutlet?"
"Mhm! It was like fried chicken, but with ham!" He told me. Of course I knew this already, but I gave him a surprised expression that had him laughing. His parents finally caught up with him during this exchange, and his mother gently grabbed his hand.
"Jaune, you can't just go running off like that!" She scolded him, but there was a gentle mirth in her eyes. Still, Jaune seemed to realize he'd done something wrong and apologized to his mother. After the apology, she then turned her attention to me, as well as the approaching Lusamine and Lakuni. "It's nice to see you again, young man. You and your friend. I take it this is your... grandfather?"
"Name's Lakuni, cuz," my grandpap introduced himself, offering his hand to the two Kalosians. The mother shook his hand first, then the father.
"Jeanette," the blonde woman introduced herself first. "You must be proud to have such a mature and capable grandson. Yesterday, he helped calm Jaune down during lunch."
"It was very impressive," the man added, giving my grandpap a charming smile that oozed the feeling of 'businessman'. "Charles. A pleasure."
"Hah, well, my grandson and I just recently became reacquainted after some time apart," Lakuni explained, giving me a proud smile. I felt some heat rush to my cheeks, and my heart skipped a beat at the sight. "Still, from what I've heard, he's got a good heart in his chest and a smart head on his shoulders." As the adults talked, I turned my attention back to Jaune, who had been pulling at my wrist the entire time.
Before giving him my full attention, though, I took a look at my surroundings. There was a decent-sized building off to the side of the road, and the actual road up the mountain had been paved. The booth itself had a woman standing behind the counter, who seemed to be selling bus tickets. Beside her to the left side of her window was a small food stall called 'Hokulani Eats', and to the left of that was a bathroom. Several picnic tables and benches were strewn to either side of the building, and behind there, it looked like there was a garden and a large field where Pokémon were battling. A white sign was posted from the ground, which I assumed had various rules for using the field. There was a fight happening back there, but I couldn't make out any details.
Aside from the scenery, about twelve groups of people hung around the area, waiting for the bus. One was massive, and I assumed it was a summer school group. I kind of hoped they would have their own bus, since the size of that group, alone, could fill up a good three-quarters of the vehicle.
"Hey, grandpap?" I spoke up, tugging at his sleeve. "We should grab tickets for the bus before it's too late."
"Ah, you're right, you're right," Lakuni chuckled as he spoke, and we made our way to the booth window. Jaune's family walked with us, still in conversation with my grandpap about Kalos. It made sense, since my grandpap had visited the region in the past. At the window, grandpap got us three tickets for the bus, and thankfully they were for the one that would be arriving, instead of the next one. It seemed we'd just barely made it in time, if the groans from the couple behind us were anything to judge by.
"Sorry, Jaune," I apologized to the boy for ignoring him for so long, and his smile brightened as I finally gave him the attention he wanted. "I just wanted to make sure we got tickets. So, you're headed up to the observatory, too?"
"Mhm! It's gonna be so cool!" The boy replied, excited to either have someone his age to talk to, or to be going up to the observatory. Maybe a little of both. "Hey, did you know that there's five planets in the solar system? And that the sun is made of hot gas and stuff?" He asked in rapid-fire fashion, taking me by surprise. I glanced at Lucy, vaguely seeing some similarities between the two as he spoke. Okay, then. I could work with this.
"Is that so?" I asked him, only a bit more than half interested in what he was saying, but it would make for good primer for what we'd learn at the top of the mountain. "Five planets, huh? Do you know their names?" Lusamine watched with an amused expression as I talked to the kid, and I couldn't quite make out what she might be thinking.
"Yeah! There's Arpaldi, then Mexelf, then Regdon, which is where we live, and then there's Razogdon and then finally, Armolza!" Those... were some weird ass names. It took me a moment, but as I repeated them in my head, I noticed something. It seemed like the names all were amalgamations of the names of legendary Pokémon. I'd need some time to really pick everything apart, but it was there; I was sure of it. Yet more that should be obvious at my age, in both regards, and yet I'd neglected in favor of confirming Pokémon knowledge that I already knew. Or at least, I should have known. Just how far behind was I in everything else...? Whoops, been ignoring Jaune for too long. Though it looks like he's caught in his own little world.
"They have a meteorite there, too! It's called a meteorite, because it has the right stuff to land on the ground," he continued, excited to share what he knew. I was surprised that a kid his age knew the difference between meteors and meteorites. I glanced over at Lucy, who had a plastic smile stuck to her face; her eyes since glazed over as she stared at the little boy. Poor girl. "Oh, and I heard they have the most powerful telescope in the world! So powerful that it-"
"Hey, Jaune," I interrupted him before he could agonize Lucy any further with space facts. "I think there's a Pokémon battlefield back here. Wanna go watch?" I don't think I've ever seen a kid deflate so fast from barely controlled excitement to wary caution.
"Uh... do we have to?" He asked, sounding reluctant. I blinked, surprised by this.
"Are you scared?" I asked, hoping my tone wasn't confrontational to him. Slowly, he nodded without another word. Huh. I'd always thought that fear of Pokémon was just an anime thing, but I guess it existed here, too. Okay then, this would be a little harder than I thought. "What about them scares you?" I knew I probably wouldn't be able to rationalize away this kid's fear, but I could always try and help set up the bits to allow him to overcome it, himself.
"They're just... scary," he told me. Helpful. I glanced at Lucy, who shrugged.
"Would it help if you went with us? Or with your mom and dad?" He seemed to think about it for a second, before shaking his head. Well, so much for that. I could hear the sounds of battle just around the corner. It was tantalizing. I only ever got to see battles in the courts behind the resort; I wanted to see what smaller scale battles looked like! "Lucy?"
"Me? Oh, uh," the girl quickly tried to find some sort of compromise for us. "Why don't we... just watch the Pokémon when we come back? We'll have a lot of time while we're camping to see trainers battle, too." It wasn't really what I wanted, but... I looked over to Jaune, who seemed relieved. Ugh. What use was it being a kid again if I still had to be the adult?
"Yeah, that's fine," I gave in, anyway. "Why don't we sit down and talk a bit?"
"Or we can play tag!" Jaune made his counteroffer by slapping my shoulder and running off. I let out a sigh, glancing at Lucy.
"Or, we can play tag," I repeated, slapping Lucy across the shoulder. "I wanted to watch Pokémon, but now you're it!" I took off running as the girl yelled something back at me. I wasn't paying attention, too busy trying to not slam into someone walking around the bus stop. Off to the side, Jeanette, Charles, and Lakuni were all talking at one of the picnic tables, keeping an eye on us. Jaune- Well, Jaune had climbed up a tree, and was watching as Lucy angrily chased after me. "No tag backs!" I shouted back at her. That didn't stop her from setting her sights on me. "No tag backs, Lucy!"
Lucy growled, but looked around to find a new target. I turned my body to face her, dancing from side to side to ensure I wouldn't be caught off guard if she decided to try and tag me, anyways. She quickly ran up to a kid who was watching us play, tagging them and practically forcing them to join in our game. It went on and on like this, every so often we'd drag another kid into the game until we basically had two or three separate games of tag going on.
Our game lasted until the bus arrived, which is when grandpap and Jaune's parents retrieved us and brought us onto the vehicle. I sat beside Lucy, of course, while Jaune sat with his mom and Charles and Lakuni sat together. Luckily, that school group wasn't on the same bus as us. They were gone by the time ours arrived, so I must have missed their bus pull up. It didn't take long for all the seats to fill up, and then we were off. I kept an eye on the driver from my seat, admiring how smoothly they made the bus travel on the admittedly small road.
I'd been a bus driver in my previous life, and with all the ruckus kids were causing in this one, it was astounding the amount of focus he had. The road had side-rails, but all it would take was one wrong turn, or a miscalculation in speed, and we could go plummeting off the side. Thankfully, the drive was safe and didn't have any unforeseen circumstances that caused us trouble.
As we arrived at the observatory, I couldn't help but admire just how massive the building was. I remember it was about the size of three Pokémon Centers in the games, but this place was huge. Having seen Pokémon Centers before, you could easily fit ten of them inside this place. It was shaped sort of like a hexagonal crescent, with the two sides turned towards the road. A large telescope sat on the right-hand side of the roof, while a satellite dish was raised on the left-hand side.
The observatory wasn't the only building on the summit of Hokulani Mountain. There was a bus depot up here as well, along with a restaurant named 'Starview Crest'. I imagined there was more inside the actual observatory. If my experience with tourism amounted to anything, it likely had a gift shop by the front doors, another restaurant, and likely some kind of photo area with a 'professional' photographer willing to take your picture and sell it to you for an outrageous price that tourists will inevitably pay for the 'authentic' experience. I love Pokémon Hawaii.
We all stepped off the bus, with all three of us kids looking in awe at the building in front of us. I saw out of the corner of my eye as Jeanette pulled out her phone, which was ringing. She gave her husband an apologetic look, mouthed 'Work call,' and answered the phone as she wandered off towards the side of the peak. I glanced over at Lucy, who gave me a smile when our eyes met. I reached over and took her hand as we walked towards the observatory together with Lakuni. He seemed content to trail behind us as we made a slow walk to the massive building.
"Excuse me, Lakuni," Jeanette spoke up as she quickly walked towards our group, her son and husband following from behind. What a quick call... Maybe she told them to buzz off since she was on vacation. "Would it be alright if my family joined you? I think it would be nice if we all could spend some more time together."
"Well, the more, the merrier, I suppose," Lakuni replied, an easygoing smile on his face. "Please, feel free. We've got plenty of room." A smile spread across the blonde's face, and she thanked him profusely before telling her son and husband the good news. Strangely, her husband seemed a little confused before he relaxed a bit. Hadn't she consulted them, first? I kinda thought she mainly wanted us to spend more time with Jaune, but was I wrong on that? Could she want something else? My eyes narrowed. Was she trying to get cozy with my grandpap right in front of her husband?
Either way, the Lucy, Lakuni and I waited patiently as they joined our group, and all six of us went inside. The floors were made of polished stone, and there was a ticket booth on the way in. Luckily, all three of us got discounts; Lucy and I got student discounts, while Lakuni was able to get the senior citizen's discount. His blank stare as he looked at his ticket, however, gave me an idea of how he felt about that, though. Soon enough, we were actually in. I took a look around, and smiled as I found my vindication.
Sure enough, right by the exit, was a large gift shop for the observatory. There was even a small food court right next to it, where tourists and staff alike seemed to be eating and enjoying themselves. I fucking called it. All tourist traps were the same.
Still, there was plenty more to see, even in the first room. The area beyond the ticket space opened up into a large room that had a model of the solar system on display. Sure enough, there were five planets that slowly orbited around the sun in the center. There were various general exhibits along the walls as well, explaining how the world was formed, and how space played a part in it. I frowned, before deciding to take a look around. I needed to brush up on this stuff. Lucy followed me, of course, but grandpap sat down at the nearest bench.
"Grandpap?"
"Ah, don't mind me, kiddo," he waved me off a bit. "I'll come with you to whatever rooms you go to, but these old bones apparently need more rest!" He laughed bitterly, staring at the display at the center of the room. I guess being called a senior citizen really hit him hard. I feel ya, grandpap... I'm not looking forward to hitting my thirties, again... So, Lucy and I went to the first portion of the "How the World was Formed" exhibit. We held hands the entire while, which seemed to make her day even brighter.
The exhibit was pretty informative, if a bit basic. In the beginning, Arceus created the heavens and the planets and the universe, and on and on that went. It went into detail about how solar dust congealed into spherical masses, allowing our planet to be formed among others. So, this basically proved to me that history wasn't being censored by physical media. A quick look on my phone found results not nearly as detailed as this, and as I said, this was just general, basic information. Part way through, Jeanette had joined us along with her son, though Jaune seemed to get bored quickly, deciding to instead ask Lakuni for stories. I guess his fascination with the observatory had faded.
"Pretty amazing stuff, isn't it?" Jeanette spoke from beside us as we reached the end of the exhibits. "You'd be hard pressed to find this kind of information online. I didn't know half of this stuff before my son became interested in space. It's astounding how much he knows, now." I nodded, not sure what else to say. Jeanette shifted onto her other foot after a moment. "Your grandfather has nothing but praise for you, Taiyo. Same with you, Lusamine," she added, looking at her son who was climbing my grandpap like a monkey on a jungle-gym. "I can't help but agree. Most kids would be like my son, over there. You two... well, you two were able to read all of this, start to finish, without losing interest."
"Lucy's a genius," I told her, shrugging my shoulders at her compliment. "I just like to read. I like learning as much as I can."
"I can see that," she admitted. "There's plenty more you can learn, though I kind of wish there was an exhibit for Pokémon that came from space."
"There's not?" I asked, a bit surprised. I would have thought that Pokémon like minior or clefairy would be prominent additions to the observatory exhibits. "That's a surprise."
"I meant Pokémon that might seem more unusual," she amended. "There's one I've heard whispers about. Something that's called the Prince of the Stars. Don't you think a Pokémon with that kind of title would be dazzling to look at?" Instantly, I was on edge. I forced myself to calm down. No. No paranoia, here. It's possible that this was a... while not common knowledge, it's not impossible for her to know about it. Still, Lucy's hand gently squeezed mine, and I realized that I had a death grip on her hand. I relaxed my hold.
"Where'd you hear of a Pokémon like that?" I asked, hoping to probe out some more answers from her. Her eyes met mine, and I recognized the same analytical gaze that she held behind them. She knew. She was one of them. No, she couldn't be. but what if she was? Were they here to silence us? Get rid of us? No, play it cool, Taiyo. You haven't confirmed anything, yet. Maybe she's just naturally a thinker, like I was.
"Just some online forums about old legends," she told us, looking towards the solar exhibit to the center. The room's lights began to dim, as a timed show began that explained with narration, sound, and visuals the creation of the solar system. "Apparently, Alola has a history with the Pokémon bearing that title. I think it must be a beautiful creature to earn that nickname. Sadly, there aren't any records online. All my son and I have to go on are old history books." That was... plausible. Okay, maybe I was just overreacting. "Are you alright, dear? You look like you've seen a ghost."
"Yeah, I'm fine," I told her, forcing myself to calm, slowly. "I've just read about some bad people who are interested in that kind of Pokémon, is all. They don't seem to like people looking into them, is all." I kept my eyes on her, looking for any reaction. Any sign at all that I couldn't trust this woman. I found nothing in the darkness of the room.
"What do you think makes them so bad, Taiyo?" She asked. Crimson red fucking flag right there. My eyes darted around, searching for some kind of out. I wondered, if I screamed, would that be enough to do anything? It definitely couldn't hurt, as long as I got myself and Lucy away from this woman. "Calm down, Taiyo. I have no intention of hurting you. In fact, none of us do." The game was up, then.
"Forgive me for not believing you," I ground out through my teeth as the exhibit's performance went on. "My first meeting with you goons was being sliced apart by a Psychic-Type attack, having Lucy kidnapped, and being forced to rescue her."
"Malik was drunk on power due to his recent promotion," Jeanette explained, though I wasn't sure how much of what she said was true. "He's been reprimanded and punished for his actions, and we've reminded our members that violence is not the kind of actions we take."
"Just censorship, bribery, and general political corruption," I pointed out her unspoken words. Her face scrunched into a grimace. Lucy, who had been lost for most of this discussion, seemed to have finally gotten with the program, looking between the two of us with fear on her face. Her hand squeezed mine. "Did you track us down, here? Is your vacation actually a vacation? Fuck... is that even your real kid?"
"Jaune is my son," the woman's tone was firm. Her eyes bore into mine at the accusation. "Yes, we truly are here on vacation. We've had this trip planned for months; almost a year. You can ask Jaune, if you doubt me on this." I might, if I was given the chance. "No, us coming across you yesterday was something of a... fortunate accident. In fact, I would like to humbly apologize for your treatment, and for the treatment of dear Lusamine, on behalf of Team Solar."
"So, you're someone with authority?" I asked, trying to get some kind of gauge out of the woman. I hadn't paid her much attention before, but she was gorgeous. She had a super model figure, with long, wavy blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She had rectangular glasses, and soft, yet strong jawline that made her appear both terrifying and beautiful all the same. Like a femme fatale.
"I'm the Chronicler of Team Solar," she introduced herself. "Jeanette La'Pierre. I would also like to add that this meeting of ours, today, was by chance as well. I truly came here with my family due to my son's fascination with space. In fact, I'd planned on trying to find you later this week."
"You'll forgive me if I don't believe a single word out of your mouth," I retorted. She nodded, though the agreement didn't set my mind at ease in the slightest. I had no idea what this woman was capable of. I looked for any signs of a poké ball, but found none. Lucy held on to my arm. "So, is that it? You wanted to apologize... then what? Convince me to join you?" She remained silent. "You're kidding me."
"It seems you are incredibly perceptive for someone your age," she admired, and I wasn't sure how to feel about that. "Yes, on behalf of his Majesty, the King of Team Solar, we'd like to extend an invitation to both you and Lusamine in order to work together." She couldn't be serious. This was a prank. I looked around the room, searching for something, anything, out of place. Yet, there was nothing. I didn't allow my guard to drop. "We're willing to provide any amount of payment in return for your services." My services?
"What exactly would Team Solar want us for?" I asked, wary.
"Tai...!" Lucy hissed in warning, but I ignored her, for now. I needed info, and Jeanette seemed like a good way of getting it.
"In fact, what are Team Solar's goals, anyway?"
"Team Solar is dedicated to restoring the various monarchies around the globe," she admitted easily. I fucking knew it. "Even in this time of peace, the world is ruled by a power structure through Pokémon Leagues, and those who run them. I can assure you that Team Solar has no interest in censoring information. In fact, we desire the exact opposite. Team Solar funds a multitude of bookstores, game development studios, and film studios dedicated to spreading the history of the world by any means necessary. I, personally, have a hand in all of this, as Team Solar's Chronicler."
"Then... wait, but the internet-"
"Was invented by one Bill Ka'mon, from Kanto. A retired member of their Pokémon League's Elite Four," Jeanette told us. I reached into my pocket, staring down at my phone. "Ah, yes. How could anyone live without their PCs or phones? An invention created by Unova's own Champion, Betty Kinders, almost twenty years ago. With it, the need for books, our primary source of information, was greatly diminished."
"But... how do you fund...?" I asked, trying to process this onslaught of information. Of course, I realized that the Pokémon League probably wasn't run by a bunch of great guys. After all, they often operated similarly to a shogun compared to the emperor. While the emperor may hold political power, the true might rested with the military. The League.
"The Leagues aren't the only ones with deep pockets and multiple venues of acquiring money," Jeanette replied. Of course I knew that... "I won't try to argue that Team Solar is filled with good people. In fact, our recruitment practices often mean we're scraping the leftovers from the streets. People who gave up on the League, or are disillusioned with how they run things. They yearn for a world with order through governments. A necessary evil. Not a world where the strongest dictates how everyone else lives."
"Wouldn't a monarchy just be giving all the power to one family? Hell, you even called your own leader the King," I shot back. She took the vitriol in stride as the show ended, the lights beginning to brighten again.
"No system is perfect, Taiyo," she told me, slowly walking back to her son, who was sitting on grandpap's shoulders. "However would you rather live under an unjust king who can be overthrown with ease, or an unjust league of trainers who would burn down a town for daring to complain about them? When you get the chance, look up 'Amity Town' from Sinnoh. In a few weeks, our Prince will be sending a delegate to meet with you. Please, be hospitable to her." I stared at the woman as she walked away from us, unsure of what to make of all of this.
Obviously, I barely trusted a word out of her mouth, but on the other hand, she'd told me information I could easily verify. So then... how much was truth, and how much was fiction? More importantly, what did I do if the fiction part was less than I'd thought it was? More urgently, though, I now had to make the executive decision to stay, or to flee while we had the chance. I looked over to my grandpap, locking eyes as I walked towards him and the family of three. It felt like my shoes were filled with cement, and the air seemed unnaturally chilly.
"Hey," I greeted him as we got close. I briefly turned my attention to Jeanette. She was holding Jaune, and was discussing something inane with her husband. A ruse? Or was she giving me time to talk to my old man? Or did she honestly have something to talk about with her husband? "Can we grab something small to eat? I'm feeling a bit hungry."
"Ah, we do have our bentos," he suggested. "I'm sure there's someplace to eat, outside. Lucky for us, these tickets are good for the whole day!" I nodded, agreeing. Anything to get away from Jeanette. From Team Solar. "Jeanette, Charles, we'll be heading out for a light lunch. Would you care to join us?" The woman's eyes met mine for a split second, before she answered for her family.
"Oh, I appreciate the offer, Lakuni, but we'll be taking a longer look at some of the other exhibits, here," she replied casually. Easily. Was it just a cover, or was this really what she wanted? I swear to God, this entire situation was going to drive me insane... All I wanted was a relaxing summer vacation with a mild side of imminent danger from the elements. I frowned. Maybe I really did have a screw loose, or something.
"Ah, well, feel free to join us any time," grandpap offered, before ushering Lucy and I out of the building with our bentos in hand. "Are you two alright? You look tense."
"I'll explain once we're outside," I told him, while Lucy just held on to my arm like she was afraid she'd be dragged away. I took her hand back in mine. I wasn't going to let that happen.
Grandpap could obviously tell that something was wrong while we left the observatory, but seemed to realize that trying to press the question simply wouldn't do. Instead, he waited patiently as we found a picnic table sitting outside of Starview Crest, a bit of distance away from any of the others which happened to be occupied. Grandpap set about unpacking our lunches, as Lucy finally relaxed. I kept my back to the nearby cliffside, keeping an eye on the observatory doors.
"So," the older man spoke once more as he first set Lucy's lunch in front of her. she stared at it, her eyes unfocused. "What happened in there, kiddo?"
"Jeanette is part of Team Solar," I told him straight up. I saw his eye twitch. Sorry, grandpap... "She... tried to recruit us. Said some things that..." I paused, not sure how much I wanted to tell him. No, I needed another view on this, and grandpap would be perfect for helping me figure out my next steps. I went into everything Jeanette had told us; from the League's censorship to Team Solar's goals, and everything in between. He listened carefully, taking the time to eat while he listened and thought. Once I'd finished explaining what had happened, things were silent for a while. Lucy still hadn't touched her food, and I just picked at mine. Grandpap ate slowly, staring at his bento as he considered everything I'd said. While I was mentally an adult, I always valued the ability to have an older man who'd experienced it all. In my previous life it'd been my dad and his friends. In this one, I was hoping it could be Lakuni.
Aster and Victor were wise in their own ways, sure, but I still didn't know how much I could trust them. They were still hiding things from me, and I hate having valuable information kept out of my reach. Lakuni, though, was my blood relative. He'd given me no reason to doubt him yet, and so that would be what I'd work with.
"Do you know how much of what she told me is true?" I finally asked, hoping to break things down. Lakuni nodded, taking a deep breath before releasing it out with a sigh. "How about the part about the internet and phones? Were they both really invented my League members?"
"They were," grandpap told me, making my heart sink just a bit. "In fact, I met Betty while I was traveling through Unova. Lovely woman, though it was brief. I couldn't possibly tell you if she were some kind of mastermind like Jeanette suggested."
"No, just knowing that the information is true is enough," I told him. It was enough, and it complicated things even more for me. Some days I wished I was just a normal kid with normal problems. Today was one of those days. "The fact she also let slip that Team Solar helps subsidize bookstores... I'll need to look into what companies fund them."
"Maybe you could look into Artemis LLC.," grandpap suggested. Upon seeing my confusion, he elaborated, "Artemis LLC. is the single largest publishing company in the world. they've been around since... well, since forever. If Team Solar were to use any company to help out their efforts, it would be them."
"I'll be sure to look them up," I assured him, once more staring back at the observatory. Still no sign of Jeanette or Team Solar. Was she really just giving me the chance to sort through all of this stuff unrestricted? "How would you describe most of the monarchies throughout history, grandpap?"
"My, isn't that a loaded question?" He asked, stroking his chin. "Most historians consider the fall of monarchies as a form of government as a good thing. Though... I guess a case could be argued that the current League-based governments are worse."
"Wait, how do those work in a place that have no league of their own?" I asked, realizing that something was amiss.
"Well, sometimes they might have their own governments," grandpap explained. "Usually based around Pokémon and strength. Pretty similar to the leagues, but not always exactly the same. Others... well, in the case of Alola, we're actually under the jurisdiction of the Galarian League. We have councilmen who represent the interests of each island, and our Kahuna are good enough to pose as a makeshift Elite Four whenever purposes need, but really... Alola has no authority on the international stage."
"So at any moment the Galarian League could swoop in and change all of our laws on a whim?" I asked. Lakuni nodded after a moment of thought. Fucking hell... "That's... insane."
"It's not something a child should have to worry about," grandpap tried to interject, but unfortunately for both of us it wasn't that simple. I couldn't afford to be passive, here. I had a few options ahead of me, but before I committed to any of them, there was one person whose opinion I needed the most. My eyes turned to Lucy, who was just now beginning to eat her lunch. Her eyes glanced to me, then to my bento, and her plastic fork flew over to pluck some hamburger steak from my box before she ate it as well. I smiled, letting out a soft, short chuckle.
"What do you think Lucy?" I asked her. "This involves your family more than anything else. Your dad was pretty insistent that Team Solar can't be trusted, and it's because your family has been in conflict with them for so long that I don't want to just believe anything that Jeanette told us."
"You could ask my daddy," she spoke slowly and softly, but I shook my head.
"I want to know what you want, Lucy. You'll be the one being forced to deal with them later on, so it's probably a good idea to mark your position, sooner rather than later." She was quiet as she thought, eating both from my bento and her own. I let her, considering I wasn't feeling very hungry at the moment. Finally, she had an answer for me.
"Can we... just wait a bit longer? Until we get home?" I smiled, relaxing a bit. Honestly, that sounded like a nice idea. I just hoped that Team Solar would leave us alone in the meantime.
Actually... I might have a way to somewhat assure that. Unfortunately, it meant I'd have to talk to Jeanette again. I let out a sigh, putting on a brave face for Lucy as I began eating my own lunch. Even if I didn't feel hungry, it'd be bad for me to just not eat something. I may have also picked an omelet roll from her box, which she poked me with her plastic fork in retaliation for. There was no further deep conversation during our snack, but there didn't need to be. The three of us just enjoyed the pleasant day, allowed ourselves to relax, and had a delicious, homemade meal from grandma.
After finishing our food and decompressing everything that had happened within the hour, we came to a decision on what to do next. Grandpap and Lucy would head home. After everything, Lucy just wasn't in a good headspace to continue the observatory trip. I, on the other hand, had a few things to do. I excused myself to head back inside, promising to grab Lucy a souvenir of some kind before coming back out to join them. They would head down on the next bus; and if I was back in time to join them, great! If not, I'd see them when I got back to the house.
I waved goodbye to Lucy and Lakuni as I headed back to the observatory, steeling myself for the next thing I'd have to do. I flashed my ticket to the checkpoint folks inside, and looked around for any sign of Jeanette and her family. They weren't in the main room any longer, so I went searching for them. I looked at one of the directories, eyes searching for some kind of idea of where they could be. However, despite all my efforts, nothing was popping out to me. A bit frustrated, I instead decided to just start walking. I'd surely come across them eventually, right? It looked like the exhibits circled around on themselves in an oval shape through the back half of the building, so it was inevitable I'd eventually cross paths with them.
My head was on a swivel as I passed through the various small rooms dedicated to different exhibits. From the history of the observatory, to detailing Alola's past with creatures from space, this place had it all. I'd have to come back at a later time when things were less stressful and take a good look around. I didn't want to fully experience this without Lucy, after all. I frowned, feeling my fists clench. Damn Team Solar.
"Tai!" I heard Lucy call from behind me, and turned just in time to see her lunge for me, wrapping me up in her arms as she went for the Flying Tackle Hug. As she collided with me, it was Super Effective! I hugged her back, and we stayed there for a moment before she pulled away. "I wanted to come with you," she told me before I could ask what she was doing here. "I didn't want you to be alone."
"Oh, thank you," I told her, feeling my frown break into a smile. "What about grandpap?"
"He's outside, watching the doors," she replied, gently brushing off her blouse. "If something happens, he'll call me on my phone. We'll do the same, right?"
"Oh, uh, of course," I mumbled before turning my attention back to our surroundings. "I don't know where they went, so help me look for them?"
"Isn't that her, over there?" Lucy pointed to the far corner of the room, and I caught the honey blonde hair of Jeanette as she stood in a small space between to support beams, just out of obvious view. Her phone was up next to her ear, and as I looked over, our eyes met. I could see surprise briefly cross her face, before it returned to something more neutral. I approached her, with Lucy once more taking my hand in her own as she followed me.
"Jeanette," I greeted the woman, keeping my expression neutral. "I want to talk some more, and... ask something of you." She blinked, glancing back at her phone.
"Sorry Hayden, I need to take this," she told the person on the other side of the phone. "It's our good friend. Yes, thanks for the update." She hung up the phone, placing it into her purse. "I'm surprised to see you back so soon. I was convinced I'd have to find you in a few days to get an answer from you."
"I don't have an answer yet, but I have a... I want an assurance of something," I told her. She tilted her head, but didn't deny me anything just yet. "You might know that I'm on summer break." She nodded. Alright, that told me a lot on its own. "You say that Team Solar wants to make amends with us, and get us on the same side. First off, I want your word that Team Solar won't try anything against us or our loved ones during summer break." she thought about it for a moment, likely picking apart my words for any technicalities I might be trying to slip past her. Hopefully she didn't find any, since I was trying to keep things straightforward for now. I could deal with the double talk another time, when my mind was clearer. I hoped she'd share me the same courtesy.
"I can give you my word that as long as you don't interfere with any of our affairs, we won't take any actions against you and yours," she told me. Her eyes pierced into my own. She'd caught on to me surprisingly quickly. Then again, it wasn't like I hid just how capable I was, or how well I understood more grown-up affairs. Anyone who did the slightest bit of looking into me would see I wasn't just some normal kid. "If you can do that, then we won't have any problems." That was fine, but I wanted just a little more.
"Second, I want your phone number," I told her. Lucy gripped my hand a bit more tightly, but didn't protest out aloud like last time. The woman studied me for a moment. "If Team Solar really wants to try and get on my good side, then I want direct access to someone in the upper circles and willing to vouch for me. Let's make this perfectly clear; I trust you about as far as I can throw you. If you want me to try and keep Lucy's father out of all of this and keep both of us quiet, you need to work with me."
I saw her eye twitch at the notion of basically being under my beck and call, but she didn't immediately discount the idea. That was interesting. Maybe even good. Both of us wanted a better read on each other. "If I do that," she mused slowly, taking my words into consideration. "Then I'll need some work from you as well. We, of course, want to know the location of the Prince of the Stars. I have a feeling that even if you knew, you wouldn't tell us. Is that right?" I nodded in affirmation. "I thought so. Do you know the significance of this Pokémon?"
"If I remember correctly, it has something to do with Alola's old monarchy," I recalled aloud. "You want it because it would help validate a claim to restoring the claim of the Alolan royal family, or something."
"That's the gist of it," she nodded, her expression betraying how surprised and impressed she was. I looked over at Lucy, who seemed completely lost and confused. "We want the Prince of the Stars due to his ties to Alolan royalty. However, we don't actually have anyone from the royal lineage on board just yet. That's where you come in."
"No..." I growled, squeezing Lucy's hand. "There's no fucking way."
"I know what you're thinking, and no, you're not descended from some obscure line of royalty," Jeanette eased away my worries. I let out a sigh of relief. As cool as that would be, wouldn't that just be too convenient? "However, the current royal line has a son your age named Apu. We at Team Solar haven't been able to get close to him, unfortunately, but his father is a skilled Pokémon trainer, and values a competitive spirit."
"So you want me to become strong and get close to his son through battling him, or something?" I asked, starting to put together the pieces in my head. Surprisingly, Jeanette shook her head.
"No, not at all. You see, kids like you aren't actually that common," Jeanette corrected me. "You're surrounded by kids who love Pokémon at your school, but a lot of children your age are actually still trying to figure out if Pokémon are to be adored or feared. My son, Jaune, is a good example of this." She turned her head, and I followed her gaze to see both Jaune and Charles at an exhibit for the different kinds of asteroids that can be found in space. "Even though he's no stranger to Pokémon thanks to my work, he's fearful of them because they're so much stronger than him. Team Solar likes to make sure that people are cautious when it comes to Pokémon, so any information we share about Pokémon always includes their risks."
"Yeah? How much do you actually share about them?" I asked, not sure where she was going with all of this.
"Well, you can thank Team Solar for the modern Pokédex, for example," Jeanette stated. No fucking way. "Before the various leagues bought off their services, many professors and researchers throughout history have worked for Team Solar; whether they knew it or not. You might now a few of them."
"Doctor Laventon...?"
"He was one of many, yes," Jeanette confirmed. I stared at the ground. Could it really be true? "Anyway, about what I'd like in return for working with you. Apu is at an age that he's scared of Pokémon, to his father's shame. You, however, seem to have an uncanny ability to understand even the most vicious of Pokémon, bringing them to heel for you. I can arrange a time and a place for you to 'conveniently' meet Apu and his father, and in the name of Team Solar, help his son get over his fear of Pokémon so he can follow in the man's footsteps." So, that was how it was. In exchange for a clear line of communication, I'd have to help Team Solar get an in with the Alolan royal lineage. "Do we have a deal?" The woman crouched down, meeting me at eye level and offering her hand to me. I knew this trick. It was to make her seem more trustworthy for kids. Make her seem more friendly and approachable. Given how Lucy seemed to relax a bit, it was definitely working on her.
"Just to reiterate, you don't bother us unless we get our noses in your business," I repeated, getting a nod from the woman. "In addition, I get a clear line to your upper circle as well as your endorsement, in exchange for helping you indebt Alola's royal line to you. Have I got that right?"
"All of that; nothing more, and nothing less," she agreed. I stared at her hand. How much could I trust them to keep their word? Fuck, was this the best decision I could make? Would I be betraying Aster and Vic by doing this? I glanced over at Lucy. No. My loyalty wasn't to those two, as much as I respected them. My loyalty was to my best friend, and her well-being. Right now, Jeanette wasn't asking me to betray her family. This was unrelated to the Balsams, which I had to assume was intentional. I would keep Lucy safe, no matter what.
Lucy's eyes met mine, and while she still seemed a bit lost as to everything going on, her gaze spoke of the trust she had in me to make the best decision I could. I turned back to Jeanette and reached forward, grasping her hand. Her smile, warm and welcoming, felt like ice tingling down my spine. "Deal." We shook on it.
"Excellent," the woman spoke, her voice melodic like a bell's toll. "Here, this is my phone's number. You can reach me any time you like, but I won't always be able to answer. If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to ask." I took her number, staring at the digits as they rested on my phone screen. It felt like I'd signed my name on a dotted line. "I look forward to working with you, Taiyo."
"I'm sure you do," I replied.
"Now, I need to get back to my vacation," she continued, gently squeezing my shoulder. "Take care, alright? You won't regret this. I promise." I watched as she walked off, feeling my heart in my gut. What had I just done...? This felt wrong. Like I'd made a bad decision that would never go away.
"Are you okay, Tai?" Lucy asked, her voice soft. "I don't get everything that she said, but I don't think you did anything wrong. They're bad people, but you're trying to keep me safe. Right?" I nodded, looking over to the blonde girl. "I trust you. If you think this was the best choice, then it had to be." I wish I could tell her that it was.
"Yeah, I'll figure it out as I go along," I told her, watching as Jeanette embraced and kissed her husband, before picking up her son, smiling as she spoke with him. Could she be like that girl from the base who didn't know any better? Or was Team Solar really not as bad as they'd appeared? Was that one base an exception to the organization, or was I being lied to? I needed to know more, and Jeanette was my only way of doing that. "Do you want to go home, Lucy? Or... do you want to take a look around?"
Lucy seemed to give it some thought, before gently tugging me to one of the exhibits. I guess that answered that question. I gave grandpap a call, letting him know we were alright and, that Lucy and I would be sticking around to look around inside. He told us that was fine, and that he would join us shortly. Afterwards, we looked through the areas we could, learning more about space and the history of the observatory. Grandpap met us halfway through, and the three of us went through the observatory. We were able to see how some of the equipment worked as we watched the staff through glass windows. Some of them waved at us, and of course we had to wave back. On the way out, we stopped at the gift shop.
"Alright kids, we've got about twenty-five minutes before the bus arrives," grandpap told us. "Go ahead and pick something out, alright? Keep it under twenty credits." Both Lucy and I vocalized that we'd heard him before running off together into the store.
"Hey Tai? I have an idea," Lucy spoke up as we looked around. "What if we got each other gifts? I'll pick something for you, and you pick something for me!" I blinked, but smiled after a second.
"Yeah, that sounds like a fun idea!" I told her, earning a beautiful smile in return. I split off from her, looking for something that could possibly be a good gift for a seven-year-old girl. I'd never been great at picking out presents, but I was determined to make this one good. In another seven years or so, I'll probably end up dating this girl if things went on as they were now, so this would make good practice. So... what would make a good gift for her?
I spotted a few things like jewelry and candy and little science experiment sets, but nothing really stuck out to me as something she'd really like. A part of me realized that she probably wouldn't care about what it was. As long as I chose it, she'd be happy with it. Still, I wasn't about to let that stop me from being considerate to her likes and dislikes. Actually... how much did I actually know about what she enjoyed?
Well, she liked manga, was a hopeless romantic despite her young age, and seemed to love peace and tranquility. However, she also loved Pokémon, and was more than happy to throw down for a battle. All in all, she seemed like a pretty well-rounded girl. So why was getting a gift for her so hard?
I found myself standing in a small section at the back of the gift shop, looking around aimlessly for any kind of inspiration. When it came to competition and trying to read people for the sake of my own gains, I was admittedly quite skilled. But trying to figure out something selfless like this...? I let out a sigh, just as my eyes caught something small hanging from a nearby hook. I stared at the item. It was perfect.
Lucy was already at the register with grandpap, and it seemed like they'd finished ringing up whatever she'd gotten. She hid it from me, insisting that we showed each other together later what we'd gotten for one another. That was fine with me, it wasn't like I was in any real rush about the matter. I waited in line with grandpap as Lucy waited by the door of the gift shop, and there was a knowing smile on his face as he saw what I was getting. Once everything was done, we met up with Lucy and headed out. I was ready to exchange gifts right away, but Lucy insisted we waited until we got back to the house.
The journey back was shorter than the way to the observatory; likely in part by the lack of heavy conversation. Grandpap only asked a few questions about what I'd talked with Jeanette about, but I told him we'd discuss it more tomorrow during breakfast. I just wanted to relax for the rest of the day. He seemed to agree with that, at least. The fact that I didn't seem to think it was urgent must have calmed him, a little.
Sadly, I didn't get to stop by the battlefield behind Hokulani Eats on the way back, but I think that was for the best. I was tired, both mentally and emotionally. Dealing with Team Solar again was exhausting, even though they'd promised not to bother us for at least a while. I still kept my eyes peeled, though, watching every corner and shadow just in case.
Finally, as the sun was setting, we arrived back at my grandparents' house. Dinner was pleasant and filling, and as night fell, both Lucy and I took our baths before heading to the guest room. Grandma and grandpap were still awake in the living room, watching TV and talking with one another while us kids had been sent off to get ready for bed. Sunray, the espeon, was with us, which was... nice, I guess. The sleepy espeon was flopped on my bed, letting me pet him as we winded down for the night. My hand trembled as I reached for him, and it took me a moment to power through the strange sensation of dread that filled me when I got near him. I vaguely remembered him as an eevee, and sort of missed the floof he had, but that was fine. Espeon fur is incredibly smooth, and has a certain warmth to it that makes it comfortable to touch; like feeling the sun on your face after a long day of work.
"Are you ready to give each other our gifts?" Lucy asked as she walked into the room, dressed in her pajamas. It was a cute onesie set that made the wearer look like an audino, with their face where the audino's face would be. She sat down on her bed, pulling out the bag she'd kept partially hidden under her pillow. I grabbed my own, which was sat beside me.
"Yeah. I'm looking forward to it," I told her. "Here, I'll give you what I got, first." I pulled out the small gift, handing it to her. Her eyes sparkled as she looked over it. I'd gotten her a small, silver hairclip with a chipped piece of an inert Grade 5 Moon Stone on it. It glimmered with a prism of colors along its dark, obsidian surface under the overhead fan light. "I thought it would look nice on you," I told her, though why did a part of me feel like that wasn't enough? I shook the thought from my mind. "Here, let me put it on you."
I took the hairclip out of its packaging, reaching towards her and Lucy leaned closer to me. Her hair was normally quite long, and at this age, it reached down to the small of her back. She lacked the carapace-like hairstyle I'd long known her for. Instead, her locks were smooth and wavy, like a cascade of platinum-gold. Her bangs, though were quite similar, with her hair oftentimes covering the eye on the left side of her face. I brushed those hairs to the side, clipping it to the rest with her new present. The dark colors of the moon stone contrasted well with her light hair, and her alabaster skin tone, and drew attention to her face as its contrast. Two jade eyes looked back at me with clarity, a light dusting of pink rising on her cheeks. "I was right. It does look good on you."
"Thank you," she replied, quickly reaching into her bag and pulling out my gift. "I got this for you. I guess great minds think alike, huh?" In her hands was a gold necklace, though I'm sure it was plated, and acting as the sole decoration was a small Sun Stone. It must have been inert and weak, similar to the Moon Stone, but that didn't matter to me. I smiled, realizing why grandpap had looked so amused when we'd been in line. "You match!" My expression must have been funny, since she giggled. "Your name means 'Sun' in Johtonian. Didn't you know that?" I, uh... I didn't.
She took the necklace out of its packaging for me, and I bowed my head slightly so she could put it around my neck. I looked back up at her once it was finished. "Well? How's it look?"
"You look like a dummy," she replied with a smile. I smirked, gently shoving her back onto her bed. "Hey!"
"Hah, serves you right, you jerk!" I grinned, laughing. Her voice joined mine after a second, disturbing Sunray from his nap. I reached over to pet the espeon as I laid back on my own bed, staring at the ceiling. After a moment, I turned my head to look at Lucy, who was already doing the same thing. Our eyes met. I felt my heart rise in my chest. Yeah, there was no mistaking it. I was catching feelings for this girl. No matter what Team Solar or the Pokémon Leagues threw my way, I knew I would move mountains if Lucy asked me to.
I*A*C
And that's a wrap! A big thanks to FuzzyZergling for his help in reviewing this chapter, he caught a lot of stuff I would have missed, otherwise. I hope you guys enjoyed this one. Please, leave a review if you did, or favorite or follow, which tells me the same but in just less words. Heck, if you didn't like it, still feel free to leave a review. Anyways, the next chapter will be more Lusamine-focused, so I hope to see you there!