Alola readers and I'm back from our scheduled break to bring you another chapter of A Hui Hou Kakou! So I kinda lied when I said that there was going to be just one more chapter (this one) before we'd get to the original first one I had written. Turns out that writing it all made it stretch out longer than I anticipated. So I'm just going to say that there are a couple more in store. We see what Lillie's been up to and finally meet Sun before he comes to Alola. So let's get to it!
Professor Kukui's place is a lot different than Burnet's. He lives on Melemele Island right by the beach which I find the waves crashing against the shore to be sooo soothing. The house…or more like a shack is kind of broken here, there and everywhere like one of those pokemon battles take place inside. He has quite a few pokemon living with him. A snubbull, stufful, rockruff just to name a few.
Even though it's far from what I've been used to living at Aether and Burnet's place, it's where I've called home for the past two months.
Either way, I decided to take a walk on the beach today. Kukui told me that he was going to call a woman who was going to be moving in a couple days down the street from us. She supposedly had a child that is about my age and he suggested that we could become great friends. That's really exciting! I hope it's a girl!
I've never felt sand underneath my feet. It felt coarse yet soft and the warm ocean water felt so good! I wish I could just stay like that forever with the serene scene. Maybe everyone was right…Alola is paradise.
"Hey Lillie!" Kukui said next to his computer as his assistant walked by. "I'm about to make a video call oh yeah! You wanna see?"
Lillie bounded down from the loft next to the professor. She was wearing her usual dress minus her heels and socks. "Um, I was going to maybe go for a walk on the beach if you don't mind. What video call are you planning to do anyway?"
"We got a new face comin over here to Alola! There's a lady moving into the house just up the hill. She has a kid about your age so you and Hau be nice to the new people yeah?"
"Of course professor. You know we will." She knew that Hau was warmly open to new strangers and had a feeling no matter if it was a young boy or girl that the kahuna's exuberant grandson would instantly become their best friend. Lillie hoped that their new neighbor's kid was a girl. Figuring it would do some good to try and reach out to the new face.
Maybe both she and the new girl could become best friends!
She had been staying with Professor Kukui for a couple months now and had fallen into a routine with him, working as his dutiful assistant. Whenever he wasn't out and about, which was almost every day, he was conducting research
As for Lillie herself; she never really had someone to call her best friend or even one in general. There was brother, but many times as they grew older, he acted like playing around together felt like a chore. She was homeschooled and aside from Gladion; Hau was the first other kid she really talked to that was around her age. While he was overly outgoing in contrast to her shyness, she still enjoyed his company. He had a big heart that was so mellow that it was hard NOT to like him.
Maybe Wicke could be considered a friend, but she highly doubted that someone hired to look after her could be called a friend. Not that she wasn't, but had it not been for her presence, mother would have been unbearable with her irrational ranting and zeal.
"Anyway don't be gone too long. It's going to get dark soon."
"I won't."
She slipped out the door and walked down the steps. Grass quickly gave way to white sand that split the land and the ocean, which crashed down upon the shore in foamy white waves.
Lillie saw the beach that was ten steps away from the lab and laughed. Her face broke out into a huge smile as she ran down the hill. Her toes felt the soft sand shifting under her feet and laughter continued as she stepped into the water's edge. Her feet made tiny splashes and its warmth felt comforting.
She read books and watched movies about people who saw beaches for the first time when they were alone and felt so at peace. This was a place where she could come to think about everything and not panic over the situation. Of course, it didn't solve anything, but at least the stress would briefly melt away, giving to relaxation and comfort that she hadn't felt in a long time.
If mother was here; she would've already been reprimanded for running and getting her clothes dirty.
But she wasn't here and she was free to do whatever she pleased. Nobody was going to tell her otherwise. Nobody was going to outlaw this new rebellious behavior.
So she blissfully skipped along the shoreline, savoring the soft sand in between her toes and carefree, ignorant of what anyone else thought of her.
Several thousand miles away over open seas lay the region of Kanto. A big contrast to Alola; it was a sprawling landmass with lush forests, rugged mountains and bright blue oceans. Many cities were scattered across, some small and others home to several millions.
Up north was Cerulean City. Kanto's largest northernmost city sat close to the base of a huge mountain range to the west and the big oceans to the east.
At one particular household in a northeastern suburb; there was one big moving truck in front of its driveway and a handful of big blue muscular reptilian pokemon carrying multiple cardboard boxes from inside out to the trailer.
Inside it was a hive of activity. More machoke and their machamp leader continued to ferry items out. Wardrobes, tables and additional boxes were put inside.
A woman with long brown hair and slightly tanned skin was directing them, finally dusting off her hands once the final arrangements had been made. The amount of possessions that they were taking with them only occupied half the mover's truck, so a pair of machoke began to loop ropes through hooks built inside to keep everything from shifting and breaking.
"Thank you guys so much!" She said, handing some money over to the lone person in the moving company's uniform, "Your machokes and machamp did exceptionally well!"
"No sweat," He smiled and shook her hand after pocketing the cash, "I've gotten hold of a moving company over in Alola, so when the cargo touches down, they'll be there to take everything to your new house and there to unpack, set up when you arrive!" The man sighed, "Wish I was going. Alola seems like such a nice place to live."
"That's what I think. I'm excited to move there with my son. He's been kind of stressed out lately, so hopefully moving to a better place will cheer him up."
After thanking him again, the movers piled into the big truck and pulled out of the driveway, heading down the street and going out of sight to head over to Cerulean City's airport.
The woman gave a sigh of relief before heading back inside the house. By now, the inside was almost bare, with the front door showing dusty in its wooden floor of where furniture once sat.
"Elio!" She called upstairs. Even though it was getting close to nighttime, her own son had spent the majority of it packing before napping on his bed. The previous night was going to be their last one in Kanto for in a few hours; they would be moving to the Alola region.
"What?" A boy's voice called back in a bit of a grumpy and irritated manner.
"Don't forget that Professor Kukui is going to be calling you soon! Be ready to answer it!"
"Yeah yeah sure!" Elio snapped back, "I know that already!"
"And be nice," She smiled up at him, "Don't be such a downer. We're moving to a new place, so don't make the professor feel bad!"
Elio "Sun" Northstar cast a longing glance around his room. It had been stripped down to nothing except for a bed, handful of boxes and his computer that sat on a cleared wooden desk. It felt strange seeing his own inner sanctum so bare after filling it with decorations, his sports gear, a television with gaming systems and wardrobe full of clothes that his mother would often pick out. What he didn't want to bring over to Alola was sold to antique shops and he was able to reduce the junk in his room to a half dozen boxes, full of things that were more valuable to him.
In contrast to his mother; Sun inherited more of his father's traits. Five foot five, pale skin with a build that wasn't overly muscular or slim. He had long dark hair reaching almost to his shoulders. His eyes were gray like steel and they constantly shined with a relaxed complexion of warmth. He wore casual clothes, his favorite white and blue striped tee and long gray and red shorts that went to his knees.
When his mother broke the news to him about their move, he was far from thrilled. It came just three months ago as the affairs began to be put in order. She had bought a house on an island called Melemele and they began to slowly, but steadily pack their things in preparation for the big move. Alola was halfway around the world and completely different than Kanto, so she had bought him many brochures that covered various topics about their new home. Sun had skimmed through it, but he had been so set on upset goodbyes to what friends he had than to pay attention to the new things that were awaiting him. Hardly any of it was even touched.
He still couldn't figure why they had to move to Alola out of all places. At least if they moved somewhere else in Kanto like Celadon or even in nearby Johto, he could still go and see his friends, hang out at the same place and go to the same eateries that his family had been going to ever since he had been born sixteen years ago. It would still be a trip, but a couple hours was more bearable than whatever time it took to fly from Alola.
Sun grew up in this house…he grew up in this room.
His computer buzzed, indicating that a video call was being placed.
That must be the professor.
Straightening his hair to make his bedhead at least tamed, he plopped himself into the chair, angling the camera at its top so that his entire face could be seen.
The professor was younger than he expected. By comparison, he looked to be in his late twenties as opposed to the renowned Professor Oak, regarded as the top pokemon professor in Kanto who was pushing sixty. He wore a white lab coat and green rimmed glasses that reminded him of a safety visor. His easygoing face smiled, radiating a healthy dose of excitement.
"Hang on, gimme a sec," The man said as the camera on his end was askew just slightly. He straightened it offscreen and the image was now centered on him.
"Hey there! Good evening!"
"Good evening to you," Sun said, trying his best to heed his mother's advice and smile, even though he was not keen on moving at all. "You must be Professor Kukui?"
"That's right! So the day has finally come that you're moving to Alola!"
Sun shrugged, "I suppose so. I mean we're not leaving Kanto until later tonight. The flight's supposed to arrive there sometime in the morning."
"Close enough." Kukui brought up an image showing the familiar map of four large islands that were loosely close to one another. Sun barely made out a tiny white dot in the center of the water between the two top ones, "You're gonna be moving to paradise, so I'll let you know all about your new home! Alola is a region made up of several islands. That could be the reason is chock full of nothing but rare pokemon yeah!"
Elio wasn't sure why he had to put a "yeah" at the end of the sentence, but brushed it aside, "Maybe. I suppose we're going to be calling one of these rocks home soon."
"Yup! There's no shortage of cool pokemon out here in Alola, either!" He held up a familiar red and white poke ball, "They're such mysterious creatures and you'll find them all over. In the grass, the caves, skies and sea!" He tossed the ball into the air, causing it to split open and release a tiny brown canine pokemon that he had never seen before. It barked happily, climbing onto the desk and staring intently through the camera, curious about the new face on the other side.
"Here in Alola we love our pokemon and we depend on them in heaps too. Some of us battle with them, if we call ourselves pokemon trainers!"
Elio felt a rush of excitement at the thought of battling. While he was a standout athlete at his school, his other aspiration was to be a pokemon trainer. It was possible at any age to catch and train a pokemon, although official licenses in Kanto were offered at the age of ten and it was common for them to develop over a few years in order to enter the competitive world of battle. He couldn't exactly place the reasoning why he hadn't taken the initiative yet. There were quite a few images of different times he had run into some famous trainers and gym leaders in a scrapbook he was bringing along.
The tiny puppy sniffed the screen, prompting Kukui to gently move its head out of the way. "Hey Rockruff! Can you wait until I'm done talking to play?"
Rockruff gave a whine of sadness, but obliged and jumped down, out of the screen's sight.
"All right, I gotta ask you a few questions about yourself so I can introduce you to everybody! I'm gonna snap a photo of you for your trainer passport." He chuckled when he saw Elio smooth out an untamed wing on his hair, "Do you need a sec to look good?"
"Wha-" Sun shook his head, "No! I'm good!"
"Alright. So hold still." He typed a couple commands on the keyboard below the camera, "And done! So now can you spell out your name for me? Remember this is the name you'll have on your passport!"
"Alright. I'll use my formal name. E-L-I-O. Last name Northstar, spelled just like it sounds."
"Elio Northstar…YOW! That star stuff sounds like it's hotter than a lava plume! So just to make sure," He held up a piece of paper with Sun's printed picture and written name.
"Yup. That's it."
"10-4, good buddy! I'll let everybody out here know you're on your way! Elio!" He crossed his arms as Rockruff and another tiny orange, black and white bird fluttered down to perch on the professor's right shoulder. "Yeah that's a name that hits you like a thunderbolt outta the sky! Woo! I can't wait to see you in person then, cousin!"
Sun nodded, "Okay. I'm looking forward to coming."
That was a lie. He did NOT want to leave Kanto…the place where he grew up. Made so many happy memories, friends…lived a happy life.
Although through his life, there were some tough times, some instances where leaving Kanto was the only way to keep the hardships that he and his mother endured at bay. It devastated him so much that only bad memories were brought up when it was mentioned.
That was why he was so conflicted on moving. It would mean leaving friends…some of which he had known for years. At the same time, he had an opportunity to go explore a new region with a fresh start.
Kukui waved goodbye before he shut off the call. The screen reverted to his desktop and he shut it off.
"Sun! Come help me with these boxes!"
He sighed again, "I'm coming!"
Glancing down as he stood, he finished off his drink of lemonade, seeing the open magazine his mother had gotten for him with different bookmarks. The page he was about to start reading was talking about an organization that helped with the conservation of pokemon. It was headquartered on a big artificial island in the middle of Alola. There was a woman with a long white dress with blond hair in the picture with a hand on her hip being described as its main representative.
Next to it was a pair of plane tickets, scheduled for later that night.
Closing the magazine and setting the tickets on top, he moved downstairs to help out with whatever his mother needed.
A couple of hours later, both mother and son stood in front of their former house. She had already put it on the market and accepted a tolerable deal from another family that was coming out of Viridian who was looking to find a place close to the coast. To his house, the ocean was just a half mile to the east.
Mom slipped an arm around Elio's shoulder to draw him close. He longingly stared at their soon-to-be old house, "I don't want to leave Kanto."
"Me neither sweetie." She glanced over at him, "Don't worry. You'll be sure to make many friends while you're in Alola! I'm sure of it."
"If you say so," He said. The tone sounded worried and unconvinced.
Goodbye everyone, Sun thought in his mind as the reality set in, I'll miss you all.
The boy was silent for nearly the whole ride to the airport. In the car, they passed by shopping centers, eateries, his old schools, all places he had known for his whole life that were now going to be halfway around the world.
His mother tried to pry him with small talk, asking about what Professor Kukui had talked with him during their video chat, but he remained closed off, staring longingly at the city he had called home. Eventually, she had given up, knowing he was too upset about everything that had happened.
She felt a pang of regret, unexpectedly dropping the news on him a short while back. That meant that he would only have a limited time to go to all the places he wanted, hang out with his friends; she was pretty sure he could count on his fingers the total amount of people he considered a friend.
Elio had mostly been a reserved and introverted child. He was friendly to anyone who approached, but not significantly outgoing unless you really knew him. Now if you had gotten into his inner circle; he was someone who was always dependable, loyal to a fault and would never turn his back on anyone.
She felt like this move betrayed the bonds he had with those friends he had here in Cerulean City. Many of them they had known since he was able to walk.
Unbeknownst to her, when he had gone out to dinner and a movie the other night with their small tight-knit group, each one had voiced their support for his move. Even when they were sad to see him go, they encouraged him to dive headfirst into a new adventure and explore one of the most popular tourist spots that would soon be his home. It had put him at ease a bit, but still didn't make the pain of separation any easier. They guaranteed that living in Alola would change him for the better.
Much to his mother's relief, the first plane ride went smoothly. It was a short hop on a small Patriot Airways Embraer RJ-145 jet from Cerulean to Celadon City's massive airport hub where they had a ninety minute connection to head over to the international terminal for the longer overnight flight that would take them to Alola.
They sat in a couple of chairs beside the gate as Sun stared out onto the dark ramp, watching the show of various lights as planes continued to move all around the airport. It was definitely a surprise that so much traffic was out and about this late at night. She checked her watch, noticing that the time was an hour until midnight. Their flight was expected to depart in the next half hour. Boarding was starting.
He continued to look out, taking in every last detail of Kanto. This was it. He was finally leaving.
"Come on," His mother sleepily said, tugging his shoulder, "It's our turn."
No sooner had they found their seats when the aircraft was pushed back to leave the terminal. Before long, their four engine Airbus A340-600 rumbled down the runway. Its nose pitched up and soon enough, Sun saw the ground get further and further away, knowing that a few seconds ago would be the last time he would set foot on Kantoan soil.
Sleep was beginning to overtake his body. Eyes slowly slid shut as he drifted off to the white noise of the engines outside.
The Airbus banked eastbound, taking both mother and son to a new home and a new adventure.
Wow. It just passed five chapters and I've already gotten almost 20 favorites and 30 follows! Have I told you people that y'all are awesome?
Still haven't broken double digit reviews, (Which is acceptable I suppose XD) but I do listen on feedback on my stories. Plus, I love reading all of your thoughts and comments!
In case you haven't noticed; I'm obsessed with airplanes...both civil and military. Hell, my job is to work on them :p so I tend to be very specific on aircraft types.
Mahalo everyone for reading and reviewing, you give my writing purpose. See you all next time.
MWIM