Alola readers! It's been a little while.

I know; another delayed chapter release and all, but it's just been more crazy stuff that's left me drained. Good news for me is that rumor is circulating around the company that I may be offered a higher position at another station. It's about a three hour drive from where I live and with a subsidiary company. Pay's higher and they were pretty positive that I could easily find living arrangements and all. It's certainly a big ask for me if it does come, but also a big opportunity. I'll have to wait and consider my options first...I may not even get the offer at all.

Aside from that, I've also been occupied with a collaboration work, but it's all finished now. That piece does correlate to this fic in a way and it's a few chapters long depicting the Northstar family before they moved here to Alola and how they came to be. The thought swam in my head and was supposed to be one chapter long, but I had to strike while the iron's hot! I may or may not publish it on here...still on the fence. Let me know if it does interest you.

On another note, this finally trumps Advanced Commando as my longest fic and we're only about a quarter of the way through! I'm deftly surprised at how much I've expanded on writing this; originally, by now we'd be at the Aether Paradise confrontation and all, but my thoughts of fleshing out every part of Elio's journey has made this into the fic I'm having so much fun in writing. And all the views.

TEN THOUSAND...ten grand. Holy hell, I say this all the time but I am once again floored by the overwhelmingly positive feedback and viewership I am getting. It really makes me smile when I see how many people are truly enjoying what I have to write. It's been an awesome adventure in churning this out and I hope many of you will continue to stick around in its entirety.

Anyway, now we're back to our usual diary chapters. This one was supposed to get released earlier, however I didn't like the flow it had, so some of it ended up getting omitted. Next chapter we're headed off to Akala Island and ready to get the second act...if you could say underway.

Enjoy guys.

Professor Kukui told me that it was likely that Aether had been canvassing the area to see if I could be forced out of hiding. I think that it may have sped up his schedule for us to leave to Akala Island earlier than he wanted. He thought the best thing to do was to go and stay with Elio and his mother Elaine for a couple of nights before leaving.

Anyway, Elio and his mother came over to the lab for dinner. She made this thing called a pasta bake. It had mild tamato sauce with these cool tube noodles and topped with sausage and gooey cheese. It was so good! The other thing too; garlic bread was amazing too! It's a lot like the sweet rolls we see all the time at Cutter's.

It was a real bummer that there was this huge rockslide that blocked the way up to Ten Carat Hill. We opted just to go back instead, but his crazy sixth sense told him that danger was lurking nearby.

He was right! Team Skull had decided to use this place as an area to ambush unsuspecting trainers and steal their belongings or pokemon. They must've thought Sun was an easy target and unable to handle multiple pokemon battling at once, but it was him that won and chased them off. He looked completely in control with his pokemon in a three on three matchup. I think it's called a triple battle or something that started out in the Unova region. I don't know what was more amazing; his battling skills or the fact that he guided me out of all that danger when he sensed a threat.

Although Ten Carat Hill was a bust; Elio brought a book that he borrowed from Professor Kukui and we looked at a star chart on the lanai in his house. We had a little bit of a slip up, but I found it kind of cute! Nebby seemed to really enjoy it and when we found that there was hardly anyone else I decided to allow it to explore around, promising that it was going back in the bag if any danger was close.

I just wonder if somewhere up there in the stars is where it came from and it's looking up at home?

Don't worry Nebby. I'll get you back there somehow and you might be right. The ruins here in Alola may have some connection on how we can do that. It seems that Professor Kukui is keen on having me accompany Elio and Hau through their island challenges with him. That means we'll get to go to the ruins on every island here! I wonder if Elio will go to the other ruins with me when we head off to Akala and the others.

Also at the house, I also asked about his father. I wish I hadn't because it sounds like he was a horrible person! Elio doesn't know where he is right now, but it sounded like he and his mother Elaine separated from him on very bad terms. It's really saddening to hear such a horrible story and all these bad things happen to my friend and someone as sweet as his mother Elaine. Hau said that his own father had left after he couldn't stand being a kahuna's son and Dad…well Dad kind of left us too.

I wish that I could just have a family that loved and supported each other. Mother and brother seemed to have completely abandoned me. Now all I really have left are Professor Burnet, Kukui, Wicke, Hau, Hala, Elaine and…Elio.

Perhaps this can be my new family. Everyone has been so welcoming to me and kept my secret safe, even though I don't deserve any of their kindness. All I can really do is look forward to what will happen next and find out how any of this can be resolved…if at all.

Dinner at Professor Kukui's lab was something that rarely happened. He and Lillie often spent longer hours in the field or at the research section that making their own food was going to take too long. They'd resort to takeout or some instant meals that he kept a steady supply in the freezer. Some of them were pretty simple and Lillie enjoyed how easy it was to make a cup of noodles with water and microwave it. The taste was far from anything delightful as she had nearly thrown up her first helping.

This time, something more aromatic and heavenly wafted from the oven as Elaine slaved in the kitchen. Professor Kukui and Lillie only could watch in a stupor as the she seamlessly worked on the dish, carefully chopping onions, sausage and watching over a pot of simmering sauce called marinara made from crushed tamatoes. Since she started, it was going for two plus hours.

Elio chuckled at their faces as he set the table. "It's pretty awesome to watch. I got lucky with a mom that can cook."

"I wish I had that kind of time cousin!" Kukui exclaimed. "But my stylin research makes me have to do something quick. Can't cook much since everything gets an overheat yeah!"

"Well Miss Northstar," Lillie said. "I for one am greatly looking forward to trying it."

"Please call me Elaine." She said. "And thank you Kukui for inviting us over! I've always wanted to come and visit a pokemon research lab since Professor Oak's! It's not what I expected though."

"Is that a good or bad thing?"

"Good of course!" She smiled, slipping a pair of white oven mitts over her hands. "Your lab has such a unique charm to it that I feel suits you very much!"

And there it is again. Elio thought to himself, rolling his eyes. Once again, his mother was brazenly flirting with the handsome professor. Even in her later thirties, Elaine remained quite an attractive woman and in the wake of their family separation, she showed no restraint in checking out members of the opposite sex when the opportunity arose.

Professor Kukui was just her latest target.

I bet she brought that Kalosian wine too.

"I brought some Amour du vin. Would you like a glass?"

Yup. She did.

"It's been a busy week." Kukui scratched his head. "Why not?"

Lillie turned to Sun. "Do you cook?"

He shook his own head. "Nope. I can't to save my life."

"So then how are you going to survive out there?"

"There's pokemon centers right? Most of them are reachable within a day's walk and all."

Lillie didn't see any flaw in that, but still wondered how he was going to make do in the field if he got hungry.

Elio seemed to catch onto her unspoken question. "I'll get snacks and stuff so that I can tie myself over. Look at me," he patted his stomach. "I'm a growing boy so I'll make sure my supply of food is constant."

Their conversation was interrupted by Elaine as she opened the door to the oven. "Dinner's ready. Who wants garlic bread?"

"Me!"

Elaine smirked at her son's quickness on one of his personal favorites of her cooking.

"You two better hurry and get yourself a piece. Elio is more than capable of devouring the whole thing."

At first, Lillie only poked at her food, but after finally taking a leap of faith, she took a bite and almost instantly had to resist eating the entire thing at once.

Elaine's pasta bake had eye watering intensive flavors that vastly complimented one another in well harmony. She tasted the robust ground sausage and the fruitiness of the marinara sauce that melded together for an explosion of taste. There were supermarket versions available in glass jars that she had tried when Kukui attempted to make spaghetti. This simmered version made that one taste as if it was industrial…like plastic.

It further surprised her to find out that she was halfway done with her bowl when Elio had practically inhaled his own helping and gone right back up to the counter for seconds.

And then there was the garlic bread. The boy had raved for a good five minutes on how good it was. Lillie had eaten something similar in portions that were smaller than half the size of what Elaine baked.

She and Professor Kukui got one piece each, before the platter went to Elio and he had grabbed four slices for himself. It was all devoured pretty quickly. It was kind of amazing on how he ate

"Elio!" Elaine scolded. "Do you have to take all the garlic bread in front of company?"

He stopped just as he was about to take one of the last two pieces. There was already another one on his plate beside the pasta bake.

"Um…yes?" He sighed. "Come on Mom, can't help that it's so freaking good!"

Professor Kukui and Lillie chuckled at their light banter. To her, this was a forlorn reminder of old times. Even though dinner seemed like a formality, she and her brother always found something to talk about with her parents as they awaited their dinner at the elongated marble table just behind their open bar kitchen. She had rarely ever seen her mother actually do any cooking, but there were these shiny copper colored pots and pans stored on the stainless steel back. Their kitchen was the workplace of a renowned chef from Kalos who had been the executive of the famous Restaurant Le Wow in Lumiose City before retiring from that hectic business and going "freelance" her parents had been enticed by the amazing cooking this particular chef that she quickly offered the woman a job for cooking meals for her family. The dishes she had put in front of them three times a day were definitely tasty, but many of their portions left something to be desired. Often, Lillie and her brother were left hungry just a couple hours after eating and they would sometimes go to raid the family's snack pantry for food. There would be little competition between the two of them as who could steal the most without getting caught by her parents.

Her father would "punish" them by tickling their ribs and they'd laugh so hard it would get sore. Her mother had the same reaction, but eventually the fun of it turned into dread as she changed. Getting caught meant a harsh punishment.

So Lillie couldn't help but stifle a giggle. She knew exactly how he felt. If there was good food available; take as much as you could.

Elaine's pasta bake had one quality that their private chef hadn't done yet…heartiness. The food was filling and she knew that something like this would keep her full for a longer time.

Why couldn't mother ask our chef to make something like this? I loved her cooking and all, but I can't believe all this amazing food that I've been missing out! Elio is really lucky to have her as a mother.

As the adults chatted over Kukui's recent research; Sun glanced at Lillie. He looked at his plate before handing one of the excessive slices of garlic bread that he had.

"Sorry I got carried away." He sheepishly looked away.

Lillie couldn't help but laugh. "Sun! It's okay!" She took a bit of it and was instantly overwhelmed by the intensity of the flavor. "Oh my gosh! It tastes so good!"

He chuckled back. "I told you my mom makes it good! Doesn't do it often, but when she does, it's always a hit for me!"

"Does your mother like to cook?" She asked. "What's exactly in here? Do you know?"

Elio nodded. "Really it was my dad who was the good cook. His job demanded so otherwise it would've been pretty bad. He taught her a lot of things and I feel lucky that both of them know what to do in a kitchen. Me? I guess not all genes transfer, because I can't get past box macaroni and cheese."

"You'll learn one day. I'm sure of it."

He smiled. "Thanks Lillie." There was another moment of silence between them. "Um, are you excited to go stargazing tonight?"

"I sure am! Professor Kukui says it's really cool!"

"I haven't been." She sighed. "Just really worried that it might go bad."

"What might?"

"I don't really know." The anxiety wasn't just from being spotted or caught by Aether. She was going somewhere she had never been before, alone, at night with Elio. The thought of her and him by themselves brought a light pink tinge to her cheeks.

"Don't worry Lillie." Elio softly said. "I'll make sure you and Nebby are safe. We're out there to have fun and enjoy ourselves."

Even though he didn't sense it; the statement of vowing to guard them both was absolutely heartwarming to the other three.

"Okay." She peered into her bag. "Did you hear that Nebby? Sun is going with is to go and see the stars with us! You would like that right?"

"Pew!"

Professor Kukui opened one of the blinds to show that the sun was now dipping behind the horizon with a pink and purple glow beginning to dominate the sky. "You two better get going yeah! Don't be gone too long and remember that the path can get be like a trick room! Stay together and have fun!"

"Got it." Sun bounded up. "Okay, I'll get cleaning." While living with Elaine, the two shared the same responsibilities during mealtimes. She would do the cooking and it was one of his jobs to hand wash all the dirty dishes. They had an automatic dishwasher back in Kanto and had just got one installed in Alola, but some of the plates, pans and pots weren't safe if put inside, so he would put on a pair of bright colored rubber gloves and scrub away over the running sink.

"Actually, don't worry about that." Elaine said. "You two go and have fun!"

"Um," Elio glanced over at quite a few dirty plates and the smeared casserole pan. "Are you sure?"

"Oh of course!" She nodded. "We'll be taking the plate and cleaning everything we can here. Go! Get out of here!"

"Okay." He moved to the front and held it open for Lillie and Nebby, exiting right behind them. "Bye Mom! Bye Professor!"

"Alola!"

Sun shut the door as they walked down the steps together. "I'm still trying to get used to that as a greeting."

"You and me both."

"Thanks for um, coming with me. I hope you'll like it and all." His voice trailed off as he forced himself to look away.

"Yeah sure…but I thought you were going to ask Leilani to come with you."

He shook his head, frowning. "She was actually the one who suggested I go to this."

"But you like her?"

"What?" She got a puzzled look from him before he broke out into a huge smile. "Well of course I like her! She's been teaching me all this neat stuff about battling and even stuff about Alola! You know what Lillie? I might actually like this place after all."

And there it is. She thought bitterly to herself. Just look at how he talks about her. Leilani's pretty, strong, she can battle with pokemon and everything. I keep wondering if Elio and I have something special after all. Was that moment at the Mahalo Trail with Tapu Koko for nothing?

"Hey Lillie?"

"Huh?" She jumped a little, startled out of her thoughts by the boy with a curious look.

He looks so cute with that face.

"You okay? Kinda spaced out there for a minute."

"Uh, yeah. I'm alright." She absentmindedly patted the bag with Nebby inside. It was slowly becoming a habit of hers. "How about we get going?"

Even though the neighborhood of Waimanalo and the professor's lab sat sort of at the base of Ten Carat Hill, there were only a couple of ways up and down. Trails split into winding paths climbing the hill's face up to the top.

Many of the grounds up there were considered kapu or sacred. For the majority of Alola's history, only the natives had been allowed entry into the hill, however after an outcry from visitors who had wanted to enjoy its majestic view, paths were made and strict laws were imposed to keep trespassers out. There were certain trails that tourists could take and those that were only allowed by the natives were lined with painted white rocks to distinguish what was forbidden.

Neither Elio nor Lillie would have to worry about that as trainers who were embarking on the island challenge were already allowed unrestricted access into the areas. It was important to all initiates in the ancient island challenges to summit to the farthest hollow and ask for the tapu's blessing once he or she has cleared all the trials on Melemele Island. The mandatory practice was no longer applied today, but the journey up to reminisce on old traditions was something highly recommended.

Elio stopped just short of one of the road gates that started up the hill. It was closed shut.

"What?!"

"What?"

"The gate's closed!" He ran up to the sign posted over the bar. "Rock slides have obstructed the path. Ten Carat Hill is closed until further notice." A defeated sigh when he saw the faint outline of massive boulders piled up right dead center, preventing anyone from going further. "Well that sucks." Elio turned to her. "What do you want to do now?"

"I don't know." She glanced around, suddenly feeling defeated as well. "I guess we can go back. Maybe your mother has set up sleeping arrangements already."

"Yeah maybe." They turned back and started returning the same way they had approached. "I'm sorry that it didn't work out."

"It's okay. We'll have plenty of time to come back."

"Yeah," He sighed. "I really wanted a rockruff though! I love him back at Professor Kukui's lab and he said that there are some that can be found at the farthest hollow."

"There are still three more islands." Lillie reminded him. "And you've only seen just a fraction of all the different pokemon that could be found here in Alola."

Sun made to reply, but suddenly stopped when he heard something.

"What is-" The blonde's question was cut off by Elio again clamping a hand over her mouth for the second time that day.

"I heard something." He whispered. "And I don't think it's a pokemon. Too quiet and abrupt."

She nodded in understanding and quickly hurried out of sight, ducking behind a brush that was about ten feet off the path.

I hope I'm not trespassing sacred grounds doing this!

From her view of Elio, it seemed as if he was taking deliberate ignorance aside from the warning earlier. He took a step forward, eyes scanning the dense plant growth just off the path. Twenty paces later to her left; he stopped short when another barely audible sound floated through the air. It wasn't the snap of dead leaves or branches or the crunch of dirt under shoes this time.

It was whispering.

Elio cupped his hands to his mouth. "I know you're out there hiding in the brush. Why don't you do yourselves a favor if you want to come and ambush me by blocking my exit? You've got three seconds."

One second elapsed and Lillie saw him reach down for a poke ball.

By the second; Litten was released and he too had sensed the foreign presence. His tail was up and he crouched down protectively in front of his trainer.

"Litten, use-" He pointed out to the group of shrubbery.

"Okay fine! Ya got us bro!"

About fifty feet to Lillie's left on the trail's opposite side emerged three figures. The moonlight was dim so that she couldn't discern them specifically, but knew by their strange moves, if she could call it dancing that they were part of Team Skull.

The uptight, freestyle talk should've given it away too.

"Damn," a second grunt said, "Ya just had to give us away didn't ya?"

"What?! How am I supposed to know dat he can hear us?"

"I dunno!" One of them knocked the other in question with his hand. "We bone-headed fo sure! But we ain't stupid!"

"Um bros?" The third grunt asked timidly. From Sun's perspective, he hadn't spoken at all and was watching the confrontation with unease. He also seemed a little less enthusiastic than his two cohorts. These three appeared to be different grunts than the ones he had encountered in Hau'oli Marina and the Verdant Cavern. "We're here to ambush him remember?"

"Wha-oh yeah right." The two arguing turned back to the young trainer. "So! Lookie here homies! We cast out our fishin' line and caught ourselves a trial-goer!"

Litten powered himself down, but still remained in its hunched stance, ready to pounce.

"Team Skull," Sun said, a little bit of irritation creeping into his voice. "What do you want?"

"Brah, ya even have to ask dat?! We here made all dem rock pokemon angry so they cause rockslide and block path. Then all these people comin' to see dat stupid show of stars are ripe for da pickin'! Oh man! Did you guys see dat guy who pissed himself after we took his pokemon?! It was hilarious!"

There was a round of laughter shared by the trio.

"Now we here to do the same to you! Ya can just make it easy for ya self and hand it over already or we can do dis da hard way. And where's ya friend at? Did he run off scaredy already?"

"What's it gonna be?" The second grunt goaded as he and his two cohorts each took out a poke ball.

Even as their minds swirled about what he was deciding on; Elio had already begun the action of tossing out Grimer and Rufflet to stand beside Litten in a sort of delta formation. His starter took center as his other partners each guarded a flank. I'm not letting them anywhere near Lillie.

"Man it's no fun when dey ain't scared!" The grunt that Sun assumed to be the leader said. "Whatever…dis should be a piece of cake!"

At once, the three of them threw out their pokeballs and burst open to reveal two familiar pokemon, a wispy clouded gastly and long legged spinarak and one that was not. It looked as if it had long blue hair and several nasty spikes covering its stumpy body. Rotom hadn't registered any of them yet though.

He was quick to jump out of Sun's backpack and float beside the teen. "Bzzt! I've detected a…woah! No…THREE new pokemon?! You're the bezzt Sun! Izzz it my birthday?"

"Ey what's dat? One of the grunts asked. "A talking cell phone?"

"Did he juzt?" Rotom turned around. "I am not a cell phone! Bzzt! And now I am going to make sure Sun battlez well zo you will all pay for your inzolence! Bzzt!"

He turned back to Elio and gave a droning laugh. "Zorry about that! Now to our new pokemon regiztered! Gastly…gas pokemon. Gastly attacks its foes by enveloping them in its body, which contains poison. These pokemon gather in abandoned buildings and can be identified with its domain by strange lights flickering. Gastly is a ghost and poison type. Additional information is available upon catching this pokemon."

"Spinarak…string spit pokemon. Spinarak is a patient pokemon, waving a very sturdy thread to catch its preferred cutiefly and caterpie prey. It is believed to identify the different kinds of pokemon based on the vibrations that its web gives off. Sometimes, this webbing is used by fishermen to weave stronger nets to catch fish. Spinarak is a bug and poison type. Additional information is available upon catching this pokemon."

"Bzzt! A brand new pokemon detected!" Rotom buzzed. "Mareanie…brutal star pokemon. This pokemon lurks on the seabead feeding on corsola thorns. Mareanie jabs its foes with the poison spikes on its head and then deals a finishing blow with its ten tentacles after the prey has been weakened. Mareanie is a water and poison type. Additional information is available upon catching this pokemon."

"Water and poison huh?" Sun glanced at the newly discovered pokemon. "Better not let Litten near that."

"We startin' this off bro!" The leader said. "Mareanie, poison sting!"

His strange looking pokemon jumped up into the air and flicked its two forward tentacles. They released a volley of deadly looking barbs in their direction.

"Spinarak, poison sting!" A second grunt joined in, with his spider adding to the attack.

Rufflet had been the target of Mareanie, but he quickly flapped his wings to fly up above. Litten was in the spinarak's sights but didn't need to move.

Grimer saw it being aimed at his comrade and quickly extended his arms over, swinging them out in one smooth motion. It winced just slightly as a dozen or so barbs slapped right into its side, but for the most part, it didn't seem too hurt. Litten had been shielded.

"Nice teamwork guys!" Sun pumped a fist. Now it's time to go on the offensive.

"Rufflet, you're on Gastly." A caw came back in response.

"Oh no ya don't!" The ghost type's trainer shook his head. "Confuse ray!"

Gastly gave off a sinister grin before launching a glowing white orb that rapidly went in his eaglet's direction.

With another swoop of his wings; Rufflet nimbly dodged it.

Sun saw the error in that.

Litten was right behind him. The fire cat jumped up on his hind legs when he sensed it approaching, but the ray changed course, enveloping him inside before dissipating. Litten landed on the ground and stumbled about in a daze.

Oh no. This isn't going to end well.

"While it's down," The grunt with the mareanie glanced over at his spinarak partner before they pointed at his starter. "Poison sting!"

At once, both poison types launched a double attack of the barbs, rapidly crossing right over. Since he was confused; Litten had no idea what headed his way until it was too late.

His cries of pain echoed through the air as they slammed into him from two different sides. It eventually broke, causing him to tumble back in front of Elio.

"Litten!" He cried. "Are you okay?"

It was then he saw that there was a filmy slime that coated his body, bubbling ominously.

He was poisoned.

"This going to get bad really fast."

In Litten's confusion, he misfired an ember attack aimed upwards at the gastly. The ball of smog quickly moved out of the way. Rufflet who had just dodged the previous confused ray, seized the opportunity, zooming forward and slicing through with a wing attack. Gastly spun around, clearly not expecting that blow and gave a threatening hiss at the eaglet.

"Poison sting on da rufflet!" The grunt with the mareanie ordered.

Grimer automatically moved to guard Rufflet.

Sun appreciated the gesture, but had changed his mind. "Grimer, go on the offensive. Bite that mareanie and keep it occupied!"

He looked a little puzzled, but obeyed nonetheless.

Gastly was off to the side, readying another confuse ray.

"Quick!" He shouted all of a sudden. "New plan! Disable that gastly!"

"Grime!" The sludge pokemon halted mid-attack and raised his arms up, twinkling a glow in between his hands and causing the ghost to shake it off and stare perplexed.

"Good job! Now resume your attack on Mareanie!"

Grimer quickly slithered right up to the brutal star pokemon and widened his mouth, clamping right down on top of its tentacle head. The water type emitted a shriek of pain and shook itself, but Grimer continued to hold on, ignorant of the toxic barbs poking its slimy skin.

That should occupy that mareanie for a moment. Now we need to get rid of the other two.

"Gastly, use night shade!"

Guess we're going for that first.

Rufflet noticed his gesture and shot forward once again. The ghost was forced to absentmindedly adjust his aim after noticing the bird coming after it. Night shade was a black spectral beam that jagged out in an asymmetrical pattern. He made no attempt to dodge, allowing it to pass right through.

"What?!" The grunt exclaimed in disbelief. "How can normal types be immune to ghost moves?"

Unbeknownst to him; Elio had the same thought.

Rufflet's part normal type! Normal types are apparently immune to ghost type moves? I have to look back at all the different type immunities.

"Spinarak, string shot. Stop that rufflet!"

The spider hissed and spat out a thread of gooey silk from in between its mandibles. The stream arced across the field, finding one of Rufflet's talons and firmly wrapping itself around. Having a sudden addition of weight on his side quickly cut off his flight pattern and he plummeted back towards the ground, flapping again to try and gain some altitude.

Crap. Sun had Grimer dealing with Mareanie, so he couldn't afford to pull him off. That left Litten.

It seemed that the tapus were watching him, since his starter just blinked his eyes a couple of times and shook his head free of the invading thoughts. The fur on his back blazed and he stood upright, although he was in a bit of tiredness since the poison was continuing to whittle away at his energy.

He saw his ally in trouble and quickly fired an ember at spinarak. The tiny bit of fire sent the spider reeling back and it ignited the flammable webbing, weakening it just enough for Rufflet to break free and fly upwards again.

"Take out that spinarak! Ember and peck!" Elio pointed.

Litten let out an aggressive purr, forming and shooting another ember from his mouth. Ruffet rushed forward, beak glowing in a peck. The two combined super effective attacks struck simultaneously, blasting the unfortunate victim out of the fight.

"Good job guys! Now let's focus on gastly. It can't attack both of you at once, so split up and divide his attention!"

"Gastly, use lick on Litten!"

"You hear that?" Elio called out. "Litten. He's coming after you!"

The fire cat nimbly leapt aside from the long tongue and struck back with a fire fang. As he jumped off from delivering the powerful move; Rufflet soared right behind and hit it with another wing attack. In just those few moments, the gastly's form began to disperse, falling right back into its pokeball.

Meanwhile, the mareanie had had enough of Grimer's smothering and it viciously fired another poison sting that still didn't do much damage, but it was enough for it to slip free from the other poison type's constant biting.

The three grunts' demeanors had quickly changed from their confidence to unease as the lone pokemon on their side faced the other three still standing.

At his insistence, Elio's team attacked at the same time. Grimer's arms lashed out in a pound, Rufflet saw an opening, diving down to slash its exposed front with a wing attack and Litten fired yet another ember.

The three attacks battered the mareanie and it slowly wobbled upright as the three attacker's battered it from all directions. They took their place in front of their trainer.

"Holy!" The leader of the grunts stared at him wide eyed. "Dis kid. He somethin' else bro!"

"I know bro! Dis was a really bad idea!"

Elio gave off a smirk. "I think now would be a good time to leave before you're next."

"Oh man, da boss ain't gonna be happy 'bout dis though!"

"Still, we gotta run while we got da chance!"

The young trial goer shook his head as the three grunts quickly recalled all their defeated pokemon and ran back down the pathway.

Sun paid them little attention since they were now much less of a threat before quickly dropping to the ground on a knee and digging around his pack.

Lillie wasn't sure if she should move now that the danger was gone, but figured that if Elio thought it was all clear, he'd let her know.

"Come on, where is it?" His hand reached into the medicine pocket in his backpack. "Aha!"

The antidote's cap was taken off and he gently used the nozzle to spray all of Litten's side. Within a few seconds, the oily liquid that coated his body and made him shiver was beginning to thin out. He let out a happy meow and nuzzled Sun's leg just as the last of it vanished.

"You guys did great out there." He smiled. "I'm proud of you all."

"Grime!"

"Ruff! Rufflet!"

He stood up, turning his had back in her direction. "Lillie? I think it's all clear. You can come out now."

For just a couple of moments, he didn't see her. But then, a brush out where he had stashed her had moved and she timidly stepped out onto the path.

"You okay?" He asked.

She nodded. "Yes. How are your pokemon?"

"They won."

"I'm amazed fight all three of those Team Skull thugs by yourself. Elio, you're a very brave person. Do you know that?"

Sun's smile made her do the same. "Thanks Lillie. Although really, those Team Skull people are more talk than anything. I'll be here to make sure they don't do anything to you or Nebby."

"Thank you Sun. Are you sure it's not too much for me to ask that?"

"What?" He looked a little surprised at that. "No, absolutely not. I understand that you want to keep Nebby safe from harm and if that means I have to step away from whatever I'm doing, I'll do it. To me, Nebby is important too." Elio took a deep breath. "And I also know what it's like to be helpless. So I make sure that I can protect everyone I can."

"Okay." She felt a surge of relief at that. "What…what about the stargazing?"

"We can go back to my house. I'm sure we can see some of them there."

Lillie agreed and just as Sun, recalled his pokemon back into their poke balls. He was about to lead them both back down the trail, she had taken an initiative of her own and grabbed his hand.

He glanced back, a little surprised at her brazen action.

"Um," She fought the blush that came to her cheeks, looking at anywhere but those alluring eyes of his. "E-Elio…I kind of feel…safer if I do this. Is that okay? At least until we get back to your house."

Little did she know that he was trying to maintain composure on his end too. "Y-yeah. That's fine."

They stepped forward when Sun peered over at the area where the Team Skull grunts had been waiting.

"Huh. Look at this."

Lillie stared into the darkness, barely making out a big box that looked to be about half full.

Elio snapped on his backpacks light, illuminating a half dozen poke balls and some things that were small and glittering.

"Jewelry?" She whispered.

He nodded, shaking his head. "Thieving numskulls. Not only did they take pokemon, they were going to take possessions." Some of it was coming off as very valuable, with one wristwatch he noted to be roughly fifteen grand. It was beyond him why someone would wear such an expensive thing on a venture like this, but the only thing that mattered now was that it could be reunited with its owner.

"I can carry the poke balls if you get the jewelry. Once we get back to my house, we can call the police so that they can go to lost and found."

"Okay." She glanced down at her duffel, already worrying that Nebby was going to try and escape again. "Nebby? Stay in the bag okay?"

"Pew." It sounded more sad with that, but obeyed nonetheless.

Just like the half hour it took for them to go up to the beginning of Ten Carat Hill, their trek back into Waimanalo was around the same time. Paths were windy as usual and they often stopped for a few moments to catch their breath. Some of them offered views out to the ocean or the lights of the suburban area where thousands of homes lay. There were harmonic cries of nocturnal bug pokemon sounding in the trees that provided some atmosphere, making it less of a voided silence.

Sun felt Lillie's hand tighten as they continued their way down the trail. He saw that she was still extremely anxious about the confrontation between him and the Skull grunts earlier.

A gentle squeeze told her that he was completely fine. In his mind though, he had been more worried for her than losing some battle.

No way was I going to let them take Lillie and Nebby away.

To Lillie; it looked as if he battled out there for the enjoyment of it. She'd seen Sun with that much enthusiasm and a strong desire to overcome and defeat his opponent.

In reality, Elio was fighting so hard to make sure that they didn't try to hurt her. Like he had said earlier; they were much more bark than bite, but that didn't stop them from being a nuisance or actually causing legitimate trouble. Lillie was a very pretty girl who wasn't really able to defend herself.

I know some people who would take advantage of that in a heartbeat. They won't be able to lay a finger on her. I'll make sure of it.

The familiar Ko'olau Mountains came into sight that Iki Town was settled on and they finally saw its familiar lights as they came back into Waimanalo. While not as tall as Ten Carat Hill or as the locals called it Le'ashi the range was the remnant of Alola's volcanic past and many of its trails were similar to the hill's, providing an excellent place to take hikes and enjoy spectacular views of the greater part of Hau'oli City.

Elaine opened the door after Elio rapped on it a couple of times with his knuckles.

"Oh hello you two! Back so soon?"

"Hey Mom." Elio's cheeks went pink as his mother wrapped him up in a hug.

Does she have to do this to me right in front of Lillie?

On the other hand; Lillie tried to stifle a giggle.

He looks so cute when he's hugged. They look so cute together.

"We uh, hit a few snags."

"A few?"

"Yeah." Lillie piped up. "There's a huge rockslide that blocked the path up to the farthest hollow. Nobody could get past."

"We found out it was Team Skull who caused it all." Elio said. "I battled and defeated all three of them in a triple."

"A triple!" Elaine squealed. "Oh my goodness! You're such an amazing trainer Elio! I'm so proud of you!"

"Thanks Mom!"

"You sure didn't sleep in class when the teacher went over that!"

"Mom! I didn't sleep at all! You know that!"

"I know sweetie. Just giving you a hard time. Still, I'm glad that triple battles are being fought somewhere else besides Unova. Did you know that it was invented by a motorcyclist who wanted to impress his girlfriend?"

"Huh really?" Lillie asked.

"Yup! I remember it when I went there to travel and he showed it to me. I forget his name, but he always said that he was a heartbreaker or something. It's a really interesting way of battling that's for sure! All about coordination and teamwork! Not all trainers will get a good grasp on that though."

"Huh. So Elio got a good handle on it already."

"That makes me so excited on what else he can do!"

"Hey Mom," Elio dropped his backpack on one of the barstools beside the kitchen. "Lillie and I found all this stolen stuff after we beat those Skull guys. Should we uh call the police so that they can be returned and all?"

"Yes sweetie. I'll call them right away."

"Okay." Sun turned to his blonde friend. "C'mon Lillie, let's get everything together again."

Elaine couldn't help but gush at such an adorable moment as they separated the poke balls from the pieces of jewelry. She phoned the Hau'oli Police Station and got a response saying that an officer from the nearby Waimanalo office would be by shortly to pick them up and send out a notice that they had been found.

"Where's that ring?" Lillie asked.

"I don't know." Elaine turned around to see Elio, rifling through his backpack. "It's not in my bag. Did you check yours?"

"Yes, it's not there."

"How many do we have?"

"There were three. I know we had four."

"Pew!"

"Nebby, not now!" Lillie's voice squeaked as she and Elio knelt down and continued to look through her bag.

"Pew!" The cosmog jumped out of the bag, much to Lillie's fright and bounded happily around the kitchen.

"Nebby stop! This isn't Professor Kukui's place!"

"Pew!"

Elaine gasped as Nebby jumped on top of the counter, knocking one of the glasses over. Luckily for them, Elio was fast enough, snatching it two inches off the floor where it would've shattered on impact. Meowth arrived just in time to save a second one from a similar fate.

"Okay, we should probably put the breakables away from the floor if Nebby's going to be like that!"

Nebby stopped and stared up at his three humans and pokemon.

Elio noticed something and laughed lightly to himself.

"Lillie, look at Nebby."

She stared at it before breaking out into laughter. Elaine joined in once she saw it too.

On the cosmog's left cloudlike appendage was a silver ring securely around and bouncing about as Nebby floated off the floor.

"Oh you!" Lillie's motherly voice said. "You can't stop causing trouble can you?"

"I guess not." Sun said, gently bending down and scooping it up. In the couple other times where he had held the tiny pokemon, he never really had a chance to feel it since his mind was elsewhere. Cosmog's skin was slightly warm and a cross between a liquid and rubber. It was definitely a strange feeling because at least Grimer had a cooler temperature.

Nebby squirmed with a cry of discomfort when Elio's fingers grasped the ring and tried to pull it off. The cloud limbs were firmer than he had expected, providing quite a bit of resistance and he didn't want to hurt it either.

"Sorry Nebby." He said. "Looks like you're going to have to get a little wet."

Sun crossed over to the sink and slipped on a pair of rubber gloves, running them under the sink before applying a drop of soap to his fingers. Gently cradling it with one hand, he managed to grasp the edge of the ring and gently work it out of the cloud limb. Nebby made a face at the pain, but kept silent, knowing that they were just trying to help.

"Ah!" It popped free into the air, pulled on a little too hard by the boy.

Lillie jumped at being startled and reached upwards. The band spun as it fell and it rotated to fit perfectly on her left hand, sliding gently down her ring finger before stopping.

Elaine had to cover her mouth to prevent excessive giggling and Elio's eyes went to the size of dinner plates.

"That…was awesome!" He pumped a fist. "Oh my goodness! I so wish Rotom could've taken a video of that!"

Lillie couldn't help but stare intently at the silver band. It gleamed in the light and really, it was the first real ring she wore. Her mother got plastic ones when they played princesses during her younger times, but this was a real authentic piece of jewelry.

It's so beautiful. She was well aware of the significant of a ring on her left hand.

Maybe one day.

Elio had a wolfish smirk on his face. "That looks good on you Lillie."

Really? I often get told I don't look good though.

"Yeah." Elaine agreed. "It's really pretty."

"Here." He reached over with his gloves off. "I'll get it for you."

Lillie set her hand on the counter as Elio gently slid it off her hand. She stared at him intently as he concentrated.

For Elaine, it was just too much adorableness concerning her son and his blonde friend. She quickly engaged Rotom's camera feature and snapped a silent picture, capturing the moment as Sun touched her hand and slowly pulled the band away.

It was set in a towel for drying just as the police car had pulled up. Another few minutes and all the stolen belongings were headed off, starting their journey to go back to their rightful owners.

Elio glanced over at the house's lanai. "You know what Lillie; we can still go stargaze if you want."

"Yes." She was still thinking profusely about how Sun was holding her hand when he removed the ring from her finger. A deep blush came to her cheeks. "I'd really like that."

They decided to sit on the hammock Elaine had fashioned behind the rail, providing a view to their left of the twinkling sky. Unbeknownst to them; his mother was delighted to see such a heartwarming display. So she and Meowth quickly snapped a couple of pictures.

Lillie was amazed at how much Elio had read the book on the Alolan star charts. He pointed out several constellations in the sky with his reference.

"That's 'Ka Makau Nui o Akala." He pointed to a pattern of stars in a jagged hook pattern and Nebby wrapped around his arm. The cosmog was ecstatic at seeing the night sky, but quickly fell asleep like a baby in the boy's arms. "It's called the Big Fishhook of Akala. Ancient Alolans used to…um," he flipped another page in the book, "Use it as a guide when the harvest of fish would be good. Rising quickly meant that the goddess of Akala hooked a catch and all other catches that day would be abundant."

Elio leafed through another section. "There's Huinakolu. Three stars that make this what the Alolans consider, the Navigator's triangle. Humu, Hawaiki and Keoe. I think I said that right." He laughed at himself.

Lillie snickered. "You're doing fine my star guide."

"Thanks. Legend says it that Humu had two sons in the first of many canoes who sailed from Melemele Island westward towards Poni Island. The elder son knew his navigation and told the steersman where to go, except he wasn't pleased at that. He then threw the two overboard and they swam behind the stars before being rescued by their father in the final canoe with the King of Alola. They then reached the shores of Poni Island while the rest are lost at sea and never to be found again."

"Huh." Lillie mused. "That sounds really bad."

"I tend to think that it was a test that Humu had set when he told the steersman and the others to trust his sons. When they didn't, he rescued them and they became lost."

"You really know a lot about mythology here in Alola."

"You're giving me too much credit." Elio folded the book. "I'm just reading what's in here."

"What about that star?" She pointed almost directly upwards.

Elio glanced up. It wasn't that hard to tell which one she was referring to. It was a bright white, but significantly brighter than almost any other star on the chart.

That was one he already knew. It was the first one he was taught to remember when at such a young age.

"That's Polaris…the north star."

Lillie's face broke out into a heartwarming smile. "That's right! Of course you know it!"

"Heh. You know the saying right?"

"You can always look to the north star for hope and guidance."

"Right!"

As they continued chatting and talking, a cool breeze began to blow through. The sudden change of temperature caused both teens to shiver, but drew closer together.

"It's kinda…cold out here." Elio said.

"Y-yeah. How about we go back inside?"

Elaine had left a note on the kitchen counter with two steaming mugs. The master bedroom door was shut with no sign of her or Meowth.

They must've gone to bed.

He picked up the note.

Hi sweetie,

Meowth and I are exhausted today, so we decided to turn in early. I've already set up a folding bed for Lillie and brought her stuff into your room.

I talked with Professor Kukui and he says that the boat is going to get repaired and cleaned tomorrow and you both will set sail for Akala Island in two days! Enjoy the tapu cocoa and sleep well you two!

"That was really nice of your mother." She cradled one of the mugs and handed the other to him. Both teens took a sip.

"Mmm." He sighed, savoring the velvety chocolate flavor that was complimented with a perfect hint of spice. "It's not the ones from the café, but I'll still take it."

"Yeah. I could live off tapu cocoa if I wanted to."

"Me too. A little cinnamon in it," He made sprinkling motion with his free hand and took a sip. "Boom. Perfect."

"You are very lucky to have such a nice mother." Elio heard that same bit of envy from her again from the first time she met her. "Please don't take that for granted Elio."

"I don't. In terms of close family; Mom's all I've got."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Lillie moved over to a long divider where multiple framed pictures sat. This was Elaine and Elio's scrapbook of sorts, where pictures of their family were displayed. Some of them had just the two of them, but there were a few that had a third person.

He was just slightly taller than Elaine, with dark buzz cut hair and the same stormy gray eyes as him. His body physique was just barely visible through some clothing and it was evident that his job was labor intensive. Pale skin was weathered slightly and there were a couple of dark scars that hugged his jawline.

"Who's this?"

Elio glanced up and swallowed nervously. This wasn't really a subject he wanted to talk about, but he felt like since they were on parents, it was more appropriate. He had no knowledge on Lillie's family except that she had a mother.

A mother who gave her the clothes she wanted her to wear. Some mom.

"That's Calvera Northstar. He's my father."

Lillie saw that she had hit something sensitive with the inquiry, but it seemed like Elio was going to tell her more.

"You've never mentioned him."

"I don't even know where he is." When she glanced back at him, he sounded absent and almost as if he was contemplating it. "I used to really idolize my dad. Everything about him. He worked for the Orinda Fire Department in northeast Cerulean City and it's pretty cool to have a firefighter as a dad."

Lillie remained silent as he went on.

"I thought our family was good. We weren't perfect or what my mother had in mind, but she worked, my dad worked and I went to school. We'd do stuff on the weekends like go out to dinner. My mom would sometimes have battling competitions since she took on leagues to help earn money when she went to college. There were times we'd go to the Cerulean Gym downtown to see Indigo leader Misty in her battles against trainers and some of her aquatic shows. Mom would put me in school sports that would keep me occupied for a good part of the year. Made some good friends doing that."

He gestured to one photo, which Lillie recognized him as a young boy grinning as he held up two fingers with a girl in her early twenties that had her arm around his shoulders and mimicking the gesture. There was a tiny note of encouragement scrawled in black marker at the bottom left corner with her initials.

"I hope when I get stronger as a trainer; I want to challenge her to a battle."

Elio sighed longingly as he put the photo back. "Anyway, everything was good. My mom was happy, my dad was happy…I was happy. But then…then he changed."

"Elio,"

"I really don't know why he changed like that. But he started to treat Mom very badly and there was one time where it got so bad," A trickle of tears began to form in his eyes. She saw it for an instant before he wiped it away and returned his voice back to that monotone he maintained while speaking. "I ran to my room and hid there with Meowth, hoping that it was all just a bad dream. He left that night and came back a week later with divorce papers."

"How old were you when this all happened?"

"Eleven. I haven't heard or seen my dad for five years."

Lillie bowed her head, already feeling a pang of regret for asking. "Elio, I'm sorry."

"Don't be." When she perked up in surprise at his claim, he shook his head. "My mother's happy here right now and that's what matters to me. It's made me who I am today." His demeanor changed and a thin smile came across his face. "Wow Lillie. Am I being too crazy for you right now?"

"No." She shook her head. "I just didn't expect something like that. Do you miss your father?"

"Yes and no."

She knew the reasons for both.

"Dad taught me many things. How to play sports, how to fix stuff like sinks and toilets that were broken, how to romance someone," He chuckled at that and it had inadvertently had a slight blush to cross her delicate features. "How to be a man. And most importantly, how to take care of family. He used to always tell me to take care of my mother…family always comes first." His face contorted into a bit of disgust and contempt. "So much for that."

"Sun, even though he did all those bad things…that doesn't make him a bad person."

"Lillie, he's probably ruined more lives than just my own or my mother's." Elio's expression went to something colder and it sounded like he held a lot of animosity to the man. "I don't care what happens to him. All that time where he was my dad was just a trick to hide his true colors."

"But still!" Lillie said. "He's still your father. You should at least try and reach out to him."

"Calvera is not my father anymore. He's just someone who got my mother pregnant with me. The damage's already been done and that's all there is to it. He and Mom have been divorced for five years now and we haven't looked back."

The blonde was really at a loss of words after finally realizing why his own father wasn't around. "Sun."

"I'm sorry." His expression turned back to remorseful. "I'm sorry for sounding all angry and upset at this. It's just that nobody's really asked me about my dad like you have for a long time. There's just times where I wish that I had a normal family with Mom and Dad before all this stuff happened."

"Maybe it was meant to happen."

"Huh?"

"Sun." Lillie's voice softened. "You remember Kahuna Hala and what he said that first night you were here? Perhaps you are here in Alola because it is your destiny. Maybe you should try and see what the positivies of being here will bring, rather than dwell on the past."

"The past defines me and who I am." Elio said. "I don't want to forget that, but you're absolutely right Lillie. I've got a whole island challenge to look forward to and it's just another chapter of my story!"

She smiled at his quick optimism. "That's the spirit. I'm sure whoever is writing it has good things planned for you."

They finished off their Tapu Cocoa and he put their mugs into the dishwasher, filling in two spots that were perfect fits. He slid in a detergent capsule and set the timer on a delay before shutting it.

"It's getting late. Do you want to go to sleep?"

She absentmindedly yawned at the mention of rest. "Oh yes. You know what, I'm exhausted."

"It's been an interesting day." He led the way into his room and fought the heat rising in his head. This was his room, the slightly messy, place where he was going to be sleeping.

Sleeping with Lillie.

Not THAT kind of sleeping! Sun chided himself. Still, it'll be the first time I've spent the night with a girl like this.

There was a mental thanks mailed out to his mother for putting his pile of dirty clothes into the laundry wire basket at the front of his room. She had laid the foldable bed out in the center with blankets and pillow. Nebby was already in one of the smaller areas with the blankets, flanked by Litten. Rufflet was right next to them, head tucked into his wings. He didn't let Grimer out since his putty body could cause a bigger mess than what he was worth.

Am I supposed to ask her to choose which bed she wants? Oh goodness, asking if she wants mine is such a bad idea!

"Sun?" Lillie asked. "Everything okay?"

I should take my chances with the couch.

"Y-yeah. Um," He glanced over at his computer and raced forward. "Oh crap. I forgot to turn this off!"

The desktop powered on and she saw a figure dominating the image, clad in heavy pads and a black and blue helmet.

"You like?" He noticed her curiosity. "This is me when I played for Orinda High School. Fighting Poliwraths, sluggin' it out!"

"You played football?"

"Three years, defensive back. Got injured and missed my last season, but I came back in time for basketball and baseball."

"You're really talented. Not just as a trainer, but you like to play sports."

"I wasn't that good."

"Did you start?"

"Start? Oh yeah, I was a starting player."

"See? That means you're good right."

"Yeah I suppose. Anyway, I did have some pretty good moments and Mom made sure to put a highlight reel of sorts for all three. If you want, we can look at it tomorrow."

"That sounds really good." Lillie said. "Sure."

"We've got a couple days too before we head to Akala. I was thinking about going to this Leonard's bakery. Hau raves on how it is the original malasada and it's the best. He says lines are long at midday, so wanna go there for breakfast or something? We can take a ride tauros."

"Sure. I do like malasadas and if Hau says they're good with long lines and all, it's gotta be the best!"

"Okay." Elio pointed to his bathroom. "Feel free to use my bathroom and shower. I think my mother's got all of your stuff in there. If you need anything, just let me know."

"Thank you Elio for doing this for me. I know it's short notice and all-"

"Hey, it's what friends do. You're welcome here anytime to stay however long you want."

"Thank you." Lillie repeated. "You sure you'll be okay if I sleep here?"

"Yeah it's fine. But snore and I'm putting you on the couch."

At first, she had thought his statement was serious, but they quickly broke into soft giggles when lips curled upward in a smile, betraying the sternness.

He let her use the bathroom first and she eventually walked out after ten minutes wearing a long white nightgown that looked like it was about to explode in fluffiness.

Elio was done in half that time, but the two quickly settled into their beds. Talk was abundant in that room as they chatted about different things from school to food. He learned from her that she had been homeschooled at her house and although she usually ate whatever her mother served, but she was slowly but surely trying new things and already hooked on many Alolan dishes.

Through the entirety of the conversation; he hadn't seen her smile or laugh as much as she did right there before.

"You ever tried Unovan style pizza?"

"No."

"If I find a place that serves it here, I'll be sure to take you. It's literally a slice of heaven."

"That would be great! You know Sun," she started after a moment of silence. "I know nobody can really replace your father, but the three of you seemed very happy together from all those pictures. I hope that you can make many happy memories with your new family here in Alola."

"You guys are my new family." He said, yawning. "I never thought I would like it coming here and if we didn't; I wouldn't have met amazing people like you. I'm gonna turn in. Goodnight Lillie."

"Goodnight Elio."

So we're off to Akala next chapter! That island is going to be so much fun! The hardest part for me on this chapter was finding star lines and constellations. Took me a while, but I did find a website that provided a few pointed out. Hope everyone liked that part.

Translations: Ka Makau Nui o Akala - The Big Fishook of Akala. Normally Maui. The western term for this constellation is Scorpius. One line of Hawaiian mythology suggests that Maui's fishook could catch anything he wanted and allow hauls that day to be abundant. Despite having this power, he only used it to catch ordinary fish and drew teasing from his brothers. Maui would later use more of it to give them a much bigger surprise.

In my fictional take, Akala (Maui) is a goddess (represented through Tapu Lele) with a legendary fishhook that is capable of catching any beast that dwells in the sea.

Huinakolu - Navigator's Triangle. Although I am unsure of this, but I believe history has said that ancient Polynesians used these three stars as a basis for navigation at night. The star's western names are as follows: Humu is Altair, Hawaiki is Deneb and Keoe is Vega.

Mahalo for reading and reviewing, you give my writing purpose.

Brav