Helpless

by Epoxy-Resin

The disabled population is the world's largest minority of which anyone can become a part of at any time. "Peekaboo," said misfortune and jumped the already weakened boy. Ash wouldn't be Ash if he didn't try to get up again, though he's going to have to face he won't be able to do it on his own.

46. Handle With Care

Enjoy!

---

Seeing a familiar face who the professor thought would have been miles away from him, makes the man pull a face but then again, the Champion responsible for his choice to stop being a trainer and become a pokémon professor instead is just sitting there, fiddling with the phone. Professor Kukui has a meeting with Kahuna Hala, however, which is more important than approaching a man who the professor has gotten to know as a slightly explosive person who tends to avoid people out of distrust so he passes by without disturbing him, knowing that both him and Lance have grown up considerably and likely changed through time.

"Ah, Alola, Kukui!"

The professor perks up at hearing his name called out but smiles when he sees that Hala has been waiting for him.

"Alola, Hala. You wanted to speak to me?"

"Indeed, I do. You probably have been hearing a rumour of the child who can feed Wimpod from their hands?"

"Can't say I have, I have my baby to mind and as of late, the only language Lei uses is crying and suspicious silence meaning he's up to no good."

The man chuckles and claps his hand on the professor's shoulder, all whilst inviting him inside and that's where they settle, around a low table and a nice cup of tea in front of them.

"So, this child, are you worried or just interested?" Kukui asks and Hala shakes his head.

"Not worried by the slightest, why worry about someone who the Wimpod trust not to hurt them while they believe all the rest of this earth's population is out to hurt them? On the contrary, I am curious why this young soul can do what no one else can. And if they are bold about it or withdrawn, knowing what sort of trouble this kind of ability can bring along?"

"I think you are too excited, Hala, as a teacher, you are best off lowering your expectations and not overwhelming them."

"If I find them, you mean? I have stood on that beach for hours, no trace of a child nor a Wimpod."

The professor chuckles at the mental image of that.

"Well, the fresh breeze likely did you good," he says. "As for this child, how old do your rumours put them as?"

"Teenage, so I was hoping…"

"That they would somehow end up in my class," the professor concludes and sighs when Hala nods. "My class is not easy, you know that. I'm a last-year teacher, I rarely ever get transfer students but I can try and keep an eye out for any extraordinarily talented children who suddenly pop up out of nowhere."

"It is possible, that the Wimpod trust the child means that this young soul has an understanding deeper than anyone would think they have."

"And would need to be a mastermind to be able to hide it too."

"… I won't claim that they evade me but I do wonder why all those rumours happen whenever I'm not there."

"It could be a coincidence, in fact, if you believe that this child will start school next week, this means that they would have needed to participate in the introduction classes and will be completing the exam in a couple of days so that they can start in the second half of this year. So if they are serious about it, they will have been studying hard this past week, meaning that they would not have had much time to sit on the beach or if they studied on the beach, or to pay attention to the pokémon there. And any pokémon here is a little better off than needing to beg for attention so I feel like your idea worked against you, Hala."

"Ah. That does make sense, but please, try and keep an open mind for me, if you can. Just in case you do get someone oddly talented in your class? This child might be able to help Lily-"

"That's a no."

"You won't even consider the idea?"

"I had Lusamine's butler come and tell me that, unless there is a registered league trainer nearby, Lily is not supposed to be anywhere near a pokémon unless it's one belonging to one of her classmates. So her own mother couldn't be bothered to tell me herself so that also means she's not waiting on feedback."

"There is a high chance the teenager is a registered trainer, there are only a few regions who have no connections but even if they are from Almia or Oblivia, they will be registered rangers too so that is equal, no?"

"Pokémon rangers need to at least be thirteen years old and then need to have training until they're sixteen before they can call themselves rangers. Or, if they are extraordinarily talented, grow through rank through experience. It's a career build, Hala, why would you assume any young child aiming to be a pokémon ranger would go to school?"

"It's just an idea," the man says and holds up his hands. "You don't have to go and break into classes to find this child either, I just want you to keep your eyes open."

"Right, I will but don't get your hopes up. There's only so much talent that the pokémon league lets slip away from them."

Hala is disappointed, naturally so but professor Kukui has had his fair share of reality checks from the pokémon league. He's always had a dream to bring it into Alola but they need to host a tournament for that and after what happened with Tapu Bulu and Thrifty Megamart on Ula 'Ula, no one, not even Kahuna Olivia who allowed the builders of the megamart to come to Akala Island instead, allowed any change in their scenery. Which left no space for the tournament and after marrying his dear wife and her sudden pregnancy, his dream was put on the shelf, behind the cookie jar. To find anyone willing to be the trailblazer to get the pokémon's positive attention in this region, is not just going to be hard, it's nearly impossible as many of these trainers have made up their minds and usually leave dissatisfied after the trials they completed. Then again, if Lance is here on a holiday… could it be possible to ask him once more to get the pokémon league to reconsider? The man isn't there when he passes by the path again and Kukui sighs before trailing back home, where his wife and son are likely playing as per usual.

---

Oh, Lance saw Kukui alright, but as soon as the professor passed, he got the heck out of there. He's too caught up with his boy having fallen silent, Ash has only been following these classes for three days and will participate in the exam on the fifth day but he's already changed his pokémon and has been buried into that little book most of the time, with the most annoyed look on his face. Whenever Lance asks him if he's okay, he just mumbles something about 'crimes' and 'offering that book to Ho-Oh when he gets back home' so whatever is going inside his head, likely isn't good.

Steven had a good laugh at that when he called him to ease his worries, and said that it likely isn't the case that Ash has trouble understanding the material, that it is just him taking offence to whatever is being taught. As for the sudden change of team, one which Lance considers a tournament-winning one, professor Kukui is known to be enamoured with the idea of joining the pokémon league but that doesn't mean all the other teachers in that school feel the same way. Either way, Steven clears his worries about his home, says that everything is fine and dandy over there but also confesses he's a little disappointed that he's not seen many videos appear in Ash's Smile app. If there's one photogenic region, it's Alola so to think he's not making any videos there, makes him feel like the boy isn't enjoying it over there.

And it's funny, Lance is at the table with his boy right now and Ash looks at him as if he's grown a second head.

"Do you want me to study or roam around? I can't do both at the same time, so unless you want me to trudge around in the dark, I can but as far as videos go, light might be interesting. Or I can wake up earlier too but don't I need to ask for permission to enter those areas?"

The man stares at him for a good second before smiling.

"Whatever floats your boat, constant studying isn't good for you either so maybe you can take a break or something. But yes, you need permission, you'll need to ask Kahuna Hala."

"Cool, I'll go find the Kahuna after dinner, then," the teen says as if that'll be as easy.

People usually don't seek out the Kahuna's, it's usually the way around but Lance has a feeling Ash won't let this go as easily since he went and asked. He should pay attention to what he says, his boy is clearly hell-bent on being a good kid and doing whatever he's told to do while Lance just suggested it. Anyhow, the boy does leave after dinner so the man is none the wiser to how Ash is feeling.

But Ash knows damn well how he feels, he's frustrated and talking about it doesn't make him any less frustrated, instead, the things he needs to learn are also upsetting Mewmew and Kozzy, as well as Pikachu, Meep and his newly acquired Litten who went and caught herself when she head-butted his belt of pokéball on the second day of his stay here, who has now persistently claimed her spot as his lap-warmer ever since he started sitting still for longer periods. So perhaps trailing around in the wild will do him some good and in turn, ease the frustrations his pokémon have gotten thanks to him. Finding the Kahuna is easy thanks to the fact the man isn't small in any way, also certainly not hiding and he is already bewildered that Ash accidentally greeted him the Kantonese way, to show respect and stays quiet for long enough so that the boy can ask for permission to go into the wilds. Now, he's not sure if this didn't confuse the heck out of this person but he's got his permission in the form of a small charm, which he ties around one of the belt rings of his shorts and trails off, into those wilds that have looked alluring ever since he got here.

He walks for a good few minutes until he's completely surrounded by trees and then plops down.

"Ugh, people are so hard to please," the boy sighs and since no one is there, Mewtwo quickly appears next to him.

"Take this chance to relax, after all, no one here means ill towards you."

"Are you sure? Why would she give me crap for being a league trainer? I was six when professor Oak introduced the profession to me and I was smitten from the get-go so why are they holding the entire spiel the pokémon league exists through against me? If there are no new trainers, they can't host tournaments, I mean, I can't participate in a starter one, I'll steamroll over them just through confidence, it's not fair. It's not hard to understand that, is it?"

"Just like humans fail to understand the basic rules of respect towards pokémon, it appears some believe that the world revolves around them instead of around everyone else," Mewtwo says and pulls him in a sideways hug. "Though truth to be told, you have more patience with that woman than I would ever have but I can tell you that she does not wish you any ill will, friend."

"Yeah well, she gives dumbing down a new meaning. I will burn that book eventually, I just don't know if it'll be offer-worthy for Ho-Oh any longer."

The pokémon chuckles and shakes its head slightly.

"I suggest passing it on, do not add to the earth's pollution. Instead, why not continue? The sun will go down in about an hour so you might be able to get some good sights out of the golden hour."

The boy picks himself up from the ground and goes to make his little movies that apparently make a lot of people smile, the exact reason why the app was created. He has some fun with the extremely long Exeggutor that walk around here and he finds an Oricorio, it introduces itself before starting a little dance and well, that's… that's cute. It dances on a rhythm he can totally paste a song on, he might not have an internet connection here but he'll definitely make something out of this clip and well, the Oricorio is happy to get a treat so that's a great start to his little trek through this wilderness. He has no idea where he is but he's seen Charizard flying around so ever since this teacher he doesn't like made comments that he was making a mark out of himself by being here, that everyone would try and beat him in a battle, he went and changed some of his pokémon to a more fitting battle Team and as such, got Charizard and Glalie with him instead of Fletchinder and Cookie. So he can fly back to the hotel before Lance gets worried but well, this outing is doing the most for him, he feels free and the air smells amazing and yet… why is he here? His uncle didn't take him here just to go to school, right? And this school, if the teacher he'll eventually have is going to have this hair up their butt about him being a league trainer, then he's not staying, no matter how disappointed Lance will be when he suddenly becomes a quitter.

He picks up the pace and goes as high as he can but makes sure to capture his trek upwards and he grins as he pans around and catches the sun going down right at the perfect moment. This is going to be one hell of a good video, if Steven doesn't think he's enjoying himself, the man better check his phone a little later today. But Ash still has some reviewing to do, he's been making notes -especially dubious ones- and he still needs to go and do his Pyukumuku throwing round so that he can receive money to buy treats for the pokémon he meets on the way around this place. There are other places he undoubtedly can get good footage but he's decided he'll give this school a shot and Ash overheard his uncle trying to haggle to rent a vacation home in Hau'oli outskirts so Lance is clearly counting on staying here for a longer period than the vacation they had planned. Not that he's complaining, this island is so peaceful and while he's not meddled with anyone or anything except for the school and the Pyukumuku throwing, he could see himself getting used to this change of pace. Especially since nothing here changed when they arrived here, it's funny how he can feel tourists arriving through the reactions of the pokémon. They all scramble, some to get away from the intruders, some to go towards the tourists to get food but either way, their reactions make sense but what doesn't make sense, is that nothing like that happened when both his uncle and he came to Alola.

It's nothing he'll get worried about, it might have everything to do with Aura and he loves Lance a lot so maybe the man has become a package deal? From what Ash gathered, his uncle spends a whole lot of time just lumbering around, drinking colourful drinks and snoozing on the beach, under an umbrella to keep him from burning. It's nothing any pokémon would take offence to either so maybe it's their behaviour? Many of these tourists meddle with things Ash wouldn't dream of getting involved in, being part of a ritual seems weird when you're not a native and not invited but well, maybe he's being too careful anyway. Once this school improves for him, he might be able to muster the courage to participate in things but he'll be damned if things turn as sour as Kalos did. At least there isn't a voice talking to him from the get-go but well, better safe than sorry, even if his compliance worries several people.

When he's paid for his excellent Pyukumuku throwing, Ash makes his way back to the hotel, figuring he can go and restock on his treats tomorrow but the idea of filming early in the morning is also attractive to him as during the day, most of the pokémon are asleep, just like the people around as it's just too damn hot outside to do anything, except to sleep and study, exactly what his uncle and himself have been doing during the day hours. Ash, however, stops briskly as he sees someone he didn't necessarily need to see ever again, he may have forgiven Gary for the sake of his own feelings but to see him face to face… that's something entirely different and he's not ready for it. For a moment, he believes he's seeing professor Oak too but unless the man has been letting his hair grow out and has been lying out in the sun for a long time, this couldn't possibly be the professor who also ended up doing a series of misdemeanours to him. No, this likely is the principal whose signature Ash has noticed on the bottom of his 'acceptance' letter to follow the introduction classes. It's eerie how similar this man is to the professor he's grown up seeing but his stomach churns uncomfortably seeing the two together. What the hell is Gary doing here anyway? Whatever it may be, he's not going to hide because this shithead suddenly felt like coming to Alola, no matter how much his paranoia whines about having been followed or worse, stalked to suddenly appear here at the same time. He's only been here for a little less than a week as well, having been following classes ever since this Monday as they arrived in Alola last week on a Thursday.

Something about the timing of all this rubs him the wrong way but whatever, he just walks around them, at a little further distance than he normally would have passed anyone else and gets into the hotel. Only to get a text from his uncle where he's at and Ash takes a lot of joy in telling him he's on his way, that he's in the lobby, to which Lance just answers 'oh' as if he's disappointed.

"And, saw something nice out there?" Lance asks.

"Yeah," Ash answers, knowing he wouldn't put Gary under the category of 'nice' ever since his accident. "I'll polish the footage up a little before posting it. Especially the pokémon are super cool, I didn't know they would be so happy to interact with me either."

"Pokémon in Alola are pretty used to tourists, though."

"The place I went to didn't scream 'tourist' that much, I did go and ask the Kahuna for permission, as you told me to."

"… You got it?"

"Yeah," he answers, showing the charm he got and his uncle seems floored. "Was I not to?"

"Not without a battle, usually."

"Oh… Well, even so, I would have like, battled him for it but instead, he looked weirdly at me, as if no one ever asked him so directly before but yeah, he gave me this charm when I asked him. And then I went into the wilderness, I went up high too and flew back on here thanks to Charizard's help. Only to see Gary fucking Oak at the front of this hotel but he wasn't stopping me, I didn't want to wait until his unroyal ass was done chatting up his uncle and making you worried."

Lance chuckles a little haughty and Ash isn't sure for what reason but well, the man doesn't elaborate but it does seem that, once the boy posts the videos he's taken from earlier, after having put some music in the background, this is exactly what his uncle was waiting for.

"Man, you are magic with pokémon," Lance says and he watches his uncle for a little. "Steven and Wallace made you find something you're also very good at, huh?"

"The camera? Yeah, I do like it, it… it came in handy. I wouldn't be too worried if you wake up the next morning and I'm not there, I want to get some morning shots. If you don't mind, that is."

"No, no, of course not, I mean, it's weird Hala seemed so confused to see you but go for it, I'd say. No one can tell you anything if you've got that on you, or at least, on this island. If you go to Akala, you're going to have to ask Olivia to do the same thing."

"Ah yeah, I will. Think she'll be so weirded out by my appearance too?"

"Not by the slightest, she's the kind of person to know how a conversation will end before she's even seen you that day."

"Hope that won't turn into another Olympia," Ash replies offhandedly but suddenly his uncle is in front of him.

"What did she do to you?"

"… Nothing except think I was a devil she saw me become when Lyssandre would make happen what I made sure couldn't happen."

"That's enough, Ash."

"I know, uncle, that's why I don't want it to happen again and if it does… well, I'll just have to settle not going to Wella Volcano park. She can't stop me from going to Pikachu island, though."

"It's not funny you let people attack you without repercussion, Ash," Lance says.

"Isn't it real hard to win a defamation battle, though? Because words are just words, most of them just slide off me."

"Not all of them though. And unfortunately, it seems like it's the compliments that slide off you mostly. I can only hope that Olivia proves to you that she isn't like Olympia at all."

"You like her, then?"

"I do, she's understanding. I like Hala too, by the way, that's why I'm a little disappointed he was so out of sorts that he didn't talk to you."

"Maybe I got him at a bad moment or something? I just greeted him politely and bowed a little deeper even though I'm not sure if that was deserved but I didn't pressure him."

"Buddy, Hala raised Fighting-type pokémon, he doesn't respond to pressure like you think he would. There's no way you could have done anything to warrant that reaction, though, do me a favour and don't bow for Olivia when you meet her?"

"Err… Okay?"

"It's just, she's a very beautiful lady and gets a lot of… attention because of it. I don't want her to mistake your politeness for something different."

"… Kahuna Olivia might need to realise that my mother is likely younger than her. I know when I'm barking up the wrong tree, especially when I haven't been barking at all. If she can't recognise my hello for what it is, I think I can tell she's not going to be an Olympia."

"I think you might want to reconsider that Olivia is more like you than Olympia. Or your mother, if you want to involve her."

"Just her age, though. So, she's of the Aura community?"

"So is Hala, in fact, all of the Kahunas are. That's why I'm confused, you likely are powerful, I know why everyone deemed my half-brother useful and it's always the firstborn in the family who often copies the abilities, in rarer cases, the abilities are heightened or lowered, just by chance. But you could not be powerful enough to confuse them, especially Hala has seen a whole lot of people."

"… Think he saw something he didn't expect, then?" Ash asks and his uncle already shakes his head. "The Forty did bless me, maybe that did something?"

"A blessing doesn't make you one of them. They've felt the shift, I know they have so I'm genuinely curious why he… I don't know what his problem was."

"Didn't look like he had one, really, he was just sort of surprised? I did kinda introduce myself on the first day here, Alola is a very colourful place, Akala especially."

"Introduce yourself?" Lance repeats blankly.

"Took a look at this place through Aura, connected mine with this region's life. Maybe he was surprised he didn't notice me before because of the lack of impact? That I surprised him by showing up at all while he felt like I had always been there?"

"That's… that would explain certain things but I think that would affect the pokémon more than the people. I mean, wouldn't they have been able to find you more easily?"

"Not necessarily, during the day, most of these natives take a nap, right? So they could have been asleep at the time, which would have made it pass by them unnoticed, so that they wouldn't notice me until I was right in front of them. Which would be confusing enough, especially if they're used to feeling a difference."

"What about me, though?"

"My hands were still in the sand when you came and sat next to me with those malasadas. And we do have a family connection so that likely ended up as a package deal, especially if you like this place as much as I think you do."

"I do love this region very much," Lance says. "And I have to admit, people have been nicer to me than before, hell, maybe you did do something because honestly, the time when I ordered those malasadas on the first day and then the day after, the reaction of this lady was different and that couldn't just have been because you wanted to have a proper spice one which they created with a lot of delight."

"Then that's probably what happened. I might need to go back and tell the Kahuna he wasn't imagining things, then."

"He's usually awake pretty early in the morning, if you have a plan on getting up early too, you'll have a chance to go and talk to him nice and early. Though expect a lot of spiritual advice, I don't know how open you are to it but whether you are or not, he will supply it."

"Oh cool, might learn something from it then. I like confusing people too so that checks out."

His uncle laughs, properly too this time and well, not everything is so mysterious but Ash is glad that Lance is none the wiser about the vocal abuse he's gotten thrown at his head by the teacher who really doesn't like him. Probably hasn't got anything to do with him personally, it's the pokémon league's connection that rubs her to wrong way and he's just sitting on the sore spot the rubbing created. Still doesn't mean that it's fair but if it wasn't for the book he was forced to buy that's pure, utter nonsense and a waste of resources and the lessons not making any sense to him either… oh well, if it all goes to hell, so be it, he can only do his best. And maybe he can bring his uncle breakfast in the morning because his 'early' likely doesn't correspond with Lance's idea of 'early'. But that all depends on how long-winded Kahuna Hala is.

Lance wakes up with breakfast at his bed end and sleepy him is so honestly confused that he initially believes that he ordered room service in his sleep. And then he wakes up enough to look to his right, where his boy is fiddling with his phone.

"At what kind of ungodly hour did you go and bother these people?"

"Seven in the morning, it's half past now so don't be so dramatic, uncle."

"How early were you out of bed?"

"Five. I could actually hear the Kahuna snore all the way to the beach so no, he's not so early to wake up and I stayed there for a good hour or so before trailing around."

"Ash, aren't you tired?"

"Nope," the boy answers and jumps from the bed. "I'm off to school, okay? Eat the food while it's nice and hot, today is going to be another warm day so better eat warm things while it's still sort of cool."

Lance just nods, he's usually not this drowsy to wake up from but the heath is sort of getting to him. He's been successful in finding a vacation home, though, starting next week, when Ash will already know his results from the test he's about to go and do, they'll check out of the hotel and then move into the home that's currently being cleaned and made ready for them to use for how long they like. It's a cheaper option for a longer stay and he's already seen the house and the mammoth of an air-conditioning system so he'll likely be getting a whole lot more and better sleep, which will hopefully also benefit his boy. Looking back at this breakfast Ash went and brought him, it's looking like everything he's currently fancying so that's spectacular, he'll definitely thank his boy for being so thoughtful and yes, Lance feels better after eating and a nice lukewarm shower - warm water will just make him all sticky and sweaty in barely fifteen minutes and cold doesn't exist here, it's too warm in Alola, the water is always sort of warm anyway.

He settles onto the terrace, it smells amazing outside and the sun isn't high enough to dip the entire place into sunlight so he's good to go and do some work. The pokémon league doesn't give a damn where he's at, there are just some small administration jobs that rack up and it is menial enough that Lance can be bothered to spend a morning doing them, unwilling to bother anyone else by asking them to do these jobs for him. His overtime hadn't racked up as far as he wanted it to but Mr. Goodshow understands how both he and his boy needed to relocate for a while so all this actually means, is that people can challenge him. But here in Alola, such things are unlikely, in fact, the reason why he hasn't gotten involved with Ash's schooling, despite his boy showing peculiar annoyance at following those introduction classes, is because most natives here find him scary. Which is why he was all amazed to be treated so familiarly, while it used to be cordial treatment because they'd realised who he was.

A pair of shades and his hair tied back don't do much to make him look different but yeah, there isn't anyone in Alola who wouldn't welcome mystical mumbo-jumbo but as funny as it is to see Kahuna Hala approach him, with that same surprised expression Ash described to him, it isn't nice to be looked at that way when he's met the Kahuna before.

"Alola, Kahuna Hala. Do you want to take a seat?"

The man wordlessly slides into the chair opposite to his and watches him for a little while.

"You have changed a great deal, Lance," Hala eventually says and Lance can't help but grin.

"That was bound to happen. I'm sorry if my boy confused you yesterday, I assure you he has nothing but good intentions."

"I'm aware. It's rare to see such manners on someone."

"That's the way kids are raised where I come from."

"You never bowed to me, though."

"My boy just thinks he's some sort of sewer monster whenever he approaches someone, him respecting you is compensating for a future he's afraid of."

"… Wise words. I wonder where you found them."

"The words were always there, the courage to voice them never was. It's only after careful consideration after the burn-out and the realisation that I'm now responsible for another life that needs honesty the most that I slowly eased myself into who I am today. It wasn't easy, though."

"Nothing ever is, it must have been hard for you."

"When it came to my boy, surprisingly not, the bar is incredibly low for him, all while I thought I would struggle the most with it. But it's the relationships I previously had either suffered or improved swiftly after my boy came into my life, that was the hardest part to realise, really. I realised that some people weren't worth the effort I put in, some people just want to see the world burn and perhaps I did at some point in my life too but I have the right to change opinions and if they can't handle change, that isn't my problem. Though I admit I struggled to realise how two-faced some people could be, being nice to me and then turning around and being nasty to someone they knew means a lot to me."

"How did you realise then?"

"It really never is a good sign when my boy shuts up," Lance admits. "He knows he caught you off-guard, and he will likely apologise for it, I know he intended to do so earlier today but apparently he didn't want to disturb your rest."

"I overslept. Seems I kept myself up too late."

"Understandable. He did hear you snore all the way from the beach where he lingered to meet you."

"… How did he know that this is where I intended to find him?"

"No matter if my boy can share the sight he sees, his people always know one way or another. I would imagine that, if he hadn't been so polite to nature as he was to you, you would have been able to find us a lot quicker."

"There, that is new. Is he teaching you, Lance?" the Kahuna says and the man isn't bothered he got lured in what Hala considers a 'trap' when it really isn't.

"More like realising things together. I'm already glad he decided to involve me, I knew one one-on-one time with him could be fascinating as the things that come naturally to him, leave me scratching my head sometimes."

"This understanding suits you well. May I sit with you until your boy joins us?"

"He's taking the entrance exam for the pokémon school so yes, you may but you might be sitting here for a good while."

"Not a good student, then?"

"I will tell you when I get his results, for now, all I can hope for is that he intends to do the best he can. But I do suspect foul play with the teacher, he would never disrespect someone unless they disrespected him first. And with him being a born and raised pokémon league trainer, it's not at all far fetched to believe he's gotten grief for who he became."

"That is foul, I'll mention it to Kukui later on. I hope to see your boy today, in case he is upset."

Lance thinks that's highly unlikely, in fact, Ash has been rather aloof since his arrival here. Not in a bad way either, there's no need to nit-pick the things that got organised in his stead either so the kid is rolling with the punches, as they say. It's a better look on him than the stressed regret visible on his face whenever a subject of Kalos comes up. And it's weird, Meyer did complain to him that Ash kicked Clemont out of his friend list but Lance did ask the man whether he saw the incredibly one-sided conversation Ash had been having with Clemont, who couldn't be bothered to respond and well, Meyer didn't have anything to say about that. Yes, Lance will ask his boy whether the decision was made out of malice but now knowing that Ash's feelings for Kalos have a lot to do with how helpless he felt at the time, dealing with the change in his situation, as well as the added distrust in people… Yes, even if Diantha hadn't flipped her lid and almost blown up the capital of the region, Ash still wouldn't have liked Kalos as it just highlighted what he had lost.

His situation has indeed changed a great deal, Lance can only imagine the loss the child must have experienced, the scary part of seeing something so… tragic pulling his life apart. The way he had to deal with the loss of a part of himself, how some of the beings he loves so much went and hurt him, for no reason and then to the realisation that the situation he lived through as he grew up was suddenly called abuse and not 'tough love' any longer… Lance knows Ash likes him, his boy doesn't say those things for the heck of him but even now, with this school, there is still a niggling feeling like he's not doing something good for the kid.

"I don't think there is much you could do to ease his worries. I'm going to need you to realise that if he is upset, there's always a good reason why and I can almost guarantee you that you'll feel utterly powerless when he tells you. So please, if you won't do it for yourself, do it for me. Do not question him, he will answer and you won't like it."

"… Ah, like Nanu, then, hm?"

"Sort of. Nanu isn't that quick to give in, though, or did he only pull that trick on me?"

"No, I don't believe so. Ah, there is probably a story behind why he does that, hm? Will you let me make an educated guess?"

"Yes but not in front of him and it still is a sore subject because I realise very well that I could have avoided some of his grief if I didn't think myself to be so bloody important at the time," Lance answers, still mad about having blindsided his own nephew but he hadn't known so if Red hadn't told him, how had he supposed to know?

"I think that too will have its reason, I wouldn't necessarily feel like you could have made much of a difference in the past. Not when you are not the same person as you were in the past."

"Everyone has regrets."

"Naturally, I just feel like you still judge yourself too hard."

"I too grew up under those strict rules all the children in Johto and Kanto tend to grow up under. I might not have had the worst childhood but I do still want to be different for my boy since ducking my head and just letting things happen did prove to be pointless. And still, while I'm aware that I was raised by a strict father, my experience can't compare to what my boy suffered from."

"Does the child feel the same way? Because I didn't see someone insecure approach me yesterday," Hala says.

"Satoshi will go to great lengths to keep me happy and I've come to the consensus with myself that I just need to mind what I say because I don't think I can't tell him not to listen to me without damaging his trust. And he is well aware that what happened wasn't ideal, though I… I have doubts, obviously. I know that I'll go to great lengths to keep him safe, even greater lengths to keep him happy, which I believe he is right now."

"This is a perfect place to relax, I would be amazed if he were not happy."

"I wouldn't," Lance answers dryly and while Kahuna Hala pulls a face, his phone buzzing is more important to him than explaining that situation to him.

As if those Ultra Beasts aren't another nail in his coffin… But to his surprise, it's his boy, asking if he can get him something from the supermarket since he's free. Lance blinks at its barely eleven in the morning but when he asks Ash why he's already out of school, the boy messages him back that he did his entrance exam and that he could leave whenever he was ready, which he clearly is so yeah. The man is quick to tell him that they can go together later today but that, if he wants a snack or something, he can go ahead and get himself something, also adding that he's on the hotel's first-floor terrace with Hala. Ash doesn't respond to that, he saw the message but the supermarket isn't far away from here so he'll likely join them pretty quickly.

"He's on his way, just finish his exam so frankly, if you have any questions, hold off on them for a little while longer if they don't involve me."

"What should I avoid asking, then?"

"Nothing you wouldn't feel awkward talking about naturally so. I have met you before but remember you stood there with a case of unicorn syndrome, just watching him as if he just stepped out of the twilight zone so to my boy, you are a complete stranger."

"He wouldn't answer me, would he?"

"Not with an answer you'll enjoy but I like him very much, I hope you do too because he's great fun in his own way. He's also insanely good at taking videos and pictures."

"Oh really?"

"Mm-hm."

The Kahuna clearly isn't impressed but when Ash shows up and sinks into the seat with a deep sigh, Lance knows the boy will likely be talkative on his own and well, Hala did want to know about his experience in school, right?

"That bad?" Lance asks but the teen shakes his head quickly, putting his backpack down, while the Litten jumps out of the bag and into the boy's lap at the same time, curling up and purring ever so nicely.

"No, I wouldn't have failed, everyone else who focussed on this book will have. That was sneaky and I said so to the principal too, as if it's not spooky enough to have him standing there, looking so much like his cousin."

"How did he take it?"

"He asked for feedback out in the hall so I gave it to him, I didn't pay attention to how he took it because if he can't take it, he doesn't get to dish it. If I hadn't studied outside of this book, right into my own interests, I would have failed this exam by default. They asked for detailed descriptions of battle schemes, which the teacher only gave a fifteen-minute attention period to, and said we needed to figure it out on our own. And I thankfully did, going a little further to make it a little complex but that was exactly the question that came along, to write down a complex battle scheme, putting dual types consecutively against each other but I went and added specific abilities and multiple battles, as well as triple battles, just to mess with them. Also, am I allowed to be mad that they asked what sort of diseases appear in this area? Because that book didn't mention anything about it, if I hadn't gone to the nurse out of fear to encounter any, I wouldn't have known."

"Would they expect you to fully complete it as an entrance exam, though?" Lance asks.

"The level of which class we'd be selected for was right next to the question, the complex battle one and diseases one were for the last grade but there was another one, it was an open question and I didn't like to ask which pokémon scared me the most because uncle, why is it always these kinds of questions that trigger me?"

"What did you write down, then?"

"Something along the lines of how I, as someone who has a Pikachu on their shoulder all day, wouldn't like to encounter a Mimikyu because they're known to have raging hate boners for Pikachu but like, I could have written something entirely different there and I don't think I would have gotten good grades on it if I had answered it like that."

"No, that was a good enough answer, I don't think they'd misunderstand what you wrote down, it's a valid concern though… do you think a Mimikyu will hurt you?"

"… I hope it'll give me a chance to show that it doesn't need to pose as another pokémon to enjoy my attention and love. If it doesn't, well, I don't get to say how they respond to Pikachu, I'm not putting him in hiding just because of the slight chance I could encounter a pretty rare pokémon. It's hot as balls in my backpack too, only Litten enjoys it in there."

"So," Hala then pipes up. "What is the sort of disease that appears here?"

"Parasites," Ash answers, his lip raised in disgust. "Kudos to the nurses in Coumarine City, though, they didn't miss any of the internationally occurring diseases so honestly, they're utterly brilliant over there but parasites, they… There's one that just bites off a sea pokémon's tongue, then attaches itself to the stump and then acts like nothing happened. Parasites blow, man, thankfully, they can vaccinate pokémon to attract them and the parasites don't attach to people but oof, I instantly let that nurse vaccinate all my pokémon, I didn't want to put them at risk for any of the other iffy things."

The Kahuna pulls a face, of course, Lance didn't expect anything less from his boy. He hopes principal Oak won't hold it against the boy but then again, he expects the school to realise that they have a good student, Ash did study really hard for this test, he's already proud of him and pretty sure that he doesn't need to worry about him getting accepted. It would be a misdemeanour against him that Lance can't see happening.

"I'm really sorry for having stood there like a fool yesterday, Satoshi," Hala then says and the boy seems surprised.

"It's okay, really."

"I do feel like a battle is not required, you do not cause commotion and you take great care of the pokémon you caught so that is more than enough for me. I hope you have a lot of fun out there in the wilder parts, there are a lot of pokémon who I think will benefit from your attention."

"… You do?"

"Yes, pokémon do appreciate people but to a certain extent. I'm sure you would only need one sign of discomfort to either help or leave them be, depending on what they wish. Not a lot of children will do that, in fact, I heard you have a knack for videoing, I might be able to interest you in keeping an eye right at the border of where the wild meets the comfort of human territory and see the response of the wild pokémon there."

"Is it really that bad?" Ash asks, eyes wide. "I will go there and have a look but they really don't act that different around me. I have a video of the loveliest Oricorio up, it just wanted to dance but would any other trainer not see that?"

"Maybe some would. But what do you mean, you have it 'up'?" the Kahuna asks.

"Oh, up on the internet. I put most of my pictures and videos for people to see but I keep it real enough. I don't force a pokémon to do anything, I mean, I can show you, the Oricorio was really there for it."

It doesn't look like that's what Hala meant but that doesn't mean the man isn't interested, he gets out his glasses and looks at the video the boy shows him. He automatically starts to smile and nods in appreciation but yeah, Lance doesn't doubt the pokémon would do anything other than be happy near his boy. He doesn't mean ill and the Oricorio probably got a treat out of it too.

"That was pleasing to watch, I think I would enjoy getting those sorts of videos on a daily basis, what is your account's name?"

Lance tries not to chuckle as Ash hesitates that slight bit as the man gets out a smart-looking phone from his pocket but yeah, as someone who holds some power over an island, Kahuna Hala isn't only curious, he's seeking out new information and well, seeing the region from a non-native's viewpoint is indeed interesting. It's also why Steven enjoys Ash's content but Lance understands how the boy could be confused that someone on the older side is also pretty tech-savvy. Much to his grace, the teen doesn't make much of a show of adding Kahuna Hala to his friend group and well, the man thinks that this is a much better addition than Meyer's bratty child who can't be bothered to message the boy he's desperately willing to keep in contact with -despite not making a move to seek out that contact himself- and instead telling his father to call him instead and complain about Ash's lack of communication but certainly wasn't ready to receive his feedback on the matter.

"Slight warning, I have a skewed viewpoint of the Kalos region. That's totally on me, I can't help that the experience I had there didn't live up to my expectations so don't let that bother you too much. I avoid talking about it on the app for the most part but that apparently gave off an even weirder vibe to others than when I called the entire region full of Tauroscrap without counting the lovely nurse Joys there, though. So fair warning for that, should you scroll very far down, you may encounter a bit of shade about them," the boy says.

"I heard quite a bit about the champion and her histrionics. Hapu will tell you that the woman needs to get her hands dirty in a proper job and that she'll end up understanding that not everything goes her way all the time," Hala says as he gets his glasses off his face after putting his phone back in his pocket. "Don't believe the issues with Kalos started when you got there, though, in fact, every region has their trouble and people think that there are solutions to trouble. But no, problems have solutions, trouble is not always a problem. Sometimes, trouble can also be a person and to call a person a problem is unkind and usually means that the one calling said person a problem is more problematic than the person they're trying to condemn. So anything Diantha might have said to you, she said it in the heat of the moment and likely wouldn't dare to do so in your face."

"She called me. Over and over again, leaving nasty voicemails. It was only after Mr. Goodshow got involved that she quit. I wish I'd met you before, then I wouldn't have taken her so seriously. I probably wouldn't have trusted her to fix the issue that started talking to me either. But at the very least, thank you for understanding, Kahuna Hala, it means a lot to me that it wasn't all in my head."

"I would not have been able to be eased into your presence if you were indeed a troublemaker like you assumed, anyway so I'm glad that you understand how I see life as well. I also hope you'll have a lovely time in school, though I believe that you'll be beneficiary to your teacher too."

"… The other lady wasn't open to advice."

"Well yes, but don't give up hope. I do think the teacher considers herself a filter for those who don't take the classes seriously."

"Oh. She's doing a great job, unfortunately, there were a lot of tears involved when the test was handed out. Some finished a lot quicker than me but they didn't look happy about it. I think that was pretty mean of her, to give ten-year-olds trust issues so early on in their lives," Ash answers and looks down at the table. "I would've done those classes differently, especially in a place like this, being able to graduate should feel like an honour, not a struggle. I mean, as soon as they leave this region, the real struggle begins, this is a friendly, open and opportunity-rich region. But in places like Kanto and Johto… you can't choose where you're going, if you don't follow the downtrodden path, people will assume you're a troublemaker because well, they have experience in having seen that happen. But what I experienced today is straight up behaviour from the pokémon school in Kanto, the way she claims that the book is always right, that knowing theory is important but those books… I don't know, I've seen a lot of those books being corrected the year afterwards, what is the point of learning it from the top of your head like she said we needed to do when it's information that's wrong but that they don't realise it until later?"

"Hindsight is an underestimated skill," Kahuna Hala sighs. "Did you find mistakes in the book you were told to learn from?"

When Ash gets the book out of his backpack, Lance already knows he has. When the boy is able to point them out, of course, Hala sighs and manages the bridge of his nose and frankly, the mistakes Ash points out are just spelling mistakes.

"I especially find the idea of going over to a pokémon who is sitting still after spotting you a ridiculous idea. There are only a couple of pokémon who do that and I can guarantee you that it's a trap when they do so. I personally would slide a bit of water towards them first, a bit of a peace offering and well, if the pokémon starts frothing at the mouth at the sight of it, run and contact a nurse Joy because that's a pokémon with rabies. When it doesn't and just drinks or ignores it, that's fine too but the book instructs trainers to approach it. That is only halfway as bad as the book in Kanto instructs trainers to throw a rock at a pokémon to get its attention, which, I mean, it's successful, the best that can happen is that the rock is thrown straight back, with a whole lot more accuracy. Worst case scenario, it's a trainer getting chased by a couple of pokémon. But to approach a pokémon who is sitting still, looking at you, not making a difference between a sick look or leering, that sounds like a scenario where the trainer is going to get bitten badly."

"I agree," Lance says when Hala frowns. "There needs to be a clear signal to approach a pokémon, there is indeed a difference between a sick, a playful, devious or even the abandoned."

"This is not something that's to be taught in an introduction class, is it?" the man asks.

"But then why add it to this book when it doesn't belong in an introduction class, then?" Ash asks in return and well, Hala doesn't have an answer for that. "I don't know what it's like to go to school but when someone says 'A', they got to say 'B' too. This isn't easy stuff and that's me talking from experience, I've found a couple of pokémon in those positions and my heart still breaks at the memory of having seen the little Charmander with the leaf over his head, waiting for someone who would never return. Those are memories that stick and I was warned about that happening yet it still hurt me. It happened twice too, in a different region but it never gets easier."

"Those are extreme examples, though."

"So it doesn't rain here? Don't all the Fire-types scamper away from getting wet? Don't Water-types sink deeply into the depths of the water in case of a thunderstorm? Pokémon fight but they don't like to get hurt, not physically or mentally. No one knows what a hurt pokémon is going to react like so why bother trying to write it down, then?"

"All I hear is that you are going to be an assistant teacher whether or not your teacher likes it or not," the Kahuna says and the boy blinks in surprise. "Students have a lot of time to mingle, I believe you will be a good influence on them."

"… Thank you, I… that's the first time I've heard someone say that."

"If you answered the test the way you have answered my questions, I can guarantee you that I already know who your teacher will be and he will be delighted, no matter what but may I ask you a question, Satoshi?"

"Sure, what would you like to know?"

"How do you feel about Wimpod?"

"Wimpod? The ones on the beach?"

"Yes."

"I like them, they're cute and polite. Most pokémon just slobber all over my hands, they come and get the treat pretty nicely, and they don't fight each other over the treats either, it's cute. "

Kahuna Hala just smiles and says goodbye shortly afterwards but Lance couldn't be any happier to see that Hala leaves a very good impression on his boy and well, Lance has no doubts that Ash would have great results, he isn't the slightest bit nervous but apparently, Ash is? The boy simply explains it as anticipation, though, since he never went to school and he wouldn't even try to compare professor Oak's classes to what this school could provide for him but does confess that having seen Gary near made him that slightest bit more nervous, though. All is well for now, though, they have the rest of today off and tomorrow, they'll know if the boy was accepted into the school and in what grade so that's something to look forward to.

---

"Alola Kukui!"

The professor jumps and well, the man's voice is loud enough and wakes Lei up. And when the child wakes up that way, the ear-splitting cry even makes Hala cringe.

"Was that necessary?" he asks, gently bobbing his son in his arms to calm him down, though Lei had already stopped crying.

"I apologise, I never meant to scare either of you," Hala says and gently slides a finger against Lei's little cheek. "I'm sorry, little one, don't be sad, I don't mean any harm."

Now, Lei doesn't understand him but the Kahuna is wonderful near children, there isn't an evil bone in his entire body and while Kukui knows there isn't any way Lei could know or realise that yet, the baby still calms down. Thankfully, though, it's not as if the little kid hasn't cried enough these past months he's been born.

"Alright," the professor says, as soon as Lei is nice and cosy inside his baby carriage. "You came looking for me for something, right?"

"I did, I did. I met a wonderful pair of people today but one of them is a boy who just did his entrance exam. And he had some comments so I was wondering if you would be able to pass on a message to principal Oak."

"Err, yes, sure. Are you busy, then?"

"No, but I'm afraid the principal is. I don't believe he's waiting for my company, not when the school is about to restart."

"Ah, right, did you write them down?"

"Yes, I did, it isn't anywhere as juicy as I heard them but I do also consider these pretty real problems. So I'm not entirely aware if anyone is waiting for this kind of feedback, I do feel like principal Oak should be aware of this."

The professor nods, frowning ever so slightly. It's not often that a Kahuna will be listening to complaints about the school, even less passing them on so this must have been serious enough. He can only hope it's not about someone who has been following classes for a long time but like his lovely wife says, he often thinks that he's a problem when he isn't so that likely won't be the case. But at any rate, the professor will have to go and see the principal anyway, he's been called in for later this evening and well, he is surprised to hear he will get an addition to his class but then again…

"So how old is this boy?"

"Can't say, I didn't ask but he's a teenager."

"Not the one from the Wimpod, hm?"

"Oh but he is," Hala answers and now the professor is confused.

"How did you find him?"

"He found me, more rather. I'm very pleased, I can only advise you to listen."

And now he's intrigued, it's useless trying to gauge information from Hala so professor Kukui trails back to his house -Lei is already deeply asleep anyway- and his wife has roused from her nap, though looking lovely as ever.

"Hello love," he says and she smiles.

"Hi, you seem happy."

"Always when I see you," he quips, which makes her giggle. "No, seriously."

"Yes, yes, I get it," she chuckles. "How was Lei?"

"Good enough, until Hala decided to jump scare us. He had a bit of a cry but that subsided pretty smoothly."

"Hala? Is he still not big enough for you to notice him?"

"Got me from behind, actually."

"Never took him as a person to do that, though."

"Yeah, well, you never know what'll happen. As if a kid being able to feed Wimpod from their hands isn't special enough, the kid apparently had issues with their classes so now I'm burning with curiosity about what could possibly have annoyed a child as much as to not only think of complaining to Kahuna Hala but also that it caught his attention so it has to either be serious or compelling…. Right?"

"This sounds like something right up your alley," she comments."Didn't you have an appointment with the principal at four?"

Briskly, the man turns around, to watch the clock behind him and his eyes widen.

"Oh, heck, I better get going," he says but refuses to leave without giving his lovely wife a peck on her cheek. "Love you."

"Love you too. Don't let anyone walk over you, okay?"

He's out of the house before he has time to frown. What on earth could she mean by that? He's never let anyone walk over him and he's not going to start letting anyone do so. When professor Kukui gets to the school, however, more importantly, principal Oak's office, he's startled to see all the teachers of the school there. He's not by any means less than them but the professor has always felt out of place amongst them and even now, he only gets a few nods from his colleagues, who all seem a little uncomfortable. From what he can gather, someone made a big stink about a teacher not doing their job but that certainly hasn't got to do anything with him, though he has a letter to deliver to the principal who… doesn't look as merry.

"I'm glad to see you in good spirits," the principal then says and the professor is confused.

"What happened, sir?"

"A little girl's father gave feedback on the quality of teaching, apparently, it was unlikely his daughter could fail when she did."

"… Oh, I hope this won't bother you, then."

"Hm?"

Professor Kukui hands the principal the letter but well, the father of that girl may have some influence but to get Kahuna Hala's support, that is something entirely different. Principal Oak pulls a face when he sees the contents and instantly looks at the woman who is making a racket.

"Mona!" he calls out and she stills, as it's incredibly rare for the principal to raise his voice. "Don't make a scene, you know what you did."

Her shoulders sag very deeply.

"Stay behind after I'm done, won't you?"

It's not going to be a good time for the teacher, professor Kukui feels for her but well, he has other things on his mind. Especially when he sees the name of his newest student, something uncomfortable churns in his stomach when he sees the name 'Tajiri'. He's not scared of Lance, not traumatized either, in fact, the professor is thankful to the man because Lance's advice made him who he is today but he's still not sure if the man intended to do something good for him so to possibly have a family member of his joining his class…? If principal Oak hadn't been watching him, professor Kukui would have pulled a face but no, he reminds himself not to be judgemental and to try and get to know this child in advance. But as he goes home, he doesn't need to pull a face for his wife to spot something on his mind, she's a professor too and she's… keen-eyed.

"What happened, then?"

"Mm? Oh, another teacher's shenanigans came biting them in their butt," he answers and shrugs. "I also got an extra student."

"That late in the year?"

"Mm-hm."

"And you're not even excited?" she asks and she's right, normally, he would have been ecstatic but now, he can't help but feel a little upset. "What's happened, love?"

"I just remembered something when I saw their last name, that's all."

"Oh no, no, there better not be coming anything out of that," she warns and he holds up his hands in surrender.

"No, no, of course not, this is just a memory that resurfaced, I'll get over myself quickly enough."

"You better, a child can't be duped just because you can't stomach their name."

Without telling the full story, Kukui does admit that he sounds like an asshole that way so he doesn't argue with her, she's not in the mood and well, he'll do his best not to judge, he never does but ever since that thing with Lily, he's started to doubt whether he knows all these kiddos as well as he thought he did. So to then add a stranger into the mix can either fix the issue or make it much, much worse, so he's honestly not sure what to expect when school starts again. As suspicious as it is that he hasn't encountered this stranger -the name sounds like a Johto or Kantonese name- the professor does his best to act like he's forgotten about it all, just to make sure he doesn't upset his wife, who is rightfully annoyed that he even considered feeling bad at a name alone. Oh well, he'll see it when he gets there, right?

---

Lance stifles a chuckle when he sees Ash look up at one of the Exeggutor.

"Uncle, look!"

"Don't even think about it."

"But it's a dragon-type!"

"I'm well aware. Come on, kiddo, or else we'll be late to pick up the keys."

The boy does come along, though not without saying goodbye to the Exeggutor, whose faces all seem pretty pleased at receiving the greeting. Yeah, Lance wonders whether professor Kukui is going to be ready to receive his boy, Ash has proven to be an excellent fit for this region and has been practising his 'Alola' greeting just to make sure he doesn't accidentally bow to someone and confuse them. He's not quite gotten there, instead of the half wave, the teen makes a little circular motion and curls in at the end, which is cute enough really. It's the enthusiasm that's missing and that's concerning Lance plenty, even though he doesn't see much of a difference in his boy when Ash is around him. In fact, the man can barely close the door of the holiday home before the kid is out through the backdoor, just because he spotted a Cutiefly in the garden so of course, he wants to go take a look.

Lance follows shortly after, only halting in the doorway as he sees his boy surrounded by Cutiefly, a particularly pink one daintily perched on the teen's outstretched hand. He might not be so creative or talented in art like his boy is but Lance can't help but take a picture of the scene that describes Ash so perfectly. It doesn't matter how big, fluffy or how big the teeth are, the boy's love for these creatures is unconditional and seeing that these pokémon happily agree with those feelings, it's making his heart so much heavier because the man realises his boy isn't that way with people any longer. Maybe that's why Ash isn't enthusiastic, maybe he's afraid of the school and everyone he'll be meeting there. Part of why Lance choose this school is because they won't give him grief for having more than one pokémon out, especially since the Dragloak won't take kindly to being commanded by anyone else but Ash, who doesn't even command Meep, merely asks or suggest. As if it isn't weird enough that the Litten caught herself, this is the first time Lance witnessed it and it's… jarring to see since he carefully selected all of his pokémon -except for Flygon, the pokémon was a package deal and he has no regrets- but ugh, he realises all too well that this is also why professor Oak was so interested in the child anyway.

He sends the picture of his boy and the Cutiefly towards several of his friends, they always ask him if he's fine, how Ash is doing and well, they might as well get proof of just how well this kid fits into the scenery of this place. Seems like his friends also have their noses on their phones twenty-four-seven as he instantly gets several replies but he's got better things to do. Like going grocery shopping since he now needs to make their own food instead of relying on the hotel's catering but frankly, he feels okay doing it, especially since his boy also helps out whenever he can, without needing to be asked.

"Uncle, do you think this is a shiny one?" the boy then asks and Lance smiles.

"Probably, yeah."

"Oh, this is way cute!"

"It is," the man says because Cutiefly are, as their name rightfully claims, pretty cute. "Do you want to come grocery shopping with me later on?"

"Sure!"

Lance leaves his boy be, he's got some unpacking to do and with how practical Ash is, it never takes as long for him to unpack so it's fine if he stays coddling the pokémon a little longer. To see him walk in with that pink Cutiefly sitting on the rim of his cap, that's way too cute.

"You're going to catch looks like that, you know?"

"You think so? People might think it's stuffed, like Dialga."

"I don't think so, Cutiefly are pretty common around these parts," Lance chuckles. "You should see people's faces whenever they realise that Dialga wasn't a plush one."

"Well, it wants to come along so whatever. At least they'll be looking at me for a good reason, then."

"Okay, then. Go unpack real quick, then we'll go out."

Ash goes and does just that, it's only by chance that Lance spots professor Kukui passing by with a pram, though. He watches him for long enough to know that the professor lives really close to them, which might be problematic but well, Lance doesn't mean anyone harm, he's also not going to make use of the street side terrace either, much rather enjoying the greener area at the back. He quickly gets back to putting his stuff away, figuring he'll have to tell the history he has with professor Kukui to Ash at some point. It's not like he'd been mean but some people just… aren't meant to be trainers. The way the much younger Kukui had acted exactly like a calculated trainer, caring more about his pokémon than the fight, just challenging him to prove a point, that… yeah, it was clear as day that the young man had been better off putting his energy into something entirely different.

"Whatcha thinking about?"

Lance jumps a little, not having expected his boy to be waiting for him, leaning against the doorway of his bedroom.

"Oh, euhm… well, I have a history with the regional professor here."

"Let me guess, you said something that made him quit being a trainer and become a professor instead?"

"Something amongst those lines, yeah. I hope you won't hold that against me when he comes off a little coldly due to our shared last name."

"If he's really that shallow to hold me accountable for it, his own feelings will be the last of his worries," the teen answers as he pushes himself off the doorframe. "You shouldn't be worried about me, I'm okay here I believe. I feel better than in Kalos, steadier, and more secure. I don't feel like overreacting as quickly so I'll be okay."

"I'm glad you feel that way. And I don't think professor Kukui would do anything of the sort, it's just, he might ask about me or refer to something so I wanted you to know about it so that you wouldn't feel like I don't trust you," Lance answers, though smiles at his boy. "I think you could answer any comment of his pretty easily, though so no, I'm not worried, I just wanted you to be aware."

"What brought this on, though?"

"He seems to live quite closely, I just saw him pass with his kid."

"Oh, he has a kid? That's cool."

"Yeah, not one I think you'd be able to play with, it's a tiny baby still."

"You're making weird assumptions, uncle. First, you warn me he might be acting coldly towards me but now you tell me that he'd then suddenly trust me enough to let me play with his kid?"

"People in Alola work a little differently than those in Johto. Or Kanto, for that matter."

"Yeah, no, I'm not going to be babysitting, I have snappy pokémon around me, that sounds like a bad idea. I just thought it was cool to have a regional professor who is agreeable enough to have a partner to have a kid with. Is he married too?"

"Well yeah, you're not getting away with having a kid and not marrying in Alola."

"Cool, hope he's getting enough sleep then too."

Lance snorts but finishes putting away his stuff, perhaps a little carelessly but he can always fix that later, when his boy is off to school. Ash is really sharp and witty to talk to, he can't imagine this having gone so easily but well, that's his boy alright. His worries always seem more valid than the ones Lance worries about but frankly, that's not always a good thing either but if there's something any teacher appreciates, it's someone in their class who is well-spoken and they can say a lot about Ash but at least he knows what respect and boundaries means. As for the grocery shopping, the boy stays mostly in the background, he's not raised to be spoiled for choice and that's something Lance thinks is a pity, though the boy halts when he sees star candy.

"Oh wow, they have that here?"

"You can take some with you, if you want. For taste comparison."

"It's sugar candy, how different can it taste?"

"I don't know, I'm not going to force you to take anything with you."

"Maybe later."

The man just pushes his cart down the corridor, straight towards the snacks because that's something he knows his boy enjoys way more than sugar. It doesn't take at all long before Ash spots something he likes, Lance can tell just by the way he looks at it and well, he shouldn't have been surprised it's something spicy.

"And, spicy enough for you?" he comments but the boy points at an Alolan word.

"That translates to malasada, right? So if those chips are going to taste like the spicy malasada, I think it'll be okay, it's not that harsh. I mean, nothing near that ghost pepper nonsense, that's just spicy to hurt, and that's not nice. And it looks like death, not to mention how it enters spicy meaning that it'll also exit spicy. Anyway, can I take this?"

"It's a big bag, though."

"It's on sale, look."

"Only if you'll finish it."

"Not in one day but yeah, of course, I will."

Lance chuckles as the teen puts the big bag of chips in the cart with that small, pleased smile on his face. This is nearly the only thing he can please his boy with too and it's indeed on sale so well, it's something, right? Other than that, Ash seems very involved with vegetables and berries, he's pretty good at shopping in total and something tells Lance that this comes from a personal interest.

"Your mother didn't let you cook, huh?"

"Nope, she was still under the impression I'd burn down the house. But it was Brock who instigated the interest, really and I figured that I'd be on my own at some point in time so I felt like I needed to be ready for it. And I had a lot of time away from my mother's comments so I practised until I got comfortable with it."

"That's alright, as long as you're comfortable."

"I am. Oh, they have bananas!"

The man chuckles and continues, the bananas also added to the cart. They have a good amount of food, he'll likely come back to stock up regularly and mostly without Ash because his boy really doesn't act like a kid.

"Frozen malasadas?" the teen asks, as the man puts them in the cart. "Do we even have an oven?"

"We do."

"Why not make them fresh then?"

"I don't feel like I could do it justice. And look, this is a good brand."

"Yes but it's got preservatives in it, pokémon can't eat that so please tell me in advance when you put it in the oven, I'm going to need to make separate food for them."

Oh, now Lance feels a little guilty.

"For real? Flygon has eaten pizza straight out of my hand, he was fine."

"You don't buy frozen pizza, though?"

Also true and yeah, he puts the frozen food back, might as well pay that slight bit more for something everyone can eat. He's absolutely planning on having a couple of his pokémon roam too so they'll likely also be stealing food out of his hands again so better safe than sorry. But again, how many kids think about stuff like that? Sure, Ash is careful because of his lactose intolerance but Lance would have absolutely thought his mother would have been against preservatives and drilled it in his head. Asking, however, makes the boy frown at him.

"My mother only believed that I didn't feel well after eating that bowl of cereal after she refused to let me go to the bathroom and I shat myself in her kitchen," he says bluntly. "And even then, she'd allow me to have the medicine on me but she didn't want me to tell anyone and certainly not have it on show. So no, she didn't care the slightest bit about me, I only know that pokémon don't react well to preservatives after passing through Lavender and making the mistake of asking one of the lonely nurses what the most common cause of death of pokémon is, you know, to keep it in the theme of the city."

"Let me guess, preservatives."

"Yup. A slow, undeserved death, it only took over a hundred pokémon to die before store sold pokémon food stopped using preservatives too."

"Only?"

"What can I say? Money makes the world go round, right?"

Lance sighs, he always wonders why some people want to see the world burn. And also, why is it his boy who knows about that?

"It's also the reason why the food has lowered in price so drastically, the shops don't want to be watching the food go bad and sit on a mountain of over-date waste so they want their sales quick and that only happens when the price is low."

"I thought the pokémon league has something to do with the price."

"With everything else, like potions and pokéballs, sure enough, but those are trainer items. Seems a bit evil to me to hide obtainable, healthy food behind a trainer card."

The man sighs deeply, not having thought about that one but yeah, he can count on his kiddo to pick up the slack.

"But you're not entirely wrong," Ash continues happily. "The pokémon league did put some frightfully mean punishments on the food-deaths of pokémon and thanks to free pathologist examinations of a corps when there is a hunch the cause of death is due to some sort of illegal poisoning, just to support the companies to not just think about money but also the welfare of their potential clients."

"And people keep saying the pokémon league is up to no good, hm?"

"You'd know best, you work under them so you tell me. All I know is that the people who complain the most, don't know how lucky they are with what they have."

"That's true," Lance laughs and he shakes his head. "I have been witness to some meetings where all these regulations pass by on occasion but I can't remember any of them, really."

"Luckily, there's a computer who remembers that for you. But people also complain about mechanics taking over people's jobs, right?"

He snorts, he will need to remind himself never to tell his boy to go into politics, the kid will drive everyone utterly crazy with his theories that all make much sense and well, now that he thinks of it, he did tell Ash to study well, didn't he? The boy clearly took that seriously as well so if professor Kukui thinks he's just going to be able to use the teen to get into the pokémon league, Lance trusts his boy to be able to set the professor straight quite quickly. Then again, he desperately hopes they'll like each other, Ash is such a good trainer and exactly what the professor will have been looking for, it's just the trust issues… Ugh, he'll be happy to see his boy come back from school on tomorrow, that'll at least clear a lot of his doubts but oof, nothing better come from it, as if it's not bad enough that there's a family connection with professor Oak and Ash's less than stellar childhood friend. Arceus, Lance isn't going to sleep well tonight if he keeps reminding himself of all the things that could possibly not have a good outcome. He's better off trying not to let his worries out, or else he'll worry his boy and that's pretty much the worst thing that could happen so nope, he's letting go of it. His boy is cool enough so Lance will just have to have faith in him. Yeah, let's… let's just keep it at that.

---

Ash yawns a little as he trails out of the bathroom. He's not really nervous or jittery, there's only so much nerves he can summon in a place as nice and warm as this and while the air-condition made him sleep deeper and quicker, he couldn't possibly oversleep thanks to the radiant sun seeping in his room at the wonderful hour of five in the morning. It's almost six now, though, and he really can't be bothered to be speedy or hurry up, he still has a bag to check, and see if he's got everything but other than that, he just has breakfast to conjure up. School starts at half past seven and it's not too far from here so he's got plenty of time.

However, once he's packed his bag and sneaks towards the kitchen, the boy halts because he sees his uncle's feet sticking out of the couch and when he gets a little closer, sees that the man fell asleep with the TV remote in his hands. He would have frowned if he wasn't aware that Lance is more nervous about the school than he is but to the point where the man couldn't sleep…? Ash just makes sure to be even more silent, though, heaven knows how long his uncle has been awake for, so no, he'll just prepare breakfast and leave a note, so that he doesn't worry him even more than he already is, for some reason. It's not as if he's dumb, though, the e-mail he got from the school made it very clear he scored high on the entrance exam so unless all these kids instantly don't like him, Ash doesn't see where the issue is that's kept his uncle from going to bed.

It's not like he can stay here and sit vigil next to him, no matter how much he would like that, so Ash releases Flygon as the next best course of action. Lance isn't going anywhere without the pokémon noticing and the pokémon is trained for medical emergencies so yeah, Flygon understands what he wants from him and goes to sit in front of the couch, eyes firmly fixated on the sleeping man. Pikachu and Meep are actually a lot more jittery than he is, and now Ash wonders if there's something he's not aware of happening but ah, as soon as he leaves the house, making sure to lock the door behind him -his uncle has the other key so it's not like he's locking the man in-, the boy hears a strange sound. Once he looks up, he sees why his two pokémon are so active, the sky is filled with hot air balloons! He quickly moves somewhere he can take a good picture of the sunrise and the balloons and uploads it on his app, greeting everyone with a cheerful 'Alola', asking how their morning is going and that he's off to his first day of school as an added comment above the picture.

Ash quickly puts his phone on silent and then in his pocket as he needs to keep a good hold on Meep, the little dragon seems to want to sink her teeth into one of these balloons and while he knows there are already holes in them, there's really no need to put a few more in them. As he trails to the school, the balloons pass by and one gets really low, low enough for them to see him wave, to which the passengers wave back. He can't help but smile either, despite Meep's struggling, it's special to see these big balloons so close by and he's not seen as many as these ever before but then again, Alola is such a beautiful place too, it must be great to see if from a bird's eye view too. Maybe, one of these days, he can ask Charizard for a ride, and see if it indeed is a sight to see but for now, school seems more important as Ash is sure that his uncle will have issues understanding if he somehow managed to be late on his first day.

When he gets there, there doesn't seem to be a lot of activity around the huge building so seeing there is no one except a couple of Tauros lingering in the courtyard, he moves towards the large double doors. In the hallways, there is a clock that says it's a quarter to seven so maybe he's a bit on the early side but hey, he still needs to go to the principal so better early than late. There doesn't seem to be anyone inside the principal's office, though, so Ash sags against the wall, sighing deeply. Of all the years he managed to be late, he doesn't seem to be able to show up right on time either so frankly, Ash doesn't know if one or the other is any better. But well, he's here anyway and he refuses to get his phone out because natives here have always frowned at seeing him with his phone out so to keep a good first impression, he just goes to sit down and gets Litten from his backpack.

"Okay?" he asks and the bendy feline wraps herself into his arms. "Oh, yeah, I guess so, huh?"

She purrs, pushing her head against his chest eagerly. The Litten seems happy to lay on his arms, very unlike Meep who prefers his shoulders, just like Pikachu does but then again, pokémon have different characters and maybe Meep looks up to Pikachu and thus copies his behaviour. Whatever it is, Meep seems happy enough to drape herself over his lap, tail twitching mischievously as she leers at the principal's office door.

"He's not there you, buddy."

"Brreep," she huffs and lets out a little sneeze.

"Hey now, it's fine. Just sharing a last name doesn't mean anything, let's… let's just give him the benefit of the doubt, okay?"

She just sneezes again and Ash sighs, leaning his head against the wall. There still isn't any noise whatsoever but when he suddenly hears footsteps coming down the hallway, Ash perks up, only to see the tanned, long-haired version of professor Oak approach. But as the man sees him, the boy can tell that he's keeping his distance, just respectively dipping his head and telling him to give him 'five minutes' to get everything ready. As the principal disappears into the room, the teen lets out a breath he didn't know he had been holding.

'Oh no,' he thinks. 'Something must have shown on my face.'

'Nothing he is not already aware of, I assure you,' Mewtwo quips.

'He knows? What does he think about what his family did, then?'

'I believe you would be able to compare it to how your beloved uncle feels about your father. Know that this man would not lay a hand on you or make you feel pressured.'

'If that's the case, then why are Pikachu, Meep and Litten so antsy?'

After all, Ash had been able to feel Pikachu's little toenails grip into his shoulder, Meep had been leering at the principal and Litten looked like she had been preparing a hiss.

'Because they respond to your feelings, not his.'

Well… that makes sense but at the same time…

'That's you saying I need to get over myself, right?'

'You have been the victim of the actions of a family member of his, friend. What you saw was an adult acknowledging your hurt and keeping his distance. Believe me what I say that he did this to show he does not mean any harm.'

Ash sighs, it's always something, isn't it? Either people try to smother him with love and others keep him at arm's distance as if he's carrying a deathly disease? Why can't someone just be normal around him?

'I believe you have the unfortunate tendency to assume you are the problem. But please, humour me and tell me how someone could behave normally around you when they were never normal, to begin with?'

'Oh, let me guess, pokémon puns?'

Mewtwo just starts laughing and while this is a nice sound to hear, Ash still has his doubts about whether he's ready to be treated with caution.

'Not treated with caution,' Kozzy pipes up and this startles him, it's been a while since the pokémon spoke to him. 'Consider it more as being handled with care.'

He just hums, hoping that these five minutes don't turn into a longer period and make him late for his first day at school. Then again, he is at school, right? So technically, can he be late when the principal holds him up? Ash shakes his head and slowly gets up, Meep complains a little because she's got to shift positions but he would have to get up sooner or later anyway so she just goes to lean on his other shoulder. The door opens a little quicker than after five minutes but you know what? The sooner he's out of there the better, he does nod towards the principal again but it seems the man has something to say to him.

"I wanted to apologise for what the previous teacher who you followed the introduction classes with said to you," the principal says and Ash tilts his head a little.

"What do you mean, sir?"

"You, as a pokémon league trainer, are incredibly welcome, Satoshi. She had no right to tell you to watch your back."

"She told you what she said?"

"Another student came to complain about her behaviour and mentioned what she said to you as proof that she was biased. I just want you to know that the fact you have been a licensed trainer for so long already isn't going to be a disadvantage for you, especially not around professor Kukui."

"Ah, okay. My uncle mentioned something like that already but thank you, sir, for telling me this."

"You're very welcome. I too am happy to have a good student like yourself on board, following classes here. After all, your feedback was… creative. You had some good points."

The boy scoffs, he had found thirty spelling mistakes in that book too.

"She wrote that book herself, huh?"

"What do you mean?"

"The teacher you mentioned. She's the author of that book she demanded us to learn from the top of our heads, isn't she?"

"I'm not entirely aware, I'll look into it, simply because it does sound suspicious," the man says and Ash watches him pull out a couple of books, including a nice-looking notebook. "At any rate, these books are written by professionals who remembered to put their credentials on the back of the cover. With your connections, you might even recognise a couple of names, just so you know you can take the official part of these classes seriously."

Yes, that was his intention, his uncle isn't a joker and his actions reflect that. One bad teacher doesn't mean the school is rotten either, hence why Ash is here, trying with all his might to like this man in front of him because he's clearly trying his best. He can even tell that the principal is biting back the pokémon puns and he really appreciates that one but has no idea how to tell him. That's why he's silent as he receives the package he knew he'd be getting on his first day, they even included a couple of colourful pens he'll definitely get good use out of, though the pens he bought in Johto are one of the best in the whole world. Let's see how they measure up against each other, though Ash appreciates the thoughtful gift because, if it wasn't for his uncle, he wouldn't even have brought any pens. Then again, Lance must have known about the school beforehand so that would explain why he had asked him to take a couple of pens with him and well, Ash had just done so, not thinking twice.

"There we go, you're all set now. I hope you have a great time at this school and if there's anything, anything at all, that bothers you, know my door is open, okay?"

"Thank you, sir. For everything."

And the principal nods, maybe understanding his thankfulness for what it is but well, he's off to go see his class, he's got directions… but when he gets there the door is still closed despite it being almost time? And there's no one in the hallway either, in fact, he doesn't remember having passed anyone either so Ash trails back a bit since he remembers having seen a balcony and sure enough, when he looks down, seems like all the action is downstairs, instead of the classroom. He sort of wishes he was told about that but then again, if he wants to race on a Tauros, he can always do that at home. He's okay watching them from afar and frankly, the view from here is nice enough, in fact, he's not paying much attention to what the kids down there are doing. The greenery is prettier to watch and Ash sort of regrets not having known about this balcony earlier because he could have gotten a perfect view of the balloons that passed by a good half hour ago. Oh well, maybe he'll see them again one day or another, he's not in a rush.

Looking down at the courtyard, though grassy and nice, he spots someone sitting completely on their own, whilst the others are oblivious to it, continuing to race on the pokémon. Ash tilts his head a little to the side as he sees the clothes this lonely kid is wearing, that white dress and the wide, white hat… Isn't this the girl he met in that dream he's aware of not actually being a dream at all? Oh, hell, he knew there was a chance he could meet her again but to actually be in a class together? And from what he's learned, he'll likely have a pretty private class, with only a couple of others, five, if he's not mistaken but that's…

'It has been a while, though,' Mewtwo pipes up.

'Yeah but if she's been sitting alone over there, she'll definitely remember me, if everyone else doesn't really bother with her and that I was nice and understanding towards her.'

'Perhaps she would be nice to you because if it. Not everyone is as skilled at overthinking as you are, she may not recognise the dream as being a possibility to becoming reality. If her life has been mundane, this might just be a good surprise for her but if you like her, it will show in your actions, I feel that you want to help her and she will accept that with both hands.'

'Really? Is she that troubled?'

'I believe you touched upon the subject when you spoke about Alola with your uncle. To live in a place teeming with pokémon and being afraid of it must be hell on earth. Not only because the pokémon do not understand but the people will have haphazard ways of trying to help her but only managing to spook her even further.'

He sighs deeply, he does want to help her but it remains to be seen how this class works, and whether they'll allow him near her. It's clear she's a bit of an outcast, just by the way she's sitting there, all on her own and it stings because Ash had been ostracized by Gary the same way and this is exactly how it all started. Getting kids to turn their back on him, then being called a loner, a loser and then, bit by bit, the adults around him starting to grow concerned and do all of the wrong things like punishing the kids who didn't want to play with him and in the end, he was still alone, being hurt enough to carry the trust-issues along with him. And it sucks because he's not sure if he's such a good friend, at all. His friends, the ones he's travelled around a whole region without any issues, they're still very amicable, thankful that he's 'grown up' so much but kids? Ash will be damned if any of these kids he's watching right now are a day over twelve, some even looking younger than ten so are they just going to consider him an adult or will they just not like him? He's not going to play the boss over them, in fact, if this girl wants to touch pokémon so badly, he will stand by her side all the way since he understands all too well why she'd want to cuddle with them.

Looking at the big clock, he spots that class was already supposed to have started five minutes ago but these kids downstairs don't seem like stopping their racing just yet. And here he is, thinking being on time actually mattered and it's not like he's not in the right room or anything, there's only one, really long hallway and the principal specifically instructed him to go to the upstairs room, the furthest door possible, which is this one so yeah, it's not him. Maybe the professor is downstairs, waiting for these kids to stop? Or maybe he overslept, at any rate, whatever the reason, Ash is here, he was on time which the principal can vouch for so he just rests on the balcony, figuring he might as well just enjoy the view and peacefulness until these kids do bring their racing inside.

---

End of chapter forty-six