Alola~!

The way the Noivern clung to its trainer was endearing, and brought a warm, albeit melancholy, feeling. It reminded Lysandre of how Marcel used to climb onto his shoulders and wrap his arms around him, peeking up over him to see the world from a higher place – and to feel more secure. The poor thing never really got completely over how he had been ostracized from his group before. Ah, he missed his Pokemon dearly – but it was for the better that they were removed from the trouble that he caused. They deserved a good, warm, easygoing home.

Lysandre listened to the boy talk, feeling his heart sink a bit. Berries. Berries weren’t a meal – but if there was nothing else he supposed he could deal with that. Though, he wasn’t looking for a restaurant per-se either. He simply sighs, letting his shoulders droop for a moment, before lifting his head again to meet the boy’s face. “Even if it is not a restaurant, its fine. A bar, a small place which serves up an entree, or some seafood. Or a market, where I could buy myself a sandwich or something of the sort. That’s all I need.”

He wanted to offer the kid something for this too – but he had very little. He pushes his hand into his pocket, feeling a few crumpled bills, and sighs. It really, really isn’t much. “If there isn’t even anything like that…then I suppose its time to scavenge a bit. Are the berries around here significantly different from other regions? …Rather, I hate to admit this, I don’t really know much in the way of surviving off of berries. But it is a good suggestion. Thank you very much - …I’m sorry, what is your name? Its rude of me not to ask.”

In the case of Draco it was more so that he was... Well, his Noivern was a scaredy-cat! Always has been, probably always will be. Though Hau hoped at one point he’d grow out of it, as he had been trying and trying to help him face his fears.

“A bar...”

Hau pondered for a moment, going over all the available places in the area. This man surely had picked a bad place for touristic spots, huh? Well, he did have a suggestion himself. 

“There’s not anything big on this island like that, but I’m sure they have some small stores. That, or we can cook up our own meal! My gramps has taught me how to fish and cook, so I’m sure we could do that instead! There’s plenty of ocean around here, after all.”

All those camping trips surely helped him learn how to survive on his own in the wild. Good thing, or else this mister might have been in trouble!

When Hau’s intentions become clear, with his hand burying into her mane pretty telling for the pokémon, Arcanine slowed her pace to a standstill, allowing him better – and an easier – access to stroke her. Green stopped as well, watching the pair, and as Arcanine craned her neck slightly to nudge Hau’s hand closer to an ear.

Hint hint, nudge nudge!!

But once that was done and they resumed, Green falls back easily into conversation. “Yep, eight of them. And you did the trial challenges captains set up around the different islands, right? Did you get anything after beating those?”

Green was aware of the bare bones of those trials, but that was about it. Something about exercises that didn’t just involve battling, and an age limit before a new captain was picked.

Hau happily moved his hands to scratch behind the Pokémon’s ear, giggling a little to himself. This big, tough Arcanine was so cute! She looked more like a big lapdog than a Battle Legend’s partner, but hey, that didn’t mean she wasn’t super strong!

“Yes! I did! Well, not particularly! We did get Z-crystals depending on who we beat though if that counts!” Now he thought about it, those crystals were kinda like badges with a use, besides from looking pretty and shiny that was. 

“We can’t really show them off in a tin like you can with badges though... Hey, hey, you can pin those on your jacket, right? I bet that looks super cool!”

@malasadamaster

A favorite childhood pastime of his was exploring abandoned buildings. There was nothing like the thrill he got from the noises of wild Pokemon that echoed throughout the ruins of the Burned Tower or the eerie atmosphere of a place that stood frozen in time. Dusty shelves that still held a few products well past their expiration date, faded posters for an old marketing campaign and the broken equipment brought back that feeling as the gym leader carefully walked through the abandoned shopping mart. 

Morty had one purpose for being here, which was to find a Mimikyu. Ever since he found out about the disguise Pokemon in Alola, he made plans for a short trip to the island region just to try and capture one. 

Although he was told that trainers would come here for their island challenge trials, it seemed as though nothing in the store had been touched for several years. He got the feeling that most trainers didn’t care to stay in the building for very long, preferring to go through this trial as quickly as possible. He had this one goal in mind, but he couldn’t help his curiosity of the building, inspecting small details of the store and lingering for longer than he intended. Meanwhile, Shion had preoccupied himself with a bargain bin of cheap toys for small children.

The soft whimper of another person behind the shelf before him caught his attention. He didn’t notice anyone coming in through the entrance while he had been distracted. Was he interfering with another trainer’s trial? 

A quick and easy exit was not feasible with how the grocery shelves were arranged. The only thing he could do for now was to lay low and keep quiet until he had a chance to slip away undetected. However, this was easier said than done. The ghost didn’t pick up on the plan, choosing to play with a rubber ball he found, bouncing it against a nearby column.

Why, out of ALL places, did he have to lose his dearly beloved trinket in the abandoned Thrifty Megamart? 

Even now he had passed all of his trials, he still felt his knees wobble at the mere thought of encountering evil spirits. There was a clear distinction between Ghost-types (although he didn’t enjoy them a lot if he was honest, it depended on the individual Pokémon of course) and actual ghosts though. Ghost-Pokémon mostly didn’t have evil intentions. No, what he truly was afraid of was anything supernatural. 

“...H-happy thoughts... Just think of happy things like m-meadows and cake and-” 

He froze in his tracks, spotting the floating rubber ball. Oh no- Did he anger someone? He hadn’t meant to stir up anyone resting around the area- Thud! 

As soon as the ball went bouncing against the column the boy let out a screech, his fight or flight reaction causing him to launch into one of the sets of shelves nearest. What kind of response was that, body?! Attacking a shelf of (probably expired) goods was of no use in a fight with anyone, let alone a vengeful spirit!

The small trainer whimpered, wincing a little at the scrapes on his arms and knees. Luckily they weren’t deep at all, but they still stung! 

“Eh?” Oh, of course the kid would want fuss over her. Green gives a small shrug, chuckling some. “Go ahead. Just don’t spoil her too much–she’s spoilt enough as it is.”

Said like he isn’t the one to do the spoiling. The arcanine must have some idea that she’s become the subject of their conversation, head turning curiously between the two, but lingering on Hau before she has to resume paying attention to the way ahead.

“I’ve had her since I was your size. Well, I was a little taller.” Probably. “We went all the way to the league together in Kanto.”

The boy had to dash forward a bit and hasten his pace a bit to keep up with the Pokémon. Seemed like petting her while walking was a real exercise! For him, at least. Hopefully, he’d grow taller soon so he could more easily keep up with longer strides.  

“She’s super soft!” He exclaimed as he ran his fingers through the orange and cream coloured fur. 

“Woah, so she’s like, one of your best friends? She’s so cool! I bet she’s a great friend!” He nodded, before falling back to walk beside Green again. 

“Not anymore.” Her voice fell flat with a faint groan. Feeling defeated, the girl sat down in an empty booth closeby, watching the rain fall with dismay. It fell heavily enough to empty the surrounding street while pedestrians and vendors took shelter indoors, including the Malasada shop. This may not have been a vacation by any means, but sitting inside a cafe in a popular island destination sure felt like a huge waste of time.

“Hau~” A cheery voice was heard from behind them. The same waitress from the previous incident approached the booth with a Big Malasada on a plate for the trainer. “Here’s your Malasada, sweetie. With extra Pinap filling.” The waitress beamed at him, placing the pastry directly across from Anzu.

“Oh, he’s not-” She started to say before the waitress turned to her and interrupted.

“Thank you so much for helping me earlier. Can I get you anything to eat or drink?”

“Don’t mention it. It was my fault in the first place. Uh…” Anzu glanced over at the front counter, quickly reading the drink menu. “I’ll have a Komala coffee, I guess.”

“Of course! Coming right up!” She turned around to fetch her order.

While the waitress turned around to fetch her order, Anzu lifted the plate to hand over to the kid, expecting him to sit somewhere else and leave her be. However, the shop had filled up quickly with customers taking shelter from the rain, and the other tables seemed to be occupied already. 

“Hm.” This was inconvenient and annoying, and she didn’t have the heart to make him stand up and eat his food. “I guess you can sit with me.” She placed the plate back down on the table. Anzu had some patience to deal with children, or rather, she liked to think that she did. It didn’t seem like the young trainer was going to mind his own business anytime soon. Wouldn’t hurt to humor him a little, right?

“Thank you. miss!”

Hau beamed as he eagerly looked at the Malasada, already excited to bite into it. Even though the weather was bad right now, he couldn’t care less! He was inside with a nice, warm, delicious treat! He patiently waited for the waitress to disappear to fetch Anzu’s order, before throwing the girl a cheeky grin.

“Oh, may I? How nice of you! I was going to sit here either way, though~!”

As innocent as he looked, there were times he could be a little shit and just do whatever the heck he wanted to do. This was definitely one of those times.

Hau hopped onto the chair opposite of Anzu, watching as the waitress brought out the coffee for her in a Swirlix themed mug. Along with the coffee came a small pastry infused with berry cream which Hau eyed eagerly as well. He wasn’t allowed to order coffee (his mom could already barely handle his sugar highs, so adding coffee to the mix would be a disaster) so he rarely got to eat the coffee pastries... The world is so cruel. 

“So, you don’t like your new job as a Malasada maker? Why not? Are you bad at it?”

Green doesn’t dawdle; with Hau ready and waiting, he leads them down the Battle Tree, towards the bridge leading them to the coast. He lets out his arcanine as a precaution for any particularly feisty wild pokémon on their way, who looks back to them, but knows the meaning of when Green nods his head, to turn back and take to their front, large, well-groomed, and with a confident presence.

Some might see it as an invitation to disturb them, but so would the sight of humans. It was better to be prepared regardless.

“So, are you training for any specific? Thinking about taking on the league here, or what?”

Green looks over to Hau, hands slung in his pockets. They had a bit of a walk to go. Might as well make the most of it.

Hau let out an amazed gasp at the presence of the Arcanine, marveling at its confidence and size. The Pokémon looked so strong and yet graceful at the same time... So this was the kind of Pokémon trained by a battle legend, huh?

Most importantly... It looked so fluffy! Soft like a cloud. He just- he just HAD to ask.

“I’m training to become strong enough to protect my friends!”

It seemed that, for once, Hau was quiet. Almost as though the beasts took his naturally loud voice with them. Or perhaps it was the exhaustion and tenseness they all were feeling at work. Probably the latter. The creatures were good at taking everything out of people, and he was certainly feeling the effects himself, which made his skin crawl. He never wanted to be affected by the Ultra Beasts in any way, yet here he was, even if it was minor, it still freaked him out.

Hau look at Gladion with a puzzled expression when he saw him pick up the piece of rubble. The warning was even more confusing, but nonetheless, he wouldn’t give in to his desire to be a little shit and do the opposite of what Gladion told him to do this time. He was here to be a kahuna and not his usual self after all!

With arms folded and a level-headed expression, Green looked for the most part – as well as a guy in a short-sleeved button shirt and capris could – professional, and attentive. 

But with the raichu rambling off at him in all its squeaks and frustration, man – the little guy was hilarious to watch. It didn’t matter how you changed someone from the pichu line, apparently. They all looked ridiculously cute when they were upset.

Well. Anyway.

So this wouldn’t be as easy as he had hoped, huh? Fair enough, but he still felt his stomach turn upon hearing those words. They did make a lot of sense, but it still felt awful knowing this struggle was far from over. Especially since he had been working so hard on becoming a better trainer these past few months. 

Hau reluctantly nodded in agreement, before standing up and looking expectantly at Hibi.

“...Please?”

The Pokémon kept up the frown for a few seconds longer, before simply nodding his head and floating forward a few inches to signal he was ready to go. Hopefully following Green’s advice would start a new chapter for Hau and his team members and he could start growing again as a trainer. 

@malasadamaster

Work. It was something he’d been out of for quite some time, in the formal sense. When he was a younger man, in college, he did a great amount of ‘simple man’s’ work, simply for the experience. Out of college, it was always work on an invention or another. Once he had his fortune – part his parents, and part his own as an innovator – there was no need for the taxing manual work he had once done. His job had become, instead, management – which he enjoyed, though perhaps a bit less than the feeling of actually, manually accomplishing something.

Even so, he had never done this kind of extremely demanding physical work before. Loading and unloading heavy crates, tending to cleaning and scrubbing, re-waxing and weatherproofing the pieces of the boat…His back ached every night, not helped one bit by the too-small, rickety ‘beds’ in the quarters for ship hands. What was good, though, was that nobody questioned the hat he wore, which shaded his face, or the way he kept his head down and just worked. He was, for all means, an unimposing man despite his height, earning far too little for a job which demanded so much.

Lysandre wished he experienced this before, though. Maybe then it would have spurred him to think a different way about the world and its circumstances.

Regardless, there was one point that he did like about this job (which he would be leaving once its return to Kalos was made); the fact that he got to see new places. Poni Island in Alola was somewhere he had never been, never met anybody from, or would have ever intended to go. That he was forced to was a circumstance he was rather glad for, now that he was here. The blue water, the calm environment, the sight of the mountain rising tall above the horizon….

Yes, this was pure beauty.

Lysandre sat near the shore, watching some Pokemon he had never seen before skitter about. Maybe, if he hadn’t ruined himself so deeply, he could have come here and perhaps lived a peaceful life. Although, it was ruined somewhat by the hunger in his stomach. On shore, they were not fed – they had to seek out the meal themselves. So, Lysandre pushed himself up, turned around fast – and stepped right into a kid who was darting by quite rapidly.

“Oh.” a word that was recognized universally, before he stepped back and bowed his head. “I’m sorry. You surprised me.” He paused a moment, then glanced up. “…Are you a native to this island? I came with the supplies ship, and am looking for a place to get something to eat.”

It was always interesting on Poni Island! 

At least, that was his opinion. For some reason, the island felt like a new adventure each time he went there to train or just explore and see all the strong Pokémon parading around. Sometimes he even sat down to sketch stuff if his attention span allowed it, but he carried his drawing supplies just in case! He wasn’t super amazing at drawing, but he’d only get better with practice! Even if his skills weren’t up to par with that of an expert yet, he still enjoyed drawing nonetheless. 

The boy was recklessly dashing near the shore, Noivern flying close behind him as they almost collide with another person.

“Ah! I’m so sorry-”

Hau returned the bow quickly, also apologizing. It was mostly his absentminded running that had caused this, after all! At the question he tilted his head, thinking for a moment

Oof, this kid was beginning to get on her nerves, but it was nothing that she couldn’t deal with for a short amount of time. After all, she was ready to hit the town and do some sightseeing. She was so over this bakery and the smell of fried dough that lingered on her clothes.

“Nothing. I just had to work for a little while is all.” Anzu answered but noticed that he didn’t appear to be paying that much to what she had said. She gave a nonchalant shrug, deciding to just brush it off. But he did make a good point. If she hadn’t been stopped earlier, she would be making a mad dash out of here and into-

Rain. 

She must not have noticed the grey clouds that rolled into town with all the mayhem that occurred just now. Anzu stared blankly at the street from the shop window, watching the raindrops fall heavily one after another and the wind that blew them sideways. 

“Great…”

“You work here? I’ve never seen you here before, so you must be new! I come here quite often, so I’m sure I will get to know you better!”

“Actually, why don’t we start now?”

It was always nice to make new friends, after all! Hau wasn’t sure, but he figured her shift had just ended. She did look like she was about to leave. Maybe they could talk outside for a bit? But when he followed the gaze of the girl, he was met with gloomy skies and rain.

“Oh man... I forgot it was gonna rain today! I wanted to go to the meadows and see a friend, but it seems like that’s off the table!” Hau exclaimed, following his words with a dramatic sigh. He then turned back to face Anzu.