Temporary President

Lillie bit her lip as Gladion mentioned the mutual hatred between him and their mother. She had hoped that the two of them would reconcile at least somewhat over the years, but she hadn’t actually checked up on the state of their relationship. From Gladion’s tone, it was obviously still strained. As much as the comment stung, she refrained from responding directly. She needed to focus on trying to rebuild her own relationship with Gladion before worrying too much about how well he got along with Lusamine.

“My friends are fine. In fact, I just visited them recently,” she said, tone defensive. Gladion didn’t seem to get along very well with her friends, for reasons she never fully understood, but he didn’t have to go so far as to assume that they would do something to hurt her. Still, she felt guilty admitting that she visited them more often than him, as if she were confirming his statement that they deserved her attention more, when that wasn’t the case at all. Of course Gladion deserved to be visited, he was still her family. Just because he’d left her at Aether Paradise didn’t erase all the time he had spent watching out for her. Did he think that she didn’t remember the time when they were each other’s best, practically only, friends?

“I’m not leaving!” She actually stamped her foot on the last word, unable to find another outlet for her frustration. Maybe she was acting a bit childish, but so was Gladion with his offer to refund her. It wasn’t as if she had traveled to Aether Paradise on a business venture, and he should know that they both had enough money set aside from the family funds that reimbursing a ferry trip back to the islands was an empty gesture. And maybe being around Gladion reminded her of being a child, when such outbursts were more common.

She took a moment to calm herself, face slightly flushed from embarrassment, before responding to his last comment. “I’ve been working on the Kanto gym challenge,” she said, a little stiffly. She was somewhat embarrassed that the challenge was taking her so long, since many kids younger than her were able to complete it in months, not years. But she tried not to be too hard on herself in that regard, and at least her and her team were continuing to grow stronger over time.

“And how has your presidency been?” she asked. Apparently Gladion at least liked the position enough that he didn’t want to give it up to Lusamine, although Lillie wasn’t sure how much of that was due to genuinely liking the work versus the apparent hostility he had towards Lusamine. She hoped that he found his work at least somewhat enjoyable.

Gladion was quick to pick up on Lillie’s defensive tone, and he couldn’t exactly blame her for it, considering he’d practically insulted her friends to her face, especially since he hardly made an effort to get along with them before making his judgments on whether they’d hurt her. The words stung a bit, too, and didn’t do much else than prove his point, which he’d normally be quite pleased about, but with a subject such as the current one, he just felt hurt. Instead of letting it show, though, he simply ignored it, since no matter what he could say, it didn’t feel right, and it was best not to make things more tense than they already were.

Gladion’s eyes widened a bit at the stamped foot, but they soon fell back down, giving his sister a bemused look, “Do you have to throw a tantrum in order to prove your point? You’re almost an adult now, so you’d best act like one.” He chided, and while it wasn’t his place, she was barely younger than him, and even then, if he wanted her to act like an adult, he shouldn’t be scolding her like a child. Yet, somehow it also felt like it was his place to do so, maybe something carried on from childhood, since he had a tendency to try and take over that job from time to time. Besides, he knew that she had the funds to take herself elsewhere, his offer was so that she wouldn’t have to, it just felt like something he was supposed to do, which… he really didn’t know what he should do anymore, especially not with Lillie, so he was trying (what he thought to be) his best. Not that he would ever admit that, but it was the unfortunate truth.

Gladion respected the decision, though, and didn’t insist that she leave. Rather, he just nodded to the chairs in the room. “Then would you like to take a seat?” Hopefully that would be a safe question, but at this point, he didn’t know, and would have to hope that even his attempts at being respectful of decisions wouldn’t be mistaken for rudeness, and forcing people to do things. He hated walking on eggshells like this, and typically would just stomp them to bits rather than trying not to break them, but this was his sister, the one person he could honestly say he loved and cared about, so he couldn’t just kill the relationship. That didn’t change the fact that he was certainly feeling the effects of the lack of practice in actually trying to salvage things now, however, but he just had to hope that eventually things would turn upwards, rather than take a nosedive.

The stiffness probably should’ve surprised him far less than it did. After all, he couldn’t expect the tenseness hanging on them to fall away like dried children’s glue on a rushed art project. At this point, it was more like carpenter’s glue had latched it onto them, and that would be far harder to peel off. Still, he had to try and get it off, somehow, “That’s… not what I expected, but it’ll be good for you, whether you complete it or not. How far along are you?” He asked, out of genuine curiosity. He’d heard the challenge was difficult, and he knew for a fact that it required Pokémon battles, so the fact that his pacifistic sister was doing it came as a bit of a shock, so he wouldn’t be too surprised if she hadn’t even gotten her first badge yet. Maybe it just showed how much she’d changed, though, and how badly they needed to try and get to each other, as hard as it was right now, but Gladion wanted to see just how much Lillie had grew, even if he struggled to properly show it.

@nullexperiment

AZ squatted at the front of the boat, balancing himself by holding onto the railings beside him as he watched closely for sight of the island.  He’d know it when he saw it, according to the helpful fishermen he employed to take him there.  It was said to be massive and unnatural in appearance.  Certainly, they were right, for AZ soon saw a sizable white mass in the distance as they hurried further and further from Ula’ula Island.  It was almost like an iceberg, but it was too perfect, too symmetric to be anything natural.  It looked so out of place, but it owned that fact.  That would be it: Aether Paradise.

He knew he should have been more careful with her.  Floette had always loved to roam, and no matter how many years went by, nothing ever changed this.  When they had finally reached Alola,  AZ had allowed her to run free as they came upon the Ula’ula Meadow area.  It was so densely packed with flowers and Pokemon that Floette had simply adored it.  How could he keep her from exploring such a place?  It was perfect for her.  Besides, Floette could defend herself.  People always underestimated her, but she was far more powerful than most would expect.

AZ got his fair share of wandering in throughout the meadow and surrounding area relatively quickly once he noticed the path to the lake to the northeast.  He could feel a strong, but old power emanating from it and he had to investigate. He was sure she’d be fine for now.  She chirped in confirmation when he told her he was leaving to investigate the lake, and he left without any more thoughts.

The lake was so beautiful and so pristine.  On top of it was a crumbling building which was dubbed the Altar of the Sunne by a sign.  Strangely, there were far less people here than back in the meadow.  It was a bit quiet, almost to the point of being unsettling, but nothing like that ever got under AZ’s skin.  When he finally reached the platform past the crumbled ruins of a temple, he stood in the center and basked in the feeling.  Yes, there had been something powerful here long ago…  what it was, however, he didn’t know.

When AZ finally made it back to the meadow, he looked over the whole sea of red flowers in search of Floette but couldn’t see her.  Just as he figured.  She blended in pretty damn well with her flower.  He called out to her.

“Floette!  Come.  We can come back later, but we should keep moving.”

There was no response except for the chirps of local bird Pokemon.  AZ frowned.  She was so stubborn sometimes.  He walked back through the meadow, over the creaking boards that lifted tourists up above the flowers.  He called and called and called, but she wouldn’t respond.

AZ looked everywhere.  He did, he really did.  But Floette was nowhere to be found.  Maybe she just wandered further than he realized, but… it just didn’t feel right.  None of this.  He asked any person who wasn’t terrified of him if they had seen her, but to no avail.  It was only when he finally left the confines of the meadow out to Route 16 that he got anywhere.

People in odd, stark white uniforms clambered out of their rectangular little home in confusion.  He told them about Floette despite their obvious intimidation.  Recognition suddenly flashed in the young woman’s eyes.

“W-We didn’t know she belonged to anyone!” she insisted.  “We checked, and she wasn’t register to any kind of Pokeball, so we thought she was wild.  Oh no… we already sent her off to the Paradise!  You’ll have to go there to find her.”

Though they were so clearly sorry, AZ left without saying a word.  He needed to get her before they did anything to her.  But how…

The people of Alola, at least, were kind people.  The fishermen he met didn’t have to come to his aid, yet they did.  For that, he was grateful.  As they finally came upon the island, he couldn’t wait to see Floette again.  Thank goodness no one had caught her in a Pokeball.  He had never claimed her, so she was still wild by modern standards.  That was finally coming back to bite him.

The boat pulled in to the harbor underneath the island.  Several Aether boats were parked there.  The fishing boat looked out of place by comparison, so rickety and old.  AZ thanked his friends for what they had done.

“You don’t need to wait.  I will find my own way off the island.”

The fishermen left with that offer, and AZ was on his way to finding Floette.  He walked past employees who were like frozen statues.  He was so used to that by now, but it didn’t exactly work in his favor when he needed to find someone who could tell him what had happened to Floette.  He headed up the elevator with the help of another speechless employee to the first floor of the building.  Ahead, there was what AZ assumed was a help desk of some kind.  He approached it.

“Please.  My Floette was accidentally taken here and I need to find her,” he said to the first employee behind the desk.  AZ almost entirely swallowed the woman in his shadow.  “She has a black and red flower instead of the normal color.  She’s very distinct.  You should be able to– hm?”

The employee raised her hand, pointing to something behind AZ.  “The president…”

AZ turned to see a young man in an outfit that contrasted with any Aether employee there.  He was dressed head to toe in black and red.  Was this “the president” she was referring to?

“Excuse me.  Are you the president of this place?  Can you help me somehow?  There has been a mistake and some of your team have taken my companion.”

The entirety of Aether Paradise had been far busier than usual since noon. Old research equipment was being fired up, and the employees were scrambling about to get samples and new parts for those far too outdated machines that no one had bothered to upgrade because they were supposed to be out of use for good.

The rush? A strange new Floette had been brought in, specifically, one that was thought to have been extinct for centuries. They needed to figure out how she got here, why, and whether or not they could preserve her kind, or maybe bring it back, if nothing else.

Gladion would be lying if he wasn’t interested himself, though he had other things to attend to for a majority of the day, he still made a point to see this Floette when he went to ensure that everything was being done. She certainly did look strange, and the poor thing probably was so confused as to what was going on. It made him almost feel bad for her, but some light testing was necessary to possibly preserve this potential subspecies.

Figuring out where it came from was important too, and he was heading to the front desk to get that information. However, it seemed that a man who looked to be straight out of some fantasy movie with how old, tall and homeless he appeared had gotten there first.

Gladion stared at his back for a minute, taking a minute to process this, not even noticing when the receptionist pointed at him and said his title. This guy could not exist. This guy could not-.

Be turning towards him right now. He craned his neck to look the man in the eyes and a glare accidentally set on his face. He wasn’t intimidated like his employees seemed to be, but rather irritated because he didn’t understand how this was possible and he hated that. Anything that couldn’t be explained easily was worthy of disliking. He drew a breath and held up a finger, turning away, “Excuse me for one moment.”

With that, Gladion turned back around the corner he came from. He leaned against the wall, closing his eyes and pinching his arm, until he let out a shaky gasp. So if this wasn’t a dream... well, it could be a nightmare? He’d been having a lot of dreams about being crushed lately, and this guy was several feet taller than him... Okay, maybe it was best not to jump to conclusions, but this definitely was not reality. People could not be like that, it was simply impossible.

Running a hand through his hair, Gladion returned to the front desk, back as rigid as he could make it. Though, when he still didn’t even come close to being the same height as the giant, a scowl came across him and he sort of gave up. After that disappointing outcome, he crossed his arms over his chest and stared up at the man, “Yes, I am the current president, refer to me as Gladion. You mentioned a mistake?” He hadn’t caught much of the conversation with the receptionist, but he had a sinking feeling that he knew what the man was after.

It made sense, really, something so rare couldn’t be without ownership. Yet... there was still a bit of disappointment nestled deep in his gut. Maybe such a thing was what Aether needed to turn back around. Not that he cared too much in the long run, but for now he wanted to try his damn hardest to make this place out to be respectable once again. But, he also knew that kidnap was not a proper way to do such -- if he learned anything from his mother, it was that. However, maybe if the man couldn’t prove it to be his, then they could keep the Floette. Besides, just because the Pokémon looked strange and the man did as well didn’t mean that the two were correlated. He really needed to stop concluding things that had no evidence in an attempt to understand the situation.

“Do you have a Pokéball for the Pokémon or any other sort of proof of it being yours?” Gladion asked, subconsciously raising himself up so that he was standing on his toes, rather than flat on the floor. His neck was already hurting a bit, and he just wanted to get this over with now, before he yanked the man down by his obnoxiously long hair to make some sort of fairness in height.

C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S ,  I N D I G O  !         @nullexperiment

Hello and welcome to the National Park’s seventh Member of the Month (MOTM) feature!  Our goal for these is to spotlight individuals and brag about their accomplishments and talents.  Let’s get started.

If you’re looking for a person who’s not only a good friend and a wonderful writer, but also mindful, kind, and welcoming to everyone they encounter, you’d be hard pressed to find anyone who fits that description better than our dear Indigo.  She’s been a member of our group for several months now, and there’s no doubting the wonderful impact that she’s had upon our group.  We’re lucky to have her and her fantastic Gladion around.

How can I even express just how great it is to have Indigo in the Park?  Since the day she joined back in January, she’s been nothing but a refreshing addition to our dashboard and Discord chat.  I can’t help but smile whenever I see her post a reply or start a fascinating conversation with one of our members!  No matter what situation she’s in, Indigo is levelheaded and understanding of all perspectives.  She has so much potential, both in writing and in life.  She’s all of these great things, but yet she never gives herself enough credit!

And of course we can’t talk about Indigo without bringing up her Gladion.  It’s glaringly obvious that she’s spent a lot of time trying to develop Gladion into a well thought-out three-dimensional character.  All of her headcanons add all the more to her already fantastic interpretation, and watching Gladion interact with Lillie and all of the various Alolan protagonists is an absolute delight.  Each thread is so fun to read, complex, and beyond well-written!  Indigo weighs all of her character options carefully, even when it comes to possible muses.  It’s clear as day just how much effort she pours into her work.

Indigo might not always be around in the chat, but when she is, you always have a great time chatting with her about anything and everything!  The in-depth conversations you can have with Indigo are really an absolute blast, and there’s never a dull moment with her around, that’s for sure!  She’s so friendly that you can’t help but love to talk to her whenever you get the chance.  I can’t express how glad I am to be able to know Indigo and have her in the group!

The bottom line?  Indigo is a member of our group that I hope sticks around for a long, long time.  She adds a special something to the National Park that just can’t be beat.  I can’t wait to see how she’ll continue to grow and develop, not just as a member of our group, but as a person.  Her possibilities are limitless.  So here’s to you, Indigo!  Congratulations, you deserve it!

Cyntha couldn’t help but cup the strange pokemon’s cheeks and scratch at their fur. She was fondly reminded of her time raising her own Garchomp, and she busied herself as she played with the pokemon. 

*Gladion… Oh yes the name was immediately recognizable to Cynthia, after the whole situation in Alola was well known across the world. This boy was now currently the (temp)leader of the Aether Foundation…. Yes…that certainly did explain quite a bit about the boy. 

Her eyes sparked as she listened to Gladion challenge her, and give his own response. The easy smile never left her face as she nodded occasionally as he continued to speak.  “Of course I could never doubt the capabilities of Science…I have witnessed science chain together and forcibly control the very gods that come from the legends.” 

Cynthia’s smile only widened as she stopped playing with the pokemon to lean back and stare up at the ceiling.  “But that’s why I cannot help but love these stories and myths. There’s always a small satisfaction one gets when they finally discover what hides behind the veil. To understand how things could work, and to learn the truth.”

She raised a hand to cover her mouth as she laughed. “Ah yes I don’t imagine that many people do wear winter coats in Alola do they? I’ve only arrived here from Sinnoh recently and hadn’t the time to go buy some clothes yet, but there’s no need to worry. I won’t be dying so easily.”

Gladion gave Cynthia the same attention that she gave him when she shared her views, and he thought over it for quite some time, thinking over the response. This woman was certainly intelligent, and he’d always had trouble calling those who studied mythology such, so that was a feat. He wasn’t even sure if he could refute her words, less so the more he thought about it. She seemed to have very different experiences from him, after all. And barring that, it didn’t seem as though she was insisting that her beliefs were the hard truth.

Once she’d completely finished speaking, Gladion began a response, even though his mind was still working at everything as he spoke, “I do understand the curiosity of what could be, as much as I hate to admit it, those thoughts are rather tempting to entertain, even if they aren’t at all feasible. But you mentioned science controlling gods, is that what Team Plas-" Wait. Wrong team, that was Unova, Cynthia was from Sinnoh. These old people really needed to stop forming evil teams to force their ideals onto the world, “-Galactic, I mean, I apologize... it just feels as though a new organization comes up every week, so it can be hard to keep all the names straight,” he rubbed at his forehead with a soft sigh, “Is that what Team Galactic set out to do? And if so, which, and did they actually manage to see them?” He wanted to ask more questions, but bit down on his cheek, he just wanted to know everything, partially out of his own curiosity on the mentality of the people who led these plans, partially to see if he could find a way to form a rebuttal, and partially because he wanted to see if it was maybe his atheism that was in the wrong.

Hau was curing his Alolan Raichu of a bad Poison-status when he heard a familiar voice call out to him. Was it just him, or did Gladion sound more aggressive than usual? It almost made his hair stand on end. He was about to say the beasts weren’t the only Poison-types out here, but for once he had control over his filter and decided it was not a good moment. Not now. 

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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.