25-26

Leo woke to the sounds of rain hitting palm tree leaves, and with a yawn he sat up to look outside his little shelter. The sun was just starting to rise in the distance, where the skies were clear, while rain dropped from the dark grey clouds overhead, providing a crisp chill to the usually incredibly humid air. The smell of rain filled his nostrils and he let out a content sigh, stretching out on his bed of palm leaves.

Two months he had been here, and he'd spent all but three days out in the wilds of Alola. And wasn't that something he hadn't really been expecting – wilderness. Truthfully Leo had been expecting something like Hawaii; a chain of islands that were relatively large, but nothing too big. He expected to be able to hike across Melemele Island in a day – but no. The islands were big, big enough that it took Leo a full week to cross from one end to the other, and sparsely populated enough that he could go hide in the dense jungle without seeing anyone for a while. Unless he sought them out.

"Ready to get up and at 'em, bud?" Leo asked rhetorically, gently pushing the still-sleeping Zuko away from his legs and rolling off of his sleeping mat, crouching in the low-hanging ceiling of his shelter and dusting off the dirt and twigs that stuck to him.

"Bell!" Link called, wandering in from outside and dripping from the rain. In his little hands he carried a small wooden bowl Leo had carved himself filled with berries and a few multi-colored pokebeans; his breakfast for the day.

"Right on time as always," Leo praised, popping one of the beans in his mouth and biting down. It hard, dry, and had little flavor, but they were excellent sources of nourishment and as such were perfect survival food. Link nodded and set the bowl down, twirling once then wandering back out from the small shelter – well, Leo says small. It was large enough for him, Zuko, Diana, and even Santiago when he felt like it to lay under comfortably. The roof was built of thick tree limbs to hold everything together and multiple layers of palm leaves, tilted so water would run off rather than gather on the roof.

It'd taken trial and error to get it properly done, but after a week and two good rainstorms he'd figured it out. Still had a bit of a wind problem, but it wasn't bad considering the shelter was built in a decent grove of trees that protected from most of the wind.

"Today's the day we need to go back to town to give Professor Oak a call, right? To check in? I'm sure Samson would appreciate us checking in too, y'know, to make sure we're still alive and all that," Leo reasoned aloud, munching on his breakfast and staring out into the world. His shelter was built atop a small hill, just high enough that he could see the glittering blue ocean just over the tops of the palm trees. A sailboat with neon orange sails slowly cut its way across the water, only visible as a bright orange dot.

"Quil," Zuko replied with a yawn, stretching and blinking at Leo. Leo nodded.

"Yeah, we've had a few lazy days recently. Some battles with actual trainers and a nice hike will do us some good. Today we head back to town; now I just have to round everyone up," Leo said, finishing off his breakfast and putting on some clothes. Really he only put on his shorts – as filthy as they were from two months out in the dirt and wild – and slid out into the now-drizzle. This kind of weather was actually common in Alola – where it was raining one place, but just over the next hill or just off in the distance the sun was shining and the skies were blue.

Link stood off to the side, spinning and dancing in the rain with a giant grin on his face. Leo smiled as he watched, having decided to take the day off of training himself – off days were important – but after a few moments put a move on. He grabbed his teams pokeballs and slid them into his pockets along with Spiritomb's keystone, patting each one to make sure they were all there.

Diana was already recalled, having not wanted to stay out in the rain. Plus she was usually too restless to sleep the entire night anyway…

Who knew that a rock cocoon could be so lively?

"Zuko, Link, with me. Let's go find Santi," Leo whistled, waking Zuko up – who stretched and yawned, and breaking Link out of his routine. The little grass type happily trotted over to Leo and held his hands up in a demand to be lifted, a demand he complied with, bending down and picking him up to set on his shoulder.

"Bell!" Link cried pointing his arm towards the ocean dramatically.

"I'm going, I'm going. Man, I feel like your steed or something," Leo chuckled, whistling for Zuko, who darted forward ahead of him and disappeared into the undergrowth.

There wasn't much moving in the jungle yet thanks to the rain, though Leo figured that would rectify itself soon. By the time he had reached the beach, where Santiago usually liked to hang out, the drizzle had slowed to become almost non-existent, leaving the plants wet and shining in the early morning light. Santiago himself stood at the edge of the water, looking out over the waves with his arms clasped behind his back.

Leo suppressed a laugh as he snuck up, carefully pushing through the last of the jungle growth and bare feet making no noise in the soft, wet sand.

"Whatcha doin'?!" he called loudly right next to Santiago, slapping his shoulder and making the Slowking jump. Leo cackled and danced backwards as his starter whirled on him, one paw swinging to try and cuff him on the back of the head. "You left yourself wide open, bud," he said, grinning.

Santiago huffed and snorted in annoyance, but Leo could still see the smile on his face so he counted that as a win.

"Plan is to head back to town today. I've had my fun, and we need to check in with the Professor again. Probably see about hitting the island challenge soon as well; you and Diana have had plenty of time to get used to your new power and bodies," Leo said. Santiago nodded, closing his eyes and heaving a breath. "Don't give me that, we can't have lazy days all the time. Besides, there's plenty of island to explore! Not to mention other islands to see, and a thousand watering holes to go fishing in. That, and we've got so many fights to pick,"

Santiago hesitated for a split second, and Leo knew that he'd hooked his partner. If there was one way to get him to go anywhere, it was with the promise of battle and fishing. He loved it, and it was quite the sight to see a Slowking holding a fishing pole, luring fish to bite the lure with his psychic powers.

That part was absolutely cheating, but hey. It meant they ate fresh fish almost every day. Magikarp and Goldeen tasted good. And so did Tentacool, actually. They were a little harder to eat because Leo had to carefully extract the poison sacs – he had a book the described the process and showed pictures, a surprisingly simple process once you figure it out – but afterwards? Oh, Leo had forgotten how much he missed calamari, even if it wasn't fried. Granted, a few times they'd caught feral pokemon – the intelligent kind of pokemon, not "domestic" which were animal-levels of intelligence and used as food sources – and Leo had to toss them back, but that was to be expected.

It was surprisingly simple to tell the difference between feral and domestic 'mon. The feral ones typically were bigger, stronger, and had a certain…look in their eyes. Personality, intelligence. That sort of thing.

"Yes," Santiago said slowly, enunciating the word carefully. Leo slapped him on the shoulder.

"Great, let's get going then. We've pretty much got everyone rounded up now," Leo said with a grin. Santiago nodded, and Leo immediately turned and headed back up to his camp. It only took a half hour for him to get everything reorganized and to tear down his makeshift shelter – he didn't intend to really return, and it had served its purpose – slinging his backpack over his shoulder and grabbing the guitar Gary gave him, stored safely in its case and wrapped in a plastic trash bag just to be sure, before heading off in the direction of Iki town. Santiago lumbered along behind him through the jungle, Zuko romping ahead chasing after Cutiefly and various non-pokemon bugs, while Link walked a little way ahead of Leo. The Bellossom occasionally bent to pick up a stick that caught his interest, or to sniff a flower. But he never strayed too far, and always looked ready to act if the need arose.

It was maybe an hour into the hike that Leo started frowning at the rapidly darkening sky, the clouds having returned with a vengeance and rumbling with thunder. He was still a good two to three hours away from Iki town, his camp had been set up somewhere off of route one, not too far from the Kala'e Bay – or so he figured, he was still figuring out the layout of the island– and didn't want to get caught out in the rain again.

He was still wary about storms, and this one seemed to have whipped itself up out of nowhere.

"If it starts dumping I'll need to return Zuko," Leo muttered, Spiritomb whispering in agreement. With a grunt he stepped over a bush and pushed aside some dense leaves, revealing a small clearing filled with dense green grass. Zuko stood just at the edge next to Link, sniffing the air curiously as Leo admired the view…for a split second.

Before he even had time to think a yellow flash of light blinded him, the crack of thunder setting his ears to ringing as he stumbled backwards with a yelp of pain. He hissed and blinked away spots, shaking his head to clear it – his sight and hearing returning with surprising speed, revealing the shadowy tendrils of Spiritomb swirling around him protectively and the meadow itself now ruined from the lightning strike. Or, more importantly, the pokemon responsible for said lightning strike.

Lightning crackled around the outside of the Tapu's yellow and black shell. With deliberate slowness it cracked open, revealing the slim orange body of the legendary pokémon and piercing eyes that bore right into Leo, who swallowed thickly. With a mighty shriek the Tapu shoved its arms apart and burst with power, electricity racing across the meadow, wreathing the ground in lightning. Its intentions could not be clearer as it give Leo and his pokémon – who had stepped forward protectively – a challenging look. It danced back and forth in anticipation, bouncing like a boxer before a fight.

"BATTLE," he demanded in a voice like booming thunder, rattling through the trees. Zuko growled, his back-fires flaring. Santiago growled, water building up in the back of his throat. Link whipped one of his leaves from his skirt and held it like a sword, and Spiritomb hissed.

Leo, on the other hand, just stared at the Tapu incredulously. There was no way it had waited until he was ready to battle seriously – until Diana and Santiago were used to their evolutionary forms – to reveal itself, just so it could fight him. Could it?

"You didn't really wait until we were all ready to battle to come here, did you?" Leo asked. The Tapu paused in his dancing to cock his head to the side curiously, then nodded happily.

"YES," he said. "NOW BATTLE ME, MOON-TOUCHED OTHERWORLDER,"

"For the love of – fine, fine! You all up for a fight?!" Leo shouted, letting Diana out of her pokeball. His team responded in the affirmative and Tapu Koko made a happy noise.

"GOOD! COME, ALL OF YOU!" he cried.

And all hell broke loose.

"Sunny day!" Leo ordered, and Zuko flared up as Link knelt, focusing their powers to create a ball of heat and light that floated between the two of them. Tapu Koko whirred, electricity crackling off of his form and blasting out in a massive wave – only for an entire section of it to be blocked by Diana, caused a spire of rock to burst from the ground, absorbing part of the attack. Santiago closed his eyes, gem flashing as psychic energy built up. Whatever he was planning, Leo left him to it.

The Tapu wasn't still after his attack was blocked, crashing through the rock with his shield-like arms and sending stones flying towards his team – stones that were mostly grabbed mid-air by a psychic from Santiago and sent hurtling back towards the Tapu, cracking against his shell with such force the stones shattered. Diana shot forward to intercept with the roar of a jet engine, but was knocked away when the Tapu violently spun, redirecting her momentum and sending her crashing through the jungle.

That small diversion was enough for Zuko and Link to finish charging up their sunny day, and as Santiago blasted Tapu Koko with a wave of psychic force and Spiritomb spat a shadow ball at him, the glowing ball of heat shot into the sky. The clouds instantly cleared, chased away by the intense heat of the false sun, and Zuko and Link blurred into action. Fire washed over the Tapu's shields and Link leapt in front of a thunderbolt aimed at Santiago, soaking up the worst of the damage with a grimace.

"Diana! Unbalance!" Leo bellowed over the sounds of combat, hoping she could hear him. His command was answered swiftly and with extreme prejudice, spires of stone bursting from the ground and knocking Tapu Koko to the side, knocking his shields apart long enough for Leo and the legendary to lock eyes once again.

There was no mistaking the unbridled glee in his eyes. The Tapu was enjoying this.

"All out! Beat him down!" Leo roared out in command. Attacks surged on the Tapu, Santiago prying his shields apart with sheer psychic force and an audible grinding of his teeth; Zuko immediately peppering him with embers and swift stars and a massive sunny-day powered heatwave; Diana came hurtling out of the jungle at full speed, intent on body-checking Tapu Koko; Spiritomb unleashed its tendrils, slapping at the legendary's exposed body; and Link began to sling solarbeams, swinging his leaf like a sword and unleashing screaming blasts of light from the tip.

Tapu Koko weathered the attacks for the few moments it took Diana to approach…then blurred into action. Suddenly he was above Diana, one shield bashing her into the ground with such force she left a crater. Leo didn't even have time to curse as the Legendary sped forward, smacking his shield into Zuko with a burst of yellow lightning, knocking him out with a single blow.

Leo fumbled for Zuko and Diana's pokeballs as the legendary sped forward, tanking another psychic from Santiago before smacking him with his shield and a thunderbolt for good measure. To his credit, Santiago did not fall from that. He skidded backwards, gem flashing brilliantly as he bellowed out in rage and defiance against the legendary, who screeched back with glee.

Link interrupted him, darting forward as a little green blur, sliding into Tapu Koko's guard with a leaf blade coming to bear, intent on striking him…only to be blasted away by a massive discharge, knocking out Santiago and sending Link flying away. Spiritomb hissed in anger as its shadows swirled around Leo, shielding him from the few stray bolts of lightning that came too close for comfort.

"Return!" Leo said, shocked by the sudden destruction of his team. Santiago, Zuko, and Diana were all returned swiftly, but Link slowly stood from where he had fallen to the ground. "Link," Leo started, and a small glance from the grass-type told him everything he needed to know. Any hesitation was swallowed, and Leo locked eyes with Tapu Koko, who was bouncing back and forth like an excitable child.

"Show him what you're made of," he said, and Link was off. Bolts of lightning struck from the Tapu at Link, who shouted in defiance and spun quickly, whipping up a storm of leaves and petals that deflected the worst of the electric attack. All the while he glowed with a healing light, the rays of the sunny day strengthening his synthesis.

"Solar blade!" Leo commanded, and Link whipped his leaf blade to the side as he charged, leaping into the air, up over the Tapu, and swinging down with his leaf blade to unleash a slashing line of burning solar energy that struck the legendary and made him stumble. Link couldn't actually use solar blade, but they'd come up with the leaf blade/solar beam combo regardless.

The Tapu whirled and bashed with his shield but Link spun away, kicking off of his shield to get some distance. He continued to back up when he landed, dancing across the ground in a quiver dance all while the petal blizzard raged about him.

"GOOD!" the Tapu roared, and Leo knew it was over for Link. The scent of ozone filled the air and Link squeaked out his best imitation of a roar in defiance, charging the biggest solar beam Leo had ever seen him make in a matter of seconds. But the high-powered attack was no match for the legendary pokemon's power, a streak of lightning bursting from his body and blasting straight through the solar beam, knocking Link unconscious. Leo returned him, thanked him for his hard work, and turned his attention back to the Tapu.

He still had one pokemon left, and Spiritomb was ready and raring to go.

…though he said that, Spiritomb wasn't actually attacking, and hadn't been for a moment yet. The ghost hovered around Leo protectively, hissing and screeching at the legendary pokemon even as its ectoplasmic body roiled and twisted, seemingly caught in indecision.

Attack, or protect Leo? He could almost feel that question burning in his connection with the ghost – something that, most days, just faded into the background anymore.

"YOU…ARE NOT WHOLE," the Tapu boomed, cocking his head to the side curiously as he stared at Spiritomb. "THIS BROKEN CREATURE. WHERE DID YOU FIND IT?"

Leo scowled at the Tapu.

"Spiritomb isn't broken. I met Spiritomb at the Burned Tower, if you know what that is. A sacred building built for Lugia by humans. A…friend asked me to help it, and I've been trying to," Leo said, patting his pocket where Spiritomb's keystone resided.

"I WILL NOT FIGHT IT, IF IT IS NOT ITSELF YET. STILL TOO MANY VOICES. HEAL IT," the Tapu said. "HELP IT FIND ITS TRUE FORM. THEN COME FIGHT!" Leo scowled at the legendary as he puffed his chest out proudly, the plume of feathers on his head fluffing themselves.

"Sure, yeah, maybe, if you answer some questions for me," Leo demanded. The Tapu cocked his head to the side and deflated a bit. "Don't look at me like that, Lunala dropped me off in the middle of the mountains with no explanation. Then you come by, decimate my team, and I still have no answers. I even met Celebi, and she didn't give me any real answers besides showing me a vision of the future! I've got a good friend out there and haven't been able to contact him either! So please, please, give me some help here,"

"I DO HELP. A LITTLE. YOU NEED STRENGTH. OTHERWORLDERS MIGHT SENSE YOU, COME FIGHT YOU. I TEST, YOU TOO WEAK. YOU KNOW WHAT YOU NEED TO DO, WHO TO SEEK. MEET THE MOON AND SUN. LEARN THE DANCE," the Tapu boomed. Spiritomb hissed as he bent his head and swung one shield-arm forward, tossing up a spray of dust. In that spray was a glittering object, and Leo snatched it out of the air as it passed harmlessly through Spiritomb's shadows. Then, with a cry and a crackle of electricity, the Tapu shot into the sky and vanished, dispersing the sunny day before vanishing into the sky. Leo stared up at the sky for a moment, then glanced down at the stone in his hands.

It sparkled, unrefined and dirty though it was. He really hoped this was what he thought it was, even if he was still supremely annoyed at the Tapu.

Man, he thought he was getting stronger too. That battle put things into perspective for him.

"C'mon, Spiritomb, let's go to Iki town. After that battle everyone needs some healing," Leo said, then paused as he surveyed the battlefield. What was once an idyllic clearing in the jungle was now a mess of torn-up ground and scorched plants.

All that destruction, and they had hardly managed to put a scratch on the Tapu.

"I think their egos are going to be more bruised than their bodies, however," Leo said with a rueful chuckle. Spiritomb joined him in the small laugh as he started walking again, Leo thanking the Tapu mentally for at least showing some restraint in beating his team.

Though that thanks was mostly overshadowed by his cursing and grumbling at the legendary for being vague, and for picking a fight in the first place.

He still had a lot of jungle to walk through.

Iki town was an old town, with hints of the modern. Most of the homes were traditional Alolan – wooden buildings with roofs made of palm fronds layered atop each other. The few modern buildings were mostly quality of life things – the clinic for example, as well as the small police station. But as for the three restaurants and the grocery store? All traditionally Alolan, albeit with a few modern amenities stored away inside. They kept ahold of their traditions, but didn't deny that technology just made things so much easier.

The coolest things about Iki town, however, was that it was built around the pokemon battling arena at the center of town. With how much importance the Alolan people placed on battling, it made sense in a way. In fact, as Leo walked through one end of the town towards the other, where the clinic was located, he noticed at least three different pokemon battles all happening at once. Two were on little side-streets and were just casual battles, kids fighting with Yungoos and Rattatta, but the third was more serious. Two teenagers battled on the large arena in the center of town, watched over by their elders, their two bird pokemon duking it out.

Leo watched them for a few minutes before moving on towards the clinic so he could get his team healed, and make a video call to the Professor. While it wasn't a pokémon center, and thereby not held to the same standards as the Joys, it was still excellent.

Alola had gotten on fine without the Joys for centuries – in fact, they only started allowing true pokemon centers to be built on their islands in the past twenty years, when globalization really started to become a thing. Places like Iki town stuck to their roots and local healers. Not a bad thing, really, and the services were relatively cheap.

So he left his team with the medical staff on duty, save for Spiritomb who was still ok, and proceeded to hop on the video phones located off to the side, much like a pokemon center. They were dated, but they did do inter-regional calls so that was good enough. It took a good five minutes for the call to connect with Professor Oak, who looked bleary-eyed and tired. Leo stared for a moment, mentally calculating the time-difference, and frowned when he recalled that it was eight o'clock in the morning in Kanto compared to mid-afternoon here. The Professor was usually up and about at this time and had been for hours – he looked far too tired for just that.

"How are you, Professor?" Leo asked cheerily, despite his confusion over the Professor's disheveled state.

"Ah, Leo. I was wondering who this was. How are you?"

"Good, just calling to check in. Santiago and Diana have finished acclimating to their evolutions, so I figured I'd try to start the Island Challenge now. Any ideas where to start for that? I was going to ask your cousin Samson too, but I wound up calling you first," Leo said.

"Other than talking to the Kahunas, I haven't the faintest idea. How is my dear cousin by the way? Seen him recently?" he asked, a little bit of life returning to his face at the line of questioning.

"Not really. I've stopped by to say hi a few times since I got here but for the most part I've been running about in the jungle like a wild child," Leo said, shaking his head. The Professor grinned as the video feed flickered slightly, distorted by the distance.

"You know, he told me when I first mentioned you coming to Alola that he was going to put you in his school and give you an education. He gave me quite the earful about allowing you to ditch school so much when you were younger – and as strange as it is for me to say, it does give me a small measure of satisfaction that you've done the same to him," he said with a chuckle.

"Now that you mention it," Leo said slowly, rubbing his chin. "I do remember him saying something like that when I first got off the plane. Didn't really give it much thought – I was busy watching a Toucannon," Oak laughed, shaking his head fondly.

"Of course you were. Either way you won me a bet with my cousin," he grinned, and Leo grinned back.

"How's Victoria?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Good, or as good as can be expected. You watched her Champion match, right?" he asked, and Leo nodded. That had been televised, and he had returned to civilization for a full day just to watch it. Every other time he'd stopped by civilization for a few hours, he'd still spent the night sleeping outside; for Victoria's match he had slept in a pokémon center on the other side of the island, near Route 3. "Well after winning her match and earning herself the Champion title – not of Indigo, as I'm sure your aware, she just proved herself to be worthy of being a champion tier trainer – and after Lance's subsequent victory and election to become the new Indigo Champion, she had a few ceremonies to attend and whatnot. It's not fun for her, but she should be done soon. After that she'll come to Alola, but it might be a week or two more," the Professor said.

Leo nodded in acceptance. That made sense at least. The battle itself had been pretty intense, to say the least. Martin had been Champion for a reason, and his Starmie was an absolutely insane powerhouse, especially with recover keeping it in play for such a long time. But Victoria was Victoria, and bulldozed her way through all of Martin's tactical schemes…in much the same way that Lance had beaten Martin, come to think of it. Raw power could go a long way.

"Any other news?" Leo asked, once that line of conversation had died down.

"No, not really. Professor Juniper still hasn't been able to contact either your songwriter friend or Roxie for some reason – I'll let you know if there are any updates. She did hear that there's talk about Roxie going on another international concert tour, but that's about it. What about you?" Professor Oak asked.

Leo shrugged, then rubbed the back of his neck, hiding his disappointment at the lack of news regarding Jack. "Well, I got my butt kicked by Tapu Koko earlier today. Then he gave me this," Leo said, producing the shining stone from his pocket and showing it to the camera. Spiritomb hissed as he jostled the keystone with his movement, and Professor Oak's brows furrowed.

"I cannot say I exactly know what that is…is that Kahuna Hala?" Oak asked, suddenly looking at something behind him. Leo blinked and turned around, immediately spotting the rotund man in a yellow floral jacket and with white hair striding towards him. Leo vaguely remembered Kahuna Hala looking similar to that in the games…well, this made things much easier.

"Did I just hear you right? The Tapu battled you?" the old Kahuna said, eyes fixated on Leo.

For once, Leo was glad that the video phones in this particular clinic weren't private. He hadn't been quite sure how he wanted to approach the Kahuna about starting the island challenge yet – Indigo didn't seem to have the best reputation in other regions, and they'd fought multiple wars in trying to conquer Alola. It wasn't always as simple as asking to challenge another league, though the Alolan people had been remarkably accommodating so far. But, so long as the stone Tapu Koko had given him actually was a Z-crystal, that should expedite things.

"Alola, Kahuna Hala," Leo said formally, trying and failing to do the little hand gesture thing. "Yes, that is what I said. My team is currently being treated,"

"I'm sorry, I hope he wasn't too harsh on your team," Hala said with a weary sigh, rubbing his temples as his shoulders slumped. "Our Tapu is a fickle beast – for the past two months he's been running about battling just about every trainer that caught his eyes, which was an unfortunate many. Hopefully he'll calm down soon,"

I get the feeling he's much calmer now, Leo thought icily, not voicing that the reason the Tapu had been so restless was most likely because of him. That would be difficult to explain, and was just a thought anyways. Tapu Koko seemed flighty to begin with.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't see you were on the phone, forgive me. I am Kahuna Hala, the Kahuna of Melemele Island," the Kahuna said, leaning over Leo and putting his face in the camera. Leo blinked in surprise and leaned back, a little miffed that he had just butt in like that.

"Hello again, Hala. It's been a while," the Professor greeted, seemingly unperturbed.

"Ah, Samuel! It has been a while! How are you? How are things in Kanto?" Hala asked.

"Well we recently crowned a new Champion, so things have been busy as the region settles into that," the Professor said, waving his hand dismissively. Hala hummed, then glanced at Leo.

"So, this must be Victoria's boy, then?" he asked. "I've heard a lot about him,"

"Yes, that would be him," the Professor said. Hala turned to face Leo fully, eyeing him up and down as he lounged in the chair. It was kind of intimidating, in all honesty. Hala was a big man – not tall, not just fat, but big. He had a gut to him certainly, but his shoulders were broad and arms thick; Leo imagined he could see the man he had been in his prime hiding in that old man's body. Someone who, if rumors were to be believed, could wrestle with a Hariyama and win.

"Nice to meet you," he said politely.

"Nice to meet you," Hala returned with a warm smile, his eyes drifting down to the stone Leo held in his hand. "May I see that?" he asked. Leo wordlessly handed the stone over, and Hala grunted. "And the Tapu already gave you your own," he said.

"Is that what I think it is? I wasn't sure," the Professor asked, and Leo kept his mouth shut this time around. Please be a Z-stone, please, please, he mentally prayed. That would be so freaking cool…and he'd heard very little about z-moves even after coming here. For that matter, he hadn't heard anything about mega evolution either – or much of anything along those lines. It was probably a secret or something.

"Yes," Hala said simply. "Boy, let me hang onto this for a few days. It'll take me a little bit to refine it properly, but it's an important part of taking on the Island Challenge,"

"What is it?" Leo asked, hiding his excitement.

"That is a secret of the island challenge," he said, pocketing the stone and stepping back. Leo suppressed a smirk. Called it. "After I get this back to you we'll get you started on your Island Challenge. It was nice meeting you, Leo. Sam," Hala said, bidding farewell and leaving just as quickly as he came. He hummed to himself as he walked away, nodding respectfully to one of the secretaries at the front desk before pulling a soda out of his coat pocket and placing it in front of the old woman.

She thanked him, he said something, they laughed, and then he left.

"Well, that happened," Leo said, turning back to the Professor with a smile. He just shook his head, chuckling.

"I can't say I'm surprised. From what I hear, there are many ways to start the Island Challenge, and gaining the interest of the Tapu is certainly one way to do it," he said.

"I wonder why I did that," Leo asked rhetorically, earning himself another chuckle from the Professor, followed by a yawn.

"Indeed. Well, I have quite a bit to get done today – the Tauros got out last night, and fences need fixing. Don't get into too much trouble now," he said.

"That doesn't sound good. I'll talk to you later though, and good luck with that," Leo said, and the Professor ended the call.

Iki town at night was quite the sight to behold. The only electric lights were in homes, with the streets lit by tiki torches and regular torches. This was not the norm in Alola, but Iki town was special. It was one of the few places that held onto the old ways, as an homage to their ancestors. And Leo was lucky, in a way, as a few kids from Melemele were about to begin their Island Challenge – something he was quickly learning was more nuanced than the games suggested.

For starters, there were two different island challenges. There was the challenge, then there was the Challenge. The first was what happened every year – it was the equivalent of the Gym Challenge. Most people went through that, and, in recent years, it had become a bit of a tourist attraction. Not entirely so, but it did attract foreign trainers for its…uniqueness. The other, however, was…different.

It was only started once in a blue moon, in times of unrest, and as a means to appease the Tapus and honor the celestial gods – Lunala and Solgaleo. That was the challenge that was starting today. That was the challenge Hala was putting Leo, a foreigner, on in defiance of tradition, and all because Tapu Koko had picked a fight with him and given him a stone.

Honestly can't say I wasn't expecting the attention though, Leo mused, watching the Litten and Rowlet duke it out on the large stage. It's not like the Tapus won't know what I am. They're literally here to guard against otherworldly threats. The two kids who were commanding the pokemon, their starters from the looks of it, were twelve years old maybe, and no one Leo recognized. Or at least remembered. So, his focus wasn't really on them, not to say it wasn't interesting. It was just a low-level, first-time battle, and they were doing alright but he was mentally preoccupied.

Mostly with what the Tapu said to him about Spiritomb, and now that he'd done everything he needed to for the day he had some time to sit down and really examine it. As he sat there next to a small fire, tuning out the small crowd cheering on the battling trainers, he focused his mind inward to where the connection between himself and his ghost was.

He could vaguely feel it, it was clearer to him now than it was when he first started, but it still took a few minutes for him to really focus on it. All other thoughts slowly trickled out of his mind, and he felt Spiritomb turn its attention to him. It was like a hundred eyes were suddenly fully focused on him, a feeling he was only partially used to now, and he took a deep breath to keep his calm.

"Let me see, bud," he said slowly, in barely a whisper. Indecision wracked Spiritomb for a brief moment, but soon enough Leo felt the connection between them widen. Voices whispered in his head, shapes swirling about in his minds eye as a myriad of emotions and fragmented memories flooded him. For a moment he was overwhelmed, but it wasn't anything like how it was when he first met the ghost. As such he slowly stemmed the tide and refocused on the task at hand.

What did the Tapu mean by "too many voices?"

Spiritomb was a hundred and eight spirits in one body, or in this case fragmented spirits and one whole ghost type, so it made sense that it was really disjointed. Not to mention Tapu Koko said something about Spiritomb not being whole, so was there not enough spirits within it?

Leo sucked a deep breath and pushed even further, allowing himself to be drug deeper into Spiritomb's subconscious. The ghost did not resist as he entered that same swirling mindscape it had pulled Leo into before, for the first time since the Burned Tower. To be honest Leo had never expected to be there again, and took a few moments to gather his bearings. Purple and black mists swirled about as shapes moved in the darkness, undoubtedly the spirits that formed Spiritomb's conscious mind.

Two forms approached him through the mists, ones he recognized. One was Froslass, flickering in and out of her frozen form as she spun around Leo. Whispers filled his ears and he nodded to her, smiling. The other was a warrior, standing before him silently and respectfully, as nothing more than a shadowy figure. He vaguely remembered this one, though it somehow seemed far more…substantial than before. Its form more solid.

"I need to count you," Leo said, and the two nodded, whistling sharply. The shapes moving in the mists froze in place and Leo whispered his thanks before beginning his count.

Once he was done, he counted again. Then again, just to be sure, making sure he didn't miss any.

"There's only sixty-three of you," he said with dawning realization. "What happened to the others?" Froslass and the warrior remained still, Froslass turning into little more than an incorporeal blur with an unsettling smile. The shades in the distance began to come closer, whispering and chattering as memories began to flash in and out of existence in Leo's mind, until they were all settled in front of him – with Froslass and the warrior in the center. Leo waited for a moment, just feeling their intentions over their connection, as he slowly digested what they were trying to tell him.

It was difficult, parsing out meaning from feelings and instinct, but eventually he understood and reached out to touch one of the shades. Memories of a guard in the Burned Tower bubbled up in his mind, first of a man wielding a spear, then of a Noctowl, and then of flames. It was fragmented, and he looked at the warrior shade, more formed together than all the rest besides the ex-Froslass. She watched him closely as he pressed the shade towards the warrior, the weaker shade not resisting and even seeming…eager.

Help us, the voices insisted, and Leo pressed further. The warrior remained still as Leo squished the guard shade and it together – there was no resistance as the two merged, clicking together almost like puzzle pieces.

But it wasn't that easy. It couldn't be – and Leo understood where the difficulty lay when the memories of the guard and the warrior shade surged through him, warring with one another and filling his mind with their emotions. Rage, regret, the desire to do battle and the desire to protect alongside a myriad of others rampaged through his mind until, finally, the merge was completed and Leo broke free from the mindscape.

Sweat poured down his body when he opened his eyes, breathing labored and arms shaking. He felt exhausted. That little exercise left him drained physically and mentally, and Spiritomb's whispers were anything but comforting when they started. The ghost poked an eye out of his pocket, watching him as he tried to regain his composure.

He said nothing as he rubbed his face and slouched. It sucked that the rest of his team were still recuperating – the clinic not being nearly as fast as a Pokemon Center – as he could've used some of their…well, presence. Not that Spiritomb wasn't comforting in some ways, but considering what just happened? It was like when Zuko got too insistent on playing, even after Leo was done. Sometimes he needed a break.

With a groan Leo stood and, fighting back a wave of nausea, looked out over the fire to see Hala looking at him. He smiled and waved and the Kahuna waved back before he wandered off to bed. The clinic had provided him a room for a small fee, and he would gladly take it tonight.

26

"Your first trial is to find the first trial," Hala said as he handed Leo a fancy new bracelet, complete with the stone he had been given embedded inside of it.

"Huh?" Leo asked, voicing his confusion.

"Not all trials are trials of combat," Hala said mysteriously. "And for you, I can think of no better test of skill than to force you to find the first trial yourself. And not the trial off of route three, the one which all trial-goers face – no, you must find the true first trial," he said. Leo digested that while slipping on the bracelet, suppressing his glee. Z-moves, here we come! Time to transform mundane moves into something far more dangerous! He just…needed to figure out how it all worked, first.

"And how will I know when I find the first trial?" he asked. "What am I even looking for?" Hala hesitated on answering, then shrugged and patted his belly with a laugh.

"You will know. The totem pokemon you will be facing for your trial is far larger and stronger than others of their species – though I will tell you that the first trial is always a trial of the normal type," he said. Leo frowned and racked his brain for anything he could recall about an oversized pokémon he'd seen, heard rumor of, or seen sign for.

Of course, he'd scoped out the site of the "official" island trial in his time exploring, but that was now nixed. Hala said he wouldn't be taking that trial. The oversized Alolan Raticate he'd seen there would have been quite the opponent, but that wasn't an option anymore. The only other thing he'd seen was a large track that had caught his eye explicitly because of its ridiculous size. Not only that, but it was a track Leo knew fairly well, thanks to Professor Oak sitting him down and telling him to stay away from this kind of pokémon. It was usually extremely dangerous – at least in Kanto. Alola was a bit different, but Snorlax were still a pokémon to be feared.

"Please tell me you're not sending me to fight a Snorlax," Leo deadpanned, and Hala just laughed and shook his head, waving him off and starting down the street, not answering his question. He frowned harder and looked down at the z-ring he now had on his wrist, the stone one of the key ingredients in using what he remembered as z-moves; essentially mega evolution for pokémon moves. And all pokémon could use z-moves, unlike mega evolution.

Well, he had to find z-crystals first, but the journey was started!

"Let's just hope it's not a Snorlax," he sighed, and started off, immediately heading directly into the jungle. Then he paused, and thought about it for a second. "On second thought, I think we should head to the city to try and get some more supplies. Pokeballs, some medicine…I might need to catch a few pokémon to sell for funds, but that shouldn't be a big problem. I've still got five pokeballs I can use," he muttered, listing off a few things on his fingers and taking a mental stock of his monetary funds. Which, unfortunately, were running pretty low.

He just didn't have to worry about money when he was literally living off the land, he and his pokémon together. But if he was going to head into a big old "boss fight" against a potentially super powerful pokémon, then he wanted to be extra prepared. Skilled at survival or not, arrogance and unpreparedness led to pain and possibly death. Even if the island trials, like the gym challenge, were meant to be safe enough for participants it was still good to practice at least a bit of caution.

But he did have a choice to make. Either use the remainder of his funds to catch a bus into the city, or hike there and try to catch a few pokémon to sell. The latter would take a good day or two, but the former would get him to a pokémon center, where he could see what kind of pokémon were selling and for what prices…give him an idea of what to look for to make the most out of his current stock of supplies rather than going in blind. He had an idea for what was selling, but not the best of ideas…

"Let's do a bit of both. Hike to the beach, then try to catch a bus into Hau'oli city. I need to get set up on the pokeride system, if that's even a thing here yet. Riding a flying type around these islands would be so much nicer than having to worry about transportation," he said with a sigh, shaking his head. Maybe he should catch a pokémon that could fly soon. Just for travelling purposes. But then he shook his head and refocused on the task at hand.

One thing at a time. "I should also stop by the pokémon school, say hello to Samson…actually, now that I think about it, there's a pokémon center attached to the school, isn't there? I may be able to take care of two things at once if I head there," he muttered, rubbing his chin. "Y'know, that's actually a great idea. I think the bus can take me there, and from the school I'll head to the city,"

Mind made up, Leo faced the direction Hala had disappeared in, bowed slightly, then turned right around and headed in the opposite direction. He had some preparations to make.

The bus ride to the Pokemon Academy run by Samson Oak was long, and the bus was relatively empty, so Leo let Santiago out during the ride. The Slowking was silent for the most part, staring out of the bus window curiously at the jungle speeding by and steadfastly ignoring the gazes of the few other passengers. Even in Alola a Slowking was a rare sight.

"Should be just a few more minutes," Leo said, idly picking at the guitar that lay in his lap. As he had expected, he was terrible at the guitar. He had no concept on how to play it besides picking the strings, and though he appreciated Gary's gift he worried that it was a bit of a waste – that was, until he came up with an idea for it. Though that was an idea for later, not now.

"Slow," Santiago responded, eyes fixed on the jungle.

"I wonder what Samson's going to say? Honestly, I feel kinda bad now for ditching him like I did. I was just so excited to finally get here that I slipped out the back door and never looked back. I mean, I did call every once in a while to let him know I was alive, but those calls were never really comprehensive," Leo said, recalling what he knew about Samson Oak. The younger cousin of Professor Samuel Oak, Samson Oak struck Leo as a stricter man than Samuel, but somehow at the same time more easy-going. Like, he wanted people to follow the rules, but accepted when people proved themselves already capable outside of his pre-determined rules than Professor Oak would.

If that made sense. Leo wasn't sure it did.

"It'll probably be fine. I am certainly ready to be going on the Island Challenge – I'm getting that itch again," he continued, resting his chin in the palm of his hand as he looked out the window. A large brick wall kept the jungle at bay – marking the beginning of the school grounds. It was a large school, if he remembered right. A true academy, with miles of untamed jungle for wilderness survival exercises…or at least that was the pitch Samson Oak had given him.

Pity Leo didn't want to just perform exercises on wilderness survival. He could probably teach that class.

"Slow," Santiago said, drawing Leo's attention. He was still looking out the window, but his brow was furrowed and muzzle contorted into a frown. The psychic gem in the center of his crown flashed weakly as he used a small amount of his psychic power.

"What's wrong, bud?" Leo asked. Santiago slowly turned his head to face Leo, seemed to consider the question, then mimed his head exploding. Leo furrowed his brows. "Your head hurts?" Santiago shook his head.

"Too…" he muttered, furrowing his brows and closing his eyes. But he didn't find the next word, and pressed both of his paw-hands to the side of his head, then pushed outward as if to say his head was growing bigger.

Leo frowned. Actually, that was probably exactly what he was talking about.

"Too big?" Leo asked, and Santiago nodded. "There's too much going on up here, isn't there?" he said, pointing to his own head, and Santiago nodded again.

"Yes," he said. Leo hummed, having known that Santiago would run into this from Merri, Oak's Alakazam. However, he hadn't asked Leo for help or advice yet, so he hadn't said anything.

"That's actually pretty funny, in a way. Your problem is the opposite of most humans and psychics," Leo said, laughing. Santiago frowned. "The mind is a tricky thing, bud. And I do mean that literally, it is tricky. People have to go their whole lives silencing their mind because it makes them overthink, it creates emotions and warps memories to the point that they are unrecognizable to the actual events; and while logic has been attributed to the mind, it is far too effected by emotion to be reliable for the most part. The conscious mind, anyway. I firmly believe the subconscious knows what is logical, what a rational course of action is, but people are too wrapped up in themselves to notice it,"

"You, on the other hand, grew up as a Slowpoke. Your mind was already quiet for the most part – and now you're learning what happens when you let it run free. Not the other way around, where you have to learn what being quiet means. You're going to have to let your mind be as loud and full of…junk as it is right now," Leo said bluntly, holding up a hand at Santiago's scandalized look. He wasn't finished. "The key is to let it all go. See what you're thinking about, recognize it, then let it fly away. Silence is never true silence, there will always be noise up there. But thoughts can come and go, almost like the wind. Let's see…imagine your mind like a small child at a birthday party. It's excited. You've never felt like this before, this is so fun! There's all these things going on, you can't stay still. Eventually you'll calm down, but you're still riding your evolution high. Let yourself calm down, it'll just take time,"

Santiago frowned and huffed, crossing his arms.

"No," he grumbled, and Leo laughed.

"No, it's not very fun. But everything takes time. There are no shortcuts for what is worthwhile," he said sagely. Hey, that wasn't a bad line. Leo thought, raising an eyebrow at himself. Then he shook that away, and turned back to Santiago. "But I do have an idea to help you along. Let's give you something to focus on, eh? Something to learn so you're not continuously overwhelmed by everything. Something to ground yourself with. Take this," he said, and pull the guitar at his feet up to hand to his starter. Funny that he'd just said his idea to use the guitar as training was for later, and here he was giving it to Santiago now.

Santiago took the wooden acoustic guitar gingerly, furrowing his brows as his massive paws gripped the instrument. There was no way he was playing that with his hands – he lacked the digits and the motor control. But that wasn't the idea, either.

"I want you to play that with your psychic powers. Be careful not to break it, but learning to play an instrument with nothing but your psychic ability should prove both challenging and entertaining. Not to mention it'll train your finesse – I know you can lift boulders with nothing but your mind, but just like when you were a Slowpoke, we need to work on your fine control. I planned on holding off on this training idea until you were more used to your expanded psychic abilities, but I do believe you're good enough for now. Heck, I don't even know if this is possible," Leo tried to explain, waving a hand at the guitar. Santiago cocked his head to the side, processed Leo's words, then looked down at the instrument again.

Maybe Leo would have to find him a book to read about playing the guitar…if Santiago could read yet. Shoot, that was another thing to consider, wasn't it? Another thing to add to the to-do list, see if Santiago could or wanted to learn to read.

The bus slowed to a stop and Leo stood, exiting the bus with his backpack slung over one shoulder, guitar case held in one hand, and Santiago carefully extracting his bulk from the narrow bus doorway, still holding the guitar and frowning at it. Hopefully that would help. It always helped Leo whenever he got too mentally wound up to focus on something he enjoyed – like how writing used to be, and how playing with his pokémon, dancing, and practicing martial arts was for him now.

I should break out my journal again. I haven't written anything in ages, he thought to himself, whistling as he approached the wrought-iron gates of the school. A bored-looking man in a security guard's uniform sat in a small booth just outside the gates, while two Alolan Exeggutor sunned themselves on either side of said gates – their massive necks swaying like tree trunks in the light breeze.

It only took Leo a few minutes to get past the security guard – apparently his information was already in the system as a student, which both amused and irked Leo at the same time – as the man had to look him up, contact someone in the school itself, then waved him through. Santiago lagged behind, eyes fixated on the guitar as he experimentally plucked the strings, listening to the sounds.

It was probably horribly out of tune. Leo really had no idea what he was doing with that thing.

The dirt road crunched under his worn boots as he walked the mile up to the school proper, the circular, multi-story building surrounded by natural and man-made ponds, with students milling about in the courtyard and pokémon frolicking in the fields. There were all kinds of pokémon too; Rockruff yipped as they danced about, chasing after their trainers or Cutiefly that buzzed through the air, the former sometimes playing fetch with the lovable rock hounds instead. Yungoos, small tan weasel-like pokémon, scampered about, while a lone Alolan Meowth sunned itself by one of the pools, next to its trainer.

The building itself was pretty neat, with many elements of traditional Alolan architecture worked into the modern structure. Entire balconies were made of bamboo, with patio roofing made of palm fronds.

Leo watched everyone as much as he could as he approached the school doors, large sliding glass things, more out of curiosity than caution. At least the kids weren't cooped up inside all day for class. In a place as beautiful as Alola, such a thing should be illegal.

"Leo Angelico, to the headmaster's office, Leo Angelico, to the headmaster's office," a voice crackled over the intercom, making Leo jump slightly just as the doors slid open.

Santiago chuckled, and Leo shot him a look over his shoulder.

"Don't you laugh at me, that was surprising and you know it," Leo said, earning himself another chuckle from his Slowking. "Yeah, well…shut it," he said eloquently, and entered the school.

And promptly took ten minutes wandering in search of the headmaster's office, who was in fact Samson Oak, before finally breaking down and asking for directions. From there it only took a minute for him to make his way there.

The headmaster's office was located at the very top of the building, a long spiraling staircase leading to a dark wood door that, when opened, revealed a spacious office with an entire wall of windows overlooking the academy grounds. Leo gawked at the sight when he pushed the door open, eyes flicking over all the decorations on the walls – ancient Alolan weapons and paintings, depictions and diagrams of pokémon, various artworks…it was an impressive office, for sure. One Leo wouldn't mind having, himself. But quick enough his attention was drawn to the three people within the room, and his blood chilled.

A tall blonde woman lounged in a comfortable-looking armchair, her obscenely long blonde hair falling in waves over the back of the chair, and a glasses-wearing purple-haired woman standing behind her. Samson Oak sat behind his desk, pausing mid-sentence to look at Leo, raising one eye. Seeing him again reminded Leo just how uncannily similar Samson looked to Samuel Oak – in fact, the only real difference between the two was the god-awful Alolan shirt Samson wore, the deep tan from years of living beneath the sun, and long, bleach-blonde hair swept back over his head to reach his shoulders. But other than that, the man's face looked exactly the same as Professor Oak's, and by proxy, so was his disappointed gaze.

"Leo," he said, voice monotone. Leo waved at him, eyes flicking to the blonde woman dressed in pure white clothes, with a green gem hung around a necklace on her chest. Movement behind her chair caught his eye, a Clefable poking its head out to look at Leo curiously. That could only be Lusamine, the Big Bad Evil Girl in the Alolan games. There was only one question – was this the kind anime Lusamine, or the psycho games Lusamine? Leo bet it was some nightmarish combination of the two, but he definitely had to watch out for her.

He had come through an Ultra Wormhole, and if she, who was obsessed with ultra beasts found that out? That would be nothing but trouble.

"Hello," Leo said, waving with forced cheer at Samson. Santiago grunted as he squeezed himself through the doorway, making unhappy noises at all the stairs he had to climb.

"Is that all you have to say for yourself?" Samson asked, and by his tone Leo guessed he was none too happy with him. Probably because he disappeared for two months, with minimal contact. An understandable reaction, coming from Samson. Leo paused, scratched his chin, and said the only real thing that came to mind.

"Ok, I get why you could be mad at me, but in my defense I fail to see how what I did was surprising," he said, shrugging unapologetically. Samson should have heard a lot about him from Victoria and the good Professor. He should have expected something similar.

"Samson, who is this child?" Lusamine asked, her voice smooth and elegant sounding. Her green eyes bored into Leo almost aggressively, as if trying to peer into his very soul.

Leo had stood before Legendary pokémon. He'd talked with Celebi and greeted Articuno. He'd even sat in on a meeting with the biggest figures in the Indigo League, and talked to Giovanni without losing his nerve. But Lusamine? She unnerved him. Just her eyes…and suddenly something clicked in Leo's head. That look was not one of someone meeting someone else for the first time. She knew him.

Or, more accurately, his gut told him that she knew what he was. He wouldn't have to worry about protecting his origin from her, because somehow she already knew. Leo cursed in his head, the creativity of said curses sure to put even sailors to shame.

"This is Leo Angelico, my cousin's newest trainer project," Samson said, breaking off Leo's mental tirade.

"Ah yes, the boy found in the Silver Mountains. Dreadful stuff, to have been abandoned there – it must have been so hard," Lusamine cooed, shaking her head sadly. Leo nodded stiffly, not sure how to react until Santiago put a hand on his shoulder. Just that action had Leo settling, feeling his friend's presence even as Spiritomb whispered so only he could hear.

"It was actually kind of fun, thinking back on it," Leo replied, forcing his tone to be light and cheerful. "I met Santiago there, along with a colorful cast of characters," he said, thinking about Longinus, Tyrus, and even that one Hitmontop that he'd gotten in a fight with. Man, that seemed so long ago.

"It is good that you have found happiness beyond that terrible fate handed to you," Lusamine said, sounding genuinely glad for Leo. He smiled and bowed his head to her as she stood. "If there is anything you require aid with in your stay in this wonderful region, do not hesitate to ask. The Aether Foundation is here to help, and I, personally, will gladly aid someone who has lost so, so much," she walked towards Leo, bending down to his level to smile at him. There was true sympathy and pity in her voice as she spoke to him, and Leo found himself smiling back.

The problem was, he could almost taste the manipulation. She was sympathetic to his origins, yes, but at the same time she wanted something from him. She wanted him on her side. Or something like that, Leo couldn't pretend to know what her goals were, only that she was trying to manipulate him.

"Thank you," Leo said, deciding to accept her graciousness even if he didn't plan on accepting her aid. It wouldn't do to snub her, but he did want to be cautious.

"Miss Lusamine, I am trying to scold him," Samson said with a sigh, no real heat to his voice.

"I apologize. You really should listen to your elders, though. Adults have experience and wisdom to give you, children should listen to them," she said, standing and raising one eyebrow, a classic 'disappointed parent' look on her face.

"I have a history of being a rebel," Leo said, shrugging and patting Santiago's paw, prompting him to step back. "I'm a free spirit, I go where the wind takes me,"

"Still, you should have come to at least visit the school. We have a myriad of courses here that would not only build upon your base of skills, but prepare you for the island challenge. Even the Kahunas respect this establishment; taking some time to attend classes here is the best way to ensure your acceptance into the island challenge. After all, not all foreigners are accepted," Samson said in a clearly prepared speech. Leo coughed and made a show of stretching, flashing his shiny new bracelet to the Oak. And Lusamine.

"You make a valid point, true, but what if I'm already on the Island Challenge?" Leo asked, smirking at Samson's surprised expression.

"Where did you get that?" he demanded.

"Kahuna Hala made it for me, after I, uh, found a stone," Leo said, grinning. Lusamine raised one eyebrow at him, examining his bracelet curiously but saying nothing.

"That is…" Samson said, then sighed. "Of course you did. My daughter warned me about you, but I didn't listen. You are very much like her," he said.

"Your – you mean Victoria? I honestly forgot she was your kid, there's not much resemblance," Leo admitted, narrowing his eyes slightly. Actually, now that he looked, Victoria and Samson had the same eyes.

"She takes after her mother," he said, shaking his head fondly. "But there goes almost my entire argument for getting you to actually attend school. Like my cousin warned me, you exceed expectations,"

"I have a history of doing that," Leo said, tone light and joking. "And technically I am a year older than your average Alolan child when they start their island challenge. You only have to be twelve, compared to Kanto's fourteen, right?"

"He does make a valid point. We cannot stop him from doing the island challenge," Lusamine allowed, though from her tone she clearly disagreed with it.

"Right. So, if you're already on the island challenge and you're not going to attend school, then why did you come back here?" Samson asked with a sigh of defeat, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"You have a pokémon center. I wanted to get my team checked out as well as check the market price on certain pokémon, so I can start building up my finances. I get the feeling the trials will be exceptionally hard, and wanted to get some good gear and stock up on medicine before I went off in search of the trials," Leo explained.

"That's right! I forgot about that! You technically have a Youngster's license, right? Now that you're in Alola I can get that transitioned to be a true training license. It would take a few days, but then you'd have full access to all of the pokémon center's facilities, including the job board and global trade system," Samson said happily. That gave Leo pause. "After all, you are old enough to be training fully in Alola – Indigo's laws have no hold here,"

"That would actually be fantastic," Leo said. "What do I have to do for that?"

"Take a test, let some people examine your team, sign some papers. Getting it processed from Kanto is what will take the longest, but it's not too hard," Samson explained. "But again, it would take a few days. So why don't you stick around for a while, audit some classes, do some things like that?" he asked.

"There is also the option of him coming to the Aether Foundation. I would be happy to give him a tour of our facilities," Lusamine said.

"That is an excellent idea," Samson said. "You will love the Foundation, Leo. It is a haven for all manner of pokémon, be they anything as common as a Caterpie or as rare as a Bagon,"

Leo was silent for a moment, mentally scowling. He was sure that the Foundation was going to be wonderful – he didn't remember the games and anime all that clearly anymore, but he did recall that, on the surface, the Aether Foundation was a conservationist society/company that specialized in healing pokémon. Or something. All the research he'd done on it prior to coming to Alola said something similar – to the point where he had discovered that they invented many modern pokémon medicines, including potions and antidotes. Not only that, but they'd made these remedies readily available and easily accessible, catapulting the pokémon world into a new age of advancement for humans and pokémon alike.

The money they earned off of that funded their conservation pursuits – which, while it began in Alola, was slowly spreading to the other regions. It was as close to a truly altruistic company as could be by appearances.

That said, he knew about the games. And that Lusamine, at some point, went crazy and was completely obsessed with ultra beasts. And while he also seemed to recal that she wasn't completely irredeemable, he was tired of playing these mind games with people. He was from another world, passed through an Ultra Wormhole. Of course she was interested in him.

"Why don't you just tell me why you really want me to go there," Leo said icily, expression turning stony. Samson jerked at Leo's sudden change, Lusamine cocking her head to the side while the purple-haired lady behind her stiffened.

"Clef?" Lusamine's Clefable said, poking its head out from behind the chair.

"What do you mean?" Lusamine asked a little too sweetly.

"If I were you, I would not treat me like a child. It will save us all a lot of time and headaches to just assume I am smarter and know more than you think I should. The Aether Foundation researches ultra wormholes, right? It's not hard to put two and two together," Leo said.

"…how do you know that?" Samson asked warily.

"An offhand comment from your cousin," Leo lied smoothly, meeting Lusamine's eyes and daring her to deny it. She held his gaze for a second, glanced up at Santiago who was looming over Leo's shoulder, then back down to him.

"I see. Yes, that is true. We provided much of the equipment Professor Oak used to examine you when you first arrived in his care, and helped him to examine the data, alongside Samson. I will admit that part of the reason I wished to bring you to the Aether Paradise, our headquarters, was to scan you with some of our more powerful equipment. I am interested to see if the ultra wormhole energy that clung to you has degraded at all. However, that is not the only reason," she explained, setting her hands on her hips not unlike a stern parent. Leo just raised an eyebrow and waited for her to continue.

"We wish to offer you a position in our company," the purple haired woman said, speaking up for the first time. She smiled kindly at him.

"I will admit to have been keeping up with your training life – and what I have seen has impressed me. You show remarkable ability to get along with pokémon, especially grass types. That little singing routine you do is beautiful. We were going to give you a tour, show you what we at Aether are all about, and offer you a position as a field operative," Lusamine explained. "Originally, we intended to offer a part-time position, so you could attend school as well. However, if you will not be attending school, that can be altered,"

"Field operative?" Leo asked, glancing at Santiago who remained stoic.

"Yes. It's a position that would send you to the various islands in search of injured pokémon – maybe a trainer released a pokémon in a habitat not its own, and now we have to go capture it again. Maybe a storm blew through and caused a mudslide – that sort of thing. We'd be asking you to essentially be a rescue operative; as a thirteen year old boy we wouldn't be asking too much of you, but it would allow us to keep an eye on you while also giving you plenty of freedom to go on your Island Challenge," the purple haired woman said, picking up where Lusamine left off. "It is not unlike being a Ranger, but without the political ties,"

"In addition to that, we pay," Lusamine added. "I understand you don't have much in the way of actual funds,"

"That…is true," Leo said, mulling it over. He wasn't sure what to think about it yet; part of him recoiled at the idea of getting involved with Lusamine any more than he had to, but another part was…interested. "I'll have to think about it. I appreciate the offer, I do, but this is something I need to think about,"

"Of course. There is no need to rush your decision, it is an open invitation," Lusamine said smoothly, drawing a raised eyebrow from Samson. She didn't notice, but Leo did. An open invitation is unusual then, he noted.

Santiago grunted and nudged Leo with the guitar he was still holding.

"Is there anything else?" he asked.

"No, that is about it. Lusamine, when do you want to do the tour?" Samson asked.

"Tomorrow. I will send Wicke to pick you up around ten. For now, I believe I have a meeting approaching and must leave," Lusamine said, glancing at the purple-haired woman, Wicke.

"You have a video call with Mr. Stone in fifteen minutes," she said.

"Ten it is," Samson said. Santiago pushed him again and Leo sighed.

"Sorry, Santiago's getting pushy. Best get on my way then. Where's the pokémon center here?" he asked.

"Bottom floor, right next to the front entrance. You can't miss it," Samson said, waving him off. Leo nodded, murmured his thanks, and promptly turned and left the room, his mind abuzz with thoughts while Santiago followed.

The two walked in silence for a while, Santiago occasionally plucking at a guitar string experimentally, and only rarely passing by a student that wasn't in class. They varied in age, from a teen to maybe six or seven.

"What do you think, bud?" he asked rhetorically, not expecting Santiago to answer. The rational part of his brain screamed at him to run away from Lusamine as fast and as far as he could. That it was too dangerous and risky to be so close to her due to her obsession with ultra beasts. But at the same time he hesitated. He wasn't sure why yet, but his gut was telling him not to write it all off and go gallivanting off into the wilds once more. He would certainly enjoy it, but…something was holding him back, keeping him from running. Leo just wasn't sure what it was yet.

"I trust you," Santiago said, pulling Leo up short. As in, he stopped mid step, and slowly pivoted so he was facing his starter.

"Did you just say 'I trust you?'" he asked. The Slowking shrugged, a smug look on his muzzle as he clammed up, gem flashing as he used his psychic powers to gently try and pluck one of the guitar strings. It was too weak to actually create any sound, probably because he was afraid of breaking the instrument. "You suck. You've been improving your language skills without telling me," Leo pouted, though the statement held no heat. "Though I don't know if I should be trusted. I have a history of making poorly thought out decisions," he said, laughing ruefully.

Santiago just shrugged again and returned his attention to the guitar, earning himself a shake of the head from Leo.

He had a lot to think about, though he'd be lying if he wasn't a little mollified by Santiago's vote of confidence. He just hoped he could live up to it.

Leo couldn't sleep that night. The soft bed of the dorm room was nothing but uncomfortable, the familiar weight of Zuko curled up at his feet restricting, and the moon that streamed in through the window onto his face was nothing but distracting. He'd tried everything at this point – counting sheep, meditating…he'd even tried to combine Spiritomb's spirits for a while. That had been an exercise in frustration and futility. The spirits refused to budge for the most part, and when he finally did get one of the fragmented spirits to merge with the much more whole warrior spirit, it completely drained him mentally. Not only because he saw and lived what that spirit could remember, but because it was just exhausting to do.

But still he didn't sleep. He was exhausted, but could not sleep. It was infuriating, and the worst part was that he knew why this was happening. Lusamine's offer, and why he wasn't just running away from her.

Leo let his thoughts whir for a little bit longer before clenching his fist and standing, carefully extracting his feet from beneath Zuko so as to not disturb the sleeping fire-type, putting on some clothes, and silently leaving the small dorm room he was "renting" from the school. He only took one pokeball with him; Diana's. She rarely slept anymore, and the rest of his team was undoubtedly asleep at this ungodly hour, so she was the only one he felt comfortable bugging.

Not that he was going to let her out right away.

Instead, as Leo exited the building in nothing but a plain white t-shirt and shorts, he wandered until he found a training field, and proceeded to punch the ever-living crap out of a wooden pole set up as a target. Each strike was purposeful and full of intent, Leo's calloused hands from years of working hard, practicing martial arts, and just being outside smacking loudly against the wood. When his hands became sore and bloody he switched to other strikes, using his elbows, legs, knees, shoulders, and the palms of his hands as he circled around the pole, each strike letting some of his frustration out.

Yet he never made a sound. No grunts of pain, no shouts of anger. Just a silent, seething mess that quietly left him, until he stood, panting and drenched in sweat, in front of the wooden pole. Relaxed, and thinking clearly once again.

He'd been "running" ever since he'd left the Silver Mountains with Diana, trying to avoid problems. In a way, he'd been running ever since he first arrived in this world. From winter in the Silver Mountains, from being forced to live life as a child, from the League itself, and from politics. Then he'd arrived here to train and become strong enough that he didn't have to worry about such things, hoping to be free from the worst of it, only to be shown that he was not. He was still under scrutiny. And while he could run off into the wilds of Alola and disappear, he knew himself better than that. He was stubborn, and dammit if he was tired of running from things. His team would never be strong enough to avoid everything.

He had to go ahead and throw himself and them into the fire. They were ready to start that path, and if they didn't start now, things could only get worse.

Someone else might ask if it was even their right to try and interfere with Alola's future, to try and fix any problems that Lusamine and Team Skull may cause before they actually become a problem. They might think it dangerous and foolhardy, considering what might lay before him. Ultra beasts, legendary pokémon, maniacal people…especially considering his team had just been thrashed by Tapu Koko.

Leo didn't really care. If the past few days had taught him anything, it was that these things would not just leave him alone. They saw a child. They saw someone weak. He was not. His team was strong, but they were not the ones in question. Leo was. It always came back to that same question; could he be trusted?

Leo let out a breath and rolled his neck, determination steeling in his gut. He had nothing to prove to anyone, but they were getting on his nerves and he was tired of playing their games, tired of sitting back. They poked him, and it was time to see what it was they just woke up. It was time to let the warrior out.

So, he'd go see what Lusamine had to offer, go see what it was all about. Whether or not he accepted his offer depended on what he learned. His future steps depended on it, actually. But he wasn't going to roll over and run away, like he had in Kanto. There he felt helpless. Here in Alola? Not so much. Even without a whole bunch of foreknowledge on what was coming, of who everyone was and what they were like, he could make a difference.

And he would. Simple as that. Of course he wouldn't give up on the Island Challenge, that was another path to strength, but…well. There were other things he could do in the meantime. Just training was not always as valuable as experience in difficult situations.

Leo let out a breath and smiled, glad that that was over.

"Kinda dramatic. Why'd you have to go and beat up a poor, defenseless pole, Leo? What did it ever do to you? Jeez, that's so rude of you," he muttered, making fun of himself and pulling Diana's pokeball out of his pocket. He was exhausted both physically and mentally now, but refused to go to sleep still frustrated. His solution was Diana; working with her never failed to put a smile on her face.

She appeared in a flash of red light, the Pupitar blinking at him and wiggling happily in her shell. Leo laid a hand on her and smiled, stroking the spot between her eyes. All this wasn't to say that he wouldn't still enjoy life, and go exploring and such. That was as much a part of who he was as anything else, and he wasn't going to give that up.

"Taaaar," Diana cooed, breaking Leo out of his thoughts as she vibrated and pushed her massive rocky form harder into Leo's hand, as if desperate for his touch. He chuckled and rubbed harder, earning himself a hum. He had no idea whether or not she could feel it or not, but it didn't really matter as she seemed to enjoy it.

"Hey, girl. I can't sleep, so how about we try me riding you again?" he asked with a grin. Diana's eyes squinted in joy and she wiggled, rocking back and forth as the pressurized air in her shell blasted out in one short burst, sending dust from the field below flying everywhere. Leo coughed and shook his head. "I'll take that as a yes. Hold on, let me slip around behind you. I'll let you know when I've got a good hold," he said.

Grabbing ahold of Diana was easy enough, he just slipped around behind her, grabbed ahold of her spines and placed his feet on her back while she held herself upright, and then said the word.

"Alright, I'm ready. Go slow," he said, and Diana immediately picked up speed. She wobbled at first as she slowly drug herself along the training ground, her "jet engines" set to a low hum that still managed to move her massive bulk, Leo clinging to her back. They'd tried this before to varied success, but she was getting better. "Ok, pick up a bit of speed," Leo said, swallowing his nervousness. Diana vibrated in excitement, her air jets whining louder as she picked up speed, zooming about the training ground at a decent pace.

Leo laughed, Diana hummed happily, and the two continued to ride around. In the end, Leo didn't go back up to the dorm.

Instead, the rising sun found him sprawled out on Diana as she lay flat on her back, snoring, while Zuko and Link – having left the dorm and somehow released himself from his pokeball, respectively – lay atop him as well. Zuko curled up awkwardly across Leo's chest, and Link nestled between two of Diana's spines. He didn't wake until the students began to move about, making a ruckus, and greeted the sun with a smile.

Whatever came next, he was ready for it.