"And to finish off, Raichu and I performed the awesomest Z move they've ever seen! Well, judging from their faces anyway..."

Lillie and I laughed as Hau continued to rant to the person on the other end of the call. I think the reason he's so talkative is because of whom he's speaking to.

"And then, boom! The battlefield erupted, and Raichu came out on top!"

A chuckle could be heard on the other line.

"Wow, that sounds like quite the battle." Gladion spoke with a small smirk "Who did you say it was with again?"

"Oh! It was Laura!"

"Of course it was... if it was Luke you'd probably be telling a whole different story."

Hau smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck "Yeah I guess you're right..."

Gladion chuckled again. To be honest, he and Megan have only been gone for four months, and I can already see a change in both of them. They seem way more relaxed, and they smile more often too. Megan has even started wearing her hair out of her face, meaning she's less ashamed of herself. It made me happy, knowing they're changing for the better.

"Anyway that's enough about us," Lillie began, hip bumping Hau away from the screen so she could talk to her brother "How are you guys? Anything interesting happen?"

Gladion scratched his cheek, furrowing his brows as he thought about recent events "Well, now that you mention it... Megan did battle this one rude dude with an Electivire... Um." He glanced away from the screen "Hey babe?!"

"Yeah?!"

"What was that guy you battled with called?!"

"Which one?!"

"The one with the purple hair! Ya know, the one who really needed a prescription for a chill pill?"

"Oh. Paul!... Wait, why?!"

"Lillie wanted to know!"

"Lillie?!" We suddenly heard fast footsteps running towards us, and after a moment Megan appeared behind Gladion an peeked over his shoulder, wrapping her arms around his neck "Hey guys~!"

"Hey, Megan!" We replied in unison, waving at the blonde-brunette. Like I said before she started wearing her hair out of her face, and now was no exception as it was up in a ponytail. She grinned, resting her chin on top of Gladion's head.

"Sooo, how's Alola? Are my dorky brother and sister doing alright?"

"It's good, and they're doing great!" I replied with a smile "I'm not sure if you knew this already, but your mom bought back the Artemus estate. She's trying to build up the family company again, with help from Luke and Ashley, of course."

"Oh... No, I didn't know that..." She trailed off, her face falling slightly as she glanced off to the side. Either because she hadn't been informed, or because she wasn't there to help her family. Luckily for us, Gladion was there.

"How about we give them a call after we're done with these dorks?" He suggested with a gentle smile, reaching up to squeeze her hand. It seemed to lighten her mood instantly.

"Sure!"

Someone in the background called to them, causing them to turn their gaze off the screen. They replied with a perfect timed 'coming!' before turning back to us with apologetic smiles.

"That was Nurse Joy, saying our Pokémon have finished being treated." Gladion explained "So we're going to have to go now. Sorry we weren't able to talk as long as we hoped."

"Hey, don't sweat it!" Hau grinned, waving his hands around in dismissal "You'll call us as soon as you get to the next town, right?"

"Sure thing." Gladion turned to Megan "How far is Veilstone?"

She blinked before pulling out her town map, tapping on the screen until she got the information needed "About two days away on foot... wait, isn't Veilstone where that Paul dude said he was from?"

"I think so... Eh, we'll deal with Mr. Stick in the mud when the time comes."

"Kay." She shrugged and put the map away "Okay I'm gonna gather our Pokemon, now. See you guys later!"

"Bye!" Hau, Lillie and I called as she ran off screen, once again leaving Gladion with us.

"I'm gonna go too," Gladion stated when turning back to us "So uh... Hau stay happy, Lillie don't overwork yourself, and Sun..."

I raised an eyebrow "Yeah?"

"Defend your position like there's no tomorrow. I'm sure Megan and I would like to battle the champion when we come back to Alola." He encouraged, bringing his hand up to his face for his oh so famous pose. I grinned.

"I won't let you down!"

He nodded, satisfied with my answer before bidding us farewell and ending the call. Lillie, Hau and I stared at our reflections in the blank screen for a moment, until Lillie spoke up.

"Hey, guys?"

We turned to her "yea?"

"Did... it always feel this lonely when I ended our calls in Kanto?"

My eyebrows pulled downwards. I could tell she missed her older brother by the way she held her upper arms and stared at the screen, as if she was hoping for them to call back. Hau sighed and pulled her into a hug, running his fingers through her hair.

"They'll only be gone for the year, Lillie. And then, they'll be back before you know it!" He told her with determination.

"I know..." She muttered against his shoulder "And I know it doesn't seem that far away but..." she sighed "I just miss them, you know?"

"We all do." I said, stepping towards them and patting her on the back "But do you know what we can do?"

"What's that?"

"Work even harder so that when they return, they won't be the only ones that have gotten stronger." I held up a fist "I mean, it's not like we're just gonna sit around for a whole year right?"

"No way!" Hau yelled, startling Lillie slightly. But it caused her to giggle and push away from him, giving both of us a wide grin.

"Of course not. We can't let them have all the fun."

"That's the spirit!" I laughed.

And then Lillie's phone rang, ruining our moment.

---

I swear to God...

Hau, Lillie and I scrambled off the boat as soon as we made it to Aether paradise, bolting towards the doors and through the building to get to where we needed to be. Why? You may be asking...

"DUUUUUUSK!"

That right there's why...

We turned the corner and skidded to a halt, finally getting to see what all the ruckus was about. The call Lillie received was from Wicke, telling her that a Pokemon in Aether's care had gone rogue... again. And we could see right here that it was no exaggeration.

"Watch out!"

We yelped, diving out of the way as a Dark Pulse was sent our way. I winced as my knees skidded against the tiles, but still leapt to my feet and glared at the attacker. The cry of warning came from Avory, who along with Ein was already at the scene to try and calm down the Pokemon. They had already gotten their Pyroar and Delphox to drive it away from the other Pokemon so they wouldn't be harmed, while Staraptor and Decidueye hovered above it so it wouldn't escape from above them. They had it backed into a corner. And because of that, it was pissed.

"Dusk!" It growled, its hands making angry gestures as it glared at the assistant branch chiefs. They didn't falter.

"Calm the hell down, Dusknoir!" Ein yelled, clearly frustrated.

And yes you heard right. The Pokemon they were trying to calm was a Dusknoir. And not just any. Benjamin's Dusknoir. After the A.L.I was disbanded and the members were arrested, all of their Pokemon were going to be prosecuted too. However, Megan and Gladion didn't allow that to happen, and instead asked the police if they could take custody so they could reform the Pokemon. And they succeeded... With most of them, anyway. Dusknoir just won't allow it, and continues to try and escape. That's why we had to put him in the cell the Type: Null used to be held in... I hate to even think of the possible things his trainer had done to him to make him this way...

Dusknoir sent another Dark Pulse his enemy's way.

"Staraptor use Brave Bird!" Avory commanded. The large bird let out a cry and cut through the attack, before colliding with Dusknoir's stomach and sending him back into the wall.

"We don't want to fight you, Dusknoir. But we may have to if you keep attacking like that." Avory pleaded, though the Ghost type wasn't having any of it.

It seemed Lillie had enough of watching it lash out.

"Step aside, I got this." She told the scientists, stepping in front of them with a Pokeball in her hand. She tossed it, and a bright light bursted out to form her Venusaur. She nodded to him, and he nodded back before glaring at the rogue Pokemon.

"Use Sleep Powder."

---

"Do you know what got it riled up this time?" Lillie asked the scientists, who stood in front of her with their heads bowed.

"No, we don't..." Avory sighed, staring at Dusknoir's pokeball in his hand "All that happened was that Ein went into his cell to feed him, like he does every day, and he just tackled him and escaped into the main building..."

My eyes travelled to Ein, who I now noticed was holding his shoulder. I'm guessing he landed on it when Dusknoir attacked him. The dude can't catch a break.

What? Even though I dislike the guy, it blows that he got hurt. I'm not that sadistically evil.

"You think he was waiting for that?" Hau spoke up "Like, he was planning to escape and memorised his feeding times or something?!"

"I wouldn't be surprised, despite being a coward Benjamin was a clever man. Maybe his ways influenced his Pokémon." Ein shrugged slightly.

"Well ever way, we can't let this happen again." Lillie declared "We can't have Dusknoir putting the other Pokémon in danger like that anymore... but what can we do?"

"Maybe the problem is that he's separated." Avory suggested "He can't really learn to get along with others if he's alone all the time."

Hau tilted his head "Yeah but wouldn't he just attack other Pokémon."

"Yes. That's absolutely what he would do." The caramel haired male made an attempted subtle glance towards me, but I saw it "That's why we need him with a strong Pokemon with plenty of experience..."

Oh I see what he's getting at...

"Oh no, I am not looking after a rogue Pokémon." I shot him down "There's no where he can go where he can't escape, it'll probably put my mom in danger, and quite frankly I'm already busy enough as it is battling champion wannabes."

Okay, I admit that was a little bit harsh, especially since I know Avory means well. But it's true, I already have enough on my plate--

"Then what if Ein helped you do it?"

What?

"What?!" Ein and I yelled in unison, both of us staring at the male wide eyed. Before giving him a loooooong list of why that'd never work, starting with no.1: We'd be fighting each other instead of Dusknoir and no.2: We've had it out for each other since we've met.

Yeah. It'll never work.

---

"I cannot believe they actually talked me into this!" Ein yelled in exasperation, throwing his arms in the air as he stomped out of Aether paradise. I grumbled, shoulders raised and arms crossed as I glared at the ground.

"How'd you think I feel? I'm the one who's having a grunt crashing at my house!" I barked back.

They had shot down every single one of our excuses and complaints, including calling my mother when I said she'd never agree to it. Guess what, she was ecstatic to have Ein over, stating that she was 'so happy I was finally trying to date again' or whatever... Yeah, no. I'm still not ready for that after last time, and especially not with Ein. Yeah, I know it's been months since Leven was arrested, and I know I shouldn't be hung up over a criminal. But... It's been hard to let go. I thought I loved him.

It just turned out the feelings weren't mutual...

"Grunt?!" Ein's shriek brought me out of my thoughts "Excuse me, champion I am no grunt! I was the best hacker around!"

"Illegally."

"Yeah well that 'illegal' hacking saved your friends, so I don't wanna hear it!"

I huffed, pulling my beanie over my ears as a mocking gesture that I was no longer listening "Whatever, Sagittarius..."

"I TOLD YOU TO STOP CALLING ME THAT!"

Jeez...

See what I mean?

Well then, I better prepare myself for a long and painful process of reforming.