On a quiet, but peaceful day on Melemele Island, the sun shining above wasn't as blazing as it normally was, so it was a magnificent day to visit the small park located in Hau'Oli city. To relax on a park bench, feeding Pikipeks passing by, playing games on the freshly grown and cut grass, or even a small walk through the park trail is among some of the most favored activities of both locals and tourists. Out of all of them, basketball down in the courts was the most popular park activity. Stepping down to the concrete, you'll find heated matches from open hours to closing. For the lucky ones, they might even catch a game between a person and their own Pokémon. 

At exact noon, a sound of a dribbling basketball was the only noise Scales could hear, he was in a state of concentration. In fact, he felt like he was in outer space, the court floating in the void of space, despite outer space producing no sound at all, the noise of his own dribbling ball and his thumping head caused his head to sweat bullets. Beyond the court that he needed to score, his partner Pokémon, standing on its hind-legs, the scales on its body reflecting the sunlight in all different directions. 

"Game point, Hakamo-o... It's over." 

The boy said to himself, eyeing his Pokémon's glare, as if it was staring at him like he was helpless prey, but that didn't stop him from trying. He rushed towards Hakamo-o with the ball right next to him, taking a major leap right out the dragon's swipe of its arm to take the ball from him. Now that the hoop was right in his grasp, he took a leap and tossed the ball from where he stood, making an impressive three-pointer from the line. Just hearing the sound of the basketball slide through the net made Scales feel jittery from his victory. He leaped in the air once more in glee, shooting in the fist high and proud of his win. 

"Game, set and match! I did it! I did it! Three-pointer at the last minute!" 

He continued to cheer across the court for his victorious shot, but his Pokémon on the other hand was down for failing its part on playing defense, so Scales wrapped his arm around Hakamo-o and flicked a thumbs up in sportsmanship. 

"No worries, Hakamo-o. You were just a teeny bit off is all, I payed close attention to your guard which has improved since our last game! Keep it up and you'll be above the rest at Vast Poni Canyon in NO time!" 

The dragon perked its head up, seeing how its trainer was not in any way disappointed, it shook its loss out of its head and replaced it with pure ambition. Grabbing the basketball and his towel, Scales and Hakamo-o ended the game with a quick stop to a vending machine for sports-drink. The park may have been crowded, but the streets outside in the city wasn't as packed as usual, so Scales took his time returning home after his basketball game exploring Hau'Oli City. 

"Hey, Hakamo-o, what would you like for lunch?" Scales looked back where his partner walked behind him while drinking a nice can of lemonade its trainer bought for him. "I was thinking a nice juicy hamburger to fill up before dinner, but I was also thinking maybe we could also go for something easy to digest to keep us in good shape, maybe a rice plate or something. Point left for a hamburger, or right for some rice." 

The dragon considered considering its choices to be awarded with a delicious and hefty meal such as a burger, or if it should consider a healthy meal such as a rice bowl. It took a second to come to a choice, but ends up pointing at the direction in front of Scales, which confused the boy at first.

"Haa... kaa?" 

The Pokémon spoke, pointing its claw forward, until Scales finally looked up to see what caught its attention.

"Uhh... So you want something in between? Well, I don't think-" 

His sentence was cut short when he accidentally bumped into someone who ran into him, the force of the unexpected collision accidentally caused Scales to spill his drink on the passerby. Scales immediately screw the lid of his drink tightly and apologized deeply for his lack of attention when he was walking down the street. 

"O-oh, my Arceus! I'm so sorry! I-I wasn't looking where I was going! I-" His constant stuttering came to a halt, this time through his composure. He came to the view of a girl who he recognized right away. Her purple hair and her dress made up of different clothes all sown together was an appearance he was never going to forget. "Ohh... H-hey..." 

One close look at the girl implied that something was definitely wrong. It was that girl from the sleepover he and that bashful boy Len was invited to with his buddy Ash and his class. That night of haunted shenanigans and ghosts still sent shivers down his spine thinking of all the possible ways that he and the others were going to be killed, eaten, cursed, or possessed. Thankfully that one boy Bob cleared up that it was all just a prank planned by the girl who was in that house that night. Scales should've put two and two together knowing that the Ghastly line are suckers for messing with people and Pokémon. 

"H-huh?... Why are you...?" 

Instead of being greeted by a smiling face, and a cutsie posture Scales expected, she was seen with a face of streaming eyes, her arms wrapped around her Mimikyu tightly, the small Pokémon whimpered in deep worry. Now, the prank wasn't considered a pleasant memory to Scales, but seeing this girl sad wasn't anything the boy wanted to see.  He was just about to speak up, but was beaten when the girl spoke first. 

"I'm, I'm sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going at all! It's not your fault!" 

She said, brushing her eyes from her tears, looking up to the boy, also recognizing him when her vision become clear. 

"O-oh... It's you..." She cleared her throat, finally able to calm down after a minute later. "I'm sorry for running into you, I'm just not having a good day..." 

Suddenly, a low rumbling sound right from Scales's own stomach occurred, it was clear that he needed to eat soon, but didn't really want to desert Acerola in her state, so he came up with a solution. 

"Listen, I'm about to grab a bite... C-care to join me?..." 

The girl nodded without saying a word, admitting that she skipped breakfast, so could use a meal herself, so Scales returned his Hakamo-o back into its Pokéball so they may discuss whats troubling her so much. As awkward as a walk it might have been for Scales to witness a girl he knew so little about wiping her tears away, it wasn't a pleasant sight, so he at least wanted to see if he could help her in anyway. The two ended up going to a lively restaurant that specializes in both bar and grill food, a perfect place for a juicy grilled burger that will no doubt hit the spot! 

"The tiki burger place on the corner of this street is where I like to go whenever I'm down in the dumps... and hungry." 

Scales said, attempting to make any possible small talk in hopes to brighten the mood in anyway, but Acerola's head remained down, watching her footsteps and glancing at  Mimikyu's adorable flickering ears. The boy wasn't a loner by any means, but he wasn't exactly the best when it came to talking towards new and acquainted faces, so he lightly sweated wondering if he was making the right move or not. Thankfully, they were seated right away, their table had a beautiful view of the sparkling ocean, it helped the girl relax a bit after her near breakdown from earlier, so she smiled in hope to indicate she was better compared to a few hours ago. 

"Th-thank you, Scales... I know you may not hold me in the most positive light after that night, but I'm happy you want to make me feel better. Truly, I'm better now." 

Acerola smiled, sipping her soda she ordered when the waitress took their order. Scales nervously chuckled, trying to play off as if her prank was nothing to get worked up over, but deep down, Scales's core still shook just thinking about those ghost Pokémon such as Ghastly, Haunter, and Gengar. Now wasn't the time to get wrapped around the past, whats important is the matter on Acerola's hands. 

"Oh no, no, no! I would never hold the prank as my reason to hate you or anything! I mean, it was all just for fun, right? That boy in Ash's class Bob seemed to be the most cool after everything was cleared up, so there's no harm done, not at all!" 

Hearing Bob's name alone weighed Acerola, her cute smile she wears everyday faded into a somber frown, back to square one when she pumped into Scales, this time, she didn't have it in her to produce anymore tears, only letting out a sigh of a sad defeat. 

"He was... he really was, wasn't he?" 

She whispered, making the boy a little taken back from her, worried that she may start crying from the way her shaky voice acted up. She shook her head, picking herself up as she stared off onto the city street, especially towards the bright gold-colored sand and the clear blue water. 

"You know, I haven't told you what was bothering me, have I? It just so happen to involve that boy you just mentioned..." 

Scales was wondering if she was talking about Ash since he, for the most part, has claimed to have a lot of female friends, thinking it had something to do with him. 

"Uhh... Ash?"

"No," Acerola chuckled towards Scales's obliviousness. "I mean Bobbie. He didn't like me at first, even upset at me after being pranked. When he looked past it, he wanted to be my friend. Me! Someone he just met, someone who he met in an abandoned house, most people see me as a person and not some sort of creep! We-we've been hanging out a lot as of late, and I-I was considering of telling him how I feel... but-" 

She choked on her own words, trying to clear her throat after her drink ended up going down the wrong pipe. She thought she done with the tears, but she could feel them surface back up again. 

"I-I was just on my way to see him this morning to see if he wanted to hang out or not, but-but then, I saw him hug and kiss Lana! I-I knew what I meant, so I just turned and ran, not looking back... even if he called out my name..." 

Acerola heavily blushed, closing her face with her hands as she sobbed hard enough to mute any sound from being heard. It was a lot for Scales to process, especially when he tried to consider the situation of the lovey-dovey aspects. He remained quiet as well, trying to play his cards right to NOT screw up with anything that could possibly break a girl like Acerola. 

"W-well, Acerola... Did Bob by any chance signal you about any relationships before... you know what?" 

At first, the girl didn't know what Scales meant when he said, "signal" but when she cleared her mind to think, trying to refer back when they last met up, not from the classroom when Nanu substituted for Professor Kukui, but back on Akala Island. Bob seemed out of it when she saw him, but after saying, "Lana's just someone who... means a lot to me." It now make sense. He must've expressed his feelings to Lana that day. Even if she knew it couldn't have been news that surfaced out of nowhere, Acerola sighed, wishing to make more time for Bob. She explained what happened on Akala Island, which Scales winced, patting the girls back in a brittle attempt to lighten her up. 

"I-I'm so sorry, Acerola..." Scales said, the girl shook her head in response, not wanting any more pity than she felt like she had weighing on her. 

"N-no, It's... okay. I should've put two and two together, its my fault..." 

The topic was suddenly put on hold because their lunch had finally arrived, digging in remained quite since they both were lost in the flame-grilled goodness of their selected burgers, so that at least hits the spot. Scales insisted on paying the bill for both of them, even if Acerola was more than willing to pay for her own food. Only an hour had past and the day became a bit more cool than usual, so the two headed out of Hau'Oli City and into Route 2. Acerola felt much better now that she had a sit-down meal, saying she was currently fine now, but it felt a bit off and forced to Scales hearing the girl speak. 

"Thanks again for the food, Scales! And for listening to me ramble about my day today, I owe ya one! I think I'll just head back to Ula'ula and wind down for the rest of the day. I'll see you-" 

Before Acerola walked away, Scales held her shoulder to stop her from proceeding. Things felt like they weren't fully talked about and felt like they could be resolved, so the boy tagged along her to the dock to finish what was put on hold when lunch arrived. 

"O-oh! Well... I was wondering if I could perhaps tag along with you because I've been meaning to ask you about something but didn't get the chance to speak when our food arrived."

She didn't mind the company to her next destination, so the two headed out immediately. What lingered on Scales's mind was if Acerola really was fine after what happened, or if she was perhaps bottling up her feelings like a distressed character in a high school movie or TV-show. He wanted to ask if she as okay as she currently was, but really didn't want to be obliviously straight forward enough to throw her off of her good mood. 

"So..." Scales dragged, trying to think of the right words to say, in which the process became a bit difficult when those purple eyes of the girl looked back at him. He choked up, not even sure how he was going to progress any proper response at all. "Umm, a-are you sure you're going to be fine..?" 

Acerola nods, before taking a deep breath and smiling back in response. 

"Yeah, I think I just need to take it easy for the rest of the night and to have a turn in early for the night," Acerola softly chuckled, for almost a second now, Scales actually thought the ghoulish girl was going to cry after bringing the topic back up, but she was fine. "Funny thing is, I could recall Bob having a similar change in his mood when he let off news off his chest, guess both of us feel better afterwards." 

By the time the two reached the wharf, Acerola headed out towards the station that provided transportation for Ula'Ula. Before leaving, she waved at Scales with one last thing on her mind. 

"Thanks again for the meal! I'll be fine, really!" 

*** 

Several hours later, the sun dipped out and the moon above took its place, the city lit up through lights, just like any other night. Upon the hotel where Bob currently stayed, the troubled boy slouched on the couch, trying to watch TV and get the whole episode of Acerola bursting into tears out of his mind. As much as he wanted to call or text her and to see if everything was alright, he had a feeling that he shouldn't be disturbing her after such a traumatic scene of finding out that he and Lana are a thing. Plus, Lana wasn't exactly happy when he attempted to follow Acerola that morning, so he felt like he was on a sheet thin ice. 

"Man..." 

He mattered to himself, staring at his smudged phone screen, a dim reflection of himself was the only thing he saw, until suddenly, his phone lit up on its own. 

"What the-?!" 

Bob's suddenly sat straight up to his own surprise, seeing that Acerola actually sent him a voice message, in which he immediately replied back. 

Acerola: Hi bobby. hope Im not interrupting you

Bob: Oh no! I'm here. Are you OK?

Acerola: I am now, crazy encounter, am I right? 

Bob: ...Yeah, I guess. I'm sooooooo sorry I didn't tell you sooner! About me and Lana...

Acerola: No, it's okay. I forgot you implied to me that you two were going on a date or something on the lines of

Bob: Implied? Since when?

Acerola: I think it was that one recent time on Akala. You were going to meet Lana for a picnic?

Bob: Oh shit, yeah... I'm dumb. 

Acerola: Cmon, no you not. 

Bob: Lol. I hope we can stay friends despite the new "circumstances". We can still hang out like we did before, maybe adding Ayame or that creepy detective guy from class the other day?" 

Acerola: I dunno if Reynold would want to join anything on the matter, but I can always persuade him >:3

Bob: Haha, thank you so much for understanding. You're a great friend, Acerola.

Acerola: Thx!! ^^ 

Acerola: I'm going to feed Mimi now, ttyl!

Bob: See you soon!

A huge breath of relief slipped from Bob now that he heard from his friend is currently in one piece, and not in any forms of a major slump after what has happened. However, one thought sparked up if Acerola was just saying that just to throw Bob off so he wouldn't worry about her. He exited the texting app of his phone and tapped on the phone contacts, tempted to call to hear if she really was alright. He pressed the phone key and was sent to line, but one minute later he wanted to bail on his idea, but Acerola picked up the phone. 

"Oh, hi again, Bobbie! I wasn't expecting you so soon!" 

The boy choked, trying not to answer back immediately, so he ending off going down a strange direction with his phone call and ended up doing an impression of his cousin, Ernesto.

"Ehh, no, this isn't Bob, its his cousin. I accidentally called you-this phone call NEVER happened! Uhh, don't tell my cousin about this-!"

Acerola giggled before promising not to say a word before hanging up, suddenly, Bob took another sigh in relief. 

"Oh thank Arceus... She seems fine, sounding like her self... I-I just need to take her word, yeah. She wouldn't lie to me... it wouldn't be in her nature to do so... Nope... Not one bit..."