They Of the Sun
Chapter Three: Been A Long Day

     The crowd cheered without me as I was dragged up the steps of the pedestal with Sen and Hau. I didn't want to waste my energy struggling against them at this point. And even though we weren't too far off the ground, the view up here was pretty cool. Behind Hala was a sunset over a vast ocean... to the left of him were the shadow-y jungles of the Mahalo trail that I had only earlier left... At our feet there were only the villagers, who were way too excited about some kids going out to possibly die in the harsh wild.

     It's happened.

     I rolled my eyes as Hala began a great spiel about growth and the journey being a symbol of that and the Tapus... I didn't want to hear another word about those flying Fairy fucks. What did catch my attention was when he threw his hands up, releasing three Pokemon. A red and black kitten grooming itself with disinterest. A blue little blob, happily blowing bubbles from its nose. It kind of reminded me of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Stantler... And a round brown and cream feathered bird, with two leaves as a bow tie, swiveling it's head with curiosity. Or confusion. "Today is not only the day for my grandson to grow, but also for Cyra! The girl chosen by the Tapus!"

     I wanted to hide the moment the small crowd of Iki Town cheered. I had to fight with my body to not run off... I could make them chase me down. But what a pain that would be... This isn't what I asked for. It felt more like I was being cursed, rather than being .... Chosen. Hau stepped forward then... looking between each of the Pokemon carefully. The kitten had stopped grooming to watch him with indifference. But when their eyes met, something seemed to happen as it stepped forward to butt its head against his leg with a purr. I hadn't even noticed that the little bird had flitted up into the air, until I felt a weight on my head... It had perched right onto me with a soft coo as it looked down to meet my eyes. Before I could open my mouth to say anything, Hala was booming again.

     The speech felt rehearsed and I had to fight the urge to roll my eyes out of their sockets because honestly, I liked the old man. "Great partners have been chosen today and I pray that bonds that tie you forever have been formed. I know you both will go far."

     His eyes settled on me and I let out a scoff. This was way too cliché for me. I hadn't noticed him before, until he stepped forward. The man with a lab coat and little else on. Don't worry, his pants were on. Was this... the Professor? He had a stamp in hand. I was so ready to go home and curl up in bed like the most annoyed, angsty teen in every fucking romance novel. The Professor smiled at me as he took my Trainer Passport, placing the stamp on it way too slowly for my liking.

     "It's nice to see the new faces of this generation, yeah?" he says with the widest smile. He could steal the crown from Hau with a smile like that. "I'm Professor Kukui. It's great to meet you, cousin!"

     Everyone's familial nouns were getting pretty annoying, making it seem like we were tied closer than I wanted to be tied with anything. I didn't even want to be tied down with myself and yet here I was. Arceus, help me. Hau and Sen giggled like school girls as they were handed charms... Four triangles to represent the four islands: Yellow, purple, pink, and red. The gold trim was the Light of Alola, protecting us all. Giving us hope. What a bunch of Hoopa Hoopla. These were the charms officially shoving us into the Grand Trial.

     And it dangled in front of my face, gleaming with a pride I could never know and didn't care to. Something about it makes me take a step back. Today was going by so fast... Too fast. I was rescued by the Tapus. I was being given a partner. I was being forced to go places I wasn't meant to reach...

     "No."

     The silence that followed was overwhelming, but I didn't want to explain myself. I didn't want my pathetic thoughts to materialize into even more pathetic words. I didn't want to waste everyone's time and hopes. I can't believe I almost let myself be sucked into this. I prepared to step down when Hau's voice rang out, way more serious than I've ever heard. I felt a hand clasp over mine

     "Battle me."

     I turned my head to look at the forest-haired boy. His eyes were gleaming with determination, and Arceus only knew mine were as dull as an arid desert. even duller than that. My hand clenched around Rowlet's ball that I'd been holding. I couldn't be sucked into this, this wasn't for me and this wasn't something I was ready for. Because. It. Wasn't. For. Me. He didn't wait for me to explain.

     "If you just battle me," he began, his smile coming back onto his face, "maybe... Maybe I can show you what it means to be a Trainer! What the Island Challenge is supposed to be about!"

     His smile was beaming. Did he think that was supposed to resonate with me? Like this was the moment we were meant to click and we'd fly off into some fairytale of a story? Please. This hopeful journey would be the end of me. I'm not athletic and I'm not pumped to walk across an entire region, let alone be forced to do things I don't want to do. I never agreed to the obligation. It may be something that seemed fun for him, but to me... This sounded like an absolute nightmare. Anything in life sounded like an absolute nightmare.

     On the other hand, if I battled him. I'd be giving hope. He'll think I'll be agreeing to doing this in his way. I didn't care about type match-ups or any of that stupid bull of forming bonds. I just wanted to leave.

     Without thinking, I snatched the charm out of Kukui's hand and turned away in a rapid motion, yanking myself out of reach from anyone. "Not in a million years."

     I left a stunned Sen and Hau up on the pedestal. I heard Kukui shout something after but I didn't care. I don't care. The sun was setting and the stars were coming out. And everything was slowly sinking in. The only thing that assured me I wasn't totally losing my marbles or dreaming was the calm body resting atop my head like a Swablu and the charm dangling from my fingers loosely. Who gave a shit if I dropped it? No one. I focused on the sky... The stars were much easier to see here without Mt. Coronet's peak placing everything in an eerie darkness. The image of the dark cloud spinning around its peak haunted my mind and I shook my head as a gold light streaked across the sky. There are some things I just can't seem to forget.

     My mother was still awake when I got home, eating some new Alolan recipe she had dug out from her new cookbook. I must've dropped the charm somewhere along the way because there was a smooth transition of lifting my hands to take the Pokemon off my head and taking off my hat and bag. The first thing she noticed wasn't the Rowlet, but the bandages on my arms.

     "Cyra! What happened?! Why are you so bloody?"

     "It's been a long day."

     Boy, was that an understatement.

     If my body could scream on its own accord, without my conscious mind, it would. My neck was tense, the scratches stung, and my legs were sore. I dug out the PokeBall from my bag and lifted it over my head to summon back my Pokemon as I walked to my room. I slammed the door shut. I didn't want to be interrogated anymore or be the center of anything. I slid down to the floor in exhaustion, finding my eyes trained on the window. I swore I could see a golden glow off in the distance...