The sign above the door sways back and forth as Lillie slams the door behind her. It reads: Roadside Motel. "Well, I better head to the docks, my ferry leaves in a couple of hours!" she exclaims. It's obvious to me that she's nervous—she's like a Whismur that way. Always so quiet, until something really sets her off.

"Excited to see Hau?" I chuckle, it has to be about Hau.

"I looked up the hotel he made reservations for—very fancy!" Lillie replies, pulling a bit of her platinum hair behind her ear.

"You two have fun, my rides here."

Lillie waves to me as I mount the warm, scaly beast. I press my heels gently into its side, signaling it to take off. She shrinks as Charizard carries me high into the sky. Hau has confessed to me several times that he has feelings for Lillie. Lillie doesn't need to tell anybody that she feels the same, it's written all over her face. I planned to go to the beach alone today. Partly to relax, but also to give Lillie and Hau some alone time.

The air above Akala Island is beautiful this morning. I take a deep breath and gaze down at Wella Volcano Park, it looks so different from above. Suddenly, another pair of wings flutter behind me. Another rider slowly gains on me, flying uncomfortably close. My Charizard hisses at the other as they meet. I turn to the rider, ready to warn them to back off.

My gaze is met by pair of cold, emerald eyes. I recognize them immediately.

Gladion shoots me a mischievous grin before blowing ahead of me. My competitive side takes this as a challenge. I dig my heels into Charizard, sending it speeding towards him. My hair whips in the wind as I rip past him, performing a barrel roll maneuver before descending. The wind burns my eyes as we speed towards the earth. To my surprise, Gladion passes me once again. The wind-break caused by his rapid descent causes my Charizard to lose speed. He circles down towards the beach for a landing. My heart races.

He was the last person I thought I would run into today.

Spotting an unoccupied area of the beach, I signal my Charizard to land. The soft sand feels great between my toes. I slip my shoes into my bag, deciding to just go barefoot. When I straighten back up, I see those piercing eyes inches away from my face. A gasp escapes my lips and I immediately regret it.

Gladion lets out a snicker when he sees my reaction, "I might not be able to beat you in Pokemon Battle, but I'm pretty sure you just ate my dust back there!"

Before I can reply, I notice a small, black creature wiggling in his arms.

"Puke-Muke," it coos.

Gladion holds the Pokémon up to his face and stares curiously into its tiny little eyes. Suddenly, he swings his arms, chucking the small creature out into the ocean. It makes a plunk noise as it falls beneath the waves. He laughs cruelly and glares down at me from behind his sparkling, platinum fringe. How could anyone do something like that to a poor, defenseless Pokémon? I am shocked and hurt, I did not expect those types of actions from him. How foolish of me to admire him, he is just like the rest of Team Skull. He even seems to be amused by my anger! A resort employee trudges through the sand towards us.

If Gladion gets me kicked out of here today, I will kill him with my bare hands.

"Great to see you here today part-timer!" the man says as he pats Gladion on the back, his voice is overly cheery, "Who's your friend?" he asks, looking in my direction.

"She's not my friend." The tone of his voice was so frank that it almost hurt.

"Ah, your girlfriend then?" the man chuckles, crossing his arms.

Gladion puts his hand over his face. "She's definitely not my girlfriend."

"Right..." the man says, giving Gladion another firm pat on the back.

"Think you got what it takes to be a Pyukumuku chucker?" he asks, turning towards me.

"Pyukumuku chucker?" I repeat, dumbfounded.

"Pyukumuku chucker," Gladion says with a shit-eating grin.

"Lil' buggers wiggle their way up onto the beach. Tourists just don't understand how remarkable they really are. It's such a shame! To keep them safe, we must go out every day and rescue the Pyukumuku."

"Rescue the Pyukumuku?" I ask, not exactly believing what I heard.

"Rescue the Pyukumuku," repeats Gladion, nodding his head. He slides his hands deep into his pockets as his smirk grows even larger.

"I could pay you 20,000 Pokken to help Gladion here rescue all these lil' buggers. There's a bunch of 'em today!" the man continues.

Gladion rips his hands out of his pockets and holds them out. "Oh, I don't think she wants to—"

"Sure." Cutting him off felt good. "Anything to help these adorable guys."

"Great! Like I said, there's a whole lot of 'em out today. I'll let Gladion here show you the ropes. Come see me when you have rescued all the Pyukumuku!" The man lets out a jolly chuckle, patting Gladion on the back one more time before returning to his post.

I turn to speak to Gladion, but he's already half way across the beach. I dash through the sand after him. So much for relaxing today. "Pyukumuku chucker! I thought you worked for Team Skull?"

He stops for a second, looks me dead in the eyes. "I only work for myself!" I immediately drop my head; sensitivity is not a trait I have been blessed with. After an awkward moment, he shrugs, "I like this better than doing things for those numb skulls."

We continue walking towards the end of the beach.

"I guess I do a lot of odd jobs to make ends meet. I've been Pyukumuku chucking for a few months now. It's not so bad. Much better than Skull jobs, but it doesn't pay near as well," he says quietly.

I feel a twinge of guilt for bringing it up in the first place. I almost forgot how the grunts treated him when we first met. Recalling the way they ridiculed him for being homeless sends a sharp pain through my heart. I still remember the look on his face, it saddens me. His face and eyes are now soft, he looks different when he's not trying to keep up his tough-guy persona. We stop at the south side of the beach. Loads of half-naked tourist lay in loungers, working on their tans. Sunscreen covered children squeal with joy as they find shells littered in the sand. A game of volleyball has people cheering.

"I found a big one for ya," Gladion huffs, he has a rather large Pyukumuku cradled in his arms.

Gladion gently holds it out, but it starts wiggling away. Pulling it back to his chest, he takes a few steps towards me. Leaning in close, he awkwardly lowers it into my arms. Our shoulders and arms touch for a few moments as he tries to shift it to my grasp. A wisp of his hair dances across my forehead. His hand gets stuck underneath the feisty creature and his palm is pressing against my breast.

Quickly and carefully, he frees his hand, taking a large step back. Our eyes lock for a moment, his pupils dilate, he almost looks frightened. A faint rose color fills his pale cheeks. He must have felt it coming, turning quickly away to do his signature hand over face. I almost tease him about it, but I decide I have tormented him enough for today.

"Are you going to stand there all day? Throw it into the ocean!" he snaps.

I clumsily wade into the water and heave it into the ocean. He looks down at me, shaking his head in amusement.

Gladion points towards the hotel. "I'll take this side of the shore, you take the other side." He shouts as he walks away, "We will work our way towards the northern lifeguard stand. When we get to that point, we can get our money."

Working up a sweat, I make my way down the beach, chucking Pyukumuku as I go along. It's taking much longer than I anticipated. Gladion seems to be making good progress, considering he took the section of beach that's farther away from the ocean. It must take him all day when he does it by himself. I watch Gladion from a distance as he works. He hasn't made eye contact since the hand incident earlier. I can't keep my mind off him. Why am I so infatuated with him? I barely know him after all.

_________________

The sun has begun to fall in the sky. It must be getting closer to evening time, but it only seems to be getting hotter. Or maybe I am just a wimp. My friends back home were a bit jealous when they learned I was moving to "paradise," as they called it. I was excited for the beauty of Alola too, until I realized paradise is hotter than hell. The boiling hot sand scorches my feet with every step I take. I bend over to slip my shoes back on. As I stand up, I manage to head butt some girl in the stomach.

"Watch where you're going runt," she says as she shoves her way past me, stepping on my foot in the process.

"Maybe you should watch where you're going." My fists clench as the rage builds inside of me. "You did just step on me!"

The girl whips her head around. Her golden-brown hair flutters in the breeze as she lowers her designer sunglasses to stare me down. Her friends stop to watch her reaction. "Look here little girl, my dad practically owns this beach. I could get you kicked out for good if you don't watch your mouth. Get back to work Pyukumuku chucker!"

"Pyukumuku chucker! Pyukumuku chucker!" Her friends burst out laughing.

I refuse to acknowledge them and try my hardest not to reach for my Pokéballs. Gladion stands behind them, glaring in their direction. The look on his face has me feeling ashamed and slightly terrified, but also intrigued. He creeps towards a group of loungers. Without taking his eyes off the ace trainers, he tucks something into a pink towel. He retreats a few feet and crosses his arms. His cold, green eyes calculate their every move.

The girl that stepped on me sits down at the tampered lounger, picking up the towel and laying it in her lap. She lifts it to her shoulders and a prickly Pyukumuku falls into her lap. Her blood-curdling scream catches the attention of the entire beach. She quickly stands up and tries to run, but trips over her beach bag, landing face down in the sand. Her boyfriend rushes to her side, only to push her away when he realizes she has a big streak of Rockruff poop across her chest. She quickly grabs a towel and covers herself. She dashes off towards the hotel, blubbering like a baby.

"Pyuke Muke," coos the glorious little creature. It almost seems to be laughing too. Just as I turn to finish my work, a warm pair of hands land on the back of my neck.

"Better watch it Pyukumuku chucker," Gladion whispers in my ear. I take a deep breath, my scalp tingles as his breath tickles the side of my neck. He releases his grip and I cautiously turn to face him. "We're done for the day. Don't forget to grab your money," he says, kicking the dirt as he stares at the ground.

After collecting my money, I decide to distance myself from the noise of the beach. I release Arcanine and head towards a rocky cove. He rubs up against me, looking for pets. I wrap my arms around his thick, fluffy neck and nuzzle his soft fur. Arcanine sniffs the sand along the coast, searching for pearls and stones. Keeping his nose to the ground, he weaves back and forth across the narrow beach, hot on the trail of something. He darts past the cove and I take off running after him.

"Arcanine, slow down." I chase him up a small path through the dunes. Finally, he stops at a large bolder and lets out a howl. I rush over to see what he tracked down, not noticing anything at first.

"Stalker," says a voice from above. Gladion peeks over the ledge above me.

"Yeah." I look over at Arcanine, who's panting almost as much as I am. "This does look pretty bad, doesn't it?"

He laughs under his breath and motions for me to join him. I carefully climb up to the top of the bolder and sit down next to him. There isn't much room up here, so I find myself sitting a bit closer to him than what I'm comfortable with. We sit together quietly for a few minutes, watching the sunset. The waning sun casts a strange, but beautiful shade of orange across the island.

"Hey, thanks for that back there." As humiliated as I am that he saw that, I do owe him a thank you.

"I hate that bitch. She's not as cool as she thinks she is," he says, grumbling. "Are you going to fly Charizard back to wherever you are staying?"

"No, I think I'm going to ride Taurus. I'm really not in a big rush to get anywhere tonight." I toss a small pebble over the edge of the rocks.

"Well, you might want to page it now. I'm going to head out soon." He still hasn't looked at me since I sat down next him.

"Who said I was only here to hang out with you?" I snicker, giving him the side eye.

"It's not like that. Team Skull likes to cause trouble out here after dark," he mumbles.

"I can handle those morons. I've never lost to one." I can feel my eyes rolling. I'm a little offended that he assumed I'd be afraid of them; he works for them after all. "Like, ever."

He gazes into my eyes. He seems to be a bit hurt or worried. "I'm sure you could beat them in Pokemon battle Moon, you're one of the strongest trainers I've seen on this island. But they don't always play fair. You haven't seen them the way I have." He winces a bit as he speaks. "Please, just page your Taurus. I know how slow they can be sometimes."

I slip my hand into my bag and grab the device, showing him that I'm paging it now. Perhaps there really is more to him than he lets on, as I suspect. My thoughts are broken by a low growl.

"Arcanine, stop that growling!" I scold, peeking over the ledge. He just lifts his big, fluffy head and cocks it to the side out of curiosity.

"Sorry, I think that's my stomach talking," Gladion says.

Reaching deep into my bag, I pull out two Lava Ridge Cookies for us. "Here have one of these, they're my favorite."

He eagerly accepts it, taking a large bite without even looking at it. His hands are badly scratched and covered with callouses. A couple of his fingers are crooked, he must have broken them at some point. It becomes apparent to me how hard he must work to get by. I am fairly well off from my earnings as a trainer, plus I got a nice nest egg from my mother when I left home.

Before we can say anything more, Arcanine begins to bark. A Taurus snorts as it descends from the road, I was hoping it would take a little longer to get here. "Well, I see your ride is here," he sighs. "Thanks for the cookie."

I call Arcanine back into his Pokeball and climb up on Taurus' back. Gladion gives me a weak wave good-bye, before I head off down the trail. I feel a bit depressed when he is out of sight.

__________________

Dust flies in the air as I steer my Taurus towards the Roadside Motel. Once we reach the parking lot, I slide off its back and give it a quick treat before heading back to my room.

In the dark, the LED light flashes on my phone. I am so eager to check it that I don't take the time to turn on the lights. A curse escapes my lips as I trip over my hiking pack. The long shoulder strap snags my foot and I tumble to the ground. I sit up and clutch my arm, running my fingers over the fresh rug burn. Reaching up, I grab my phone off the nightstand, noticing several missed calls and texts from Hau.

"Alola Cousin! You must be busy, we tried calling you a bunch today. Lillie and I decided to take the ferry to Ula'Ula. I made reservations at a nice hotel in Malie City. We will be staying there for the next few days. Wish me luck, I can't believe I'm going to be sleeping in the same room as Lillie!" The following sentence is a big jumble of emojis. Poor Hau. He's always so cool and collected, until you throw Lillie in the mix. He's been crushing on her for quite some time now.

"Anyway Moon. Hurry up and get here! Time for you to take on another Island Kahuna! We should all go to Hokulani Observatory to see if we can get a glimpse of the new Pokemon League. Maybe if we bring a pair of binoculars, we will be able to see your future throne." My phone flashes and powers off. Of course, I wouldn't forget it on the charger.

My thoughts drift to Gladion as I lazily scrub my body in the shower. Feelings stir as I recall the way his breath seductively teased my neck when he whispered in my ear. Perhaps, it's silly of me to think of him in that way. He hasn't given me any good reason to believe the feelings are mutual. Yet, part of me wants to believe he's thinking of me tonight too.