When The Sun Sets (Moon X Gladion)

Trouble In Paradise

When Moon awoke that morning, it was to an empty room. Her eyes still heavy with the weight of her reflections, she thus closed them once more and prayed for just a few more minutes of restful bliss.

From the floor, Lucario emerged from his Pokéball and stretched. Despite Moon's bag being in the other room, Moon had brought his pokéball with her in her sweatpants pocket. Swaying with the waves, he remained unbothered as he let out a big yawn. Mimikyu chirped at the sight of another friend, bounding over to him before tumbling as the boat hit another wave. Though, they were able to upright themself and keep going. Lucario picked up the small Pokémon, whom he had known for years, and turned his ears towards the door. He could have sworn he heard a voice, but after listening for a moment more, he realized he was actually listening to two voices conversing in the distance. Careful not to disturb his trainer, he crossed the room, opened the door, and stepped out onto the deck with Mimikyu in his free arm. From there, he spotted Gladion and Hau. Their exhausted forms drenched in sunlight, their gazes and tones fixated on one another as they spoke. Hau was the only one facing the Pokémon, though he did not notice Lucario standing there.

"Arceus, Hau... how long have you known about this?" Gladion's voice did not carry a trace of anger, only exasperation as his chest heaved slightly. His brought his fingers to his face in a talon formation, shielding his expressions even further from Lucario's view.

Hau, with his left hand gripping the railing, pursed his lips. "About five days. She's been carrying this for longer though." He ran his fingers through his hair, which was down and free of restraint. Then, he let out what could only be described as a whimper. "I'm so glad she finally told you. I've been racking my brain, just trying to figure all of this out."

"How are we going to tell Green?" Gladion's voice was flat as he spoke the boy's name aloud.

"I'd prefer calmly, first of all," Hau replied. "We barely know him, first of all. What if he freaks out?"

Gladion sighed before throwing his arms into the air, letting them fall to his sides with a light SMACK. "Then I guess he freaks out. We can't just not tell him."

"That's why I'm telling him," Moon stated, suddenly standing behind Lucario and Mimikyu. Leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed, she hardly looked at the boys. "This involves Sun. It'll be hard enough for him to hear... the last thing I need is for him feel like he has to hide his emotions in front of two guys he just met."

Hau and Gladion looked at one another until Hau broke the silence. "She's not wrong."

Moon nodded solemnly. Uncrossing her arms, she stepped out of Gladion's room and neared Green's door. She gave the steel barrier two knocks before waiting. Green opened up with a smile, his stance wide as he held onto the door.

"Oh, hey." He breathed, a slight twinkle in his eyes.

"I'm coming in," Moon replied flatly, ducking under his arm and entering the room.

"Oh...kay!" Green nodded, puzzled, before closing the door behind them.

He followed her across the room, plopping down on his bed a second after she did. Moon pulled her knees to her chest, sighing heavily with closed eyes. She was dreading every moment of this conversation.

"Green..." She stretched her jaw, letting the words form. "How much do you know about Mewtwo?"

"Well," he began, "I know that not even my childhood hero, Red, could catch it. I knew that far before Dale told us the story though."

Her eyes grazed his white comforter, but she slowly lifted her gaze to meet his tilted head. "Well, what if I told you that beast is much, much worse?"