When We Were Younger. |Gladion X Moon|Pokemon Romance Novel|

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Just as we pull into the docks of Sea Folk Village, my phone begins to chime, alerting me to a video call.

"Who's calling?" Hau asks, peeking over at my screen in his usual, nosey manner.

"It's Mohn!"

"Calling already?" Lillie squeals, shoving her face next to mine.

I accept the call and Mohn pops up on screen, it takes him a few seconds to figure out what he is supposed to do.

"Hey! Say, we got so caught up earlier I forgot to talk to you about the protein. Can you go container shopping for me? We can start out simple and get fancier bottles once we get some cash rolling in. Whelp, that's all!"

Mohn awkwardly cuts the feed, ending the call.

"I wonder if it's better than our current formula? Make sure you give a sample to Gladion so he can bring it down to the lab!" Lillie sneers as she smacks Gladion, rather roughly, in the center of his back.

Gladion frowns and folds his arms.

"I need some supplies," he mutters, storming off towards the Pokemon Center.

Lillie rolls her eyes and we follow behind him.

The sounds of an angry mob escape the Pokemon Center as I pull open the door. A large crowd has formed at the checkout counter of the shop inside.

"I can't even afford an antidote!" shouts an angry man at the cashier.

"Hey buddy, I don't set the prices, I just stock the shelves and take the money."

"Yeah! You're taking are money alright!" screams an angry female trainer.

I strain to find Gladion in the crowd, Hau grabs my arm and pulls me to the side.

"What the hell is going on?" he shouts to Lillie and I over the commotion.

Lillie points somberly at the T.V. in the café corner. Gladion is standing on a chair in front of it, straining to hear the report over the uproar.

Without thinking, I stand on the chair next to him. Our faces are inches away from the screen as we watch the sobering news report.

A news reporter steps out in front of a green screen image of Aether Paradise. Even with layers of make-up, dark circles line his eyes as he delivers the story.

I squeeze Gladion's hand tight as he takes in the report. After a few moments, he turns to me. His glassy eyes meet mine, they appear to be bottomless pools of sadness.

"We need to talk."

My pulse throbs in my neck as he leads me to a quiet place just outside of Sea Folk Village.

Gladion takes a deep, shuddering breath, his eyes drift from my face to the ground as we stand at the edge of the tall grass.

"I'm leaving after we visit the Alter tomorrow."

"It's okay, I know there's a lot going on right now. I'll wait for you," I say, rubbing his arm supportively.

Gladion brushes my arm away, he looks as if he is about to cry, "I'm not coming back...there's something I have to tell you."

I stand there quietly, in a state of disbelief.

"I'm President heir of the Aether Foundation. Now that my mom is gone, it is my duty to run the company."

"I don't understand," I whisper under my breath.

"I am the president of the Aether Foundation. As much as I want to, I can't keep running away from my responsibilities. Do you remember what I told you the day we got here?"