Lunar Eclipse: Part I (Pokemon)

Chapter 23

A/N: Selene's Team: Michio, Zygarde, Zippo, Cuddles, Yuki

January 16, 2017

I fell asleep on the bus as soon as Acerola and I boarded it. Hey, it was early and I was still tired from the previous day. My friend woke me up when we arrived in Tapu Village. Together, we walked back to Aether House, Yungoos by our side.

I felt much lighter and happier than before. It was a big accomplishment to defeat all those Team Skull grunts and their boss! I hope they would not mess with me anymore. Guzma still worried me, and I feared he would do something crazy. But at least now we had a break. At least that was what I thought.

"We're home!" Acerola said as we entered the building. "We brought Yungoos with us, too!"

The Yungoos ran over to the little girl, but she and her brother were not smiling. Neither was Hau. My stomach dropped. "What's wrong?" I said in a shaky voice.

"Selene..." Hau said. "I'm sorry! I...I can't even make myself smile right now..."

"But why? What happened?" Acerola said with panic in her voice.

"Miss Lillie..." said her little sister.

"She's gone!" her brother wailed.

I immediately tensed. "What happened?"

"That Plumeria lady came back as soon as Acerola had left..." Hau said. He explained how Team Skull was after Nebby, and she willingly went with them to protect everyone. "I'm supposed to be a trainer, but when it came down to it, Lillie had to protect me. Lillie, who's not even a trainer to begin with!"

"Oh no," I murmured. All my accomplishments deflated on the spot. I should have known this would happen. Team Skull wanted to get rid of Acerola and me so they could take Lillie and Nebby. It had obviously been a trap, and I had walked right into it. And yet, what else could I have done? I did the right thing on all accounts, and I could not regret now that something bad had happened. I took a deep breath and stepped forward. "Hau-"

"Did I hear that right? It was Lillie who took Cosmog?!"

"Gladion!" I exclaimed. I had no idea where he came from, but he must have been listening to us.

"Geh! You know who Lillie is?!" Hau said.

I had never seen Gladion so angry. He clutched his head in his hands almost as if to keep it from exploding. "And you all are so useless and weak that now Cosmog is... Lillie is... Arghhh!" He threw up his hands in frustration and then reached for a Pokeball. "I'll show you how angry you make me!" He faced me, clearly challenging me to a Pokémon battle.

"Wait!" Hau cried. "It's not Selene's fault. She had no choice but to go after Team Skull in Po Town!"

But I already for my own Pokeball. "It's alright, Hau. He won't listen to us until he blows off some steam."

To be quite honest, I needed to get out my frustration as well. Gladion chose his Golbat, so I went with Zippo. I quickly got into the battle. There was something different about battling him than everyone else in Team Skull. It was almost refreshing. I almost chose Michio to go up against his Sneasel, but then I remember by Sylveon was fond of Gladion and chose Zygarde instead. My new legendary Pokémon friend did quite well. However, Null soon proved too much for him. It was time to stop messing around. I called upon Sun to finish this up.

I felt worn out after the battle. Thanked my Pokémon and then turned to Gladion. "Are you better now?"

He nodded. "That was wrong of me. I shouldn't have dragged you into a meaningless battle like that." His expression suddenly hardened, and he glared first at Hau and then at me. "But I told you both! I told you that Cosmog would bring disaster to all of Alola! I have to get it back from them!" He fixed his eyes on me. "We'll leave from the ferry terminal. You're coming with me whether you like it or not."