When The Sun Sets (Moon X Gladion)

Into The Safari

As the gang paid for their meal and followed the man out the door, the man motioned towards his vehicle. While being a light blue Jeep convertible, the contraption seemed to have been crossed with a golf cart; the second row of back seats was facing the rear bumper and neither of them had seatbelts. What really stood out though was the abundance of nets and traps lining every conceivable area of the Jeep.

As they all neared the vehicle, the explorer spoke. "My name 's Hikaru, by the way. I'm the greatest explorer in this town. I'm a Pokémon rescuer, actually. That's why I'm glad you kids agreed to tag along." As he glanced back at them, Moon thought she saw something dangerous flash in the man's brown eyes. It left as quickly as it came, but it was there. "Like I said, I could use the backup."

If there was a contest strictly for begging, Lucario would've won first place. As soon as Hikaru turned back around, the blue creature growled and tugged on Moon's arm.

Luckily, the estranged man didn't notice and continued his walk while Gladion, Hau, and Green followed, allowing Moon to stop and tend to her companion's troubles.

"What's wrong?" She asked Lucario curiously and tilted her head.

Lucario looked at the khaki-wearing explorer, who was now fumbling with the keys to his Jeep. Then, stomping his paws, Lucario let loose another low growl.

Having understood perfectly, Moon's voice became a soft whisper. "I knew something was up the moment I saw his Jeep from the window," she admitted, careful to not let anyone overhear. "No one going on an 'expedition' is going to bring that many nets and cages."

"Moon, you coming?" Green had already boarded the vehicle and was waving at her from the road.

"Yeah, just a moment!" Moon flashed him a smile and a thumbs up before redirecting her attention back onto Lucario. "Keep your eyes open."

They approached the Jeep with plastic smiles. Moon tried to sit beside Green but Hau, who was sitting beside Hikaru, stopped her and pointed to the back, rear-facing seat next to Gladion. Moon grimaced at her friend; Hau gave her a knowing look that spelled: "You're gonna sit there and you're gonna like it." And thus she gave in, sitting in the spot beside the teenage black cloud. Practically sensing Gladion's annoyance with this decision, Moon sat as far away from him as possible.

Before Lucario could sit down, however, Hikaru began to fuss. Wiping his forehead with the side of his hand, he started, "Ah, your Lucario will have to stay inside it's pokéball. He... he may startle the other Pokémon."

Lucario growled in protest, coming to Moon's side and tugging at her sleeve. Moon flashed him a sympathetic gaze and played along. "Er, he's right. Sorry Luc, but you'll have to sit this one out." Taking out Lucario's pokéball, Moon held it in front of her loyal Pokémon. With one last glare towards Hikaru, Lucario reluctantly returned to his designated space.

With the teens now aboard, Hikaru began the drive towards the Safari Zone. However, just when  Moon thought the adventure was about to begin, he passed the front entrance. It was peculiar at first, but as he drove down a backroad and rode towards a broken fence, it was downright suspicious.

"Why are we-" Green began to speak before Hikaru cut him off.

"It's all part of the adventure, kid!" He announced excitedly. "Besides, this is closer to where I find most of the Pokémon who... need my help."

"It's a pretty slick entrance too," Hau joked, looking back at his friends and giving them his best "can-you-believe-this-guy-?" smile.

After that, no one said anything and it became apparent that the morning's awkward silence session wasn't over yet. And thus, they continued into the Safari Zone.