A Guardian's Gift

"Huh? Where did this come from?"

The girl walked over to him, struggling to put Nebby back into the bag.

"I forgot to introduce myself earlier. My name is Lillie. Thank you so much for saving Nebby, I would feel awful if something happened to him."

Ash looked up at her, smiling sheepishly.

"Heh, it was nothing. I do stuff like that all the time."

"I should know. My name's Drake Ketchum, Kanto's regional champion and Ash's older brother."

Just then he began to panic, realizing the egg was no longer in his hands.

"Ah! Where'd the egg go! I set it down for a minute, and now I can't find it. Professor Oak will never forgive me!"

"Chill out, little brother." Drake advised.

Lillie then tapped his shoulder, getting his attention long enough to see that Lillie had picked it up.

"I figured this might be important, so I made sure to put it somewhere safe."

Ash sighed in relief that the egg was safe.

"Thanks. Say, you wouldn't happen to know where Professor Kukui is, would you?"

"Not really. I'm looking for him myself. When I heard he was in Iki Town, I thought I would find him but Nebby here seemed drawn to the ruins over there." Lillie replied, pointing to where the bridge once was.

Ash sighed sadly.

"Man, that guy is harder to find than a needle in a haystack."

"Come on, let's get back to town. Maybe he and Hala are back by now."

Ash nodded, and the three and Pikachu headed back to town.

Once they reached the town, they found two people Ash had never seen before. One was a young man wearing a open white coat and glasses, while the other was much older with the build of a sumo wrestler. The first man was pleased when he saw Lillie.

"Ah, Lillie, glad to see you. Burnet called me a while ago and told me that you were looking for me. And who are these two?"

"I'm Ash from Pallet Town."

"And I'm his older brother, Drake. What's your name?"

The man flashed a bright grin.

"Why, I'm none other than Pokemon move extraordinaire, Professor Kukui I've taken so many attacks head on I'm like a Metapod using Harden, whoo!"

Ash sweat dropped at Kukui's mannerisms, but quickly changed face when he realized this was the man he was looking for.

"Ah! I've been looking all over for you! Professor Oak wanted me to give you this Pokemon egg!"

"Oh really? Well then, let's see."

Ash handed over the egg, which Kukui inspected thoroughly.

"Hmm, can't wait to see what Pokemon this hatches into. Well, thanks Ash, Drake. Oh, I see you two have met my assistant, Lillie?"

"Assistant?!"

"You never told us that earlier."

Lillie smiled at Ash's reaction.

"You see, Kukui and Burnet have been allowing me to live with them for the past three months after they found Nebby and I washed up on the beach next to their house."

"As a way to pay them back, Kukui has allowed me to help him in his lab conducting research."

"I've tried to tell her that wasn't necessary, but she insisted. Of course, I can't deny that she's been a big help."

Just then, the older man noticed the stone gleaming in Ash's pocket.

"Excuse me, Ash, but may I ask where you got that stone from?"

And so Ash and Lillie explained the whole series of events to them, from Ash saving Nebby to Tapu Koko saving Ash.

"And when I landed, this sparkling stone was in my hand."

Everyone's eyes, except Lillie's, widened at this.

"Incredible! To receive a gift from a guardian is rare, but for a foreigner to receive one is remarkable. Tapu Koko must have great faith in you."

The older man stepped forward.

"Excuse me Ash, but may I borrow your stone? I promise you may have it back by tomorrow evening at the latest."

Ash stepped back in hesitation.

"Um, no offense, but if this kind of occurrence is as rare as you guys say, then I don't want to give it away so easily. Especially to someone I don't even know the name of."

The gentleman laughed at this.

"Fair enough, since I know your name you should know mine. I am Hala, Kahuna of Melemele Island, chosen by Tapu Koko himself to protect it. And don't worry, I promise my intentions will bring out your stone's greatest potential."

"Well, alright then."

Still reluctant, Ash handed the stone over to Hala, who nodded.

"Hey Ash, why don't you take one of our Alola starters as a thank you."

This caused Ash's eyes to go wide.

"Really? You mean it."

Kukui nodded.

"It's the least I can do to thank you for saving Lillie's life. Don't you agree, Hala?"

Hala roared in laughter, nodding his head in agreement.

"A splendid idea, Kukui! After all, I can tell from the looks of his Pikachu that this boy knows how to take care of Pokemon."

Hala rubbed Pikachu's head, getting a small "chu" in response.

"Well, in that case I would love one!"

Hala disappeared into his house for a moment, returning with three Poke Balls.

"Alright, here are your choices."

Emerging in a bright flash of light were three Pokemon, each staring at Ash intently.

"First we have Rowlet, the grass type. Although hard working, they are known to sleep at inappropriate times."

"Second is Litten, the fire type. Although he may look unassuming, he can be quite fierce in battle."

"Lastly, we have little Popplio, the water type. Full of boundless energy, they love to bring smiles to others."

"Now Ash, which one do you choose?"

Ash considered his choices for a minute, then spoke.

"I choose Litten!"

While Litten seemed surprised by this decision, everyone nodded in agreement.

"A wise decision, Ash. But you see, in Alola your starter must accept you as well."

Litten stared up at Ash, considering the boy in front of him. Then, with a sly smile, he ran up and nuzzled Ash's leg, purring happily. Ash laughed, picking up the fire monster in his arms.

"Welcome to the team, Litten."

"Pika Pi!"

"Litten, Lit!"

"Wait!"

Everyone turned to see two other boys running onto the scene. One was a light-skinned boy wearing a hat, while the other was darker skinned.

"We're not too late, are we?"

"I told you not to have so many malasadas, Hau."

"Aw, but they're so good."

Everyone laughed at the two's antics.

"Not to worry, you two. Your Agility attack allowed you to reach town just in time! Ash already chose his, but we still have two left."

"You can go ahead, Hau. I already know which one you want to pick."

Hau nodded, before turning around to his selections.

"I choose you, Rowlet!"

The green owl hooted in delight, flying onto Hau's shoulder. Hala nodded with a hearty laugh.

"A wise choice indeed! As for you, Sun, I'm afraid Popplio is all that's left."

At this, Popplio bowed it's head. Always the one nobody wanted. To it's surprise, though, Sun gently approached him, holding out his hand and smiling warmly.

"Hey there buddy, it's okay. You're exactly who I wanted to begin my journey with. You and I are going straight to the top."

It's morale boosted by Sun's kind words, Popplio jumped into his arms, nuzzling his chest. Kukui sniffed, wiping a tear from his eye.

"Seeing such bonds between trainer and Pokemon...it's just...it's just...oh I can't contain it!"

With that the dam broke, tears spewing everywhere. Hala meanwhile, turned to the three trainers.

"Now that you three have chosen your new friends, I entrust that you will look after each other. Treat them not as tools of battle, but as close friends and may Tapu Koko shine brightly on you all."

"Yes, sir!"

"One more thing." Ash suddenly said. "How would you two like to be my travel partners?"

Sun and Hau thought this over briefly before making a decision.

"No problem." They nodded.

With that, everyone dispersed to show their new Pokemon to their families, excited for whatever lays ahead.

"Are you sure no one else is around?"

"James, I told you I've already triple checked the whole perimeter. There isn't anyone around for miles."

"See, Jimmie. I told you this old abandoned mega mart would be the perfect base of operations."

"Alright, Meowth, you've made your point. Now let's contact the boss."

After a few moments, the monitor lit up, revealing Giovanni's piercing stare. The three bowed before him.

"Sir, Team Rocket reporting team 134 reporting, sir!"

"Excellent. I take it you managed to establish a base, already?"

"Yes. No one has been here in years, it'll be the perfect place to begin our operations."

"Excellent. Now remember, your main objective is to gather Z-Crystals to send back to base for analysis. Catching that Pikachu you've been after should not be your concern."

"Understood, sir."

"Excellent. Report to me in one month's time."

With that, the transmission cut out, leaving the trio to begin plotting their next move.