Ash set his stuff on the ground in Kukui's house. "Thanks again professor."

Ash had just arrived in Kukui's lab. Kukui gave Ash permission to stay there as long as he needed to. As Lillie was taking the loft, Ash took the couch, which was no problem to him.

Kukui smiled. "Not a problem. Now there is something that you must take care of tomorrow to start your Trial Challenge. I suggest you rest up."

Ash nodded. "I will. See you in the morning."

Kukui descended the stairs down to his lab to finish some late work. Ash was about to climb into the couch when he saw Eevee watching the TV. It looked like an eeveeloution special was on.

As Leafeon, the grass eeveeloution came onscreen, Eevee formed immediate sparkles in its eyes. She gazed at the Leafeon until it was offscreen.

Ash chuckled. "What do you think Eevee? Is that what you want to be?"

Eevee let out a yelp of happiness. Ash and Greninja laughed at the behavior as Lillie walked in the room.

"What's so funny?" Lillie asked.

Ash looked over at her. "Don't worry about it. Eevee was just making us laugh."

Lillie smiled and walked over towards Ash. "Well, Mr. Kalos Runner-up, you have a few things to explain to me."

Ash cringed. "Could we not talk about the Runner-up part?"

"Oh. Sorry." Lillie apologized.

Ash took a seat on the couch while Lillie sat in the recliner. "Ok. So what do you want to know?"

Lillie looked at Ash. "Let's start with this. Why are you here if you did so well in Kalos?"

Ash bit his lip. He hasn't thought about that one. But he may have an answer.

"That is the reason. Because I did so well in Kalos, I felt the need to try a new region. If I test my strength here and succeed, then I may consider staying." Ash answered.

Lillie smiled. "That's great. I could use a new friend."

Ash nodded. "Same here."

Lillie tried another question. "Well what about your other pokemon besides Greninja and Eevee?"

"Though it was kinda hard to do this, I left my Pokemon to try a new start. I hate being a powerhouse right off the bat sometimes. Takes away some of the fun."

Lillie eyed Greninja and Eevee. "What about them?"

Ash looked at his Pokemon. "That's different. Greninja refused to leave me, and I caught Eevee on the way here."

"Still though. Greninja has enough power to rival the Island Guardians."

Ash took his turn to ask questions. "Island what now?"

Lillie looked back at Ash. "The Island Guardians. They are the protectors of Alola, and are extremely powerful Pokemon. You could almost consider them legendaries, but some are against that term."

Ash turned to Lillie. "Well to answer your statement, Greninja and I were talking after Kukui explained the Island Trial Challenge. Greninja would take a back seat for the first part of the journey unless I need him. I plan to use Eevee and whatever else I find in Alola until then."

Lillie nodded. "Sounds fair. Just don't neglect him."

Ash cringed a bit as it brought back an old memory of his old Pokemon. He shrugged it off.

Lillie stood up. "Well I need to go to bed. I'll see you tomorrow!"

Lillie dashed up to the loft, leaving Ash and his team alone. Ash yawned and crashed on the couch.

Meanwhile, Kukui was still questioning the 'missing' status on Ash's trainer profile...

.........

"So he left at night, and you have no idea about his current location?" Oak asked.

Serena and Clemont shook their heads. "The best idea we have is that he went to a place far from all the regions he has been to. That's what he would do."

Oak stroked his chin in thought. "Ash has gotten smarter over the years. I sent a message out to all the regional professors to tell us if they see him, amd we will get him ourselves."

Gary busted through the door and ran into the lab. "Is this real? Is he really gone?"

Oak nodded. "Unfortunately it is. We can't find him anywhere."

Gary hit the wall. "I'm going to go look for him."

Oak grabbed Gary. "Not until you calm down and think. If you go out there recklessly, you could make a fatal mistake."

Gary looked at Oak. "But this is Ash. I am not just going to wait it out and do nothing."

"You think I don't know that?!" Oak yelled so loud that the room went quiet.

Gary widened his eyes. "Gramps..."

Oak let go of Gary. "I would go out there myself if I could, but being Kanto is the last place he would come to right now, there is no point in looking around here. Until we have a slight idea where he went, there is no point in running around aimlessly."

Gary looked down. "I understand."

"Good. Now I already notified his friends, and some of them are coming to get the full story. Do you mind helping Delia clean up? She could use some help right now."

Gary nodded and walked to the door. "I'll be back later."

Once Gary left, Oak turned to the Kalos trio again. "Now you guys wouldn't mind helping me break the news to his Pokemon, would you?"

The three nodded. "Of course we can."

Professor Oak smiled. "Thank you. Now follow me to the corral."

.........

Ash woke up from his rest to find a Rockruff licking his face. He laughed and stood up out of the couch.

He noticed a new pair of clothes on the coffee table with a note on them. Ash grabbed the note with curiosity.

"Figured an Alolan look would suit you better than Kalos, yeah? Hope you like them."

-Kukui

Ash smiled. "He didn't need to do this."

He quickly changed into the new clothes. It consisted of black tennis shoes, a blue and white stripped T-shirt, black pants that cut down near his shins, and a red cap with a white logo on it.

Ash looked in the mirror. "This is perfect. I feel like I'm from here now. What do you guys think?"

His Pokemon nodded im agreement with the new style. They knew it fit Ash extremely well compared to before.

"Well that's just what Kukui intended when he bought them."

Ash turned around to see Lillie in her normal outfit with her Vulpix next to her. She was smiling at him.

"I think you look great Ash. Kukui knows how to pick the right style when it comes to outfits." Lillie stated.

Ash smiled. "Thanks. I appreciate that."

She began to turn around. Was that a hint of red on her cheeks...?

The front door opened, and Kukui walked in. "Ah, there you both are. Like the new clothes I bought?"

Ash nodded. "They're perfect. Thank you so much professor."

Kukui nodded. "Well it's time to head out. I just finished the preparations to get you started on the Island Trial Challenge."

Ash grinned with excitement. "I'm so ready."

Ash heard a noise, and saw Lillie turn around. He looked towards her, but he couldn't see what she was doing except she had her bag open.

She closed her bag. "I am going to head over to the Ruins of Conflict right now. I'll meet you guys at Iki Town."

Lillie ran out of the door and out of sight. Ash dismissed his thoughts, and looked at Kukui. "So let's go."

Kukui and Ash, along with both of Ash's current pokemon, started walking to Iki Town. The scenery around the region was beautiful, as Ash began to take it in as they walked.

Kukui broke the silence. "I need you to be honest with me here Ash."

Ash nodded. "What is it?"

"Why does it say 'missing' under your trainer profile status?"

Ash immediately froze. He didn't know whether to run, or to tell Kukui the truth about his past.

Kukui turned to Ash. "Just give me a straight answer. Don't lie because I can tell when you do."

Ash gave in. "Alright. I didn't come here under 'completely' regular circumstances. I lost the league and I was ok with my position."

"Go on." Kukui said.

"However, my friends didn't think so. They kept trying to help me do simple things that I know I can do. I told them to stop, but they kept pressing. I was tired of it. At that point, I had assumed that they lost faith in me as a trainer."

"After coming so close?" Kukui questioned.

Ash nodded. "I've taken worse losses than that. I lost in the Kanto Battle Frontier twice in a row against Brandon. But that never stopped me. So I decided if they lost that much faith in me, I should move on."

Kukui nodded. "I see. So that's why."

Ash sighed. "So I guess you are going to give me away then?"

"What? Heck no." Kukui stated.

Ash was in shock. "But-"

"Ash, I found out before you went to bed. I wouldn't have bought those clothes and prepared you for the Island Trial Challenge if I didn't think you belong here."

Ash was at a loss for words.  "I don't know what to say."

"Don't say anything. Just consider this a selfish reason, but I want to see you on top of that podium. With spirit like yours, I know you have what it takes to hit the top. So once the league is set up, promise me you will win." Kukui smiled with a thumbs up.

Ash smirked. "I promise. This time, no holds barred. I will win this league."

Kukui nodded. "That's the spirit. Now uphold to that promise. I know you have it in you."

They continued to walk until they made it to a small gateway into a town.  Ash looked around and saw that decorations were being set up. It almost seemed like some sort of event.

Ash looked at Kukui. "What are they doing?"

"Setting up for the annual festival. Every year, they have a festival where trainers get their starter Pokemon. They also battle against each other for the Island Diety, Tapu Koko."

"Lillie told me about the Island Guardians here. They are supposed to have enough power to be like legendary Pokemon."

Kirkuk nodded. "It's impressive how incredible their power climbs above many Pokemon. However, they need that power if they are going to stay guardians of Alola."

"You think I'll meet one?" Ash asked.

"It's likely. Some of the Tapu's are very friendly towards the public."

Ash marveled at the thought of battling a Tapu. The type of battle it could be, and just how much power they really have.

Kukui took a look around. "Hmm. He was here when I left..."

"Who?" Ask asked.

Kukui turned towards the nearest person. "Where did Hala go? He was here when I left a while ago."

The man shrugged. "He said that he had urgent buisness to attend to, but that's all he said."

Kukui sighed. "Guess we have to wait a little while. Hey Ash, why don't you go check on Lillie? She should be down that path over there."

Kukui pointed to a clearing, and Ash nodded. "I'll be back."

Eevee began to follow Ash while Greninja stayed with the professor.  Ash started down the Malaho Trail after Lillie.

After a few minutes of walking, Ash was starting to get bored. "Geez. How far do we have to go?"

Almost as if on cue, Ash started to hear a female voice around the corner on the trail. Ash and Eevee ran behind a tree and began to listen.

"Nebby, are you sure you want to do this?"

Ash heard a pokemon cry in response. It sounded nothing like any pokemon Ash has heard before. Ash decided to peak around the corner, and saw someone looking in their bag.

"It's Lillie. But what is she talking to?" Ash asked himself.

Lilie nodded and began to walk. "Alright. If you want to go then I am not letting you go alone."

Once Ash knew Lillie couldn't see them, he stepped out of his hiding spot. He developed a look of curiosity on his face.

He looked at Eevee. "I assume you don't know what she was talking to either?"

Eevee shook her head. "Well then let's find out."

They continued to follow Lillie for a good 5 minutes until they finally reached a clearing. The clearing had a bridge and a cave opening at the end of it. The bridge also looked to be near breaking point.

Lillie was taking a look at the bridge when all of the sudden, a pokemon jumped out of her bag. "Nebby! Come back here."

The pokemon was a mix of blue, pink, and purple. It also had yellow stripes on it. The pokemon began to float over the bridge until it reached the center.

Around the time it reached the center, a flock of Spearow started to appear. They all started flying around the mysterious pokemon and tried to attack it.

"This isn't looking good. Come on Eevee." Ash ran out towards Lillie with Eevee at his heels.

Lillie turned around in shock. "Ash?! Why are you here?"

"Kukui told me to come check on you. Good thing I did."

Lillie looked like she was under a panic attack. "Please Ash. Please save Nebby. I would myself, but I don't know what to do."

Ash nodded and turned his attention towards the bridge. "Alright. Eevee, use Swift and get rid of those Spearow."

Eevee fired a barrage of stars at the majority of the flock. Most of them ran away, but a few were still attacking the blue pokemon.

Ash grit his teeth. "If we attack, we risk hitting that pokemon. Eevee, wait here. I'll go get it."

Before Lillie could protest against him, Ash already started crossing the bridge. He quickly made it over to the pokemon, and tried to grab it. Before he could touch it, a Spearow dived at his hand. Ash made a hasty decision, and jumped at the pokemon and began to shield it himself.

Ash noticed that the pokemon was starting to glow blue. In a flash of light, the bridge collapsed, and the Spearow flew away. However, Ash and Nebby were sent plumetting towards the bottom of the waterfall. Ash grabbed Nebby and began to brace for impact.

However, Ash didn't feel himself hit anything. When he opened his eyes, he saw a yellow and orange pokemon helping them. They quickly flew up in the air and landed next to Eevee and Lillie. Ash met eyes with the pokemon that saved him for a moment.

"Koooo..." The pokemon gave Ash a blue looking bracelet and flew off.

Lillie ran up to Nebby and gave it a death glare before hugging it. "DON'T YOU EVER DO THAT AGAIN! YOU GAVE ME A HEART ATTACK!"

Ash stood up as Eevee jumped into his arms and let out a cry of joy. "Sorry Eevee. Guess I haven't changed much at all."

Suddenly, Ash felt arms wrap around him. He saw Lillie giving him a hug, which surprised him at first.

"Thank you so much Ash. You didn't have to risk your own life like that." Lillie said.

Ash shook his head. "Look, one of the things I do that very few others would dare try is always help save a pokemon. I've done this countless times, and in all honesty, I should be dead by now. Call it reckless, but that's just what I do."

Lillie let him go and began to look at the weird bracelet that the pokemon gave to Ash. "Wait. Do you realize what Tapu Koko just gave you?"

Ash was stunned. "Tapu Koko?"

"The Island Guardian of Melemele. He just gave you a Z-Ring."

"Like the one Kiawe had? How does it work?" Ash asked excitedly.

Lillie grabbed Nebby, and stuffed him in the bag. "You know what, I'll just let Kukui and Hala explain that one. Let's go before we're late."

Ash nodded as they both hurried back towards Iki town, with a new story to share with everyone...

I don't expect this story to be as viewed as Fighter. Just being honest, but I still am going at this story. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. If you took the time to read this far in the story, then tell me this: If you played Sun and Moon or want to, which starter would/did you pick? Mine is Popplio, but mainly because I like the water starters the most. Have a good day.

-Bl0t0rch