He’s starting his island challenge!

You’ve gotta admit, there’s nothing quite like taking a walk in the morning. Usually, tourists can be found milling around Melemele’s scenic trails, often on their way to the beach. But it’s just a liiiittle too early right now. It’s just you, the morning sun, and the sounds of nature. Maybe Luke’s on to something with this bright-and-early stuff. It’s almost enough to make you wanna give up sleeping in. Almost.

As the beach comes into view, you spot a figure. You s’pose that’d be Luke; nobody else is here, after all. As you draw closer, stepping onto the sand, the figure looks up and waves, before jogging in your direction. Yep, that’s Luke alright. Same dense, flat-top hair, same signature, goofy smile, contrasted by his dark skin, and the same thick glasses he’d had since you were kids.

“Yo! Took ya long enough to get down here!”

You raise an eyebrow, exasperated.

“Ah. Sorry,” he says sheepishly. “Just really pumped up. Here, one sec.” He whips off his backpack, rooting around for a moment before seemingly finding his mark.

“Check it!” He thrusts a paper towards you. This is what he wanted to show you? You take the paper, and begin reading; “This document certifies that Lucas Robinson has completed the course of study prescribed by the Melemele Board of Education... is this a diploma?”

“Yup!” he affirms, beaming. “Remember how I took those classes in the summer? Well, as of the end of the first semester, I had enough credits to graduate! I put in a request to graduate early, and when I woke up this morning, this was in the mailbox!”

Huh. Not exactly what you were expecting, and you’re not quite sure why he’d insisted on having to tell you in person, but you’re not going to rain on his parade. “That’s... great Luke! What’re you gonna use all that free-time for? Gonna start working again?”

“Weeeell, that brings me to my second, more exciting announcement! Now that I’m 18, and out of school, my parents won’t have any more excuses! I’m gonna start my island challenge!”

For a moment, all you can seem to hear is the sound of the lapping tide.“...Huh?”

“I’m gonna start my island challenge! You know, like we’ve always talked about!”

“O-oh. Yeah...” He... he’d be going by himself? You’d been looking forward to the island challenge for years, but whenever you’d imagined it, Luke had always been by your side. Just like how Hau and Annie had travelled together. You just assumed that’s how it’d be. But... come to think of it, you’d never actually talked with Luke about it had you? “Yeah. Just like... just like we’ve always talked about.”

He bends down and starts rifling around in his bag again, oblivious. “And so... this leads into why I called you out here!” His grin never fading, he procures what he’d been searching for, revealing it with a flourish: a Poké Ball.

“When I opened the mail and saw that diploma, it was like an electric current ran through my body. Couldn’t sit still at all. So I took a quick jaunt over to Hau’oli! Was planning on buying some supplies for the challenge. But, uh, the Poké Mart was closed. Because it was like, 7:30 AM on a Saturday. But then I noticed one of the trash bags in the back lot was torn, and a bunch of perfectly good Poké Balls were spilling out, free for the taking! So... well, you get it. I called you on the way back.”

He grabs a second ball, and places it in your hand. “I don’t wanna wait for Hala to just give me a Pokémon. So... how ‘bout me and you catch some of our own?”

“You see anything over there?” Luke shouts.

“Nope, not since that one Rattata that ran off!”

For the past 20 minutes, you and Luke have been peeking around the edges of the tall grass which lines the beach, trying to get as close to a wild Pokémon as you feel safe doing. The plan is to either throw a ball when one of you gets close enough, or to tackle the creature and hold it down so that the other can capture it. Luke almost caught a Wingull, but neither of you have actually been able to close the deal. To be honest, it’s probably your fault. Your mind has been elsewhere. You really want to tell Luke how you feel, but it wouldn’t really be fair to him. His expectations and your own for how you want the challenge to go are clearly different... and he seems so happy right now. Who are you to ask him to wait for you?

“Selene!”

Luke’s voice brings you back down to earth. What’s up? Did he find one?

“Selene!! Look out!”

“Skree!”

Too late, you realize you’ve wandered far into the tall grass. A Yungoos is poised in front of you, hissing, and ready to strike. You desperately reach for your Poké Ball, but the Yungoos leaps! Realizing you won’t get the capsule in time, you raise both of your arms, just barely intercepting the animal. Using every ounce of strength you can muster you manage to take hold of it. But it’s not enough; you can feel your grip loosening. “LUKE!! Hurry, get over here!”

“I’m coming!” he screams, almost tripping over himself in his panic. To your horror, you realize that he won’t make it in time; the Yungoos will soon be upon you. “Just throw the ball!”

He falters. “I-I’m to far away! What if I miss?!”

“JUST DO IT!!”

Luke swallows, hard. Still sprinting, he winds his arm back, before wildly hurling the ball.

The capsule sails through the air. There’s certainly no form behind its arc; but it’ll have to do. It has to.

And it looks like it just might. Closer, closer- it’s gonna do it! It’s gonna hit Yungoos!

Thunk!

Oh shit. Oh no, no no. It hit your arm. You’ll have to try to kick the Yungoos away and run, hope for the best-

Ching! Kerzzzeeeewwwww!

Wait, what? Wasn’t that the sound a Poké Ball makes? It missed the Yungoos, didn’t it? Why is it activat-

...