There was very little in the way of challenge that Fraxinus Lono would've avoided: swimming races, balloon popping contests, Tauros races, Pokémon battles, the works. Not even essays seemed too impervious to him.

However, as he sat down in the house's living room and sent his sister quizzical glances, he finally found out the only challenge that he couldn't undertake.

"Alright, which one do you think looks better?" Velvet turned around the laptop's screen, showing two dresses, virtually identical save for a few details and color.

"Uhm..." Frax inched closer to the screen, blinking and rubbing his chin. "I mean, hmmm... Maybe...?"

Velvet turned the laptop back, groaning and hitting keys. "Why did I ask you for help?"

"Hey, you're the girl here. I'm sure you can get into mom's head better than I do."

"Family doesn't work that way. Plus, this is a team effort, you know." Velvet folded her arms, eyes to the wooden ceiling. "We don't have much time left."

Frax's attention went to a couple of mishapen clay statues displayed over a table. "Can't we try crafting something? It worked well some years ago."

"Hmmm, why not." Velvet searched over her laptop, smiling. "Maybe we can try making a copy of the ancient Tapu masks. I have all we need already."

A memory of their mother desperately trying to get her head out of a hapzardly painted wooden barrel while shouting at them popped up. Frax grimaced.

Velvet pouted. "Oh, come on. It won't happen again!"

"I'm not sure." Frax shrugged.

"Then suggest something else. After all, we only have-"

"What do you have?"

Frax and Velvet froze, turning to the living room's entrance: there, they saw a familiar brown haired and dark skinned woman stride inside, observing the twins with a quirked eyebrow.

The Lono twins gulped and stared at each other, then put on forced smiles in perfect sync.

"Uhm, nothing mom." Velvet shoved the laptop away. "We were just comparing and contrasting our moves for our future Z-Crystals, is all!"

Jasmine Lono observed her daughter and son, squinting her eyes at them. Both kids stiffened, but kept their expressions up even in a sea of sweat. She then took a deep breath, giving her children a smile.

"Thinking ahead, heh." She folded her arms, looking the other way. "That's a good idea. This world is a very rough place if you don't know how to plan things out."

She let out a long sigh. Velvet's and Frax's masks faltered.

"Is something wrong, mom?" Frax stood up, head tilted.

Jasmine held her forehead, pacing through the room and into the kitchen, opening the fridge and searching inside.

"Nothing much, they asked me to sub in for Lei again and I needed to grab some things." Water and food secured in the bag, she walked back to the entrance. "Dinner's in the fridge, as usual."

Velvet frowned. "Can't someone else work in your place? You aren't the only employee they have."

Jasmine stopped, her body stiffening and her hand clenched over the bag. She then turned her head, shaking it.

"Some extra money is never bad, always remember that." She waved and went back to the door. "See you later, guys. Don't wait for me."

She closed the door, leaving the twins alone. They remained silent for a bit, before Frax cleared his throat, turning back to Velvet. "So, we have no ideas."

"Why don't you ask Rotom for help?"

Frax pointed behind him to another room, where a blonde wig-wearing floating Pokédex was having the time of its life glued to the TV screen.

Velvet groaned again as she got off the chair. "Then ask him once he's done. I need some sleep." She rubbed her forehead and yawned, leaving her brother alone.

Frax sighed, eyes to the wall again while Rotom parrotted his TV show. Finding a good gift for Mother's Day shouldn't have been that hard...

His soft snores were loud enough to grab everyone's attention and make Velvet palm her face, while Togedemaru panicked and rushed all around the class.

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"Frax? Are you awake?"

He felt a gentle rub, strong enough to drag him out of his dreamworld. Frax stretched his arms, yawned and rubbed his eyes.

"Hmmm...?" He cracked his eyes, only to open them wide as he registered Kukui's worried expression, clutching his desk with a thump.

Kukui folded his arms, eyebrow quirked. "Are you alright? Did something happen?"

"S-Sorry, Professor Kukui! I have no idea how I fell asleep!" Frax raised both arms and shook his head, paler than a bedsheet and sweating profusely.

Rotom floated at his side, an annoyed emoticon plastered over his screen. "Bzzt! I told you it was a bad idea to spend all night searching for cool stones in the Hau'oli City marina."

"It was worth a shot!" Frax pouted, only to shake his head and bow towards the teacher. "I didn't mean to disturb the lesson."

"That's okay, don't worry. Just pay attention now, alright?" Kukui gave a smile and a healthy pat to the back before striding back to the desk and grabbing a few scattered documents. "As I was saying, while we have focused a lot on studying regional forms, we shouldn't ignore minor form changes brought up by reaction to the environment."

He searched through the folders before smiling and holding up a picture, showing the class the picture of a yellow bird Pokémon that appeared to have pom-poms on its hands.

"Now, anyone can tell me which Pokémon this is?"

Three hands were raised, but a floating Pokédex flew closer and beat them to the punch.

"I can! Zzt!" The same picture appeared above a blue background inside Rotom's screen. "Oricorio, the Dancing Pokémon, an Electric and Flying-type. This specific specimen has sapped yellow nectar, and creates electricity by rubbing its pom-poms together. It loves dancing, and does so while approaching the opponent before attacking."

"Oh, right, that's the Pokémon Lillie's butler owns." Frax nodded along. At his side, Velvet muttered something about short memory spans and lack of focus.

"Correct Rotom, even if I hoped some of the students would reply." The Rotom's excitement lowered as it flew back to its place. Kukui placed his arms akimbo, grinning. "Now, anyone can tell me why the mention of nectars is important?"

Lillie raised her hand. "Each of Alola's islands has specific flowers of different color, and their nectar affects the Oricorio instantly by changing its type and appearence."

"Very good, Lillie." The teacher gave her a thumbs up before grabbing three other pictures, showing off the Pom-Pom, Baile, Pa'u and Sensu Styles of Oricorio alongside their respective flower. "Professor Philena Ivy and I have been studying the origin of this forme change, but we have yet to find any definitive answer. Our current theory is that those flowers contain a specific radiation of evolutionary energy similar to elemental stones, enough to affect Oricorio but not enough to actually morph it into a permanent evolution, but that's far from confirmed as of now."

Kukui smiled, looking at the Meadow flowers. "At the very least, we can say for sure they would make for a very nice bouquet, don't you think?"

The joke managed to steal a laugh out of all the students before Kukui resumed the explanation. Almost all of them, at least.

After blinking a few times, a big grin formed on Frax's face, nodding to himself. He knew exactly what to do now!

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As Frax finished his explanation and sat back down, the rest of his classmates sent him different shades of quizzical looks before turning to each other.

Velvet was the first to turn back, eyebrow raised. "You want to make an Oricorio flower bouquet?"

"Yeah." Hands behind his neck, Frax beamed. "You heard the Professor earlier. I'm sure mom would love it!"

In response, Velvet rubbed her head, frowning. "I don't know; there was this ancient Alolan pot that she might've liked. She always liked antiques after all."

"Uhm, Velvet, have you seen the prices?" Sophocles whipped up his holographic laptop, quickly moving to a selection of ancient Alolan items while pointing to the screen. "You'd need to have as much money as Lillie to afford this."

As Velvet's glance shifted to each increasingly bloated price, her face lost more and more shades of color.

"Uhm..." Her glance naturally went to Lillie. She raised her arms in response.

"Mom told me to never lend money to others, sorry." She shook her head, tightening her grip on her duffle bag.

Velvet's worry was replaced by a pout, crossing her arms while staring at the wall. "Fine, let's go gardening."

"Alright! Thanks, Velvet!" Frax jumped on his feet, fists pumped.

Then Mallow inched closer, quirking an eyebrow and looking at him. "Frax, don't you think it's gonna be hard to take all the flowers you need?"

"Not at all." Frax smiled. "We just need to go to that Meadow where Bounsweet evolved into Steenee. That's where they were."

Mallow remained still, trading glances with the rest of the class. A couple of seconds later, Mallow took a deep breath and shook her head.

"Frax..." She inched closer. "Those were just the Melemele flowers. You still have the Akala, Ula'Ula and Poni flowers to gather."

"What?" Frax widened his eyes, starting to pull his hair out. "Why did nobody tell me that?"

"Professor Kukui did, actually, you know." Hau rubbed his neck.

Frax froze, then rubbed his forehead in thought as he glanced at the ground.

"Uhm..." He managed to smile again. "Well, we just need to take a trip, and-"

"Nope, there's gonna be agitated seas tomorrow and all ferries are cancelled," Sophocles read out of his holo-laptop.

"Oh, come on." Frax pouted as he sat again. "Did I slight the Tapu or something?"

Lana shrugged. "Well, you have been trying to face Tapu Koko a couple times already."

"Maybe it's better if I shut up." Frax sighed, plastering his face on his desk. "If only I had my own Ride Pokémon..."

At those words, Velvet tapped her temple and thought. Sophocles, Lana, Mallow, Lillie and Hau did the same. Then everyone, Frax included, turned towards Kiawe.

Understanding the glances, Kiawe went pale and raised his arms. "No, I can't do it. I have some deliveries to make tomorrow, and-"

"Please!" Frax joined his hands, wearing his better puppy dog eyes. "It's important! Only you can help!"

Frowning, Kiawe tried to look the other way. "I said no. That's final!"

----------------------------------------

Still unable to believe they had convinced him Kiawe sighed, adjusting his Charizard's Ride Pokémon gear while Frax and Velvet talked with their mother. Velvet's Rattata lazed around and relaxed ahead of his guard duty.

"Be careful while flying." She folded her arms, looking over her children. "And please return for dinner! I will make sure you have some food stored."

"Alright, mom." Velvet nodded, smiling. "Good work!"

"Same to you!" Jasmine gave them a thumbs up.

Waving at each other, Jasmine left for work. Frax and Velvet remained still until their mother disappeared from sight, quickly turning towards Kiawe as Rotom flew closer.

Velvet eyed Kiawe. "Remember, if she asks we went to help you out at the ranch."

"Alright." Sighing and rubbing his forehead, Kiawe faced the twins. "But you should also remember that I've got deliveries to make. I will need to take some time off between trips."

"That's okay!" Frax took out a bouquet of yellow flowers with a grin. "We already got the Melemele Meadow flowers, we only need the rest."

"I'm not sure this is a good idea, zzt." Rotom flew around the Lono twins, a worried emoticon plastered over his screen. "What if something happens to you? The other islands have very dangerous Pokémon, far worse than Melemele's."

"Don't worry, we will be careful." Frax nodded. Rotom didn't seem particularly convinced, but let the argument die down.

"I need to go to Akala first." Kiawe sat on his position. "Come on."

Frax nodded, rushing towards him. "Thanks again, Kiawe! You are a friend!"

As he and Rotom took their respective places, Velvet heard a faint noise. Stopping, she quickly turned around.

"Uhm." Velvet narrowed her eyes, staring behind her.

After Frax took his place on Kiawe's Charizard, he looked back toward his twin. "Velvet? Something wrong?"

"I dunno, I felt like someone was behind us." Velvet's posture relaxed, tilting her head.

Frax looked around, a quizzical look on his face. "I don't see anyone."

Velvet tried scanning the area once more, finding nothing odd around Route 1 aside from scattered wild Pokémon and youngsters fighting each other.

"Well then." Shrugging and turning around, Velvet adjusted herself on the seat. "Let's go."

Kiawe nodded, and Charizard took off for the skies.

----------------------------------------

"This is awesome!" Frax took a deep breath as wind rippled over his body, a big grin plastered on his face as he admired the scenery and sea under them. "Ride Pokémon are so cool!"

Kiawe eyed him, hands firmly on the handlebars as he guided Charizard towards the ground. "Hey, you flew with me already when we made deliveries."

"I know! And it was great that time, too!" Frax rubbed Charizard's scales, feeling the heat and rugged skin as his grin widened. "I can't wait to have my own!"

"It will take a while. You need to complete a few more trials first."

Frax pumped his fists, his arms leaving Kiawe's shoulders as he waved them in the air. "I will do it, then! And become stronger and stronger!"

"Let's focus on our gift first, Frax." Velvet sent her brother a stern look as she made sure he didn't fall off the Charizard.

"Oh, right." Frax gave a sheepish smile and a chuckle before looking down again, scanning Akala Island's geography. "Hmmm... where's the Meadow?"

Velvet simply pointed at the leftmost part of the area. "There."

"Oh, right! Thanks!" Frax grinned once more, as Kiawe sighed to himself.

It didn't take long for Kiawe to start the descent, only to frown as Charizard's beating wings became uneven, turning towards the Lono twins.

"I can't descend too close to the Meadow, sorry." He moved Charizard on the side as he turned that way, trying to balance weight. "Charizard seems tired and I can't fly straight."

"Get us as close as possible, then."

Kiawe nodded, aiming for a clearing. "I will try."

Said clearing was overshot by about two hundred feet as Kiawe made the landing in a narrow plain by pure luck. Charizard sprawled on the ground as the trio landed with Akala Meadow nowhere in sight.

Velvet scowled, arms akimbo as she glared at Kiawe. "You have a very loose definition of 'close'."

"I tried my best." Kiawe raised his arms, frowning at his Ride Pokémon. "Charizard was flying hapzardly, almost as if he was carrying extra weight."

"Extra weight?" Quirking an eyebrow, Velvet turned to the Charizard. She squinted her eyes as she noticed his tail. "Wait a sec..."

She grabbed the tail and raised it, a satisfied grin litting up her face. When Kiawe and Frax peered themselves, they found a quite happy Munchlax waving at them, clinging upside down to the appendage.

"A Munchlax?" Frax raised an eyebrow, blinking. "How can it stick to the tail so well?"

"That's your first question?" Velvet sighed, arms folded. "How about why there's a Munchlax here to begin with?"

"Zzt! I have an idea." Rotom flew around the Munchlax, snapping several pictures of it. "Munchlax are generally native of Route 1 on Melemele Island, where we departed. It was probably attracted by the nectar of the Melemele flowers you carried and decided to join you."

"Well, this is a problem." Kiawe fixated on the Munchlax, frowning. "He can't stay here. The Aether Foundation would cause an uproar if they found out we introduced a Munchlax in the wrong environment."

"Let's keep it here for now, we have better things to do." Velvet gave a dismissive wave, taking a few steps ahead. "Now, where's that Meadow...?"

As Velvet tried to find the road, Frax started gleefully patting Munchlax's head. Munchlax didn't seem to react, at least until his gaze locked on the Melemele flowers in Frax's other hands,

"Oh, you want one?" Taking one out of the bouquet, he smiled and offered it. "Here you go!"

Munchlax smiled as well, taking in the pleasant flower smell. Then he kept smelling, quickly turning around before rushing ahead.

Frax blinked, then ran as well. "Hey, wait!"

Seeing the Pokémon and boy run past them, Velvet and Kiawe froze and followed after the two.

As they ran at full speed through a small forest and beyond, nobody realized how much ground they covered until Munchlax finally stopped, the trio taking shallow breaths as sweat ran down their faces.

"Why did you do this now?" Frax asked, wheezing as he stared at Munchlax.

Then he looked behind Munchlax, and energy returned to him when he noticed what was ahead.

A vast sea of scarlet dominated the area, only held back from swallowing the horizon by a series of trees blocking the path, granting a certain secrecy and intimacy to the locale. A gentle breeze passed through regardless, slowly shaking the Akala flowers.

Velvet and Kiawe blinked at the scenery, cocking their heads as the Munchlax rushed among Akala Meadow to take the flowers.

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Frax, Velvet and Kiawe looked at each other, until the former pumped his fists with a huge grin.

"We found it!" Frax yelled, cheering and rushing inside the meadow as well.

Velvet blinked, arms folded. "Was that Munchlax trying to help us?"

"Looks like it." Kiawe nodded.

"Hmmm, if he can smell and find the flowers so easily, then I feel this Munchlax might be of some use." Velvet smiled, looking at Frax and Munchlax taking flowers in sync.

Kiawe agreed, and after gathering flowers, returning to Charizard and making a quick trip to his home, the group moved to the next island on their list.

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Flying off from Ula'Ula Island, Frax looked at the flower bouquet's new scarlet flowers, stashed between the yellow and pink ones.

"And we're almost done." His smile widened, turning towards Munchlax. "Thanks a lot for the help!"

Munchlax rubbed his neck and blushed, letting a pleased giggle as Frax offered him a few flowers, quickly munching them over.

Velvet looked at her brother, steeling her gaze. "Don't waste the flowers, Frax."

"Don't worry, those are just the Melemele ones, we can get a handful once we're back."

"If you say." Velvet shrugged, eyeing Poni Island on the horizon. "I still think we should've gone with the antiques."

"Oh, come on. We just need Poni's flowers and we are done, no need to be negative."

"The best plans always fall apart at the last moment. You should watch more television."

Frax groaned, turning the other way as Munchlax kept eating his share of flowers.

"We're about to land, hold still." Kiawe chimed in; the bickering stopped at once, and the Lono twins focused on Poni Island as it got nearer and nearer.

As they admired the scenery, Charizard landed with much more grace and poise than in Akala, with Frax and Velvet quickly dismounting alongside Munchlax, Rotom flying after them.

"I will return to pick you up in twenty minutes or so." Looking back at the wilderness surrounding them, Kiawe steeled his gaze. "Beware of any danger, Poni is one of the wildest islands of Alola."

"Don't worry, nothing will go wrong!" Frax grinned, hands on his hips as he nodded.

Kiawe curled his lips, raising a hand. "See you later, then."

He and Charizard flew away, leaving the Lono twins, Rotom and Munchlax alone. A few moments later, Velvet gave Frax an elbow on the side.

"Ow!" He rubbed his side, frowning. "Why did you do that?"

Velvet scowled, groaning. "When someone says nothing will go wrong, it will."

"You should watch less television." Frax rolled his eyes, only to smile again as he gave a yellow flower to Munchlax. "Alright, it's your time!"

Nodding and sniffing the air, Munchlax sprinted ahead with Frax in tow. Taking a long sigh and shaking her head, Velvet ran after her brother.

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Alola had always been a region where nature was for the most part untamed, and no island showed that better than Poni.

With no manmade buildings in sight, only steep climbs and roots large enough to serve as bridges surrounded the Lono twins as they followed the path to the Poni Meadow. Patches of tall grass and scattered items dotted the area at infrequent points, only hints of anything around them. As the roots wormed around the place and climbed all the way up, the entire place looked like a giant vase of sorts, abandoned to itself from time immemorial.

No one but them, their Pokémon and Munchlax was around either, the only sounds being distant noises and the wind blowing. It was too quiet, even for a lone place. Both twins were standing their ground, keeping a close look on their surroundings.

"Alright, we're almost there! Let's see who makes it to the Meadow first!"

Or at least, Velvet was.

Frax had a huge grin as he gestured towards his Pokémon. Rowlet was shifting his glance around for any possible predator, while Rockruff and Pikachu followed from a distance. He giggled as he sped up with them after Munchlax.

Velvet rubbed her forehead, sighing as her Meowth walked by her side. "Stay focused, Frax. We aren't here to play."

"We're on an adventure in a new island, Velvet! Where's your desire to explore and have fun?"

"Kept tightly guarded by something called 'common sense'." Velvet adjusted her hat and glanced at the scenery. "We've barely seen anything of Akala and didn't even spend more than five minutes on Ula'Ula. Forgive me for thinking Poni might be dangerous."

"Don't worry, we can count on Rowlet for that. You know he's not one to slack off in a fight." Frax pointed at the Grass-type flying ahead, pose stiffened and glaring daggers around him. "And if worst comes to worst, we also have Munchlax."

"You mean the same Munchlax that's currently playing with garbage?"

Frax blinked and turned at his left. Munchlax was busy stashing what looked like vases and other junk inside his fur between sprints.

The boy pouted. "You don't need to be so mean, you know."

"So far all that Munchlax has done is save us a couple of minutes on each island. He's not giving us any irreplaceable help."

"He wants to help us and he did, that's good enough for me."

Velvet rubbed her forehead. "You are way too nice, people're gonna exploit that eventually."

"If they do, then I will deal with it." Frax flashed a toothy grin with fists pumped. "And if I can't do it alone, I will still be able to count on you, mom, Lillie, Kiawe, Lana, Mallow, Sophocles, Hau and everyone else to help me out!"

Velvet stared at her brother. She then grumbled and shrugged, turning the other way. "I don't know what to tell you at times."

Frax chuckled, and the group soldiered on without a word.

They kept walking through the silent canyon for a short while before a wide carpet of purple flowers colored the dull brown surroundings.

All the humans and Pokémon grinned at their goal, but none as brightly as Frax and Munchlax's matching grins.

"We did it!" He beamed, arms thrown up. He gave the Munchlax a hug. "Thanks!"

Munchlax replied in kind, and the two rushed inside the Poni Meadow together with Rockruff and Rowlet. Frax grabbed all the flowers he needed to complete the bouquet, and Munchlax ate to his heart's content.

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While her brother had fun between the flowers, Velvet was still unable to let her guard down.

She still peered to the side every five seconds, even as Frax finished the bouquet and ran back towards her. Even as absolutely no sound was heard.

Only once she was sure that yes, the whole adventure was finally over, she allowed herself to smile and sigh in relief.

"Well, seems like our blockhead was right for once. Nothing bad happened."

Her smile died as soon as she saw her Meowth still tense and squinting at the distance. Velvet turned the same way, and paled.

"Frax, down!"

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In spite of his confusion, Frax ducked as soon as Velvet said it, avoiding a sharp slash.

He turned around and found several Cottonee, Petilil and Sensu style Oricorio ahead, while a glaring Leavanny stepped closer to the group.

And then even more popped up around and behind them, and more, until they easily exceeded two hundreds.

Frax gulped, while Pikachu, Rowlet and Rockruff all took battle stances. Munchlax was too busy eating to do the same.

"Looks like we're surrounded." Velvet frowned as she eyed the wild Pokémon. Her Meowth sharpened its claws in the meantime.

Frax kept observing the opposite Pokémon, until he took a deep breath. He smiled sheepishly and stepped closer to the Leavanny, arms held up.

"I'm sorry if we've worried you, we just need to take some flowers and we'll leave-"

Leavanny's Razor Leaf flew right at him.

Rowlet soared ahead of Frax and unleashed a Leafage around himself. Leavanny's leaves were caught in the current, negating the attack.

The Grass/Flying-type turned his head around to glare at Frax.

He raised both arms. "Alright, alright, we will fight them!"

The boy relaxed just a bit, then pointed. "Rowlet, Leafage! Rockruff, Bite!"

The bird flew and the puppy ran, leaves and teeth ready to be unleashed.

Leavanny rushed their way, and a cross-shaped slice and several leaves flew towards the Pokémon. Both were blown back several feet.

Frax gulped as sweat poured down his face. Rockruff tried to raise, but promptly fell unconscious.

Rowlet braved his injuries, and soared back at Leavanny and tried to Peck him over and over. Leavanny allowed him to, all while appearing mildly bothered at best.

Another X-Scissor later, Rowlet rolled over the ground and joined Rockruff in defeat.

"Zzt! The Pokémon here are way stronger than ours! The chances of victory are zero point zero zero zero one percent!" Rotom panicked, floating all around Frax and Velvet.

"Frax, we can't leave! Those Pokémon want to kill us!" Velvet shouted while her Meowth nullified several Prankster-powered Stun Spores.

The boy saw the wild Pokémon slowly closing in on them, and recalled Rockruff and Rowlet. He frowned and turned his cap backwards.

"Well, there's no other way then." He held his Z-Ring high. "Pikachu, let's go!"

Pikachu jumped off his shoulder, and as the Normalium-Z shone they started their routine.

They threw their hands forward. Down, up, and then in a Z shape.

Power flowed from Frax to Pikachu, and determination burned in her eyes.

As one, they shouted. "Breakneck Blitz!"

Pikachu sprung ahead, quickly gathering speed, faster and faster until she was but a shining blur aiming for Leavanny.

It tried jumping away, but it was too late.

The blur homed head-on towards the Bug/Grass-type, and then collided.

Leavanny flew right through a rock, shattering it from sheer impact.

All the wild Pokémon paused and flinched as their leader was buried under the rocks. Pikachu simply dusted herself off with a big grin.

"Yes!" Frax jumped on his feet and pumped his fists skyward.

Then the rocks were blasted away, and a barely bruised and scowling Leavanny aimed an X-Scissor Fraxward.

Frax and Pikachu's jaws dropped at once, and they turned to Rotom.

"Zzt! It sustained only twenty percent of damage! It's too strong even for a Z-Move!"

Frax's confidence sunk, and his eyes went for each and all of the Pokémon surrounding them. All barraging them of attacks that Pikachu and Meowth did their best to keep at bay.

He gulped. "What do we do, Velvet?"

"I don't know. I see no way out."

"Can't you use your Dark-type Z-Move to suck them into non-existence?"

"Just because it's called Black Hole Eclipse doesn't mean it's an actual black hole!" Velvet scowled, then ducked to avoid a Peck as Meowth slashed the Oricorio away. "And even then, these Pokémon are too fast, I don't have time to pose!"

Frax bit his lip, and then shared a nod with Pikachu. She took a ducked stance, and Frax clenched his fists. "We will buy you time to use it! Pikachu, Swift!"

Pikachu drew an arc with her tail and spun on herself, a shower of stars aiming for any wild Pokémon in Poni Meadow.

It was an efficient plan, one that could've even worked if two Sensu Oricorio didn't soar at her side and pecked her at once.

Pikachu screamed, but it was nothing compared to the maelstrom of Razor Leaf that came right after.

Each cut burned over Pikachu's skin, and the Oricorio kept her stuck under the storm of leaves. It was only through sheer willpower that Pikachu didn't faint.

Once the leaf barrage subsided, the Oricorio let Pikachu fall groundward. Leavanny chuckled in amusement.

"Pikachu!" Frax sprinted ahead, stashing the bouquet aside as he slid over the ground and grabbed Pikachu, biting his lips at the sharp pain.

A sharp pain that was nothing compared to the bleeding, injured mess that was his starter.

"Pikachu is in critical condition! Zzt!" Rotom yelled, letting an alarm bell ring at max volume.

Frax frowned and grabbed Pikachu's Poké Ball, placing her to safety. He knew she didn't like to be secluded, but he had no other options.

Then he heard a rattling sound of leaves, and paled when he saw Leavanny charging another Razor Leaf, this time aimed at him.

Velvet noticed it too late, and grimaced. "Frax!"

With no options left, Frax closed his eyes and waited for the worst as Leavanny threw his leaves.

Fortunately, someone had different plans on the topic.

"Lax!"

An extremely cold shower ensued.

Frax stood up in a flash, teeth rattiling as his wet clothes clung at his body.

He opened his eyes again, and saw a blue-furred baby Pokémon ahead of him, water everywhere, and several drenched razor leaves on the ground.

"Munchlax?" Frax tilted his head.

Munchlax laughed and rubbed his neck with an uneasy smile. Frax blinked and looked once more at his body and surroundings.

"How did you-"

"Bzzt! That was Metronome, a move that randomly turns into another one! In this case, Water Pulse!"

Frax blinks gave way to a goofy grin. "Really? Woah, that's so awesome!"

"Frax! Careful!"

He dodged just in time to make the Cottonee fall on its face. Frax frowned, then turned back to Munchlax with a brighter look on his face.

"Can we fight together, Munchlax?"

He nodded, and Frax grinned.

"Awesome! Use Metronome!"

Munchlax waved his fingers around with the most serious face he could muster. His body shone with an intense fire.

"What the-"

"Bzzt! That's Blast Burn! The ultimate Fire-type move!"

"Woah, really?" Frax beamed, and jabbed towards Leavanny. "Go on, Munchlax!"

Fist charged with flames, Munchlax punched the ground.

The energy flew into the ground and pierced through, shaking the ground and burning all on its wake as it aimed for Leavanny.

It didn't seem bothered as the Blast Burn homed on it, simply raising a hand.

The ultimate Fire-type move stopped an inch from hitting Leavanny. With a flick of its hand, Munchlax's move took a sharp turn and ran back towards him.

Frax and Munchlax paled, but left the questions away to jump to the side. The Blast Burn travelled past them, narrowly missing the two.

The wild Pokémon behind them weren't as lucky as the ground split under them and the flames set them ablaze, a large part of the canyon crumbling around them as they fell unconscious and burned to a crisp.

Frax stared, then turned to Rotom. "What was that?"

"Me First, a move that allows the opponent to steal an incoming attack and send it back, zzt!"

Frax glanced back at the ablaze wasteland. He gulped. "Uhm, maybe it's better to hold off on Metronome for now."

Munchlax seemed to agree. Frax sighed and stretched his fingers, a serious frown on his face.

"Rotom, tell me all of Munchlax's moves, quick!"

"Zzt! Tackle, Lick, Odor Sleuth, Metronome!"

"We can work with that!" He smiled while he pointed again. "Use Odor Sleuth, then Lick!"

Smelling the air, Munchlax zoned in on Leavanny. He sprinted its way, barely avoding a storm of Razor Leaf.

Once in range, Munchlax opened his mouth and gave Leavanny a nice tongue to the face. The Bug/Grass-type winced in disgust, and his whole body stiffened.

Frax grinned as Leavanny was paralyzed, snapping his fingers. "Tackle!"

The tackle wasn't that strong, but Munchlax was heavy enough to keep Leavanny on the ground. The Pokémon grinned alongside Frax.

"Yes! Keep going!"

Munchlax pounced Leavanny, and the Unovan Pokémon let out annoyed squeaks in return. It tried readying an X-Scissor or Razor Leaf, but the paralysis and Munchlax's constant jumps left it unable to focus.

Frax sighed as he grabbed his cap. It was certainly not the most dignified or exciting strategy, but it was the only thing they could do.

And maybe it would've even worked, if Frax had accounted for the rest of the wild Pokémon.

Two Oricorio pecked Munchlax at once. He screamed and rolled over the floor, as the Oricorio flew after him and kept pecking.

Munchlax tried to break free, but the Flying-types kept going over and over and over.

And then Cottonee, Petilil and Oricorio swarmed over Munchlax.

His screams only grew louder.

As he stood there and watched, Frax clenched his fists and bared his teeth.

"Not on my watch!" He yelled, running towards the Oricorio and tossing it on the ground. He did the same to the other, and towards any other Petilil, Cottonee or Oricorio around.

Munchlax stared with a gaping mouth, until the Pokémon started focusing on Velvet and Meowth and let the two alone.

Bruised and with clothes torn all over, Frax smiled and kneeled over Munchlax.

"Are you alright?"

Munchlax tackled Frax to safety in response, as another Razor Leaf flew right above their head.

They turned towards the bruised, frowning and madder than before Leavanny as it charged an X-Scissor.

The twosome rose again. They nodded to each other, and Frax pointed to Leavanny.

And then, a loud, piercing cry split the sky open.

Everyone froze as the roar echoed through the canyon. All Pokémon looked around, only to find one but them.

Shivers ran down Frax's spine as he searched himself. He then saw Leavanny, pale and with mouth agape, and he frowned.

"What...?"

"Black Hole Eclipse!"

Frax and Munchlax looked up at once, seeing Meowth sending a ball of darkess skyward. It quickly expanded tenfold in size, and started sucking anything in its vicinity. Leavanny and its cronies were forced to hold their ground and grab the stone walls to avoid the black hole's pull, and it only barely worked.

Frax blinked, mouth agape.

"Don't just stand there! We need to run away!" Velvet yelled, as she sprinted away with Meowth in tow.

"Huh, sure!"

Frax and Munchlax hightailed it with Velvet without further prompts.

Then they heard it again. That low, guttural and primal sounds that scared even the big bad Pokémon of Poni Meadow.

His and Munchlax's curiosity won, and they turned around. They froze, pure terror in their eyes.

Over the horizon, a pitch black... something stood over a mountain. And it stared at them.

"Frax!"

He and Munchlax flinched, and then they nodded at once. "We're coming!"

Frax and Munchlax put the sinister image aside and rushed after the others. By the time Frax peeked again, the thing was no more.

By the time the Pokémon of Poni Meadow realized what happened, the Lono twins had already hopped ahead of Kiawe's Charizard and left the island for good.

As she saw Poni Island shrinking away from view under Charizard, Velvet sighed and relaxed. "Thank goodness."

"I told you to pay attention to the Pokémon in Poni." Kiawe scowled, guiding Charizard towards Melemele Island.

Frax groaned, grabbing Velvet's sides while holding Munchlax between them. "Please, don't twist the knife further."

"The only good thing is that we have got all the flowers. Let's hope mom likes it."

"Oh, she will! I mean, look at it!" Frax grinned as he raised the now complete Oricorio bouquet.

The wet, torn apart, and dirty Oricorio bouquet.

Frax and Velvet observed the floreal corpse aghast, and their faces lost all color.

Velvet gained a burning glare in return. "What. Happened."

"Erh, I dunno, it might've been the Razor Leaf, the Water Pulse, the Me First, maybe even one of our Z-Moves-"

"Whatever." Velvet exhaled, then shook her head. "I can't believe it, we spent all day for nothing! Couldn't you leave the bouquet to Kiawe?"

"Yeah, maybe I should have." Frax rubbed his neck.

He peered over the blue sea under them and looked at each of the other Alolan Islands. "But hey, we can just return to each Meadow and take another bunch of flowers! No need to worry!"

"I have to leave as soon as we reach Melemele. I promised Mimo we'd cook a pizza together." To underscore his point, Kiawe furrowed his eyebrows and stared straight at Frax.

"And even if we could go back, there's the little problem that the wild Pokémon of Poni Meadow definitely want us dead now."

The boy frowned, then sighed. He slouched his head over Munchlax right after. "Guess we are back to square one with our gift."

Velvet muttered something under her breath while Kiawe focused on guiding Charizard. Frax grumbled, circling Munchlax's fur absentmindedly.

He then felt a paw poking at his cheek; he looked down, and saw Munchlax placing a hand in his fur. He rummaged briefly, and then pulled out a cracked, dusty vase.

Frax tilted his head and blinked. "Isn't this the stuff you grabbed earlier?"

"Don't tell me he wants to eat garbage now-"

Velvet paused. She squinted at the vase and checked it out; when she finished, her jaw dropped, she ripped the vase from Munchlax's paws and a huge grin split her face.

"I can't believe it! This is the same kind of ancient vase I checked online! How did it end up in Poni?"

"While Poni is mostly abandoned nowadays, it used to be a pretty populated area centuries ago. That vase is probably a remnant of those times."

Frax blinked some more, until everything clicked. "Wait! If that's ancient vase, that means-"

"Yep, with some fixing we'll have our replacement gift!" Velvet held the vase proudly above her head. "Mom loves antiques, after all! This can't go wrong!"

A strong breeze blew towards Charizard, forcing Kiawe to take a sharp turn; unbalanced, Velvet lost her grip on the vase, and it fell to the depths of the sea, under everyone's allarmed looks.

Or it would have if Velvet hadn't almost jumped off Charizard to grab it at the last moment, something that almost led Charizard to spiral out of control towards the sea if Kiawe didn't rein him back up, all while Frax and Munchlax went paler than a bedsheet.

Velvet sighed in relief, cradling the vase close.

Frax and Munchlax remained still and pale. Then, they exploded in laughter at once.

Velvet glowered at them. "What's so funny?"

"Weren't you the one saying that things always go wrong when you say that? Looks like you don't watch much television either!"

An attempted punch to the face and a glare by Kiawe that spelled to not screw up Charizard's flight again wisely made him reconsider further humor attempts.

Velvet huffed and kept a tighter hold on the vase. "Let's just shut up until we reach Melemele, alright?"

"Okay, okay." Frax shook his head, only to smile as he ruffled the fur on Munchlax's head. "Thanks buddy, you are a lifesaver!"

Munchlax squeaked with pleasure, and kept doing so as Charizard soared back to their home.

----------------------------------------

After the Lono twins returned home and parted ways with Kiawe and Munchlax -though the latter required some prodding before he left- the duo started their work on the vase.

It took several trips to the Antique Shop at Hau'oli Mall, half a can of paint, and most of their savings, but a few days later the vase was restored to its former glory.

And so, on Mother's day, Frax and Velvet wore satisfied grins as Jasmine Lono held the vase in her hands.

"It looks wonderful! It must've been a pain to get it!" she said, looking back to her children.

"Oh, trust me, you have no idea."

Jasmine let out a chuckle, then put the vase aside and gave Frax and Velvet a hug.

"You are the best kids a mom could ask for."

Velvet and Frax smiled as they hugged her back. They remained still and enjoyed the moment, with the twins' Pokémon and Rotomdex approving on the side.

"I could get used to this heat on my skin, I can feel every day I'm a little bit stronger..."

Jasmine stiffened as Under the Alolan Sun kept playing. The song she choose as her ringtone.

She grabbed the Xtransceiver and read the caller's name. She flinched and broke the hug, searching for her bag.

"It's my boss, sorry. Looks like I need to go to work again-"

To her surprise, Velvet grabbed her arm and pressed the call button while smiling at the screen.

"Hey there, mister! We're just about ready to come!"

"Good. I hope you won't disappoint me."

The call ended, and Jasmine stared at her grinning daughter. Then, she noticed Frax had the very same expression.

She squinted. "Alright, what's the big plan here?"

Velvet puffed her chest. "We thought the vase wouldn't have been enough, so we struck a deal with your boss."

"Just for today, we're taking the night shift in your place! This way, you can relax and rest!"

Jasmine gave her children a wide-eyed stare, then shook her head, placing her arm akimbo and frowning.

"No way, you don't have the skills to do that, and I can't allow you to-"

"We've watched you work enough times that we know what to do. Plus, he's going to pay us sixty percent as much as a regular worker, meaning we will gain a bit more than you'd do as well, in exchange for giving two clerks instead of one to your boss."

"Yeah, what Velvet said! You can count on us!"

Frax and Velvet knew that Jasmine would've scolded the two, told them they had a stupid idea, grounded them and left for work under normal circumstances.

As she saw the twins' eyes and their confident smiles, however, her own glance softened. She sighed and smiled along.

"Alright then. But make sure not to overwork yourself and call me if you need anything, alright?"

"We will. And you make sure to rest a bit and enjoy the evening, alright?"

Jasmine laughed. "I'll try."

The twins took their belongings and their Poké Balls, bid farewell to their mother, and set off for the Mall with Rotomdex in tow.

Once outside under the setting sun, the siblings traded a glance and shared a fist bump.

"And that's another victory for team Lono!" Frax grinned like a fool, fists pumped and jumping on his feet.

"Wow, so much energy. I hope you are ready to put it to good use."

Frax's excitement sharply decreased as he groaned. "I still think the vase alone would've been fine."

"Trust me, I'm sure mom will enjoy a day off."

"Maybe." Frax quickly recovered his smile. "I'm still glad we managed to get that thing, though. I wish I could've thanked-"

The sound of rustling grass stopped the Lono twins. When they turned around, a familiar baby Pokémon smiled at them.

Frax blinked. "Munchlax?"

Munchlax nodded, then walked closer to the duo.

"Nice to see you again. Thanks for the help of a few days ago." Frax's smile widened as he kneeled towards him, offering him a high five.

The baby Pokémon grinned and obliged.

Velvet tapped her foot, looking at the time. "Frax, we are late."

"Right, right, sorry." He rose, waving his hand. "See you, Munchlax."

He followed his sister, only to feel his leg pulled behind. Frax blinked and faced Munchlax's driven stare.

"Something wrong?" Frax tilted his head.

Munchlax pointed at Frax's belt. The boy beamed in response.

"Oh, I see." He grabbed a Poké Ball and enlargened it. "Are you sure?"

The Pokémon nodded again. As he smiled, Frax tossed and caught the Ball in his hand.

"Alright then!"

He gently tapped Munchlax's head, and the Normal-type entered the Poké Ball.

Three shakes later, Frax Lono obtained a new Pokémon.

Observing his Poké Ball, Frax giggled. "Welcome in the team, Munchlax!"

He held the device high in the sky and clenched it tight. They would've had many adventures in the future, and he couldn't wait to discover what they would-

"Fraxinus Lono!"

Frax snapped out of his thoughts and rushed after Velvet, grumbling. "Okay, okay, I'm coming!"

The twins then walked towards the shopping mall, ready to work with one extra hand.

----------------------------------------

"And that's how we got my buddy here." Frax ended his tale with a hearty pat to Munchlax's back. The Pokémon squealed in return, as Frax looked back at Lana, Kiawe, Mallow, Sophocles and Lillie.

Lillie glanced at Munchlax, and then back towards the twins. "It sure sounds like you had quite an adventure."

Kiawe glared at the Lono kids. "I'm not doing this ever again, you are warned. Poni is not a place for someone just starting their Island Trials."

Velvet's scowl and sigh replied for her. Frax instead grinned and punched the sky.

"That just means that we will get stronger! And next year, me and Velvet will make the Oricorio Bouquet for mom without help!"

"No thanks. You do that, I will find another gift."

Frax paled, mouth agape. "Oh, come on Velvet! We gotta stick up for each other!"

"Sorry, but unlike a certain blockhead here, I actually care for my life." Velvet gave him her back, scoffing.

The classmates chuckled at her remark. Frax pouted, turning back to Munchlax as he ruffled his hair.

"Well, at least you will stick with me, right?"

With a chuckle of his own, Munchlax nodded. Frax smiled as he kept rubbing his hair.

"Alola, everyone!"

The classroom's attention went to the door, where Hau strode in with the most cheerful smile plastered over his face.

"You look quite happy, Hau. Did something happen?" Mallow asked.

"Yeah! On the way to school, Tutu allowed me to buy this!" He held a paper bag with a Slurpuff logo proudly.

Sophocles did a double take and let go of his attempt at a sugar-powered engine, getting closer to the bag. "Woah! Is that a Big Malasada?"

"Yep! I can't wait for lunch to eat it, you know!" Hau took a sniff, then hugged the bag tightly. "It smells incredible!"

Munchlax took a sniff of Malasada of his own. He instantly widened his eyes, and his tongue lolled out of his mouth alongside lots of saliva.

He dove for the bag, and caught it in a second.

Hau's face turned horrified, and then his stare pierced through Munchlax.

"My Malasada!" Hau snarled as he grabbed the bag and started to pull towards him.

Munchlax replied in kind, and soon human and Pokémon were locked in a frantic tug-o-war over the delicacy under everyone's stunned looks.

As the battle of wills and hunger went on, no one dared to say anything. Munchlax and Hau glared at each other with no intention to give in.

While the battle went on, Velvet turned to Frax. "I think you should do something."

"I dunno... I don't think I need to-"

Munchlax pulled a final time, sending Hau sprawling over the floor. He celebrated by eating the Malasada in one bite, paper bag and all.

Hau's horrified scream was heard as far as the top of Mount Lanakila and beyond.

Frax chuckled nervously. He probably owed Hau several Malasada now.

But hey, it couldn't get much worse, right...?