A/N: Here's the next chapter. It's short, but don't worry, the next chapter will be longer. It may seem like I'm rushing with things in these chapters and for that, I apologize. I just really want to move the plot forward away from Melemele Island. I also was thinking about posting this fanfic on archiveofourown, but I haven't decided if I should. What do you guys think? Anyhow, hope you enjoy.

Chapter 11: The Meadow

A young girl stood excitedly on a cliff, overlooking a wide field of bright yellow flowers that swayed back and forth from the gentle breeze that blew from afar. By the field of flowers, moving calmly with a soothing rhythm was a bright blue pond. The young girl stared at the pond with large eager eyes. Smiling brightly at what she found, the young girl turned over to the young boy who had finally just caught up to her, calling him over to join her.

"Hurry up, ….! You have to see this!"

The young boy let out a groan as he looked up at the girl out of breath. "... we're not supposed to be here. What will …... say when she finds out?"

The young girl rolled her eyes and turned back to the scene before her, not wanting to miss any second of it. "Don't worry ….. She's busy talking to …. friend. We'll be back before she finds out where we are."

The boy still looked troubled but nodded to the girl's reasoning. He lifted himself to the cliff and stood up right next to her, as he too began to take in the colorful scenery before them. He could only let out a loud gasp as the large clearing began to captivate him with its beauty.

"This is beautiful…." The boy murmured in wonder.

The girl beside him giggled and looked back at the scenery, her face contorting to confusion when she saw how dark and cloudy the once clear and sunny sky had suddenly gotten. She moved to ask the boy about the weather when a shot of lightning made her freeze in fear. She launched herself to the boy, tightening her hold on him as the wind began to suddenly push them from every side. They were forced to kneel on the rocky ledge and cling onto each other to keep themselves steady from being blown away. The two clung to each other for what seemed forever, eyes glued shut and shakily frightened until they felt the rough wind began to gently wrap them in its embrace. Noticing how gentle the wind had become, the girl opened her eyes to look around, her eyes widening when she saw what was now in front of her and the boy.

There, floating across from the cliff they were on was a white jellyfish-like creature that had six pointed stars around the crown of the bell on the top of its head. The creature inched closer to the boy and girl, moving one of its tentacles to the girl. She could do nothing but stay frozen as the tentacle caress her cheek, stroking it back and forth. The boy quickly moved to stop the jellyfish creature, but the creature easily tossed him aside and picked the girl up with its tentacles, lifting her up from the ground towards the sky.

The girl did everything she could to make the creature release her, screaming as she pounded the tentacle around her waist with her fists, but even though all her efforts, the tentacle wouldn't budge. All she could was watch as the creature took her farther away from the boy towards the dark sky as a purple hole appeared above her, releasing another torrent of wind that forced the boy beneath her to cling onto the cliff for dear life. The girl screamed for him, watching as he lifted his head towards her, gazing at her with wide frightened eyes.

His dark grey eyes were the last things the small girl could make sense of in all her fear before she was engulfed by the purple light above her, finding herself falling into a deep dark abyss.

Moon's eyes flung open as she bolted upright, gasping for air. Trembling, her gaze darted around the room as she looked for the creature that had her in its clutches, every sense in her body screaming at her to fight it still. When she finally realized that there was no tentacle around her waist and that she was safe on the bed in the room Nurse Joy had assigned to her and her friends, she allowed herself to sag in relief. Slowly, but reluctantly, she moved the soft sheets off of her and dragged her feet off the bed, watching as they dangled above the floor. She turned away from them towards the window next to her as she allowed her eyes to take in the glowing, radiant that was peaking above the horizon out of her window. As her eyes took in every ray of light, she began to go over what she saw in her dream, trying her best to reassure herself that she was fine.

"I'm not there." She whispered to herself, unsteadily, almost unsure of whether this was another dream. But another look at her surroundings was enough to calm her still pounding heart. She was safe. She was not there with the creature that had taken her. It was just a dream- no nightmare. Another nightmare that had turned too real.

"Hey Moon, do you want to get malasadas before we leave or…" A voice piped up from across the room that soon trailed off.

Moon turned away from the window at the sound of the voice that called out to her, watching as Hau walked in through the door. He stopped once his gaze fell on her, his brows knitting in concern.

"Are you okay?" Hau asked.

Moon wanted to nod her head to reassure Hau that everything was fine, but she found she couldn't. All she could do was stare at her friend as the pounding of her heart began to resonate in her ears. She couldn't lie to him. Nothing was right with what she had seen.

To Moon's surprise, Hau didn't push her to answer. Instead, he walked forward to her bed and sat down next to her. With a gentle smile, he turned towards her as his bright eyes seemed to chase all the fear that had taken its hold on her.

"I get them too…" He said quietly, turning away towards the ceiling in thought. "Many times they have jerked me awake in the middle of the night, crying and shivering in fear of how vivid they are. And no matter what I do, they're always over the same thing. It's ironic, huh? The one thing I wish I can forget always comes back to haunt me in my dreams."

Hau paused, and sighed, and looked back to Moon with a serene smile. He laid his hand lightly on her shoulder and spoke with a soft voice that Moon was instantly soothed by. It felt as if she was wrapped in a blanket of his caring.

"But still," Hau continued softly. "I've learned you can't hold it in. You have to talk about it. It may seem hard, but eventually, it becomes easy. That's… That's how it was for me."

Hau's eyes softened at his words as if he was remembering something. Minutes ticked by with the two in complete silence with Moon staring curiously at the other until Hau immediately broke the silence once he realized that he was still talking to Moon. He allowed himself to break into laughter that sounded strained and obviously fake. Moon stared at Hau unsure what to make of Hau's laughter as he took his hand off at Moon, placing his hand behind his head absentmindedly. It felt so wrong for his laughter to sound so fake when he was always so positive around her and Sun.

"Anyway," Hau said with a cheeky grin. "What I'm trying to say is when you think you're ready to talk about your nightmare, you can tell me or Sun. We're here for you."

He stood up and walked over to the door, stopping to turn back to her with a wide grin. "Oh yeah, before I forget, we're having breakfast right now. Don't worry, we'll save you some food. Just take your time, Moon."

Moon slowly nodded as she watched as Hau left, finding herself in complete silence. She ignored the thoughts that began to echo in her head about the advice Hau had given her as she lifted herself off the bed. She was grateful to Hau for taking the time to talk to her and help her relax. She understood that such dreams shouldn't be kept to herself. They would fester and become more vivid until eventually, they would swallow her whole. It was wrong to keep these types of dreams to herself. And yet, no matter how much Moon wanted to, she found she didn't know how to tell Hau and Sun what she saw. It was a new experience for her with the type of dreams she was now seeing. She never saw things that made her wake up in cold sweat, trying effortlessly to forget what she had seen. She wasn't sure how she could tell Hau and Sun about her dreams when she herself, couldn't understand them.

Moon gave a sigh at these thoughts and stumbled forward, closing the door and going right to work in getting ready for the day. Once she was fully dressed and out of her pajamas, with her hair brushed just the way Nashima had taught her, she gathered her bag and walked out of the room, heading towards Sun and Hau would be waiting. She found them seated at a table each eating stacks of pancakes covered in syrup, conversing with each other with Rotom hovering above them. The two immediately waved her over when they saw her walking over to them with large eager smiles that Moon found herself responding to with a bright smile of her own. She sat herself down at their table and helped herself to some pancakes as she became engaged in the conversation the two boys were having. She couldn't help but laugh at Hau's antics to portray himself as Professor Kukui as he along with Sun went over an incident they had stumbled upon once while going to the Professor's lab. Apparently, Professor Kukui was very accident prone when it came to studying Pokémon as they showcased their moves to him.

Eventually, the three had enough of eating pancakes and went to Nurse Joy, giving her their thanks for all she had done for them. Once they made sure they had everything they needed in their bags, they disembarked from the Pokemon Center to the Verdant Cavern once more. Along the way, per Hau's request, they stopped at the Malasada shop for malasadas to snack on for later.

When the three finally arrived at Verdant Cavern, they were immediately greeted by Ilima, who wasted no time to show them to a barricade near the cavern that was locked. With a short explanation of the barrier's purpose, he opened the barricade and bid the three trainers luck on their eventual battle with Hala. But before the three could make their way to the now opened barricade, Ilima had them stop to listen to what he also had to say, specifically to Moon.

"Oh yes, before you leave, might I say a few more words to you, Moon?" The trial captain asked with a beaming smile.

Moon tilted her head in confusion at Ilima's request, but nodded, prompting the young trial captain to continue.

"When we battled together against Team Skull, I was taken in by surprise at the tactics you displayed with your Rowlet. Like both Sun and Hau here, you have bonded remarkably well with your Pokémon to the point that it now fully trusts you. But during that battle, I also saw hesitance in you to continue sending your Rowlet to battle after it had gotten hurt. However, it seems I can no longer see that hesitance you once showed. I take it you now understand what I wanted you to learn in this trial?"

Moon stared at Ilima in astonishment as her mind traveled back to the battles she had during the trial. It was difficult to accept, but she could now fully trust Mikio to keep battling without hesitating. Of course, she would continue to be worried whenever he would get seriously hurt, but she trusted Mikio to let her know when he could no longer battle. She learned to trust Mikio just as much as he trusted her.

Realizing this, Moon allowed her mouth to curve into a gentle smile. She looked up Ilima and nodded at him, grateful for what he had done for her. He had helped her learn how to trust her Pokémon.

Ilima's lips curved into a thoughtful smile. "I see. I hope you continue to take what you have learned by heart on your journey. Remember you are never truly alone, Moon. You are surrounded by both your friends and your Pokémon just as well."

Moon nodded at his advice and once more, Ilima bid her and the two boys goodbye. The three made their way down the path past the barricade, leaving the Verdant Cavern behind them as the cliff-side stretched ahead of them. The three traveled along the cliff for hours that quickly turned to days that was filled with time training their Pokémon as they took in their new surrounds. Since the Grand Trial was supposed to be their most challenging battle yet, Sun and Hau wasted no time to train their Pokémon, teaching them each new tactics that would be useful for the eventual battle with Hala. Moon also joined in during their training sessions. Although she had only Mikio, she was able to get in a substantial amount of training done with him. She was surprised to see during one practice battle with Hau that Mikio had even learned a new move. Sun commented that it wouldn't be long before Mikio would evolve. He was getting faster and stronger with each passing day.

Sun's comment left Moon wondering how Mikio would change when he would evolve. Although she was frightened at the idea his appearance would change, she knew that he would always remain the same Rowlet she had received from Professor Kukui. Sun and Hau helped reassure her that the bonds they had with their Pokémon would still remain the same.

Eventually, after a week of traveling through the cliff, the three friends finally found themselves at two paths, one that led onward on the rocky terrain and another on that led to a small cavern. Curious about what was inside it, the three ventured forward into the cavern, not expecting to be met with a gentle breeze and the beauty the cavern held inside. They were welcomed by a small meadow that was flourishing with fields of yellow flowers. They swayed back and forth in full bloom from the gentle wind overhead as the trees and patches of grass around them did the same.

"Woah, I didn't know this was here." Hau murmured in wonder.

"Bzzt… This is the Melemele Meadow- A paradise where the Oricono dance. It is well known for the flowers that bloom here and the Pokemon that come to dance alongside the flowers." Rotom piped up as he began to take pictures of the meadow.

As the boys asked more questions about the meadow to the Rotom, Moon found herself stumbling forward in a daze toward the blooming field of flowers. She stopped in front of the flowers with a solemn gaze and kneeled down, placing her hand gently on one of the swaying flower petals. She didn't know why, but the meadow of blooming yellow flowers sparked an indescribable emotion in her. It almost felt as if she had seen the flowers in front of her before.

But how could she have when she knew this was her first time here?

Moon quickly shoved this thought aside when she saw the boys walking towards her with worried gazes. After reassuring both Sun and Hau that she was fine and was simply taking in the beauty of the meadow, the three decided to walk to the field of flowers and make their way through it towards a rocky platform that stood ahead of them overlooking the meadow. Although they could see many Pokémon glaring at them barely visible through swaying yellow flowers, no Pokémon made a move to attack them.

Eventually, the three friends found themselves at the tall rocky platform overlooking the flowery meadow, sitting down together with their legs dangling over the ledge, while enjoying some snacks Hau had packed for them. All their Pokémon sat next to them, either basking in the sun in deep sleep or enjoying the food Hau had set out for them. For a while, the three sat in silence, enjoying the comfort of each other as they stared at the meadow in front of them, too fascinated by its beauty. It wasn't until the three had finished eating that the silence was completely broken.

"So pretty soon, we'll be back at Iki Town, huh?" Hau asked with a beaming smile.

"Yeah," Sun replied.

"Which means facing Gramps in a Grand trial…"

Sun blinked and looked over to Hau with an eyebrow raised. It wasn't like Hau to get serious all of a sudden.

"What's wrong? You're afraid you're going to fail?" Sun playfully asked as he lightly tapped Hau's arm with his elbow.

Hau immediately shook his head to Sun's question and curved his lips into a wide grin. "Naw, I'm just worried if we'll be able to beat Gramps. He's really strong."

"True," Sun said with a slight nod. "But so are we now. And we'll continue to become stronger with each trial we take. I bet that maybe even a Guardian Deity will acknowledge us just like how Tapu Koko acknowledged Moon."

Hau's eyes seemed to sparkle at that comment as he eagerly responded. "You're right! And soon, we'll be getting Z-Rings of our own!"

The boys laughed as Moon watched them quietly with a serene smile. She turned her gaze away from the two back to the meadow in front of them as she began to gently pet the Rowlet asleep on her lap. Even though they tried to mask it, she could tell both Sun and Hau were worried about the Grand Trial. And yet, even though they were nervous, the two of them were sharing smiles with each other. She wished she could be like them. She longed to be able to smile as brightly as them.

Even so, that didn't stop Moon from trying to join in the boy's conversation. After an hour of talking, the three packed up and walked back to the meadow's entrance. Before they exited it, Moon made sure to take one last glance at the meadow. Even though it reminded her of the nightmare she had, she wanted to carve the memory of it inside her heart. Its beauty and the peace it offered was a reminder of the things she had to look forward to now.

It was a reminder that she wasn't alone anymore.

A/N: As always, thanks for reading! The next chapter will be about the Grand Trial.

Current Teams:

Moon: Mikio (Rowlet)

Sun: Kuro (Litten), Piiko (Pikipek)

Hau: Azura (Popplio), Maui (Pichu)