I hadn't tried thinking too hard about what I wanted to tell him specifically in my confession, but I felt I didn't really need to.

"Hey, Guzma. I can't really talk, so I'm not sure how to say this exactly. Haha. I've had a bit of a crush on you for a while. It's cool if you don't feel the same or if you hadn't thought about it before or something. We don't have to bring this up ever again. I just thought you should know."

Hopefully it wasn't too… much? If anything, it was probably too little. Whatever. It was too late now. I looked down at the ground, then up at him. He finished reading and handed me the notebook.

"So, are you playin' here or is that for real?" He asked. I gave a few quick nods, hoping that'd get the point across. "Huh. Okay." He looked off to the side and scratched his head. "I didn't even think you'd see us as friends." He looked down and seemed to be thinking. "I'd say yes, but aren't you, like, eleven?" He looked down at me again.

I shook my head in response. I grabbed my Trainer ID from my bag and showed it to him, looking down to hide my burning face. Oh, hello, every bad decision I've made up to this point. How'd you all get here?

"Wh, nineteen?" He asked. "Wow. Um. Huh."

Then, Ro-Dex popped out of my bag. "Zzz-zzz-zzzt! Fun fact, it's actually twenty now. Happy birthday Claire!"

I looked at Ro-Dex, confused. I haphazardly shoved my trainer ID into my bag.

"That'zzz right, Claire! It'zzz 12:03 AM, June 3. Happy birthday! Zzz-zzzt!" I leaned against the wall, slowly sliding toward the ground. It was my birthday. I wouldn't have told him today if I'd known.

Ro-Dex spun around in the air, chanting. I didn't know what he was chanting about. I got lost in my own thoughts for a bit.

Roar popped out of her ball to threaten him.

All the while, Guzma was standing there, just kind of existing. He cleared his throat. "Are we goin' to the Tree, or...?" That sounded like a good plan.

I got up, with a little help from Roar, and we signed up for a Multi Battle. It was a little awkward at first, but after about seven battles, we were back in the swing of things. We lost twice before deciding to take a break.

"Jeez. How does Hala even think we're going to finish the tree?" Guzma joked.

I responded with an inaudible "Yeah" and a chuckle. Not sure if he saw. I found myself trying to avoid looking at him.

Ro-Dex popped out of my bag again. "Claire, the Professor called me and said you need to get back to Iki Town. Let'zzz go!" With that, he retreated into my bag.

Guzma got a ring from his own pokedex. "I've gotta be heading off too. See ya soon, Champ." He took off on his own Charizard Glide. I knew he didn't just walk everywhere.

I brought my team out, which was, at the moment, only Roar, Xi-ir, and Kartana. I fed them all some Poke Beans. Ro-Dex slowly exited from my bag this time. He looked around.

"Pzzt. Claire. You heard what he said, right? Z-z-zt!" He chuckled and whispered. It was more of a whisper-yell.

I stared blankly at him.

"Zzt. He said he would say yes. The only obstacle wazzz the age thing, and it really izzzn't an obstacle, so he practically said yes! Zzz-zzz-zzzt!" He danced around happily in the air.

"I guess. I'm sure he wouldn't have accepted even if he knew I was older. He might not even want to be in a relationship."

He slumped down, in an almost mocking sort of way. "Zzz-zzt, Claire. You're just so… understanding. Maybe too much." He didn't seem to have much more to say.

Roar intervened. "I think we've kept everyone waiting for long enough. Even Kartana and Xi-ir seem to be bored." I could see Kartana resting on Xi-ir's head.

"You're right. Sorry guys." I withdrew them.

Roar didn't go at first. "Claire. I'm glad you didn't make this go on for longer than it needed to." She hugged me, then went into her ball.

"Off to Iki Town, then. Zzt!" Ro-Dex cheered, before popping into my bag.

I called for Charizard and took off. We landed around Route 2 and I brought Roar out. As we walked into Iki Town, it seemed as though a festival was happening. The whole town seemed to be gathered, as well as Professor Kukui, all of the trial captains, and the kahunas. There were a few of my other Pokemon here. I guess the professor wanted to give some of them a chance to hang out. I walked up to Hala, who immediately clapped his hand onto my shoulder.

"ALRIGHT EVERYONE!" Hala called everyone's attention. "Now that the birthday girl is here, we can get this party underway!"

With that, the partying began. Most of the celebration included battles. Every once in a while I would hang back to listen to someone's stories, how much they look up to me as the champion, how badly they're going to beat me at the league. It got kind of creepy sometimes. A few people gave me medicine and sellable items as presents. I caught a glimpse of Guzma every once in a while. He must have been invited. It was nice to know he still showed up after my confession.

Eventually, I ended up with a circle of Pokemon dancing around me. The circle consisted of Nyaro, Kuyuki, Marina, Lycan, and a few of the townspeople's Pokemon. Mom slid into the circle to talk to me with Meowth at her side. My Pokemon continued with their dance.

"Claire! I'm sorry I didn't tell you happy birthday earlier. You know how I am with secrets." She explained. I didn't know what she was talking about, but I hugged her.

Guzma walked over, obviously curious about the Pokemon circle. He watched the Pokemon dance around until they noticed him and stopped. Those who belonged to the townspeople ran off. My Pokemon were now staring at either me or Guzma.

He looked at me. "Yo Champ. Sorry about that." He motioned behind him, probably talking about breaking up the circle.

I shrugged at him.

"Uuuhh," He looked, worriedly to my pokemon, then diverted his attention to Mom. "Who's this? Your… sister?"

"Oh my! Haha. No, no, I'm her mother. Are you a friend of my Claire?" She responded.

Guzma looked at me briefly, probably trying to decide whether or not we were actually friends. "Yeah. She and I have been challenging the Battle Tree. We haven't been too lucky so far, but we're having a blast."

"My my, Claire. Already bringing a man home. Aren't you growing fast?" She smiled at me.

"Heh. Yeah..." He said. He seemed to be getting uncomfortable. I didn't blame him.

"That's my daughter. Now go have some more fun. Have a battle or dance or something. Don't let me take up all your time." Mom smiled and waved, walking away with Meowth at her side.

"Your mom's…" He stopped for an inordinate amount of time. "...somethin'."

I just nodded. He definitely wasn't wrong.

"Uh, see you around then?" He said, hesitantly, waving. It seemed to me like he wanted to talk more. Maybe he'd find me later.

I went to have some battles, like Mom suggested. Soon enough, everyone was getting pretty tired. Guzma, who hadn't really done much the whole time, was standing off to the side, looking at the sky. The clouds were blocking most of the stars and sometimes passed over the moon. I sat down next to him and looked at the sky as well.

"Always finding time for your boy, huh?" He smiled at me. "Have I ever told you how awesome hanging out with you is? I get to see new Pokemon. Battle people I couldn't before. Man…" His voice was quiet. I wasn't sure he wanted me to hear him. He sat down in place. "Y'know… I was thinking earlier. About what you wrote. I'm cool with it. I don't get what you see in me, but I'm cool with it. You're pretty great." He looked at the sky. "I guess it wouldn't be that bad… but we probably wouldn't work all that great, y'know? I mean. Um. Hang on..." He thought for a bit, before looking at me. "I think... I have some things I gotta work on before bein' such a big part of someone else's life."

I smiled, then nodded. I knew what he meant. I patted his shoulder, reassuringly.

"Heh, thanks." He looked back at the people and Pokemon who were still partying.

Roar seemed to be showing off some moves to some of the other Pokemon. Golisopod was grabbing Roar's quills out of the air and throwing them back to her. Or maybe at her. Either way, they seemed to just be playing. Guzma looked at them too.

"They seem to be havin' fun." A gust of wind blew. Guzma closed his eyes as the wind blew past. I looked at him. "The Alolan winds definitely bring change, don't they? Never fail to deliver."

I just wish he had more to say. It was nice hearing him talk freely.

"Heh. Okay, Champ. Bring your A-game at the Tree." He got up and offered his hand to help me up. "I've got a good feeling about tomorrow." I took it and he helped me up. Then left.

I waved at him until I couldn't see him anymore.. Soon enough, Roar found me and we headed home.