I met Rose just over two years ago, during the time Lillie was in Kanto. Our relationship was never that complex - as far as I was concerned, we were friends, to put it simply. We didn't have as close a friendship as I have with Hau or Gladion of course, but I appreciated her as a friend nonetheless. Spending time with her definitely helped my mental state too... my thoughts often dwelled on how much I missed Lillie at the time, and the pain I felt from that could only really be temporarily cured with distractions, for lack of a better word.

It was a still, quiet evening over Melemele island. I was heading down to Kala'e Bay again, the small 'secret' beach just past the Seaward caves - a place I often went down to, to sit on the sands and paddle in the shallow waters. It proved to be a great place to go to clear my mind since hardly anyone was ever down there. I remember the evening well; the water was a brilliant orange in the evening sunlight, the cool breeze rustling through the few trees and adding to the subtle ambience that was complimented by the gentle splashing of the waves out at sea.

I was strolling across the bay by myself, whistling a tune and finding a palm tree to sit under. It was nearing the end of another fairly uneventful day, and I had Lillie on my mind yet again. I was almost certain that I was alone as I found a spot in the shade to sit at, but I'll never forget my surprise when that cutesy, ever-excited voice came from behind me for the first time. The voice came from a girl who looked to be the same age as me, sat atop the ridge of a small hill just behind me.

I was caught off guard for sure, but I guess I didn't mind someone to talk to, even if I did originally go to the beach to be alone. She immediately recognised me as the champion of course, but unlike a lot of people, that wasn't something that she focused on. Most people just behave in the same predictable way, asking for an autograph and a selfie, but Rose just seemed interested in having a conversation with me. She told me her name, that she was from the Unova region, and that she was a trainer... sort of. She explained that she spent most of her time outdoors, either learning new skills in the wild parts of Alola or just hanging around a city somewhere with her Pokémon. She never bothered with the Island Challenge; told me that she never wanted to be a popular trainer, nor did she want a serious journey. But it was clear as day to me that she loves her Pokémon. Even if she doesn't battle with them too seriously, it was hard not to get the impression that her Pokémon were the only companions she really had.

I can never remember how long we ended up talking for that evening... considering how much we talked about, I guess it was some hours. There were many things she seemed to avoid talking about, though. Things that she quite fairly didn't want to tell me on our first encounter, I suppose. But she was eager to talk about her travels and her Pokémon, which I was glad to hear about.
After a while though, the stars started to become visible through the orange evening sky. I think she tried to hide it... but I couldn't help but notice the look of dismay in her eyes when I suggested that it was time for us to head home. Her demeanour seemed consistent during the hours we spent talking, so I wasn't expecting her to seem so afraid before we parted ways. I decided not to ask anything of it at the time. She certainly seemed to be a nice character, albeit an interesting one, but I was left with so many questions still. So, we decided to meet up again sometime soon, maybe for a battle. She seemed interested in training with me, and in time, that's exactly what we did.

We didn't meet up every day or anything, but we did hang out on a somewhat consistent basis, even running into each other in the region once or twice by chance. The two of us had a battle when we met for the second time, which was when Rose was sure she wanted me to help her become a better trainer. It wasn't my first time helping people train their Pokémon and I often didn't have anything much better to do, so I was happy to teach her as much as I could. Summing up my past relationship with Rose is difficult, but that's it in a nutshell. This went on for a few months, until another summer evening came by.

(Flashback: Sun's POV)

"Okay Weavile, night slash!"
Rose stands behind her partner Pokémon, knee-deep in the tall grass of Ten Carat Hill as she battles a wild Rockruff. Her signature Weavile jumps forward, hitting it's night slash on the puppy Pokémon. I sit casually on a big rock, watching the battle from the sideline and letting my legs dangle idly.
"Good job. It looks weak now, you wanna catch it?" I ask.
"It's cute, but... I don't think it's the type of Pokémon I'd keep on my team. Plus, I don't think I want a bigger team, these 4 are enough as they are. So this Rockruff would just end up sat in a PC box forever."
"That's fair enough."
After another quick night slash, the Rockruff lets out a weak bark, before fainting and collapsing to the ground.
"Nice job. Your Weavile's stamina is improving, then?" I ask, hopping down from the boulder and stepping over to the downed Rockruff, searching my backpack for a revive.
"Yeah! Your little tips and tricks go a long way," Rose replies. After a little bit of rummaging, I pull out a revive and crouch down next to the wild Pokémon to apply the medicine. "Glad to hear that. How are the rest of your team doing, by the way? Anything in particular that needs working on?"
After a moment, the Rockruff begins to revitalise, it's tail gently wagging as it's eyes slowly open to see the sunlight again. It gets up onto its four stubby legs and barks happily, smiling up at me with it's small tongue flopping out of its mouth.
"Nah, I think me and my team have trained enough for now," Rose replies, bouncing up onto a mossy ledge and sitting down on it. She holds her cheeks and gasps excitedly when she sees me playing with the wild Rockruff. "Awwww! You're best friends already, that's so cuteee!"
I chuckle gently as I pet the happy Rockruff's head. "I don't know about best friends," I reply, tilting my head and glancing back at Feathers, who promptly hops forward and lets out a soft chirp.
"Aweee well of course, everyone knows you and Feathers are the closest," she sings. Gently stroking the Rockruff's rough collar, I take a Poké bean out of my bag and offer it out to the wild Pokémon.
"Hungry, huh?"
I hold out the Poké bean in the palm of my hand, to which the Rockruff eagerly jumps up, putting a paw against the tips of my fingers and chomping on the Poké bean.
"Were you born with some sort of gift, Sun? Pokémon love you! You've even got a wild one eating out of the palm of your hand. Like, literally."
I shrug.
"Maybe. But I like to think that getting to know Pokémon like this is something that I've learnt along the way," I reply, turning back to the Rockruff. "Now then, are you gonna be alright back out here? Look after yourself," I say gently, booping the Rockruff's nose with my finger. It lets out another overjoyed bark, jumping up and down on the spot before promptly dashing away into the bushes. "And back to the wilds with you," I whisper.

"You and your Pokémon have been in great sync today," I remark, adjusting my cap and sitting down near to Rose on the grassy ledge. "You know Rose, you've come a long way as a trainer," I add with a smile. She looks taken aback for a moment, running a hand through her dark, wavy crimson hair before giving me a smile that shows off her white teeth.
"Ahh, you think so? Thaaanks! You're really just a great teacher though, Sun," She replies, twirling a finger through her hair momentarily. "But I guess I should expect nothing less, y'know, from the undefeated champion and all!"
"People and Pokémon all rely on eachother. Besides, helping each other is just part of the Alolan spirit," I shrug casually. I glance up at the warm sky for a moment, listening to the soft breeze blow through the grass before adjusting my cap slightly. Rose swings her legs over the ledge that we're sat on, leaning back slightly before speaking.
"Hey, so what have you been doing this week? I haven't seen you for a few days," Rose chirps, maintaining her leaned-back posture but turning her head to look at me, examining my eyes contently. I glance sideways slightly.
"Not much. I defended my title at the League, that was a pretty good match... other than that, uhh... let's see, I sang a few songs with the band. You?"
Her interest perks up suddenly.
"You're a singer for a band?! No way."
"Yes way. Well, kind of, anyway. It's not like I do it that often, but yeah."
"Well, what band?"
I pause for a moment, scratching the back of my head and laughing a little.
"It's just with some friends in Po Town."
"Ooh, what genre do you do? Death metal? Oh, please say it's death metal-"
"Pffha, nope. Just punk rock, mainly," I reply. I give her a funny look. "Yeah, no, nothing as heavy as death metal," I add with a laugh.
"Huh!? Punk rock's one of my favourite genres too though, how come you never told me?"
"I... don't know, it's just no big deal," I shrug, focusing on the view ahead of me.
"Aww! Sounds like you're embarrassed," Rose says smugly. Feathers chirps amusedly from behind us while stretching one of his wings.
"Hey, don't you laugh at me," I chuckle, turning around and grinning playfully at my partner Pokémon. The Decidueye lets out another playful chirp, before thrusting his wings and flying up to a branch of a tree behind us.
"Anyway, you didn't answer my question, what have you been doing?" I ask again, turning my attention back to Rose. There's a pause as she looks downwards slightly, playing with the Poké Ball in her hands.
"Besides the usual thing... Nothing, really," she says, trying to put some enthusiasm into her tone as she realised how flat the first part sounded. She seems saddened all of a sudden. "...Oh! I mean, I took part in a battle royal, actually. Totally aced it!" She adds quickly, her usual, energetic demeanour suddenly restored. I look at her with some concern in my expression for a moment, but I quickly discard it.
"Woo! Good job, you and your team really are getting a lot stronger then," I say supportively, gazing up at the orange-pink sky and the clouds that look like they're on fire. "Huh, it's getting pretty late though."
Rose pushes herself off the ledge and onto her feet, stretching her arms slightly.
"In a hurry for something, huh?" She jokes.
"Oh, no no, it's not like that," I insist quickly.
"Ahehe, I'm kiddiiing," she laughs, walking toward the centre of the clearing of Ten Carat Hill. Pausing in her tracks, Rose takes her cap off momentarily, holding it in her hands and glancing down at it. She fiddles with the object before turning back towards me. "Actually Sun, are you doing anything tonight?"
I jump down from the ledge and approach her.
"Nothing too much, but... well..." I smile gently to myself, looking up at the sunlight. "L-Lillie and I planned to video call, so I'll be doing that a for a few hours."
Rose glances up suddenly, but quickly looks back down at her cap and turns away slightly.
"Ah..."
Facing away from me, she replaces her cap, putting it on her head backwards as she often does. She giggles softly, turning back to me with a convincing smile again. "Aawww, I guess I shouldn't be surprised by that," she grins.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Suuun, you talk about her all the time, you know that?" She coos. I blush a bit, awkwardly playing with the Z-ring on my wrist.
"I- I do? I mean... well yeah. Sure. I miss her," I explain innocently. Rose giggles.
"Yeah... I can tell," she says with a wink.

There's something interesting about Rose, it's something in her eyes. I know that she masks many of her thoughts and feelings with a smile, she does it a lot. I have a good eye for people's expressions and an ability to empathise with them, yet Rose is never fully readable. And it's not that I don't recognise that she hides behind a fake smile - it's just that I never know how to bring it up. But as convincing and seemingly genuine her smile may be, she isn't able to disguise the emotion in her eyes. Just like right now. Her smile is there, but her hazel eyes just seem so full of... envy? Or is it regret? They gaze through me with awe, as if she can see something far beyond the grey surface of my own iris', before she suddenly turns away again, sighing. There's a pause before she speaks again.
"Ah, but there's a reason I asked if you were busy," she says, glancing down and gently kicking her heel against the ground before promptly twirling around to face me again. "Umm... I actually got something to tell you."
"Oh?"
I walk over to her, hands in my pockets and looking at her curiously. She sighs again, holding her hands against the sides of her forehead and running them down her face slowly, distressed.
"I talked to one of my parents a bit this week. My dad, actually," she begins.
"Ah..."
"It was okay. He was the one who wanted to talk to me, for once."
She takes a deep breath before continuing. "I know this is kinda sudden, but I didn't know when else to tell you this, Sun. But my Dad said he's moving back to his home region, Galar. Said there's nothing left for him here in Alola, especially after his divorce with mom a few years ago... he didn't explain much, but he just thinks it'll be easier for him to go back home. And... he asked if I wanted to go with him. So, um..."
There's another interlude of silence. A tear builds in her eye, so I softly finish the sentence for her.
"So you're going to Galar?"
Rose nods slowly.
"I thought about it a lot. My mum will still be living here, but... well, I'll be glad to get away from her. Though I guess my dad isn't much better than her..." she sighs. "... Oh, but there's more to it than just that. I've been everywhere around Alola already, in the years that I've lived here. And while I do love it here, there's still just... nothing, nobody..." her voice trails off as she looks up toward the sky, a tear falling down her cheek which she quickly wipes away.
"I know what you mean, Rose. I know you've been lonely here."
She looks at me again, managing a smile.
"Yeah... yeah. All my friends I left behind, back in Unova. Life here in Alola hasn't been easy, especially after everything with my parents," she mumbles, a hint of anger in her eyes which quickly dissipates with a single blink. She takes a deep breath. "The only person that kept me company here was you, Sun."
She glances away and bites her lip, shaking her head slightly before suddenly throwing her arms around me.
My body freezes up briefly, but I let her hug me. Slowly, I return the hug and let her hold onto me tightly for a moment.
"I just wish I could've met you sooner," she whispers, before finally pulling herself off of me. I haven't hugged Rose before. Not that I minded it that much anyway, especially under these circumstances. She turns away from me, taking a few steps away and putting her hands on her hips. "Haaah. Um..." she turns back around with that same iconic smile, this one being more real. She clears her throat. "Sorry about that."
"Ha, don't be. I'll miss you too," I smile, adjusting my cap. "But hey, Galar will be great for you, right? A whole new region to explore, new people and Pokémon to meet... you'll be able to become an even greater trainer, huh?" I add cheerily.
"Yeah, that's right! So I'm kinda looking forward to it. Another new region for me to explore," she grins, taking a Poké Ball out of her bag. "So, what I've been getting at is... I want another battle with you before I go. I know I won't win, but we gotta do it right? Besides, I wanna prove how strong I've gotten!" She says melodically, throwing her Poké Ball up and catching it with her other hand. I grin, showing off my straightened teeth.
"Now that's the spirit. Yeah, I've got plenty of time for a battle, so right here, right now?"
Rose nods.
"Right here, right now!"

I turn around and glance up at the tree that Feathers is still perched on.
"Hey Feathers, c'mere!" I call to him, gesturing with my hand. He glides down, attempting to land on my shoulder again. I stumble forwards as the Decidueye lands and puts his weight on me.
"Gah, not on me! We've talked about this, I know you loved being perched on me when you were a baby and you just about got away with it when you were a Dartrix, but you're as tall as me now, you're too big for it," I laugh. The beastly bird chirps sadly, hopping back down to the ground. "But hey, did you hear everything Rose was saying?"
Feathers nods, approaching Rose and looking at her with a sad expression in his eyes. He extends his wings, before wrapping them carefully around Rose in the form of a hug, as he often does. As my signature Pokémon, Feathers has spent a lot of time helping me train Rose and her Pokémon, so he's developed quite a bond as well.
"Aww! I'll miss you too, Feathers," Rose coos, enthusiastically hugging him back.
"He's a soft bird at heart," I chuckle. "C'mon then, ready to fight, Feathers?"
The Decidueye turns back to me and nods, following me to the centre of the clearing.
"Me and my team are ready," Rose sings excitedly, skipping to the location opposite to me and holding her Weavile's Poké Ball in her hand. Feathers steps forwards, stretching his wings once more and shuddering in anticipation.
"Then let's get this show on the road," I announce, tipping my cap forward and preparing my stance. Rose smiles excitedly, twirling on the spot as she throws her Poké Ball out onto the field.
"C'mon Weavile, let's show them what we've learnt!"

Rose's partner Pokémon leaps out of its ball, landing on the ground and facing its opponent. Feathers turns back to me and nods, awaiting my directions.
"Weavile, ice shard!"
"Feathers, get close and hit them with leaf blade!"
The two Pokémon leap into the air at eachother, Weavile hurling various icy projectiles at Feathers, most of which he manages to dodge except for one. The super-effective move hits Feathers off-course, but he manages to glide through the air and just about deliver a heavy blow to the Weavile with leaf blade. Rose's Pokémon skids across the ground for a while, before regaining balance.
"Hit him again, night slash!"
"Try and parry it!"
The two battling Pokémon throw themselves at eachother again, Feathers slamming his wing against Weavile's attack, using leaf blade to counter the night slash. The super-effective move still manages to do quite some damage against Feathers' wing, and he lands on his feet on the ground, letting out a quiet but pained chirp.
"Hey that's enough from you, Feathers. Good work," I shout, returning my Decidueye to his Poké Ball. The type disadvantage won't do my signature Pokémon any good, but I know who can turn the tables in this fight. "Roxy, it's all yours!"
I launch my midnight-form Lycanroc into the fight, an adversary that Rose's team often struggles to defeat.
"Ooh, Roxy huh? Weavile, night slash again!"
"Roxy, brick break!"
Rose's Pokémon doesn't get a chance to hit its attack, as the Lycanroc eagerly hurls herself at the target, pouncing on the Weavile and smashing her paw down to finish it off with brick break.
"Aww, man. Hmm... Absol, your turn!"
She returns her fainted partner Pokémon to its Poké Ball, before sending out her next Pokémon, Absol. "Use Swords Dance, get your attacks ready!"
I consider for a moment, not liking the look of the situation.
"Hit them with rock slide, keep your distance!"
Roxy throws a collection of boulders at the opposing Absol, but Rose is quick to react.
"Now, get close and use rock smash!"
The Absol gets hit by a boulder, losing its balance momentarily and taking damage before sprinting across the battlefield and smashing effortlessly through another of the thrown boulders, before delivering its powerful attack on Roxy.
"Fine then, close-quarters it is. Fire back with brick break!"
The Lycanroc howls angrily as she smashes against the ground, but quickly gets back up and leaps towards the Absol, readying her attack.
"Detect!" Rose shouts. Absol evades the move in the blink of an eye, getting behind Roxy faster than the eye can follow. "Rock smash again! Hard as you can!"
"Uh oh. Brick break again!"
Roxy movements are only just faster than Absol's, but that advantage is all it takes for Roxy to grab her opponent mid-attack and throw them to the ground before delivering a brick break that knocks the Absol out cold. Roxy stands over the fainted Pokémon, looking up to the sky and letting out a howl.
"Come on, Mimikyu. Take this Lycanroc down, would ya?" Rose says from across the battlefield, throwing and catching her next Pokémon's ball before pitching it forward onto the field. The Mimikyu jumps out eagerly, watching Roxy silently from afar.
"Alright Roxy, there's one left after this. Let's set the table, use stealth rock."
My Lycanroc does as she's asked, scattering pointed stones around the battlefield while I stare at the opposing Pokémon, considering.
"Use night daze!" Rose shouts.
"Mhm. Trust me on this one, use brick break again!"
Roxy doesn't hesitate on leaping forward into action, preparing to execute the fighting-type move even on the seemingly ghost-type adversary. Before the opponent is able to use its night daze, my battling Pokémon strikes their attack and buries Rose's disguised Zoroark halfway into the ground, taking it out of action immediately. Grinning smugly, I fix my posture again and tilt my head at Rose.
"You had two Pokémon left, one of them was going to be the Zoroark," I laugh. "Besides, I know how much your Zoroark likes night daze," I add.
Rose bites her lip gently, smiling.
"You're very sharp, Sun," she sighs. "I was hoping it'd put you off using brick break for a minute. Welp, last Pokémon then!" she adds, skipping forward and throwing her real Mimikyu into the fray.
"Good work Roxy, Feathers can finish this fight," I call to my Lycanroc, before returning her to her ball and switching Feathers back into the battle. "Now then, leaf blade!"
"Uhmm... aha, shadow sneak!"
Mimikyu phases forward in the blink of an eye, striking Feathers with another super-effective move. Remaining focused, the Decidueye lets out his battlecry, twisting his body around and swinging his wing in a leaf blade attack which cleaves off Mimikyu's disguise.
"Now, send them home, use spirit shackle!"
Feathers continues to glide through the air after his previous attack. He sets his focus on the Mimikyu below, twirling through the air and taking careful aim before firing off a midair spirit shackle that pierces Rose's final Pokémon, dealing big damage and thus ending the battle in our favour.

"Hehee, that was fun," Rose hums softly while returning her Pokémon to its Poké Ball as I do the same.
"Right? And you were even giving Feathers a run for his money for a while there. That was a good battle," I say in agreement, approaching Rose once again. "Looks like you really have learnt a lot," I add, smiling warmly.
Rose adjusts her own cap once again.
"Me and my team have put a lot of effort in. But... me and Zoroark will work on our strategies a bit," she says. There's a pause. "So, uh... this is it for today, huh?"
I nod.
"I guess so. When did you say you're leaving to Galar?" I ask.
"It'll be at the end of the week, so... not long!"
She glances up at the sky, the enthusiasm in her voice pained slightly by some hint of bother.
"I'll make sure to see you off then. I'll be there," I say, along with a relaxed smile.
"I'm counting on it! Although... hrm, I guess that means you've had two friends moving away to different regions now," she sighs, scratching the back of her head. She turns away slightly. "Although I guess Lillie... Lillie was more than a friend to you, right?"
I blush again, my eyes darting away instinctively even though she isn't looking at me.
"Anyway... have fun talking to her later!" She chirps, after clearing her throat. She stretches, letting out a strained sigh before turning back to me. Her smile is back.
"Thank you," I reply, with a nod. "I'm sure I will."
Taking a few paces towards the centre of the field, Rose summons a ride Charizard for herself and looks up toward the deep orange sky.
"I'm going to miss Alola," she says suddenly. She glances back at me, smiling. "And you too, of course," she winks. I can't help but smile back, tipping my cap forward slightly as she mounts up on her ride Charizard. "And I know we're not saying goodbye for real yet, but uh... thank you. For everything."
"Don't mention it! I always love seeing people and their Pokémon get stronger," I reply, putting my hands behind my head casually, as Hau often does.
"Hehee, well, I'll save the real goodbyes for when I leave to Galar," she adds, readying up on her Charizard. She waves to me, showing off her teeth with a smile. "See ya!"
Grinning back, I return the wave with a casual two-finger salute.
"See you around."

I watch Rose take flight on her Charizard, ascending out of Ten Carat Hill and into the Alolan sunset. Glancing down at Feathers' Poké Ball in my hand, I take a deep breath in and slowly exhale it out again.
"That girl's a mystery," I mutter to myself, tossing the Poké Ball up and catching it again. I can't help but wonder for the hundredth time what Lillie might think of Rose.
"Come on then, let's go home. You guys must be tired," I say to my Pokémon. I take a deep, refreshing breath in as I walk towards the entrance to the tunnel out of Ten Carat Hill, and smile.
At last, time to go and talk to Lillie again.