Once they were ready, the whole group left Kukui’s house and walked towards Hau’oli City. They began by walking through the coast towards the School, which was the route Selene took every morning, and from there they could walk to the city. Their first stop was downtown area, where the kids first took Selene to a waffle restaurant run by a cheerful lady and her Alolan Raichu. The atmosphere was nice and they all enjoyed all kinds of waffles with different toppings. After that, they spent some time doing some window shopping. Even though Hau’oli City had a lot of tourist attractions, they were also nice book stores and fishing stores as well. They kept walking for a while until…

“Look! Over there!”

Mallow exclaimed that as she dashed towards one of the stores, followed by Lillie and Lana. That took Selene by surprise and tried to catch up to them as fast as she could. As she got closer, she could see the girls commenting something excitedly. That picked her curiosity.

“Hey, what’s in this store?”, asked Selene.

But the girl didn’t need any answer. When she got next to her friends, she could finally see the window display, her eyes opening widely and her face blushing at the sight. The display was full of pendants, earrings and other accessories with different forms and shapes, from clouds and stars to different Pokémon. What they all had in common were the colors: white and pastel pink.

“So cute…”, that was all Selene could mutter as she contemplated the items in display with amazement.

“I know, right?”, exclaimed Mallow. “We love coming here to see these! And they are all handmade!”

“Hey, guys! We are going here!”, exclaimed Lillie to Kiawe and Sophocles, who stood at some distance.

All the girls turned around to the two boys, whose expressions were really clear: they didn’t like the idea of visiting that store. Lana frowned a bit.

“You aren’t thinking of skipping again, right?”, complained Lana. “You never come with us to these stores!”

“Look, we just don’t like all those ‘fashion’ things”, complained Sophocles.

“Yeah, that’s not for us. You girls have your fun time, we’ll be around here when you’re over”, said Kiawe before he and Sophocles left, leaving a grumpy Lana behind.

“Don’t sweat it, Lana. These boys are like this”, said Lillie to comfort Lana, but instead, that made Selene giggle.

“What are you laughing at?”, asked Mallow with curiosity.

“Well, it’s just… I may have forgotten everything, but I sure remember one thing: I never understood boys and probably never will”, asserted Selene.

That comment made everybody laugh aloud for a while. Once they calmed down, they went inside the store, which had a bigger array of items that what the display showed. There weren’t just pendants and earrings, but also bracelets, hair clips and even some figures. Everybody that looked at them could appreciate the effort put in all the details. The girls looked at the different items and even tried some of them, helping Selene find ones that really suited her. Every time she looked at her reflection with those accessories, she couldn’t help but smile and blush. They kept exploring to store until Selene looked at one item: a pendant with a simple thread and a big white-and-pink star hanging from it. The girl liked that pendant and stared at it for a while.

“Do you like it?”

The girl was so absorbed in her thoughts that she jumped a bit when Lana talked to her. Lillie and Mallow stood at Selene’s back while looking at the pendant.

“That one looks really nice!”, added Mallow.

“Yeah, I like it”, murmured Selene while caressing the star. When she noticed how polished it was, a question popped up in her mind. “You told me these were handmade. What are they made of?”

“Oh, these are Corsola horns!”, exclaimed Lana while pointing at a poster showing a white and pink Pokémon with coral-like horns.

“So Corsola is a Pokémon…”, muttered Selene. Suddenly, a realization came to her mind that turned her pale. “Wait, don’t tell me… they hunt Corsola for this?”

“What? No!”, exclaimed Mallow in shock. “Sometimes I forget how little you know about Pokémon!”

“No, it’s not like that”, said Lillie while giggling. “Corsola shed their horns for different reasons, like building their homes or for running away from enemies. They leave their horns behind at all times. The bigger a horn is, the better quality it is.”

“Then, divers go deep into the ocean and find the spare horns left at the bottom. They sell them to the stores and people here use them to make everything”,- explained Lana.

Selene sighed in relief after knowing the truth. She didn’t only feel better for the Corsola, but also for the idea that humans and Pokémon could coexist in such a way, without harming each other. Her thoughts turned back to the pendant she was still holding.

“Say, why don’t you buy it? You have Professor’s money”, said Mallow. “He told you to be responsible and this pendant is quite cheap. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.”

Her friend was right: Selene had money for something like that. And still, no matter how much she wanted that pendant, she felt bad for using Kukui’s money for such a whim. Instead, she put the pendant back to its place while the other girls looked at her sadly.

“No, it’s okay”, said Selene with a sad voice. “I mean, I don’t know how much the swimsuit will be. If I spend money on this, I may not have enough later. I can buy this any other time.”

The other girls wanted to complain, but they knew Selene was right. A good swimsuit could be a bit expensive and she needed that more than the pendant. They all left the store empty-handed, but happy after having so much fun. They reunited with Kiawe and Sophocles, who spent their time visiting a store for ‘Charjabug Racers’, something that Selene could still not understand. After that, their next stop was the shopping center, where the group went directly to a store full of swimsuits of all kinds, shapes and colors. Selene was amazed at the huge variety of options, unable to pick one for her. Luckily for her, Lillie, Lana and Mallow were there to help her, while Kiawe and Sophocles went to the men section.

“Good. Now that we are alone, let’s help Selene find a nice swimsuit!”, exclaimed Lana.

From one pieces to bikinis and tankinis, there were too many options to choose. The girls began by looking at the whole collection to get some ideas, but in the end, it was important that Selene chose one that she liked. After a while, the girl found a bikini with a frilly skirt.

“Hey, I like this skirt here. I didn’t know there were swimsuits with skirts”, said Selene.

“Sure. There are shorts as well, but skirts are popular. They look cuter”, explained Lana.

“We’ll look around for other bikinis with skirts. What about colors? Any preference?”, asked Lillie.

“Not sure”, answered Selene. Then, she hummed a bit, thinking possible colors. -I guess I like warm colors, like red, pink or orange. But I also like purple and light blue. But not really intense, you know what I mean? Something more… pastel tone.”

The girls memorized Selene’s preferences and split into two teams: Mallow and Lillie would work together while Lana would help Selene. The two girls looked at the stands and picked up different outfits that she liked.

“There are so many! It’s really hard to choose one”, commented Selene while scratching her head.

“Don’t worry and take your time. A swimsuit is as important as any Poké Ball”, said Lana cheerfully.

“You really seem to like swimming”, added Selene.

“Of course! That’s why I’m always ready to jump on the water at any second”, said Lana as she slapped a suspender from her shoulder. It was then that Selene realized her friend was wearing a swimsuit below her normal clothing.

“Wait a sec… You always wear your swimsuit? At all times? I change what I said: you surely love swimming!”, exclaimed Selene in surprise.

“Well, it’s my passion after all, as well as my dream”, said Lana.

“Your dream?”, asked Selene. Then, she remembered the conversation about the divers and an idea came to her mind. “So your dream is to become a diver? That’s why you know so much about them?”

“Not exactly that. I come from a family of fishers, we know a lot about the sea, but... My dream is making Popplio make a huge bubble that I can use to explore the bottom of the sea”, explained Selene. “I want to see the secrets that lie down there with my very own eyes. That’s why I train with Popplio everyday. And one day, the two of us will go there.”

Selene was surprised. She sometimes felt that Lana was quite a joker and never took things seriously, but she was seeing a new side of her. She had passion. She had a goal and she was working towards it. Something that Selene didn’t have. That thought made her sad.

“A dream… It must be nice having one. I mean, I’m doing fine for now. I enjoy the School. But I don’t know what my future will be. I’m not even sure if I had any dream before”, said Selene.

“It’s okay. A dream is not something you just get”, explained Lana with a gentle tone. “It’s different for each person, but usually, you need to explore, learn new things, meet new people… And one day, your dream will arrive. I’m sure you will find your dream one day.”

She could be a joker, but Selene knew when Lana was being honest and her words made her feel a bit relieved.

After exploring for a while and asking the store clerks, all the girls gathered a good amount of options, which the girl tried one by one. They all looked nice and Selene felt quite happy, and still, she knew as well as the others that there was something missing.

“Dunno, it’s just… They don’t really show how cute you can be!”, said Mallow, making Selene blush. “What about… this one?”

From the pile of swimsuits, Mallow picked one randomly. The bikini was light pink and tagged along with a white skirt that had small pink stars and bubbles around the edge. The more Selene looked at it, the more she liked that one in particular. The other girls knew she liked it, but she still needed to put it on. Selene went inside the fitting room and began changing in silent. She was nervous, but her friends waiting outside were even more nervous than her. A few minutes passed and then:

“Okay, I’m coming out!”

Selene stepped outside slowly and showed her friends her new outfit. Her still pale skin, not used to Alola’s sun, made the bikini stand up just enough to highlight her natural cuteness. Still, the white skirt was a good companion for the bikini, the frills swinging gracefully as she move around.

“So… what do you think?”, asked Selene bashfully, her face blushing.

Mallow and Lana smiled excitedly at seeing Selene’s look.

“Yep, this is the right one!”, answered Lana happily.

“You look so cute, Selene!”, exclaimed Mallow. Then, she looked at Lillie and asked: “Right, Lillie?”

However, Lillie didn’t say anything. Mallow and Lana looked at her with curiosity, noticing how she was blushing and her eyes were half-closed when looking at her friend. She seemed so absorbed in her own thoughts that she didn’t notice anybody else but Selene. She really thought she was cute. So cute that she couldn’t describe it with words. Suddenly, she felt Mallow’s hand on her shoulder, bringing her back to reality.

“What? Oh, uhmm… Yeah, sure! I mean, ahem… Yes, you look adorable, Selene!”, said Lillie nervously.

Those words made Selene blush even more than usual, and in the end, they all agreed that was the perfect outfit for her. Luckily, she had enough money for it, but there wasn’t too much for extra expenses. Still, the girl was very happy with her purchase and was looking forward to use it later that day.