It was still early in the morning, and even though it was still dark, there was a faint light far in the horizon that began to taint the sky with blueish colors. The people of Melemele were still getting ready for the new day that seemed to begin downtown, but at the harbor, there was barely any movement at all. Among the shadows, in an open area next to the sea, there were two figures: Selene and her partner Komi.

The young girl was crouched in front of her partner Pokémon, holding her paw as she used her trustworthy nail clipper to cut the creature’s claws. It was already part of the routine, and Selene enjoyed it from the first day. But at that moment, that simple action meant much more for that girl, as she felt much closer to Komi than before. She finished clipping the last claw, suggesting a gentle smile.

“Okay, it’s done! How do you feel now?”, asked Selene to Komi. The Pokémon took a closer look at her claws and released a happy growl. “I’m glad you like it. You look pretty.”

Saying that, Selene stored her nail clipper inside her bag. Alone at that harbor, a cool breeze blew towards them. Even though it was a tropical island, mornings were not especially hot. Selene realized that as she trembled a bit as she rubbed her arms in an attempt to warm herself. She then thought about the possible weather of her unknown destination. She was preparing herself to sneak inside the first ship that appeared around there, it didn’t matter where it went. If she ended up in Galar or Sinnoh, the weather would be colder and she didn’t have the appropriate clothing. Realizing she couldn’t do anything about It, Selene shook her head. As she was told a lot of times, “You’ll cross that bridge when you get to it”. She would find a way when she got to her new place.

Another growl from Komi brought her back from her thought world into reality. The creature seemed worried for her Trainer, Selene was sure of that. They had been together for a long time, she learned to understand her friend. Looking at the Pokémon, the girl felt sad for dragging her around the world. Selene lowered her head and said:

“Hey, Komi… I’m… I’m going really far away. I don’t think I’ll ever be back. And who knows where I’ll end up? Maybe it’s not a good place for a Dragon Pokémon. Maybe… you should stay here. I mean, the weather's nice here, and you are strong enough to find your own place now! Or maybe you could stay with the Professor. Maybe you would be much happier here… without me...”

Deep inside, Selene felt sad for saying those words, but she actually felt Komi would be much happier staying in Alola than going with her around the world. However, the Pokémon didn’t think the same way, as she first blew some air through the nose into Selene’s face, then approached her head to the girl’s chest, emitting a low growl that felt like a purr. Selene felt moved by her friend and gently hugged her head.

“I know, I know: ‘We girls gotta help each other’, right?”, said Selene with a low voice while smiling.

Under the dark morning sky, both Trainer and Pokémon hugged in silence. Even though she didn’t say anything, Selene swore to herself that she would take care of that Pokémon until the very end. It was the least she could do for someone that wanted to stay by her side. With no prior notice, Komi raised her head and looked in the direction behind Selene. The girl didn’t understand what was happening, until she heard footsteps in the distance. She could imagine the situation: the Team Skull grunts she met at the back alley chased her. Even though she felt calmer than back then, Selene wasn’t in the mood to face them again.

“Those Skull jerks again?”, asked Selene to herself annoyed. Then, she stood up, and as she turned around, she said: “How many times do I have to tell you? LEAVE ME A-”

But Selene couldn’t finish that sentence. As she contemplated and identified the figures running towards her among the shadows, her mind froze, and she couldn’t even mutter a single word. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing: Mallow, Lana and Lillie leading the group, with Kiawe, Sophocles and Professor Kukui running slightly behind them.

“There she is!”, exclaimed Mallow.

Selene saw her friends and the professor approaching. She was so confused that the idea of running away didn’t even cross her mind, and even if it had happened, her body wouldn’t have moved at all from the shock. Eventually, the group caught up to her. All of them gasped, Sophocles had to sit down on the ground. The girl could see they were all exhausted, but couldn’t understand that they were because they were looking for her. Kukui was the first one to talk.

“Phew, that sure was a marathon! Really, Selene, what were you thinking? Leaving that note and disappearing just like that…”

She did hear that question, and still, Selene couldn’t process it. She was still astonished, her pale face disguised by the darkness of the early morning, trying to assimilate the situation. Finally, she could mutter some words with nervousness:

“What… what are you all… doing here?”.

“That… we should be asking that!”, exclaimed Mallow between gasps. “Why did you leave without telling us? And why did you come to the harbor?”.

Even though her brain began to react faster, she couldn’t come up with any excuse. She didn’t even expect to see them again! What could she say? Her thoughts were interrupted by Lana.

“Are you… chasing the Guardians again? Because they didn’t show up at the Altar? We could have gone with you!”, said Lana.

“That’s it!”, thought Selene. She could make up an excuse with that. Maybe saying something about it being too dangerous. She tried to think quickly, but then:

“No, that isn’t it.”

Those words came from Lillie. Her usual gentle face now turned serious, more than Selene had ever seen before. The girl couldn’t do anything else but look at those green eyes that stared at her, her heart beating fast. Lillie walked forward, just a few steps.

“You met them. The Guardians. You met them at the Temple”, declared Lillie. “And you… you got your memories back, right?”.

Selene felt an immense pain in her heart. She wanted to avoid that, she needed to avoid them knowing about her memories. However, she knew she couldn’t do that to Lillie. Those green eyes… She always felt those eyes could see inside her heart, that Lillie had that special ability somehow. That’s why she tried to run away, the girl knew she couldn’t lie to her friend forever. A sad smile appeared on Selene’s face.

“Since when do you know?”, asked Selene.

“From the moment you came back”, answered Lillie. “I knew something happened, you were acting differently than usual. I knew something had changed. When Professor Kukui called us this morning in a rush and told us you vanished, I knew it had to be that”.

“Of course”, said Selene with a giggle. “You… you have always been so smart. You really notice all the tiny things. That’s what makes you so special.”

“Wait, what?”, asked Kiawe from a distance. “You got your memories back? Why didn’t you tell us? We have been going through this together, you could have shared it with us.”

For a moment, Selene had forgotten about the others who had looked for her as well. In other circumstances, she would have agreed with Kiawe: getting her memories back should have been a happy celebration. But in that case, those memories… It was far more complicated, so much that she didn’t know how to answer Kiawe’s allegation. Lillie could see her friend’s internal doubts, she saw that her situation was far more complex than they all could imagine. She walked forward a bit more towards Selene and said:

“Selene, we’re friends, right? We’ve shared both happy and sad moments. I’m… We’re here for you. If you have anything to tell us, we’re here to listen. That’s what friends are for.”

That time, those green eyes didn’t stare at her. They were not a menace, instead, they emitted a gentle aura, usual for Lillie’s sweet nature. She was right: they had lived so many things together. Selene began remembering all the moments they shared together: their first day on the beach, their classes, their adventures through Alola… Every time, Lillie was there, whether smiling or sharing her pain and doubts. Deep inside, she feared those things would disappear as soon as she began speaking, but it was too late. There was no way she could hide the truth to her friend anymore.

“That’s the problem”, murmured Selene. “If I tell you, it will be over. My life here. Our friendship. Everything…”

“That’s not going to happen. I promise”, insisted Lillie. “Please, you can trust us.”

It was not a matter of trusting them, but whether they could understand the truth or not. That’s what Selene thought to herself before taking a deep breath and turning her back to everybody.

“Before I do that, I gotta ask. Professor, why didn’t you tell me about… that thing?”, asked Selene. “You know what I mean. You found me on the beach and took me to the hospital. You had to find out back then. That’s why you asked that question when I woke up, right? You all suspected what kind of person I am. Why didn’t you tell me back then?”

All the children looked at the professor. Kukui remained silent, thinking for a moment about that question, remembering their first encounter. He understood Selene’s words, and although he knew that moment would arrive one day, he didn’t expect it to be in that situation.

“Well, you already had a lot on your plate, ya know? Waking up in an unknown place, with no memories… you didn’t even know what Pokémon were! I thought it was better to leave that matter for later. And still, it didn’t actually matter: you already knew who you were from the very beginning. ‘That thing’ doesn’t change who you are”, explained Kukui, smiling at the end of his speech.

“I know. I know that doesn’t change who I am. Still, it can change how people see me”, said Selene while staring at the ocean.

“Professor, what are you two talking about?”, asked Lana confused.

“Would you rather have me explain it to them?”, asked Professor Kukui to Selene.

“No. I better do it”, insisted Selene. She took a deep breath and turned around, facing the whole group again. She could feel her heart beating nervously. It wasn’t the first time she would say those words, but it had been a long time since the last time she did. “Everyone… I’m a trans girl.”

Nobody said anything. Selene felt both relief and fear by saying those words. The professor seemed somehow happy by seeing Selene being honest about herself. However, the kids were confused as they tried to understand the meaning of those words.

“‘Trans’?”, asked Sophocles. Then, he looked at Komi. “Isn’t that what Komi is?”.

“Yeah”, said Selene, making a hand gesture to Komi. The Pokémon approached her and the girl took her paw with her hands. “Komi and I… are essentially the same.”

“So…”, muttered Kiawe, trying to come up with an explanation. Then, he casually asked: “Are you a Pokémon?”.

“No, Kiawe, it’s not that”, answered Selene with a sad giggle. “Remember what Komi is: she is a female Pokémon, but her body has characteristics usually associated with… male species. But in her mind and heart, she is female. Well, I… I am the same. I’m a girl, I have always been a girl. However, my body has a certain thing that… people usually associate with… boys. A thing ‘down there’... just like they have.”

With those last words, Selene shook her head in the direction of Kiawe and Sophocles. All the kids looked at each other confused.

“A thing… down there?”, muttered Lana.

The girls looked at Kiawe and Sophocles, slowly looking down at their bodies. Even the two boys looked at themselves. And suddenly, it clicked: the realization. The image of a ‘certain thing’ associated with boys came to their mind, making everybody gasp in shock.

“Wait… when you say… ‘certain thing’... you actually mean that… ‘thingy’?”, asked Mallow nervously, while slightly moving her index finger as if something was hanging. Selene nodded shyly, not knowing what else to say.

She could see it, it was not something they could understand so easily and quickly. All of them were nervous, trying to process their new discovery. But the one Selene was especially worried about was Lillie. The blonde girl was surprised, and at that moment, Selene couldn’t understand what was going through her mind. However, her eyes were clear: she was determined to inquire more.

“But… why didn’t you tell us before?”, asked Lillie.

“Because I didn’t know. I forgot the concept of ‘being trans’. Even when we learned about it from Komi, I thought it was a Pokémon thing as well. When I woke up at the hospital, I knew I was a girl. And when I looked at my body, I found nothing strange, not even that thing. Girls can have ‘the thingy’ too. It’s not that common though”, explained Selene with nervousness.

“It’s normal that you found nothing strange”, continued Professor Kukui. “Except Kiawe, all of you are still at the early stages of puberty. You still haven’t gone through big changes, that’s why your bodies are similar at this stage. But as time passes, those changes will begin… and I’m sure you ain’t looking forward to that, right?”.

“Yeah”, murmured Selene. “Right now, I’m fine because I see myself as the girl I am. But when those changes happen… You have already seen how Komi reacts every time her claws and scales are bigger than normal. Having a body that is different than it should be… It makes you really uncomfortable. It makes it hard to be yourself and show your emotions.”

At that moment, Selene put her right hand on her left arm. She couldn’t help it, thinking about going through those changes was scary and painful. She didn’t notice, but everybody could see that pain in her face, an expression they had never seen in her friend. Among them, Lana suddenly realized something and asked:

“So… how are the Guardians related to all this? Did they make you forget about that? Did they even give you… ‘the thingy’?”, asked Lana.

“Oh!”, gasped Selene as she came back to reality. Nervously, she suggested a sad smile. “No, ‘the thingy’ was always there. But you are right about the Guardians. Actually, they did much more for me. They are responsible for me being here in the first place, they brought me to Alola”.

“What do you mean with that?”, asked Mallow confused. “How could the Guardians take you to Alola?”.

Here it was, the hardest part, something even more confusing. Still, Selene had no choice but to tell them. That’s what she thought as she sighed.