The giveaway prize had been a single ticket to Melemele Island, complete with a free week’s hotel stay in Hau'oli City. That meant Trinity would be relaxing, right?
Wrong. He had contests to prepare for! He couldn’t waste his time relaxing, even if he was on a beautiful tropical island!
Maybe that was the Unova native in him. People in Unova always seemed to be rushing one place or the other, never truly slowing down, even to be polite to each other. But if it helped win him contests- and it very often did- Trinity couldn’t complain too much.
Really, Trinity wished he could have brought his boyfriend to Hau'oli City along with him, but unfortunately the giveaway reward only included one ticket. A part of him was a little thankful for the solitude, though. If his partner had joined him on the trip, he knew he wouldn’t get much of anything done. Contest training was hard to do on dates- trust him, he’d tried.
After checking in and depositing his luggage at the hotel, Trinity scouted a good place to train. While searching, he made sure to indulge in a few ‘touristy’ things- checking out the nearby mall, walking on the beach; he even grabbed some malasada at a vendor’s stand after seeing some little kid losing his mind over the stuff. It actually tasted pretty damn good! He made a mental note to snag a couple later to nibble on in his hotel room.
In the meantime, he did eventually locate a spot- a ratty-looking parking lot behind one of the stores in the shopping district. Speaking of rats, several Alolan Ratata and Yungoos trundled about, quickly scattering into the nearby tall grass when they saw Trinity approach. Shrugging off the skittishness, and privately thankful he didn’t need to worry about a battle, Trinity pulled out his poke balls. 
“Alright everyone, training time!” Trinity called, a series of white flashes erupting from the vessels. Sure enough, his pokémon appeared, a few shaking themselves off before they all gathered in a tight line, attentive as always. His Solosis bounced eagerly in the air, his Beautifly flapping in excitement at the fresh air. His Mismagius fluttered in tight circles and his Electrode rocked from side to side, a wide grin plastered on its spherical surface. 
“Good to see you guys too,” Trinity said, smiling warmly. “You guys did great last time, so we gotta kick it up a notch. I really want to make sure we can pull these next few routine ideas off in the next contest.” He reached into his messenger bag, pulling out a plastic sack. He’d bought a tin of Poké Beans on his little shopping trip, and judging by the looks on his Pokémon’s faces, they were already a hit. His Beautifly drew closer, but he put the bag away before it could attempt to pilfer the goods. “Ah ah ah, I wanna see you guys pull off the routines we came up with at least once before you get any!”
With a chorus of agreeing sounds, his pokémon nodded- or at least, in Electrode and Solosis’s case, they performed something of an equivalent. Quickly, they paired off, Mismagius with Solosis and Beautifly with Electrode. It was the latter duo Trinity was most excited about- he’d come up with a rather exciting routine for the two of them to perform for his next contest outing, and he desperately wanted to see it in action.
“Okay, Beauti, now’s your chance. Show me what you’ve got!” Trinity said, clapping his hands. 
At the signal, the butterfly pokémon fluttered atop Trinity’s Electrode, planting its little feet primly on the spherical surface. Its wings flapped a few times, making sure it had its balance before letting out a triumphant “fly!”
“Alrighty, Electrode, on three, just like we practiced!” Trinity said. He held up his fingers as he continued. “One, two… three!”
On three, the Electrode began to roll. The Beautifly atop started walking in place, keeping up with the slowly quickening electric pokémon. Before long, the Electrode was spinning like a top at a rapid pace, the Beautifly standing at the summit frantically kicking its little legs to stay upright. 
“Okay, okay,” Trinity said, watching carefully for any signs of the Beautifly’s distress. He knew should anything bad happen the bug type could just fly away, but that didn’t mean he didn’t care for his pokémon’s mental wellbeing alongside their physical! He wasn’t a monster! “Now, like we practiced!” He motioned with his hand and the Electrode began to roll around the empty parking lot, the Beautifly on its ‘head’ still staying on. Trinity’s heart fluttered at the progress. They were doing it! They were actually doing it!
He followed the performing duo with excited eyes, watching as they traversed the makeshift course. Already he could see it, his pokémon on the stage, performing this trick in front of hundreds of excited contest goers! He was sure to win once they saw this!
Trinity paused, eyes widening as he spotted something.
It was another pokémon, a Smeargle specifically. It wandered onto the cracked asphalt of the parking lot, hanging its head dejectedly- so dejectedly that it didn’t seem to notice the dynamic duo of Beautifly and Electrode rolling straight toward it.
“O-oh Arceus,” Trinity swore. Shifting out of training mode, he cupped his hands over his mouth and raised his voice. “H-hey! Hey! Look out!” 
Despite his attempts, the wandering Smeargle did not appear to hear him. It merely continued walking, still on the path to collision.
“O-oh shit-” Trinity whispered. Okay, plan B time! He started running toward the oblivious Smeargle, waving his arms in a panic to try and get the thing’s attention. “Hey! Over here! Over here! Watch out!”
In Trinity’s hasty panic, he didn’t notice that, in his attempts to get closer to the Smeargle, he’d stepped in the way of his practicing pokémon. Not until it was far too late. At the last second, he heard a sharp, frightened “BEAUTI!”- 
And then, with a sound reminiscent of a bowling ball striking a set of pins, the Electrode and Beautifly combo slammed into Trinity, knocking him violently to the cement. The trainer hit the ground with a grunt, air wheezing out of his lungs as he collapsed. His bag of Poké Beans flew out of his bag, spilling out of the ground.
His Electrode and Beautifly stopped their performance, quickly fanning out and gobbling up the dispersed beans without any concern for their owner’s wellbeing. He had promised them if they’d done the routine right, after all. They deserved it after their hard work!
Trinity lifted his head, groaning and spitting out a few stray grains of… something. His eyes widened as he glanced up, gaze landing on the Smeargle, standing over him with a blank expression.
Trinity wrinkled his nose, getting up into a crouching position. “You’re welcome, by the way,” he said. He reached out, patting the Smeargle on its strange, beret-shaped… growth? He tried not to think too hard about what it was.
The Smeargle finally seemed to react to something, its wet, paint brush tail slapping Trinity’s hand away. Trinity recoiled, yanking his hand back to find it smeared with green wet slime. He grimaced, narrowing his eyes at the Smeargle. “Rude,” he said. He went to wipe it off, only to feel the skin beneath… tingling?
Trinity paused, narrowed eyes growing wider. Slowly but surely, he watched as the length of his obscured fingers begin to diminish drip of paint, the flesh beneath the slick substance tingling and softening. Before long, his fingers had shrunken slightly, covered skin softened into something untouched by toil or wear. 
“What the-” Trinity whispered, quickly cut off by Smeargle swiping its paint-tipped tail over his other hand, coating it in the green substance like its counterpart. The tingling began again, size drip drip drip dripping down as the digits and palm softened and smoothed. 
And then, the paint began to move. It defied gravity, sliding up his arms. As it did, it slid off his fingers and hands, revealing tanned, smooth skin. The dripping came again as it ascended, flesh beneath tingling and softening, the dark hue of the paint deepening the skin with a deeper bronze shade. With each drip the bones of his arms shortened, excess length and weight puddling on the cracked cement below in growing green pools.
Trinity opened his mouth to say something, maybe to wonder audibly if this was a strange dream, but found nothing would escape him. The green goop climbed up his shoulders and off his visibly darkened arms, drawing them narrower as they crested the bone. The paint climbed up his throat, slimming and softening his neck as it reached his face. Trinity took a panicked breath before the paint enveloped his expression. His features tingled beneath the green substance, softening and darkening into the same tan tone as the rest of his changed skin. His jaw slimmed and nose pulled to a refined point, dark eyes cooling into a pale blue hue. The paint trimmed his brows, turning it a soft pink. The paint slid to his hair, revealing his youth-ened, darker, and gentle-looking features. As the paint left his face, Trinity sucked in a breath for the first time in what felt like an hour, the sound lighter, younger, and definitely not his own.
The paint seeped into his hair, swallowing up his ponytail with the substance. With a wet slap the tied-up hair disconnected, dissolved into green goop and splatting into the growing pile. His hair significantly shortened, the dark locks lightened, strands paling until they were the same pink as his altered brows, parting to the side in a wavy swoop and tying off to the side with a small, Trial Captain medal-shaped accessory. 
Wet green paint slipped from his pinkened hair and down his back, sinking into and past his red, short-sleeved shirt, heavying the fabric with the substance. With a soft pop like the snapping of a cover from a paint can, Trinity’s spine shortened, shooting him down a few inches- bringing him ever so closer to the strange, weird paint-wielding Smeargle.
Once done with his spine, the paint swarmed over his front, the substance wiping up and down his top. The slick substance darkened the flesh in its wake, visible only once the paint slid down to his stomach. Softer. The skin of his torso felt so much softer. He reached up past the hem of his now baggier, paint-heavy shirt, prodding at the smoother, younger skin. It felt like the paint had taken several years from his body, dispensing it on the ground in slippery, growing green puddles. No extra weight, but no muscle either. It was like he’d never needed to worry about having to go out and get what he needed himself- never had to lift a finger to have his needs met.
The gravity-defying edge to the paint seemed to diminish as it went towards his legs, the green slime slipping with molasses-like velocity down his lower limbs. Wherever it touched, it smoothed, lower appendages softer, tanner, younger- not too young, though, maybe around sixteen or seventeen? Younger, at least! The height dripped away, the length of his leg bones puddling among the already expanding pool of green along the asphalt.
Nearby, though Trinity was too busy focusing on whatever the hell was going on to notice, his pokémon were retreating, shying away from the pool of parking lot paint. The Beautifly gathered up the rest of the beans into its nubby arms and flew away to safety, summarily pursued by its pokébrethren. 
The paint slid down his feet, the cresting his toes. The substance leaked out the tops of his sneakers, taking with it the excess and dispensing it at last onto the now massive puddle on the ground. Trinity picked up his foot, then lifted his arms, eyes wide in confusion as he inspected himself.
“W-what just happened?” he whispered. He shot a look at the Smeargle, expecting some sort of answer, but just like every time before, the pokemon was frustratingly silent. Instead, it pointed with its brush-tipped tail, indicating the young man’s shoes.
Trinity looked down, yelping and nearly falling over at what he saw. He slammed his raised foot on the ground, inadvertently splashing a puddle of the green stuff. The red material of his shoes began to lighten, bleeding into the puddle until the material was white and stiff- far more expensive-feeling than his casual sneakers. His white socks darkened in contrast, turning a soft blue like his eyes. His shorts, stained with the remains of the paint and already slightly longer thanks to his shortened legs, pulled down his lower limbs, stopping past his shins. Like his sneakers, the color bled away, turning a crisp, stiff white, the denim replaced with a finer material better suited for dress pants.
The paint heavying his t-shirt thickened the fabric, the material growing denser and darker until it was a soft brown sweater vest. A thinner white layer grew out from underneath the sweater vest, forming into a white, button-up undershirt with a high collar.
Trinity felt over his new frame, tugging at his new attire. What the hell just happened? Why was…? Did….? He scratched his head, mind a mess of thoughts. His memories felt like a bunch of mismatched paints, mixed together into an ugly, indescribable color. 
The Smeargle shuffled up to the trainer, head cocked to the side with silent curiosity. Its tail wagged back and forth… expectant? 
Trinity shut his eyes, trying to stop the sensation of his head spinning. He was… what has he doing out here? Where had all the paint come from? Had his Smeargle gotten into a fight or something?
Wait- his Smeargle?
Yes, his Smeargle! 
Trinity blinked his eyes back open, the memories flooding back vibrant clarity. Of course it was his Smeargle- he was Ilima, the Trial Captain of Melemele Island! All this paint on the ground meant he had to have been training- but whatever he and his pokémon were doing, they were clearly finished. He stepped out of the puddle of paint, careful not to get any more on his shoes. 
“Let’s head back to the mansion,” Ilima said, a bit of a pep in his step as he set off toward his home. “We’ve done a good job today. We deserve a nice rest.”
As the parking lot shrunk in the distance behind them, so too did the puddle of paint. Within a few moments it had evaporated into nothing, like it had never been there to begin with.
It seemed this vacation was going to last much longer than expected.