What's this? Can it be-?! It is! An update!

I decided to post this today to coincide with the debut of the Sun and Moon series' second dubbed season, Ultra Adventures!

I have a bit to say, but I'll hold off for now since it's been months since a proper update. Enjoy!

Chapter 4-1: Of Stuff and a Legacy

It was the middle of the night, but she hadn't slept a wink. She was constantly in pain, as her stomach begged her for something...anything. But as much as she wanted to give it something, she knew she couldn't. She had tried that once, and the results had been very ugly.

"Oh," she moaned as her stomach rumbled sadly once again. She sat up and hugged herself, trembling. "What am I going to do? I'm so hungry I can't even sleep."

No sooner had she moaned when she heard a sudden knock at her door, causing her to jump. "Mother?!" she quietly shrieked, swiftly hiding herself under the covers. She shivered fearfully as sweat formed on her face. If her mother found out that she was awake, there would be dire consequences. Her breathing became shrill and high-pitched from her fear.

"Shhh. It's okay, it's me."

She recognized that voice. She looked up from under the covers and saw her brother standing a short distance away. "What?" she whispered. "But...what are you doing in my room? If Mother knew –"

"Don't worry," he interrupted her, holding up a small loaf of bread. "You're hungry, right? Here, eat up."

"What?!" she exclaimed, still whispering. "Where did you get that?"

"It's the one Mother gave me for dinner," he said. "I sneaked it away for you."

"Y-You did?" she said softly. "But does that mean you didn't eat?"

"I'll be fine," he said, handing her the bread. "As long as you're happy, I'm happy." She was hesitant at first, but she took the bread. As she started munching on it, her brother walked away. "There's gonna be milk in tomorrow's dinner. I'll make sure to bring you some. Just don't get caught, okay?"

"Thrank ryu so maf!"

He stopped, confused, and turned to see her face was stuffed. "What was that?"

She quickly chewed her bite, swallowed, and repeated herself. "I said, thank you so much!"

He smiled at her, snickering softly, then walked out. Since then, he brought her small portions of his meal each night so that she could sleep with a full stomach. Thanks to this, she was much happier than before. But as time went on, she started to wonder...didn't he get hungry? It was his food that he was giving her every night. Did he have enough to eat?

She hoped he was okay.

Lillie abruptly burst into the Pokemon Center, startling Nurse Joy. "My word!" the nurse exclaimed as Lillie stood there, hands on her knees and breathing heavily.

"Oh!" she exclaimed when she realized what had happened. "I'm so sorry! I wasn't paying attention."

"It's quite all right," Nurse Joy assured her. "Are you okay? Do you have any Pokemon in need of urgent care?"

"Huh? Oh! No," Lillie shook her head, fiddling with her bag. "I'm not a trainer, I was just –" She stopped abruptly when she realized her bag was empty. "Oh no. No, not again! Nebby!"

"Nebby?" the nurse repeated.

"Yes," Lillie said frantically. "He's a little mischievous Pokemon I keep in my bag to keep him safe. He must've gotten out while I was running back here. I have to go find him!"

"No worries. We've got ya covered."

She whipped around and saw Ash and May behind her, the latter holding Nebby in her arms. "Pew!" Nebby giggled.

"Oh," Lillie moaned. "Why must you cause me so much trouble? Back in the bag, you." Nebby obliged, hopping out of May's arms and into the bag. Lillie then looked up at her friends. "Thank you so much once again."

"No problem," Ash grinned. "Helping other people's what we're all about."

"Pika-pika!" Pikachu agreed.

"Oh," Lillie moaned again, looking down in embarrassment. "I must be the biggest nuisance in Alola. Because I can't take care of one little Pokemon, you guys have to keep going out of your way to get him. Ugh...I feel terrible."

"Lillie, it's really not a big deal," May replied, taking her to the side and trying to cheer her up while Ash took his Pokemon to Nurse Joy. "I know you're trying to keep Nebby safe, and we're happy to help. I mean, what are friends for?" Lillie looked up in surprise at this. "Honestly...if you ever need anything from us, just say the word."

As Lillie was processing this, Ash called May over for something. The two began talking, but Lillie couldn't hear what they said. She sat down on the center's couch, thinking about what May had said to her. Does it really not bother them? she wondered. How can they be so...kind?

"Hey Lillie!" May called. She looked up and, seeing May was beckoning her over, stood up and walked over to them. "We were just thinking about getting some dinner. You wanna join us?"

"Um," Lillie stammered. "I, uh…I don't know."

"Whataya mean?" Ash said. "Aren't you hungry? It's about seven o'clock now, and we haven't had anything to eat since lunch."

"Ah...well…"

"Is it Gladion?" May asked softly.

"Oh!" Lillie jumped at the mention of her brother's name. "Ah...no. It's just…"

Seeing her reluctance, Ash decided to take matters into his own hands and put a hand on her shoulder. "Come on," he said warmly. "If you're not hungry, then you don't have to eat. We can just hang out."

Lillie blinked in confusion. "W-Well...okay, I guess."

"Cool!" Ash grinned. "All right...hey, Nurse Joy! You got anything for us to eat?"

Nurse Joy came out with a smile. "Certainly!" she said. "I have some sandwiches if you want some."

"Perfect!" Ash grinned. With that, Nurse Joy went back, rummaged through a fridge, and pulled out several food items.

"Here you go," she said. "Enjoy!"

"Thanks a bunch!" Ash grinned, taking the items and leading his friends to a table to sit down at. When he handed one to Lillie, she blinked in confusion. The food was round and a little rough. It was mostly colored white, and appeared to consist mostly of white grains molded together.

"Um...these don't look like sandwiches," she said.

"What are you talking about?" May asked, her mouth full of food. "They're totally sandwiches! Why would you think otherwise?"

"Well, uh...I don't know...it just looks more like a –"

"No, don't say it!" Ash cried, covering her mouth with his hand. Lillie blinked in confusion.

"What?" she asked, her voice muffled by his hand. "What's wrong with saying...er, that?"

"Uh," Ash muttered, looking up at the ceiling as though looking for an answer. "To be honest, I don't know. Just...don't say it, okay?"

Lillie shrugged at this and awkwardly took a bite of her...um..."sandwich." It was dry in her mouth, the flavor rather bland. But the rougher texture which she had never tasted before caused her eyes to widen. She chewed rapidly and swallowed. "What is this made of?" she asked in amazement.

"Beats me," Ash shrugged. "Not a lot to it, really. Just a dry old...um...sandwich."

"I'll say," May agreed, looking at her sandwich with mild disdain. "It's good enough to fill you up, but it's pretty bland. We probably should've gotten something with a different flavor."

"What are you talking about?" Lillie said, her eyes wide as she held up her sandwich. "This is so good! I've never eaten a sandwich like this!" She took another bite and chewed, savoring every crunch in her mouth.

Ash and May looked at their friend in astonishment. "Wow," May mused. Then an idea struck her. "Lillie, can I ask you something?"

"Hrm?" Lillie asked, her mouth full of sandwich. "Whut ith it?"

Ash tried to suppress a chuckle, but he couldn't stop himself from laughing a little. May glared at him. "Sorry," he said as he stopped. "I just thought that was funny."

Lillie swallowed her food, slightly surprised herself. "My word," she muttered. "It's been a long time since I did that."

"Right," May muttered. "Anyways, as I was saying...where exactly did you grow up, Lillie?"
"Hm?" Lillie blinked. "Oh! Um...I, uh…"

"Were you sheltered?" May went on. "Were you isolated? Come on, where are you from?"
"I…" Lillie stammered, tensing up.

"Hey, hold it," Ash said, stepping forward. "You shouldn't pry for personal information like that, May."

"Pika pika," Pikachu agreed.

May stood there a moment, then huffed and sat down. Ash turned to Lillie. "Sorry about that," he said. "If you're not comfortable sharing your life story with us –"

"I-I'm sorry," Lillie said. "It's a long story, and I don't think I'm ready to share it."

"I understand," Ash nodded.

"I don't," May muttered, annoyed.

Ash and Lillie looked at her, puzzled. "What do you mean?" Lillie asked.

"It's just...we've been friends for a while now," May replied. "I figured you wouldn't mind sharing your life story with us."

"Oh," Lillie said. "I…"

"Enough," Ash said, standing between them. "If you don't want to share with us, then you don't have to."

"But...will I have to share with you eventually?"

Ash blinked in confusion. "Uh...of course not," he said. "Why do you ask?"

"Well," Lillie said, folding her hands in front of herself with a sheepish blush, "the way May's been asking about it, you make it sound like sharing my life story is part of the process of being friends."

Ash and May blinked in confusion. May stifled a chuckle or two before bursting into laughter. Then it was Lillie's turn to blink in confusion.

"What? What did I say?"

"Uhhhhh," was all Ash could muster as he watched his girlfriend laugh hysterically.

"Oh," Lillie moaned with a frown. "I said something wrong, didn't I?"

"What? No!" Ash said. "You just –"

"I'm sorry!" Lillie cried, turning and running down the hall.

"And there she goes," he grumbled, watching her go before turning back to his girlfriend. By now, she was calming down. "Way to go, princess. Was that really called for?"

"Huh?" May said, wiping her eyes. "What did I do?"

"You just completely embarrassed Lillie!" he replied.

"I – what?"

"She thought she said something wrong because of how hard you were laughing at her," Ash explained.

"You mean she –" May started to say before she fully realized what happened. "Oh...but, I didn't mean to – augh! Lillie!" She started running down the hall before Ash grabbed her arm to stop her. "Ash, let me go! I'm trying to apologize to her!"

"I think you should wait," Ash said. "Let her take some time to cool off. Then you can talk to her."

May's face fell when he said this. "Yeah, I guess you're right," she sighed as he let her arm go. She walked away and headed out of the Pokemon Center.

Ash watched her go and sighed. "Pika," Pikachu mumbled, looking on sadly.

"Hm?" Ash blinked, looking over at his buddy. "What is it, Pikachu?"

"Pika pikachu," Pikachu replied.

"What?" he said. "You think I should go talk to her?"

"Pikachu," Pikachu nodded with a smile.

Ash blinked, confused, but then smiled and scratched him behind the ears. "All right, little buddy," he said. "Maybe I can get a better understanding of what's going on around here."

"Pika!" Pikachu nodded as he hopped off Ash's shoulder and scampered off. With that, Ash turned towards where Lillie disappeared to.

"Of course, that's assuming she'll even want to talk in the first place," he mumbled to himself. With that, he walked down the hall and looked at each of the doors. They were all shut. "Uh-oh," he muttered. "Which one is hers?" No sooner had he asked this than he heard a thud and a breaking of glass in one of the rooms, followed by an exasperated plea for someone to "get in the bag."

"Bingo," he smirked to himself. He walked over to the door the sound came from and knocked softly.

May sat on the outskirts of Iki Town, a firm frown on her face. She looked up at the dusk sky as the stars began to peek out. "Did I really embarrass Lillie?" she asked herself sadly. "Did I make her feel uncomfortable?" She shifted in her seat. When she did so, something triggered in her bag, and one of her Pokeballs opened, startling her as it released its Pokemon.

"Io?"

"Popplio?" May blinked. The sea lion Pokemon smiled and scuttled up to her, raising her fins up. May giggled. "You wanna sit in my lap?" Popplio nodded, so May picked her up and placed her in her lap. The little Pokemon then curled up, getting comfortable. As May stroked her head, her mind drifted back to what the kahuna had said about Popplio's past and the abuse she endured because others found her weird and ugly. "I don't know how anyone could ever treat such an adorable Pokemon so horribly. Can't they see how cute she is?" She looked up at the sky as it slowly became darker while the stars continued to appear. "Maybe they didn't mean to..."

And then it hit her.

Lillie looked up sharply on hearing the knock at her door. She quickly swept the mess Nebby had made under the dresser in her room, hoping no one would notice. "Who is it?" she asked.

"It's me, Ash," came the reply. "Could I come in?"

"Ah, y-yes," Lillie replied, walking over and unlocking the door. She opened it and let the trainer in, closing it quickly so Nebby couldn't get out.

"What happened in here?" he asked.

"N-Nothing!" she replied, clearly unsettled. "Why would you think something happened?"

"I heard something crash and break," he said, looking for broken glass around the wall the dresser was against. "Was it Nebby?"

"No!" she said, almost frantic. "Nothing happened! Everything is –"

"You swept the mess under the dresser, didn't you?"

Lillie tried to protest, but she was so shocked by Ash's blunt observation that her words got stuck in her mouth. She tried to say something, but she couldn't find any words. Eventually, she gave up with a defeated sigh. "How did you know?" she asked in shame as she sat on her bed.

Ash looked under the dresser and saw several pieces of glass down there. "Experience," he said with a chuckle as he stood back up and looked back at her. "When I was a kid, I was quite the prankster. I played a lot of practical jokes on my mom and caused her a lot of trouble."

"Oh?"

"Once, while she was at work, I accidentally broke a precious vase of hers. Even though I didn't mean to break it, I was scared; I knew she loved that vase. So I tried to hide it underneath one of the desks in our house, hoping she wouldn't notice."

"Did she?"

"Of course she did," he laughed. "I tried so hard to distract her from it, but it didn't take long for her to find out. When she did, I burst into tears and told her what happened."

"You remember all that?"

"Well, not all of it," he admitted. "Mom tells me that story every now and then for fun and embarrassment. What I do remember is that I kept saying 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry,' as I cried."

"And how were you punished?"

"Actually, I wasn't."

"What?!"

"Mom saw how terrible I felt about breaking the vase, and instead of punishing me, she just hugged me, letting me know that she forgave me and that I wasn't in trouble."

"You mean she didn't scold you or anything?"

"Aside from telling me that I should be more careful, no." He sighed wistfully. "She was always careful about that."

Lillie listened to this, then sighed sadly. "My mother wasn't like that."

"Hm?" Ash looked up, intrigued.

"She wasn't forgiving like that. If Gladion or I ever did something wrong, we'd be punished. We were always expected to be on our best behavior."

"Oh yeah?" he said softly. "Was it bad?"

"Only as bad as we made it."

"Sounds like she could loosen up a little."

"Yeah," was all Lillie could say in response.

"Is that why you were so panicked about that thing Nebby broke?"

"Yeah. It was a gut reaction. I guess I should know better than to worry about what you think."

"Yeah," Ash said as he sat on his heels in front of her so they were on eye level. "Listen, Lillie. May didn't mean to embarrass you. She just thought what you said was funny."

"Oh" she sighed. "That's not what I meant," she went on, lowering her arms. "It's just...I've never really had friends like you two: so kind and helpful and asking for nothing in return. But even though I do trust you two, I..." She trailed off. Ash sat there, expectantly waiting for her to finish. "I..." she started again, her face falling, "I just don't think I'm ready to tell you two about where I come from. It's nothing personal; it's just me."

Ash listened to her, then nodded. "It's okay, Lillie," he smiled. "We all have secrets we don't want to share, no matter who we're close to. Just remember: if there ever comes a time when you need to talk to someone about something important, we'll be right here."

Lillie looked up at him, eyes glimmering. "You will?"

"Of course," he replied, his smile unwavering. "What are friends for?"

Touched by his words, Lillie's face lit up into a smile of her own. She promptly stood up and hugged Ash tightly, burying her face in his chest. He just kept smiling as he hugged her back. "Thank you," she whispered. "You have no idea how much that means to me."

"You're welcome," he whispered back.

By now, the sky was covered in stars. May smiled brightly at the sight. "It's so beautiful."

"Io," Popplio whispered.

"Pika pika," Pikachu whispered likewise.

May turned in surprise. "Pikachu?" she blinked. "When did you get here?"

"Pikachu," Pikachu replied with a shrug.

"Why aren't you with Ash?" she asked. Pikachu pointed to the far side of the Pokemon Center, causing May's eyes to light up. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "I get it. He went to talk to Lillie." She looked up at the sky again. "I guess it's better that he talk to her first before I apologize," she sighed.

Pikachu smiled and patted her arm, giving her a warm smile. She smiled bright and scooped him up into a hug. "Chaaaaa," Pikachu squealed in delight and snuggled into her.

"Whoa, Pikachu!" May giggled, her eyes closed as she snuggled with him. "I know you like me a lot, but do you think you could tone down the electricity?"

At that, Pikachu's eyes shot open. He hadn't been giving off any electric energy! He looked around and saw that their surroundings had turned into an electric terrain.

"Pika!" he exclaimed, leaping out of her lap and startling her.

"Pikachu!" she said. "What are you – what?!"

"Pika pika," Pikachu mused, looking around in curiosity.

"What's going on?" May wondered. "This isn't Team Rocket, is it? I don't think they're even capable of something this bizarre."

Co

May's eyes shot up, and she looked around wildly for the source of the sound. "Hello?" she called. "Is someone there?"

"Pika!" Pikachu called likewise.

Co

May tensed up, reaching for a Pokeball on her belt. "Who's making that noise? This isn't funny!"

COME

She froze. "Come?" she repeated. "But...what does –"

"Bwark!" Popplio cried, pointing up with her fin. May looked up.

And there it was.

"Tapu Koko!"