Author's Notes: So, Wally's back… Lilycove City is fun, too. And no waterfall when we get to Evergrande, by the way, as I found it kind of pointless.

Chapter Fifty Two: Vs Gardevoir!

"Swamp?"

Skipper peered over her shoulder at Lynnie. The pair had left Sootopolis's Pokémon Center earlier that morning after spending the night, and were currently surfing towards Lilycove. They had been swimming for at least a few hours, and a shoreline was steadily becoming visible to their left. Lynnie immediately pulled her PokéNav off of her bag's strap, sure they were going in the right direction—and she was proven right after she checked the device's map function.

"Yep, that's it, Skipper!"

"Pert!"

Nodding, Skipper leaned forward and swam as quickly as she could, but it was clear that she was a bit tired. Fortunately, Lilycove's shore was closer than it looked, and the water started to get shallower after a few minutes of swimming. Lynnie quickly slid off her Swampert's back and reached for her Pokéball.

"Thanks, Skipper," Lynnie grinned. "I'll be sure to stop at the Pokémon Center soon. And I'll get you something for lunch, too."

"Swamp," Skipper replied, grinning back.

Lynnie recalled Skipper and clipped the Pokéball back onto her belt. Her grin widened as she turned around and started walking away from Lilycove's beach. The sand quickly merged into soil and then paved sidewalks, and as Lynnie started walking around, she felt like it had been forever since she'd last been to the city.

Of course, a few weeks were a long time to Lynnie, but at least she still remembered where everything was… For the most part, at least.

Fortunately, it only took a few minutes of weaving through the crowded sidewalks before Lynnie found the Pokémon Center. When she entered, there were several other trainers scattered around the lobby, probably waiting for their Pokémon to be healed. A few of them were towards the middle of the room while there were a few others occupying one of the large couches along the wall. Lynnie's ears perked up as she walked to the counter in the back of the room, trying to pick up on the groups' conversations.

"…Too bad I missed out on this year's Grand Festival," one of the girls on the couch sighed. "I was training my Plusle and Minun especially for the double battle you have to do at the end."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," a shorter girl answered sympathetically. "I did all that training with my Ludicolo for the appeals round, but we just weren't ready in time."

"I was a few minutes late when they had registrations going on, and they'd already given out the last form," the first girl sulked.

"Oh, man, that's terrible," a boy sighed. "I wanted to sign up too, but I only had two ribbons."

"I still stayed to watch the Festival, of course. Didn't you guys?"

Lynnie crossed her eyes. People were still talking about the Grand Festival? Then again, according to Johnny and Lydia, it was a really big deal, and it only happened once a year… Shaking her head, Lynnie took a few more steps toward the counter, and she could hear the other group a bit more clearly.

"So, the Pokémon League tournament is happening soon, right?"

"Yeah, but you have to have eight badges to enter, Kai," a lavender-haired girl laughed.

"H-Hey! I only need one more! How much longer do I have to get it?" Kai huffed.

"About a week if I remember correctly," another boy cut in. "And will you two stop arguing? You could be practicing or something right now!"

"All right, all right," the girl grumbled. "Hey, Kai, let's go out to Mt. Pyre later. I heard there are some rare Pokémon that live around there, so even if we don't train, we might be able to catch something good…"

I just got MY eighth badge, Lynnie thought smugly as she passed the group. Ha!

As she arrived at the counter a moment later, a white-suited assistant quickly took her Pokéballs as soon as she took them off her belt. Blinking, Lynnie watched him hand them to a Chansey, and the pink egg Pokémon hurried into the small room behind the counter to hand them to the pink-haired nurse. The blonde crossed her eyes; true, quick service was nice, but that had been a bit odd.

Oh well, she sighed inwardly as she shrugged. Might as well go get something to eat while I wait…

Grinning again, Lynnie headed towards the back of the lobby, following the hallway that led back to the cafeteria.


Lynnie curled up in the common room earlier than usual—right after eating dinner, in fact, instead of going out and looking around Lilycove some more. Sure, there was a whole week until the League Tournament, but she wanted to wake up early and get the first boat possible to Evergrande City. The sooner she could get there, the sooner she'd be able to look around there, after all. Grinning, Lynnie giggled to herself as she thought that she might even get to see some of the other trainer's Pokémon, depending on how many others came early too.

Shifting her bag slightly so the softer side would be under her head—she didn't want her badges to poke her overnight or anything—Lynnie crawled into her borrowed sleeping bag. Then she rolled over so she was facing the wall; like usual, she'd gotten a spot in the corner of the room. Lynnie untied her bandana and closed her eyes, trying to get to sleep.

However, just as she started to drift off, her bag twitched and was suddenly yanked from under her head. Lynnie winced as her head hit the floor, and she instinctively reached for a Pokéball. Grabbing Skipper's (it was the closest to her, as she'd lined up her Pokéballs next to her sleeping bag and had put Skipper's first), Lynnie pressed the release button and scrambled out of her sleeping bag.

"Go, Skipper! Use Water Gun!"

As the Swampert materialized next to Lynnie, she nodded obediently and shot a small stream of water out of her mouth. The attack hit a tall, skinny boy, who stumbled and sputtered the water out of his face as he brushed his dripping, long brown bangs out of his eyes. He clutched Lynnie's bag tighter to his chest, however, glaring at her.

"Hey, give me my bag back!" she demanded. "I mean, it was right under my head. I noticed that you took it, you know."

The boy took a few steps backwards and didn't respond, and his fingers ran over the badges clipped onto the bag's strap. Crossing her eyes, Lynnie snapped her fingers, and Skipper nodded again. When she launched another Water Gun, Lynnie quickly leaned forward and grabbed her bag as the boy stumbled again. Victoriously, Lynnie put her bag back over her shoulder and held onto it with both hands.

"Say you're sorry."

He mumbled something under his breath that indeed sounded vaguely like "sorry." However, Lynnie put a hand on her hip and cupped her other hand around her ear.

"I can't hear you!" she sang.

"I'm sorry!" the boy shouted, drawing the stares of a few trainers who had just then entered the common room. "It's just that you have eight badges and I only have four! One week's not enough time for me to go get the other four."

"Well, these badges are mine! I earned them," Lynnie replied, bragging slightly. "And besides… If you can't even beat Gym Leaders, what makes you think you can win at the Pokémon League, anyway?"

"H-Hey, now—"

"What's going on in here?"

A blue-suited member of the Pokémon Center's staff poked his head into the room suspiciously. Apart from the trainers who had just walked in, Lynnie and the thief were the only two other people in the room, so the scuffle must have been easy to hear… The man's eyes flicked over the people in the room, pausing on the boy's wet hair and settling on Skipper, and it was then that Lynnie realized that she'd forgotten to withdraw her. She quickly recalled Skipper, but it was too late.

"You two! Fighting's not allowed in the common room," he scowled. "Miss—"

"He tried to steal my bag!" Lynnie protested.

"Yeah, but you didn't have to attack me!"

"Enough! I'm going to have to ask both of you to leave."

Lynnie shot the boy a glare as she passed him and walked back through the hallway. When she reached the lobby, she sighed, figuring that she'd at least be able to stay in the hotel. Pushing open the building's glass doors, Lynnie crossed her eyes, glad that she at least remembered the hotel's location even if it was far away.

As she wound through the now lamp-lit but still busy sidewalks, Lynnie stretched and looked around. She paused as she caught sight of the Contest Hall, seeing a few lighted windows. There was a bright sign near the door, reading "Practice Contests, 9:00 a.m. — 9:00 p.m."

"I guess that's what they do when they're not having the Grand Festival, then," Lynnie grumbled, realizing she'd never really thought about it before.

Following a few more turns in the sidewalk, Lynnie arrived at the Cove Lily Motel several minutes later. As she opened the hotel's wooden door, she frowned and dug around in her pockets, hoping she'd have something to pay for her room. She managed to find a few bills as she approached the counter and looked at the greeter—a young, bored-looking lady with bleach-blonde hair.

"Hiya," she said, popping her gum. "A single room?"

"Yeah," Lynnie yawned. "How much is it for one night?"

"Um… Hold on a sec…" The secretary looked down at a sheet on her desk, frowning as she ran her finger down the list. "'Kay, it'll be a hundred Poké."

Lynnie quickly set the money down on the counter, and the woman pulled a card key out of her desk drawer. It clicked slightly as she set it on the counter and slid it towards Lynnie.

"Room 1A. It's, like… The first door on the right, I think," she drawled.

"Uh… Thanks."

Lynnie raised an eyebrow as she took the card. Despite the fact that she doubted the woman's words, she took the right turn anyway. Fortunately, 1A was indeed the first door she saw. As she inserted the key into the card slot, the lock clicked, and Lynnie opened the door.

Unlike the room she'd shared with Kagurin and Lydia, the room Lynnie had now only had one bed and a recliner instead of two beds and a couch. There was a TV, but it was smaller than the one in the double room, and the dresser was a bit smaller, too. However, as Lynnie sat down on the bed, she noticed that it was still almost as nice as the bed she'd had before, even though it had a few fewer pillows.

"Oh well…"

Sighing, Lynnie set her bag down on the floor next to her bed and kicked off her sneakers. She rolled over and reached for the lamp on the bedside table, turning the switch and letting the room go dark. Lynnie closed her eyes and slowly smiled—at least the bed was more comfortable than the Pokémon Center's floor.


When Lynnie woke up the next morning, sunlight was streaming through the window. She quickly slipped her shoes back on and grabbed her bag, ducking into the room's bathroom. Looking in the round mirror, Lynnie finger-combed her hair and straightened her bandanna. Then, she headed to her room's door, making sure she had her card key.

Lynnie followed the long hallway, reading the directional signs until she arrived in the familiar cafeteria. The breakfast line was pretty short, so it had to be fairly late… Grabbing a plastic plate and dishing herself up a few waffles, Lynnie sat down at a nearby table and grabbed a small container of provided syrup. After she'd sufficiently drowned the waffles, she put the jar back in the middle of the table and picked up her fork, eagerly eating her breakfast.

As she ate, Lynnie pulled her PokéNav off of her bag, trying not to drip syrup on the device as she opened it. Selecting the map feature, she zoomed in on Lilycove and tried to find the city's dock. Fortunately, it didn't look too far from the Contest Hall, so it would be easy to see when she was getting close.

Finishing her waffles, Lynnie closed her PokéNav and stood up to throw her plate away. She headed back into the motel's lobby and walked over to the front desk, pulling her card key out of her pocket. The same woman who had been there the night before was still there, flipping a page in a magazine before noticing Lynnie.

"Checking out already, hon?" she blinked.

"…Yeah," Lynnie replied, quirking an eyebrow. Don't call me 'hon.' "Here's my key."

Lynnie set her key down on the counter, and the woman slid it into the designated slot in her desk drawer. Looking up, she flashed a brief grin and turned back to her magazine.

"Have a good day."

Crossing her eyes, Lynnie forced a "Thanks" as she headed towards the door. As she closed it behind her, Lynnie started walking towards the Contest Hall again. The dock was only a few turns away from it, after all, and that would be the easiest way to find the building.

Soon, Lynnie passed the large, red building, sighing slightly. At least if she ever wanted to enter the Grand Festival again, she already had three ribbons… But that somehow seemed like cheating.

She hurried past the Contest Hall, only looking over her shoulder once, and kept following the winding sidewalk. Just when she was starting to get frustrated with all the turns, she finally saw a large concrete building a few feet ahead of her that sat on a small shoreline. As she got closer to it, she saw a large boat anchored by a wooden platform behind the building, and there was a sign nearby that read "Lilycove Harbor." Grinning, Lynnie managed to push open the heavy door and hurried inside.

The interior of the building was almost as plain as the outside—it was all concrete, too. However, at least there were several rows of wooden benches inside, several of which had trainers in them. There was also a counter in the back of the room with a large screen behind it, and Lynnie hurried over to it. As she got closer, she could see "Evergrande City Ship Schedule" on the screen, with several times printed below that.

"Excuse me, miss. I'm guessin' you want a ten o'clock ticket, huh?"

Lynnie blinked when she heard the voice; she hadn't noticed the large man sitting at the counter. He straightened the collar on his sailor outfit and cleared his throat again.

"Uh, yeah," Lynnie said quickly.

"Fifty Poké, then."

Lynnie grumbled under her breath as she reached into her pocket. How much did she have to spend that day, anyway? However, she quickly set the money down on the counter, and the man handed her a blue ticket.

"That leaves in fifteen minutes. I'd recommend goin' on out there."

Slipping the ticket in her pocket, Lynnie nodded. "Okay, thanks."

"Good luck, by the way. See ya."

Lynnie waved as she left, realizing that he'd probably given tickets to several other trainers already. When she got outside, she hurried over to the dock platform, walking up the ramp that led to the boat's deck. There were already a lot of trainers on board, and several of them were talking cheerily with an elderly man in a trench coat and sailor's hat that Lynnie assumed was the captain.

"Hi! Lynnie!"

Lynnie blinked—the voice sounded familiar, but she couldn't quite place it. As she turned around, she saw a short, skinny boy with green hair waving and hurrying over to her. When she saw the Gardevoir calmly trailing after him, something clicked in her head.

"Hey, it's Wally!" Lynnie grinned. "So, you snuck away after all!"

"Yep!" Wally nodded excitedly. "I have a bunch of Pokémon now, and I even have eight badges. I think I'm ready to enter the Pokémon League."

"Wow, that's—"

Lynnie started to comment, but the captain suddenly pulled a whistle out of his coat and blew into it. When the trainers on dock looked up at him, he smiled and waved.

"All right, it's time to cast off," he called. "You can head downstairs to the cabins and kitchen if you want, or you can stay up here."

The group watched curiously for a few minutes as a couple of the deckhands slowly pulled the anchor on board. As the ship started to drift away, the captain hurried over to the ship's steering wheel and gave it a quick turn, and soon they were turning away from Lilycove. After watching the shoreline shrink in the distance, a few trainers headed on downstairs. Lynnie started to head after the group, but Wally grabbed her sleeve.

"Hey, Lynnie? Would you like to have a practice battle?"

"Like, right now?" Lynnie blinked.

"Yep! It would be fun, right?"

"Of course it would be fun!" Lynnie nodded as Wally grinned.

"Well, I guess I'll lead with Gardevoir then!"

As the Psychic-Type drifted in front of Wally, Lynnie thoughtfully reached for a Pokéball of her own…

A/N: Yes, yes, I'm trying not to put "…" at the end of my chapters so much and I know that's a lame place for a cliff hanger. But I promise I won't "…" at the end of next chapter, and at least this gives you a hint as to what will happen.