Chapter 54: Hints


"You did it, Glalie! I'm so-!"

Glalie showed its affection for its trainer by freezing him with Ice Beam before he finishes his sentence.

"Thanks a lot, Vespiquen. You were amazing." Aaron thanked his partner and recalled her before he walks towards frozen Ash.

Ash forcibly broke through the ice and started rubbing his body to create hit. "I-I lo-lo-love you too, Gl-Glalie." He stuttered while his Pokemon kept smiling in joy right before it gets recalled too.

"Good job defeating me, Ash. You deserve it." The green-haired trainer handed a blue Elite Four badge to Ash.

"Thanks a lot, Aaron." Ash happily accepted it and put it into his badge case.

"Ash!"

Ash saw Lillie from behind and judging from the tone of her voice she wasn't in a good mood.

"Is that the blond friend of yours that Bertha told me about?"

"She literally told you everything…" Ash claimed nonchalantly and then went ahead to calm down Lillie.

"I was calling you on the phone the whole time but you never answered! You weren't even at the plaza I saw you last time! Do you realize how much I worried about you?!" Lillie was exasperated by him who looked intimidated by her gaze.

"Did you call me? Why didn't I hear- Ah yeah, I had it on mute because I didn't want to anyone to distract me during the battle…" Ash realized his mistake once he checked his phone which had six missed calls.

"Are you serious?! You could at least text me and tell me where you were so I can find you once I'm done with my walk!"

"You are right… I'm sorry for making you worry." Ash apologized looking sad.

"Apology accepted but please don't do that again." She sighed. "Did you win at least?"

"Oh yeah, I did." He replied and showed her his new badge through his badge case.

"I'm glad to hear that." Lillie smiled at his response.

"You must be Lillie, right? Bertha told me about you." Aaron who was silent the whole time joined in the conversation and introduced herself.

"Y-yes I am, it's really nice to meet you!" Lillie said and shook hands with him.

"Are you interested in the league too?"

"Ah, not really or to be more precise not yet. I have experience when it comes to Pokemon battles but I have mostly spent time on reading books regarding Pokemon since I barely had time to travel." She claimed.

"I see. I hope you will participate in a league someday."

"Actually, I won the Alola League years ago."

"What?! You never told me that you won a league." Ash was totally caught off guard.

"Really?" She said till she remembered and snapped her fingers. "Oh yeah, I only told that to May and Dawn when I met them in Hoenn."

"I see. Congratulations! I wish you participated too in P.C.L. too." Ash praised Lillie who blushed.

"Wow, that's pretty good. And he is right, you could actually give it a try if you wanted." Aaron stated.

"Yeah I might consider this in the future but for now I think I will just focus mainly on training." Lillie said with a smile.

"Understandable."

"Well Aaron, do you happen to know where the other two Elite Four members are?" Ash then changed the topic.

"Hmm, Lucian and Flint are currently in Veilstone City but you have no need to rush since they will stay there for a while." Aaron stated.

"How so?"

"The Veilstone Department Store has been innovated and now there is an area where Pokemon battles occur. Both of them stated that anyone who wants to earn a badge can challenge them there in 3 on 3 Pokemon battles." He revealed.

"That sounds great! Thanks for the info!"

"Don't mention it. Anyway, I have to go. I'm here for the festival after all. Take care both of you." Aaron said as he waved at them and left the place.

Ash and Lillie waved at him.

*growl*

"Someone is hungry." Lillie giggled.

"Yeah." Ash rubbed his head in embarrassment.

"Well there are some good canteens which offer good food. I ate there for lunch." Lillie said.

"Sounds good. After I eat, I will go back to the Pokemon Center to feed my Pokemon and then go to sleep for the afternoon."

"You sleep quite a lot lately."

"It cannot be helped. I still haven't rested properly for a while after Johto and there are also the nightmares. I feel way better when I'm sleeping during afternoon." Ash claimed while he was scratching his head.

"I think you should take it easier." Lillie started lecturing him. "I mean you kept training with your Pokemon for like three hours during morning and then another three during evening yesterday. You should prioritize your health first."

"I guess you are right. I tend on overdoing it lately due to my crushing defeat against Steven and what happened to Pikachu later." Ash stated.

*growl*

"Ok, we are going to get you some food right now." Lillie said and grabbed his hand taking him to the canteens.

"Lead the way! I will make sure to return the favor later!" Ash chuckled at her statement and then gave her a vague promise.


Eight hours later

Ash and Lillie went for dinner in the fanciest restaurant of Hearthome City. It was a three floor building which attracted many people around the region due to its high reputation and positive reviews over the restaurant's atmosphere and menu.

The whole place was huge but there was enough space between the different tables to avoid any possible awkwardness or other problems between the customers. The restaurant was full since many people who came for the festival had reserved most of the available tables.

Ash was lucky enough to find an open table at the highest floor and next to the windows where both he and Lillie could view the plaza whose road was decorated with beautiful lights for the night.

Lillie decided to wear a fancy navy blue dress which reached her knees for the occasion which was followed by silver heels. She also put a soft purple makeup on her eyes to combine it with her eyes' green color, she applied red lipstick on her lips and let her hair loose getting rid of her braids keeping most of her hair in front of her shoulders instead.

Ash was there with his regular outfit.

"I still find it hard to believe that you managed to find an open table here." Lillie claimed once she finished her soup.

"It wasn't easy. That was one of the few last tables that was available." Ash chuckled.

"I see." Then Lillie made a face full of guilt.

"Is something wrong?" Ash noticed her reaction.

"It doesn't feel right. Fancy restaurant, high-quality food, incredible atmosphere. You have treated pretty well tonight. I think I should pay my own share. I already bought my lunch with your own money today. Aren't you afraid of running out of cash?"" Lillie worryingly said while staring at her plate.

"Nah, I'm good. I have saved up lots of money right before I start my journey and the fact that every flight I take is free since I'm trying to fulfill the requirements for the league helps a lot too. So don't mind. I promised you that I will buy your food for this week and I'm not going to break it. Also, you have already done so much for me lately so this is the least I could do. See it as another way of saying 'thank you'." Ash chuckled again.

"You are really sweet, do you know that?" Lillie said with a soft voice as she leaned on the table and held her head with her hands looking at him directly in his eyes making him nervous.

"Th-thanks." Ash slightly averted his eyes and slightly blushed at her compliment.

"He is so adorable when he is being shy. Sigh, I want to kiss him all over so bad…" She thought inside her head.

"Damn, I cannot face her when she looks at me like that. She makes my heart race like crazy with that cute look. She looks gorgeous too with her clothes and make up. Since when it's so difficult for me to look at her eyes?" He thought too.

"Here is someone I didn't expect to see." A random person then called and appeared next to Ash breaking the ice between him and Lillie. He had wavy grayish blue hair which reached his lower back and wore a red cape which covered his grayish attire.

"You are… Tobias!" Ash looked completely surprised once he realized who was standing before him.

"Long time no see. Are you doing well?" Tobias asked him showing his classic trademark confident smile.

"I'm good. You didn't change at all!" Ash claimed.

"Really? I can say the same about you. Isn't your Pikachu here too?"

"Not right now, he is sleeping at the Pokemon Center." Ash lied.

"I see. So you took advantage of this and decided to go out and have some fun." He stated once he looked at Lillie.

"Ah, Lillie. This is Tobias. He is an extraordinary powerful trainer I battled in the Sinnoh League's semifinals. He ended up winning the league at the end." Ash revealed to her how they met. "Tobias, this is Lillie. A really good childhood friend of mine who I met in Alola region. She's also a trainer like us and has won the Alola League."

"I-it's nice to meet you. Ash seems that he looks up to you, sir." Lillie said as he shook hands with him.

"He was a pretty powerful trainer. The only one who managed to bring down my Darkrai." He revealed.

"D-do you own a Darkrai?!" Lillie asked surprised.

"Yes, he also has a Latios." Ash nonchalantly claimed.

"Wait, are you being serious?! How can you say that like it's not a big deal?!" Lillie looked even more confused.

"Haha, I guess not many people see trainers carrying legendary or mythical Pokemon along with them."

"So you are going to participate in the league?" Ash asked him.

"Yes, I already have gathered all the badges so I'm just taking it easy now. Hearthome City is my home, you know." Tobias revealed.

"You are really good. I hope we meet there and have another battle." Ash confidently stated.

"I would really love that." The long-haired man stated. "Ok, I have to sit on my table now I have made a special someone waiting here." He revealed.

"Oh, sorry for keeping you for so long here." Lillie apologized.

"Don't worry, she is patient enough." Tobias chuckled and then waved at them as he went ahead. "See you around."

"Argh…" Ash suddenly had another headache again.

"Ash, is something wrong?" Lillie noticed that something was wrong.

"I just want to go to the bathroom. Wait here!" Ash said and ran ahead.

Once he entered the men's restroom, he started throwing water at his face. When he was about to look at the mirror he saw the same vision just like before but this time everything was clear to him. It was when he, Misty and Brock were on the run from the cultists in the woods back in Kanto. He was staring at one of the cultists from back then.

"Well, well! Look what we have here! A guy who was supposed to be dead 10 years ago! Why didn't you stay dead, idiot? You were actually safe from us! But it seems you really wish to see your pathetic family and friends in Hell!"

Then Ash looked at the ground and started speaking with pauses.

"Hehe at least,… I can… visit Hell… unlike you… who will BEG ME FOR YOUR DEATH!"

Ash then faced him and put his palm in front of him and the white hooded guy was suddenly sent flying on a tree where he lost consciousness.

Ash had no control over his actions throughout the vision and could only watch what was happening.

Suddenly the image faded and Ash was sitting near a kotatsu with Misty and Brock. He was inside Koga's dojo.

"Ash, I would like to ask you something.", Brock suddenly said.

"What is it?"

"The moment that this guy provoked you, you said some very disturbing words like you would make him begging for his own death. You sounded way too serious back then and I with Misty want to know if you are alright since you seemed not to be yourself that particular moment.", Brock said with Misty nodding her head in advance.

"Really? Hmm, I don't remember saying this. Maybe I said things I wouldn't if I wasn't under such a pressure, hahaha.", Ash laughed and scratched the back of his head.

Once again that image faded as well and Ash ended up being alone with Lillie on Drake's ship. It was the moment she confessed to him.

"I know you are doing this to protect us all. You are afraid that we will get dragged along with this. Everyone decided to help you here so we were prepared to face difficulties. So please don't feel like this. We can protect ourselves and if we couldn't, we wouldn't be here with you. But I understand why you feel burdened. This is your character after all. You always put everyone's well-being above your own ego. This is the main reason… I fell for you. I… like you, Ash."

"I DON'T FEEL THE SAME WAY ABOUT YOU, LILLIE!" Ash then pulled away from her hug and shouted at her leaving her completely shocked and unable to say anything. "I was trying to tell you that from the very first time we talked through Misty's phone after haven't been in touch for such a long time! I already knew about your feelings since the moment I started travelling again! So I was trying to tell you that when we were on this so called date but was distracted. You kept distracting me the whole time I was about to tell you that but it felt like you already knew about my intentions and you were distracting me on purpose! So let me get this straight! I'M NOT IN LOVE, I DON'T FEEL ANYTHING SPECIAL ABOUT YOU AND I NEVER WILL! WE ARE FRIENDS! NOTHING MORE NOTHING LESS! NOW GET THE HELL OUT OF MY ROOM!"

After that Ash was again in the bathroom. He looked himself at the mirror and saw that his brown eyes started glowing aqua for a few seconds which startled causing him to step back.

"W-what the hell just happened? All those moments from the past… why did they show up? I didn't even remember the first one happening at all. What happened with my eyes too? They are normal now but… I don't know. I have to find a way to figure out what's happening before it's too late." Ash was lost in thought while panting.

"Are you alright, sir?" A random man who visited the restroom shook him from his shoulder.

"Ah, y-yeah. Everything is fine. Thanks for the concern." Ash said as he left the place.


Meanwhile on Route 210

"Blaziken use Fire Punch!"

"Metagross use Meteor Mash!"

"Charizard use Dragon Claw!"

Black, Steven and Alain were taking on a Pheromosa, a Nihilego and a Blacephalon respectively with their Pokemon being in their mega evolution form. The three Ultra Beasts were being pushed back.

"Blaziken use Protect!"

Mega Blaziken protected itself from an incoming Triple Kick from Pheromosa's hips which started getting angry for coming into physical contact with anything it considered dirty.

"Blaziken counterattack with High-Jump Kick!"

Pheromosa defended itself with High-Jump Kick as well and pushed Mega Blaziken back. Then it tried to crawl quickly behind the chicken-like Pokemon using its speed.

"Blaziken use Fire Punch!"

Blaziken engulfed its hand with flames but suddenly the flame was spread throughout its body surprising its trainer.

"So you finally learned it! Ok then, Flare Blitz!"

Mega Blaziken engulfed in flames stroke hard Pheromosa which tried to surprise the former with Lunge. The weakened Pheromosa kneeled from the pain. Before it was able to move a flying Beast Ball appeared in front of its eyes for a second right before it gets inside it. It struggled to get out but in vain.

"Charizard use Flamethrower!"

The opposing Blacephalon defended itself with a Shadow Ball. Then it spun its head which detached from its body and exploded in front of Alain's Mega Charizard X which screamed in pain. It was its signature attack Mind Blown which caused it significant recoil damage.

"Charizard don't falter! Use Blast Burn!"

The mega-evolved lizard once it recovered from the previous attack, punched the ground which started shaking from the wave of energy. The energy then burst upwards in a giant explosion of red-orange flames hitting Blacephalon directly causing major damage despite the type resistance.

Alain threw a Beast Ball he got from Black and successfully captured the creature.

"Metagross use Psychic!"

Nihilego was pinned down but managed to free itself through Power Gem which broke Mega Metagross' concentration.

"Meteor Mash!"

The jellyfish Pokemon managed to dodge the attack easily and blasted Mega Metagross with Venoshock which pushed it back but did no damage due to immunity.

"Flash Cannon!"

With a giant silver beam Mega Metagross brought down Nihilego which tried to defend with Venoshock again and fell down. Steven captured it instantly with a Beast Ball before it could recover.

"Sigh, job done. Thank you for your assistance." Black bowed to both Alain and Steven. "I have to admit that I underestimated you, Alain. You weren't in the way throughout the fight."

"Thank you for you kind words." Alain answered with a smile.

"At least this time you called me for a good reason." Steven said in a cold manner. "What are we going to do with them now?"

"We will just send them to Mr. Aether. He knows what he has to do." Black stated referring to Gladion by his surname. "There is the PC code where we should send them." He showed them the code written in a piece of paper.

"Ok then, I trust you so here it is." Steven said as he gave him the Beast Ball.

"I think it's better to be the one who takes care of things from now on." Alain claimed as he gave him the other ball too.

"You aren't going to accompany me, right?" Black noticed as both of them acted like their job was done.

"Well, you are part of the police, not me. Also, I have a job to do as the Hoenn Champion." Steven claimed.

"I don't think you need me anymore but if anything new comes up call me I will come from Kalos as fast as I can." Alain claimed.

"That's reassuring. Ok thanks again for your hard job. If I need your help again with another major Ultra Beast invasion I will call you." He said as they parted ways.

As he kept walking he saw from his tracker device that there were still faint signs of Ultra Aura around Sinnoh.

"I guess I'm not leaving the region anytime soon." He sighed.


TO BE CONTINUED