It's a Thursday update for this week. I am planning on doing a Q&A at the end of the story so feel free to ask a question if you're curious. Also, feel free to leave some constructive criticism if you'd like as well.

With that out of the way, back to the story.

Chapter 8: Helping

(A Few Days Later)

She was running from a dark figure that was pursuing her at close speed. Fearing it, she had no desire to fight back, as that could very well lead to it trapping her. Running as fast as she could, she failed to see the branch that was in the way of her foot causing her to trip. "Ow ow ow." The girl cried in pain. "Ahaha! I've finally got you now!" Said the figure in a maniacal and distorted voice. "Nooooooo." Cried the girl in fear. At that point a gold silhouette strikes the dark figure, preventing it from trapping the girl. "Run to safety. I'll fight this thing." Said the silhouette, at which point the girl began to run for her life again. "Hahaha! You think you can defeat me?!" Asked the figure in a bold tone. "Justice will prevail. One way or another." Said the silhouette. At this point both the silhouette and began running towards each other and…

(Stella then wakes up.)

"Ash? Ash?" Asked Stella. "Stella! What is it? Did you have another nightmare?" Said Ash. "I d-don't know if it was a nightmare or not. Eon." Noticing that it was early in the day, but earlier than his alarm would go off, Ash realized that Stella had slept throughout most of the night without waking up from a nightmare. "Do you want to talk about it or do you want to go back to sleep?" "Let's go back to sleep, I can try to talk about it later." Not knowing what had happened in her head while she was sleeping, Stella tried to make sense of it before falling back asleep.

(A Couple of Hours Later.)

"So let me get this straight, in your thoughts last night there was a girl running away from something, and then a silhouette appears and confronts the figure, and you're not sure if it's a dream or a nightmare." Said Ash after hearing Stella's explanation of what of what happened in her mind last night. "I don't even know what to consider it as. It's very strange. Eon." Said Stella. "Also, I noticed that when you woke me up it was early in the morning. So this is the first time you've slept throughout most of the night." "Really?!" "Yeah." "Is t-this good or bad? Eon?" "Good. It might be small, but you are making progress." "I see." "Speaking of which, remember how you said you had no idea who your parents might be?" "Y-yes. Why? Eon?" "We tried looking into that, but it looks as if Team Rocket was good at covering up their tracks. We weren't able to find any file on that." Stella then frowned at Ash's words. "But don't get your hopes down. There is one way we can figure this out. We'll have to go to the Aether Foundation. It's a scientific research organization that specializes in helping Pokémon. I know that you're afraid of people with lab coats, but considering the circumstances, this is the only viable way of figuring out who your parents might be. Plus, I'll be there the entire time and I can assure you that they will not try to hurt you." Stella knew that she feared scientists and people with lab coats, but was relieved when Ash told her she would be safe. "W-when are we going t-there?"

(Hours Later, On the Back of Ash's Charizard)

"The good news is that you only need to be there for them to get a few genetic samples, which can be done today. The bad news is that the rest of the process can take some time, but you won't have to keep showing up for them." Said Ash. "I see. Eon." Said Stella. "The Aether Foundation is run by a very nice woman." "D-do you know her?" "Of course. She's Lillie's mom." "D-does Lillie work with them? Eon?" "Yes, she helps take care of the Pokémon in there, but I do believe she'll be there to help us today. Mateus will also be there." "Okay." Ash and Stella then arrive at the Aether Paradise, the headquarters of the Aether Foundation. "Stella!" Said Lillie. "Lillie!" Stella and Lillie then hug each other. "Vul? (Lillie?)" Cried Snowy. "Oh. I guess I haven't introduced you to Snowy. She's my Vulpix." Nice to meet you, Snowy. Eon." "Vulpix. (Thank you.)" "Girls, I get that you're excited to see each other, but we have to remember the reason we're here." Said Mateus. "I know." Said Lillie. "Now we'll be heading to Wicke's lab. She's excellent at what she does, so this shouldn't take too long." Mateus, Stella, and Ash then get on an elevator to go to Wicke's Lab, with Stella following Ash closely.

(At Wicke's Lab.)

"Good Afternoon. My name is Wicke, I'm one of the scientists that work here at the Aether Foundation. You must be Stella. Mateus told me a bit about you." Said Wicke, introducing herself to Stella. "Y-yes. N-nice t-to m-meet you. Eon." "Rest assured, I'll make sure everything goes quickly and safely for you." "O-okay." "I'll be outside If any of you three need me." Said Mateus. "Alright." Said Ash. Mateus then leaves the lab. "Shall we get started?" Asked Wicke. "Y-yes." Said Stella. Stella was very afraid, although having Ash in the room calmed her down a bit. She couldn't help but fear that the scientist with them could try to lure her away from Ash and try to hurt her even further. "Stella? Stella?" asked Ash while waving his hands to get her attention. "Ash?" "Wicke's trying to talk to you." "Oh. S-sorry Wicke. Eon." "The first sample I'll need is a hair sample, for this one I'll just need to grab one strand of your hair." "O-Okay." Wicke then proceeded to grab one strand of Stella's hair, placing it carefully in a container. "The second sample is a bit of your saliva, I just want you to drool in this container." "D-Do I need to fill it up? Eon?" "No, just a small bit is fine." After Stella had left a bit of her saliva inside the container, she proceeded to give the container to Wicke. "The last sample is a blood sample. I'll need to draw out a bit of blood for this" Stella then saw the needle Wicke was holding and the bells and whistles of her fear were going off in her head, but hid her fear since she was also afraid of accidentally having other labs notice her. Ash, however, saw Stella's discomfort and asked her "Stella, Are you sure that you're comfortable with this." "Y-Yes." Knowing that she was lying, Stella wanted to get over this part very quickly. "Alright then, I'll be here right next to you and you can look at me while Wicke's getting the last sample." "O-okay. Wicke then inserted the needle into Stella's arm. Scared, Stella looked at Ash and noticed his genuine smile. "Done." "D-done?" "I told you I would make things go quickly for you." Without noticing, tears began to fall down Stella's face, and before she knew it she began to cry. "Stella? Stella, what's wrong?" "Ash. I'm scared. I'm really scared." "Why?" Mateus had also come in, hearing Stella's crying from outside. "Stella, why are you scared?" Asked Ash again. "T-those p-people in w-white that hurt m-me. T-they w-would a-always put t-those a-all over me with s-something ins-side f-for what s-seemed like f-forever. It was s-so painful a-and I-it felt l-like it was n-never going to e-end." "Stella, I'm sorry. I should have known better." "I-it's f-fine Ash. Y-you only wanted to h-help. Eon." "Stella, if you want, I can discard the last sample and use the other two instead." "I-it's okay Ms. Wicke. You might need it to help me find some answers." "First it was the lab, then it was the lab coat, now it's the needles. From my understanding, your behavior from those three things is because they're engraved into your mind as symbols of the torture you've endured at the hands of Team Rocket. Seeing or even mentioning any one of them causes feelings of fear and anxiety to surface." Stella just looks down, feeling defeated, as not even her best attempt of facing her fear upfront was a success. However, she soon realized that Ash, Mateus, and Wicke were hugging her. Stella soon wrapped her feelers around the trio to embrace them.

(One Hour Later)

"The world is so brilliant during the day. Eon." Said Stella. Ash noticed the glum look on Stella's face. "Don't worry, once this is all said and done, I'll show you everything Alola has to offer." Said Ash. "Really?" "I promise. I'll even show some great things that happen during the day and night." "Thank you Ash. Eon." "Unfortunately, since the case is still ongoing. It's best we get home. I left Pikachu in charge of teaching the others on how to communicate and befriend you. It's most likely going well. Let's go?" "Okay." Just as they were getting on Charizard's back to fly home… "Wait!" said someone from afar. Ash and Stella then see a slender, attractive looking woman running towards them "Lusamine? What are you doing here?" Asked Ash. "Hello Ash, and I believe you must be Stella." Said Lusamine. "Y-yes." "My name is Lusamine. I'm the head of the Aether Foundation." "N-nice to meet you, M-Ms. Lusamine. You look like one of our friends. Eon." "Oh! I forgot you already know Lillie. I'm her mother." "Really?" "Yes. Wicke told me what happened and if you ever feel the need for support, you're always welcome to come by the Aether Foundation." "Lusamine, Are you sure about this?" "Absolutely Ash." "Okay, we'd best get going. I don't want to keep Pikachu and the others waiting." "Very well then. It was nice to meet you Stella." "T-thank you. T-the pleasure is mine. Eon." At that point Ash and Stella fly home on Charizard's back While Mateus walks up to Lusamine. "Oh! Detective! I thought you already left." "Not yet, I have a few things to share with you." Said Mateus. "What is it?" "I know Ash has helped people and Pokémon alike, but I really hope he doesn't overwork himself while helping us with this case." "I'm sure he won't. He cares for Stella very much from what I heard from you." "That is true." "See, there's nothing to worry about." "By the way, can you do me a favor?"

(Hours Later, At Ash's House)

Ash was going over a few things while Stella was continuing to learn how to read and write. Once he was done with what he had to do, Ash helped Stella learn more and then they decided to call it a night with learning, since much of Ash's Pokémon wanted to spend time with the Sylveon-Human Hybrid.

Knock, knock, Knock.

"I wonder who's knocking at time of night." Said Ash. Ash then went up to open the front door. "Mateus. What brings you here?" "Is Stella Here?" Asked Mateus. "Yes. Please, come on in." Mateus and Ash then head to the living room, where Stella is playing with some of Ash's Pokemon. "Good Evening Mateus. Why are you here?" Asked Stella. "I'm here because I figured I could give you something that can help you." "W-what is it? Eon?" "I figured it would be best to show you." Mateus tosses a Poké Ball, revealing the Pokemon inside, a Fennekin. "A P-Pokémon of my own? Mateus, I d-don't know h-how to t-thank you." "There's no need, it was Ash's idea after all." Stella had cautiously walked up to the Fennekin she had received. While the Fennekin was nervous of her surroundings, she saw that Stella wanted to welcome her with open arms. So the Fennekin ran into Stella's arms and proceeded to be embraced in a hug. With Stella being happy at the surprise of having her own Pokémon. "I guess with that, I'd should probably get going. I got some stuff to do back at the office. Good Night." Said Mateus. "Good night." Said both Ash and Stella. Mateus then left Ash's House. "Ash, Thank you. I don't even think I can explain how happy I am right now." Said Stella, who was holding Fennekin in her arms. "Stella, my mom always told me that a Pokémon can bring the best of people. That is a belief that I hold dearly and one that I'm reminded of every single day. I wanted to wait and see which Pokemon you would like before getting one, but I figured it would take too long, so I asked Mateus to help since he could help keep it a surprise." Said Ash. Stella embraced Ash in a hug with her feelers while Fennekin, who was in her arms, nuzzled him in affection. As they both realized they were tired, they soon went to sleep.

*End of Chapter 8*

I almost forgot! "The Crown Tundra" Expansion for Pokémon Sword/Shield will be released today! I hope you guys are able to enjoy it.