FEARFUL OF THE NIGHT

By: Cy Mendoza

CHAPTER 6

THE BIG CITY

Chip's head hurt as he stepped out of the kahuna's home. The darkness had a suffocating element to it, and no amount of logic could argue with his nerves—yes, the kahuna himself was there and absolutely nothing bad could happen, but the tension in his muscles didn't believe him. No amount of 'everything is fine' could solve the shakiness in his gait as he followed Hala and Kukui, and judging from the way Lillie was looking at him, with her lips pressed into a hard line and brow furrowed, she had noticed.

"Are you okay?" she said. "Maybe we shouldn't walk to the diner…"

The professor and kahuna stopped to look behind themselves at the two. Chip felt his heart rate kick up. "Nah, I'm fine. I'm just a little tired, and probably hungry too."

While this satisfied the two men, and they jumped into a conversation about how they would handle the Team Skull problem, Lillie didn't look quite as convinced. She watched him with evaluating green eyes for a long couple of moments as they walked together, her fingers tapping against the shoulder strap of her bag.

"You're sure?" she asked.

"Hunger makes you shaky, right?" Chip said, putting on a pleasant tone.

"Do you think there izzz something wrong with him?" Rotom asked. It'd floated out of the kahuna's house and lingered behind Chip for a moment before speeding up so it could rest on his head again. It seemed Rotom preferred that perch. "I'm not the best at reading human expressionzzz…"

"No, you two are being silly," Chip said. "I'm fine."

Lillie still didn't look like she believed him, but she nonetheless nodded, as if accepting the lie for now. Chip stared straight ahead, watching the two men ahead blur around him. He could see tall grass in the peripherals of his vision, and something in his head screamed that he was being watched. He couldn't see eyes reflecting the light in the darkness, but somehow he could feel they were there. Watching. Waiting.

The anxiety burned inside Chip's stomach like a bubbling acid, making his belly and chest feel tight. He moderated his breathing so he wouldn't breathe too quickly and alert Lillie or Rotom to his state. In. Out. In. Out. It was almost mechanical, and he counted the seconds between each breath. His hands felt so clammy, but he shoved them into his pockets.

His heart jumped when he saw a blur in the corner of his eye. He turned quickly to look, knocking Rotom off his head with the abruptness of his movement. "Zzr!"

"Agh, sorry," Chip said. It was just Lillie adjusting her hat. She glanced at him briefly then finished fixing her hat. Chip could hear Rotom making a quiet noise as it floated in a circle around him, but he couldn't bring himself to look the ghost in the eyes. His eyes felt like a betrayal, like his partner would be able to see past his mask and into the tension rooting itself deep in his body.

Rotom floated in front of him as he walked, its gaze searching his face. When it couldn't catch Chip's eye, it leaned to the left and the right, then frowned. Mystified, Rotom floated back up so it could rest on Chip's head. It didn't understand why he didn't want to look at it, but maybe it wasn't as dramatic as that. Maybe Chip was just really interested in the scenery around them. All of this was new to Chip, right? That had to be it. Rotom nodded to itself slightly as it set its arms against Chip's head.

As the group neared the city, the lights beckoned Chip, relieving some of the tension in his muscles like the heat of the sun. He let out a heavy breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding as they strolled along the main road of Hau'Oli City. With the light pollution coming from all the neon signs and streetlights, it almost felt like daytime if he didn't look upwards. Chip rubbed his eyes. How was he going to do the island challenge when he couldn't even function during the nighttime?

"The diner's just a little further up," Kukui said. "Everyone doing okay back there?"

"We didn't leave any of you behind, did we?" Hala asked.

"Oh no, we kept up!" Lillie said with a giggle. "I'm really looking forward to a meal."

Chip's twisting stomach slowly unknotted itself. Now that he was in the light, he didn't feel as sick as he had before, and his appetite was steadily returning. He hadn't eaten anything all day, he realized, and hunger was catching up to him. He just hoped that the feeling wouldn't come back after they left the diner, not when he had a stomach full of food. That sounded like disaster. "I just want to eat!" he said, hoping it sounded convincing.

"I hear you there, cousin," Kukui said, pushing open the door to the diner.

Despite the size of the city, the diner was a bit on the cramped side. There was a bar to the left, where patrons could sit at the stools and chat with each other and the bartender, and to the right was the dining area, with only six tables. Three of those tables were occupied, all by couples, and half of the bar was full. The concierge at the front smiled as the group entered.

"Why, it's nice to see you again, Kahuna Hala," he said, "And Professor Kukui as well! What an honor it will be for us to serve both of you. And this lovely young girl and boy are…?"

"My name's Chip." He gave a little awkward wave, and Rotom did the same.

"And I'm Lillie." She smiled back politely, adjusting her bag.

"We're just fixing for food! I hope you have plenty for us," Kukui said, with Rockruff barking in agreement right beside him. "We might eat you out of all your supplies!"

Chip zoned out through the majority of the dinner, perhaps because the main topic was Team Skull, and Chip didn't want to think about why that was the conversation at hand. He knew he should focus, but it was hard when his mind kept wandering back to how he'd felt when he was outside. Was this going to be permanent? He picked at the spaghetti he'd ordered, lost in his thoughts. Sure, maybe he could travel in the daytime only, but Rotom would likely ask why he insisted on going indoors when the night fell… and it didn't make sense anyway. And it made Chip feel like a child. His ceremony had marked his movement into adulthood, and adults weren't afraid of the dark!

"Kzzzzrt!" Rotom hissed, its aura sparking in frustration. Chip looked over at Rotom and smiled. The pokemon had been given a plate of PokeBeans to feast on during the meal, and as a result, Rotom had come out of the PokeDex to eat (as its digital mouth certainly couldn't bite any food). But every time Rotom tried to pick up a PokeBean, it accidentally fried it with its electric aura. Rotom had once again fried another PokeBean, leaving it a blackened and smoking mess, one that was certainly no longer delicious.

Rockruff barked out a laugh. "Ruff!"

"Rockruff, that's not very nice," Lillie said with a frown. "It's probably very hungry…"

"Ruff!" Rockruff picked up a PokeBean in its mouth and continued laughing at Rotom.

"Ro-to-to! Ro-ro!" Rotom snapped back, its electricity arcing even higher around it. This only seemed to amuse Rockruff even more as the puppy swallowed down its PokeBean and stuck its tongue out at the ghost.

"Rockruff, don't start a battle at the dinner table," Kukui said.

"Calm down, calm down," Chip said, leaning down to root through his backpack for the rubber gloves. "Stop ruining all your PokeBeans, I'll help you." As Rotom watched him with a displeased look on its face, Chip slipped one of the gloves on and picked up a pale pink PokeBean between two fingers. He then held it out toward the ghost.

Rotom scowled at the PokeBean, as if disbelieving the idea would work, then leaned forward to try biting it. The delighted squeak that followed told Chip his idea had worked. Rotom finished the rest of the PokeBean and immediately took off, zapping around the heads of everyone seated at the table.

"You still have those gloves I gave you?" Hala asked, glancing at Chip for a moment before he watched Rotom whirl around their heads. "Rubber gloves to touch your electric pokemon… yes, I suppose that would work, wouldn't it? That's quite a smart idea."

"It was Lillie's idea," Chip said, smiling at the girl.

Lillie shrugged, looking a little embarrassed. "It just came to me, knowing that electricians use rubber to insulate themselves from electricity… I figured the same would be true for pokemon, too."

"This is why you're my assistant!" Kukui said. "One day, I'd love to see you become a professor, too."

Lillie's cheeks turned pink as she hid her face away in her hands. "You really think so, professor?"

Chip smiled at the exchange, then reached for another PokeBean and held it out. It wasn't a second later that Rotom dashed straight for it, coming to a halt just a fraction away from Chip's hand so it could munch on the next PokeBean. This time, Rotom managed to contain its excitement as it finished up the bean and looked at Chip for more, chirping in happiness. Chip was grateful for the distraction; it was easy to forget the anxieties boiling away in his chest when he saw how content Rotom was.

"Did you not like your meal?" Hala asked. "If it didn't suit you, I'm sure they'd be happy to replace it."

"Oh—" Chip glanced down. He hadn't touched his meal much, but his stomach still ached with hunger. The thoughts were a little quieter now, and that made all the difference. "I'm still going to eat it. I just got distracted."

The rest of the meal was a blur as Chip focused on forcing down his food and feeding Rotom when it chirped at him for a PokeBean. It was illogical to Chip how many PokeBeans that tiny creature could eat, but he figured many things about Pokemon didn't make much sense. It was only after the fifth PokeBean that Rotom refused another, moving over to his shoulder to rest there with its eyes closed—in a food coma, perhaps.

Hala reached for the bill the moment it arrived. "I have this one covered," he said. "It was quite kind of you to invite me along to your dinner."

"Thank you, sir," Chip and Lillie said at the same time. They looked at each other and giggled a little.

The kahuna smiled at them. "Perhaps we should make this a regular thing—I certainly like getting caught up with your research, Kukui."

"And I like hearing your plans to dismantle Team Skull," the professor said. "The sooner we get moving on that, the better."

"I'm going to contact the other kahunas and see what we can do," Hala said. "I can keep Team Skull off Melemele Island, but it doesn't help much if they're going to base their operations somewhere else. I heard rumors they took over Po Town in Ula'ula Island, and if that's true, then I'll need to get hold of Nanu."

"I thought Nanu disappeared?" Kukui asked.

"That's what I heard too. But knowing him, he's probably still kicking around the island."

"He always did seem to enjoy living off the grid."

As the kahuna and professor stood up, pushing their chairs back under the table, Chip and Lillie followed. Chip felt a sinking sensation in his stomach as they approached the doorway, where through a window he could see the night awaiting him. It seemed the moment he crossed that threshold, the darkness reminded him of his fears like a punch in the gut. He took in a deep breath. There was nothing to be afraid of, Team Skull would certainly not attack the kahuna and the professor.

"Well, here's where I'll be leaving you," Hala said as they approached the road leading north toward Iki Town. "I hope to see all of you soon—especially you, Chip. When you've finished the first and only trial here on Melemele Island, your final task here will be to face me in a battle. I'm going to be looking forward to that; I want to see you and your rotom grow."

Chip looked at the kahuna in surprise. "I'm going to be battling you?"

"That's the final trial at the end of each individual island challenge," the professor said. "Each island has a kahuna, and you battle with the kahuna after finishing the trials on that island. Since Melemele only has one trial, then your second and final one is to defeat the kahuna, who happens to be old Hala here."

"Hey, I'm not that old," Hala said with a laugh. "Don't sweat it, Chip. You'll do fine as long as you and Rotom believe in each other and train hard."

Chip looked at Rotom. He wasn't convinced Rotom would be very thrilled at this prospect, but the ghost was snoozing away. Somehow, it was able to stay floating above his shoulder, even when he moved around. Pokemon really were peculiar. "We will. I promise we'll make you proud, sir."

Lillie had a thoughtful look in her eye as they waved goodbye to the kahuna. Chip was halfway tempted to ask her what she was thinking about, but then the professor started moving again, and Chip hurried to follow him. The tiny group was at the very edge of the city when Chip reached up to touch his backpack strap—and realized with a start that it wasn't there. "Oh god!" he said, his heart thundering in his chest. "I forgot my backpack in the diner!"

"Zzr?" Rotom mumbled, opening its eyes slightly.

"It had the PokeDex in it!" Chip said. God, he felt so stupid! How could he forget that? He brought his backpack everywhere since Kukui gave it to him, and now he looked like an idiot for leaving it behind.

The professor laughed. "Do you want us to wait for you here?"

"No, no, it's okay," Chip said, his eyes wide. "I'll go get it, and…" Well, he wouldn't be going back to the lab in this darkness, and certainly not alone. No, the thought of that made him want to throw up. Having Rotom with him was a comfort, but this anxiety he battled was something else entirely. It seemed it only lessened when he was with the professor or kahuna, and he couldn't inconvenience the professor any more than he already had with his presence. He simply couldn't. "I might stay the night in the city… if it's okay with you?"

"You don't have to ask me, cousin," the professor said. "It's your journey, you can come and go as you please."

"Ah," Lillie said, "If you don't mind, I wanted to try shopping tomorrow... if it's all the same to you, I'd help you split the hotel bill…"

"Honestly, Lillie. You should ask the kahuna for a pokemon, or try training that cosmog. I think you'd make a fantastic trainer, and you and Chip could face the trials together," the professor said, leaning back on his heels in thought.

Lillie puffed her cheeks out and shook her head. "It's not right for me. I don't want to make pokemon fight." She looked at Chip. "Um, but if you'd rather be in a hotel room alone, I'd understand…"

Chip shrugged. "I don't mind. Cosmog might like being able to stretch its… er… clouds, anyway."

"I'm sure it would," Lillie said, giggling.

"Leaving me alone in the lab… I see how it is," the professor said, his voice light with amusement. Both Lillie and Chip were about to protest when the professor held a hand up and chuckled. "I'm joking. I'm glad to see both of you getting out of the house and exploring Alola. It's better for you if you wander off on your own and learn more about this place—and I'm even happier when you're doing it with friends."

The lightness of his tone was underscored by a faint warning. Chip knew exactly what the professor was referring to—Chip had wandered out on his own and gotten attacked by Team Skull, but it was less likely they would try that again if they were in a group. In that way, he found himself mentally attaching to Lillie. Even if she didn't want to become a trainer, maybe she would want to travel with him? It wasn't like he would ask her—that would be too embarrassing—but if she decided to join his journey of her own volition, well, he certainly wouldn't complain.

At first, Chip dreaded the moment when the professor would leave their group and head back to the lab. He could feel the anxiety ramping up the moment the professor disappeared down the road, but he tried to bury it by focusing on Lillie. "Do you like the island at night?"

"I do," Lillie said. "I like looking up at the stars… they're so beautiful. You can't see them that well from here in Hau'oli City, but when you're on some of the darker parts of the island… there are so many stars that I fear I'd never be able to count them all."

Chip glanced upwards. Lillie was right, the light pollution had an effect on the visibility of the stars, but he could still see the particularly bright ones twinkling past the flood of city lights. The night could be so beautiful, and it helped soothe his anxiety a little.

"Do you guys make the stars into constellations the same way we do in Kanto?" Chip asked.

Lillie nodded. "Mm-hmm. If you look at that star right above us, it connects into a constellation that looks kind of like a bulbasaur, don't you think?"

He stared at the stars for a moment before he smiled. "Yeah, I think I see it. Like, that's the body, and then that's the seed on its back."

The lights of the city comforted him again as they strolled down the pedestrian walkway bordering the main road passing through the city. Hau'oli City reminded Chip of the mega-cities back in Kanto. The big city had always appealed to him, and smaller towns—like the sleepy little town he had lived in before—always made him feel out of place somehow. It was a strange feeling, the way he imagined a goldfish might feel its growth was restricted by a fishbowl. Like his heart and soul belonged to skyscrapers and streets packed with people from all walks of life. While Alola in general felt remote, the city made him feel at home again as he stared up at its blinking lights.

Their first stop was the diner, where Chip picked up his backpack, and more importantly, pulled out the PokeDex for Rotom. He had to poke the ghost a few times with a rubber insulated glove before it woke up, but Rotom entered the PokeDex as soon as it was conscious, sensing that was what Chip wanted it to do.

"Don't you ever get tired, Chip? Zzz?" the ghost yawned.

"Oh, sorry. Should we find the hotel, Lillie?" he asked.

"I'm a little tired too… and we could relax a little and watch television before we go to sleep." She looked down at her bag, as if she felt bad for keeping Cosmog in there for so long. The pokemon hadn't complained, and it hadn't slipped out, so maybe it was sleeping too.

With Rotom being half-asleep and Chip feeling on the edge of nauseated, resting in the hotel room sounded nice. He nodded and gave Rotom a little poke. "Do you think you could help us find where the hotel is?"

"Sure thing, bucko," Rotom mumbled, blinking its eyes open again. The map appeared on its screen, and a flag dropped on a building that Chip assumed was the hotel. Rotom's eyes closed again, but it forced them open with another yawn.

"Your rotom's so tired…" Lillie said, looking at it.

"Yeah, Roro ate itself into a food coma," Chip said with a light chuckle, reaching to hold the ghost. Usually Rotom squirmed a little when held, but it didn't complain this time, its eyes sliding shut again. The map stayed open on its screen, so it must not have been too asleep, but at least Chip felt better now that he was carrying his exhausted partner. "Even if Rotom falls asleep, I have a good idea of where the hotel is now. It's that way." He gestured.

Just as Chip predicted, Rotom fell fast asleep in his arms, and its map dimmed until the steadily rotating magnifying glass replaced it. He looked down at the tired pokemon with a light smile. Rotom looked so peaceful when it was sleeping.

When the two reached the hotel, Lillie opened the door politely for her companion, and Chip strolled through with a nod of thanks. Chip slipped Rotom into his backpack, leaving it partially open in case the pokemon woke up, then he and Lillie pooled their money, each taking on half the cost of the room. Armed with a hotel key each, the two ventured toward the elevators so they could reach the third floor, where their room was located.

The room looked cozy and very clean, and two beds awaited them. Lillie picked the one closest to the door while Chip took the one by the window. He set his backpack on the nightstand and pulled Rotom out, disturbing the ghost from its sleep enough that Rotom opened one of its eyes.

"Did I fall asleep? Zz-zzz?" Rotom looked around. "Oh no! I didn't leave you without the map, did I?"

"You were fine. Go back to sleep," Chip said. He set the ghost against one of the pillows, propping it up a little then tucking the comforter around it. Rotom made a noise of delight, its eyes closing again as it fell rapidly asleep.

"Pew!" Cosmog squeaked excitedly, flying out of Lillie's bag the moment she opened it. So much for thinking the psychic pokemon was asleep. It seemed as energetic as ever as it floated around, looking at each of the furnishings in the room. In the meantime, Lillie set her hat on the desk and slid under the covers with a light sigh. After exploring the room a little, Cosmog came back to Lillie, settling next to her on one of the pillows.

"I think I'm more tired than I thought," Lillie murmured, reaching to pull the psychic pokemon closer to her. It let out a quiet cooing noise and nuzzled into her side.

"Same," Chip said, reaching to turn out the light. "Goodnight, Lillie."

"Goodnight, Chip…"

Chip lay awake for a long couple of moments, listening to the sound of Lillie's breathing. The image of Cosmog snuggled against her left two thoughts spinning around in his mind. It reminded him of Popplio...but at the same time, it made him want to wake up Rotom and invite it to come snuggle next to him. The ache in his heart when he thought of Popplio seemed to lessen when he imagined himself holding the small orange ghost, and he almost felt the ache went away when he thought about how happy Rotom was when he showed it affection.

The blond turned on his side and looked at the glowing screen of his partner beside him. The magnifying glass was rotating slowly; his partner looked so serene when asleep. Rotom deserved that rest; he'd pushed the poor ghost so far today, and Rotom had kept up with all the challenges of being his partner. It made him feel bad to wake it up. Nevertheless...

He scooted closer to the sleeping ghost and tapped one finger gently against its screen. The touch made Rotom's blue eyes snap open. "Chip?"

"Shhh," the boy said. "Lillie's sleeping. Can you go into your normal form?"

Rotom blinked in confusion, still disoriented from having been asleep, then the screen turned dark and its eyes closed. The orange ghost popped out of the machine with a wide yawn, looking at Chip with heavily blinking eyes. It almost looked like bags had formed under its eyes as it stared at Chip sleepily, waiting to see what he wanted it to do.

Chip reached to cup the ghost in his hands, then hesitated when he realized he wasn't wearing the rubber gloves. But Rotom was too tired to notice, its eyes partially closed as it moved to settle into the boy's hands. Chip tensed, expecting a shock, but there was only a warm electrical sensation pulsing over his hands, a sensation that tickled his fingers but didn't cause him any pain.

"Roro," he whispered.

"Zzzr?" The ghost opened its eyes a little more. As the seconds ticked by and Chip didn't respond—he was mesmerized by the fact that he could touch his partner without the gloves—Rotom started to fall asleep again. But Chip pulled the ghost close to him, stirring Rotom from slumber again. "Ro-to-to…"

"I'm holding you…" The words slipped out in a quiet murmur from the blond's lips.

Rotom was confused for a moment in its sleepiness, but as its blue eyes focused on the boy's hands, it realized what had happened. Rotom's eyes shot open as it darted out of Chip's hands, wings fluttering wildly, then it looked at him with worry, concerned it might have hurt him. But Chip's face was gentle, his eyes, soft. Rotom stared, half apprehensive and half in disbelief.

"You can do it," Chip whispered. He reached out to touch Rotom's face. The ghost leaned back, cautious that its electrical aura could hurt him, then squeezed its eyes shut, wings fluttering nervously. Chip brushed his thumb down the ghost's cheek, feeling the unusual complexion of its body. Electric, for sure, but almost liquid too, yet a liquid that didn't come off on his fingers. It felt so different than when he was holding Rotom with gloves.

Rotom's eyes carefully opened as it looked at Chip. "Ro-ro-to… Ro-ro?"

"You can control your electricity," Chip said, his voice barely a whisper. "You didn't trust me in the past...I think that's why you shocked me when we first met. But we trust each other now… and I think your electricity is proof of that."

Rotom hung in the air, hesitating, then its eyes widened slightly as it zapped toward Chip's chest at full speed. Chip reached his arms out to accept the little ghost, cuddling it as he snuggled back into the blankets. He could feel the electricity coming off Rotom's wings, but it was a comforting sensation, a light tingling. Chip would have never expected he could hold his partner like this, not without the protection of the gloves. Rotom must have been generating a very low amount of electricity right now, an amount that wasn't dangerous to him.

Rotom looked up at him, fluttering its wings. "Ro-ro…"

Chip moved the ghost, cuddling it in the crook of his arm as he lay down into the blankets. He felt just like Lillie now, close to his partner and trusted by it. It was a feeling he hadn't gotten since he'd curled up on the professor's bed with Popplio in his arms. He looked down at Rotom, who was staring at him thoughtfully. "Get some sleep," he murmured.

The ghost didn't say anything, but it did continue staring at him. What was Rotom thinking? Chip wished he could know, but he wouldn't ask it to go back into the PokeDex to speak with him. He'd have to let his heart figure this one out. As he looked into those blue eyes, he felt happiness and pride radiating off Rotom—happiness that it could be close to him, and pride that it had learned to moderate its electricity enough to deserve the first. Greater than those, though, was the exhaustion that leaked from every pore of the ghost's body. Rotom really did need to sleep.

"Come on… get some rest." Chip tickled under the ghost's chin, delighting in the instantaneous squeaks that arose, though the ghost didn't dart away from him like it usually did. Rotom refused to move from the crook of his arm, though it did flail its wings while it giggled. "Gonna sleep now?" he whispered.

"Ro-to!" the ghost whispered back, turning and hugging its wings to him. Chip watched, satisfied, as those blue eyes closed and Rotom nuzzled its face into his arm.

As he looked down at the ghost's happy expression, Chip felt warmth seeping through his heart. He rubbed his thumb over Rotom's head spike, much to the delight of the small ghost, who started making a soft, electrical purring noise. He continued the gentle stroking until Rotom's noises petered off into silence, its eyes fully closed and expression calm again.

Chip, too, let sleep pull him into unconsciousness. There were no dreams, just a sensation of empty time that flew by, of hours passing in mere heartbeats.

When he woke, he felt the strange sensation of something watching him, and the faint sound of voices just beyond his comprehension—not in words he recognized, but in something else entirely. His eyes cracked open to find Cosmog perched right on his nightstand, inches away from his face, the psychic smiling widely as it stared at him.

"Umm…" Chip sat up slightly, looking at Cosmog in confusion, then down toward his arms. Rotom's blue eyes looked back up at him, and the ghost made a noise of delight when it saw he was awake. Chip wondered if the voices he had heard were Cosmog and Rotom talking. "Did you sleep well?"

"Zzzzt!" Rotom waved its wings a little and nuzzled into his arm. Chip had grown so used to the electrical sensation throughout the night that he realized he didn't feel it anymore, not unless he was concentrating.

"Pew! Pew, pew!" Cosmog said with a giggle, then floated back toward Lillie's bed. It was then that Chip realized she wasn't in the bed. The sound of the shower hinted at where she was at, but he still felt a clench in his heart knowing she trusted him. After all, she left Cosmog with him while she was in the bathroom.

"Why don't you play with Cosmog, huh?" Chip said, moving his arms. Rotom floated beside him with a smile, then nodded and dashed after the psychic pokemon. Their little chirps and laughs filled the room as the two chased each other around. Chip stretched, then leaned back against the pillows to watch them. There truly was no greater happiness than seeing two pokemon playing like that. It was nice seeing Rotom so happy, and he imagined that Cosmog very rarely got a chance to play with others, except for maybe the professor's pokemon.

It was about ten minutes later that Lillie emerged from the bathroom, her hair freshly styled, a new outfit on. She had her previous day's clothes folded over her arm, and she placed them into the bag she kept Cosmog in. As she glanced around, watching the pokemon chase each other, she then realized Chip was awake with a gasp. "Oh! I thought you were still asleep?"

"I woke up a little while ago," Chip said with another stretch. Now that he wasn't feeling so numb from constant electrical exposure, he could feel the ache in his body where his injuries were. Yet, still, he felt much better than he had the day before.

"Do you want to shower before we go shopping?" Lillie asked, then backpedaled in embarrassment. "If you want to go, that is—I know you've been meaning to train Rotom."

Chip looked at the ghost. It zoomed around Cosmog in a circle, a blur of blue and orange, as the psychic waved its little cloud arms. Rotom looked so happy right now, and he didn't really want to stress it out so early in the day. "Maybe a little shopping would be a good idea. It's not like we're in a rush to take on the challenges… there's no time limit, right?"

"Right. The only limits are the ones you place on yourself." Lillie smiled at him then watched the two playing. "Look at them… they're having so much fun…"

"Ro-to!" Rotom zoomed over, stopping in front of Lillie's face, then grinned and dashed back over to Cosmog. Rotom was so fast that Cosmog was having trouble keeping up with it, though Chip noticed Rotom slowed down a couple of times, enough that Cosmog could catch it with its cloudy arms. Rotom squirmed whenever it was caught and wiggled out of the psychic's grip, zooming around in it in a blur of color again.

"Play nice, Roro," Chip called out. The ghost paused and looked at him, then nodded obediently.

Chip didn't have any replacement clothes for a shower, but he also felt like cleaning his injuries was a necessity at this point. The bandages under his clothes were starting to smell a bit sour, so even if he didn't have new clothes, he didn't have much of a choice. Besides, he could get some new clothes with the money the professor gave him, even if it was just a new shirt. That would be easy to change.

"Keep an eye on Rotom for me, please?" Chip said as he headed into the bathroom. It was humid from Lillie's shower, and condensation clung to the glass of the bathroom mirror.

"I will," she called after him.

As Chip undressed, tossed the old bandages, and got into the shower, he wondered if Lillie ever expected Cosmog would get a chance to play with another pokemon outside the professor's home. It made him happy to know that Rotom could give the other companionship, and the same was true in reverse. Rotom seemed a bit lonely at times, and he worried he needed to catch more pokemon to keep it company. He'd be sure to do so today. Maybe if he got lucky, he'd run into a pichu here in the grasslands inside Hau'Oli City. Just the thought of it filled him with excitement, enough to push through the pain of washing his wounds. God, they stung!

When he emerged from the shower, Lillie was sitting on the bed with a book open in her hands. Cosmog was resting to her right, and Rotom to her left, both of them looking at the book as she quietly read out the words. Chip lingered near the exit of the bathroom, not wanting to disturb her as he listened to the story. This must have been something she did with Cosmog all the time, and Rotom looked thrilled to be included. Chip also noticed that Rotom was resting against her arm, and clearly no harm was coming to her. It trusted her, too.

Lillie looked up at the end of the sentence, catching Chip's gaze. "Oh, are you ready?"

"I think so," Chip said, picking up the PokeDex. Rotom didn't need to be told anything, it immediately darted into it and stretched out its limbs. "You ready, Roro?"

"Shopping, zzt!" Rotom exclaimed, waving its arms in excitement. "I want a hat, pleazzze!"

"A hat? Would a hat fit you?" Chip wondered, looking at Rotom's head spike.

"I'm sure we can find something," Lillie said with a giggle. She held open her bag, and Cosmog whined softly before disappearing inside it. "I know, I know," she murmured, running her hand gently over the psychic's head. "If it was safe for me to take you out, I would… but you know what could happen. The worst that could happen."

As Lillie zipped the bag up, Chip exchanged glances with Rotom. Lillie almost made it sound like something worse could happen than Cosmog being stolen. He wanted so badly to know what had happened between the girl and her pokemon, but he knew it wasn't his place to ask. Nonetheless, wild thoughts bounced around in his head as he strapped his backpack on, then nodded at Rotom. The ghost flashed him a look of delight and darted toward the door, where it waited for him.

"All right!" Chip said, holding the door open for Lillie and Rotom. "Let's see what Hau'Oli City has to offer!"

A/N: Do you like seeing Lillie often in the story? Comment below and let me know what you think!