Chapter 5 Girls Meeting
"Pikachu, let's finish the battle with Electro Web!" Ash says as Pikachu lands the final hit towards Alice's Sobble, causing it to faint. Alice recalls her Pokemon and mutters, "Ash, you sure are strong, no wonder you are the seven region Champion..."
"Don't worry, you are just starting your new journey, what matters is that you gain some experience from losing the battle. I am not undefeatable, but that's how I manage to move forward." Ash says as she nods.
"You're right. I have better get close to you if I want to be a Pokemon Master like you as well." Alice says with a smile.
"But don't you guys think that those two have taken too much time? I thought they were just going to inform Gloria's mother about leaving Postwick?" Trenor asks.
"Maybe something has happened to them?" Mark asks.
"Something's fishy here, maybe we should go check them out." Alice says.
They head south to Gloria's house, only to see that the gate going through the Slumbering Weald is opened.
"Oh no. Don't tell me that they have got into the Slumbering Weald!" Leon gasps, Alice, Mark, and Trenor also pales at the comment.
"What is that place and why are you panicking?" Ash asks, as he and Pikachu are clueless about the whole forest.
Mark says, "Brother, this place is off-limits, there is supposed to be a monster inside."
"Gloria and Hop should know that as well, right?" Alice asks. "What if they are still inside? What if the monster attacks them?"
Ash realizes how serious it is going to be, and he says, "Then we must get inside. Guys, let's go."
Leon, Mark, and Trenor immediately rush into the forest, but Alice is still standing there as she is scared about going into the forest. Ash whispers to her, "Don't worry, I'll protect you."
Alice blushes at Ash's words, and Ash holds Alice's hands to make sure she is comfortable, and then they rush into the forest. But when they get into the forest, not only they can't find Gloria and Hop, but they are also separated from Mark, Trenor, and Leon.
"Where did they go?" Ash asks with concern.
"This forest is foggy...who knows what might be lurking inside." Alice says while she holds Ash tight, not wanting to let it go until they find the others.
They seem to be stepping through three patches of grass, and then they find Hop and Gloria, who are lying on the ground unconscious.
"Gloria! Hop!" Ash and Alice try to shake them up, but they are still not moving. A roar howls in the forest as Ash and Alice look up, they see two silhouettes looking at them.
"Are those the monsters?" Alice squeaks.
"Pikachu! Use Thunderbolt!" Ash yells. Pikachu fires electricity on the silhouettes, but the attack just goes through them.
Alice says, "The attack doesn't work?"
"Damn it..." Ash mutters. But just as the fog gets thicker and thicker, the silhouettes disappear from their sight.
"There you are!" Leon, Mark, and Trenor arrive with a Wooloo following them. Mark asks, "We saw that you two disappeared, where have you been?"
"I was about to ask the same thing when we got into the forest, we couldn't find you." Ash says. "But we found these two."
"Then we should probably wake them up as fast as we can." Leon says.
With Ash and the others continuing to shake them, Gloria and Hop eventually wake up.
"Gloria, Hop. Are you okay?" Ash asks.
"Wha- Lee?" Hop only sees Leon and he says, "How'd you manage to find your way here? You're pants with directions. You always get lost."
"Oh, that's nice to hear from the little brother who had me worried sick! We have been waiting for ages for you two, and you never showed up." Leon says.
"So we come looking for the two of you." Alice says.
"Wait. Where is the Wooloo?! We were trying to rescue that Wooloo!" Gloria asks.
Then they see Wooloo is playing with Pikachu. "Don't worry, that little chap's just fine."Leon says.
"Though the two of you had fainted by the time we found you here." Ash says with a frown.
"You know this place is out of bounds, but it took courage to come in here all the same." Mark says.
"And we can understand well enough why you did it." Trenor says.
"In fact, you did a good job." Ash says, causing both Gloria and Hop to smile back.
"At least the Wooloo's all right." Hop says.
"But did you guys see two silhouettes in the fog?" Alice asks.
"What? All I see is nothingness and the fog made us dizzy." Hop says. "I guess we fainted after that?"
"Really? You didn't see anything?" Ash asks with confusion.
"What are you two talking about, Ash? Alice?" Leon asks.
"Nothing, maybe those are the fearsome Pokemon they say live in the Slumbering Weald..." Alice mutters. "Are they actually illusions or something?"
Ash smiles at her, "Well, there is only one thing to do. Get strong enough, and maybe we could be the ones to reveal the truth someday."
"You're right." Alice smiles back.
"For now, let's simply get out of this place. You'll be all right now that I'm here with you." Leon says.
"Even if we did get an earful from Lee...what an experience! That'll make a pretty find first page in the tale of my legend." Hop says.
Once they go back to the Postwick, they help Gloria pack out their stuff in her house. Before leaving, Gloria's mom asks, "So you guys are off to Wedgehurst, huh?"
"Yeah." Gloria says. "And I have decided. I am going to travel with Ash and Alice."
"Indeed. With Ash teaching us everything as a Pokemon Trainer, it will be a great experience." Alice says.
"So don't you go pushing the poor dear too hard." Gloria's mom refers to Scorbunny. "And you, Scorbunny, also look after my little Gloria."
"Mom, I am not a kid anymore." Gloria blushes, but Scorbunny just puts his hand just like a soldier will do.
"All moms are the same." Alice says while giggling at Scorbunny's movements.
"Totally." Ash says as he is feeling the same way as Alice.
"Now remember to come home to rest anytime that you need. After all...east or west, home is best." Gloria's mom says.
"Okay." Then Ash and the two girls leave the place.
A Flying Taxi arrives at Wedgehurst, Dawn and Piplup come out of it while stretching their arms. Dawn says, "This is a perfect place to relax. Right, Piplup?"
Piplup nods in agreement, and Dawn says, "Okay, now let's get you check-up in the Pokemon Center."
Lucky for the girl, all Pokemon Centers look the same, and every Pokemon Center has their Nurse Joy. While Piplup is checking up, Dawn looks around to see a girl sitting by the table brushing her Sylveon, who is relaxing on her lap. Dawn walks towards the girl and asks, "Hey, do you mind if I sit with you?"
The girl stops her brushing and then looks at Dawn, she smiles, "Not at all. I am Serena, how about you?"
"I am Dawn." Dawn says. "I just came here with the Flying Taxi."
"I see, I got here with the Flying Taxi as well a few minutes ago, what a coincidence." Serena says.
After Piplup is done checking up, Dawn goes to take Piplup and they chat with Serena a little. Dawn says, "No wonder you look so familiar, you are the Serena that almost won the Kalos Pokemon Showcase, and the Top Coordinator in your first try in the Hoenn Region, right?"
"Ehh? You saw my performances?" Serena blushes with embarrassment.
"Of course, I really liked your style." Dawn says. "You are so straightforward and interesting, and you have some sort of charm that catches everyone's eyes."
"You're flattered, but thank you." Serena says as she manages to get a close look at Dawn, then she gasps and says, "I think I have also seen you somewhere, Dawn. You got the Runner Up in the Sinnoh, Hoenn, and Knato Grand Festival and the winner of the Johto Grand Festival as well."
"Yep, that's me. Seems like we might get along, so why are you here in Galar?" Dawn asks.
"Nothing important, I just feel like relaxing in a different region. My home region Kalos is actually close to Galar with only a sea blocking the way, so I have been dreaming of coming here since I was a kid."
"Even though Sinnoh is pretty far from here, I like this place because of their fashion and their sightseeing." Dawn nods.
Serena smiles as she stops brushing Sylveon, she says, "Here, you're beautiful as always."
Sylveon wraps her feelers around Serena to show gratitude, and Dawn says, "By the way, that is a nice Sylveon you have here."
"Why thank you, I got it when I was traveling in Kalos with my friends. She was dancing in the flower fields and that is why I wanted to capture her. And it evolves when I attended the dance party along with a good friend of mine."
"Wow, seems like you have a lot of great journeys." Dawn says.
"What about you and your Piplup?" Serena asks.
"Well, Piplup is my Starter Pokemon, when I met him, he ran off the lab and I was asked by the Professor to find it. I found him trapped by a bunch of Ariados and I tried to save him. In the end, he saved me instead." Dawn says.
Piplup just shows his pride and Serena says, "It seems like he is quite a character." But their conversation is ended as they see a girl rushing inside the Pokemon Center.
"Nurse Joy. Can you help me?" Lillie says as she takes Snowy to Nurse Joy. Nurse Joy asks, "What happened to her?"
"She was accidentally attacked by a Grubbin. Please help me out, Nurse Joy."
"Okay, put her here and I'll heal her." Nurse Joy says as she takes care of the Pokemon. While waiting, Lillie goes to sit at the table next to the table where Dawn and Serena are at.
Dawn and Serena notice the white Vulpix as they are clueless about it. Dawn turns to Lillie and asks, "Excuse me, is that a Vulpix? Why is it white-colored? I have never seen one before."
Lillie turns to Dawn and Serena and she says, "Oh, I'm from the Alola Region, in our region, Vulpix lives in snowy mountains for so long that becomes an Ice-type."
"I have heard of the Alola Region, but I thought that it is a tropical region." Serena asks.
"You're right, most of the places there are tropical, but Ice Type Pokemon stay at Mount. Lanakila, which has a high altitude." Lillie says.
"That is so cool." Serena says. "Sorry that we forget to introduce ourselves. I am Serena, and this is Dawn."
Lillie smiles, "My name is Lillie Aether, Alola."
"Alola?" Dawn and Serena asks, Lillie says, "Oops, it is our greeting back in the Alola Region. It has become a habit of mine."
"I see." Dawn and Serena nod, but then they realize something. "Wait, your last name is Aether? As in the Aether Foundation?"
"Yeah, my mom is the President of the Foundation." Lillie says with a smile.
Serena and Dawn can't believe what they're hearing, they know how rich the Aether Family is, and they are now talking to a princess from the family.
"That is so cool, so what brings you here in Galar?" Dawn asks.
"Well, at first we are here to find my father, but then we heard that the Prince of Galar returned to this region, so I decided to ask him to help me out." Lillie says.
"The Prince of Galar?" Serena and Dawn gasp a little, as they have never heard of royalties in the Galar Region. "So you know this prince of Galar?" Serena asks.
"Yeah, he became Champion of Alola a few days ago." Lillie says. "It was a close match between him and my big brother, but he won and became the Champion."
"Sounds like he is a strong person." Serena says. "You know, we are just talking about our Pokemon, did you go all the way to that mountain to get your Vulpix?"
"Well, I received the egg from the principal. You see, I attended the Alola Pokemon Trainer's School to learn more about Pokemon, and we were taught about the form difference with the Vulpix."
"So you attended a school? That sounds great since you can learn a lot there." Dawn says.
"Yeah, but Snowy and I have been through a lot of battles together and we even manage to be in the Top 16 of the first Alola League, but I lost to my brother..."
"I am sorry to hear that." Serena says.
Then the Pokemon are healed as Lillie is asked to take the Pokemon back, Snowy at first has a little trouble of getting to know Piplup and Sylveon because of her nature, but it slowly gets used to it and they have become friends.
"Looks like they are getting along well." Lillie says. "Well done, Snowy."
Serena says, "Since we just meet one another for the first time, how about we try to get to know each other more?"
"What are you thinking about?" Lillie asks.
Dawn claps her hands and says, "I have an idea, why don't we go shopping together? That is a good way to get to know each other."
"Sounds like a good idea." Serena says.
"Count me in as well." Lillie says. "I can't wait to see what this place has to offer."
The three girls then gives some girly squeals before they leave the Pokemon Center.
Here is a new chapter, and Dawn, Serena and Lillie have met one another. At the same time, Ash and Alice are the only ones who see the silhouettes of Zacian and Zamazenta. I hope you like this chapter.