Who I Am - Lightning99
Chapter 21:
Treasure Island
"Unbelievable!" Hala's burly voice chuckled into his grand oak living room. In his hands he held Professor Kukui's notebook, reading over it, squinting intensely. "Ash told me he had challenged Gyms and Leagues, but nothing of these extraordinary accomplishments! Ash has done well."
"Yeah, you got that right! That's not the half of it, though, 'cause I've used my Miracle Eye, investigated, and found some things that may or may not be true," Kukui said, flipping the pages of the notebook.
Hala scanned the scrawling – which was almost as undiscernible as Unown manuscript. "My word!" Hala exclaimed, dropping the notebook onto the coffee table. "You are sure the dates match up? You are sure Ash was present at each event?!"
Kukui shrugged. "Hard to say. I've made estimates. See that first incident in Sinnoh, yeah? The date of the Legendary Pokémon sightings, July seventeenth, is between the two dates Ash received his second and third gym badges–according to the Trainer Database." Kukui unravelled a map of the Sinnoh region. Dragging his finger across the paths, he said, "If we follow the route down from the place he received his second badge–Eterna City–he has to walk south-east of Oreburgh City. The three Legendary Pokémon appeared in Alamos Town, which is north-west of Oreburgh and north-east of Jublife. That would be directly west of the route. That make sense?"
"I see," Hala said, "so, by matching all of the dates you have been able to make guesses on where he might have been… Yes, if he took a detour in the forest or got lost, he certainly might have come out there."
"Exactly! Nothing concrete, though, Hala. Anyhow, it's an incredible thought, don't you think?"
"Indeed. For Ash to have possibly met so many Legendary Pokémon that have rarely been seen before, and for Tapu Koko to take an interest in him… I urge you to head over to Akala as soon as possible and talk with Ash," Hala said.
"Yeah, I'm on it," Kukui said, grabbing his items and pocketing them again. Placing his hands together, Kukui leaned his elbows on the table, his face turned grave. "There is something more, Hala," Kukui said, but he hesitated. He didn't know how Hala would respond to the next piece of information. Kukui simply took out a folded piece of paper from his other pocket, unravelled it, and passed it to Hala. It was the article he saw about somebody known as Ash Ketchum being dead.
Hala took it curiously, eyeing Kukui for a moment. He looked to the paper, scanned it briefly, then his eyes opened wide, something that rarely happened.
"What on earth does this mean?!" Hala asked, passing the paper back to Kukui. "Is Ash not who he says he is?!"
Kukui shook his head. "Nah, he is. I saw pictures and videos yesterday when looking through information. I saw him battling in the Kalos League this year; it's definitely him."
"Possibly a disguise?"
"Not probable. I'm just as confused as you are, Hala."
"That settles it. I shall accompany you to Akala," Hala said, pushing himself to his feet.
Kukui expected that response. "Alright," he said.
A watery typhoon blustering against him, dishevelling his hair like a sheet whipping in the wind; the sun like a sauna baking his skin; adrenaline making his legs, planted firm atop the Mantine, tremble. Ash was completely immersed in surfing across the sea.
A wave began curling on his right, growing with each foot until it towered twice his size, a wall as big as a mild tsunami. Ash lowered his centre of gravity and confidently leaned right, his muscle memory kicking in. He gripped the right bar of the saddle and pushed down, guiding Mantine up the side of the wave. He crouched lower the more they ascended, hovering his left hand over the left bar. When Mantine crested the wave at an almost vertical angle and glided into the air, Ash knelt and grasped both bars firmly.
Mantine climbed the sky. At the height of its jump, Ash leaned right and Mantine did a barrel roll as they began to descend. He leaned left, and Mantine copied, spinning again. Nearing the wave, Ash flexed his fingers and with a burst of reckless adrenaline, he leaned back: Mantine performed a perfect backflip. Two seconds later, Mantine landed back on the wave and Ash guided her down onto the bobbing water, his excitement and adrenaline pumping a series of quivers through his muscles.
As Ash patted Mantine's back in a complementary manner, Mallow cheered across the water, clapping. Ash waved back when a whistling gust blew into his side. Lana soared past him, tearing towards the wave. Professionally, Lana glided up the wave and, flicking the bars back slightly at the top, her Mantine leapt even higher than Ash's had. Whence in the air, Lana performed three spins to the right. On her third spin, Mantine twisted twice more into a corkscrew before landing perfectly. Lana sped down the wave, skidding to a stop a few metres away from Ash, spraying water all over Kiawe.
"Hey! Watch it!" Kiawe complained as he clambered awkwardly onto his Mantine.
"Woah!" Ash shouted. He guided his Mantine to Lana. "That was awesome, Lana! I should have known you'd be a pro!"
Almost shyly, Lana scratched the side of her cheek, looking away. "Well, I have practised many times before." Then, her eyes sharpened and became aflame. She gripped a fist and stared straight at Ash. "I won't lose to anybody when it comes to the water!"
"Is that a challenge?" Ash asked, lifting a brow.
Lana smirked. "Let's do it! I want to see you perform a Gorebyss Spiral!"
"Uh… A what?"
"That's two rolls to the left then a three-spin corkscrew!"
"Alright, you're on!" Ash said, guiding Mantine across the water.
Ash aligned himself for the next wave. When it was high enough, Ash tapped Mantine and they were off. This time, Ash mimicked Lana and balanced on his feet, gradually leaning to the side the more vertical Mantine became. He didn't kneel until Mantine left the water. Tapping Mantine's left fin with his foot, she began spinning. Easily completing the move, Ash landed and glided down towards Lana again.
"Impressive!" Lana commented.
"Your turn: perform two front flips and land it!" Ash challenged.
As if it were as simple as it was for a starter Pokémon to use Tackle, Scratch, or Pound, Lana completed his task and even flaunted her skills by adding a third flip. From there, the pair played a game where they challenged each other to complete moves. Immediately, Ash was eager to impress Lana.
But Ash was the first to fall when Lana challenged him to perform a Lanturn Three-Sixty. He nearly completed the move, but the water oiled the bar and Ash lost his grip. He flew off into the water at the last second, almost landing on top of Lillie in the speedboat.
Meanwhile, Kiawe and Mallow were struggling. Kiawe, despite his muscled physique and hot-headed determination, was unable to maintain his balance on the Mantine and fell off multiple times. Grumbling how he was like his Fire-Types, weak with Water-Types, he settled for sitting on Mantine's back and gliding along beside Lillie's speedboat, spectating the competing pair alongside her. Mallow, on the other hand, was too stubborn to give up. No matter how many times she fell when Mantine began to move, she kept trying, taking breaks between to watch the two pseudo-pros perform.
Fifteen minutes later, Ash stagnated on the Primarina Twist. He tried again, his final attempt, but when he jumped onto Mantine's fin and attempted a front flip himself, his foot slipped on Mantine's back. He toppled over the side. Shaping his body like an arrow, Ash dived into the water.
Shaking his head and opening his eyes to a blurry world, Ash swam to the surface. When his head broke the waterline, he heard his name being called from beside him. The speedboat was immediately by his side and so were the others, looking panicked.
Ash slapped his palms against his face. "Arghh," he shouted, "I lost! Lana, you truly are the Master of the Ocean."
"Was there any doubt?" Lana said, putting her hand out to Ash. He shook it gladly.
Following the scare of Ash's fall, he and Lana took a break beside the boat with the others while Mallow continued practising. Ash felt comfortably exhausted. Lana looked just as tired as he was.
"I have to say, Ash, I'm impressed. It's not often that somebody so new to Mantine Surfing can keep up with me," Lana admitted.
"Thanks, Lana. It's probably my experience. I've ridden on all sorts of Pokémon, so guiding them is like second nature. Plus, if you treat them like your friend and are comfortable with them, there shouldn't be any problem."
"That's exactly right," Lana said, smiling.
After a few minutes, Lana floated back out onto the ocean, attempting to give Kiawe pointers on Mantine Surfing. He was suddenly determined to improve.
"U-Um, Ash?" Lillie quietly asked when the other two were a distance away. Lillie was looking at him quite intently when he caught her eyes. Lillie bashfully looked away, her cheeks flaming pink.
"Yeah? You alright, Lillie?"
"Y-Yes," Lillie said, nodding quickly. "I-I umm was just wondering about that scar on your side," she said, pointing to his right side.
She was pointing to the scar he received after the incident in Pallet Town.
"Well, a-and the other small ones…"
"Oh, you noticed those? They're not much, just little cuts I got from all my adventuring over the years. No need to worry, none of them were serious," Ash said, guessing that her worry was what caused her to ask. Strangely, Lillie nodded and downcast her eyes. She said no more.
"Ash," Lana called, floating over. "Here's an idea. Why don't you go and help Mallow out for a bit?" she suggested. Ash glanced towards Mallow, watching her slip off her Mantine back-side-first into the water.
Lana laughed out loud, and Ash lightly smiled. "Ok, sure. Wouldn't you be better at it, though?"
Lana shrugged. "I'm helping Kiawe."
"Oh, I could take Kiawe if you want–"
"Just go," Lana said.
Baffled at the mysterious girl, Ash sailed to Mallow. He offered a hand down to her. She grasped it with a red-cheeked smile and Ash helped her back into a sitting position on the Mantine.
"Need some help?" Ash asked.
"Please," Mallow said, bashfully.
"Sure," Ash said, tapping his foot on Mantine to move closer. He offered a hand down again, and Mallow slipped hers gently into his. He slowly guided her to her feet. "The key to riding Pokémon is to relax your body, to be comfortable. If you're too tense, you're going to fall when they jerk and move. If you relax, put your trust in them, you'll be able to move with Mantine. Just try that," Ash said, relinquishing the hold on her hands.
"Ok!" Mallow said, and glanced forwards, putting her arms out to balance.
"Low your centre of gravity a little bit, too," Ash instructed.
Nodding, Mallow did as he said. However, the moment Mantine began to move, Ash saw that Mallow was not relaxed in the slightest. Her Mantine jerked forwards and Mallow stumbled again, falling towards the water. Luckily anticipating it, Ash dashed in on his Mantine just in time, catching her around the waist to stabilise her.
"Ah!" Mallow squeaked. Ash looked up quickly, expecting her to be hurt, but all he saw was her red face a few inches from his. Ash held her in silence, feeling his face grow hot too. A warmth manifested between them, and Ash couldn't ignore the feeling of her body in his arms, nor the tender expression she gazed at him with.
"Y-You ok?" Ash checked, and Mallow nodded, grinning.
"T-Thank you," Mallow said.
"No problem." Helping her once more into a stable position, Ash let go, and the warmth vanished. "Ummm… Alright, so here's a tip…" Ash delved into explaining all he could to her. Throughout the explanation, Mallow listened quietly, her red face lingering the entire time. No similar incidents happened, but it glued itself to Ash's mind.
It did not take long until Mallow could ride the Mantine, albeit slowly. By the time Treasure Island neared, she was a lot more stable. As they sailed towards the boat and their friends, Ash heard Mallow whisper something that confused him greatly.
"Lana, you're the best."
A smooth, empty beach enclosed by a wall of palm trees and a large mossy mountainside greeted the group as they came ashore. Some Wingull were squalling overhead, and some Slowpoke were lazing on the sand. The heat made the world lethargic.
Ash and Lana leapt onto the beach first, grabbing the speedboat's tether and tying it around a large rock. The others exited the boat and relinquished their buoyancy aids into the back.
Uncharacteristically, as Mallow slipped hers off and undid her hair ties, swiping her long green hair from sticking against her tanned body, Ash found himself staring. The way her drenched swimsuit hugged her body, accentuating her features, made a warmth flit across his cheeks. He felt his heart clench in a way he had felt before, but, ominously, the warm grip hurt.
Shaking his head, Ash looked away. He did not want to turn into as lecherous a person as Brock was sometimes, although, at that moment, he somewhat understood Brock's attitude. It was an instinctive reaction to admire something the heart deems beautiful, in their individual opinion, and Ash was not an exception: he was not immune to the unprovoked titillation of a teenage mind.
On his other side, however, stood Lana, smirking at him. To his relief, it seemed she was smug about something else.
"My, my, Ash," Lana jeered, "how did you possibly build up your athletic physique? I'm sure we would all like to know where those scars came from too." Lana peaked past Ash, where Lillie and Mallow looked away quickly, blushing, fiddling with their hands and looking at the sand. Lillie had probably been scanning his scars again, Ash guessed, Mallow too. But he wondered if they actually had been looking.
Kiawe marched over to Ash, slapping his shoulder. He nodded his head. "Indeed, you are a true inspiration."
Feeling mortally confused, Ash asked, "What in Arceus' name are you talking about?"
"Your scars paint a picture of how fiercely you have–"
"E-Enough of that!" Lillie called, surprisingly, nervously, interrupting Kiawe. "It looks like there is a lot to see on the island, so we should go and look around!"
"Yes! Let's do it! Kiawe, you can carry the picnic basket! Let's go!" Mallow added, tossing him the interweaved basket much to his initial chagrin.
A short moment later, Ash joined the group in wandered into the humid forest, cavorting like tourists, their eyes their cameras.
The day disappeared for the group. They spent hours on the island, searching the different areas, discovering just what sort of treasures it held.
The Island was indeed a Pokémon paradise. Amongst the trees, Ash saw innumerable Pokémon he had to ask Rotom to identify. There were Pykumuku, Oricorio, Comfey and some Fomantis, even a Morelull. There were familiar ones too: Caterpie, Metapod, and Butterfree, and some Spinarak lurking in the shaded treetops.
Hidden amidst the forest was a sparkling lagoon in a deep depression. Thick roots of the surrounding trees jutted out of the hole's walls and curled across the water as if making pathways and diving boards. The bushes surrounding the lagoon dripped like mini waterfalls and some U-shaped, leafy vines hung from the overhead canopy. A ray of rainbow sunlight breaking a tiny hole in the canopy made the transparent pond glitter; beautifying it even further, the surrounding forest was at dusk during the day.
The small pond was filled with Pokémon too: Bruxish, Psyduck and Golduck, Dewpider, and Mareanie. There were even a Whiscash and a Surskit gliding on the surface. Ash had seen so many similar sights, and they never dulled to him, but his friends looked as if they had stumbled into Nirvana.
They backtracked to the beach for lunch. Continuing her winning streak, the food that Mallow had prepared made Ash join his friends in Nirvana. They all enjoyed it together, sat on a blanket on the beach, absorbing the full brunt of the mid-day sun as they chatted. The sapping sun leeched off him all day, but after the food, Ash felt re-energised.
After food, Kiawe offered him a battle and Ash keenly accepted, much to the girls' verbal discouragement. They too decided to battle between themselves in the end.
Standing opposite Kiawe, Ash decided to use Rockruff to battle for a type advantage for once, but Litten's Pokéball popped open. It's eyes sharp and eager, a complete change to what he was like when Ash first brought him home, Litten looked ready to fight. Did something happen? Ash wondered, kneeling beside the Fire-Type Pokémon.
"You wanna battle, Litten?" Ash asked. With a determination that rivalled Pikachu's, Litten cried and dug his paws into the sand.
"Alright, then," Ash said, turning to Kiawe who sent out his Salazzle. "It's Litten's first battle, so could you be a little sympathetic?" Ash asked Kiawe.
"Naturally," Kiawe said, and the battle began. "I'll start! Salazzle, use Flame Burst!" Tilting its head back, Salazzle fired the ball of fire up into the air.
"Litten, run in close and use Scratch!" Ducking beyond the descending ball of flames, Litten charged in at Salazzle, rearing its paw back. With a quick jerk, Salazzle swung her tail and knocked Litten back effortlessly. His paws still glowing with Scratch, Litten skidded along the sand, stopping just in front of Ash.
"It won't be that easy, Ash! Salazzle, get in close and use Double Slap!"
Quickly, Ash assessed the situation. Salazzle darted in much faster than Litten had previously dodged, so there was no chance in dodging every move by running away. He observed Salazzle running on all fours and Litten, and it hit him all too quickly: their battle arena was the key. He just had to hope Salazzle used Double Slap in a specific way.
"Litten, wait for it to come in close!" Ash called. When Salazzle was a toe away, towering over the little Litten, Ash called, "Roll to the left!"
Just as Ash had predicted, Salazzle used Double Slap with its tail, its most versatile, quick body part. Thumping it downwards towards Litten's head, Ash grinned in accomplishment: he had conducted Salazzle to act that way. Salazzle's tail was not long enough to sweep at Litten when he was so close, so the only option was to twist its body or hit downwards. The latter was exactly what he wanted.
"Now, roll right!" Ash called and Litten obliged, avoiding the sand-raising blow. With a quick flick, Salazzle thrust its tail downwards towards Litten again, this time twisting its tail to the right of its body. Ash instructed Litten to roll left, and he barely dodged.
Their game of cat and mouse continued successfully until it happened, just as Ash wanted. As Salazzle unleashed a more powerful slap with its tail, it thumped the beach with such force that the sand shot up like a geyser, blowing straight into Salazzle's eyes from its position looking down at Litten.
As Salazzle staggered, wiping at its eyes, Ash shouted, "Use Scratch consecutively!"
Litten dived in whole-heartedly, its white, extended claws slashing like knives at Salazzle. Ash watched as Litten connected three in a row, then retreated to dodge Salazzle's flailing tail, and jumped back in, scratching some more.
Kiawe looked absolutely baffled and yet amazed. "S-Salazzle, use Poison Gas!"
"Litten, back out!" Ash called, and Litten jumped out just as Salazzle secreted a noxious purple cloud around its body. Sighing, Ash turned to Litten and grinned. "Nice work Litten!"
"Salazzle, three bursts of Flame Burst upwards in a triangle!" Salazzle reared its head and shot three convulsing balls of fire upwards, two reaching out to the sides, one directly down the middle.
"Litten, dash forwards to get past them!" Ash called, and Litten charged. The flames landed just behind his tail, snuffing out on the sand.
"Flame Burst right in front of you!"
"Litten, jump up and use Ember!"
Avoiding the rapid blast of fire, Litten unleashed Ember at Salazzle's chest, but it didn't do a lot of damage. "While it's in the air, use Double Slap!"
Ash cringed, remembering how new Litten was to battle. A frontal assault may have been too reckless. Still, Ash called for Litten to use Scratch to parry, but this time, Salazzle learned. It used Double Slap with its long grey arms. Like batons, Salazzle thwacked Litten rapidly with one hand then the next, as if in one motion. Litten was sent flying, and Salazzle pounced in its moment of uselessness. Two more hits of Double Slap sent Litten crashing across the sand, stopping only when enough sand accumulated and formed a block behind his body.
Bravely, Litten slowly rose to its feet, just in the way Pikachu had done against Hala. As Ash realised the Grand Trial must have sparked Litten's battling interest, Kiawe called across the beach.
"Let's stop there," Kiawe said, complimenting Salazzle and returning her. He walked over to Ash. During a quick handshake, he said, "I wouldn't want to see Litten too badly injured during its first battle."
"Thanks, Kiawe," Ash said. He agreed with Kiawe's sentiment. He crouched down to Litten and petted his head. "You did great, Litten. There are some Oran Berries in my bag, so if you go with Pikachu, just eat 'em all."
With a cry, Pikachu helped the limping Fire-Type over to the bag.
"I have to say, if you hadn't said otherwise, I would have thought Litten was fairly experienced in battle. It must be your ability to battle that made it seem so," Kiawe said.
"Thanks," Ash said, scratching his head, chuckling.
"No, really. The way you mimicked a Sand Attack just by looking at the battlefield and understanding the reach of Salazzle's tail. Yes, I noticed. There is no other way you would have been able to predict how Salazzle would move without knowing that. I can't help but be impressed with you. For my first battle with my new rival, I could not have asked for anything better. You have taught me something already."
At that, Ash had to smile. "Thanks, Kiawe, and for the battle. Its – comforting to know somebody admires how I battle," Ash said, his mind flicking back to Oak's words. 'You're a disgrace to Pokémon Trainers'. Ash pushed the thought away easily, something he had not been able to do before.
A call from Lillie grabbed their attention, and they turned to see the girls packed and walking into the forest again. Glancing at each other, Ash and Kiawe laughed, jogging after them.
They continued exploring late into the afternoon. Ash surmised the reason the island was known as Treasure Island was not because of anything material as the name alluded. No pirate gold stowed under the sands, no big pearls or anything worth taking to a collector. The sights were its treasures. The lagoon, the beach, the forest itself, the fields and grottos, the small cave they found an hour ago. The island was a natural treasury.
Returning to the beach via a different path up and along a hill, they happened into a yellow flowering field populated with multiple Comfey and Cutiefly, some Ledyba and Ledian, and Bounsweet. His friends wandered into the Pokémon mass, greeting and waving at the bold natives that did not flinch at all. But Ash saw something else entirely, something mystifying.
Upon a flat mount of earth hovered a figure. Its arms and torso were thin and black with pink rings on its wrists and a stripe of white over its chest. Its face was the same shade but glinted with two blue eyes that were like balls of the ocean, under which were two curved lines. Its lower half was encased in a pink barrel with a black underbelly and two fairy-like wings protruded from the back. The barrel was painted with markings like those on Tapu Koko. On its head rested a pink cone, from beneath which curls of pink hair hung, two strands longer than the rest dangling beside its head.
Undoubtedly, it was one of the Tapu. Wracking his brain from his conversation with Lillie, Ash remembered that she said a deity called Tapu Lele was on Akala Island.
"So that's Tapu Lele…" Ash muttered, edging towards his friends to alert them. He nudged Lillie's shoulder, nodding his head towards Tapu Lele. In a domino effect, the others all turned to look at Tapu Lele too, their eyes wide.
"Wow… Tapu Lele…" Lana muttered.
"So majestic…" Kiawe said, his eyes gleaming with reverence.
"I cannot believe I have seen two of the Tapu…" Lillie muttered, and Ash muttered his agreement.
They all watched as Tapu Lele began swaying in the air, throwing pink sparkles up over her head.
"Wow… Those must be Tapu Lele's scales…" Kiawe noted. "It is said that those scales have incredible properties. If you are touched by them, they can immediately heal any injuries."
"Wow…" Ash whispered.
For fifteen minutes, they watched Tapu Lele dance, until they were spotted. Tapu Lele stopped tossing the scales around and floated over to them. She began bobbing around them, inspecting them and their Pokémon. Nobody said anything, but the look in Kiawe's eye showed exactly what he felt: amazed.
However, quick as a gunshot, Tapu Lele moved backwards, clapped her hands together and unleashed a quick Psybeam towards Kiawe, making a noise that sounded a lot like laughter. Panicked, Ash's body moved automatically. He dived across the openness, hearing Kiawe begin instructing his Turtonator to block it. But Kiawe never finished as the Psybeam hit Ash in the side.
"Ash!" the group called, shocked. They crouched down around him as he painfully sat up, clutching the scorching graze on his side.
"Are you alright?! Why did you do that?!" Kiawe asked.
Ash didn't know what to say. He knew why he did it: his promise to keep his friends safe. That's all it was. He didn't want any of his friends to get hurt. He didn't respond.
As Lillie began panicking, asking the others if they had any specific items on them – she mentioned reading a book on taking care of wounds – Tapu Lele hovered over, her head tilted to the side. They watched her again, but this time, Tapu Lele began discharging the pink scales. Before Ash could even see his wound, he felt his chest loosen and his side became numb. A moment later, the numbness vanished, and the pain was gone. He looked to his side and any trace of his wound was gone.
"Wow… It's true…" Lillie muttered.
Tapu Lele laughed aloud once more and then floated up and over the trees, out of sight.
"Are you ok, Ash?" Mallow asked, helping him up this time.
"Yeah. I'm fine, actually. Tapu Lele's powers are really something special!" Ash said.
"Seriously though, Ash, can I ask why you jumped out like that?" Kiawe asked.
Ash scratched his head, nervously. "Ah, it was an instinctive reaction. I'm like that. I can't sit back and watch my friends get hurt."
Kiawe seemed partially satisfied with that answer.
Chatting about the fact that they had seen Tapu Lele the entire trip back to the beach, musing over the sudden incident and discussing why Tapu Lele attacked, everybody was happy again, as they had been all day. Ash felt even better having protected one of his friends.
When they arrived back on Akala beach, their whole group fell onto the sand, exhausted. Ash thought that the entire day had been incredible. He planned to cycle through all of the photos Rotom had taken in the morning.
Pushing himself up onto his feet, Ash stretched out his aching arms and legs. After the others got up too, they wandered up the beach.
"That's the last time we can have a fun day like that for a while, isn't it?" Ash said.
"Unfortunately. We're starting our temporary positions tomorrow," Mallow said. "I'm quite excited."
"Me too! I will do my utmost duty to attend to Wela Volcano's trial without failure!" Kiawe announced. "Hopefully then we can conclude our battle, Ash!"
"I'm just in it to catch Kyogre," Lana said.
"Oh, stop that! Kyogre has only ever appeared in Alola once, and that was years ago," Mallow said.
"That means there's a chance," Lana coolly countered.
"That just leaves you and me, Lillie. We saw Tapu Lele today, so one of our goals has to be visiting the shrine," Ash said.
"Yes, I would like that!"
As Ash opened his mouth to respond, he heard a voice. He heard a breathless voice speaking his name into the night. He turned towards the voice and his heart started thumping when he saw who was stood on the street a few metres away.
Dawn, Brock, and Clemont.