Who I Am - Lightning99

Chapter 25:

Pikachu Valley

It was as tense as a silent interrogation room. He could only watch as she reached forwards slowly, hesitantly, trembling as if experiencing frostbite — he could feel every quiver through the quilt. He held his breath, not knowing whether or not the nearly inaudible sound would startle her because of the obvious apprehension sensitising her nerves. A centimetre a second her shaky hand moved in its endeavour, reaching for something once thought impossible. Risking such a movement towards her enigmatic foe was reckless, so her worry was well-founded. But he believed in her.

Then, about a minute of tiny movements later, a minute of pausing and preparing, of his encouraging eyes glancing into her timid, terrified ones, Lillie touched Pikachu's head. She held her hand there a moment — for three seconds as they had decided would be a suitable time — then flinched backwards, eyeing her hand as if it were a golden chalice excavated from a lost tomb. Some precious, priceless artefact. To her, Ash knew that progress was just as valuable, and he thanked Arceus that Pikachu hadn't moved this time, the little trickster.

"I did it…" Lillie breathed, sounding incredibly thrilled.

"Well done!" Ash congratulated, grinning. "How did it feel?"

"It was soft, fluffy… It-It wasn't scary at all…"

"Yep, exactly. You've made good progress," Ash said.

"Thank you! Can I try again?!" Lillie asked, glancing between Ash and Pikachu with a glowing determination.

"Of course," Ash said, turning to his partner, who also nodded. "Pikachu, same as last time, ok?"

Pikachu cried his agreement, and they settled into quiet once again. Lillie reached forwards with a little more gusto this time. There was less shaking, less hesitance in her slender arm. It looked to be going as well as the previous time, but then Pikachu launched himself up into Lillie's palm with a cheeky cry and the jumpy blonde shrieked, leaping backwards and off the edge of the bed.

"Eeep!" Lillie cried, tumbling onto the floor in a heap of sheets — she even pulled them out from under Ash. All the while, Ash slapped his hand to his forehead, somehow knowing Pikachu wouldn't listen.

Ash shuffled across the bed to check on Lillie. She was sprawled on the floor, her hair fanned out under her and the bed sheets tangled around her limbs, and her eyes were wide with surprise, her lips parted. Ash couldn't stop himself laughing at the sight. Somehow, it was heart-warming.

"Hey!" Lillie complained while sitting up, an action that jostled the blanket to engulf her even more. "Don't laugh…" Lillie muttered, averting her eyes with a pout and pink cheeks, the straps of her nightie slipping from her shoulders as slow as falling snow. Ash's laughter jammed involuntarily. Her expression, the way the blanket was cuddled against her, the beautiful messiness of her hair; Lillie looked adorable.

Ash couldn't muster words for a moment, so he laughed awkwardly a few more times as he shuffled off the side of the bed. He offered his hand to her, smiling. Her pout was replaced with a small smile — that looked just as adorable — and she took his hand, righting her nightie as he helped her up.

"A-Are you alright?" Ash asked, carefully helping to dislodge the sheets from around her.

"Y-Yes, I'm ok, thank you," Lillie said.

They got to work remaking the bed; Pikachu leapt off and ran onto the balcony with Ash's other Alolan Pokémon, vanishing from the crime scene.

"You've made great progress in getting closer to Pikachu. Maybe soon you'll be able to hug him a little bit. Who knows?" Ash suggested.

"Do you really think so?!" Lillie asked, tugging the blanket towards her chest which knocked Ash off balance. He faceplanted the mattress, groaning as his body flopped up and down. Lillie laughed at him this time, and she sounded so joyful it made Ash feel the same. He didn't mind it at all.

"Of course," Ash said, pulling the blanket back his way and laying it down. "You're doing amazing."

"I-It's all thanks to you, Ash. I'd never have been able to without your help," Lillie said, smoothing her corner of the blanket.

"I dunno. I'd like to think you'd have been able to do it yourself," Ash said, dusting his hands off and walking into the bathroom.

"I don't think so," Ash barely heard Lillie whisper from the room. The shuffling of some sheets indicated she was getting into her bed. "I would have just avoided it…"

"Maybe," Ash said vaguely. He didn't know if Lillie heard him, but he didn't know how else to respond.

Quickly brushing his teeth — Lillie had done so earlier — Ash moved back into the room. He coaxed his Pokémon inside and closed the balcony door, then drew across the curtains and slipped into bed himself, tossing his arms behind his head. Pikachu, Rockruff, and Litten curled up in the corner.

"W-What about you? How is your training going? Have you found the next trial location yet?" Lillie asked.

"Nah, not yet," Ash replied. "I've made good progress through Route 4 though. I'm almost at Paniola Town and we've trained a bunch. Rockruff and Litten are close to learning some new moves, too. It's been going well," Ash said, wondering what tomorrow would bring.

It had been a few days since Ash unveiled his secret to his friends. Since then, he had gradually felt more and more content. Finally, he understood the situation that led him to Alola a little better. As a result, he no longer had the guilt of keeping secrets from his friends crushing his conscience. They didn't know about Serena — he didn't want them to know, really — nor did they know how many Legendary Pokémon he had previously met, but he didn't see either as potentially detrimental to his bonds if they were discovered. Well, Lana might kill him for seeing Kyogre and not telling her, but that was a fifty-fifty chance. She'd probably do so if he told her anyway, simply because he saw it without her.

During that time, Mallow, Lana, and Kiawe began their placements at their respective trials, Clemont worked on the Battle Pulse Metre V2, Brock and Dawn revelled in Alola's tropics, Hala returned to Melemele, and Hau and Kukui disappeared who knows where. Lillie spent her time looking for Tapu Lele's shrine and exploring the island a bit more with Nebby. Jessie, James, and Meowth popped their heads in, but they had their hands full with their new jobs; apparently, that 'Team Skull' group was causing lots of mischief. He and Lillie spent their evenings, around bedtime, either chatting or working on their promise. He still saw everyone, but they had yet to group up all together once more.

Last night, Ash had picked up a call from his mother and she sent over his Kalos Pokémon. When Ash received them, the first thing he did was let them out and give them each a huge hug. He was beyond relieved to see them. He knew they had been safe with Blue, but some part of his mind feared Oak might've gotten to them.

After a day of rest, Ash had decided to resume his Island Challenge. Without his dark secrets maintaining a constant Curse on his heart, without the constant thoughts as to why he wasn't good enough, Ash was having a lot more fun. During the daytime, he had been looking for the next trial location without seeking help from the training captains. It was his own little adventure, and the woods of Akala Island were denser than those of Melemele. Finally, he felt like he was travelling again. In the evenings, he took to training his older Pokémon some more. Although, he felt like they should have something more to do. Nothing had come to his mind just yet.

"The only thing is, I can't seem to pull off my Z-Move with Pikachu again," Ash continued.

"Really? How come?"

"Hmm, I think it's because we didn't do it properly the last time. See, we used it in the heat of a battle, and we didn't perform the necessary movements to pull it off. You know, that little dance Hala did with his. I think we still need to learn that properly."

"You… didn't perform the actions?" Lillie asked.

"Nope, why?"

"From a book Hala gave me, I read that you have to perform the actions so that your movements and your Pokémon's movements, as well as your hearts, are in sync, therefore allowing the power for Z-Moves to be shared between you," Lillie said, turning side-on to face Ash.

"Huh…" Ash muttered.

Did that mean his and Pikachu's movements were already in sync without requiring the moves? That they could generate the energy without the movements? If so, it was similar to what happened with Greninja in the first stages of their Bond Phenomenon. And if that were the case, their earlier hypothesis may be more certain: it could be a result of the Bond Phenomenon. Clemont's invention was all they needed to prove it.

"Ah, who knows!" Ash cheerfully said. "We'll figure it out eventually!"

"Well, as you said before, not everything can be discovered from reading…" Lillie whispered.

Ash smiled and turned to face her. "I did say something like that didn't I," he said. "Anyways, I finally feel like I'm back to my old self after… everything."

"I'm glad to hear it," Lillie said. "I-I was worried about you."

"Thanks, Lillie," Ash said with a genuine smile.

"Are you planning to train again tomorrow?"

"I am," Ash said. "Want to join me?"

"Really? Yes, I'd like that! Nebby and I have been trying to find Tapu Lele's shrine, but I get lost a little bit easily…"

Ash laughed. "Don't worry," Ash said, "for the first few years of my journey, I always got lost in forests and mountains. It made for a lot of cool adventures, buuuut it meant getting anywhere took a long time."

"Really? You got lost?" Lillie asked, surprise evident in her tone.

"Ooooh yeah, a lot!" Ash chuckled fondly at the memories.

"But you're so capable now."

"I've got much more experience. As my earlier stories probably indicated, I used to be one of the most incompetent people ever. I'll even admit it," Ash said, and let out a large yawn.

"So, it is all a part of learning?" Lillie asked, yawning too as if it were contagious.

"Yep!" Ash answered simply. "Well, we'd better get some sleep if we're gonna be up early tomorrow."

"I agree. Goodnight, Ash, and thank you."

"No worries. Goodnight Lillie," Ash said, and reached over to switch off the golden lamp.

Ash didn't fall asleep immediately. He lay awake staring at the ceiling, faintly illuminated by the moon glowing through the drapes. His mind was working overtime, thinking back on the end of his conversation with his mother the previous night.

"Oh, Ash, there is one more thing," Delia had said, her chipper tone taking a grimmer one. "In about a week, Professor Oak's trial is going to be held. We have discussed the details with Lance, and he wants you there as the victim. It would be awkward to fly you over just for that, so he is in the process of contacting the Alolan Police on Melemele Island to set up a video call. I'll tell you the exact date another time, but I want you to let Jessie, James, and Meowth know too. Despite their reputations out here, R-Blue pulled some strings, and Lance wants them as witnesses. Also, we spoke with Professor Oak the other day, and we have new news for you. Now isn't the best time. We will tell you after the trial."

Their call had ended soon after that, leaving Ash with a mental conflict. How would he fare when he had to see Oak again? An icy dread rose goosebumps all over his body at the thought of it, let alone confronting him. The man that tried to destroy his life, his dreams. The one that turned his friends against him. Even Serena.

Ash sighed, shaking his head. He didn't want to think about that now. What he did ponder, however, was Delia's latter statement. He wanted to know what his mother meant by new news. After everything that had happened, he couldn't fathom any more complications in the story. It was already a mess as is. Would it be helpful to him? Give him relief? Or would it worsen how he felt again, like a slow-acting poison?

Stop thinking about it, Ash told himself, lightly shaking his head again. You're in a better place now. He turned back to the side, towards Lillie, and stared for a moment. Her eyes were shut, her pink lips slightly parted, and she held the blankets close to her chest. Ash could hear her light breathing in the sleeping room. She looked incredibly serene.

Soon, Ash found himself drifting off to sleep too, his mind clear.

Ash and Lillie were up early the following morning, ready and packed for a day of adventuring before Brock or Mallow — who were the early risers of the group — had awoken. They set off into the pleasant morning for Route 4, a light breeze circling through the trees. It was a little cooler than the previous day, something Ash didn't complain about.

They travelled the route all through the morning. Amongst Ash's battles with Rockruff and Litten and Pikachu whenever his boredom won out, they chatted lightly amongst themselves. Ash told Lillie of the Pokémon not necessarily native to Alola, such as Lillipup, and Lillie provided information about the native Pokémon he had never seen before. Rotom zipped about having had his job stolen by Lillie, capturing pictures of anything and everything. All in all, Ash was happy with their morning, and he hadn't even considered the uncertainty he felt towards Oak's trial and his mother's new news.

At around lunchtime, they walked down a path through the trees just up the trail from the woodwork Paniola Town with the intent to find somewhere to settle down for lunch. That morning, Lillie had quickly prepared some sandwiches with skills she had learned from Mallow one time. The hotel chef generously offered them some crisps and fruit to add to the lunch. Ash tried to assist, but the sandwiches he made somehow tasted as if they inflicted a burn or poison status ailment on him when he tasted them. Suffice to say, Ash stepped away from the food immediately — or, more accurately, Lillie shooed him away in fear for her life.

"I'd never have thought I would be so interested in Pokémon battling. It worried me for a while, but it is quite fun to watch. As long as I know the Pokémon are ok with it," Lillie said as they passed through the pathway.

"Was that hesitance to watch it another result of your phobia?" Ash asked.

"Yes. Umm… somewhat," Lillie admitted, seemingly more open to talking about it now.

"Hey, even more progress there, then," Ash said, interlocking his fingers behind his head.

"I… suppose you're right," Lillie said gently.

Suddenly, Pikachu's head flicked upwards, scanning side-to-side, his ears straightening as if alert to a sound inaudible to them.

"What's up, buddy?" Ash asked. Pikachu jumped down from his shoulder, bounding quickly down the path. "Hey! Pikachu! What's up with him?"

As they rounded the bend, Ash received his answer. A faint, very familiar sound tickled his ears from the path ahead. The closer he got, the more certain he was. It was the cry of a Pikachu. More specifically, multiple Pikachu at once. Ash shared a quick glance with Lillie, and then they jogged the rest of the way to see what the commotion was.

Beyond the treeline was a broad valley, through which a sparkling river ran, gently rolling along in the breeze. At the top of the mountain was a fence of rocks, parted in the middle to form a waterfall, and there were caves tunnelling at the base. There were Pikachu everywhere, each of which sported a unique hairstyle. They were on the grass, dashing in and out of sight in the caves, jumping from the waterfall's peak. Some lazed in the river, some splashed around, and some were even battling in the open plains, sparks flying as much as the dust from their swift movements. Even at Pikachu Land in Kalos, there had not been as many Pikachu. It was a spectacular sight; Rotom took to the skies immediately, rapidly snapping photos of the location.

"Wow…" Ash muttered, taking a few steps forwards.

"What is this place?" Lillie asked. Ash noticed she took a few steps towards him, half-hiding herself behind his back. He smiled sadly; that was her fear rearing its head again. Lillie was fine being in the proximity of his and their friends' Pokémon but having so many around her at once was probably quite terrifying.

"Are you going to be alright?" Ash asked over his shoulder.

"O-Oh! Yes, I think so. If I don't get too close…" Lillie answered. "S-Sorry…"

"It's ok," Ash said in the hopes of reassuring her. Lillie nodded her head slowly.

Ash turned back to scour the area once more, taking in the sheer number of Pikachu. There was definitely over fifty, possibly over a hundred of them. As he scoured, Ash spotted a trailer in the corner, outside of which stood a man in a cap.

"Let's go ask that guy," Ash said. He shuffled through the Pikachu, who looked curiously at him, keeping his eye on Lillie to see is she was following. As they did, Ash's Pikachu bounded off into the herd.

"Visitors?!" the man exclaimed upon seeing them.

"Visitors-pika?!" another voice shouted, accompanied by a shriek, the clanging of some metal, and a body tumbling out of the trailer that was painted expertly like a Pikachu.

"Uh, hi," Ash greeted, offering a slightly awkward wave.

"Hello," Lillie said with a small bow of her head.

The girl that fell from the trailer quickly recovered. She jumped at them like a friendly Spoink, causing both teens to flinch back in alarm.

The girl was fairly short with a bob of ginger hair curving around her face. Her eyes were a striking amber and as wide open as a Pikachu's, and, somehow, her lips held the exact expression of a casually smiling Pikachu. With the yellow wide-skirted dungaree dress and boots, and the Pikachu ears and heart-tail she wore, the girl sort of looked like a female Pikachu in human form.

"Hi, hi-pika!" the girl cried, enthusiastically grabbing one of Ash's hands and one of Lillie's. She heartily shook them — Ash half expected his limb to detach from his body. "Welcome to Pikachu Valley! I'm Pikala — or that's my nickname!"

"Ah, nice to meet you," Lillie politely said.

"Nice to meet you. Pikachu Valley?" Ash asked.

"Indeed, it is, for obvious reasons-pika!" Pikala said, laughing almost cheekily. "This here valley is the home of all of these Pikachu and their trainer: me! It's nice of you to stop by."

"You caught all of these Pikachu?" Lillie asked, some awe in her tone. Personally, Ash was surprised, but not for the same reason Lillie appeared to be. It was natural for Pokémon trainers to catch loads of Pokémon. He was just shocked that Pikachu was all she had. He loved his Pikachu too much to catch another one.

"Yep, yep—pika!"

"As I'm sure you can tell, Pikala here is a large Pikachu fanatic. She has so many Pikachu, it has become a sort of attraction here on Akala Island. As such, we found this place to set up and have lived here since. Currently, I'm acting as her aide," the man in the cap explained.

"Not that I need it. I'm nineteen-pika…"

"Yes, but your business sense is abysmal," the man countered, leaving Pikala pouting. Somehow, her fake ears flopped forwards too. But she quickly bounced back to full spirits.

"Right! Quick, quick, follow me!" Pikala said, and she proceeded to give them a tour of the area.

It was a quick tour. All they had to see were several Pikachu playing and battling. What was impressive, though, was Pikala's ability to name all of her Pikachu by their respective nicknames. Of course, they didn't know if she was truly correct, but she spoke with such confidence that Ash had to believe her.

One thing that Pikala touched upon during their tour piqued Ash's interest, and it concerned his Pikachu. When they found him, he was encircled by Pikala's Pikachu, but at a distance, and they were on all fours. They were wary of him. Because of that, Pikala was quickly able to determine that Ash's Pikachu wasn't Alolan. According to her, as easy as it was for them to miss the native differences, Pokémon could tell when they were in the presence of a foreigner. As such, Pikala's Pikachu were hesitant to approach him.

Lillie then asked if Pikala only had Alolan Pikachu, but she said some were from other regions too. Even so, they were all wary of Ash's Pikachu. It was interesting. However, by the time they finished, Ash's Pikachu was in the centre of the whole pack, playing and running around with them. Somehow, he had gained their trust in minutes. That was so like him. Ash gave it no second thought.

They stopped back at the trailer. "Thank you for the tour," Lillie said, "it was quite informative."

"No problem-pika," Pikala answered in what she had dubbed her Pikachu-slang — a type of slang Ash didn't think he could bare for much longer if he was being honest. "Feel free to spend as much time as you like here! My Pikachu love to battle, so you can train with them all you like. Have fun!" Giving her final farewell, Pikala skipped back into the trailer, beckoning a few Pikachu with her.

"She was… excitable," Lillie said.

"She really was…" Ash said, sighing. Overbearing was a more fitting word, but he knew he was like that when he was truly excited, so he couldn't complain.

"Do you want to have some lunch now?" Lillie asked.

"That'd be great!" Ash said.

They ate their lunch in a patch of Pikachu Valley under the shade of some trees. It was not quite the quality of Mallow's lunches, but Lillie had done an incredible job, nonetheless.

Fuelled and ready to continue training, Ash left Lillie reading a book under the trees and ran into the group of Pikachu. He sent out Litten and Rockruff, and they got to training.

Both Rockruff and Litten had that spur of energy that Pokémon always had when they were on the cusp of learning a new move. They were fighting harder than ever, moving with more vigour as if they were supercharged.

"Litten, use Ember!" Ash called out, and his fiery partner complied. It was about an hour into their training, and Litten was battling a Pikachu with a perm. The move Litten seemed to be learning was coming from his mouth or jaw, given the glow that sometimes flickered from that area. Ash was hoping it would be Bite.

The Pikachu shot a Thundershock to block the Ember, and Ash acted quickly. "Litten, get in there quickly and attack!" Ash purposely made his command vague, hoping Litten would try to use his new move.

And he did. Unfortunately, Ash felt somewhat underwhelmed when Litten ran up to the Pikachu and, instead of Bite, gave one large, sloppy Lick before retreating. If the defeated look on Litten's face was anything to go by, he wasn't too pleased with that, either.

Ash chuckled lightly to himself, crouching to pat Litten's head. "Don't worry, Litten. It may not be the strongest move, but it does have its uses." He said, but honestly, it depended on the situation. Seemingly encouraged by his words, though, Litten dived back into battle alongside Rockruff, acting on his own for a little while.

Ash fell back onto the grass, watching and pondering. Both of his Alolan Pokémon were progressing well in terms of battling skill. Their efficiency and accuracy were gradually increasing, as was their strength. Their moves were progressing well, but he could see a few issues that needed resolving. Firstly, though some were strong, all of Rockruff's attacks were melee, leaving him at a disadvantage at range. Secondly, Litten only had Scratch and Ember, and Lick wasn't strong either. He had to think of moves to teach them to cover their weaknesses. It wasn't strong, but the only move he could think to teach Litten at the moment, based on his current moveset, was Fury Swipes.

Aside from moves, there was something significant missing, too, something key to their growth. The only way he could word the missing component was independence. It was a strange concept in Pokémon training since it was the collaboration of the trainer and the Pokémon to achieve whatever their goal might be, but that wasn't what he meant. So far, all of the tough battles had been fought by Pikachu. Of course, Ash had wanted to start his Island Challenge with Pikachu, but Rockruff and Litten would never fully grow if he maintained that. They had to battle tougher opponents on their own and grow as a result of whatever the outcome may be. Then and there, Ash decided it: for the next trial, he was only going to use Rockruff and Litten.

Ash was startled from his thoughts by a loud bark from Rockruff. When he looked over, Rockruff had knocked out his opponent, which was yet another Pikachu. Ash noticed that Rockruff's collar was faintly glowing white. Ash frowned, attempting to decide what move it looked like Rockruff was learning. The objects that were glowing were the rocks on his collar, so if he had to say, it looked like the first step for Rock Throw, or something similar.

"Rotom!" Ash called, coaxing the flying Pokédex to him. "Can you tell what move Rockruff is close to learning?"

"Hmm… I cannot say for certain-zzt, but I can show you a list of moves," Rotom answered.

"Sure," Ash said. Rotom swooped in front of him. The blue screen flickered to display a picture of Rockruff with a small table below it. There were several moves listed, one of which was Rock Throw. It was a perfect move to teach him. It was a long-range attack and of the same type as Rockruff. All he had to do was hope.

"Thanks, Rotom!" At the compliment, Rotom's screen flickered into a grin-emoji.

From then, Ash instructed Litten to practice using Scratch with both hands alternatively with the intent to make his movements simultaneous and for Rockruff to practice concentrating his energy in his collar.

Another hour and a half later, Ash realised he had left Lillie alone for a long time, so he jogged over to the trees, giving a light wave.

When Lillie saw him, she smiled lightly, closing her book. "How is the training going?" Lillie asked.

"It's going pretty good, thanks!" Ash said, taking a quick seat in front of her. "Are you alright here by yourself? I just realised I've left you alone…"

"Oh, no, I'm ok. You don't have to worry. I've been enjoying just watching, actually, between reading," Lillie said. "It's quite interesting. Everybody battles differently."

"Well, I'm glad to hear it," Ash said. He went to continue when a familiar voice shouted out over the sounds of the battling behind them.

"Ash! Lillie! Hey!"

From the re-appeared duo of Pikala and the man in the cap — probably because of the presence of yet another surprise visitor – Hau jogged to them, having a little too much enthusiasm.

"Hey, Hau," Ash greeted.

"Hello," Lillie added, nodding politely his way.

"I finally found ya! I've been looking everywhere!" Hau said.

"Really? How come?" Lillie asked.

"And where have you been the last few days, Hau? You completely disappeared. Hala wanted to say goodbye to you before he returned to Melemele," Ash asked.

"Ah, really? My bad…" Hau trailed off, something completely out of character for him. He shook himself. "I was at the Battle Royal Dome, trainin'. Man, you've gotta try it out, Ash! It's amazin'! You step into a boxing ring and have a four-way battle. The last one standing wins!"

"Wow, that does sound pretty cool! So, you all battle at once, targeting whoever?"

"Yep!"

"That's awesome… That would be amazing training if all three opponents attacked you at once," Ash said.

"Oh yeah, man, it's amazing! When you dodge 'em all or block their moves, you feel really cool! Especially with the crowd cheering."

"I can imagine! Now I'm interested!"

Hau punched his palm. "Wanna go there tomorrow? Oh, we still have time today! It's open all night. How about—"

"Umm, Hau, you've been looking for us?" Lillie timidly interrupted, and when Ash looked at her, her expression said that she wasn't too pleased with being ignored.

"Sorry," Ash said on behalf of his battling spirit.

"Yeah! Since trainin' at the Battle Royal Dome, my team and I are in top shape! I want a battle, Ash!"

Ash smirked. "You're on!"