Who I Am - Lightning99

Chapter 49:

Growing Up

Another mundane Monday morning dawned over Alola. The Pikipek chirped and the Yungoos skittered through the bushes; the Mudbray neighed and the Mareep bleated in their pens. For Brock, though, that dawn bore on him a duty heavier than Groudon. Today, he was starting his job at Aether Paradise and his infiltration into the Aether Foundation.

Brock couldn't stop thinking about his new job. He couldn't help questioning his abilities and the daunting possibilities of what he might uncover. They could be conducting immoral experiments, tinkering and tweaking the invisible barrier around their reality, or even summoning strange creatures from lands unlike their own. They were all outlandish ideas, but that was how frantic his mind was. Even so, he was committed. They had all been ignorant to evil in the past, so having a chance to get ahead of the issue was a pleasant change.

To calm himself down, Brock had found a secluded corner of the beach and was sat, cross-legged, staring out at sea.

"What should I even do?" Brock asked the sparkling blue world ahead of him.

Ash, who sat on a rock beside him, nodded his head side-to-side. "I'm not sure… We've never really done this before, have we?" He exhaled. "I guess… Talk to people? See what they know. Any kind of information could be helpful."

"Getting a good idea of the layout of the island might be beneficial also. Who knows? Maybe I can uncover some sort of secret lab."

"That'd probably confirm our suspicions. A secret lab is never good."

"You're right there."

Ash frowned. "You sure you're alright with this? I know you want to further your career."

"Absolutely. If it turns out that the Aether Foundation is corrupt, saying that I worked for them won't do too much for my career, will it?"

They both chuckled. "I guess not. Though, you could be as lucky as Team Rocket were in getting into the police force."

"How did they even do that?" Brock asked.

Ash shook his head. "Don't even ask. It's them. What do you expect?"

"You're not wrong there. If I find something, we may even have to ask for their help."

"Now that would be ironic. Ex-Team Rocket members taking down another villainous organisation." Ash laughed. "Oh, I'd love to see that."

The sound of a boat cutting through the water faded in from the distance. Brock glanced toward the dock, where an Aether Foundation boat was speeding towards the island.

"I think that's for me," Brock said, climbing to his feet. Ash followed him up and they jumped down onto the sand.

Ash patted Brock's shoulder. "Good luck. I hope everything goes alright."

"Thank you, Ash. This chat has helped calm my nerves a bit."

"I'm glad. See you later?"

"Yeah. I'll report anything I find."

Ash nodded. Brock gave him a final nod and waited for the boat. He hopped on when it arrived, greeted the rather chipper captain, and they set off.

As before, it took a little while to reach Aether Paradise, but this time, the delay was beneficial. It gave Brock more time to mask his suspicion behind a façade of trust and to think of ways to handle his job – no, his mission.

Faba greeted him upon his arrival. Now that he and Ash had discussed Faba's peculiar speech and mannerisms, Brock could more easily spot the abnormalities in his demeanour. His haughtiness was shockingly blunt, and his reverence of the Aether Foundation was even more prominent. Granted the former was not too suspicious, but the latter and the way he grinned… It was almost psychotic. There was definitely something strange about him.

Faba led Brock to the operating rooms he had been given a tour of on his last visit. After another brief overview, he left to his continue his work.

First things first, Brock decided to introduce himself to his future co-workers. After the formalities, they were kind enough to explain their general schedule for a day of work.

After that, the team leader had Brock spend the morning shadowing one of the workers to better understand the Aether Foundation's process. In the morning, he watched a few of the staff handling injured Pokémon. The caring tones they spoke in, the gentleness of their movements… these were proper Pokémon doctors. There was no mistaking that. The chance that these people were involved in villainous activities, at least from his first impression, seemed low. What, then, was happening within the Aether Foundation?

Lunchtime arrived before Brock could do anything on his own. There were no chances to leave the area, let alone explore the compound. But that was to be expected. It was his first day, so there was no need to do anything too drastic. Sussing the layout of the compound was the most important job right now.

His new co-workers led Brock into the canteen for lunch. It was like any other canteen: large, packed with tables and chairs and stools, with a counter for food on one of the walls. Everything in there was white spotless, like the rest of the facility.

After grabbing his lunch, Brock sat with his co-workers, all of whom immediately started a conversation about some inside topic concerning the previous weekend. With no input to give, he decided instead to try and listen in on the conversations occurring around him.

It was loud and echoey in the canteen, but he could make out a few voices. The table behind him was discussing Legendary Pokémon. The table to his left seemed to be challenging one another on the average height and weight measurements of some Pokémon. All Brock heard from the table to his right – which seemed to emit some strange, fanatical aura – was a few men and women fawning over some popular fashion idols. He tuned out of that one rather quickly when they started discussing abs and curves.

The most interesting conversation was distant, a whisper in all the clamour. A trio sat at one of the tables raised against the wall were discussing something. Brock couldn't quite hear what it was, but the way they shifted their gazes around the room told him it was not for anyone else to hear. He spent fifteen minutes trying to memorise the trio's faces. Listening in on them later could prove beneficial.

After the lunch hour, the other employees allowed Brock to work on his own. His first patient – a Pokémon named Mareanie – entered the room, he read the file to ascertain the injury and the Pokémon's biology, and he started working.

The doctoring process was as it had ever been. He treated the injury and secured it in wrapping at the end. After ensuring it was allowed, Brock enlisted the assistance of his Ludicolo, something that had become a routine of his. While Nurse Joy had a helper in Chansey, Audino, or Wigglytuff, Brock shared the role amongst his able Pokémon – Steelix was impossible since it couldn't even fit in the room. Ludicolo retrieved and replaced the equipment he needed for each step, and even sanitised them after use. Their solid partnership allowed them to finish with their first patient rather quickly. Brock did a final check to see if he had completed the treatment sufficiently, then the Mareanie was retrieved from the room.

A Corsola was brought in next, several more patient Pokémon were ushered in and out of the room, and then Brock was on the boat back to Akala Island with nothing new to report. He hadn't even had a chance to look around. Even so, it was probably beneficial that he didn't do anything too reckless on his first day. He wanted to at least gain their trust. Introducing himself and performing more than adequately at the job was the best way to do that.

With that in mind, he started planning in his head. The hour he had for lunch was his best chance at discovering anything. There were two immediate options: talk to people in the canteen while eating lunch or eat lunch quickly and scout the facility himself. It was best to not do either right away, but he would get there eventually. And then there was the secretive trio. They were the first people to eavesdrop on.

Brock arrived on Akala's shore. Ash was sat on the rocks as if he had been there all day. Lillie was a little way away from him, looking very nervous. She seemed a little frightened, too. Brock greeted her first – that seemed to calm her down a bit – before heading to Ash, who was overly eager. It was a little disheartening to tell him he had no news. They headed back to the Pokémon Centre straight after that.

That was how his first days at Aether Paradise progressed. He worked, formulated his plan, and returned home with no new information. The gratification he felt whenever he treated a Pokémon helped in overcoming that slight frustration. It was going to be difficult, but he had to do this. It would just take time.

"Are you ready, Lana?" Dawn asked as they turned on to Konikoni's main street on Wednesday morning.

"I'm a little nervous, to be honest."

"Really? I'm excited! It's always fun to learn more performing techniques."

"You're sure they will accept us?"

"Well… They've got to, right?" Dawn said. Suddenly, an alarming realisation made her stop walking. She looked at the sky, melodrama style. "Oh Arceus, I sound like Ash…"

"Now that you mention it…" Lana muttered while chuckling to herself.

"Oh, forget it," Dawn said, marching ahead to Ida and Kanoa's home. She cleared her throat at the front door and shouted, "We're here!"

The pair arrived a moment of rummaging and rustling later, both looking cheerful.

"Hello, ladies," Ida said. "It's nice to see you again."

"Likewise," Dawn said. "How did your performance go?"

"Oh, it was excellent, thank you."

"The crowd loved it this time, too," Kanoa said.

"We took a bit of a risk by incorporating some Hoenn-style performing into the routine, and it just made the performance even better!" Ida said.

"That's great to hear! I didn't know you knew Hoenn styles too."

"We've got a few tricks we haven't shown anyone," Kanoa said. He clapped. "You still lookin' to learn from us?"

"Yep, if you will let us," Dawn said, and Lana nodded.

"We talked about it, and I don't see why not," Ida said.

"Really? Thank you!" Lana said.

"Not a problem. Let's get started then, shall we?"

"Of course!" Dawn said.

"Awesome! Follow me," Kanoa said. He led them back through Konikoni City to the cliff-side outcrop they had performed on.

"If I remember correctly," Ida began, and she pointed at Dawn, "you would like to learn some Alolan style performing techniques and," she pointed at Lana, "you want to learn how to better handle your Water-Type Pokémon. Am I right?"

"That's the idea, yes," Dawn said.

"Alright. Now, before we try to teach you anything new, could you give us a demonstration of your abilities? Just so we know what we have to work with," Ida asked.

"That's a good idea," Lana said.

"Excellent! Who would like to go first?" Ida asked.

The ladies exchanged looks, and Dawn stepped forward.

"Alright. Dawn, was it?"

"That's right."

"Ok, Dawn, warm up a little bit, and then show us what you can do," Ida said.

Dawn nodded and began her routine stretches alongside Piplup, Pachirisu, and Togekiss. Being asked to perform spontaneously was difficult, so she decided to use a performance she had done before with those three Pokémon.

When she was finished stretching, Dawn got into position. She inhaled, exhaled, and looked at her small audience.

"Piplup, Bubble Beam, then coat them in Ice Beam!" Dawn began. As Piplup skipped forward and used Bubble Beam straight upwards, Dawn started dancing alongside Pachirisu and Togekiss. It was nothing special – a few small hip movements, steps, and twirls – but it complimented the performance well. Dancing was something she was relatively new to. She started learning to dance about a year ago to enhance her performances. She practised whenever she could, which was what Lillie had walked in on before.

As she twirled once more and Piplup used Ice Beam, Pachirisu jumped onto her shoulder, then Togekiss swished her wings and ascended like an angel.

"Pachirisu, Discharge! Togekiss, use Aura Sphere, then Air Slash!"

Piplup's Ice Beam froze every bubble. As they started descending, Togekiss' Aura Sphere soared through the middle, followed swiftly by several blades of air that shattered the ice crystals. They exploded into glittering particles just as Pachirisu's glowing blue discharge appeared behind them, jolting and sparking.

"Togekiss, Fairy Wind!" Because of Togekiss' Fairy Wind, everything hovered for a few seconds. The scene mimicked that of the stars glittering around a moon on a stormy night. Then everything began to descend.

"Piplup, Whirlpool! Togekiss, Sky Attack! Pachirisu, use Swift!"

This was it: the finale of the short performance. Piplup's Whirlpool twisted into existence. Togekiss darted in through the bottom of it. Pachirisu fired Swift all around it. A moment later, Togekiss emerged, swished her wings, and the Whirlpool scattered into tiny droplets. The droplets mingled with the stars, Dawn performed a few more dance moves, her Pokémon landed, and they struck a finishing pose. They held it for a few seconds, then Dawn let herself relax. The applause she received filled her with pride.

"That was excellent, Dawn!" Ida said. "You're very talented: you have great creativity and ingenuity. You know how to bring out the best in your Pokémon, too. You certainly have the grace necessary to perform our Alolan techniques."

Dawn grinned. "Thank you, that's very nice to hear!"

"There was so much expression there. I could see the scene you wanted to create. I always love to see good performers at work," Ida said. "Did you perform that in a contest or something similar?"

"I did. There was a time limit on our performance time, and that was what I came up with."

"Genius! Are you new to dancing, by any chance?"

"I am, yes."

"I thought you might be. I can help you out in that area, too, if you'd like," Ida said.

"I'd love that," Dawn said.

"Great stuff, Dawn," Kanoa said. "Alrighty, then! You're up, Lana. I got that right, yeah?"

"Yes, sir," Lana said.

"Please, it's Kanoa. I'm gonna have you face off against my Brionne to see how you handle your Pokémon. You can use as many Pokémon as you want to show off your skills, alright?" Kanoa said as he brought out Brionne.

"Got it," Lana said, and she withdrew her Pokéballs from her bag.

"Let's begin!" Kanoa said. Lana sent out her two Pokémon: Popplio and Clauncher.

"Popplio, Aqua Jet!" Lana began. Popplio generated a ball of water at the tip of her pink nose. She twirled a few times, wrapping herself in a veil of water, and charged towards Brionne. Brionne took the attack to the chest. It bounced up straight after.

"Double Slap!" Kanoa called. Brionne's flippers shone white. As it fell upon Popplio, it slapped her a few times, hitting her back to Lana's side.

"Clauncher, use Swords Dance," Lana said.

"Aqua Jet, Brionne!"

Brionne was too quick. Aqua Jet hit before Clauncher had a chance to prepare the move. Lana countered with Popplio's Disarming Voice.

"Brionne, Bubble Beam!"

In time with a call from Lana, Popplio dodged and dived over the incoming Bubble Beam, capturing Brionne's attention while Clauncher scuttled forward and delivered a heavy Crabhammer to its side. Brionne retaliated with an Aqua Jet. Lana called for Clauncher to dodge again, but he wasn't fast enough. Especially not on land.

Seeming to recognise the speed issue, Lana glanced at the water. "Popplio, Clauncher, dive into the water!"

"Oh?" Kanoa exclaimed as he watched Lana's Pokémon dive over the railing. He instructed Brionne to follow, and the water battle began.

"Water Gun, Popplio! Swords Dance Clauncher!"

"Brionne, dodge and counter with Bubble Beam!"

Brionne swam in a corkscrew around Popplio's Water Gun and fired, but Lana instructed Popplio to dodge. Bubble Beam missed.

"Clauncher, Crabhammer consecutively! Popplio, Aqua Jet!"

Lana's double assault was very effective. Brionne tried to dodge the Crabhammer but was struck by the Aqua Jet. Lana repeated her commands, and this time, Brionne fell victim to Crabhammer. On the third repeat, however, the situation flipped.

"Brionne, fake them out with a bubble, then use Double Slap!"

Rather than use a move, Brionne started creating a bubble from its nose. When it was about twice Brionne's size it pushed the bubble forward. The charging Popplio and Clauncher collided with the bubble. It popped, and a rush of frothy water encircled the pair. Now blinded, they stopped attacking, and Brionne rushed in. The Double Slap connected, expertly countering Lana's barrage.

"Popplio-" Lana began.

"Stop!" Kanoa shouted. Lana looked at him. "Great work, Lana. I think we should stop there for now."

"Oh, ok," Lana said, sounding slightly dejected. Both trainers called their Pokémon back. "What… did you think?"

"Interesting," Kanoa said. "Are those two your only Pokémon at the moment?"

"No, I have a few more at home, but these two are ones I want to train."

"Ah, I see. That explains it. You've got a good knowledge of Water-Type Pokémon. That's evident in the way you handle them, especially when you forced the battle into the water and when you chained your moves together. You know the type's strengths and how to exploit them excellently. I'm sure you know just as much about their weaknesses too, but we didn't get to see that today.

"However, I know what we can work on. Do you know your individual Pokémon's strengths and weaknesses? Are they built for speed or attack? That's something to think about. Also, Water-Type Pokémon are the most common type to have unique abilities that can come in handy during battle. For example, Popplio's evolution line can create bubbles, as you just saw. You haven't learned how to fully utilise those abilities just yet. But that's ok. We've got some good points to work on here."

"Wow… I didn't realise you were so knowledgeable, Kanoa," Dawn said.

"I have to utilise my Water-Type Pokémon's abilities to make our performances stand out. My Brionne's bubbles are a big part of that, as I'm sure you saw."

"Thank you for the advice!" Lana said so passionately that Dawn flinched backwards. "Can we start training now?"

Kanoa laughed. "Yeah, we've got time this afternoon. You ready to begin so soon?"

"Of course! Please teach me all you know," Lana said. Dawn blinked at her. This was the first time she had seen the petite young lady have so much passion and determination. Was this her true self?

For the first few days after Brock started working, Ash trained on the beach from the time of his departure until his return. He was too anxious to do anything else.

Unfortunately, every time Brock returned, he had nothing new to report. But that was natural given how new the job was. Besides, having no news was actually good news. It meant that there was less chance that something sinister was occurring at Aether Paradise. If his suspicions were right, though, it just meant their peace was being prolonged. As disheartening as it was, Ash was sure they would uncover something eventually, whatever it may be. He could feel it.

In the evenings, Ash returned to the Poké-Centre and spend some time with Lillie, helping her or simply chatting. Sometimes they taught each other about Pokémon – he would detail what he had witnessed by travelling the world, and she would explain some research she has read up on. Every night, Lillie would ask him if they discovered anything at Aether Paradise, just as he asked Brock. Ash could tell it was weighing on her mind despite her return to normalcy.

Friday saw a slight alteration to Ash's new routine. Before he headed to the beach to continue training, he sat in his room and pondered a new training session with Rotom. He had dedicated the past week to his Pokémon mastering their new moves. During that time, Stufful also succeeded in learning Brick Break with Heracross' help. It was time to move on to the next steps.

First, he decided to have Torracat learn Taunt. Torracat was more fleet-footed than bulky; dodging attacks was easier than tanking them, so any stat reductions to speed or defence could be detrimental. Forcing the opponent to attack eliminated that risk. All he had to focus on then was dodging and attacking. Infernape was assigned mentorship over Torracat for that job.

Next, Ash wanted Bagon to participate in some defensive training against Noivern and Talonflame. If he were to become Shelgon, he would need to have solid defences. Noivern and Talonflame were his instructors to spur some determination in him. After all, Bagon's wish was to fly just as they could. Interspersed between those sessions would be some training to evolve his Bite to Crunch.

Finally, Stufful was to join Hawlucha and Sceptile for some hand-to-hand work to prepare her for battle more efficiently. Rotom said that Stufful's next two moves, predicted by researchers, were Take Down and Hammer Arm. But Ash wanted to cover one of her weaknesses too: Flying Types. Psychic Types were another weakness, but the more versatile aerial possibilities of Flying Types was more worrying. Ice Punch was a good recommendation for Stufful's strength, and it would help with Ground Types too. How they would learn it, though, Ash could not yet figure out.

With that plan set, Ash headed to the beach. He bounced between each group throughout the day, and before he could check the time, the Aether boat was nearing the dock. They hadn't made too much progress, but that was natural. The more you improve, the more difficult it becomes to improve upon that.

Ash returned to the Poké-Center with Brock and headed straight for the kitchen. Training all day with only a poorly crafted sandwich for lunch was not at all filling enough. As he passed through the lobby, he noticed that none of his friends had returned yet, not even Lillie who had decided to visit Professor Burnet earlier in the day. At least, that was how it seemed until he entered the guest kitchen and saw Mallow packing a small bag by one of the counters.

Ash felt his core twist. He stopped in the doorway and stared at Mallow. If he was to enter, this would be their first interaction alone since their awkward chat after his trial. With others around, there was less pressure, and he could busy himself. This time, there were no distractions.

Mallow hadn't seen him yet. He could easily turn around and leave. He could escape. But Ash didn't want that. He wanted to return to how he and Mallow had been. Fleeing wouldn't do that, so he stepped into the kitchen even though his hands were shaking.

Mallow looked up and paused, staring at him. She probably noticed his footsteps.

"Uh… Hi," Ash muttered, waving rather pathetically, in his opinion.

"Hi, Ash…" Mallow replied.

"What, uhh, what are you up to?"

"Oh," Mallow turned to her bag and started packing again. "I've decided to add a few more recipes to my trial. One of my challengers today knew where to find the ingredients because their friend told them beforehand. It defeats the purpose of the trial, but I suppose that's just what people do. By adding some more recipes, they won't be able to predict the trial so easily."

"I see. That makes sense, yeah."

Silence fell between them. Ash glanced out the window while the rustling of Mallow's bag filled the void. What did he say? Should he bring up the situation? He didn't know what to do, so he said the first thing that entered his mind, no matter how foolish it might be.

"Do you need any help?"

"How was training today?" Mallow asked at the same time. They glanced at each other, paused, then chuckled humourlessly. Ash nodded to Mallow. She smiled. "I could use some help, thank you, Ash. I'm heading to Lush Jungle to pick up some ingredients to test my recipes."

"Lead the way," Ash said as Mallow slung her bag over her shoulder. She nodded and they left the Poké-Centre – not before he grabbed a quick snack from a bag he left in there.

"So, how was your training session today?" Mallow asked when they reached the street.

Ash tried to ignore how it felt like the force of gravity had doubled around him as he detailed his day, but it was almost overpowering. He babbled and stumbled on his words, and there was an obvious shake in his voice, but the conversation lasted about halfway to their destination. He returned the question, and Mallow talked the rest of the way. It was merely small talk. The animated interactions they once had were no more, but Ash found some relief when he caught Mallow's voice wavering slightly, and when she chuckled randomly between words. At least he wasn't alone.

When they reached the jungle, Mallow handed him a list and a small pouch. She asked him to find the items on a list. As soon as they split up to search, Ash felt like a Pokémon being released from Bind. He huffed, received a cringing expression from Pikachu that did not help at all, and started searching.

As he gathered the items, Ash pondered his and Mallow's situation. He didn't want that awkward atmosphere to endure for much longer. He had to talk to her about it. What better opportunity would he get?

Ash finished collecting the necessary ingredients and headed back to where Mallow said she would be. She was sat on a log waiting when he found her, and suddenly, the Bind on his chest returned. She looked up at him, nodded, and made to stand up.

"Thank you for the help, Ash."

"Ah, no problem," Ash said. After a pause, he decided to just go for it. "Sorry, Mallow. Could we sit here a minute? I… want to talk about something."

"Oh… Sure," Mallow said. She sat back down and patted the spot next to her. Ash sat down. He scooted away from her a little bit. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Uhh… Well…" Ash muttered. He glanced around the forest, but not at Mallow. "Uhh…" he said again. He tried to say something, anything, but his mind and throat were clogged. He didn't know what to say, nor what to do, so he let silence fall once again. At least they had the muffled sounds of the jungle in the background.

Finally, he figured out what to say, as hard as it was to say. "I wanted to talk about our situation…"

"I…I see." Mallow said. Neither of them talked for a long time after that. Ash suddenly became aware of how rough the log was against his leg, as well as the surprising comfort of the mossy sections. He chose to focus on that until either Mallow said something, or he thought of something.

"Ash… You know I don't hate you, right?" Mallow whispered after a few minutes.

Ash stared at her side profile. "Wha… Huh?"

"You know I don't hate you, right?" Mallow repeated. She didn't face him, but she kept flicking her eyes between the forest ahead of her and his baffled expression. Her hands were clenched against her knees.

"Of course, I do. Why… Why would you ask that?"

"Umm…"

"Actually, I get why. It's… yeah, no I get it."

"You do?"

"Yeah. I think so?"

"That's good," Mallow paused for a few seconds. "It's… that's good to hear."

Silence fell once again. Ash stared into the dim jungle light between a few trees, and he mentally screamed for a good twenty seconds. The way Pikachu's ears covered his eyes as he gently shook his head did not help.

"Did you get everything you need?" Ash asked to break up the conversation.

"O-Oh," Mallow muttered. She flinched as if she wasn't expecting to hear his voice. "Yes, I did. Thank you for the help. Oh, I already said that didn't I..."

"Ah, no worries. What're friends for?"

Both of them froze, their eyes properly connecting for the first time that day. They looked away. Ash wished he had one of Conkeldurr's cinder blocks to slam into his head. If he were in his room right now, he would be repeatedly slapping his pillow into his face. What kind of a choice of words was that?

The omnipresent silence endured for another century of seconds. Ash could practically feel both his and Mallow's minds thinking of something to say.

"Arceus, this is so awkward…" Mallow finally muttered. She inhaled, glanced at Ash with wide eyes, and covered her mouth.

But Ash sighed instinctively. He dipped his head back and said without thinking, "It really is, isn't it?"

When Ash registered what they just said, he looked at Mallow for the second time. For some reason, a slip of the tongue and some verbal acknowledgement was the universe's funniest joke. They started laughing with such intensity that they doubled over, clutching their stomachs. As they shook with their hysterics, the log they were sat on rolled over. They fell backwards and hit the grass; their legs remained draped over the log, and they stared up at the sky through a break in the canopy. That worsened their laughing fits.

It took them roughly five minutes to properly calm down by which time they were wiping tears from their eyes, and the Bind vanished once again.

Ash sighed. "At least we both acknowledge how awkward this is."

"Yeah," Mallow said. "But I don't think that's a bad thing."

"You're right. I think… it's only awkward because we care about each other's feelings."

"Yeah… We've become such good friends so quickly – it's the same with you and the others, and Brock and Dawn. I wouldn't want to lose that, not with any of you. Especially over something silly like a crush."

"It's not silly, Mallow."

"I know, I know. We're teenagers. Liking people and feeling rejection is a part of growing up. It's not the first time I've experienced it."

"If only I could say my experience was the same, that it was normal. All I cared about was Pokémon training, and when I finally found someone to lo… someone I had a crush on, here I am, terrified of the idea. I was scared to even approach you in the kitchen earlier because of it."

"I think that's a part of growing up too."

"Yeah. Everyone is different, and the things they experience are different."

They fell into silence again, but this time, it wasn't awkward.

"Ash, since you mentioned how scared you are, can I ask you something that might be hard to answer?"

"Go for it."

"If you saw the girl that you loved now, would you be able to talk to her?"

Ash paused at the same time his heart did. "Honestly?" he said after a moment and a deep breath. "I don't know."

"I see… What's the first thing you think of when I say: if she turned up right this second, what would you do?"

"I'd probably run," Ash said instinctively. "I… No, I guess… Yeah, no, that's probably close to the truth. I know everything that happened was fake, but as much as I can try and convince myself of that, deep down I can't help still being worried. Deep down, I'm still scared. I would probably run away if I saw her right now unless something big happened." It was probably that moment that allowed him to dig into a place of such raw emotion to find that answer. In any other situation, he may have lied to himself.

"I see… That makes sense. I'm sure you will overcome it in time."

"That's just growing up, right?"

"Yep! Being a teenager is hard, isn't it?"

"Oh Arceus, yeah. Especially when you're being hunted down by some mysterious organisation that wants to kill you. Not that it's easier otherwise, but seriously, give me a break…" Ash said, stretching his arms behind him.

Mallow laughed. "It'll be ok. We've all got each other."

"Yeah. Honestly, that's all I need."

"I agree." Mallow turned her head to face Ash. "Things might be awkward between us, even after today, but that's ok. We'll get back to normal eventually. And when we do, I think we'll be better off because of it."

"That's a good way to think of it." Ash looked at Mallow and raised his fist in the air between them. "Here's to being teenagers and growing up, then."

Mallow grinned and fist-bumped him. "Here's to growing up."

Ash grinned back.

I'm back! Enjoy!