Who I Am - Lightning99

Chapter 58:

Ula'Ula Island

It took Ash a little longer to see him than it did the others, but that was mainly because he had been staring at Ula'Ula Island's sky-reaching, snow-capped mountain and its surrounding range instead of the port to which they were heading. Lana pointed him out, and so Ash had looked over, squinted, and sure enough, even though they were still so far out that he wasn't fully decipherable, he saw the figure waiting at the docks: Sophocles.

It was more obviously him the nearer they approached, and by the time they were closing in on the dock, it was clear that he was rolling on his heels as he waited, looking at the floor with his hands clasped behind his back.

For a moment, Ash's attention was pulled from Sophocles to the city beyond the dock which, from what he could see, was a lot different than any of Alola's cities so far. He must have been eyeing the city for longer than he thought when the boat came to a stop and a gust of wind blew past Ash's side.

"Sophocles!" Kiawe said, hopping from the boat and stopping in front of Sophocles. Their shorter friend flinched, and Kiawe slapped a hand onto his back. "It's great to see you!"

"I-It's great to see you too. All of you!"

Ash was a lot less familiar with Sophocles than his Alolan friends, but even he anticipated the way Sophocles' voice wavered a little. It didn't seem he was nervous, though, just a little awkward.

Lana, Mallow, and Lillie joined Kiawe and Sophocles, huddling around somewhat. They started chatting about their wellbeing and their recent activities, and Lillie called Pikachu over, whisking him up into her arms. That act made Sophocles widen his eyes and descend into stuttering mumbles for a few moments before he congratulated her.

Ash decided to hang back as they chatted, content with watching them. Clemont and Dawn waited beside him, too, commenting on how lovely a scene it was. And then Clemont asked a question that Ash could only sigh at.

"Was that Looker I saw with you?"

"Yeah," Ash breathed. "Did anybody else see him?"

Clemont nodded. "I told them I didn't know who he was, that he was probably asking for directions. Whenever Looker is around, it usually means something is up."

"Thanks, Clemont."

"Looker? Why was he here?" Dawn asked.

"Can I ask you to trust me for now?" Ash asked, glancing between the two of them. Both of them frowned, but Ash could see Clemont putting the ideas together in his mind. He knew about Brock's job, after all. Ash switched his gaze to Dawn and made a decision. "I need to explain the whole situation to you, but not right now. Can you trust me?"

Dawn nodded. "Sure. Whenever you're ready. You'll have to tell me before I leave, but–"

And then Sophocles shrieked and skittered around his Alolan friends, standing before Clemont more rigidly than a Rhyperior did when taking a Tackle. His hand swung up from his side, causing Clemont to flinch, and their conversation to end abruptly.

"M-Mr Clemont! I-It is an honour to meet you!" Sophocles exclaimed, bowing, hand still outstretched.

Ash smiled, then looked at Clemont, then laughed, because the boy in question was fiddling with his glasses, flicking them up and down even more awkwardly than Sophocles was acting.

"L-Likewise," Clemont said, shaking his hand weakly. "I-It is great finally meet someone with interests as aligned as my own."

Suddenly, everything changed. That single mention of their shared interest was enough to eradicate whatever awkward bubble the two had created and initiate a deep, thought-provoking conversation that, honestly, had Ash's brain a little scrambled. He looked around him, and everyone else merely shrugged, allowing them to continue their science talk for as long as they wanted.

"Nice to see you, Sophocles," Ash said when the pair paused to breathe.

"Oh! H-Hi, Ash! Nice to see you! A-And nice to meet you in person, Dawn," Sophocles replied.

"Likewise," Dawn said, nodding, then Sophocles and Clemont were once again distracted by the conversation.

"You all gonna be alright from here on?" Kukui's voice asked. Ash spun around on his heel.

"Yeah, I think so," Dawn said.

"Excellent. I'm gonna head into the city first. Don't cause any trouble, ya hear?"

"Oh, I wish I could promise that," Ash said.

Kukui laughed, and Kukui patted his shoulder. They said their goodbyes – Clemont and Sophocles paused their conversation long enough to do that – and he wandered off. They headed into Malie City not long after him regardless of the fact that the person who was supposed to be their tour guide was immersed in his conversation. Ash didn't mind, though, and he was sure nobody else did.

The first thing Ash thought when he first saw Malie City close-up was that it reminded him of Ecruteak City in Johto. The streets were filled with traditional-style houses and buildings, small but homely-looking, and there were arches at all of the entrances and exits.

As they wandered further in, there seemed to be only one road skirting around the city's outskirts. The rest was pedestrianised, a large set of cobbled walkways that matched the building's more traditional aesthetic, all of which were lined with lampposts topped by glowing lanterns. Ash suddenly realised that he hadn't seen any artificial along the streets of any Alolan City so far.

Where Hau'oli City had bright coloured flowers and palm trees dotted about, Malie City had bamboo trees and stalks. And in the background, where other cities had the sea, Malie had the mountains, and a large pagoda on a hill. If there was one word Ash could think of to describe Malie City, it was unique.

Even the Poké-Centre, which Sophocles eventually led them to, looked different. It still displayed the usual sign above the door, and though the style matched the rest of the houses in the city, it was red and three stories high.

Whence inside, they booked and assigned their rooms – which became a lot easier when Nurse Joy recognised them as those her cousin pointed out, and because they decided to keep their previous room arrangements. A few people ventured out to buy some food, and they spent the rest of the day lounging about Ash and Lillie's room, chatting and snacking and catching up with Sophocles.

"I haven't just been inventing, of course," Sophocles said late into the evening, when the table was littered with empty crisp packets and various different types of berry juice cartons. "I am still working as the current captain of one of the trials."

Ash sat up a little straighter.

"You're still going? How come?" Kiawe asked.

"I – The thing is, I'm still working on an invention I want to incorporate into my trial. I have let some people do the trial without it, but I want to have at least one person use it. Since it isn't finished, people have gone to do other trials first. That's why I'm still going," Sophocles explained.

"Oooh! What are you making?" Clemont asked, a glint flashing in his eyes. Somehow, it transferred to Sophocles, too.

"It's a sort of… The idea is that it will attract Pokémon. By emitting a certain type of energy, that is to say the properties of different types, I am trying to call specific Pokémon to me."

"Interesting!" Clemont said. "You know, I have dabbled in Pokémon attracting machines in the past."

"You have?!" Sophocles exclaimed, dropping the packet of crisps in his hands – Ash caught it, laying it on the side table.

"Yes," Ash said, looking at Clemont, "he has."

Clemont laughed.

"Yes, well, as Ash's tone suggests, I had varying levels of success. And by that, I mean none of them were true successes, but that is beside the point," Clemont said. "If you wanted, I could help you out?"

"Y-You really would?!" Clemont nodded. "T-Thank you! That sounds–" But then Sophocles stopped. He looked at his feet, shaking his head. "Actually, now that I think about it, that will defeat my goal."

"Your goal?" Clemont asked.

"Yes. The – umm – the thing is, I was hoping to create it myself. I even asked Molayne not to help me. I truly appreciate the offer, however."

"Molayne?" Ash muttered frowning.

"Oh, Molayne was the trial captain before me, and he is also an inventor. A-And my cousin."

"Right. I swear I've heard that name before," Ash said.

"Well, either way, would you allow me to visit your workspace to see how things are progressing? I won't help, of course, I would just love to see what you're working on," Clemont said.

"Of course! I'd love that!" Sophocles said.

"In that case," Mallow said, "why don't we all visit the observatory tomorrow? You need to know where your next trial is, Ash, and it should be nice to spend some time there."

"That sounds like a great idea," Lana said.

"Yeah, we have a few days to play around with. It should be fun," Dawn said.

And just as easily as that, their plans for the next day were settled.

Non-trainers might think that being a Pokémon Trainer led to a few inconveniences, especially when trainers took the saying 'if our eyes meet, we battle' too seriously. It took Ash's group far too long to walk the short path to the bus stop at the foot of Mount Hokulani because of that firm belief. A few teens and a particularly enthusiastic black belt decided to challenge not only Ash but Kiawe and anybody else willing to battle as soon as they stepped into their eyeline.

But Ash didn't think of any of those battles as an inconvenience. To him, each one was an opportunity, a chance to improve his skills and get stronger. He did wonder if those that didn't battle found waiting around tedious, but accepting challenges was the way of the Pokémon Trainer, so he didn't even consider how it delayed their visit to the observatory.

In the end, it was probably just as well that he spent that time battling, for the bus arrived a few minutes after they reached the stop. It was a steel minibus with brown panels on the side and a green roof with an Exeggutor's head placed above the windshield. It was probably the first car Ash had so far seen in Alola. They hopped on, paid the fare, the bus made the sound of steam being released, and it started up the mountain.

Ash sat toward the back of the bus, where he leant on the windowsill to watch the world outside. He flinched away when he felt his arms burning against the steel, so hot that the moment his skin touched it, he heard a sizzling sound. Thankfully, the windows were open, so the interior of the bus wasn't too much like a sauna – it didn't stop him from having to peel his shirt from his back every now and then to allow a little air to brush his skin.

They were the only ones on the bus, yet their chatter about miscellaneous topics still overpowered the sounds of the chugging engine: Mallow and Lillie were pointing at various things out the window, Dawn and Kiawe were talking about dancing, and Clemont and Sophocles were, as they had been most of yesterday, talking about science and inventing. Ash smiled as he gazed across the bus, then looked out of the window himself – keeping his hands in his lap this time.

The bus followed a winding grey path up the mountain, which was rocky and sheer, with a few patches of grass and shrubbery and barriers on particularly sharp corners. A couple of Diglett and a Dutrio watched the bus pass from a crag, a Fearow was circling overhead, and even a Skarmory stood on a nearby ledge, silver wings pulled tight, eyes sharp. And when the bus turned the other way, it gave Ash a brilliant view of Ula'Ula Island below them, of the sun gleaming down upon Malie City and the rest of the mountains and what looked like a desert.

Soon, that spectacular view become obscured when they passed the lowest layer of clouds. At the same time, as if the clouds themselves possessed the ability to alter the world's temperature, the air in the bus cooled down to a much more tolerable level. Ash still didn't risk leaning on the steel, though he did notice that the barriers became constant at that point. A few moments later, the bus rolled to a screeching stop.

They all thanked the kindly driver, and Ash was the last to step down off the bus onto a road that shone as brightly, for a moment, as staring straight into a point-blank Dazzling Gleam.

When Ash's eyes adjusted, he took in the area. The same grey road continued to the left, descending back down the mountain, flanked on all sides by the same dark rock and a few odd patches of snow. Just beyond the road stood a more normal-looking Pokémon Center, and beyond even that, perched atop a plateau, stood a large facility. The first floor of the facility was wrapped in a navy-coloured metal, the second was entirely made-up of windows. Atop the roof stood a giant satellite, several electrical boxes, and some sort of circular contraption, inside of which appeared to be a large telescope. That, Ash immediately knew, was the Hokulani Observatory.

Sophocles led them into the observatory, explaining its purpose as he did. The moment they stepped through the sliding doors, a blast of cool, almost metallic air replaced that of the hot mountaintop. Then they stopped in the main lobby, a room shaped like an elongated hexagon. Its floor was checked with sky blue squares sectioned by black lines and had three holes, two for lights, another for a strange contraption. Its walls were dark blue, patterned like wiring with several blue lights travelling along it.

Sophocles led them through while explaining something, but Ash didn't listen to most of it, his attention grasped by the room instead. It was strangely unlike many of the lab-like buildings he had he found himself in throughout his journey. It looked more mechanical than it did a research station.

Sophocles led them into a long, almost claustrophobically thin hallway with matching décor to the lobby. Opened and unopened carboard boxes were pushed up along the walls all along, making it slightly difficult to traverse.

Someway down the hall, Sophocles turned into room with a patterned, hexagonal floor and a wall that looked like the night sky. There were a few machines in the room Ash wouldn't figure out no matter how long he looked at them, and on the left side were two settees, a table, and a bookshelf, cordoned off from the more scientific, electrical appliances by two whiteboards.

"And this," Sophocles said, opening his arms to the rest of the room, "is my lab."

"You have your own lab?!" Clemont asked, his feet inching towards the electrical appliances.

"Well, not entirely, but…"

"Hmm?" Ash wasn't the only one to jump when a new, unknown voice mumbled from somewhere in the room.

Following a clank and a quiet groan, a rangy man with glasses and three-toned hair – brown at the scalp into dirty blond into almost white at the tips – straightened up behind the furthest whiteboard. He stepped out, clad in a blue electrician-like jacket and workers jeans, and dusted off his hands. He smiled at them.

"Are these the friends you met up with yesterday, Soffy?" the man asked. He nodded. "I recognise some of you."

Sophocles jumped. "Y-Yes, that's right! Umm…"

If Ash was to guess, Sophocles was suddenly panicking because of the nickname.

"For anybody that doesn't already know, this is my elder cousin, Big Mo. I mean, Molayne. He is the Ex-Trial Captain of the Hokulani Trial. I am currently working to replace him one day," Sophocles said, a deep pride in his eyes.

Mallow, Kiawe, and Lana greeted Molayne first with an evident familiarity. Lillie stayed back with him, Dawn, and Clemont for a few moments. Then they stepped forward to introduce themselves. Ash was the last to do so, frowning again. He tried to alter his expression so as not to appear rude, but after they finished their handshake, Molayne frowned too.

"Ash? The one Kukui mentioned?" Molayne asked.

"I–I don't think Kukui knows another Ash, no," Ash said. "He talked about me?"

"Yes, a long while ago now. Hold on a moment," Molayne said. He hurried out of the room. Ash looked at his friends, last of all Sophocles, who all shrugged at him. Molayne reappeared a few moments later, something in his hand.

"I wanted to hand it over earlier, but I only recently received the parts, and Kukui told me you were on your way soon anyway. As such, I waited until now. Here you go, Ash. I'm sure you have missed it," Molayne said, extending his hand to him.

Ash's eyes widened and he had to restrain himself to not snatch the item from Molayne. "My Pokégear!" Ash took it, turning it over in his palm. He flicked the on button, and he screen switched itself on. "You fixed it!"

Molayne nodded. "It was simple. As I said, the most difficult part was getting the parts. For some reason, the planes out of Kalos have been very rare lately. I'm not quite sure why. I heard Alola's airport is a little off, too."

Ash didn't pay much attention to the rest of the conversation. He focused on his Pokégear's screen, upon which was a rather startling notification:

150 new messages

"I'm sorry," Ash said, looking up at the group. "Do you mind if I step out for a second?"

"Not at all," Molayne said, a statement echoed by the rest of them.

"Thanks," Ash said. He retreated from the room, back through the lobby, and out into the midday heat. After a quick glance about the clifftop, he rounded the side of the building, where nobody else was. He sat against the wall, holding his Pokégear in front of him, and he clicked to check his messages.

As the notification had said, he had a lot of messages. It took him about ten seconds to flick to the bottom of the chat function, another to get back to the top. He decided to start at the top because of the name tagged above the message: Mum.

Before Ash tapped on his mother's message, he went into his settings and turned off the setting that showed people he had read their messages. He paused, then, wondering where that compulsion came from.

Ash shook his head and scrolled to the oldest unread message in his mother's chat box. It was from the 28th of July that year, the day Pallet Town had been attacked. He read down from there, slowly raising his hand to cover his mouth.

Ash, are you ok?! I don't know what is going on outside, but please tell me you are ok!

Ash, are you there?

ASH, answer me!

Ash, please!

Ash dropped his head into his heads and read the rest of his mother's messages through the gaps between his fingers. They continued for a long while. At one point the next morning, she started asking him to come home, to prove that he wasn't dead – he assumed these messages were after Oak's lie. She kept wishing, begging, hoping that he would reply. Hoping that he would be alive.

Ash lifted his head from his phone before he reached the end of the messages, and knocked it against the steel wall behind him, letting his phone-holding hand drop and his other rub at his eyes. These messages proved one thing: his mother had completely broken down after he had been reported dead. He had never seen his mother upset in person, but this was enough. The begging, the yearning, the denial… His chest suddenly ached with a desire to see her.

Ash expected the panicked messages to end whence she had discovered he was still alive, but they didn't. They finished with her begging for him to be alive. On second thought, it made sense, just as him turning off the read notification did.

When he hit the bottom of the chat, Ash exited it. He didn't want to linger any longer than he had to, especially now that she knew he was safe. Thinking about her grief would only be a bad thing.

The next several messages were from random trainers: a bug catcher, a battle girl, and youngster Joey asking him for a rematch. Then he started seeing his friends' names as he ventured further back in time, the most recent being Gary and Misty. He clicked on all of their messages. They were much the same as his mother's, though to a slightly lesser degree of panic. Gary's messages were more clearly in denial; one of his messages even told Ash to stop being dramatic and to show himself already. Misty's messages were more panicked, interspersed with apologies that screamed regret right at him.

Gary and Misty's messages were the basis for most of his other friends' messages. Those that had taken part in Oak's plan were more like Misty's, and those that hadn't were more like Gary's, albeit with less stubborn denial and a few less swear words.

The reason most of those messages were at the top of the list, however, rather than the furthest back in time, were because each one had an additional message on the end, several weeks after their last pleas for his life. For those that took part in Oak's plan, they were apologies; for those that didn't, they were determined exclamations telling him they were going to keep on living. He didn't quite know what the latter meant, and he didn't know whether or not to smile. He wanted to message them, but of course, he refrained.

After that, Ash saw a few unexpected messages: Elesa and Skyla, Professor Birch, Cynthia, and a few others. They said much the same thing: that they saw the news and hoped he was actually ok, that it was all lies.

Brock, Dawn, and Clemont's messages were next. Ash only skimmed through them, and then he stopped scrolling entirely, because a name appeared on the screen that made him freeze altogether: Serena.

Ash looked up at the clear sky. He drew in a breath and, after wondering where she actually got his number from, opened the messages.

One breath wasn't enough.

Serena's first message hadn't come on the same day everybody else's had but a lot later. Before even reading it, Ash assumed that was when she had been snapped out of her control. Reading confirmed that.

Ash, I'm so sorry. I don't know if you can read this, or if you ever will. I hope you're alive. You don't deserve this. I'm so, so sorry. You deserve to know the truth.

None of what I said was real. Professor Oak made me say it all by using Psychic-Type moves to control me. I wasn't myself that day you were here. I wanted to stop them, but I couldn't. And I don't know what to do anymore. How can I come back from this? How can I fix it? Please, please tell me you are ok.

Professor Oak said you died in the attack and that he saw you but…

I don't know how much I believe him. I just can't accept that you are gone. Please give me a sign you are ok.

I'm not ok, Ash. I'm really struggling.

Please, Ash. I need you.

I finally got myself cleaned up this morning. I finally did something with my day. It's small, but it's a step. I hope you are reading this. I hope you are ok.

Serena's messages continued in that diary-like format for a few days. Then they stopped. Through the blurriness of his eyes that stopped him being able to read the rest of her messages, Ash wondered why for a moment, what she was doing now that she had stopped messaging. But then he wiped his eyes and reread the messages. And he read them again and again. Each time, he felt a little more of his heart crack.

Ash dropped his arm eventually, forcing himself to stop reading. He leant his head against the steel again when he realised something. He was sad, thinking of Serena, but he wasn't sad for him, and he wasn't crying for him. He was sad for her, and he was crying for her. That thought did nothing to prevent the aching in his chest, however.

What did help, though, was the sudden weight he felt lift from his chest. He wondered why that was.

So far, throughout their flight, the weather had been mostly consistent. Sunny but not warm, with a few spurts of rain that they had to hide from under any sort of forestry they came across. But as soon as Red's group had passed into Sinnoh's airspace earlier that night, it was more obviously late October. The sea air they flew through started feeling like an Icy Wind, so they had decided to stop in Jubilife City to change into more suitable attire.

They did so in the Poké-Centre, then re-stocked some supplies at the Mart. They were now slinking back through the surprisingly crowded streets to Route 218, where they planned to take off once again.

"What the hell is going on?" Gary asked, looking at the crowds of people. There was a long line of them along the street, all carrying bags and suitcases. Red was slightly more interested in how they helped camouflage the group, but it was odd.

"It looks like they're lining up to get into the airport," Paul said.

Barry huffed a laugh. "Good job we're not taking a plane."

"You said it," Misty said.

"C'mon, kiddos, let's get back in the air," Blue said, entering the route connector. Gary chased after him, claiming they weren't kids anymore. Bonnie refuted his statement with more sass than Red had expected, leading to a smug grin from Blue.

Their antics continued for a little while longer after that. They were soon back in the air, the petty argument forgotten, the grassy terrain of Floaroma Town passing beneath them. Flying at night was a little dangerous, but Red wanted to get as far across Sinnoh as they could before dawn. That way, they spent as little time as possible on or above land, and the less time they spent on land, the less likely they were to be caught.

They flew over the Floaroma Meadow about a minute later. Red breathed in through his nose, letting the flowery scents and the cool air fill him. It struck him, then, how strange the moment was. Here they were, rushing to Alola to see Ash, who was presumed dead after being hunted by a villainous organisation, yet he was still able to enjoy the scenery around him. He still moved with urgency, of course, but he lost him to the gentle breeze, a curling of petals just below them, the peace of the meadow, and a single phone ringing in the background.

Red lifted his head, frowning. He looked towards the sound. It was Delia's Pokégear.

"It's Ash," Delia said, looking up at him. "Should I answer?"

Red analysed the situation. Tracing calls was a possibility, but the fact that nobody knew Ash was alive played into their hands. Plus, they were currently flying through the air, and he was out in Alola: nobody knew where they were except themselves. And if Ash was calling, it might be urgent. It was worth the risk. He nodded.

"Hello? Ash?" Delia asked, holding the Pokégear in front of her, in one hand. She pressed a button Red assumed was a speaker function because he could suddenly hear Ash. He flew a little closer.

"-been a while," Ash's voice said. "What's that sound in the background?"

"Yes, I'm sorry about that. I haven't been home or at many Poké-Centers lately," Delia said. "Is everything ok? Why are you calling? Did something happen?"

"No, it's nothing like that," Ash said. Red felt a slight drop in his shoulders. "I… I finally got my Pokégear back, and I saw all of your messages."

"Oh, Ash–"

"I'm sorry. I should have tried to contact you earlier than I did. I made you worry for a long time," Ash said.

"Please don't blame yourself," Delia said. "It was a complicated situation. There was not much either of us could have done, especially because you didn't know what Oak had said."

"I guess, but I still feel bad."

"Try not to. We're ok now. I know you're safe and you know I am. We are all ok," Delia said.

Ash's side paused for a moment. "Yeah. You're right. Thank you."

"You just needed some reassurance, didn't you?"

"I think so, yeah."

"Keep your head up, ok?"

"I always do," Ash said.

"Good," Delia said. "Now, enough about that. What have you been up to lately? How are your friends?"

Red pulled his Charizard away at that point, as the conversation became a simple chat. He thought about everything Ash had said. How sorry he was to make her worry, that he should have contacted her more… It reminded him a lot of his own time away. It reminded him of his own thoughts: that he should have done more.

Hi! I'ma back from my holiday, so here's a chapter for you! The idea for this chapter - Ash looking at all of his messages - has been on my mind since the very beginning. I wonder if anybody remembered that he was still waiting for it to be fixed! But why, then, did it take so long?

I hope you enjoyed!

Until next time.