Chapter ten: Lily
'So… cold. Why does it have to be so close to night now?' I thought as I hugged my knees to my chest. I'm sitting just beyond the entrance of a cave with nothing but the cave walls to protect me from the cold. My Pokéballs are in my bag. My bag is with Uniswan. And Uniswan is not here!
I wiped my cheeks as tears streamed down them. What's worse, that trip by water current has left me very wet and very tired from trying to fight against it despite my inability to swim. I don't know how to make a fire without matches, so I'm cold and wet.
To make matters even worse, I was supposed to shoot another video today. I had promised on my website because I thought I'd found something rare in Ash. Well, I did, but not quite as rare as I thought it was.
"To sum things up, I'm cold, wet, sad, confused, tired, hungry, thirsty, and alone," I said aloud.
I'm losing my mind!
I laid my forehead on my knees and sighed. I'm going to be here for at least the duration of the night, so I should try to think of something that would make me happy. Like the day I saw Iris again back in Unova. It was great because I had been reunited with my best friend. It was also the day I met….
"Lily! Lily, where are you?!"
"Pika!" "Pikachu!" "Uniswan!" I raised my head at the four calls. When I heard them again, I peeked out of the cave. Uniswan was hovering over the structure, looking around.
"Uniswan, I'm down here!" I waved my arms, jumping and yelling, until my Pokémon saw me.
"Swan!" I giggled as she landed and nuzzled my neck. I wrapped my arms around her neck and breathed her in, nuzzling into her warmth.
"Pikachu!" I backed away from the rare Pokémon in time to catch both Pikachus as they jumped into my arms and hugged me. After a moment, they looked at me with worry. "Pika pi?"
"I took an unwelcomed dip in the lake."
"Here" I looked over my shoulder at Ash as he draped his jacket across my shoulders. "It should help until I build a fire. For now, sit back in the cave with Uniswan while the Pikachus and I get stuff for the fire."
"Alright." I walked back into the cave with my hand on Uniswan's back. We sat with me leaning into her for warmth for five minutes until Ash and the Pikachus walked in with sticks in their arms.
"I wish I had something for you to dry off with. Like, a blanket or something," he said as he made the fire in the center of this part of the cave.
"That's alright: I don't really need one, and I have a blanket for Uniswan. The fire will work just fine for me, thank you. Can you hand me my bag?"
"Here you go." He handed me my bag.
I quietly went through it and pulled out two lunch boxes. In one was PokéFood, which I divided amongst the three Pokémon. In the other were a sandwich and some grapes. I broke the sandwich in half, put one half and some of the grapes on an extra platter, and pushed the platter to the raven.
"It isn't much, just what I didn't eat at lunch. But it's something."
"Thanks." We ate in silence as I dried off and warmed up by the fire.
"Where's Jake?"
"You've had a bad day already. I don't want to make it worse by telling you." I pulled out the blanket I keep stored for Uniswan and Pikachuett and started unfolding it.
"Did something happen to him?" I spread it carefully over the three sleeping Pokémon.
"Pikachuett hit him with a thunderbolt head on, if that's what you mean." I looked at him. "Jacob isn't what you think he is. He told me last night he's using you."
I shook my head in denial. "Jake would never…."
"He said you wouldn't believe me. I figured it was true, but I'm telling you anyway because I know what I say is true. He told me how you are becoming the most powerful person to deal with Pokémon. He wants to use you to be just as powerful."
"Why should I believe you?" I jumped to my feet. "You've been a jerk to me all day!"
"Only because he told me to back off!" He stood as well, our faces barely a foot apart. "Our Pokémon will back me up. You know deep down what I'm saying is true. Why would I lie to you?"
"Ash, please. Stop this," I pled, shaking my head and covering my ears. I felt his hands close around my wrists and pull them down gently.
"You have to believe me. I wouldn't lie to you. And I wouldn't tell you anything that I know will hurt you unless it is necessary."
I looked him in the eye, tears pooling in the corners of my own. He is destroying the perfect image I've always had of Jacob, and it hurts. Really bad. But… why would he lie to me?
"I can't believe he would do this to me," I whispered as I blinked back tears.
"His mind has been tainted by his fame. I'm just glad you found out before it was too late." He let go of my wrists and pulled me into him as I leaned my head on his chest.
"I'm so glad I have you, Ash."
"I'm glad you allowed me to be here for you."
I giggled as I leaned my head up to kiss his cheek. Only… he was aiming for my forehead at the same time. My eyes widened as our lips met gently.
~Ash~
"Alright, Pikachu! Let's end this with thunderbolt!" I said to my partner.
"Pikachu!"
"Frillish is unable to battle! That makes Pikachu the winner, and Ash the challenger the victor!" the referee announced.
"What a battle! Against all odds, Ash and Pikachu beat Frillish and won the gym battle! It's like I said: the bond between those two is rare indeed!"
I smiled at Lily's announcement as I accepted the gym badge. She is filming an episode for her show to make up for missing yesterday's shooting. And it's all about me and Pikachu.
"Thanks for tuning in to Rare Finding with a Rare Lily! Have a Pokérific day! Ash, wave to the camera!" I waved and after a moment, she turned her camera off.
"That was an amazing battle, Ash. I've never been against someone quite like you before." I shook the gym leader's hand.
"Thanks. I get that a lot." I smiled as Lily joined my side.
"That's why he and Pikachu are so rare."
"Pikachu!" I chuckled as Pikachu climbed onto my shoulder and Pikachuett onto Lily's head. The show girl giggled at something the two said.
"What?" She shook her head, chuckling.
"Nothing, nothing. We need to go. Ash promised me he would let me and Pikachuett teach Pikachu how to perform in pageants. It was nice meeting you."
"You as well, Lily and Ash. Good luck, both of you." We waved and left the gym.
I sat down in the grass while Lily and Pikachuett taught Pikachu the basics of pageant performances. As I was rummaging through my backpack, I found a small basket. Inside were eight PokéPuffs.
"I heard you like PokéPuffs. So I made you and Pikachu some."
I picked up one of the red and blue ones and tasted it. And it was… so awesome I can't even describe it! I can tell Lily had made it just for me. I looked back into the basket and saw a wrapped box. I picked it up.
"Ash, you have to…! Hey, you found it!" I looked up at Lily as she knelt beside me. She called the Pikachus over and gave each of them a PikaPuff.
"I gave you this yesterday. But I didn't bother mentioning it because you wouldn't answer me." I opened the box and my eyes widened: inside was an opened locket with a picture of me with all of my Pokémon.
"Where'd you get this?" I looked up at her.
"I may have found a way to contact your mom and asked her to send the picture. Do you like it?"
"I love it. A lot. Thank you." She nodded and gave me a smile. As we looked into each other's eyes, I remembered what happened last night in the cave.
~Flashback~
"I'm glad you allowed me to be here for you."
She giggled as I lowered my head down to kiss the top of her head. But then she looked up at me. Our lips met. After a few moments, she relaxed and wrapped her arms around my neck.
We stood there kissing for what felt like a lifetime (in the best of ways). In reality, it was probably only about a minute before she pulled away slowly and bit her lip, looking at me with a blush.
"I'm… getting a bit tired. Good night, Ash."
"Night." I watched her sit beside Uniswan and lead her head onto her Pokémon's back.
~End Flashback~
Now it's kind of awkward between us because we don't know where to go from here. Well, I know where I want to go from here. But I won't push her. Jacob almost did that before, and I refuse to be like him.
"So, what was it I have to do?"
"Oh, right." She shook her head, giving me the impression that maybe she was remembering last night as well. "We have come up with a beginning of a move using both Pikachus' thunderbolts and Uniswan's psychic. Wanna see it?"
"Sure." We all stood up and walked to where Uniswan was eating some berries.
"And what's great about this is that we only need one prop. Pikachu and Pikachuett take care of the rest." I nodded and watched them demonstrate.
Reviews are greatly appreciated.
-RozaCourt