Chapter eleven: Lily
"Ok, there's a pageant today. And I think a gym is right beside the stadium, if not on the same street. Perhaps we could win a tiara and you can get another badge in one day."
"Sounds like a good plan to me. I gotta admit, now that I know what I'm expecting, I am so psyched for a pageant. Right, Pikachu?"
"Pikachu!" I smiled as the two got really riled up.
"Lily?"
"Hm?" I turned around and smiled when I saw the mauve haired boy staring at Ash and me. "Hey there, Paul."
"Huh?" The raven turned around as well and scowled lightly (which, I admit, I barely caught because I was so busy staring at the other boy). "Seriously? You know Paul?"
When I didn't answer immediately, Pikachuett touched my cheek lightly. "Oh, yeah. Anyone who's been to the Sinnoh region knows Paul. But my case is special."
"How special is your case… exactly?" I bit my lip and looked down at my feet, blushing lightly.
"He saved me from a few Pokémon that had become angered for some unknown reason. And…." I rubbed my arm, blushing further. "We may have dated."
"You… two… dated?"
"Yeah, he was teaching me how to be a good trainer even in the hard show business I had fallen in love with. I guess it just… happened." I made patterns on the ground with my toe, not daring to look up at the either boy.
"Oh. I guess I should leave you two to do some catching up then. Nice seeing you again, Paul." I looked up as Ash walked away.
"Ash, wait!" He rounded a corner without looking back at me. "Oh, why does he do that every time I reunite with some one? He did that with Jake too."
"I don't know. Maybe he's a bit jealous." I shrugged. "You want to get some lunch?"
"Sure. The pageant isn't until later, and I'm sure Ash is about to go to that gym I told him about. Are you going to compete in the Camos league, Paul?"
"Why else would I be in Camos?" I slid my hand into the crook of his elbow and walked with him to a restaurant.
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe because you found out about the series of pageants and had hoped to see me again?" I teased lightly.
"That's part of it."
~After Lunch~
"Where is he? We need to get into costume soon." Paul shrugged, and I sighed. "Oh, I thought I could count on him. Instead, he gets all jealous again just because I told him we dated."
"If I know Ash as much as I think I do, he doesn't get put off so easily. And he doesn't let anyone down."
"Well he's letting me down." I lowered my face into my hands, fighting back tears.
"Pika pi." Pikachuett laid her head on mine sadly.
"Lily!" I looked up and saw Ash running towards us holding a bag. "Is it too late for us to compete?" he asked as he stopped directly in front of me.
"No, but we hardly have enough time to pick out our costumes."
"Actually, Pikachu and I already took care of that. That's why we're so late."
"Like I said, he never lets anyone down," Paul said as Ash handed me two boxes. "I'll be in the audience. Don't let him embarrass you, Lily."
"Don't worry. I know he won't." I waved to Paul as Ash and I walked to the dressing rooms.
~Line Break~
"Now, it's time for our final round: the Pokémon performances! First up, we have Ash and Lily!" I straightened my pink and yellow dress before pulling out my Pokéball.
"Uniswan, it's time for your close up!" My Pokémon appeared in the center of the stage in a burst of stars. "Alright, Pikachuett, you as well!"
"Come on out, Pikachu!" Ash said. Both appeared standing on Uniswan's back.
"Pikachu!" Ash and I walked behind the center curtains.
"Hey, I see three Pokémon, but no trainers! What are they up to?!" the coordinator asked.
"Alright, Uniswan! Use Psychic on this!" I threw the blanket out to the Pokémon. A light pink ring made it take the shape of a theatre curtain.
"Ok, Pikachu! Use Thunderbolt on the blanket!"
"You too, Pikachuett!" The two thunderbolts lit up the makeshift curtain. As the crowd cheered and the maintained control, Ash and I joined Uniswan, Pikachu, and Pikachuett behind it. We mounted her, and our Pikachus stood on our shoulders.
"Pikachu, use Eletroball!" The ball flew high into the air.
"Pikachuett, use Thunderbolt again! Uniswan, when it hits, use Psychic to lift the curtains!" I added.
"Pikachu!" The Thunderbolt made the Electroball burst, creating a pathway of yellow lights in front of us. When the blanket lifted, Uniswan flew out through the path and hovered over the crowd.
~Ash~
"I'm sending you the video now. The judges say it was the most beautiful performance they have ever seen. Can you believe that, Iris?"
"Totally. I always tell you that whenever you come up with a new performance, Lily."
"Axew, ew!"
"Thanks, you guys." I set down Lily's cup of tea beside her hand, and she smiled up at me. "Thank you, Ash."
"You're welcome. Hey, Iris."
"Hi, Ash!" I walked out of the room and back to the main room where I sat across from Paul at the table. We're resting in the hotel we had decided to stay in for a while.
"Is she still talking to Iris?" he asked.
"Of course. I learned the two of them can talk for hours at a time."
"That they can. So how'd you meet Lily?"
"Iris, Cilan, and I had just returned to the Unova region when she had attracted attention in the main market. That's when she saw Iris, and we were introduced to each other."
"Really?! Wow, that is so awesome! Iris, I'll talk to you later, ok?! I gotta go!" Paul and I looked at the door of the room when we heard Lily's voice.
"What's she squealing about now?" he asked.
"Guys, guys, guys, guess what!" She ran to us, vibrating with excitement. "I just got word that over 100 wild Metapods are about to evolve into Butterfrees really soon! Can we go watch?! Please, please, please?!"
"I'm in. It could be fun. What about you, Paul?"
"Well…." He looked unsure.
"Oh please?!" She latched onto his arm and gave him a sweet and innocent look. "Pretty please?! Pretty please with frosting, sprinkles, chocolate, and an Electivire on top?!"
"Even I can't say no to that face and… Lily Logic. I'll go."
"Yay! Let's go, let's go, let's go!" Pikachu and Pikachuett jumped onto our shoulders and Lily grabbed me and Paul. She pulled us up and led us into the middle of the forest where she stopped. "This is it. This is where we'll see them." She pulled out a PokéBall. "Come on out, Uniswan!"
"Swan." I watched her settle Uniswan down in the grass.
"Well, are you two waiting for an invitation or something? Sit down! It's about to start." We sat on either side of her as she slung off her bag. "I brought some PokéPuffs."
"Did you make my kind?" Paul asked her. She reached inside and pulled out three small baskets.
"Of course. I made PikaPuffs, UniPuffs, Ash Catch 'ems, Purple Pauls, and Lily Puffs." She opened the baskets to show all twenty four PokéPuffs.
"You're amazing," I told her as we each grabbed one. She fed one to Uniswan while giving me a smile.
"Thank you. Oh, look!" she gasped in awe, pointing up.
We looked and saw what she meant. Butterfree were taking flight right above us. She sighed in content and laid her head on my shoulder.
"It's so beautiful. Don't you think so?" Paul and I nodded in agreement. "I'm glad you two came with me."
"Anytime," the mauve haired boy replied.
~Line Break~
I woke up slowly and facing away from the others. When the Butterfree had flown away, Lily had already fallen asleep. Paul and I didn't want to wake her, so we stuck around. Guess we fell asleep as well.
"Hey, guys," I yawned as I stretched. "We should probably get back to the hotel now. It's getting…." I looked around. "Where's Lily?" Paul woke up.
"She was with the Pokémon." I looked over at the Pikachus and Uniswan.
"She's not anymore."
"Pika?" Pikachuett woke up and glanced around sleepily. "Pika pi? Pikachu!" That woke the other two up as well.
"She left her good luck charm," Paul said as he picked up a charm bracelet from where she had been sleeping at. "She never takes this off."
"I hope that doesn't mean what I think it means."
"Last time I saw her bracelet off of her wrist, she had just been kidnapped by fortune hunters."
"Yeah, I thought so."
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-RozaCourt