A/N: hey there! So it's been a while since I tried my luck writing a fic, Pokemon Journeys ending and Ash leaving the anime kinda made me fall out of love a bit with writing, but here I am nevertheless. I had this idea about a story between Ash and Lillie for who knows how long now, and after successfully not doing anything with the idea for a solid 6 months I finally decided to just, you know, start writing it. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this story about what's in my opinion an underrated pairing :P
Lost Connection
"Yeah! I'm excited to see everyone too…" A young teenage boy said excitedly, talking through his Rotom, as he watched a few Pikipeks perch themselves on the railing of the cruise ship in front of him.
He smiled as the Pikipeks watched him talk through the device with an intrigued look on their faces. Though, a question from the person on the other side of the call made the boy frown questioningly.
"... Am I nervous? Uh… Not really… I am supposed to be?" The boy asked, confused.
He heard a chuckle from the man he was talking to, confusing him further before the man explained:
"I guess not… but you do realize the reception you're gonna get right?"
"What do you mean…?" The young trainer asked further. The Pokemon currently perched up on the boy's shoulder also gave a confusing look, wondering what they were talking about.
"Come on Ash… You've just become the strongest trainer in the world!" The man exclaimed loudly through Ash's Rotom Phone. "You represented the entirety of the Alola region and exceeded everyone's expectations! The people here were already overjoyed at the fact their own Champion had the privilege to even compete against the very best in the world, but for crying out loud you even beat the best! You're basically an idol to all of Alola!"
Ash was a bit stunned, not knowing he had that much of an impact on the region he represented. "Wow… I guess I've never really thought about it that way…"
"I see you're just as humble as always…" The man said with a small laugh, before wrapping up their conversation. "Well anyways… Melmetal is eating all of our cutlery again, so I should probably go take care of that before he ends up eating every piece of metal in the house… again…"
Ash laughed, before saying: "I see… I should be at Melemele soon, I can already make out a bit of the islands from here."
The man seemed a bit surprised to hear that Ash would be arriving so soon, but happy nonetheless. "Already!? That's great! We'll be waiting for you!"
"Awesome Kukui! See ya soon!"
Ash hung up the call and looked back towards the ocean. He could just barely make out the distant mountains and cities further ahead, indicating he was getting closer and closer to the Alola Region. Ash stretched his arms, and Pikachu on his shoulder did the same, letting out an adorable cry in the process. Ash chuckled, before patting the Pokemon on the head.
"You're excited to see everyone too aren't you bud?" Another cry from his Pokemon let Ash know he was right.
It had been about a week since Ash had successfully defeated Leon and became the best Pokemon trainer in the world, and, after saying his final goodbyes to Goh, Chloe and everyone else at Professor Cerise's Lab, Ash's next immediate plan of action was to visit the region which had changed his life.
It had been a while since he had been to Alola, or at least it felt like it to Ash. Whilst he had visited the region a few times after originally leaving after becoming Alola's first-ever Champion, this was the first time he would visit Alola with no other reason except for simply wanting to. After all, the last time he visited the region was after the whole affair with Lillie's…
Ash trailed off at the thought of the blonde-haired girl and his face saddened slightly. Pikachu seemed to notice his trainer's dejected expression, and let out a worried cry, causing Ash to glance at his Pokemon. Not wanting to worry his best friend, Ash smiled softly and scratched the bottom of his Pokemon's chin reassuringly.
Despite trying to convince himself otherwise, deep inside, Ash knew he had another reason for visiting Alola after all…
Lillie was sitting on the balcony of her room, watching all of the Pokemon in her backyard play amongst themselves while petting her Alolan Vulpix, Snowy. The Pokemon was neatly curled up in her trainer's lap, seemingly greatly enjoying her trainer's affection.
Suddenly, a buzzing sound came from Lillie's Rotom Phone on the table next to her. Curious, she picked up the device, where she saw she had received a message from none other than Professor Kukui.
Wondering what it was about, she clicked on the message, noticing it was sent to a group chat with her and her close friends, and read it silently:
"Hey guys! Slight change of plans, Ash is coming sooner than expected, he should be at the Marina in just about an hour from now… so be ready by then!"
Lillie froze up momentarily as she read the message and temporarily stopped petting her Pokemon. Upon noticing this, Snowy let out a disappointed cry before nuzzling her trainer's hand, bringing her out of her trance.
Lillie jumped slightly as she felt the chill of her Pokemon's fur touch her hand. She looked down and noticed Snowy awkwardly shifting around, clearly wanting her attention. The blonde-haired girl smiled, finding Snowy too cute for her own good, before resuming petting the ice type.
Seeing her Pokemon satisfied, Lillie glanced back towards her Rotom Phone, re-reading the message the Professor had sent to her and her friends.
"Ash…" She said softly, putting her Rotom Phone back on the table before glancing back towards the backyard.
Lillie already knew Ash was coming back to Alola, as Professor Kukui had told her and her friends a good few days ago, but as the day of his return came closer and closer, Lillie could feel her nervousness grow over time.
It's not like Lillie didn't want to see Ash, not at all. In fact, it was the exact opposite. She was overjoyed when she heard the news that he was visiting the region again, but her excitement of being able to see him again was almost immediately shut down by something else…
Lillie had a new dilemma. Well, actually a rather old one. She had already acknowledged a long time ago that she had developed feelings for the trainer, even before she had briefly reunited with him when she and her family were still on the lookout for their father. From his irresistible smile to their shared passion over anything and everything to do with Pokemon, Lillie loved everything about Ash. On top of that, she realized over time just how much her life had changed since meeting Ash. If it wasn't for him, she might've still had a fear of Pokemon and never would've reconnected with her family in a way she didn't even know was possible. In short, Ash was a person Lillie held very close to her heart.
There were just a few problems though.
Firstly, her naturally shy nature had shattered any chance she had to convey her feelings to the boy during his original stay in Alola. Despite this, Lillie was still content with her relationship with the raven-haired trainer at that time, as even her friends pointed out that the two shared a close bond. Lillie slowly gained more confidence over time, ironically mostly thanks to him, but by the time she grew confident enough to possibly convey her feelings to him, she had already left the region in search of her father, and Ash was already off on a new adventure.
Months later, after unsuccessfully managing to keep his radiant smile out of her head, she couldn't believe it when he suddenly appeared to save her from the shiny Nihilego she now knew as Lillie, a valuable part of her reunited family, in the Crown Tundra of all places. She doubted if she would even see him again after they went their separate ways, but the fact they reunited once more overjoyed her.
After dealing with the whole situation with her father and the Ultra Beast in the Crown Tundra, Lillie was even happier to know Ash and his new friends had offered to accompany her and her family back to Alola to celebrate her family reunion. She thought that this could finally be it. Finally, it would be the time to reconnect with the person she had held so dearly to her heart.
Except things didn't exactly go as she had thought they would. She had come to realize that Ash had changed quite a lot over the few months she hadn't seen him. Not in a bad way though, if anything, his slightly more mature view on life combined with his ever-so-curious nature made Lillie realize just how much she wished she was able to accompany him during his growth. It's just that she now found it more difficult to connect like they used to, almost as if their bond from his time in Alola had faded away simply due to them being separated for a long while.
Ash's newfound status as a world-renowned Pokemon Battler made this feeling of losing her connection with the boy even worse. She had seen it firsthand when Ash made his comeback battle in the Battle Royal Dome. Ash was loved and adored by everyone, and now that he had become even more of a star as the best Pokemon trainer in the world, the distance between him and she felt even greater.
A part of her was really happy for Ash and all that he had accomplished, and while she truly was happy for his success, she couldn't deny the fact that a part of her also wanted to return to the times when she knew Ash as her goofy classmate that she adored too much and shared an inseparable bond with, not as a distant celebrity to which she struggled to connect with again.
Lillie sighed and looked down, silently wishing that he had never left her side and still had their bond that made them so close. Snowy seemingly sensed her trainer go down a sad train of thought, so she shot a harmless Powder Snow toward her trainer to snap her out of it.
Lillie felt a cool chill reach her face and glanced up to see her Pokemon smiling softly at her. She stared at Snowy for a little while, before returning the smile. She knew her Pokemon was trying to cheer her up.
"Thanks, Snowy…" She said with a small giggle, as she grabbed the Pokemon from her lap and nuzzled against her.
Abruptly, a knock was heard at her balcony door. She put Snowy back on her lap and glanced towards the door, where she saw none other than her butler, Hobbes, who excused himself before stepping onto the balcony.
"Hello Hobbes." She said with a genuine smile.
"Hello Miss Lillie, just wanted to inform you that your family was planning on leaving for Iki Town very soon, they are all ready to meet up with the others there to wait for the Champion's arrival."
Lillie frowned at Hobbes's formal choice of words before asking, "Do you really have to address him that way? You've met Ash personally plenty of times before…"
"My apologies, but that is simply what he is, Miss Lillie."
Lillie sighed, deciding to just let Hobbes be, and replied. "I guess… You can inform Mother and Father that I will be ready soon." She finished with a smile.
"Perfect… I will do so right away." Hobbes said with a bow before going back inside.
After seeing her butler take his leave, Lillie took a deep breath mentally preparing herself to reunite with Ash once more.
Lillie glanced towards the backyard one last time, where she could see the sun slowly start to set, as a determined expression grew on her face.
This time, for real, she was going to reconnect with the boy she cared about so much.
"Pikapi!" Pikachu exclaimed, as he abruptly jumped off Ash's shoulder onto the railing and pointed into the distance.
Ash looked over to his best friend and slowly walked over to him, leaning onto the railing, a smile slowly growing on his face.
"Looks like we're finally here!" Ash said, with a clear eagerness in his voice. He hadn't even officially landed Alola, yet Ash was already feeling a sense of nostalgia.
The smooth breeze gently flowing through the sky, the hot yet calming temperature, the sunset beautifully reflecting off the ocean's sea… This, this was home.
Ash only needed to wait five more minutes before his cruise ship finally docked at the Melemele Ferry Terminal. After getting clearance from the crew staff, Ash and Pikachu quickly dashed towards the dock, unable to contain their excitement. After giving their final thanks to the crew, the pair skipped down the gangplank, almost falling off it entirely due to their carelessness, and upon reaching the ground floor, Ash threw his fist in the air and exclaimed.
"ALOLA, WE'RE BACK!"
"PIKA-PIKACHU!"
…
…
A group of Pikipeks gently flew by, giving weird looks towards the trainer and his Pikachu abruptly disturbing their peaceful flight, before calmly going on their merry way.
Ash looked a bit surprised. "Huh… Quiet day in Alola I guess…" He said, his Pokemon simply nodding in approval on his shoulder.
Admittedly a bit bummed by the fact Alola seemed so quiet, Ash decided to visit the surrounding area around the Marina.
Despite the odd fact that there didn't seem to be any locals around at all at the moment, a smile was slowly starting to grow on Ash's face as he and Pikachu walked around, already feeling nostalgic about a place that meant so much to him.
It felt strange for Ash, he had come to Alola a few times after he had originally left to pursue his adventures, but this time it felt a lot more impactful. Having experienced so much in the short span since his recent visit to Alola, it felt really different to just walk around the streets of Hau'oli City, with no real objectives or motives. Just him, Pikachu, and the beautiful and cooling Alolan breeze. It felt… refreshing, to say the least.
Though, after walking around for around five minutes and still not finding any sign of life, the refreshing feeling quickly turned into uneasiness, and after passing through the Pokemon Center with still no person in sight, Ash sat on a nearby bench and sighed.
"Man, where is everyone?" Ash said out loud, clear dejection in his voice. It didn't matter how beautiful Alola was, it didn't look as appealing without any people around to liven up the place…
"It's not like it's late or anything…" Ash said whilst looking up at the sunset, slumping into the seat of the bench. "We haven't even seen a single Pokemo-"
"Yungoos! Yungoos!"
As if perfectly timed, a little Yungoos appeared in front of Ash and Pikachu, jumping out from a nearby bush. Upon seeing the human and his Pikachu, Yungoos stood up and gave them a look that Ash couldn't quite decipher. Nevertheless, Ash was ecstatic to find someone in Hau'oli City.
"Cool! It's a Yungoos!" Ash exclaimed, crouching down closer to the normal-type Pokemon with a huge smile on his face. "Hey there!
The Yungoos didn't react as it kept staring deep into Ash's eyes, making him feel a little uneasy. Ash looked back at Pikachu confused, but Pikachu simply shrugged. Ash looked once more at the Yungoos and said: "Um… can I help you?
…
No response came from the Yungoos, as it simply kept staring at Ash, almost as if he was analyzing him.
Ash raised an eyebrow before saying: "Uh… Are you someone's trainer?"
…
Still no response.
At this point, Ash was beyond confused. "Eh?"
While Ash was in the process of turning around to speak to Pikachu behind him, the Yungoos spotted a shining reflection on Ash's left wrist, and its eyes widened.
"YUNGOOS!" Ash snapped back towards the Yungoos at the sound of its screech, and before the trainer even had a second to react, the Yungoos suddenly sprang up and yanked Ash's cap and the shining object on Ash's wrist, before swiftly turning around and dashing towards the streets of Hau'oli City.
"H-Hey!- My Z-Crystal! And my hat! Those are mine!" Ash's plea was for nothing, as the Yungoos simply kept running with Ash's hat loosely on its head and Ash's Pikashunium-Z firmly in hand. Whilst Ash stood in disbelief for a moment, Pikachu didn't hesitate and immediately went after it.
"Pikachu!?" Ash shouted as he saw his Pokemon dash off. Instinctively, Ash immediately reached for one of his Pokeballs. "Dragonite! Let's…"
… until he realized he had left his championship-winning team at Oak's lab…
Ash facepalmed. 'This can not be happening right now…" Ash complained in his mind. He had been in Alola for just a few minutes and trouble was already his way!?
Ash shook his head, it wasn't the time to complain, he couldn't just let a random Yungoos steal his most prized possessions after all.
"Pikachu! Wait Up!" Ash screamed in despair, as he dashed in pursuit of his best friend and the Z-Crystal thief.
Completely distracted from the mess, Ash failed to notice his Rotom Phone buzz in his pockets.
"Alright! Message sent! Ash should be here anytime now…"
"You know, it would've been a whole lot simpler if you would've just told him to go to Iki Town while you were on the phone earlier…"
"I-It would've ruined the surprise!..." Kukui tried to sheepishly explain.
"Sure…" Burnet replied in a deadpan voice…
Avoiding the unamused glance that his wife was giving him, Professor Kukui took a sip of his drink embarrassingly, as he glanced at the festively decorated plaza of Iki Town, whilst Burnet fed some crumbs to Lei, holding the baby carefully in her arms.
Hearing the news about their Champion returning to Alola, the people of Alola organized a huge party to welcome the new World Monarch back to their region. A huge feast was set, the whole town was filled with banners of support of their beloved Champion, and an uncountable number of people were crammed in the midst of Iki Town, so much so you would believe the entirety of Alola had been crammed into the small town.
Kukui himself had no idea about this party until a few days ago, when Hala, the Island Kahuna, had informed him that the people of Alola were planning this huge fiesta ever since they witnessed Ash triumphant over Leon in a battle to decide the best Pokemon trainer in the world.
Hala himself admitted he was quite surprised by the involvement of so many people from all over Alola to organize this celebration, but considering that this was the first ever time in the history of Alola a trainer from their region had ever even reached the Hyper Class in the Pokemon World Championships, let alone make it into the Masters 8, let alone beat the unbeatable Leon, it was safe to say that the people of Alola held Ash in very high regard. Despite the trainer not even being born in Alola, they treated their Champion like one of them.
"I still can't believe just how many people showed up… I can barely hear myself think and Ash isn't even here yet…" Kukui said out loud, noting the overcrowding of Iki Town.
"Come on… You know how much Ash means to these people!" Burnet replied happily.
"Yeah…" Kukui responded softly, a proud smile growing on his face.
"Oh, there he is!" Kukui and Burnet somehow heard from the crowd of people.
A few seconds passed by and four instantly recognizable faces appeared from the crowd: Lana, Mallow, Sophocles and Kiawe.
"Alola Professors! Hey there Lei!" The quartet saluted in unison.
"Alola!" Kukui responded, as Burnet simply waved and her baby adorably copied his mother. "How're the celebrations going?"
"The food's REALLY good-
"Never mind that!" Mallow abruptly cut off Sophocles who was busy munching on some of the delicacies. "Where's Ash?" She asked eagerly.
"Someone forgot to tell him to go to Iki Town when he got off the ferry..." Professor Burnet said, not so subtly glancing toward Kukui
"Hehe… M-My bad…" The Professor sheepishly apologized, seeing the dumbfounded looks from the four teenagers.
"He's probably confused as to where everyone's gone…" Kiawe perfectly predicted.
Deciding to switch topics to avoid any further embarrassment for forgetting to tell Ash such an important detail, Kukui asked a question that he was actually very curious about.
"Hey, have any of you seen Lillie and her family? I haven't seen them anywhere here yet…"
Lana, Mallow, Sophocles and Kiawe all looked at each other with a little concern, and Sophocles spoke up. "No… maybe they're running a little late?"
"Weird, you'd think she'd be one of the first ones here considering Ash's coming…" Lana pointed out.
"Oh! Look, I think it's their limo pulling up right now!" Mallow suddenly pointed over the railing behind them, where a slick black limousine could be seen approaching the entrance of Iki Town.
Assuming it most likely was indeed Lillie and her family, the group decided to shuffle through the crowd of people, something which proved to be quite challenging, and go greet them. After a while, they eventually reached the entrance of Iki Town just as the family exited the car.
They looked quite stunned at just how many people were at the event, but they snapped out of it when they noticed Professor Kukui and his friends waving at them just nearby.
"Oh! Alola everyone!" Lusamine properly saluted everyone, as she and her family approached the familiar group of people. "Sorry for the late arrival!"
"I didn't think you of all people would be the ones to show up last… was Hobbes driving slow or something?"
Hobbes seemed a little too dejected at Professor Burnet's obvious joke, to the point where Mohn patted him on the back in reassurance until Gladion spoke up.
"We would've gotten here a lot earlier if Lillie didn't take half an hour getting ready…" The blond-haired trainer said accusingly, crossing his arms while giving his sister a side-eye.
"I-I needed to make sure I was ready!" Lillie embarrassingly defended.
"Ready to see Ash again?" Lana slyly replied.
Kiawe, Mallow and Sophocles all needed to heavily hold themselves back from bursting out laughing, and everyone else simply smiled at each other.
Nobody said anything, but everybody was thinking pretty much the exact same thing.
As everyone slowly glanced towards Lillie, the blonde-haired girl quickly felt the embarrassment come over her and defensively shielded her face with her hair
"I-I…"
"Oh! You made it!"
Everybody turned to look at the new arrival. It was none other than Hala, the Kahuna of Melemele Island.
"Hala! Alola!" Kukui first saluted. Hala smiled and waved at Professor, and similarly greeted Mallow and her friends, before turning his attention back to the Aether family. "I was almost afraid you weren't going to come!"
"Please, we wouldn't want to miss the return of our very own Champion!" Lusamine gleefully replied.
"I would imagine!" Hala laughed, before turning towards Kukui and Burnet. "So, where is the man of honour anyways?" He asked. "The people are getting anxious waiting!"
Lumamine, Mohn, Gladion and Lillie looked at each other confused, and the latter asked with concern: "Wait, Ash isn't here yet?"
Hala and the Aether family all looked towards the others, where Mallow, Kiawe, Lana, Sophocles and Professor Burnet were all looking towards Professor Kukui, unamused.
The Professor scratched the back of his head embarrassingly. "S-See… I kind of forgot to tell him beforehand to come to Iki Town…"
The Lusamine family copied everybody else's unamused look toward Kukui, but the latter quickly defended himself.
"I know I know… but it's been a while now since I messaged him to come to Iki Town, and he still hasn't responded…"
After Kukui's explanation, everybody now looked more concerned than anything.
"Strange… wonder if something happened…" Mohn said, adding to everyone's concern.
"Come on… He probably just found a Pokemon and got distracted, we shouldn't worry too much…" Professor Kukui expressed reassuringly, trying to ease everyone's concern.
Seeing Kukui bring up a very plausible reason, Hala laughed and said, "That does seem like something he'd do… For now, why don't we show Lusamine and her family around?"
"Sounds good!" Mallow and her friends quickly agreed and started leading Lusamine and Mohn towards the main part of Iki Town, much to their delight, as Professor Kukui, Burnet and Hala followed closely behind.
Gladion chuckled seeing his family quickly being led into Iki Town and was about to follow suit, but noticed Lillie lagging behind, twiddling her thumbs and looking at the ground nervously.
Gladion wasn't dumb, he obviously knew about his sister's special attachment to Ash, it would've been harder for him not to notice. From the obvious signs that everyone saw like seeing the way she reacts to any sort of mention of his name, or the more secretive ones like when he found her secretly watching Ash's Coronation Series battles in her room with a huge grin on her face on multiple occasions, he had figured out pretty quickly what was going on. Gladion chuckled once more and lightly face-palmed, before approaching his sister…
"He'll show up soon, don't worry too much."
Lillie suddenly looked up, slightly surprised. Seeing her brother give a reassuring smile, Lillie smiled before looking back at the ground again. "I know… I'm just… nervous…"
"We're talking about the guy who defeated Tapu Koko with a Pikachu. I think he can find his way to Iki Town alright… Now come on, let's join the others."
As Gladion started walking away to catch up with the rest of their family, Lillie sighed and mumbled, "T-that's not why I'm nervous-
"Ash is still Ash, Lillie, he's not gonna forget who you are…"
To Lillie's absolute shock, not only did Gladion manage to her hear, but he also managed to seemingly read her mind perfectly.
As her brother kept walking towards the main part of Iki Town, Lillie wondered if her brother just knew her well or if she was just that easy to read…
"Pikachu!... Pikachu!... Where are you buddy?"
Nothing, just silence.
Ash sighed. It had been just over half an hour since he had arrived in Alola, in that short time frame, he had somehow managed to explore an empty Hau'oli City, met a singular Yungoos, get both his hat and Z-Crystal stolen, and get separated from Pikachu while chasing the Pokemon thief.
And now he was wandering aimlessly in a forest, with no sight of anyone or anything, let alone Pikachu, Yungoos, his hat or his Z-Crystal, and night had already fallen; Fantastic
After walking a few more steps, Ash decided to take a break and sit down on a nearby log. He looked up to the sky, trying his best to appreciate the beautiful Alolan night sky whilst trying to forget his current predicament.
"Why do these kinds of things keep happening…" Ash pondered out loud.
That thought made Ash chuckle. Even though he was most likely lost and still had no idea where anyone was, he was weirdly enjoying this little adventure.
It had been a while since he had properly had a little unexpected adventure. Yeah, travelling the entire world chasing the top of the PWCS rankings was fun and all, but it felt almost too… scripted at times. Honestly, the last time he ended up in an unexpected adventure would have to go back to when he arrived in Alola for the first…
Ash's eyes suddenly widened, as he suddenly remembered why he was here in the first place. He wanted to visit his second family, he wanted to visit the people and Pokemon he held dear, and he wanted to see…
Ash abruptly stood up at that last thought. He stretched his arms and legs whilst refocusing himself. He needed to find Pikachu and that Yungoos so that he could focus on what he came to Alola for.
Ash proceeded to walk further and further into the forest, trying to find any sort of clues as to where anything he was looking for was.
Luckily, it didn't take long before he finally found something.
Just before as he was about to enter a clearing in the forest, Ash quickly ducked behind the nearest tree after noticing something in the near distance. As quietly and discreetly as he could, Ash peeked his head over the tree to peer into the clearing.
There was a group of Yungoos who seemed to have established their home in the small clearing, using a little cave and some rocks nearby as shelter. Within that makeshift shelter, Ash spotted the particular glow of his Pikashunium Z.
Ash's face lit up, until a sudden sound came from one of the bushes nearby, startling him. He quickly hid back behind the tree, and after a few moments of anxiety, slightly scared of what might come up, a familiar little mouse came out, looking tired and dazed.
"Pikachu!" Ash screamed as quietly as he could, trying not to alert the Yungoos nearby. "There you are!"
The little mouse suddenly perked up, and upon turning his head, the little mouse smiled as he recognized his trainer.
"Pi-Pika Pi!" Pikachu exclaimed a little too loudly, doing just what Ash was trying to avoid…
Ash's eyes widened and he quickly picked up Pikachu before hiding back behind the tree. He peered at the clearing and noticed the Yungoos looking around, having definitely heard the noise, but thankfully not figuring out where it came from.
Ash exhaled, and Pikachu looked at his trainer questioningly. "Whew, we gotta stay quiet buddy, we wouldn't want to startle the Yungoos over there…" He said, pointing over to where the group of Pokemon were.
Pikachu glanced toward where Ash was pointing and quickly realized the situation. He let out a cry of embarrassment as he scratched the back of his head adorably.
Ash smiled. "It's great to finally find you buddy, I've been looking all over for you!… I guess that Yungoos really didn't want to let go of our Z-Crystal…"
Pikachu simply nodded, before Ash swiftly explained the situation. "I spotted our Z-Crystal in that shelter over there… Think you can sneak over there and grab it?"
Pikachu confidently let out a cry, making a salute with his paws before jumping out of Ash's arms. The Pokemon waited a bit before slowly and quietly sneaking his way toward the shelter when the Yungoos weren't looking.
Ash kept an eye on from a distance. Things seemed to be going great, and after a few moments, Pikachu reached the shelter unnoticed.
'Nice going buddy!" Ash thought as Pikachu waved from the shelter. Pikachu quickly grabbed the Pikashunium Z, and then Ash raised his hand up, silently telling Pikachu to wait until he gave the signal to make sure the coast was clear.
Grabbing a small rock from the floor, Ash threw the rock at a tree further in the distance, creating a distraction. The Yungoos quickly snapped to where the sound came from and went to investigate, during which Ash signalled to Pikachu that the coast was clear.
Pikachu quickly made his way back to Ash, arriving perfectly unnoticed by the Yungoos. Ash smiled at Pikachu as the little mouse held out the Z-Crystal proudly in his paws.
"Awesome Pikachu!..." Ash said, as he swiftly grabbed the shiny crystal and attached it back onto his Z-Power Ring. Pikachu climbed up his trainer's shoulder and nuzzled his trainer affectionately.
Ash suddenly heard a sound coming from his Rotom Phone and grabbed the device from his pockets. His eyes widened when he realized it was from Professor Kukui, asking if he was arriving soon and that he and his friends were still waiting at Iki Town.
"Shoot… They're probably really worried…" Ash quickly answered that he was coming as fast as he could and that he ran into a little trouble, without going into details. "Come on Pikachu, we need to get going!"
Hurriedly making his way out of the forest and towards Iki Town, Ash couldn't help but wonder once more where all the locals were. He contemplated messaging Kukui about it, but figured he might as well ask once he gets to Iki Town, figuring he couldn't be that far away anyways…
Ash frowned slightly as he lost himself in thought whilst making his way out of the forest. 'I get that we were in a forest and all, but still, you'd think me or Pikachu would have run into some-"
"EEEEK!"
Ash suddenly froze at the sound of a scream that pierced through the silent night of Alola, causing Pikachu on his shoulder to almost fall off.
He recognized that voice...
He recognized that scream...
He recognized that sound of terror.
Without any more hesitation, Ash suddenly sprinted toward where the noise came from as fast as his feet could take him...
10 minutes earlier…
"Kukui sure is busy tonight isn't he…"
"Yeah, I hope he's alright…"
The festivities in Iki Town were still as lively as ever. Even after nightfall, people were still excitedly chatting and amusing themselves; there were even some people putting on a show of traditional Alolan dances on the stage placed in the center of town. Though, amid the fiesta, Kukui was constantly getting pressured by the locals, all asking the very same thing…
"Everybody's asking about Ash…" Mallow said with a laugh, as she was observing the friendly chaos, sitting on a fence on the outskirts of Iki Town, with Lillie just beside her.
"Who wouldn't…" Lillie replied with a chuckle.
"I'm surprised you haven't been hassling Kukui about it… Aren't you excited to see him?" Mallow asked sarcastically with a sly grin.
Lillie briefly glared at her friend unamused, before looking back at the ground. "Of course… but… it's just…"
Lillie paused, and Mallow looked over with concern. Lillie seemed to be about to continue but stopped herself last second. "Nevermind, it's silly…"
"Lillie…" Mallow knew better than to pressure Lillie for an explanation, so she opted just to try and cheer her friend up.
Mallow abruptly jumped from the fence, and stretched out her arms, before turning towards Lillie with a smile. "Look, all I know is that, no matter what, Ash is surely excited to see you again, so you should be excited too!"
Lillie seemed to hesitate for a little bit but eventually gave her friend a small smile. "Yeah… you're right."
Mallow didn't seem fully satisfied with Lillie's response, but she decided to drop it for now. "Good… I'm gonna see what the others are up to, call if you need me!" She said whilst waving.
"Okay, see you later!" Lillie replied similarly with a wave of her own.
As Mallow was walking away, Lillie glanced briefly at the massive crowd of people and sighed. She wasn't really feeling at the festivities after all…
Lillie frantically shook her head at her own thoughts, annoyed with herself. She came here intending to reunite with Ash, and she was already giving up when Ash hadn't even arrived yet…
She needed to clear her head and raise her morale back up, so she pulled out her only Pokeball and opened it, revealing her Alolan Vulpix.
The ice type looked up curiously at her trainer, wondering what was wrong. Lillie simply smiled, before asking, "Snowy, how about a walk?"
"Vul!" Cutely agreed Snowy, as Lillie hopped off the bench, and decided to make her way north towards the Mahalo Trail with her Pokemon in tow.
A few minutes passed by as Lillie enjoyed her little walk with her Pokemon, appreciating the stars as she walked along the beautiful trail.
Lillie had always enjoyed taking little walks. It made her feel at ease, and temporarily forget what was bothering her. It was just her and her Pokemon, alone with her thoughts, walking peacefully across the dirt and stone road. Though, this time…
She couldn't help but think she was running away.
Running away from something she wanted.
She didn't understand herself. She truly was excited to meet him again, but after seeing just how many people also wanted to see him… She started wondering if that feeling was mutual on the same level.
She was certain Ash wanted to see the people in Alola, he always did, but, despite what Mallow and her brother told her, she wasn't sure if he truly wanted to see her as much as she wanted to see him.
Thinking about the last time Ash was in Alola, she understood Ash's popularity, but she still couldn't help but feel like she was just another one in the crowd…
And now, looking at just how many people showed up to Iki Town just to see him, she knew she wasn't special, there was no way he would look at her…
The same way she looked at him.
Through all her thoughts, Lillie failed to realize she had made it all the way to the top of the Mahalo Trail and was starting to approach a planked wooden bridge…
Snowy meanwhile was looking in concern at her trainer, wondering if she was alright. The Pokemon was about to cry out to gain Lillie's attention, until Snow smelled a familiar scent coming from just up ahead
Sniffing the air slightly, Snowy looked ahead, and noticed a more than familiar item stuck on the wooden bridge, and alarmingly called for her trainer.
Finally snapping out of her trance thanks to her Pokemon's cry, Lillie looked down and saw Snowy jumping up and down eagerly. "Snowy? What's wrong–"
Lillie turned to look further ahead and startled herself a little when she noticed just how close she was to the end of the road and the beginning of a flimsy-looking wooden bridge, though what made her eyes widened was what she saw on the bridge…
"That's… t-that's Ash's hat!?" She screamed out in confusion. She was sure it was his, there was no doubt about it… "W-Wait, that means…"
Millions of questions flooded Lillie's brain and none of which she had the answer to. So Ash was here, but why isn't he at Iki Town? And why is his hat stuck on a bridge!?
Lillie took a deep breath, calming herself down. She looked around a bit, trying to find any clues as to why Ash's cap was here, but to no avail. Looking closer, Ash's cap was firmly stuck onto the railing of the wooden bridge, and despite the small breeze, the cap wasn't budging.
Lillie decided to ignore the plethora of questions invading her mind for now and opted to retrieve the cap before making any assumptions. Though, the bridge didn't look like the safest of paths…
She looked down at Snowy and saw her Pokemon looking uneased. Not wanting to put her Pokemon in any danger, Lillie slowly started walking onto the bridge to retrieve Ash's hat herself.
"Vul-Vulpix!" Snowy cried out worriedly, warning her trainer it wasn't safe. Lillie didn't listen and kept moving forward.
Clutching the flimsy railing of the bridge, Lillie slowly and surely made her way forward, making sure to take it one safe step at a time…
Eventually, she reached where Ash's cap was stuck, and after forcefully pulling it a few times, eventually managed to get it unstuck, though at this point the bridge started shaking more and more.
"V-Vulpix!" Cried out Snowy once more, now getting extremely anxious.
"I-I'm fine!" Lillie tried reassuring her Pokemon as best as she could, though a sudden gust of wind made her stumble and almost made her let go of Ash's hat.
Regaining her balance and putting the hat on her head to keep it safe, Lillie clutched the railing with both hands and slowly started making her way back, though, just before she had made it all the way back, another abrupt gust of wind caused a series of sharp cracks to fill the air, as the wooden bridge suddenly crumbled beneath her.
"EEEEK!" Lillie screeched in terror as she felt herself fall toward the river below. Acting quickly she grabbed onto the rope that was still attached to the pole holding the bridge up, saving herself from falling all the way down as she now dangled on the edge of the cliff.
"V-Vul-Vulpix!" Snowy screeched in horror as she saw her trainer fall towards the river below. The Pokemon quickly ran to the edge of the cliff and saw her trainer holding on for dear life to the remains of the bridge.
"P-Pikapi!?" Pikachu started screaming at his trainer, as he chased him towards an unknown location.
Ash didn't listen. He knew what he had heard, and he knew it wasn't good.
Lillie, trying her best not to completely freak out, tried grabbing the rope with her other hand to better hold herself up, but struggled due to the infrequent gusts of wind. Her hand already holding onto the rope started hurting, as the rope wasn't meant to be held this tightly.
Lillie looked up and saw Snowy looking frantically around her, trying to find anything to help her trainer, but Lillie knew there wasn't much the small Pokemon could do…
"PIKA-PIKA PI!" Pikachu practically cried out.
Ash didn't react, as his feet stamped on the pavement of the forest, the steps feeling heavier and heavier. But he knew he couldn't stop.
Pikachu was about to call for his trainer once more, but a familiar scent invaded him, causing him to freeze up on the spot. Pikachu sniffed the scent once more, and upon recognizing it, jumped back in shock, before quickly speeding up to catch up to his trainer.
The screech, the familiar scent, the abrupt gusts of wind…
Even Pikachu knew this wasn't good.
After a few more attempts, Lillie finally managed to grab onto the rope with her other hand, but unfortunately only caused her even more problems, as the rope was starting to tear from the pole holding the remains of the bridge.
Lillie's eyes widened further upon realizing this, and looked around in distress, trying to find anything to help her, but to no avail.
Lillie glanced up once more, noticing Snowy looking distressed, still frantically looking around trying to help her trainer.
Suddenly, she saw Snowy quickly snap her head behind her. Lillie raised an eyebrow, but couldn't focus on her Pokemon as she heard more and more cracks coming from the pole, on the brink of snapping in half…
"AAHHH!" Lillie screeched as she struggled to keep her grip
'Hang on, I'm almost there…!'
Dashing past the trees and leaves of the lush forest, Ash started to feel his legs become numb and his breathing become heavier, as he relentlessly sprinted through the forest, with every step making him feel more and more anxious.
Eventually, Ash shoved one last branch out of his way and eventually reached a path that led up to a wooden bridge a little further ahead. He was more than certain this was where the screech came from.
Ash, still running, approached the wooden bridge, but flinched in surprise at what he saw just next to it.
"Wha– S-Snowy!?"
Snowy, looking down below the bridge looking extremely anxious and distressed, snapped her head towards Ash, recognizing his voice.
"VUL-VULPIX!"
Ash's eyes widened as the Pokemon cried out alarmingly, clearly terrified. Ash's eyes darted around, scanning the place, and soon, everything clicked.
The gusts of wind shaking the remains of the bridge that seemed to have almost completely collapsed…
Snowy shaking in distress…
The rope attached to a pole on the brink of tearing…
And, echoing through the valley below the bridge…
"AAHHH!"
…
Ash felt his heart drop.
"LILLIE-"
Abruptly cutting off Ash was the sharp and harsh ripping noise of the rope finally tearing apart resonating through the air.
The sound of the rope finally tearing apart carried a sense of abruptness, leaving an eerie silence in its wake, and causing Lillie to freeze.
She felt her grip on the rope loosen, and her body fall even further backwards. All of her senses seemed to disappear, with only the sense of despair fully overcoming her mind.
'Lillie…'
Lillie would swear time had frozen, almost feeling like she would be falling for ages. Everything around her turned fuzzy, with her loose grip on the rope that had torn from the pole being the only sensation she felt.
'LILLIE…'
As she slowly felt herself fall toward the bottom of the valley below the bridge, Lillie closed her eyes and let the inevitable come…
"LILLIE!"
Lillie's shot opened, as she felt her grip on the rope suddenly become firm. She didn't know if her mind was playing tricks on her, but what she did know was from who the words were from…
After all, she had his hat on her head…
Lillie glanced up, and her eyes widened.
His messy raven hair…
His z-shaped cheeks…
His shining eyes…
Just like when they shared memories in Alola for the first time, he had come to her rescue once again.
Up above, Ash, after seeing the rope tear apart, quickly dove after the other end of the rope, catching it just in time. The force of the other end of the rope was quickly pulling him off the edge of the cliff as well, but Ash quickly dug his feet into the ground to slow himself down.
Still dangling off the edge of the cliff, Lillie continued staring up above, still barely believing Ash had magically appeared to save her. Though, after seeing him also being pulled closer to the edge of the cliff, she screamed in panic. "ASH- WAIT!"
"H-Hang… on-n… Lillie…" Ash said in between breaths, as he struggled to hold on to his end of the rope, being pulled dangerously closer and closer to the edge. "WOAH-"
Ash tumbled slightly, as, despite his strong grip on the rope and firm feet on the ground, he still wasn't coming to a complete stop. Lillie was starting to worry she was going to bring Ash with her and urgently warned him. "Ash, don't! You're just going to fall with–"
"N-No chance… I-I'm not… abandoning you… again…!"
Lillie froze after hearing Ash's words, the phrase seemingly resonating in her mind. A slight blush came over her.
'I-I'm not… abandoning you… again…!"
Lillie shook herself out of her own thoughts. If Ash wasn't going to give up on her, she wasn't going to give up on herself either.
"S-Snowy! Use Powder Snow on Ash's feet!"
Snowy was a bit startled by the sudden command from her trainer but quickly complied as she blew a chilly gust of snow onto Ash's shoes.
Ash suddenly felt a cold sensation overcome his feet. He looked down and noticed his shoes started to freeze into ice.
Ash would be the first to admit it wasn't the most pleasant feeling, but freezing his feet made him finally come to a complete stop, and he managed to stop Lillie from falling further. Though, this wasn't the end of their problems, as the tension of both Lillie and Ash pulling their ends of the rope was starting to make the rope tear once more.
"T-That can't… be good…" Ash said once again in between breaths. The rope was quickly starting to break and neither he nor Lillie could do anything about it. Though, a saviour came just in time…
"PIKA-PIKA PI!?" Pikachu, having finally arrived at the scene, screeched at the sight of his trainer on the verge of plummeting into the abyss, holding on to a flimsy piece of rope.
"P-Pikachu!" Ash said in surprise as he looked behind him. Seeing his Pokemon arrive, an idea suddenly came to him. "Quick! Electro Web on the rope!"
Seeing the situation, Pikachu decided to act first and ask questions later so he quickly built up electricity in his tail, spun around and fired it at the spot where the rope was tearing.
Just as it looked like the rope was about to separate in two, Pikachu's electric web managed to stick the rope on the ground, finally keeping it from stretching and tearing apart. Ash simply let out a sigh of relief.
Lillie, still dangling on the edge of the cliff, felt herself suddenly stop descending, and silently thanked Arceus she was fine. She looked up and saw Snowy worriedly calling out for her.
"I-I'm fine Snowy!..." Lillie reassured her Pokemon. Using the last of her strength, Lillie put her feet on the wall of the cliff and started slowly climbing back up.
Eventually, Lillie made it all the way back up and back onto stable ground, where she immediately laid herself flat on the ground, exhausted.
Snowy came up to her and immediately started snuggling her trainer, clearly having been anxious about her. Lillie smiled and patted her Pokemon on the head.
Whilst she was taking a moment to think about what happened, She noticed in the corner of her eye, a Pokemon using his tail trying to break two small pieces of ice.
A bit dazed by her near-death experience, Lillie tried to get a better look at what the Pokemon was trying to do. Laying flat on her stomach, her vision was slightly obscured by her long blonde hair, and she couldn't quite see what was beside the Pokemon.
Slowly picking herself up from the ground, fixing her hair in the process, she glanced up and saw the Pokemon, a more than familiar Pikachu, finally break the two pieces of ice, causing a trainer to fall to the ground, clearly tired. Lillie took one look at his face and felt her body freeze on the spot.
Meanwhile, Ash, finally having his feet freed from Snowy's Power Snow, sat on the ground to take a breather. "Phew… Thanks buddy…"
Pikachu grinned and made a small peace sign with his tiny paws. Ash laughed at his Pokemon's gesture and scratched the bottom of Pikachu's chin, the Pokemon seemingly greatly enjoying the act of affection.
Ash's smile grew wider as he slowly glanced back at the bridge, where his face suddenly dropped after catching the stare of a blonde-haired girl just in front of him.
'Lillie…'
'Ash…'
Echoed through the minds of the two trainers, as they simply stared at each other in silence, completely frozen. Since Ash was pulled fairly close to the edge of the cliff, and Lillie had just climbed back up, the two were mere centimetres apart, staring directly into each other's eyes, stunned.
After what felt like ages, they both seemed to realize their situation and frantically backed away from each other, where they both proceeded to nervously try to speak.
"H-Hey-" They awkwardly said at the same time, making them both embarrassed.
"O-Oh, sorry-"
"N-No, i-it's my fault!" Lillie cut Ash off, waving her hands in front of her apologetically.
An awkward silence occurred, where neither Ash nor Lillie quite knew what to say. Pikachu and Snowy glanced at each other, wondering why their trainers were talking like they'd never met before.
After a little while, Ash glanced atop Lillie's head and noticed something peculiar, causing him to finally break the silence. "Is that… my hat…?"
"Huh?" Surprised, Lillie touched the top of her head, completely forgetting she had Ash's hat this whole time. Her cheeks reddened as she embarrassingly tried to explain. "O-Ohh… I d-didn't mean to- I mean, I-I saw it on the bridge! And then… U-Uhh… I…"
Ash couldn't help but chuckle as Lillie awkwardly tried to find her words, and eventually, the chuckle turned into a full-blown laugh, causing Lillie to look at him questioningly.
"W-What's so funny…?"
"Nothing…" Ash said, still trying to contain his laughter. "It's just… I didn't think this would be the way I would see you again…"
Lillie seemed a little surprised, but soon a smile grew on her face and she chuckled as well. "Same here… I was taking a little walk and found your hat on the bridge. I went to get it, but then the winds caused it to collapse, and well, i-if you hadn't shown up…"
Ash noticed Lillie get uneasy, so he put his hand on her shoulder reassuringly, causing the girl to flinch. "Hey… I'm just glad you're alright." He said with a small smile.
"A-Ash… I…"
"ASH!"
Ash and Lillie's heads snapped behind them, and they instantly saw Professor Kukui, panting, as he reached the top of Manhalo Trail. "There you are! Oh, it seems Lillie found you already!"
"Professor!?" Ash said, surprised. "What are you doing here?"
"I heard a screech coming from near here, so I went to check it out, and I'm sure glad I did!" Professor Kukui said, relieved. He approached Ash with a smile and ruffled his hair. "Nice to see you again, Mr. Monarch!"
Ash admittedly laughed at his own title and smiled back. "You better not start calling me that… and it's great to see you too, Professor!"
"OH, THAT'S RIGHT!"
Both Kukui and Ash abruptly turned around at the sound of Lillie very loudly screaming. Lillie quickly noticed she probably screamed a little too loudly and embarrassingly covered her mouth. "S-Sorry… I d-didn't mean to scream… I-I just forgot…"
Lillie stood up, put her hands behind her back and smiled at Ash. "C-Congrats, Ash! I couldn't be happier for you!"
Ash couldn't tell you why, but as Lillie was congratulating him, with a sincere smile plastered on her face, it was as if the Alolan night sky perfectly reflected on her shiny blonde hair, and Ash felt his heartbeat speed up as he looked at her speechless.
After a little while, Ash shook his head, snapping himself back to reality, and replied, unusually embarrassed, "T-Thanks Lillie…"
A strange silence occurred between Ash and Lillie, where the two seemed too embarrassed to add anything. Kukui noticed this and raised an eyebrow, before glancing at Snowy and Pikachu, where the two Pokemon seemed equally confused.
Pikachu, opting to break this weird silence, suddenly climbed up Kukui's shoulder and nuzzled his face, greeting him properly. Kukui smiled, before scratching the bottom of the Pokemon's cheek.
"It's great to see you too, Pikachu! I see you've grown pretty strong…" Kukui said with a laugh, to which Pikachu replied by puffing out its chest confidently.
Ash and Lillie seemed to come back to reality upon noticing Pikachu greet the Professor and smiled at the electric type's funny attempt to make himself look big.
Kukui looked back at the two teens, when suddenly he was reminded why he needed to find Ash in the first place, and urgently said, "Oh! I-I almost forgot… Ash, I need you to come to Iki Town. Like, right now."
Lillie's eyes widened realizing what Professor Kukui was talking about, but didn't say anything. Meanwhile, Ash just seemed confused. "Okay sure… but before that, I've been wanting to ask you both, where is everyone? I've been running around Hau'oli city when I first arrived and the streets seemed completely deserted…"
Kukui and Lillie both couldn't help but chuckle at Ash's complete cluelessness, causing the latter to be even more confused. Kukui then said, "I'll explain in a bit… but I really need you to come to Iki Town first."
Professor Kukui was already starting to practically drag Ash toward where they needed to go, but Ash looked back for one second and abruptly stopped Professor Kukui. "W-Wait! Lillie… you're coming… right?
Lillie flinched nervously at Ash's hopeful question, as Ash stared at her awaiting a response.
"Ash is still Ash, Lillie, he's not gonna forget who you are…"
"Look, all I know is that, no matter what, Ash is surely excited to see you again, so you should be excited too!"
The words from her brother and her friend rang in her mind…
Lillie stared blankly back at Ash, her nerves rapidly coming over her. She didn't know what to respond. She wanted to go, she wanted to talk to Ash more, she wanted to be with him for longer, but…
The crowd of people in Iki Town, all awaiting his arrival…
The festivities set up specifically for their Champion, the World Champion…
Meanwhile, she could barely even hold a conversation with him without it getting awkward…
With all of this… she couldn't help but think once again…
She would just be another face in the crowd to him…
Lillie hesitated for a second, before finally smiling back at Ash as best as she could. "You guys go on ahead, I w-wanna stay out here for a little while longer."
Snowy's head snapped at her trainer, bewildered. Lillie noticed her Pokemon glance towards her in the corner of her eye but didn't say anything, and simply kept smiling at Ash.
Ash seemed disappointed, but tried his best to hide it, and smiled back at Lillie the best he could. "O-Oh, I see…"
Kukui was surprised at Lillie's answer but didn't press her on it considering he really needed to get Ash to Iki Town before everyone left, so he decided to break another awkward silence between the two teens by dragging Ash back down Mahalo Trail, but not before saying: "W-Well, make sure you join us later, Lillie! I really need to take Ash to Iki Town, so we'll see you later!"
"A-Alright!" She simply responded, waving them goodbye with another forced smile.
As Ash was being dragged by Professor Kukui, he kept looking back at Lillie, looking like he wanted to say something, but he couldn't get the right words out of his mouth.
Ash couldn't explain it, and he might have been overthinking it, but something seemed off about Lillie, but he couldn't put his finger on it, and that annoyed him, more than he thought it would.
As Professor Kukui and Ash disappeared into the distance, Pikachu was left there with Lillie and Snowy, and the electric-type Pokemon seemed to notice something was wrong as well. Lillie glanced at Pikachu, and the Pokemon stared back.
"Vul-Vulpix!"
Lillie and Pikachu glanced at Snowy upon hearing her. The ice type looked at Lillie and pointed at the top of her head. Lillie was confused, until she realized that, after all this time, she still had Ash's hat on top of her.
Lillie facepalmed herself, before crouching down to Pikachu and placing Ash's hat on the Pokemon's head. "S-Sorry, make sure you give Ash's hat back, okay?"
"Pi-Pikachu?" The Pokemon said questioningly, wondering why the girl couldn't give Ash's hat back herself later. Lillie smiled, as Pikachu seemingly unwillingly started to catch up to Professor Kukui and Ash.
A little while after Pikachu left as well, Snowy let out a concerned cry. Lillie sat down, glanced at her Pokemon and sighed, frustrated with herself.
'Why… Why am I so…"
Lillie looked at the sky for a brief moment, before looking back towards the ground and pulling her legs closer to her, a saddened expression on her.
She knew that Pikachu had most likely asked her why she couldn't bring it back herself when she caught up to them later but decided not to say anything, after all…
Lillie never did come back to Iki Town.
A/N: Well, that's it for the first chapter. I would give an estimate as to when this will get updated, but if I'm honest, I have absolutely no idea hehe. I'll try my best not to make it too long, but yeah, until next time, see ya!