A/N: pokemon horizons is pretty cool, would recommend
Professor Burnet glanced at her Pokétch, more specifically at the digital clock app, for what felt like a millionth time this morning. She looked over at the loft in the upper part of the living room and sighed. It was just about time.
She didn't exactly feel right about doing this to Ash, but considering Lana had secretly told her that this was 'crucial' for the day, she thought she might as well comply.
She looked at Lei, adorably sitting on the counter and looking at her mother with a goofy smile. Burnet couldn't help but smile back as she gently put two earmuffs on her child, blocking out most exterior noise which she was sure the baby would appreciate. Picking up two frying pans from the kitchen, Burnet slowly made her way below Ash's loft. Glancing up at the sound of snoring above her, the thought of just waking him up normally occurred to her, but considering how much of a heavy sleeper he was, she knew this was probably for the better.
After mentally preparing herself and innerly apologizing to Ash, Professor Burnet started slamming the two frying pans together with force, creating an awfully loud banging noise that resonated throughout the household.
Up in the loft, it was safe to say Ash and Pikachu awoke in a panic, so much so that Pikachu instinctively let out a discharge of electricity, electrocuting his trainer in the process. Ash screeched in discomfort, until Pikachu finally noticed what he was doing and abruptly stopped, an apologetic look on the Pokemon's face. Ash barely acknowledged Pikachu, as the loud banging of metal still invaded his ears, causing him to cover them to limit the noise.
Crawling to the edge of the loft, Ash looked down only to find that Professor Burnet was the cause of his ears almost bleeding and screamed to get her attention. "H-Hey, hey! What's that for!?"
Burnet stopped her racket upon noticing Ash was startled awake. She put the frying pans on the kitchen counter before turning back and looking up at Ash, hands on her hips, a fake frown on her face. "Ash, do you know what time it is?"
Ash looked confused as Burnet pointed at her Pokétch, the latter adding. "It's ten till nine, what are you still doing here?"
"Since when did you have a Pokétch!?- Actually, never mind, what's so important at nine that you had to wake me up so violently!?" Ash said, still alarmed, as Pikachu hopped on top of Ash's head and looked down at Burnet.
"Well for one, this…" Burnet pointed at her Pokétch once again, temporarily ignoring Ash's second question."...was a gift from Kukui he got me for our anniversary not too long ago. And second, you're supposed to be at the Pokemon School by nine, if not you're gonna be late for class!"
…
Ash wondered if the loud banging messed with his hearing.
"What… are you talking about…?"
Professor Burnet's fake frown grew more expressive as she gently took off Lei's earmuffs. "What do you mean 'What are you talking about'? Don't tell me you forgot that Mallow and Lana organized a back-to-school day?"
Ash blinked rapidly and opened his mouth in utter confusion, before saying. "Wait… what?"
"Didn't Lana tell you about something special today!?"
"Uh, No!? I…"
Ash trailed off as his last conversation with Lana yesterday suddenly popped into his mind. He remembered she did say something about a special event today and practically ordered him to keep his schedule open, but she said she would give him the details later that day, which she never did…
'Is this what she was talking about…!?" Ash said to himself, as he finally started to put the pieces together.
"I mean… She did tell me yesterday something special was today, but all she said was that she would tell me about it later, and I haven't heard from her since so I just assumed she would tell me this morning…"
"Well, tough luck because I'm telling you right now you should really get going before you're late… like usual..."
"S-So wait, I need to be there in ten minutes!?"
Burnet took the briefest of glances at her Pokétch. "Make that nine."
"Oh, you have got to be..."
Ash didn't even bother finishing his sentence, as he hurriedly grabbed his day clothes and rushed to the bathroom, with Pikachu right on his heels. Burnet's frown faded away as the two disappeared to the other room, a smirk taking its place on her face instead. She slowly walked towards the living room couch, specifically to where Ash had left his bag, searching for something.
In the bathroom, Ash hastily put on his day clothes as Pikachu quite amusingly helped his trainer brush his teeth. Ash adjusted a bit of his hair, before frantically searching his body, wondering if he needed to bring anything.
Ash frowned as he finished putting his jacket on. "Man… I don't even know what I'm getting myself into…"
Ash stifled a laugh, as a smile appeared on his face. While he wished someone had told him sooner as promised, a day back at school sounded quite fun, though he didn't know what that quite entailed. Was it just another day as if he were back in school? What would they do? What would they learn? Was everyone going to be there? Was Lillie going to be there?
Ash's eyes widened a little at the last question to himself, before his smile unknowingly grew wider, as he finished getting ready and quickly darted out of the bathroom, having not noticed he had left his hat behind. Pikachu did though and called for his trainer, only for Ash to ignore him. Pikachu frowned before swiftly picking up Ash's hat with his tail and throwing it onto his small head, dashing after his trainer afterwards.
Burnet noticed in the corner of her eye Ash sprint from the bathroom to the front door, only slowing down to quickly pick up his Z-Power Ring he had left on the table the night before. Just as he finished attaching the item to his left wrist, Professor Burnet caught his attention. "Ash!"
Ash stopped himself just as he was about to run out of the front door, jogging in place as he turned to the female Professor. She shot him a smile before throwing him two more items. "Here."
Ash, not expecting it, caught the two items awkwardly. He looked at what Burnet had given him and raised an eyebrow, just as Pikachu arrived, the Pokemon climbing up the trainer's shoulder. "My Dynamax Band… and my Mega Glove? Why? There's no Power Spot in Alola… and I don't even have Lucario with-
"Call it a woman's intuition, I have the feeling you might need them." Professor Burnet replied with a sly wink, causing Ash to narrow his eyes in confusion. "Plus, you look cooler with them on, almost as if you know what you're doing."
"Hey! I…" Ash wanted to retort, but the words couldn't come out of his mouth. Defeated, Ash sighed, before putting on his glove containing his Key Stone on his left hand, opting to not wear the right-handed glove, and put his Dynamax Band on his right wrist.
"Much better!" Burnet squealed, as Ash kept his unenthusiastic gaze. A rumble of Ash's stomach then caught the attention of both of the trainers, and Ash scratched the back of his head, embarrassed.
"You might have to skip out on breakfast, unfortunately…" Burnet said, only for Ash to wave his hand nonchalantly.
"I'll get something on the way, no need to worry!" Ash said as he already started running out of the front door. "See ya later, Professor!"
"T-There's no way you're making-"
Professor cut herself off as she slowly walked out to the patio, finding it pointless to argue as she saw Ash already way ahead, saluting his Alolan Pokemon who were resting on the beach, as he and Pikachu sprinted towards Hau'oli City. The Professor simply held her head, admittedly slightly amused.
Lillie glanced at the clock on the classroom wall anxiously. It was already close to the designated meeting time, and he still hadn't arrived. She looked down as she unconsciously twiddled her thumbs, a smile creeping on her face.
She had to admit, she didn't know what to think when Mallow and Lana told her they were organizing a school day last night, but now, sitting in the classroom in which some of her fondest memories were built, saying she was excited was an understatement.
Plus, this gave her an excuse to see Ash in a familiar environment, with her mind a little more clear, though she wouldn't necessarily want to admit that.
That being said, Ash did need to show up first.
"Well, leave it to Ash to be late…" A sudden voice exclaimed from behind her, a voice she recognized very well as Kiawe. Lillie turned around, only to find him stretching as the rest of their friends glanced at him as well, as his Turtunator and Marowak watched him on amusingly. "...and here I was hoping to have a battle with him beforehand…" He sighed, laying his face down on his desk.
Lillie swore she heard Lana and Mallow giggle beside her, but she couldn't spend time wondering if that was the case, as Sophocles suddenly spoke up. "And leave it to you to want a battle this early in the morning…" He said, sleep still noticeable in his voice. "I didn't think I'd have to wake up early for school again…"
The group as a whole shared a laugh before it was Mallow's turn to pipe up. "Hey! Did you know how hard it was to find a day off that worked for all of us? Plus, it'll be fun, just go with it!"
Lillie laughed at Mallow's typical self. She did have a point, organizing a day that worked out for everyone couldn't have been easy since school wasn't in session: Kiawe was working hard to become a Kahuna, Sophocles had been in and out of Alola visiting a multitude of Space Centers in multiple different regions, Lana was similarly as well exploring the world through ocean expeditions, Mallow's been working hard running a thriving restaurant, and Ash was busy on a little quest of casually becoming the best trainer in the world. That being said, with the exception of the latter, the group of friends always managed to find time for each other, and that was undeniably visible the moment Lillie arrived in the classroom earlier this morning, where you could easily tell the dynamic of the group hadn't changed at all.
Having arrived last among the four of them, Lillie arrived in the classroom to find Kiawe and Lana 'playfully' arguing about whether Fire types or Water types were the cooler typing, despite the two not being able to come to a consensus on the subject for years now, while Mallow and some of the group's Pokemon were helping an anxious Sophocles chase down a rampant Togedemaru, who was freaking out at the thought of meeting Pikachu again and causing chaos. Lillie realized at that moment that Mallow was right, some things never change.
Back in the present, the group's attention was caught when the sound of feet approaching the class was heard. Admittedly, Lillie's heart skipped a beat, thinking Ash had finally made it, but unfortunately, it was Professor Kukui, who had returned from the office.
"Hey everyone!" The Professor said happily, greeting the class again.
"Hey, Professor!" The teens replied in unison.
Kukui scanned the classroom and frowned after noticing Ash had yet to arrive. "Ash isn't here yet? Lana, didn't you tell him what was going on today?"
"Well I was going to but… I decided to ask Burnet for a favour, you know, to keep the tradition going!" She said with a mischievous smile.
Everyone except Lana and Mallow looked at each other, confused, before they all asked the same question at the same time.
"What tradition?"
"I'm late, I'm late… I'm going to be late!"
"Pika-Pikachu!"
Ash and Pikachu screamed as they ran through the streets of Hau'oli City. He knew he wasn't helping his situation by taking the detour, but there was no way his stomach was going to let him go to school without breakfast. Ash just hoped a familiar old lady was still near.
Swerving through the market streets of the big coastal city purely off of memory alone, not surprisingly, Ash got a few looks and people calling his name, obviously recognizing him and wondering what on earth their Champion was doing. Ash awkwardly saluted them as he kept on sprinting, knowing he didn't have time to chat. After all…
The World Monarch needed to go to school again.
…
'That sounds really dumb…' Ash couldn't help but say in his mind, reflecting on that thought for the briefest of moments, but not stopping his sprint.
Eventually, after one final turn, Ash found just the stall he was looking for, accompanied by just the person he wanted to see. He waved his arm frantically in the air, catching the attention of the old lady working at the stall as he got closer.
"Anela! Hey!"
The old lady looked up upon hearing her name, and a soft smile appeared on her face as she saw a familiar boy and his Pikachu running towards her. She gave a small wave back as Ash finally stopped in his tracks in front of her stall.
"Ash, dear! Pikachu! How have you two been?" The lady asked sweetly, as she naturally reached her hand out to scratch Pikachu's chin.
"We've been great! How's business?"
"Oh, you know me… same as usual. So, what pleasure do I have for our Champion visiting today?"
"I'm actually in quite a hurry, I've got school today and I woke up kinda late, so I was wondering if you had anything for me and Pikachu to eat?" Ash asked, understandably a little embarrassed.
Anela looked at the boy in amusement, before searching for something behind her stall. "I have to say dear, I wouldn't think you of all people would be back at school…"
Ash laughed awkwardly but didn't say anything, as Anela grabbed two Malasada Donuts from her stall and held them in front of Ash and Pikachu. "I just picked up these two from the store, I had a feeling somebody might need them today. But before I can give you these, you have to promise me something dear."
Ash unconsciously nodded his head, as his and Pikachu's eyes stayed glued to the delicious pieces of food in front of them. Anela giggled and gave the Malasadas to Ash and Pikachu, before saying, "Next time you have a battle on the big stage like against that… Leon fellow, I want to see my little Litten in action!"
Ash snapped out of his hungry trance and looked at Anela, surprised and awed as the lady ruffled his hair lovingly. Both because he didn't know she cared much about battling and because he found it adorable how she still saw his powerful Incineroar as the little Litten that came to her stall for food all that time ago.
Ash grinned, he and Pikachu taking a bite of their Malasadas before the trainer replied. "Sure! I'll make sure you see just how strong he's gotten!"
Ash quickly resumed his rush, running down the road whilst waving goodbye to Anela behind him. "See ya, Anela! Thanks for the food!"
"Have a nice day at school, Ash, Pikachu!" The woman waved back.
Moments later, already out of Hau'oli market streets, Ash debated how to get to school as fast as possible. He knew the main road to the Pokemon School could be quite the trek, but as Pikachu on his shoulder pointed out, they knew a faster way there, so Ash quickly dipped from the streets and went into the forest.
Rushing past the trees and leaves, hopping past small branches and the rough terrain of the makeshift path in the forest, Ash couldn't help but grow a smile on his face. Running full of adrenaline late for school, a Malasada stuffed in his mouth, Pikachu grinning excitedly on his shoulder, the breeze of the Alola winds often interrupted by tall trees and bushes of the forest…
He missed this.
Eventually making his way out of the forest, Ash slowly came to a halt upon seeing the familiar building from behind: the Pokemon School. Ash stared in awe, noting the place from the outside hadn't changed at all, until Pikachu quickly reminded him he was, in fact, running very late. Ash quickly gobbled up the remaining of his Malasada doughnut before rushing to the front of the building.
Professor Kukui, silently standing in front of the class as he watched his students chat among themselves, glanced at his watch and frowned. It was five past nine, and still no sign of Ash.
"Man, I wonder what's taking him so long." The Professor couldn't help but say out loud, catching the attention of his students. He locked eyes with Lana and Mallow, who still hadn't told the rest of the group what she told Professor Burnet to do, and saw the two stifle a laugh again.
"I'm starting to think you just didn't tell Ash anything…" Kiawe suddenly said, only for Lana to quickly defend herself.
"I swear I did!" She reassured, before giving the slightest of glances to Lillie as she added: "He'll come, don't worry."
Lillie caught the sneaky glance from Lana and looked at the ground nervously before the latter added:
"He's probably just a little slow."
"I would've been here faster if you would've told me something…!" A voice suddenly came from the door to the classroom, causing everyone to snap their heads towards the new arrival.
Lillie instantly recognized the voice and her head shot upwards to the door, where her heart stopped.
'Ash…'
He was slouched on the doorframe, holding himself up with one hand, looking somewhat exhausted. For a reason that Lillie didn't know but didn't mind in the slightest, Ash didn't have his signature hat on, but Pikachu on his shoulder did instead, letting his wild raven hair roam free which to Lillie's eyes looked strangely majestic. He had an almost drunken smile as he smiled at them, wiping a bead of sweat off his face with his free hand, where she saw the glow of Z-Crystal and his Key Stone. Lillie tried her best to convince herself her eyes were playing tricks on her, but it really did look like he was shining.
"Ash!" Lillie's four other friends exclaimed, not that Lillie noticed as she was too engrossed by his presence. Ash took his time to regain his breath, before saying:
"Hey everyone!" He waved as he scanned the classroom, his smile not disappearing until he abruptly froze once his eyes met Lillie's, where his facial expression quickly went to a surprised one.
Lillie felt like a solid minute had passed as she and Ash stared at each other, but in reality, it was no longer than a few seconds. She didn't know what he was thinking, as he had an unreadable expression on his face, but what she did know was that, after a few seconds of staring into each other's eyes, the soft smile that Ash gave her as he waved hello made her melt.
"Ash, looks like you finally found your way here!" Professor Kukui said with a laugh, snapping Lillie out of her trance.
Ash's happy expression instantly faded into a look of pure annoyance as his head snapped towards Lana. "Someone decided to not tell me we were doing this today! And you definitely told Professor Burnet to wake me up late didn't you!?"
Lana smiled smugly before replying, "Well, it wouldn't be a school day if you weren't late… Besides, I made sure Professor Burnet woke you up early enough so you had time to run here, but it seems like you still managed to make it late. D'you get lost or something?"
"N-No! Why would I…" Ash's annoyed face turned into shock, as he realized his little breakfast detour was probably the reason why he was late. Ash embarrassingly scratched his cheek, before deciding it'd be better for him to just drop the subject. "Y-You know what, never mind…"
As everyone looked at Ash suspiciously, Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder and went to greet the group's Pokemon. He waved at them from a distance, but before he could reach them, Togedemaru suddenly tackled Pikachu out of nowhere, causing the two Pokemon to roll comically into the wall. Pikachu looked dazed as Togedemaru started jumping up and down on his lifeless body, and the other Pokemon watched somewhat amused.
"Well, whatever the reason for being late, glad you could make it Ash!" Sophocles suddenly exclaimed, deciding to ignore Togedemaru's actions.
"Glad to be here! Can't say I'm not excited!"
"For the record Ash, you owe me a battle for being late!" Kiawe then beamed, standing up abruptly from his desk, pointing at Ash with fire in his eyes. Ash simply smiled awkwardly.
"Alright, alright we'll have plenty of time for battling later. For now, how about you take a seat, Ash?" Kukui said, to which Ash gladly complied.
Sitting down at his old desk, Ash felt another wave of nostalgia as he glanced around. Everything pretty much stayed the same, but it still felt oh so foreign, it had been so long since he had actually sat down here to learn that it felt oddly weird.
Pikachu soon made his way to Ash's desk after finally getting Togedemaru off of him, and plopped himself in front of his trainer, sitting and looking at Kukui, as the rest of the group's Pokemon did so similarly, the smaller ones joining their trainers near their desks and the bigger ones taking a seat at the back of the class.
Professor Kukui smiled as he saw everyone take their seats, before speaking up. "Alright everyone, I hope you're all ready for another great day of school! We've got a bunch of things planned, but how about we start with a bit of a lesson about…"
Professor Kukui temporarily turned his back to the class and wrote something on the chalkboard. "Pokemon history!"
The class as a whole groaned, especially Ash, who seemingly just remembered what school entailed: Sitting at a desk and listening about something he was sure to forget the next day.
'Why was I excited for this again?'
Thirty minutes passed and Professor Kukui was still going on about the history of the Alola region. He knew very well his class didn't find any of this mildly interesting, but, as Lana puts it, it was tradition.
Professor Kukui was admittedly surprised when Lana and Mallow came to him with the idea, but, as he started planning out the day, he realized it could bring the class together once more and have a bit of fun while they were at it.
He took a look at the class and saw the group was already tired from hearing him speak about something he knew they had heard plenty of times before. Thankfully for them, this was just to make them believe they were in for an underwhelming day, the fun started now, just as he spotted Ash taking a nap on his desk.
Kukui abruptly stopped talking and fixed Ash without saying anything. The group noticed and all turned their heads toward the sleepy trainer, struggling to contain their laughter. Pikachu, still sitting on Ash's desk, tried to wake him up after noticing the entire group staring at his trainer by nudging him, but to no avail.
Pikachu grew tired of taking the peaceful way out and eventually let out a discharge of electricity directly at its trainer, causing him to be shocked awake fairly painfully. Ash, agitated, frantically waved his hands in front of him and started babbling. "Y-Yeah! I'm totally awake, I definitely was not sleeping!-
"Okay, class! How about we switch subjects!" Kukui cut Ash off, erasing the notes on the chalkboard to the relief of everyone.
After clearing the board, Kukui glanced at Ash briefly before addressing the class. "How about we discuss battle mechanics!"
"Battle mechanics!?" Ash practically screamed, slamming his hands on the table. "Awesome!"
"That's great to hear Ash, because you're going to be teaching!" Professor Kukui then said, to Ash's absolute shock.
"Huh!? Me!?"
"Yes, you. Lana said you had prepared a presentation about the different battle mechanics yesterday, so why don't you come up here and show us!"
It was an obvious lie to punish Ash for sleeping in class, but Ash didn't question it and preferred shooting Lana a death glare. Lana, catching on to Kukui's lie, replied by playfully winking at him.
Ash was truly starting to wonder if Lana had a vendetta against him.
"Go on then, Ash!" Mallow encouraged before Kiawe and Sophocles joined in respectively.
"Yeah Ash, surely you of all people could talk about it!"
"You are one of the few people who can use all three known battle mechanics after all."
"G-Guys, come on!" Ash looked around the classroom for help, and his eyes landed on Lillie. "Lillie, please, help me out here!"
The pleading eyes from Ash were admittedly very hard for Lillie to betray, but she had to admit, it would be quite funny to see Ash try and give a presentation on something she probably would've wanted to ask him about anyway.
Lillie didn't reply but gave Ash a shy smile, which was her signal that he was on his own for this one. Ash looked betrayed and eventually sighed in defeat as he slowly got up from his desk and approached the front of the class. Kukui moved to the side as he let Ash have the floor.
Ash couldn't tell you why, but he suddenly felt extremely nervous. Looking at the class, he saw most of the Pokemon including Pikachu hold back their giggles, Lana, Mallow and Sophocles were pretty much the same as they looked at him, Kiawe looked awfully attent, and Lillie looked… shyly supportive...?
Ash raised an eyebrow as he looked at Lillie, who had her fists up excitedly as if to say 'Good luck!'. Ash quietly laughed to himself, admittedly a little embarrassed but thankful Lillie was there to cheer him on.
Taking a deep breath, Ash shook his head before starting, "So… Um, according to… well I-I don't actually know who, there are three battle mechanics that people can use in battle…"
Ash was distracted when he saw Kiawe furiously writing in his notes as if he didn't already know the simple piece of information he just said. Ash then glanced nervously at Kukui, who simply nodded for him to continue.
"Uh… You all know about Z-Moves, but then there's…" Ash stopped, almost as if he had forgotten the other two, causing half of the class to burst out laughing.
Seeing everybody amused at his struggles, Ash facepalmed as he mentally questioned himself. 'Come on, Ash! You've battled in front of thousands of people and this makes you nervous!?'
Glancing back at the class, he saw basically everyone unsuccessfully hold back their laughter, but amongst the fit, he spotted Lillie. He could tell she was also doing her best to hold back a chuckle, but an encouraging smile was plastered on her face. Ash couldn't tell you why, but his eyes were glued to her as he froze until Lillie abruptly pointed at her wrists one after another, which snapped him back to reality.
Ash shook his head frantically before a big grin suddenly appeared on his face. If he was going to do this, he was going to do it his way.
"... There are two other mechanics that are just as cool!" Ash practically screamed, catching the attention of his friends. Ash took off Dynamax Band, mentally thanking Professor Burnet for giving him his items this morning, not bothering to question how oddly accurate her "Woman's intuition" was, as she put it, before resuming.
Ash held up the Dynamax Band in front of him. "This is a Dynamax Band and it makes your Pokemon grow huge! The first time I used it, Pikachu did it by accident after a rampaging Pokemon did it too… and it was all like… WHAM! And his moves were all like… WOOSH!"
Ash rambled on in his typically overly enthusiastic fashion, finally gaining actual interest from the rest of the class. Lillie in particular watched on, as her smile slowly grew bigger and bigger.
Ash then suddenly removed his Mega Glove and, similarly to his Dynamax Band, proudly held it out in front of him, the particular glow of his Key Stone shining throughout the room. "This is a Key Stone! You need this and a Pokemon's Mega Stone to Mega Evolve, but also an intense bond with your Pokemon!"
The rest of the class shared a quiet laugh as they saw sparkles in Ash's eyes as he continued his speech. "It's hard to explain… but it's like you and your Pokemon become one, and you feel this intense adrenaline that makes your heart burn excitedly and…"
Lillie zoned out the rest of what Ash was saying, but her eyes did not leave him for one second. She didn't even think she could if she wanted to. Something about him had captivated her long ago.
'Why is he so dang… adorable…' She couldn't help but think.
"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"
"Come on, Turtonator! Flamethrower!"
The two Pokemon launched their moves, the two colliding in the middle of the battlefield. It seemed to be even for a little while, until the electric bolt suddenly overpowered the Flamethrower and Turtonator felt a thousand volts of electricity course through its body as an explosion occurred. Once the smoke disappeared, Turtonator was lying on the floor, fainted.
Sophocles, watching on from the sidelines of the battlefield, raised a hand to Ash's side. "Turtonator can no longer battle, Pikachu wins!"
Ash smiled at Sophocles's words, before turning his attention to Pikachu in front of him. He high-fived his Pokemon's tail as he said, "Good job, buddy!"
"Pika-Pikachu!" The Pokemon chirped back, exhaustion hearable in his voice but the Pokemon tried his best to hide it.
On the other side of the battlefield, Kiawe quietly thanked Turtonator as he recalled the Pokemon. He lifted his head, looking towards Ash, before saying, "You might have beaten two of my Pokemon, but I got one more in me, Ash! Hope you're ready!"
"R-Really!?" Ash exclaimed, surprised. "Kiawe, can't we just go eat now? I'm really hungry-"
"Marowak, let's go!" Kiawe cut Ash off, quickly pulling out another Pokeball which revealed his Alolan Marowak.
Ash sighed but eventually smiled. "Alright then… Let's do this, Pikachu!"
As the two trainers resumed their intense battle, Lana, Mallow and Lillie watched in amusement from the small stands a bit further away from the battlefield, already eating their packed lunch for the day.
"Poor Ash…" Mallow couldn't help but say, as the trainer was reluctantly forced into another battle despite his hunger.
"More like poor Pikachu… Ash doesn't have any other Pokemon on him…" Lana countered, before taking another bite of her sandwich.
Lillie quietly laughed to herself, as her eyes stayed focused on the battle in front of her. Her two friends had a point, knowing Ash and Pikachu's appetite they would probably appreciate some food right about now.
It was around midday and, following a somewhat eventful morning back to school, it was now the group's lunchtime. After Ash's eccentric presentation on battle mechanics, Professor Kukui organized a few more activities, notably an obstacle course with the class's Pokemon and an outdoor lesson on Bug Pokemon tendencies in the wild, before dismissing the class to go for lunch. The second Kukui did so, Kiawe immediately started pestering Ash for a battle, which the latter gladly accepted. Sophocles volunteered to referee, and Lillie, Mallow and Lana opted to watch the battle as they ate.
Lillie glanced over at Ash, hearing him order Pikachu to use Electro Web, wildly making hand gestures as he passionately commanded his dear Pokemon. She found herself staring at him, something which proved to be common practice since this morning.
Lillie would be lying if she said she wasn't enjoying the day, it was amusing and refreshing to try and recreate a school day with her dearest friends and the activities Professor Kukui had planned were enjoyable too, though she would also be lying if she said she wasn't a little disappointed that she hadn't really had the chance to talk to Ash much yet.
When Mallow told her the day before about what they were planning on doing today, in the back of her mind she was hoping this would be a perfect way for her to talk to Ash in a natural environment for her, something she was sure Mallow had thought about as well. In reality, while at least it seemed the awkwardness between her and Ash was gone, she only rarely talked to him due directly to what they were doing. She was hoping she would get the chance to just talk to him, maybe clear up a few things and just happily converse with someone she cared way too much about.
Lillie slowly shook her head. She was probably just thinking wishfully. She had plenty of time to talk to Ash, and it might be better to just enjoy the day as it was, instead of racking her brain trying to find an opportunity to talk to him. After all, watching him from a distance was something she was used to, and something she found comfort in, and she might end up embarrassing herself trying to force a conversation with Ash.
Unfortunately for Lillie, Lana and Mallow, who had noticed Lillie not being able to take her eyes off Ash, had other ideas.
Lana and Mallow glanced at each other and smiled knowingly before the latter turned to Lillie. "Lillie… You know you can just go talk to him, right?"
"Huh!?" Lillie said, snapping herself out of her trance. She turned to face her friends only to find Mallow and Lana staring directly at her.
"Yeah… You kinda look like a weird stalker right now." Lana added, stifling a laugh.
"N-No I don't! I-I…" Lillie felt her cheek redden in embarrassment, as she bashfully tried to find a reply. After a few moments, Lillie sighed, knowing she wasn't fooling anyone. "I… I just don't want to force anything…"
"Lillie, since when is talking to Ash forcing anything? You clearly want to speak to him, he's not going to hate you for that!" Mallow said, doing her best not to laugh at the absurdity of Lillie's reasoning.
Lillie looked at her feet, embarrassed and conflicted. Lana figured Lillie wasn't going to do anything unless she got a little push, so Lana whispered something in Mallow's ear. Mallow's eyes widened before a mischievous smile appeared on her face.
Lillie heard Mallow and Lana practically jump off the small stands as they slowly started approaching the battlefield. She watched on confused as she heard Mallow and Lana call for Ash.
"Hey, Ash!"
"Huh?" Ash said, only looking at Mallow and Lana once he saw Pikachu and Marowak back away from their exchange of moves. "What's up?"
"Tag out, it's our turn!" Mallow said eagerly, causing Ash to tilt his head and raise an eyebrow.
"Sophocles, Kiawe, how about a double battle?" Lana asked.
Sophocles and Kiawe looked at each other, equally as confused, before the latter said, "Uh… I was kind of in the middle of my battle with Ash…"
Lana smirked and narrowed her eyes at Kiawe. "You scared you're going to lose like last time?~" She teased.
Safe to say Lana's plan worked.
Kiawe gritted his teeth, his eyes narrowing back at Lana as he practically ordered, "Ash, go. Sophocles, get in here. Let's show these two a thing or two!"
"Uh, sure…" Sophocles said, still very much confused.
Ash glanced at Pikachu, the two very visibly confused, as Mallow and Lana practically shooed him off the battlefield. He scratched his head as his four friends immediately called out their Pokemon, before glancing over to the stands, where he saw Lillie sitting and looking equally baffled. Ash smiled, before rushing over to join the blonde-haired girl. Pikachu was about to join his trainer until Kiawe said:
"Hey, Ash- and he's gone…" He cut himself off as he saw Ash already run towards Lillie, before asking, "So… who's gonna referee?"
Mallow, Lana, Sophocles and Kiawe's heads all slowly turned towards Pikachu. The Pokemon pointed at himself questioningly, but a sly grin slowly started to appear on his face.
He would be lying if he said he wasn't excited at the idea.
Pikachu quickly made his way toward the sideline of the field, turning Ash's hat backwards on his head making him look like a baseball referee. Mallow and Lana high-fived each other as Pikachu started comically screaming orders at both sides.
Back at the stands, Lillie blinked rapidly, utterly surprised, as Mallow and Lana somehow managed to kick the battle addict Ash off the battlefield in a matter of seconds, and all of a sudden it was just her and Ash, the latter hopping onto the wooden stands and taking a seat beside Lillie, waving as he greeted her.
"Hey, Lillie!"
"Uh… Hey, Ash…" She replied, still bewildered at what just happened.
"Man, those guys…" Ash started, stretching his arms. "Never a dull moment is it!"
Lillie laughed quietly. "Yeah, you're right."
The two watched in a somewhat comfortable silence as their friends battled for a little while. Lillie occasionally snuck glances at Ash, tempted to start a conversation, but found herself too embarrassed to do so. She inwardly cringed at herself. Why was talking to someone you like so hard?
Thankfully, a rumble from Ash's stomach was somehow just the conversation starter she needed, as Ash embarrassingly rubbed his stomach.
"Hehe… Guess I'm kinda hungry…" He admitted. "I'll go grab my…"
Ash looked like he was about to stand up, but abruptly stopped himself and stared at the ground, disappointed.
"What's… wrong, Ash?" Lillie asked, concerned.
"I forgot to make lunch before I left…"
"O-Oh…" Lillie said unconsciously out loud. She glanced at Ash's defeated state, before glancing at her sandwich she had on a plate on her knees.
Splitting the rest of her food in half, she handed Ash a portion. "H-Here!"
Ash's head turned, his face lighting up at the sight of food. He was about to just immediately grab the offered lunch, but abruptly stopped himself and unnaturally asked, "R-Really!? Are you sure?"
"Y-Yes, of course! I know how you are on an empty stomach." Lillie forced a laugh as she finished speaking to hopefully hide her embarrassment.
That was all the confirmation Ash needed to take the generously offered food from Lillie. The pair took a bite out of their halves and Ash practically squealed.
"Mmm… This is so good! Did Hobbes make this!?" Ash asked eagerly.
Lillie knew Ash could probably eat dirt and still say it was good, but she struggled to hide her blush as he praised the food she made.
"A-Actually, I did…"
Ash looked visibly shocked for a moment before a big smile appeared on his face once again. "Man, no wonder it's so good then!"
"H-Huh!?"
Now she really couldn't hide her blush.
As Ash started eagerly munching on his food, Lillie glanced briefly back at the battlefield to calm herself down. Her friends were still going at it with a burning passion, and Pikachu seemed very invested in his referee role, so much so it caused her to let out a quiet giggle.
She glanced back at Ash, whose eyes were also on the battlefield. Taking a deep breath, Lillie finally worked up the courage to speak freely. "Ash…"
"Hm?" That was all he said, as he still had his mouthful.
"I… I wanted to apologize again for how I acted a few days ago… I really didn't mean for it to bother you…"
Ash turned but not completely to face Lillie, as he let the girl continue. "T-To be honest, when I first heard you were coming back to Alola, I was really excited! But as the day came closer, I-I… was scared I wouldn't recognize you and you would've forgotten all about me… I-I mean we hadn't seen each other in a long time and with you being the…"
"Lillie, wait." Ash cut her off, an unusual assertion in his tone that surprised Lillie, as he finally turned fully towards her.
Lillie stared at Ash, a little scared at what he was about to say. She didn't mean for this to happen, but there was a sudden tension in the air, a tension that didn't make her feel comfortable in the slightest.
The two stared at each other in silence for a while, Lillie looking at Ash nervously and Ash having an unusually serious expression as he stared back. After a few more moments, Ash suddenly sighed, before he finally continued talking.
"First of all, I don't want you to think for even one second that I would ever forget about you. No matter what has happened since we went our separate ways, in the back of my mind I…"
Ash paused, seemingly trying to find his words carefully. Lillie noticed the slightest dampening in his mood before he resumed, in a softer voice this time. "You and everyone here will forever be important to me. Without you guys I would have never dreamed of being where I am now, so please Lillie, you have to believe me when I say I wouldn't dare forget how much you mean to me!"
"A-Ash…"
"... and second of all, I-I…" Ash averted his eyes from Lillie, something which the latter noticed.
"I should be the one to apologize to you."
Lillie's look of embarrassment quickly shifted to one of utter confusion. "Wait, what are you talking about? You didn't do anything wrong…"
"No, I did…" Ash once again paused, before continuing moments later. "When me, Goh and Chloe came to join you to Alola after the whole thing in the Crown Tundra… I really… wanted to spend time with you… We hadn't seen each other in a long time, and I never thought about reaching out even though I really should've…"
"But I ended up getting sidetracked, and before I knew it, I was already leaving. I don't blame you for thinking I forgot about you… t-that's actually one of the reasons I came back here in the first place..."
"Y-You're saying, you came back to Alola to see… me!?" Lillie asked in a mixture of embarrassment and surprise as she stared at him.
Ash suddenly seemed to get nervous and quickly tried to clarify himself. "O-Obviously that's not the only reason… but it was definitely part of it… I-I knew that now that everything with the World Coronation Series was over, it was my opportunity to go… fix things that I messed up… and you were the first one on that list…"
"A-Ash…" Was the only thing Lillie could say, as she covered her mouth with her hand.
Ash abruptly looked back up to look at the girl in front of him, sincerity plastered on his face. "I-I know I keep repeating myself but, Lillie, y-you really are important to me, so I'm sorry-"
Ash was suddenly cut off by Lillie practically tackling him into an embrace, so much so that he was a little scared he would fall backwards. Ash eventually returned the hug, causing Lillie to melt into his embrace.
They stayed like that in silence for a little while, enjoying the moment as they felt the heavy tension of the conversation slowly wash away, until eventually, Lillie spoke up, still clinging on to Ash. "A-Ash… you don't have to apologize for that…"
Lillie finally backed away from him, allowing Ash to see that Lillie was almost on the verge of tears. Admittedly, he panicked a little until she said, "Y-You don't know how happy it makes me to know… you were thinking about me…"
Lillie put a hand on her heart, her eyes naturally drifting to her feet. "I-I also should've kept in touch, it's not fair you should apologize for something I also did… Y-You changed my life, Ash! You really did! You were always there for me, you always cared about me… The very least I could've done is to at least-
Lillie cut herself off, her eyes shooting back up towards Ash, as she felt a wave of emotion suddenly come over her. The latter's eyes widened, as he saw Lillie's own eyes flicker anxiously before she resumed. "I'm the one who should be sorry…! Y-You… Ash, I-I…"
'Say it.'
"A-Ash…"
'Say it.'
"I-I…"
'Say it!'
Ash put a hand on Lillie's shoulder, seeing a wave of anxiety and distress disturb her, ending the girl's internal debate with herself, something which she didn't know she was grateful for or not yet.
"Hey, hey, it's okay… I guess we're both sorry, huh?" He said, laughing a little bit as he did, trying his best to lighten up the mood and calm Lillie.
Lillie paused for a moment, still feeling the wave of powerful emotions that suddenly came over her until she eventually matched his laugh. "Y-Yes, I guess we are…"
"In that case…" Ash suddenly extended his arm in front of him, his hand in a fist, as he glanced at her with a gentle smile. "How about we say we're even?"
Lillie paused for a moment, staring at his extended fist. Eventually, she smiled as well, before matching her fist to his.
"I'd love that!"
The two stared at each other softly, glad to have cleared up things, until an explosion on the battlefield gained the two's attention. Glancing over, once the smoke dispersed, they saw Mallow's Tsareena and Lana's Primarina on the ground, both unconscious.
Ash figured it was about time to check on his other friends, and smiled at Lillie one last time before hopping off the stairs and slowly walking toward the finished battle.
Lillie watched him as he walked away for a moment before she slowly looked down at her hands and noticed she was practically trembling.
She didn't know what came over her, but what she did know was that she almost impulsively said something she wasn't sure she wanted to say right now. A part of her brain did her the favour of reminding her this wasn't the first time she almost started pouring her heart out just because of something he said when she didn't mean to, no matter how much his words meant to her.
Lillie took a breather in an attempt to calm herself down. She knew she wanted to take her time with what she wanted to express to Ash, and, having just recently fixed their awkwardness, she knew it was too soon to go out and say everything that she thought about him.
She glanced at Ash, still slowly making his way towards the battlefield, and smiled, feeling herself getting more relaxed.
Lillie nodded confidently to herself. The last thing she wanted to do was ruin what she was just fixing with Ash, so she quickly reminded herself to take it one step at a time, not one big leap, before happily hopping off the stands and catching up to Ash.
Back on the battlefield, Pikachu, having not lost his intense and serious gaze since the battle started, looked at the two's Pokemon condition before abruptly raising a paw to the sky, only to lower it a few moments later, pointing to Kiawe and Sophocles while screaming something they couldn't understand.
"YES! Take that Lana!" Kiawe pumped a fist in the air before high-fiving Sophocles next to him.
"Looks like they got us…" Mallow said as she and Lana approached their opponents after returning their Pokemon to their Pokeballs. "Good battle guys! That was fun!"
"Yeah, totally!" Sophocles expressed as well.
"So, what do you think about fire types now, Lana?" Kiawe forcibly teased, only for Lana to one-up him in mere seconds.
"Fair play, Kiawe." She said while slowly clapping with a smirk. "Though, that still doesn't change the fact that Ash almost beat all of your "powerful" fire types with just Pikachu. He probably would've dealt with Marowak too if we didn't step in…"
"Why you…"
"Looks like you guys had fun!" Ash suddenly said, approaching the group with Lillie just behind him. The group smiled as they saw the two.
"You bet! Hope you guys had fun watching!" Mallow said, secretly glancing at Lillie, something which the latter noticed, causing her to avert her eyes embarrassingly. Despite not saying anything about what had happened, Lillie knew Mallow could see right through her.
Though, as she was avoiding Mallow's glance, Lillie noticed a particular glow coming in the sky. Narrowing her eyes, she saw a group of Pikipek approaching them, but one of them seemed slightly different than the rest.
As the flock got closer and closer, the group was forced to duck once to avoid the incoming Pokemon, and that's when Lillie fully realized what was odd.
Turning to face the flock behind, Lillie eagerly pointed at the Pikipek. "T-That's a different coloured Pikipek!?"
Ash was not surprisingly the first one to turn around to see it for himself. "Wait!? Really!?"
"I think it is…!" Lana added, the surprise growing in her voice.
Lillie still seemed surprised as she explained, "T-That's incredibly rare, the odds of finding one in the wild have to be…"
"Worry about the details later, Lillie! Let's go after it!" Ash abruptly interrupted her, grabbing her hand.
"Wait! A-Ash!?"
Lillie's pleas were for nothing, as Ash dragged Lillie towards the forest where the Pikipek were heading. She held her sunhat on so it wouldn't fall off as a huge smile slowly grew on her face alongside her cheeks turning rosy, as she stared at her and Ash's interconnected hands.
The rest of the class behind them looked at each other and grinned. They didn't say anything but they were all thinking the same thing.
Meanwhile, Lillie, still completely distracted by her and Ash's interconnected hands, could only think about one thing as the eccentric trainer dragged her into the forest in pursuit of the Pikipek.
'H-How hard is it going to be to take it one small step at a time…!?'
Later…
"Ash… I can't believe you honestly…"
Ash's head snapped towards Mallow, the latter holding her head down as she walked. "What!?"
"What do you mean, 'What'!? How many times has this happened now!?"
"I just forgot, okay!? I got confused!"
"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!? THIS IS LIKE THE MILLIONTH TIME YOU FORGOT THAT ELECTRIC ATTACKS DON'T HAVE ANY EFFECT ON GROUND TYPES! HOW DO YOU STILL NOT KNOW THIS!?"
"Well! That's because I just don't think that's true! You can totally make them work!"
"You are so lucky Lillie actually knows her stuff or else you would've totally lost the race!"
Ash opened his mouth to retort but found himself without reply as he realized Mallow was probably right. The rest of the class, walking beside the two, laughed at Ash's realization, as they continued to walk towards where Professor Kukui had told them to meet.
Lillie glanced at Ash's unamused face from the side and struggled to hold in her laugh further. He could be such a mess sometimes… but she couldn't help but love it.
It was deep into the afternoon, and for once, everything felt right.
After her talk with Ash at lunch, Lillie finally felt fully comfortable with his presence. It was as if the troubles of the past three days concerning him were a fire that was all washed away by a Surf, and she couldn't express how great it felt.
She could finally talk to him as she wanted to, without any thoughts at the back of her mind telling her to stop and without overthinking anything and everything. The only things that somewhat troubled her from time to time, but really more overjoyed her than anything, was the pleasant warmth in her heart every time she would catch him smiling like a goof, him amusingly struggling to do the simplest of tasks, or really when he was acting like his typical self.
The class had just finished another activity organized by Professor Kukui, a relay race where the Pokemon had to complete a little challenge as their trainers answered some general Pokemon-related questions. It was a team race, where the trainers would be paired in teams of two. Not surprisingly considering the pair were practically stuck like glue since lunch, something which the rest of the class noticed, Ash and Lillie were paired up together, and they alongside Pikachu and Snowy just barely managed to snatch the very valuable bragging rights of victory. However, it wasn't without hiccups, like Ash forgetting electric moves had no effect on ground types… again…
Lillie swiftly walked just ahead of the group, a skip in her step present since lunch, before turning around and walking backwards. She put her hands behind her back and smiled cutely at Mallow, as she said, "Hey! To be fair, Ash has proven that fact wrong several times, so you can't totally fault him!"
Mallow raised an eyebrow, not necessarily because she didn't agree with what Lillie said, but more because Lillie had practically put the imminent teasing on a plate for her. The bait was too easy, but unfortunately, Kiawe and Lana beat her to the punch.
"Of course you would know…" Kiawe first said, raising a knowing eyebrow of his own. Lillie's smile started to fade and a look of horror slowly started to take its place, as she somehow sensed what was coming.
Lana closed her eyes and tilted her head ever so slightly, before smugly adding, "After all, you've watched all of Ash's Coronation Series battles as if it was a cult or someth-"
Lana's eyes suddenly shot open as she realized she was now talking in Lillie's hand that covered her mouth, as the blonde-haired girl frantically tried to stop Lana from talking with a nervous giggle that she knew wasn't fooling anyone. Well, apart from the person that it actually mattered to, as she saw him twist his head confusingly.
Lillie's strange antics were thankfully interrupted by the group's arrival at Professor Kukui's meeting spot, an open area in the nearby forest. The Professor saw the group and waved at them, as he shouted, "Hey, everyone!"
The group smiled and waved as they approached the Professor, glancing at their surroundings, though there was nothing much more than tall trees and large bushes surrounding them.
Sophocles was the first to comment on this. "I gotta say, weird spot to ask us to meet up, Professor." He admitted.
Kukui gave a hefty laugh, before replying, "Well, get used to it! As for the rest of the day, this we'll be our reunion spot!"
The Professor saw the class share questioning looks, so he quickly decided to clarify. "You guys are going off on a treasure hunt! And this will be where we'll meet up later!"
"A treasure hunt?" Mallow asked out loud, feeling a sense of deja vù before a smile appeared on her face. "Sounds like fun!"
"But this isn't just your ordinary treasure hunt!" Kukui quickly interrupted. "I thought we might as well make this interesting, and add in a special prize for the one who brings back the rarest item out of all of you!"
If they hadn't already, now the class had his attention.
Seeing their eager eyes wanting to know what the special prize would be, Professor Kukui slowly brought out a small briefcase from behind his back and opened it in front of their eyes. It contained a singular Pokeball, but it was far from just an ordinary Pokeball.
"A Cherish Ball!?" Lillie couldn't help but gasp at the sight. She didn't know much about the strange Pokeball, but what she did know was of their extreme rarity.
The rest of the class shared a similar reaction to Lillie, with Sophocles not able to keep himself from asking where he had even obtained one. The Professor didn't answer and simply smiled when Ash suddenly piped up.
"I'm not sure what a Cherish Ball is, but it sure looks awesome!" He said with his typical innocence, before addressing Pikachu on his shoulder. "Let's make sure we win it, Pikachu!"
"Pikapi!" The Pokemon replied, lifting Ash's hat on his head ever so slightly to give a salute with his right paw.
"You guys have one hour to find the rarest item you can, no more no less! You can use any methods you need, though only your own Pokemon can help you." Professor Kukui specified, carefully closing the briefcase containing the Cherish Ball.
"When do we start!?" Lana asked eagerly, anxious to get started.
Professor Kukui put a hand on his chin in a thinking manner. "Hmm… How about…"
"...Now!"
The class gave each other the briefest of glances before suddenly dashing in five separate directions, calling out their Pokemon to aid them as they ran into the forest's several paths.
Professor swiftly pulled out his Rotom Phone and started a timer for one hour, before glancing up to see the trainers were already long gone.
A/N: hey again! Might seem like a weird spot to end the chapter, but it'll make sense, and besides I was already at my usual word count per chapter. As you might have guessed by the chapter title, this is the first part of a two-part... arc/moment/day, I guess? Regardless, all you need to know is that the next chapter will be an important one, so I hope you look forward to it! That being said, might/most likely will take a little longer to update, just a heads up. Until then, I'm open to critiques, reviews and comments as always, only if you want to of course, and I'll see ya next time!