chapter 38

Ash, Pikachu and Nebby laid on the grass in the Conservation Area within the Aether Paradise. The Conservation Area was chock-full of Pokémon enjoying the land around them. Ash's classmates were elsewhere in the Foundation's base of operation. Burnet found and reached Ash and the Pokémon. "You guys seem relaxed," she studied. Ash woke to the professor's words.

"Professor Burnet!" he gulped. "Sorry, I guess I did get a little comfy."

"Not to worry! I wanted to come by for some information." Ash wondered about detail she sought.

"About what?" Pikachu and Nebby woke to see Burnet as well.

"Was this the first time you had a dream which foreshadowed any events yet to come?" Ash pondered in his mind about the past. However, one word stuck out.

"Foreshadowed?"

"You know, a warning about the future." Detail given, Ash thought about it while Nebby crawled to the visiting trainer.

"Not that I know of." Burnet petted Ash's head.

"Well, always a first." That's when Burnet's phone rang. She answered it. "Professor Burnet…" Hearing the call, she recognized the voice on the other side. "Professor Kukui… Yeah, I'm with him." Ash figured Kukui wanted to know his location. "Alright… I see." She hung the phone. "Professor Kukui just wanted to know where everyone was. No big deal." Burnet's Munchlax emerged from the water after a refreshing swim. Burnet laughed and came to its service. "Okay, Munchlax. Let's dry you up." She left to tend to the Big Eater Pokémon. Nebby crawled up to Ash's shoulder as Pikachu occupied the other. Ash turned to the mysterious Pokémon that originated from his dream.

"I'm sure Professor Burnet didn't mean to wake you up." Nebby didn't mind but suddenly, it started to glow, alerting Ash. "Nebby, wait!" In a flash, Nebby used Teleport. All three vanished. Burnet and Munchlax returned to find the grass abandoned.

"Ash?" Munchlax stared blankly to the grass where Ash laid. Ash and the two Pokémon emerged in a tight place with some dresses. However, he couldn't respond when voices came from beyond the door.

"Mother, how could you say that?!" yelled Lillie.

"What, your own mother can't have an opinion?" scoffed Lusamine. "It's easy to see the progress of your growth with Pokémon like Snowy for instance, and Pikachu from what your classmates are telling me. Ash is a huge influence for your newfound enjoyment to Pokémon."

"Why should it matter to you?! After you and father left, Gladion followed suit, leaving me with Hobbes at the mansion!"

"I'm just thinking about your future… Maybe our future. I wouldn't mind seeing you two grow up together, have a glorious wedding here in the Paradise… Ooh, I'm almost psyched to be a grandmother and play with your children!" Lillie gulped with an embarrassed red face to Lusamine's wishes.

"Mother! I've still got several years before I can think about getting married, let alone have kids of my own!"

"It's never too early to plan ahead for the future! Ash would be a great son-in-law to the family-" Her cellphone rang and she answered. "Talk to me…" She left the room, leaving Lillie with Snowy. The Alolan Vulpix whimpered to Lillie as she sat on the couch.

"Maybe Mother's right. If not for Ash… If he didn't come to Alola… I wouldn't be where I am now! I wouldn't be overcoming my fear of Pokémon, I wouldn't be succeeding in Professor Kukui's classes… It's been Ash who's helped me throughout befriending you and Pikachu." Snowy barked a little before it sensed something nearby. It pawed the scent. "Snowy?" Concerned, Lillie followed to the closet. Snowy pawed the door which Lillie believed her Vulpix made a discovery. "Stay clear. I don't want anything falling on you." Snowy pawed back a few steps when Lillie pulled open the door.

"Whoa!" yelped Ash. He and the Pokémon fell backwards hard onto the floor. The hard thud made Lillie and Snowy cringe.

"Ash!" Snowy came to Pikachu's aid as Lillie lifted Ash to seating. "How long were you in there?" Ash winced to the pain.

"Quite a bit." Nebby also grew concerned to Ash. Lillie blushed to the finding.

"I didn't know you were here! Otherwise, I wouldn't have been so open!" Pikachu and Snowy regrouped before Nebby began to glow. Ash caught it out of the corner of his eye.

"Nebby, no!" Nebby ignored Ash and used Teleport. In a flash, Ash, Lillie and the Pokémon vanished from Lusamine's office and emerged back in the Observation Area. Ash feared he'd end up somewhere dangerous to the antics of his reckless Pokémon. "We're back to our resting stop. I guess you wanted to resume your nap, huh?" Nebby shook no and used Teleport again. Now, the group emerged on the roof of the Paradise. This scared Lillie and the Pokémon. Nebby only began as it used another Teleport. The appeared in Kukui's classroom. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"That's more like it!" Nebby wasn't done. Another Teleport took the group from the classroom to Kukui's home. "Now where?"

"Professor Kukui's place! This is where I'm staying while attending classes with you and competing in Grand Trials." Nebby flew up to grab a bag of sugar stars to scarf. "So that's the reason for the Teleport use. Okay, we need to head back, Nebby!" The Pokémon cheered before casting one more Teleport. Now, the group emerged on the yacht used to bring them and the rest of the class to the Aether Foundation's base of operation. "Alright, looks like we're back to where we belong." As Ash began to step off, Lillie caught his arm. Surprised, he turned back.

"Could you please stay with me?" Ash seemed perplexed with Lillie's advance. "I'm not ready to see our classmates yet!" Ash believed Nebby's Teleport spree rattled her nerves.

"I'm still trying to get Nebby to calm down about-"

"It's not about Nebby! It's me!" Ash gawked to her need as she looked down at Snowy and lifted Pikachu. "If you heard me and Mother, you know we're talking about you! How much you influenced Professor Kukui's class, Hobbes, even the island kahunas! I'm not sure what to say now, whether I want you to stay in Alola or have me travel with you back to Pallet Town… I feel more comfortable wanting to touch Pokémon with you and Pikachu around." Ash started to understand her fears. While none of them understood her reason for fearing Pokémon, Lillie trusted Ash more than anyone else around to learn about the world humans shared with these magical creatures.

"You haven't really liked your mom but you believe her saying you need me?" Lillie turned to Ash with a method to seal her feelings to him. With Nebby and Snowy bearing witness, she hugged Ash, sandwiching Pikachu.

"If anything were to happen to you, I'd want to watch Pikachu. That said, I'd trust you with Snowy should it go the other way." Ash placed his hands on her shoulders, causing Lillie to look up.

"I don't want anything to happen to you or Snowy. If you need me, I'll be there for you and Snowy, as well as Hobbes and Oricorio." Lillie smiled, trusting Ash's word.

"Thank you. I'll be okay whether it's Gladion, Hobbes… or you." She leaned in and kissed Ash on the lips. Snowy gasped happily to the moment. As they kissed, their classmates and Rotom searched the Paradise for the two along with their Pokémon. Kiawe and Lana looked through the Observation Area without much luck.

"Anything with you and Popplio?" he asked. Lana shook her head. Not even Kiawe's Marowak had luck. Sophocles and Togedemaru regrouped with the rest, as did Mallow and Steenee.

"We can't find them on the first floor," she reported. "What did Nebby do with Ash and Pikachu?"

"I don't know," Lana shrugged. "Nebby's still a baby. It still doesn't understand how to behave." Sophocles pondered about the issue.

"Professor Burnet didn't see Ash and the Pokémon leave," he studied. "This place does have cameras around. I'm sure Lillie's mom can give us permission to use it." That's when Kukui came forward.

"I found Ash!" he reported. "He's with Lillie on the boat." The students breathed a sigh of relief.

"That's good to know," Rotom huffed. "We thought Nebby might've sent Ash somewhere dangerous." That's when Kiawe sensed something off.

"How did Lillie get involved?" he asked. "Lille's with her mom, right?" Kukui shook his head before he decided to explain more.

"That's not all, I'm afraid," he groaned. "It's… rather hard to explain without showing you the video." Kukui brought out a monitor and showed Ash, Lillie and the Pokémon appearing on the yacht via Teleport, then some discussion before Lillie's kiss. Gawks and gasps exasperated from the students and Pokémon.

"Ash and Lillie?" gulped Mallow. "Oh my goodness!" To Lana, any speculation about her and Ash could be put to rest.

"Finally, Harper, Sarah and Olivia can get off my back about anything between me and Ash," she smiled. Lusamine saw the video of her daughter kissing Ash, and smiled.

"I was right," she grinned. "Maybe sometime in the future, I can meet Ash's parents to discuss plans about the future." After a day at the Aether Paradise, the school returned to Melemele Island. Lillie called Hobbes to inform him that she'll be staying with Ash. Snowy joined Pikachu and Litten on the couch while Rowlet perched himself on a table and Lycanroc minded the rug. Rotom took his stand to recharge himself. In a silky white nightgown, Lillie joined Ash above as he fed sugar stars to Nebby.

"That's enough, Nebby," he ordered. Nebby whined while Lillie giggled.

"Still a toddler," she joked.

"Yeah, but it shouldn't be too much trouble. We're all exhausted from our trip to your mom's paradise." Lillie sat in front of Ash when Nebby fell asleep. "What do you know? Perfect opportunity." He hoisted Nebby to show Lillie. "This won't be like Rowlet. Nebby's asleep. You can try to touch him now."

"Right, asleep…" She reached to Nebby, not moving much. A minute as she reached for it begrudgingly, she palmed Nebby on the crown and rubbed it. She took a deep breath and smiled to not just touching but petting a Pokémon. "Feels nice to pet Nebby. Maybe tomorrow, I can try Lycanroc."

"There you go." However, Nebby woke. Seeing Lillie's arm and feeling her hand on it, Nebby giggled. "See, even Nebby likes you now." That's when Nebby used Teleport again. Kukui saw the flash and looked up. Ash, Lillie and Nebby vanished.

"Where'd they go?" he stuttered. The teleport found the three in a new bedroom with all sorts of Pokémon dolls, some trophies and a stand with Pokémon badges. Both Ash and Lillie landed on the bed, kissing on impact as Nebby squirted out harmlessly. The three looked around which Ash quickly recognized.

"Hey, how did we get to my room?" Lillie looked up to see the decorated room.

"If this is your room, we must be in Pallet Town in the Kanto region!" she concluded. "Did Nebby do this?" Nebby laughed before it yawned and fell back to sleep.

"You little rascal." Nebby didn't hear Ash. Delia opened the door to find her son and Lillie.

"Ash?" she gawked. "Lillie? What in the world?!" Ash nervously smiled with Lillie's hand on his back.

"Hi, Mom… It's a long story involving this Pokémon." Ash showed Nebby to Delia as Mimey also saw it, both befuddled to the new Pokémon.

"Never seen that before. Are you gonna show that to Professor Oak tomorrow?"

"We may, if Nebby doesn't Teleport us somewhere we're not familiar with," Lillie joked. Delia chuckled before dismissing the pair.

"Well, alright. Good night, you two… and is it me or are you two…" The children sensed what Delia wanted to ask.

"Starting today!" they replied. Delia and Mimey stood in shock to her boy and his new girlfriend.

"Okay… Well, don't start making babies just yet. I'm not ready to be a grandma right now." Ash and Lillie shared another nervous laugh before Delia closed the door. They tucked themselves in for the night. Lillie's arms wrapped around Ash with a kiss to the back of his ear as he held Nebby in place. The kiss on the boat has sent Ash and Lillie's ship of love sailing. Now, their newfound relationship may bring out Lillie's former love for Pokémon. It may also unlock new potential for Snowy, Pikachu and the other Pokémon… as soon as they find their way back to Alola.