Champion's Confidant

On Party Finales

With night fully set, there were only a few ordinary sources of light in the classroom of the Pokémon school, the Ultra Beast threat now averted. The stereo system continued to dutifully play music gently into the party. And while these lights were mostly positioned around the edges of the room and the food table, still decked out with snacks, what caught Chloe's eyes and imagination the most were the stars.

While she had seen them hanging around and placed on the walls before the sun had fully set, looking up at them now, she saw them gently glowing in the dark, giving the room a sort of calm, soft ambiance. Everyone was back, and even wearing their party clothes again instead of the Ultra Guardian uniforms, but the mood had definitely shifted from what was happening before the interruption. Rather joy or sadness being based on your proximity to Mohn and his situation, the entire room felt muted. Joyful, Chloe thought, but muted.

The Alolans were spending time close to their families, and even Ash was telling Professor Kukui and Burnet about what had happened. Burnet no longer carried Lei, who had long since fallen completely asleep and left to sleep, tucked into the baby car seat set on a table nearby. This left Chloe and Goh to stand near the Pokémon quietly. Even the ones that had entered combat against the Ultra Beasts were now quietly relaxing and chitchatting. Eevee and Togedemaru had even buried the hatchet and were both talking, with Pikachu seated in the middle of them.

From the corner of her eye, Chloe thought that Goh might say something, but he mostly kept looking between her and Ash, as though he was expecting something to happen.

Their talk the previous night flashed through her head, and she recalled Goh's promise to her.

'Did he get a chance to talk to him today?' she thought to herself.

Still, she didn't move, herself. It was like a part of herself was paralyzed into indecision. She knew what she wanted to do, and she knew the steps she had to take to do it. She even had everything she needed to do what she wanted here, only...

"...it's like I'm getting ready to bake a cake, only I can't even turn on the oven..."

She frowned at herself in the dark, quiet atmosphere.

Finally, it was Professor Kukui who broke the silence.

"Hey... I get that we just had a pretty stressful event happen, but aren't we here for a party? I think we all need to use Celebrate and Work Up our excitement! Not only did these kids keep Alola's peace and protect us, and not only is Mohn back after all these years, but we have a better pathway than ever that can lead us to having his memories restored! Isn't that something worthy of an Eruption of joy?"

"Professor Kukui's right," Lillie said. "While it may not have been the most peaceful evening, and everything isn't fixed quite yet... there's so much reason for us to be happy!" She smiled and bowed her head "I want to thank everyone who came for this surprise party. I missed everyone here so much, and I even got to make two new great friends! Let's turn this into an incredible celebration for my father and the bonds that all bring us together!"

There was a chorus of agreement from everyone who came to the party, and Chloe felt Goh's hand shoving her forward. She stumbled a bit, now standing in the middle of the 'dance' floor area. She turned and looked back at him, and he smiled and gave her a nod as he turned his attention to Ash.

"Yeah!" Ash said, grinning widely as he approached Chloe. "This definitely is a party, and now I'm gonna do what I would have done earlier if we weren't interrupted."

"Pikapi!" Pikachu gasped, eyes going wide and ears flicking.

Chloe felt her eyes go wide, and the calm, quiet, romantic atmosphere seemed to surround Ash as he approached her, a smile on his face. She felt her cheeks warm up, and she gently held out a hand towards him.