Love in the Time of Tropics

Chapter 19: A Rendezvous

A quick note on the SnowLilyShipping (Hau/Lillie) that I've been very slowly developing: I didn't just pull this out of thin air on shipping preferences, and nor will it ever really take Hau's character over (not that he appears here, but needs to be said). However! Hau does have a canonical crush on Lillie in the games, and that's where I took it from. With that cleared up, time for Chapter 19!

Chapter 19

A Rendezvous

The trip up the canal through Brooklet Hill, and the subsequent lunch they took at the Pokémon Center, were surprisingly quick. To Ash's surprise, Lana was a very chipper girl, despite some of the very strange vibes she gave off. Not as happy-go-lucky as, perhaps, someone like Mallow, but at least someone decent to talk to. Lillie seemed to resonate the most with her, the both of them being relatively demure. Not that Ash was inclined to do much talking, he and his Pokémon too busy stuffing their faces.

"Slow down, Ash," Serena laughed out, rubbing her chilly egg, now back in her arms. On the floor were her own Pokémon, each of them enjoying an easy lunch with one another. "You eat too fast and you'll get a stomachache. I don't think you'll want that for the road ahead."

"I know, but what can I shay?" Ash asked, about to stuff a whole sandwich in his mouth. He quickly thought better of it and decided to just take a large bite instead. As he did, his gaze went to his Z-Ring. Two crystals. Two of seven trials down. He wasn't any closer to mastering Z-Moves quite yet, trying to believe it would happen when it needed to, but he wanted to think he had taken steps forward.

He wanted to think that.

"Pikapi?" Pikachu asked, looking up at him from where he was sitting on the table. Ash finished eating the sandwich and reached over to ruffle his fur.

"It's nothing, buddy," he said with a chuckle. "Just looking forward to the next trial."

"I wonder what Mallow has planned," Serena said. She looked at Lana, as if hoping for an answer, but the girl was humming softly, clearly back in her own little world once again. His girlfriend just shrugged her shoulders and went back to cleaning the egg off of any grime that had resulted during the rainy trial.

After the group concluded their lunch, though it involved a slight snag of Chespin and Pancham fighting over a malasada that Serena had made the night before, they were all ready to head north towards Lush Jungle.

"Be sure to give Mallow my best," Lana said with smiling eyes. "I want to hold some more trials while I can, so I'll just wish you luck, Ash."

"Yeah. You'll be hearing about me challenging Olivia sooner than later, so look out for that," Ash told her, putting a fist in front of his face. Lana giggled a little and nodded. When she stopped, she reached her hand out, prompting him to shake it as a sign of respect. "All right, then. Let's get moving!"

"Yes," Lillie said enthusiastically. The reaction surprised Ash a little, but he answered by grabbing Serena's hand and beginning to run away from the Pokémon Center. Bonnie and Clemont issued hasty goodbyes and then were running off after them.

Ash glanced back towards Brooklet Hill and the shrinking Lana. The sun was shining once more, the rain clouds from over the hill having vanished, bathing it like sparkling water. Lana continued to wave cheerfully until Ash and the others turned past a line of rocks, and she was lost from sight. Once she had, they slowed their pace, allowing Clemont and Lillie to catch their breaths a little (Clemont more than Lillie).

"Pew!" Nebby suddenly cried, hopping out of the bag with freedom once more. He moved ahead of their group happily, a smile dancing all over his face as he swayed back and forth in the sunlight.