Alola, amour!

Chapter 25 ~ Rematch

"Gladion!?" Lillie breathed and slapped her hand in amazement in front of her mouth. How.. how was it possible that her brother had suddenly appeared with Ash thanks to Nebby's Teleportation? Ash had wondered about someone who knew the Ultra Beasts, Gladion didn't know anything about them, or did he?

She rushed to her brother and hugged him tightly. Gladion staggered back as Lillie rushed to hug him and stiffened as the girl wrapped her arms around him. "You came back, finally!" said Lillie, but to her surprise, Gladion pushed her away.

"Let go," he said and Lillie withdrew from the hug, looking hurt. "You've changed," she said injured, and Gladion shrugged. "Yeah, whatever," he said, looking at everyone in turn.

Everyone stared at the black-clad Gladion as he flashed around him. Why was he suddenly on the beach with Ash Ketchum, this pathetic girlfriend, and apparently his own sister and other pathetic Alolans? Where was his quiet square and most of all, where was Type: Null?

"You? What are you doing here again?" asked Ash, who had moved among the others to stare at Gladion. Gladion looked at him as if he had lost even the last remnants of reason.

"Are you stupid or stupid? You brought me here yourself!" exclaimed Gladion, but Ash shook his head. "I didn't bring you here, but Nebby," he said, pointing to the Pokemon floating and giggling above them. "I don't know why it led me to you, though."

Gladion looked in the direction pointed by Ash and, to everyone's surprise, stepped back, shouting... angrily? "Is that Ultra Beast?! What is it doing here?!"

Ash looked amazed at the eruption of Gladion. "Nebby? We don't know for sure if it's an Ultra Beast, but it looks like it," he said, shrugging and Gladion looked at him angrily.

"You even named it! Are you crazy?! Ultra Beasts are the beginning of all evil, you have to get rid of them as soon as possible!" he shouted angrily and Ash gets gradually get enough.

He took a floating Nebby in his arms, where it giggled happily, and said to Gladion, "Really? It seems to me that Nebby is anything but dangerous, it's just a baby!" The others nodded in confirmation and Gladion looked at them angrily.

"You fools," he said, and then said, pointing his word to Ash, "Ash Ketchum, I'll challenge you to a rematch."

Ash looked at him sharply. "Why not," he said and handed Nebby to Serena. "I'll gladly agree to battle with you again," he continued, but Gladion hadn't finished yet.

"And if I win, you'll get rid of that creature," he said, pointing to Nebby in Serena's arms.

"Never, I promised to protect Nebby!" Ash exclaimed, but Gladion just shrugged. "Take it or leave it," he said and Ash gritted his teeth. "Fine," he finally said and the others gasped.

"But Ash, your promise..." Mallow began, but Ash interrupted her, saying "No worries, I'm not going to lose this time." And keep that promise too, Serena thought and squeezed Nebby worried.

                            ****
They didn't know they were being watched at the same time by a couple of less nice guys: Pokemon smuggler Joey (read the previous chapter if he's a whole new name for you) as well as Team Rocket, which we all know.

Team Rocket had parked their Malasada car recently near the beach in the hope of the customers and when they had noticed the movement on the beach, they were interested. Interest had grown even more when they had noticed that the matter was once again their twerp and his friends and a new opportunity to grab it damn Pikachu.

Meowth binoculared the group and Jessie and James leaned bored on the Malasada manufacturing levels. "What do you see?" asked James and Meowth replied, "Nothing interesting, twerp is arguing with some black-hooded guy and.. wait... I haven't seen that thing before"