The alarm clock sounded and you woke up. You heard Lillie did the same by her tired moaning. You turned the irritating sound off and got up:
"Goodmorning! It's a new day, a new dawn! Hopefully not a new Dawn, though." You say, lame joking, still tired. Lillie was not in the mood:
"Do we really have to go this early, Y/n?"
You nod:
"Yeah, we should just leave. We can't stay at one place for a long period. We'll have breakfast and then get going."
Lillie gets up as well:
"Okay... I'll have a shower first, if that's OK?"
"Of course that's alright!" You laugh.
"Thank you!" She says and goes to the bathroom. You grabbed the book about Team Rocket, which you decided to take with you to read in situations like this: sitting alone in a hotel room. A knock on the door interrupted the reading. You put away the book and open the door:
"Hey, Y/n! Waw, your room smells!"
It didn't smell, but Blue has a... refined smell or nose, as it was him.
You laugh:
"No, it doesn't! Anyway, what is it?"
"We're going to have breakfast, are you coming?" He says grinning.
You shrug:
"Lillie is still in the bathroom. I'll wait for her and then we'll join you."
He nods:
"What a gentleman! Alright, smell you there!" He says, and walks away.
You pick up the book again and read further. It was about Giovanni, and it was interesting.
You whisper:
"Will I ever meet him again...?"
A door opens behind you:
"Did you say something?"
Lillie was finished showering, apparently.
You shake your head:
"No, it's nothing."
She was dressed simple, but beautiful, in her casual Z-form, with her ponytail.
She smiles:
"Let's get going then! I'm hungry!"
"Me too!" You say laughing, and you both leave.

"Cerulean, here we come!" You say when everyone was outside and ready. It was still pretty early. Blue smiles:
"Yeah, let's move, fellowship!" He says, barely holding his laugh. Everyone was laughing, everyone was happy, and the day was already great!
You walked between Lillie and Gladion, discussing their favourite Pokémon and battle tactics. You were happy and followed the discussion, but you were also looking the left and the right of the road: you have to find an amazing Pokémon for your love!
Gladion saw your suspicious acting:
"Y/n? Is there something wrong?"
You shake your head and smile:
"No. Just looking for Pokémon!"
He looks around:
"Yeah, I haven't seen a cool one either."
Ash seemed pretty nervous but happy too. You ask him:
"Is there something?"
He smiles:
"You'll see!"

You saw a sign: Cerulean City
"Here we are! Ready for the battle, Lillie?"
She nods, nervous:
"Yeah."
You smile:
"Hey, I've got type advantage and you haven't, but what's the matter? You're Lillie! You can do this easily!"
She starts to smile too:
"Thank you for cheering me up, Y/n! I'm going to go first!" She says and runs towards the Gym.
You laugh:
"Good luck!"
The others were going to have something to drink, so you went watching the battle on your own. Her battle was intense, but she won eventually with Ponyta, Sandshrew and Rattata left, with her Rattata dealing the final blow to the Starmie. She got her badge, exchanged a few words with Misty and left the Gym. She jumped into your arms:
"Your turn!" She whispered in your ear, still a bit nervous from the event.
"Aye!" You whisper, but full of confidence, without pride though. Pride is a bad thing.
Misty smiled:
"Welcome, trainer. I am Misty, the Cerulean Gym leader. Let's have a nice battle, shall we?"
You started with Midos, she sent out Staryu.
"We will! Prepare yourself, Misty!"
I just want to battle with it!
"Alright, Midos, use Force Palm!"

You did return Riolu when it became tired, and already sent out Bulbasaur. The battle was nearly over, all that was left was the final blow:
"Vine whip again, Bulbasaur! Finish off the Starmie!"
Bulbasaur finished the job. Misty returned Starmie and sighed. She's clearly frustrated:
"It's unfair!"
You try to cheer her up:
"You battled well!"
She smiles:
"You too... You battle like a Champion!"
You smile:
Well...
"I'd wish. Riolu did great, and so did Bulbasaur."
She sighs and walks towards you:
"Here's your badge, it's called the Cascade badge."
You put it in a little badge-box:
"Thank you!"
"Good luck on your travels, trainer!"
"It's Y/n."
"Good luck on your travels, Y/n... Wait... isn't that the name of the Alolan Champion?"
You laugh:
"It is, but I'm not like him! Goodbye!"
You leave the building.
He's obviously not me!
Lillie runs towards you:
"Y/n, you did amazing! You didn't even lose one Pokémon!"
She gives you a hug.
"Yeah, type advantage. The next ones are going to be more difficult!"
Ash suddenly appears:
"And, guys, how did the battle go? Did you win?"
You smile:
"Hell yeah we did! Lillie smashed it!"
Lillie blushes:
"He did too, Ash!"
"Well done!"
The voice of a woman appears behind you, and you turn around: it was Misty:
"Y/n, Lillie? I wanted to apologise for my beha-... Ash?!"
Ash smiled calmly:
"Misty."
"Ash, what are you doing here, I-"
Ash opens his arms, and Misty jumps into them. They were embraced for quite a few seconds.
You laugh:
"Old friends?"
Ash smiles:
"You could say that, yes! But Misty, there is another thing."
"What, Ash?"
A male voice came from somewhere, and a man ran towards you.
Is that... Brock?!
Misty recognises him as well:
"Brock?! Oh my gosh! Guys, I love you, you're amazing!"
She was even in tears, and she hugged Brock as well.
Brock then saw you and Lillie:
"Ah, my amazing trainers are here too!"
You shook hands, and he gave Lillie a kiss on the cheek.
His eyes are pretty weird, like a Snorlax! But he looks like a good bro!
"What are you two doing here?"
Ash explained the journey concept, and Brock was amazed:
"Travelling with 8 persons? Wow, that's awesome! I like travelling with 3 better though!" He says laughing.
You got the hint:
"You travelled together?"
He nods:
"Yup! In Kanto with Misty! I've been to Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh as well!"
"Really?! That's awesome! I want to go to all those places too, someday!"
Ash gives Brock a wink:
"Uhm, Brock...?"
Brock remembered something:
"Oh yeah! Totally forgot, sorry! Y/n, come with me for a second, will you?"
He and you go away for a bit, and then Brock turns around:
"Y/n, I have to apologise: I didn't give you a reward or a gift for defeating me, except the badge, that is. And when Ash told me about your journey, I wanted to give you something amazing. You know I went to Hoenn... I caught a Beldum there, and since I'm a breeder, I managed to breed a Shiny one! That one's mine, but I somehow managed to get another one! Here!"
He gives you a Pokéball.
You take it:
"A... shiny... Beldum? For me?"
He laughs:
"A shiny Beldum, for you! I already have one, so... you can have it!"
"Amazing, thank you!"
He smiles:
"No problem! Just one thing: this one's a bit timid, I like to call him the shy-ny Beldum!" He says joking.
You laugh:
"I'll form a bond with it, no problem."
He lays a hand on your shoulder:
"I believe you! Take care of it, and good luck on your journeys, Y/n!"
"Thank you, Brock, and take care!"
Brock returned to Ash and Misty, and they had a lot of conversations and fun.

You went back to the café, where everyone was excited to hear about the battle. When Lillie told everything about the battles, and you told everyone about Beldum, everyone was cheered up and excited to battle as well, so you decided to battle Red. Lillie battled Blue, Gladion Daisy, and Ash battled Dawn. You battled with your Alolan team though, otherwise you wouldn't be able to defeat Red, which you did. You shook hands afterwards, and he even smiled, which Red doesn't do often. Lillie was still battling against Blue, who used a weaker team to give Lillie a chance.
Blue saw you were finished battling:
"Look, Lillie, your boyfriend is watching your game! Show him what you're capable of, won't you?"
Lillie blushed:
"He's not my boyfriend!"
He laughs:
"Ouh, cuties!"
Lillie blushed even more:
"Shut up! Ponyta, Flame Charge!"
Ponyta ran forward with fire, litteraly, and hit Blue's Pidgeotto so hard that it fainted in one shot.
Blue smirks:
"Look, that's what I meant! Y/n, you have an amazing girlfriend!"
You laugh and shake your head:
"You did well, Lillie! With so much fire! I think she'd beat your good team with a good team as well, Blue!" You say, still laughing. Gladion won over Daisy, of course, and Dawn won the battle between herself and Ash! After the battles and the felicitations, you all went to the Cerulean hotel and had a bath. Next, you went outside to the hotel's training grounds. First, you sent out Bulbasaur, Riolu and Beldum. They're happy to see you again and you stroke them, except Beldum, which was a little shy indeed, and you don't think stroking Beldum is a good idea. You then gave them potions, saying "You did amazing, guys, really great! You are awesome!". You played with them for a while and did some exercices.

Then you sent out your strong team: Incineroar, Nebby, Alolan Raichu, Silvally, Garchomp and Golisopod. They were also glad to see you! You didn't like to have Pokémon in their balls, you like to have them walking by your side when you have the chance when it's allowed. They say that in Johto, it is common to have one Pokémon walking by your side.
I want to go there as well, someday...
You fed them poffins and trained with them, all together.

You hear footsteps behind you: Lillie was watching you training. You stop with the training and walk towards her. She immediately apologises:
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't want to interrupt you!"
You shake your head:
"We can train whenever we want. And, what do you think of the training?"
"It looks amazing!"
You constructed a little "gym" with some Pokémon fitness devices. Lillie continues:
"But... why do you do this, this training? Aren't you already strong enough?"
You smile and search for an explanation:
"I... I don't know, to be honest... you know, first of all... you know those famous football players?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you think they stop training if they feel like they're strong?"
She shakes her head and smiles:
"I don't think so."
"Well, I feel like I'm strong, and my team too, but one can never be too strong... but that's not the point, really. There are trainers who... who don't even care about their Pokémon. The only thing that matters to them is how strong their Pokémon are. I hate that kind of trainers. I just want my Pokémon to be free, and I feel that when I'm with them, or when I'm training with them, that they feel free. And that's all that matters to me!"
She smiles heartly:
"That's all that matters to me too. I love them, and I want them to love me."
You give her a pat on the back:
"I'm sure they already do! Let them out of their Pokéballs and let them play with my Pokémon for a while."
She did what you asked:
"I love your Beldum, it's so amazing! I'm in love with the colour!"
"I'm in love too, I can't wait to get a shiny Metagross!"

You let Lillie play with the Pokémon and let your Pokémon play with hers.
She'll care for them.
You go laying in a recliner on the balcony with your book and watch Lillie care for the Pokémon: she brushed Vulpix' fur, played with Squirtle with water, stroked Rattata, rode on Ponyta and ran with Sandshrew.
She's an amazing trainer as well, look at how the Pokémon love her... everyone loves her.
You focus on the book, and an hour later, Lillie walks inside your room, laughing:
"Pokémon are simply amazing!" She said, with a sigh of relief.
You smile and nod:
"They are. You seem to care for them well!"
She walks over to you:
"Here are your Pokéballs. And yes! I was thinking about what you said while I was playing with them. You know... you say that training with them makes you feel that they feel free, and I believe you. But I don't really feel that... I get that feeling when I play with them and care for them!"
You nod again, still reading the book:
"And that's totally fine. Every trainer has his or her own way of making their Pokémon happy."
Lillie suddenly sees the book, which you forgot to put away:
"What are you reading?"
Oh, snap.
"A book I found at home about Team Rocket."
She lays a hand on your shoulder:
"Hey, Y/n... don't worry about them, okay?"
You shake your head:
"I don't worry about them, I just want to know everything I can about them, so that I won't be surprised next time."
She nods:
"That's okay... and also, Y/n... don't worry about me either. I'll be fine, whatever happens, OK?"
You nod too, and your mouth says "Of course" while your mind says "I'll always worry about you, Lillie!".
She gives you a kiss on the cheek:
"Sweet! Then I'll have a shower."
You nod, but sigh when she closes the bathroom door. It was evening already, and the sun disappeared and was replaced by the moon. A knock on the door interrupted your reading, and you let Daisy in:
"Hey, Daisy! Unable to sleep?"
She smiles:
"Well, no actually, I just wanted to wish you a good night!"
You smile too because of that:
"Well-"
"Where is Lillie?"
You point towards the bathroom:
"In the bathroom."
She sees the book too, laying on the recliner:
"What's that book?" She says, walking towards it and opening it immediately.
"Team Rocket?"
You nod:
"Yup!"
She closes it:
"That won't be of any use, Y/n. Thereby, I'll protect you whenever I can, okay? Don't worry about me."
"That's kind of you to say, but-"
"Promise me."
Much promises about not worrying today!
You nod:
"I won't worry about you or anyone else. I promise."
She smiles:
"Good."
She looks around to see the moon:
"It's a beautiful night today! It's a sign."
You laugh:
"A sign of what?"
"A sign of fortune, a sign of happiness."
She stands up and gives you a kiss on the cheek, just like Lillie did:
"Goodnight, Y/n."
"Goodnight, Daisy."
She went away to her room, and you sighed, laying in your bed.
You watched the moon and the Tailows flying by. Lillie came out of the bathroom, saw you watching, smiled and lay down in her own bed:
"Who was it?"
"Daisy."
"And? What did she want?" Lillie asked.
"Just to wish us a good night." You say laughing, and you begin to stare back at the moon, smiling.
"It's good to see you smile, Y/n. I know how much pressure you feel sometimes." Lillie says quietly.
You laugh:
"What pressure?"
She laughs too, and stares at the moon, just like you:
"It feels like we're still in Alola."
Alola...
"I miss Alola sometimes..."
She looks back at you:
"I miss Alola too, from time to time. But first, we're going to beat the Gym leaders!"
You smile at her, drowning in her green eyes:
"That's the spirit!"
She smiles back:
"It's time to sleep, tomorrow will be another adventure."
You nod:
"Goodnight, Lillie."
"Night night, Y/n!"
And with the moon still shining inside your room, you fall asleep, thinking about today's Gym battle, about Beldum and about Lillie. And about Lillie.

Alright, alright, alright! Chapter 16 is ready, chapter 17 in the making! I really enjoyed writing this one, but I can't wait to write another real main-story chapter too! I have been playing a lot of Pokémon Y recently with friends, and it has been loads of fun. I have one or two questions, not really related to Pokémon, but I'd like to know:
When you read this and other stories or when you are writing a story yourself, do you listen to music? And if so, which artist/group? Or don't you listen to music at all when you're reading/writing?
Also, is there someone who plays an instrument? I often listen to Imagine Dragons when I'm writing/reading, and I've been playing the guitar for 9 years!
Anyway, enough talking! Have a nice day, and keep on catching!