Fear - An Aureliashipping and Lonashipping Story

-8-

The waves lapped gently at the shore of Melemele Beach as Gladion and Moon slowly made their way towards the island. The Alolan sky was painted orange with a beautiful sunset. As soon as the Mantine reached the sand, Gladion stepped off it and collapsed onto his hands and knees, breathing rapidly. Moon, on the other hand, calmly got off the Pokémon.

"That...was...horrible." Gladion said in between breaths. Moon playfully rolled her eyes. "Oh, you're being a baby. You only nearly fell off once."

Gladion looked at her in anger. How dumb was this girl? "Last time I checked, I wanted to leave Poni Island in secret, not nearly kill myself."

"Do you want my help or not?"

I'm not quite sure anymore... Gladion thought to himself. However, he didn't want Moon to turn him in to the Aether Foundation. He got up and walked away from the ocean. "Let's go."

Moon hesitated before following him. She enjoyed his company a lot, and she didn't want him to abandon her. She quietly followed behind him, her eyes on the ground.

After a bit of walking, the two reached the eastern outskirts of Hau'oli City. "We're close." Gladion muttered.

A few short moments of silence. Then an innocent question: "Um, Gladion? Are...are we friends?"

Gladion turned around. "Huh?"

----

"Are you sure you don't want to try a few more times?" Ash asked.

Lillie shook her head. "No, I'm fine." she replied.

The two stood at her doorway, having finished a day of what they called "exposure therapy": having Lillie interact with various Pokémon, trying to get her to touch them. They agreed that progress was made, however slow.

"Thank you so much Ash," Lillie said. "I know I can be frustrating."

Ash shook his head. "No, I enjoy helping you. I want to see you get better with Pokémon."

Lillie gave what was possibly the biggest smile she ever had in her life. A moment or two passed before she found herself opening her arms for a hug, only to discover that Ash didn't notice and was already running home. "Bye Lillie!"

Lillie sighed in disappointment. Ash was always running off without thinking. She closed the door behind her and walked back inside.

Hobbes was busy preparing a meal when Lillie walked by. "Good evening, Miss Lillie. Did you enjoy your company?"

Lillie nodded tiredly. "Mhm. Ash is a really nice person."

Hobbes smiled. "Splendid. It's lovely to know that you have trustworthy companions." he said as he began to slice some vegetables. "You know, your mother was hesitant to place you in a public school, especially since Gladion was homeschooled-"

Lillie flinched at the mention of her family.

"But I'm glad that she did. You have so many friends and you're so happy. I wonder if that's the reason Gladion never became the sociable type..."

Lillie's heart broke. She never had never thought of it that way. Did her mother learn from her mistakes for once? What if Gladion had the chance of normalcy like she did right now? She couldn't bear the thought of never knowing Kukui, Lana, Mallow, Sophocles, Kiawe....

Ash...

"You've taken a special liking to the young lad who was here, is that right?" Hobbes said, trying to lighten the mood.

Lillie nodded absentmindedly until she noticed the wise smile Hobbes was wearing. Her face burned and she had a sudden burst of energy. "W-what?! No! Hobbes-"

"Consider yourself lucky, Miss Lillie," Hobbes talked over her. "I have ridden the rollercoaster of emotions many times in my long life."

Lillie frowned as she waited to see where Hobbes was going with this.

"You see Lillie, I too once had someone in mind when I was younger. I was around eighteen when I met her. We became good friends and I quickly fell in love with her. However... she had dreams," Hobbes continued. "She one day told me that she wanted to travel to the Sinnoh region. She left before I could ever tell her my feelings."

Lillie's heart broke again. How awful it must have been to lose someone like that.

"Oh, but that was years ago," Hobbes said with a laugh. "My point, Lillie, is to be happy that your friend Ash shares your dreams. You won't lose him to them. Now go and get some rest, dinner will be ready in about thirty minutes."

Lillie got up and made her way to her room, her mind racing with thoughts. As she sat on her bed, one question stood out the most. Do I like Ash?

She pictured the boy in her mind. She loved the way he always made her feel better, his smile, his talent...

Lillie stood up.

I like Ash.

----

The three Aether Foundation members landed on Poni Island, Gladion's last known location. Ethan stepped out of the boat first, wearing a cowboy hat. Karen walked out behind him. "Are you sure the hat is necessary?

"Positive. It is a pretty desolate place after all." Ethan replied. Natasha stepped off the boat and shook her head. "You're ridiculous. C'mon, let's find the kid."

The three made their way to the docks. The wooden platforms were surrounded by boat houses, some painted to look like water Pokémon. The trio walked over to a fisher, who was very surprised to see them.

"The Aether Foundation? Well I'll be, what brings ya to the emptiness of Poni?"

"We're looking for a kid," Natasha explained, going on to describe Gladion's distinguishable features.

"Ya know, a kid like that came by here a few days ago, grumbling about a beast or whatever. But I ain't see him come back to town since. One of the locals might 'ave though, cause every trainer will need to heal up their partners back here sooner or later: the Poni Wilderness is home to the strongest Pokémon in Alola. "

The three agents nodded to each other. They continued to walk around the docks, asking the same question over and over. Nothing.

Karen sighed after a while. "Oh this is hopeless. We're going to get fired..." she said worriedly.

Ethan gave her a pat on the shoulder. "Don't worry. Sooner or later we'll get a lead."

"Let's try the Pokémon Center." Natasha suggested, leading them to the big red and white building.

Once inside, Nurse Joy greeted the trio. "Oh, you must be a part of the Aether Foundation! I am so glad to have you. How can I help you?"

Ethan explained who they were looking for.

Nurse Joy had a thoughtful look on her face. "I think I healed a Pokémon like the one you're describing...I think he left the island."

The three agents facepalmed. "Yep," Ethan said. "We're so fired."