Liko and Ash reached a nearby Pokémon Center. The two of them were tasked to get potions from the Pokémon Center, so they walked together, accompanied by their first Pokémon. On the other hand, Liko's face was shown to be really red.
'I can't believe it's just me and Ash here!!!!'
Flashback:
"Liko, here's the order receipt for the potion I ordered at the nearby Pokemon center." Molly handed the receipt of her order, "Just hand them this, okay?"
"Okay." Liko nodded.
"Hey Ash, can you accompany Liko to the nearby Pokemon center? I want to check on the health of the Pokemon inside the ship."
"I got no problem! Let's go Pikachu!"
"Pika!"
After Pikachu comfortably sat on Ash's shoulder, he ran up to Liko and out of nowhere grabbed Liko's hand and dragged her with Sprigatito following from behind.
"A-Ash?!"
"We'll be going!" Ash told Molly.
"Be careful on the way!" Molly waved her hand while telling Ash and Liko what she said.
On the wing deck, everyone's chilling on the floor except for Greninja, who's watching Ash, Liko, Sprigatito, and Pikachu, decides to tell the others, "Guys, I'm going to follow Ash and Liko from the distance."
Scorbunny then guessed, 'Are you going to see if Ash and Liko are going to have some time to be romantic together?'
"Part of it, although not to the point they started dating." Greninja crossed his arms, "My danger senses that I both trained and used are tingling, something's gonna happen when they're coming back."
"I might be all about pride, but even I admitted that I wish I had that kind of sense inside me." Ash's Charizard admitted.
"Do what you need to do, Greninja, you better protect them!"
"No need to tell me twice, nature bunny!" Greninja jumped off the wing deck and landed safely before he followed Ash and Liko.
"Okay I haven't asked this before, but I wanna know why are you guys so desperate to make Ash date Liko?" It was Cap, who asked this.
Ash's Charizard turned to Cap and said, "We have a list for the reason itself; want to read them?"
"No thanks, I rather don't wanna know instead." Cap Sweatdropped.
End Of flashback:
Ash and Liko went inside the Pokemon Center, with both of their starters walking on their side.
"Welcome to the Pokemon Center."
"Um.. I'm here to pick up an order..." Liko gave the order receipt to Nurse Joy.
After Nurse Joy read the receipt, she replied, "Certainly. I'll check on your order. Feel free to have a seat."
After that, Liko and Ash took a seat with Pikachu on Ash's shoulder and Sprigatito being hugged by Liko.
"Ash, I'm curious, how did you and Greninja meet for the first time?" Liko asked.
"Ahh, it was back in Kalos. Pikachu and I are having a fun battle with Clemont, the Lumiose gym leader. He was my traveling companion in Kalos."
"Really?! That's amazing, Ash."
"In the middle of the battle, we got interrupted by the Team Rocket trio. The Team Rocket trio is the group that tries to steal my Pikachu. In every region I go to, those three always try to steal my Pikachu," Ash continued.
"They did?! Wait, are they... still trying to steal Pikachu from you?"
Ash nodded, "I haven't seen them for a long time actually, but it kinda worries me that out of nowhere they will show up again, although it's nice if they stopped chasing me and my Pikachu."
"Anyway, I ordered Pikachu to use Electro ball while Clemont ordered Bunnelby to use Mud Shot. Wobuffet was able to dodge the Mud Shot and use Mirror Coat to reflect Pikachu's Electro ball back to Pikachu. As the Electro ball was about to hit Pikachu, Froakie suddenly shielded Pikachu from being hit with his body."
"Wait, wouldn't Froakie get badly injured because he's a Water type?!"
"He got badly injured from the Electro ball, but Froakie wouldn't back down at that time and wanted to fight the Team Rocket trio. Since Greninja was a Froakie back then, he threw his frubbles, the white thing that's around Froakie's neck that can penetrate Wobuffet's Mirror coat that immobilizes the team rocket trio as well. After that, Clemont and I were able to beat the Team Rocket trio. Since Froakie got injured so badly, we had to bring him to the nearby Pokemon Center afterward."
"Umm... How did Greninja join your team?" It was one of the questions that was important to Liko.
"Well-"
Ash's Rotom phone suddenly rang, so he picked it up and it was a video call, "Hello?"
"Alola, Ash!" On the screen, it showed Professor Kukui and Professor Burnett.
"Professor Kukui! Professor Burnett! Alola too!" Ash responded happily.
"How are you doing? Feeling pressured after becoming the new world Monarch??" Kukui asked.
"I'm doing great actually. Professor Burnett, how's Leo?"
"He's over here, dear."
Professor Burnett picked up Lei and carried him with both hands.
"Ash! Ash!"
"Lei is looking great as usual! It's nice to see you three again!"
"It's nice to see you again too, Ash," Kukui happily said.
"Pika-Pika!"
"Pikachu is always looking energetic as usual! I'm glad you're doing great.
"Anyway, Ash..." Professor Burnett looked to the right directly at Liko, "Are you gonna introduce your new friend to us??"
"Oh yeah, I almost forgot!" Ash proceeded to introduce Liko, "Professor Kukui, Professor Burnett, this is my new friend Liko. Liko, this is Professor Burnett and Professor Kukui, and that's their son Leo. They are my family at Alola."
"F-Family?! But I thought your family is in Kanto, with Miss Delia as your mother."
"Ash is like family to us." Kukui explained, "When he goes to my school at Melemele Island in Alola, we become close like a family!"
"I see...." Liko looked at the Alola family and introduced herself, "Umm.... I'm Liko, Ash's new friend.. nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too , dear." Professor Burnett replied, "Please take care of Ash for me and Kukui, okay?"
"I-I-I will!" Liko replied as her face reddened.
Burnett noticed this and knew what's going on, 'Ahh, I see what's going on here, Ash being dense for not noticing Liko's love for Ash.'
"Oh yeah Ash, do you still have a room for your team?"
"Actually I have 2 slots left for my party, is there something you need?"
"We want you to bring Rotom Dex with you." Professor Burnett answered.
"Rotom Dex??"
"Rotom Dex feels like he wants to be able to go on an adventure with you after working at the Aether Foundation for a long time." Kukui explained, "Two days ago he felt down because he missed going on an adventure with you Ash, so all of us think that you should bring him with you, can you do that?"
"Hmmm... why not? I'm happy to bring him with me."
"Then it's settled! I'm gonna send him to you when you're at the Pokemon Center!"
"We're at the Pokemon Center actually."
"Now that really helps out!"
Professor Kukui proceeded to send Rotom Dex by sending him from the Transfer Pokeball machine.
"I'll take care of Rotom-Dex so don't worry about him!"
"We know you will, alright, I'm going back to work now, see you later Ash!"
"See you later, Professor! Say hi to everyone for me!"
"I will tell them that you're doing good." Kukui replied back.
"Oh before I forget, Liko?"
"Yes, Professor Burnett?"
Professor Burnett tells Liko with a grin, "Good luck with Ash, okay?"
Liko's face instantly became red as a tomato, "Y-Y-Y-Y-Yes."
"Huh? Professor, what do you mean by good luck with me?"
"Ohh it's nothing at all Ash, see you later!" Professor Burnet turned off the call.
"Uhh okay then," Ash turned to Liko, "Liko, what does she mean by good luck with me?"
"I-I-It's nothing for you to worry about at all!!!"
"Okay if you say so.."
Liko held her cheeks with both of her hands, 'She knew! She knew that I was in love with Ash!' Liko covered her face in embarrassment, 'It's so embarrassing! How did Professor Burnett know?!"
Pikachu and Sprigatito sighed, 'At least Liko got approval there.'
"Anyway, come out Rotom Dex!"
After Rotom Dex materialized, he got excited instantly, "WOOOHOOO! HEY ASH!!"
"Hey Rotom, hahaha!" Ash and Pikachu were happy to see Rotom Dex again.
"Glad that you accept me to go with you on your adventure. Have you been well, Roto?"
"We sure do!"
Liko looked at Rotom Dex with interest, 'This Rotom is way different,' Liko commented in her head, 'This one has personality and talks like humans while the usual Rotom just... bland.'
"Rotom, this is Liko, my new friend!"
Rotom looked at the girl beside Ash, "New friend of Ash? Nice to meet you! Oh!" Rotom Dex saw Sprigatito standing beside Liko, "A Pokemon that I haven't seen before! Can I scan it? Please?"
"Uhh... sure."
"Thanks a bunch!" Rotom Dex decided to scan Sprigatito, "Sprigatito, Grass Cat Pokemon. Grass type. When Sprigatito kneads and rubs with its forepaws, a sweet aroma is released that can mesmerize those around it. This is quite amazing! Thanks for allowing me to scan... uh, what are you doing?"
Sprigatito wiggled its back left and right, focusing on Rotom.
"I don't like that, stop that!"
But Sprigatito didn't listen and jumped at Rotom Dex.
"Woah! You almost hit me there!"
But Sprigatito kept jumping towards Rotom Dex, trying to catch it. After a while, Liko decided to intervene, "Sprigatito, stop that, please."
Liko carried Sprigatito with her left hand while her right hand was used to pet Sprigatito.
"Sorry, I don't know why Sprigatito does that."
"Sorry for the wait, you two," Nurse Joy called out, "Here are the items you ordered."
When the group looked at the order, Ash and Liko were surprised by the stack of 4 large boxes on the table.
"Huh?!" Everyone was stunned at those boxes.
"I guess I should carry these boxes then." Ash went to lift the boxes.
"Let me help you, Ash."
"Thanks, Liko! On three, one, two, three!"
Liko and Ash lifted the box on the table together and proceeded to leave the building.
"Thank you!" Liko and Ash called back to Nurse Joy.
"You're welcome! Thank you for coming to the Pokecenter!"
Ash and Liko went outside of the Pokecenter, and Molly and her Chansey greeted them.
"Thanks for the help, Liko, Ash. Let Chansey carry those boxes now."
"Okay."
From far away, Greninja watched as Ash and Liko let Chansey take those boxes and walk away from the Pokecenter.
"Okay, they're safe now, but I remember danger always comes out of nowhere, so let's see..." Greninja began to scan the area around, his eyes widened when he looked at the bushes to the left.
There was a Meowth, the periwinkle-haired man, and a magenta long-haired woman who wore a Team Rocket uniform with a claw machine behind them.
"There is the twerp with his friend, the blue twerpette. Time to steal that Pikachu and that girl's pendant! Click the button, Meowth!"
Meowth clicked the button, and 2 claws stretched towards Pikachu and Liko.
"Not a chance!"
Greninja jumped from his hiding spot to behind the group and sliced 2 claws with his Night Slash, and the claws that got cut dropped to the ground, creating a loud thud that made the group turn around.
"Greninja? What's going on?" Ash asked.
Greninja pointed towards the bush, and they saw the Team Rocket trio.
"Team Rocket!" Ash yelled as Pikachu hopped to the ground and got into his battle pose, electricity zapping on his cheeks. Even Liko's Sprigatito hissed and took a battle stance as well.
"Team Rocket?! What is Team Rocket doing here?!" Molly wasn't expecting this at all.
"They're still trying to capture your Pikachu?!" Rotom Dex knew for a fact that the Team Rocket trio had tried to capture Ash's Pikachu, but he still found it shocking that they were still attempting it now.
"Of course they do! They never stop at all!"
"Looks like they noticed us! Let's do the usual!"
"Yes!" James and Meowth replied.
"Prepare for trouble!"
"And make it double!"
"To protect the world from devastation!"
"To unite all peoples-"
"Thunderbolt! Water Shuriken!"
Without wasting time, Ash ordered Pikachu and Greninja to attack the Team Rocket trio, and an explosion happened instantly.
Liko, Sprigatito, Molly, and Chansey sweatdropped when they saw Ash instantly ordering his Pokémon to interrupt.
"He didn't let them finish at all..." Liko commented sourly.
As the smoke cleared, the Team Rocket trio looked fried because of the Thunderbolt and Water Shuriken attacks.
"Hey, Twerp! How dare you interrupt our motto!" Jessie angrily yelled.
"You're not supposed to interrupt our motto!" James also angrily yelled at Ash.
"I've heard it so many times on my journey! I've had enough of wasting time hearing your lame motto over and over again!" Ash replied. "Also, where is your Wobbuffet?"
"Wobbuffet!" Wobbuffet popped out behind the trio.
"Oh, there he is."
"Hey! Our motto wasn't lame at all! This motto is the greatest in our organization!" Meowth replied.
"That Meowth can talk?!" Another surprise for Liko and Molly.
"Your motto is as lame as your status as Team Rocket grunts!" Rotom Dex jabbed back, "You guys are only considered low rank rather than high rank in your organization!"
"Shut your mouth, outdated Rotom!" The trio yelled back.
"Alright, Team Rocket, what do you want from us?" Molly decided to ask.
The trio smirked, and then James answered, "We've come to capture your Pikachu!"
"Oh, look at that! The usual routine of you four-"
"But that isn't the only thing we're targeting this time around." Jessie interrupted.
"You see," Meowth pointed at Liko, "Back then, we were following you to the Indigo League, and we saw that Twerpette's pendant showed us something unexpected when she was about to get hit by that white and black-haired man's Pokémon, and now we will steal it for Giovanni!"
Instantly, Liko shielded the pendant that she wore as a necklace. The fear she felt when the explorers tried to steal her pendant showed again.
"Not when I'm here!" Ash put his hand in front of Liko as he looked back at her. "I'll protect you, Liko! They won't come closer to you at all."
"Ash..." Liko calmed down a bit. She forgot that Ash was with her right now and she trusted him. Liko's cheek became pink with how heroic he was all of a sudden. "Thank you..."
"Just stay behind me. Molly, you keep Liko safe, okay?"
"Yeah, good luck, Ash."
"I will!" Ash looked forward again. "Let's go, Pikachu! Greninja!"
"Pika!" "Ninja!" Pikachu and Greninja moved forward and got ready to battle.
"Let's use our secret weapon! Pelipper! Rocket Prize Master!"
From the sky, Pelipper spewed out a 4-legged mecha that looked like a gacha machine and landed in front of them.
"Time to put the coin!" Meowth used the coin on top of his head in the slot as Jessie spun the spinning switch four times, and then 4 Pokéballs came out of it.
Jessie and James took the Pokéballs from it.
"Now let's see-"
"What Pokémon we got!"
Jessie and James threw out their Pokéballs, and four pieces of paper landed in their hands as they read them out.
"Stealth Pokémon, Dragapult!"
"Armored Pokémon, Tyranitar!"
"Blade Pokémon, Gallade!"
"Blast Pokémon, Magmortar!" (If you want to know the order, Dragapult and Gallade are James's, Tyranitar and Magmortar are Jessie's).
Jessie cannot help but happily comment, "We're lucky to have a cool Pokémon now!"
"We sure are. Now be ready, Twerp! We will win this time!"
"Greninja and Pikachu are enough to beat you two! Let's go, Greninja!"
"Ninja!"
Greninja transformed instantly into Ash-Greninja with the instant transform method.
"What did Greninja just do?! I've never seen Greninja like this at all," Molly got surprised by Greninja's transformation.
"Molly-san, this is Ash-Greninja power," Liko explained. "Ash said that this form is like a Mega Evolution."
"Mega evolution without a Mega Stone at all?! I guess that's the World Monarch for sure."
"This is a rare phenomenon! I'm gonna record this battle for Kukui's research about it!" Rotom Dex went into recording mode.
"That Greninja..." James noticed.
"It's the same Greninja from Kalos!" Jessie realized.
"Let's hope that we could beat them this time."
"Magmortar, Flamethrower! Tyranitar, Rock Blast!"
"Dragapult, Shadow Force! Gallade, Run at Greninja and use Leaf Blade!"
In order, Magmortar sent out a Flamethrower from its cannon hand, Tyranitar spawned 5 small rocks before it launched beside Flamethrower, Dragapult instantly vanished through a portal, and Gallade charged forward with his glowing hands.
"Pikachu, Use Electro Web to block that Flamethrower and Rock Blast! Greninja, use Water Shuriken at Magmortar!"
Pikachu threw an Electric Web towards the incoming Flamethrower and Rock Blast, while Greninja jumped and used his Water Shuriken from his back towards Magmortar.
Pikachu's Electric Web contacted with the Flamethrower, and Rock Blast, stopping both attacks. The Rock Blast stopped and fell to the ground, while the Flamethrower dissipated. Greninja's Water Shuriken went through the vanishing attacks and hit Magmortar directly, resulting in Magmortar being heavily injured.
"Magmortar!"
When Greninja landed, Ash decided to praise Greninja, "Great job, Greninja-"
Ash and Greninja sensed a Pokémon near Pikachu and realized it was Dragapult that was about to reappear.
"Greninja, Night Slash!"
Greninja summoned his purple kunai and charged toward Dragapult, which was about to reappear behind Pikachu.
As Dragapult reappeared, Greninja got behind Pikachu and blocked Dragapult from attacking Pikachu. Pikachu looked back and was surprised to see that Dragapult was behind him.
"Gallade! Charge at Pikachu and use Leaf Blade!"
Gallade, who had stopped and was surprised by Greninja hitting Magmortar, continued to run toward Pikachu as his hands turned green again.
Ash noticed the incoming Gallade and instantly ordered Pikachu, "Pikachu! Dodge Gallade and use Iron Tail sideways!"
Pikachu jumped around Gallade's head at level height when Gallade was about to hit Pikachu with two leaf blades and instantly knocked back Gallade to the left with a sideways Iron Tail.
At the same time, Greninja hit Night Slash at Dragapult. After that, Greninja appeared in front of Gallade and threw Gallade towards Dragapult.
Greninja turned his head towards Pikachu and told him, "I'll take care of these two; you take care of Magmortar and Tyranitar!"
"Got it!/Pika!" Pikachu then ran towards Tyranitar and Magmortar.
Greninja turned his head towards Gallade and Dragapult with a look that said "You'll be my opponent!"
Pikachu stopped in front of Magmortar and Tyranitar, ready to blow some steam.
"Dragapult, use Dragon Darts, followed by Dragon Claw!"
Dragapult fired two Dreepy towards Greninja, followed by Dragapult charging at Greninja with a glowing bluish-green dragon claw. Greninja dodged the 2 Dreepy bullets that homed in on him and Dragapult's multiple attacks with Dragon Claw.
James, seeing Dragapult and the two Dreepy struggling, ordered Gallade, "Gallade, help Dragapult with Sacred Sword!"
Gallade's hand turned blue and attacked Greninja with multiple Sacred Sword swings.
Greninja had to move faster to dodge so many attacks coming at him, and this resulted in Ash sweating a little bit because he felt how fast Greninja was.
"Magmortar, use Thunderbolt at Pikachu! Tyranitar, use Stone Edge!"
"Pikachu! Use Quick Attack and hit Magmortar from your left!"
Pikachu's body was covered in a bluish-white aura as he dodged the incoming Thunderbolt and Stone Edge. Magmortar got hit by Pikachu's Quick Attack.
"Continue with Thunderbolt!"
Pikachu's body was covered with electricity, and he shot a Thunderbolt at Magmortar, creating an explosion in Magmortar's place.
When the smoke cleared, Magmortar fainted on the ground with swirls in its eyes, making Tyranitar panic.
"Greninja! Jump to the sky and use Double Team!"
Greninja jumped and created multiple clones of himself in the air, confusing Gallade, Dragapult, and its two Dreepies.
"Greninja, use Aerial Ace!" Greninja's hands and legs shone in bluish-white, 'at Gallade!'
Greninja charged towards Gallade in an instant. Gallade, Dragapult, and its babies didn't know which one was the real Greninja, giving Greninja the advantage of hitting Gallade with Aerial Ace multiple times and knocking him near the fainted Magmortar. In that last hit, Gallade fainted as well.
"Grab the two Dreepy and throw them at Dragapult!"
Greninja grabbed the Dreepy and threw them at Dragapult, which got hit by them.
"Continue with Aerial Ace and knock them towards Gallade and Magmortar!"
Greninja, in a blink, appeared in front of the Dreepies and Dragapult and dealt multiple strikes before grabbing the top of Dragapult to do a backflip. It then kicked Dragapult from behind, knocking Dragapult and the two Dreepies near Magmortar and Gallade, where they fainted on the spot.
"Good job... Greninja..."
"Ninja." Pikachu ran back and stood beside Greninja again.
"I already saw him fight the explorers last night, but I never considered his Pokémon to be that strong." Molly is speechless.
"Ash is strong, Molly-san," Rotom Dex replied while still focused on recording. "He always does something unexpected that leads so many people to lose against Ash."
Rotom Dex continued, "Before he joins us at our Alola school, Ash has gone through Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, and Kalos regions, which means he has gone through 6 Regions at all! Now add the fact that he has gone through Alola and lastly adventured through all 8 regions, including the Galar region for the World Coronation Series, and he already has so much experience facing him, including The former World Monarch Leon has been defeated by Ash in the finals."
Hearing those words, Molly was speechless and looked back at Ash, who still focused on the battle. Liko never asked which regions Ash had journeyed through, so after hearing it from one of Ash's friends, her respect for Ash increased.
"He's amazing..." Liko started to feel something beyond mere respect for Ash.
'I want to help him by his side.'
Liko started to idolize Ash as a Pokémon Trainer now.
"Nyaooohaaa!!" Liko looked at Sprigatito and saw her Pokémon enjoying the fight scene.
"Pikachu and Greninja are amazing, right Sprigatito?"
"Nyaohaa." Sprigatito agreed with Liko.
"So, are you ready to give up, or should we do the usual?" Ash taunted.
"We still have Tyranitar on our side! Tyranitar, use your Hyper Beam!"
Tyranitar charged its Hyper Beam from its mouth after the command.
"Pikachu! Greninja! Get ready!"
Greninja picked up his Water Shuriken from his back, while Pikachu's cheeks sparkled.
"Nyao-Nyao!" Sprigatito tried to shake off Liko's grip.
"S-Sprigatito? What are you doing?" Liko made sure not to let go of Sprigatito.
"Nyaooo!" Sprigatito pointed at Tyranitar's Hyper Beam.
Liko looked back and forth at Sprigatito and Tyranitar and realized, "You want... to attack Tyranitar?"
"Nyao!" Seeing Sprigatito's insistence, Liko made her decision.
'Should I do it? What if I fail? What if that Hyper Beam hurts us instead? What if—'
Liko stopped her thoughts when she remembered her Grandma's words.
"Liko, the only scary part is the first step. If you take that step, you will find brand-new horizons and forget you were ever scared in the first place. And with Pokémon by your side, you'll do just fine."
Liko remembered those words from before her journey, 'The scary part is taking the first step...'
Liko looked at Sprigatito, who was looking back at her. 'If I don't take that step, I won't be strong at all!'
"Let's go, Sprigatito!"
Sprigatito's eyes widened, and it replied with a grin, "NYAO!"
Sprigatito ran forward with Liko following behind.
"Liko, wait!" Molly tried to stop her, but it was too late.
"Hey twerp! Get ready to be defeated!" Jessie taunted.
"We will win this fight, Team Rocket!" Ash replied back, with Pikachu and Greninja agreeing.
"But this time I will fight with Ash!"
Ash, Greninja, and Pikachu noticed Sprigatito standing in front of them, followed by Ash realizing Liko was beside him.
"Sprigatito, use Leafage!" Liko ordered loudly.
"NyaoooHaaaaa!" The leaf around Sprigatito's neck glowed green and shot out a large amount of leaves at Tyranitar.
"H-Hurry, use your Hyper Beam!" Jessie was too late to order Tyranitar, and Team Rocket, along with their gacha Pokémon, got hit by Sprigatito's Leafage, sending them blasting off again.
"We did it! We actually did it, Sprigatito!" Liko replied happily as the leaves from Sprigatito's Leafage flew past them.
Pikachu, Greninja, and Ash were stunned by Sprigatito's action.
"Woaaah..." Ash didn't know what to say but was amazed by it.
Meanwhile, in the sky, Team Rocket was covered in dust again.
"Well, we got defeated again," Meowth commented.
"But this time that Twerpette's Sprigatito defeated Tyranitar even while charging its Hyper Beam.." James added.
"But still, we've got to tell our boss Giovanni about this! That Sprigatito is already strong enough to defeat Tyranitar's mid-charged Hyper Beam!" Jessie commented.
"But for now, there's one thing we need to do."
"Yeah."
The trio inhaled their breath before they screamed, "WE'RE BLASTING OFF AGAIN!"
"WOBUFFETT!"
The team rocket trio vanished into the sky, leaving only a spark-like star in their wake.
Molly looked at where Team Rocket had disappeared and could only wonder, "...How many times does Ash have to deal with this?" Molly instantly shook her head, "No wait, it's better not to know."
"We did it, Sprigatito!" Liko immediately hugged Sprigatito.
"Nyaoha!" Sprigatito accepted Liko's hug.
Ash walked closer to Liko, "Liko?"
Liko turned to Ash, "Yes, Ash?"
Ash showed his happy grin and suddenly hugged Liko, "THAT WAS AMAZING!"
"EEP!" Liko was caught off guard by Ash hugging her, and her face turned red again.
"Sprigatito, you're amazing too! That attack was powerful enough to counter Tyranitar's Hyper Beam! How did you do that?"
Liko tried her best to explain, "W-Well, I got reminded of my grandma's words to take the first step because that is the scariest part of our journey, s-so I made that resolve with Sprigatito and decided to counter Tyranitar's attack."
Ash released the hug and put both hands on Liko's shoulder, "Either way, I'm glad you can fight now as a Pokémon Trainer!"
Molly watched Ash and Liko's interaction, "They sure are close now."
After that, Ash, Liko, Molly, and their Pokémon returned to the ship, chatting while Molly explained what had happened to Friede, Murdock, and Orio.
"I see... I guess there are two teams after them now," Friede concluded.
"I guess our adventure's going to be even crazier than we thought," Orio sighed.
"Friede, I think sooner or later you have to train Liko in Pokémon battles so she can protect herself when Ash isn't there," Murdock suggested.
"I've considered that, but for now, let her rest," Friede replied.
Ash told his story about his journey in Sinnoh to Liko, who was intently listening.
Meanwhile, as Sprigatito watched the sunset, Greninja sat beside it.
"Oh hey, Greninja."
"Hey, Sprigatito," Greninja replied. "Just wanted to say you did good back there."
"You're amazed by my power?"
Greninja nodded, "I am, for sure. Kinda reminds me of when I was still a Froakie."
"Hmm? What happened when you were still a Froakie?"
And so, Greninja went on to explain everything that happened when he was a Froakie to Sprigatito.
All in all, Sprigatito and Liko's adventure had just begun, and they had a long journey ahead of them.
Author's note:
Thanks for reading this chapter. This is the longest chapter I've written for this fanfic. I hope this chapter satisfies all of you.
Edit: I fixed the grammar with the help of Chatgpt, I hope this helps out everyone