They stood there for a few good minutes as Lillie was seemingly frozen in time. Her face was completely in shock, with her jaw agape and eyes wide. She was hardly moving except for her chest breathing as her mind slowly tried to catch up with her.
"It's... really you?" She mumbled.
Ash nodded, a wry smile on his face. "Yeah... it's me." He answered her.
"I... I..." She struggled to speak.
Anabel suddenly started looking uneasy. "Um, Ash?"
Ash turned to face the Salon Maiden. "What?"
"I... I-" Her voice started sounding much more strained as her face started morphing.
"We might want to run!"
"What do y-?" He turned back to Lillie, only to see that Lillie's face had taken on a horrific glare that just spoke death as she started to take a step forward.
"I SHOULD KILL YOU FOR MAKING ME WORRY!"
"OH CRAP!" Ash hauled it straight out of the battlefield room with Anabel following close behind, not wanting to be within that girl's circle of rage. As they got out of the room, Lillie immediately started giving chase to the pair, steam coming out of her ears from all of her anger. Pikachu and Espeon simply sweatdropped at Lillie's apparent rage and chose not to get involved with this.
Lillie chased them right out of the door and saw them take a right, going up one of the sets of stairs that led to the East Wing. Lillie followed suit, not wanting the pair out her sight. She started lunging up the steps, slowly gaining ground on them.
"YOU GET BACK HERE!!!" Lillie screeched as they ran up the stairs.
"Is she always like that?" Anabel asked in between breaths as they ran.
"Let's just say the month I showed up in Alola was the first and last time I ticked her off that year." Ash stated as they ran through the East Wing double doors.
They ducked into a corridor and ran down a hall until they came to one of the many rooms with double doors. Ash and Anabel ran straight through them, disappearing from Lillie's sight. The pale girl immediately ran in after them, just a few seconds behind them.
As she ran in, she slowed down and took in what she was seeing. This place had a plethora of Grass and Bug types around. The area was suited for them, as she noticed it contained a large amount of shrubbery and forestry with a small pond as well.
Lillie stood in wonderment and awe when she looked around. "It's beautiful..."
Meanwhile, Ash and Anabel were behind a few trees. Ash was barely peeking around the corner and moved back, giving a sigh of relief. "I think we're good."
Anabel also smiled. "I told you so."
Ash rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Anyways, let's go to the usual spot. I'm not holding out hope for confronting her right after her anger just died down." He said as they walked away.
Meanwhile, Lillie began wandering aimlessly as she observed the area she was witnessing. She realized that this was a habitat suited for some of Ash's Pokémon. That much was obvious, as some of the Pokémon here were ones she saw at Oak's Corral when they went to see it on the school trip. However, she noticed a few of them were very different, like ones she had not recognized. One of them looked to be a weird bug type that reminded her of a Ledyba but with two legs and a white head.
As she wandered around for what felt like half an hour, but was only maybe five minutes, she heard the sounds of a soothing guitar playing somewhere within the area. She followed the sounds until she reached a clearing, where she saw the girl was sitting on the grass. Ash was the one playing the guitar and was sitting up on a log while Anabel was nodding along, a smile on her face as she listened. She also noticed a serpent like grass type curled up with the pair as Ash played.
He finished a second later, sitting the guitar down next to him as he sighed. "I feel much better. What did you think, Serperior?"
"Serrr." The grass snake gave a smile.
"I agree with Serperior. You're getting better." Anabel said.
"You think so, huh?" He turned his head around. "What about you, Lillie?"
Lillie snapped out of her stupor, somewhat surprised that Ash noticed her walk up. "Uhh... I think it was pretty good."
"Hmm." Ash hummed as he pet his Serperior lightly. "I assume you want answers."
Lillie finally tried to form her glare again, but she stopped doing it as she couldn't bring herself to hold it. 'Why am I not mad anymore? Is it the setting...?'
"That is why we ran out here." Anabel said. "The setting can purge negative emotions from the body, which is why you aren't mad anymore."
Lillie widened her eyes. "How did you know?"
"Your expression." Ash answered for her.
Lillie blinked. "Huh?"
"The way you tried to glare, but you suddenly found that you couldn't. Most people can read body language easily to tell just how a person is feeling and what may be going on in their head." Ash explained.
Lillie scoffed. "And you know that how? You weren't exactly the smartest when I knew you back in Alola."
Anabel giggled at the comment while Ash just shrugged. "Anabel here taught me."
"Really?" Lillie said in slight surprise. "Even back in Alola, I never pegged you as one to sit still long enough to grasp some things."
Anabel smiled. "Oh, he still isn't. I just know how to deal with his energy."
Ash simply rolled his eyes with a bit of a laugh. "Well, times have changed. And so have I actually."
Lillie looked him over. "So I see. Looks like you grew up these last 2 years."
Ash nodded. "And so have you. You're different now. I never would've guessed you wanted to challenge the Battle Frontier back when we were in Alola."
"Well, you inspired me. You inspired all of us. Everyone in Alola was hoping you would come back someday and meet with them until... the news article came out."
"Is that so?" Ash asked neutrally. He figured after her angry reaction from before that this topic would come up.
"Of course. But now I want answers." Lillie demanded.
"Then you'll get them. Ask away." He told her.
"Kanto's news center let out an article that had said you died two years ago. Your mother said that your body was not recoverable and only a small funeral was held. Yet you're right here." She pointed out. "So what happened?"
Ash sighed. "Two years already, huh?" Ash sat up and Anabel put a hand on his shoulder for moral support. "Well... it's a long story."
Lillie took a seat on the ground in front of them. "I've got time."
So Ash chose to do the long version of the story, considering Lillie wasn't planning on going anywhere. The pale teen listened to the story, making sure to catch each detail he mentioned. However, Ash left out a couple of particular details for safety reasons and managed to properly cover it all up, leading to the end of the story.
"-so once I left, my mother decided to report to the police that I died in an accident and that my body was unretrivable. Everyone else besides the Oaks and Tracey believed them, but there wasn't anything the others could do without proper evidence to turn the tables. Nothing would change even if I went back."
"But you just said they attempted murder on you! And you're a Frontier Brain now!" Lillie voiced.
Anabel shook her head. "Status doesn't mean as much as you would think in a court of law. Without visual evidence that they even attempted to attack him, then the court would label that as a false claim, which would do nothing. And the death claim wouldn't make Delia look bad cause she said she doesn't technically know where he is, making it more or less a missing person case than a dead person case."
"That's ridiculous." Lillie sighed.
"Well that's just how it goes. That's why I refused to tell anyone else I could trust about me being alive, cause that would put you all at risk. The Battle Frontier is a secretive organization. Not even Goodshow knows as much as Scott or the rest of us do, so it makes it easier for me to hide while still battling." Ash stated.
"So you aren't going to even think about confronting them?! What's the point of doing that? Don't you even want your old life back of traveling?!" Lillie questioned.
"And what will that change? If they found out I was the Castle Guardian, they would try to wreck my new life like they did with my old one. Not only would that ruin me again, but it would cost tons to replace what Scott gave me if they did try to break it all." Ash retorted.
"Yet you would have the satisfaction of seeing them in jail for their crimes. Haven't you heard how famous the others are getting since you left?" Lillie said.
"I saw. It was kind of hard to ignore Max's public call-out on Tobias for cheating by using legendary Pokémon in the Ever Grande Conference after he got his butt kicked in Top 32. He got what was coming to him." Ash commented.
"I heard May won the Hoenn Grand Festival finally and Dawn got runner up in Kanto and Sinnoh against her rival Zoey. Apparently Trip won the Silver conference last year and is prepping for his Elite challenge, Paul was stuck on beating Spencer, so he lost the challenge 2 years ago and took on the Sinnoh Frontier, where he managed to win. Can't say I'm shocked, since we only had 3 colleagues over there at the time, them being Dahlia, Palmer and Thorton. Luckily he refused Scott's offer of being a Frontier Brain." Anabel added.
"Misty is still a gym leader. Big whoop. Brock got his degree, Iris took over the Opelucid Gym from Drayden after he got too old for it, and Cilan and his brothers have gotten top recognition from critics worldwide on their restaurant. Serena became Kalos Queen out of sheer luck, Clemont released the Aipom arm to the public, Bonnie started her journey finally, and my mother got married to someone who I couldn't give a crap about." Ash finished.
Lillie looked genuinely surprised. "Not bad. But what about the Alolan people?" She asked, thinking he forgot.
"Well you're here taking on the Frontier, Sophocles is running a trial for the Electrium Z on Mount Hokulani, Acerola became an Elite 4 member for Alola, Lana is traveling the world taking on fishing competitions, Kiawe finally became a professional choreographer, and Mallow is rated top chef in the Alolan region. Professor is the same as always, your mother woke up from her coma, and Gladion is running the Aether Paradise while Hau is champion right now." Ash answered. "Some of this stuff may be outdated, but that's all I got."
Lillie's eyes were widened slightly. "Huh. You actually did your research."
"Have to be sure nobody's getting too close to finding me. You're the only one outside the Battle Frontier and the nearby town that knows I'm here, excluding the Oaks and Tracey. Now that you know, you can't tell anyone. If you do," He made a serious face. "I'll have to kill you."
Lillie fell backwards and nearly began to crawl away. "WHAT?!"
Ash laughed while Anabel giggled. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. But seriously, you can't tell anyone I'm alive at all."
Lillie rolled her eyes. "Oh please. You're making this sound like it's a big deal."
"It is."
Lillie turned to Anabel. "You let something slip to the others, suddenly they let it slip, the wrong person hears it, they tell the media, the media makes a story, Ash's mother and the others find out, and they try to come after him. It may not be perfectly accurate, but it's more than likely to happen if you go tell anyone."
Ash nodded. "I may be strong, but I can't take them all at once even with all my Pokémon. Heck, Anabel and I together would still struggle. They have just as many Pokémon, if not, more than us if they have some of my old ones. And Misty and Brock have Keystones, and I could probably guess some of the others have one too."
Lillie looked down, realizing what the pair was trying to imply. "Oh... I see."
Ash smiled sadly. "I'm sorry Lil. It's just the way it has to be. I don't want anyone caught in the crossfire because I was reckless and thought I was unbeatable. A mindset like that can only lead to disaster for the people around you, good or bad."
Anabel shrugged. "Well at least you have the Arc Tournament Scott is forcing us to go to."
"Yeah, I could run into Iris, Misty, Clemont, or Cilan, but I won't hold my breath for the others." Ash stated as he laid back on the grass.
Lillie looked at the pair. "Wait, Scott is making the Brains go to the Arc Tournament?"
"Yeah. A publicity stunt to make people come after the Frontier more and attempt to take it on. If we think they are suited for the Frontier, we give them an invite. After all, Scott did that for you, didn't he?"
Lillie nodded. "Yeah, but isn't being selected more difficult than that?"
"It is. But us Brains know what to look for in an individual. After all, we are meant to challenge a person to dive further into themselves and try to find their own unique way of battling while also trying to bridge the gap between people and Pokémon more. Scott trusts us to find the right people." Anabel said.
Lillie gave a confusing glance to Anabel. "Wait, you're a Frontier Brain? Then which brain are you?"
Ash grinned. "She's the one right after me!"
Lillie fell backwards again. "Wait what!?"
Anabel giggled a bit at Lillie. "I guess Ash forgot to mention that part." She said as Serperior slithered up to Lillie and nudged her back up.
Ash rose an eyebrow. "In my defense, I didn't want to give it away yet, but what about you? You could have chimed in at any point."
Anabel smirked. "I would have, but she was too busy chasing us around because of you." She joked, making Lillie flush crimson in slight embarrassment.
Ash sat up. "That's beside the point. Anyways, for a proper introduction, this is Anabel, the Salon Maiden of the Battle Tower. She's number 7." He introduced. "And Anabel, I've already told you about Lillie."
Lillie smiled at her. "It's nice to meet you miss Anabel."
Anabel shook her head. "Oh don't worry about formalities. We're the same age. And any friend of Ash's is a friend of mine. And to answer your earlier question, yes. We are entering the Arc Tournament. I assume you got an invite after your top 8 at the Indigo conference and top 4 at the Silver conference?"
Lillie rose her eyebrow. "Wait, how did you... never mind." She muttered. "Yeah I'm going. My mother told me about the letter I got after I faced Tucker. Hau is going to be there along with the Kahunas and Elites."
Ash nodded. "Hmm. Well I still don't want you to tell the others about me. They can find out on their own."
Lillie honestly wanted to argue with him, but the thought of seeing the others faces when they saw Ash alive made her decide otherwise. "Alright. I'll respect your wishes. But I want to battle you again in the tournament. Especially after you knocked some sense into me. I want to give you a true battle instead of that landslide from earlier."
Ash shook his head. "Lillie, it wasn't a bad match. Yeah it was slow at first, but you got better over time."
Anabel agreed. "You just need to have more confidence in the face of danger. Just because one strategy doesn't work doesn't mean others won't. That's why Ash is so good at what he does. He comes up with the most obscure strategies with his team and he knows they will work purely because of the faith he has in his team and in himself."
"I noticed." Lillie admitted as she pulled her knees to her chest. "I've always lacked confidence when I work with my Pokémon. I don't know why." She muttered. "I know I can do better, and I've seen that I can. But at the end of the day, I still struggle. And I don't know why."
Ash and Anabel exchanged glances and nodded to each other. "Then let us help you."
Lillie's head shot up. "Wait, what did you say?"
"We'll help you try and get over your confidence issue before the Tournament. That is, if you want us to."
Lillie couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Yeah... of course I want to work with you both. But I didn't think you would want to. You're top class trainers with your own priorities, so..." She hesitated.
"That doesn't mean you just put us up higher than you. Only arrogant and cocky trainers expect that." Anabel told her. "And besides, we're the Battle Frontier. Our first priority is to help trainers find the strength to get over their own hurdles."
"Yeah, but... oh whatever." She relented, not trusting herself to finish her thoughts. "So do you have a healing station or anything for my Pokémon? I should have asked that earlier." Lillie stated.
"Of course. Come on, I'll patch them up." Ash told her, getting up in the process.
. . . . . . . .
Lillie was yet again amazed at how much Ash had changed. Not only did he know how to operate a healing station, but he also knew how to move around the Battle Castle without getting lost.
The sheer size of the place amazed her in many ways, as she never expected it to have so many rooms with so many specific uses. Not only were there rooms for traveling trainers, but there were places for Ash's Pokémon, a bedroom for Ash to stay in, a cinema room, a healing station room, and even other rooms she doesn't know of.
Ash even has an office. The kid who never sits still that is Ash Ketchum has his own office!
Lillie watched in amazement as Ash and Anabel went to work, healing her Pokémon like you would see a Nurse Joy going about it. It's ironic. She always thought that the ones that healed her Pokémon like that would be breeders or scientists or nurses. But seeing powerful battlers like these two do it with little or no trouble, her entire understanding on the subject changed.
It just goes to show how much knowledge she still lacks, no matter the amount of books she reads. No words can substitute for real life experiences.
"Alright Lillie. They're good."
The Alola native came down from her thoughts as Ash and Anabel were releasing the Pokémon from the healing stations. She smiled as her Pokémon came up to her, all looking very happy and just as healthy as they did before the match. She knelt down and picked up Flareon.
"Sorry that I wasn't more careful Flareon. I lost my cool during that battle." She said, which provoked a happy cry from her Fire type.
Ash nodded, satisfied with the result. "Looks like everything is better now."
"Yeah." Anabel agreed before noticing that Lillie seems to be fairly occupied with her Pokémon. "So do you want to go grab Lucario and Mienshao and pick up where we left off a few hours ago?"
Ash shrugged. "Yeah. We never got very far in that session, so we might as well get some extra work in."
The pair started leaving, which Lillie took no notice of. Once they exited the door, they walked down the brightly lit hall and into another set of mahogany doors, which they opened up and stepped inside.
The are they had just entered was a mountain style area with a few cave areas that seemed to go far down underground. A few rock, fighting, fire, and ground types were roaming around the area while a few flying types soared around. A few of them were even racing each other around the area.
Ash cleared his throat and called out. "Hey Lucario. We're done with the battle. It's time to pick it back up again."
"Mienshao, you too." Anabel added.
Ash's Lucario, who was talking with Charizard and Staraptor, quickly dismissed his conversation and ran to his master. Anabel's Mienshao, who was meditating on a rock, quickly followed suit.
They left the habitat and walked a few doors down to the right. They stepped inside a room that Ash had built for a number of his fighting types to have close hand to hand combat with only close quarter moves allowed in the area. Sporting a wooden floor, white walls, a battlefield outline with mats as the base, and a few seats, it helped the fighting types stay focused when under the guidance of their trainers. He mainly called this the Dojo room, and every time he had to help develop a fighting type's style of combat, he brought them in here.
And right now was no exception. Ash and Anabel stood on one side while their Pokémon stood across from each other, staring each other down.
"Alright, we want to pick up where we left off earlier today. No moves, close quarters, dodging and blocking allowed. If possible to grab and get inside the guard, then take the opportunity." Ash stated.
"Remember, since you are both battling partners, you need to find each others strengths and weaknesses. So try and find them quickly and exploit them. If you can, then you have a better understanding of what the other can do and what they will want to do in the middle of the battle. The idea is to try and get inside each others heads and predict your strategy." Anabel added on.
Ash rose his hand up. "Ready..."
The fighting types tensed up. Ash threw his hand down. "Begin."
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Lillie was still talking with her Pokémon when she finally noticed the emptiness of the room. "Wait, did they leave?"
All of her Pokémon nodded, which made Lillie sigh a bit. "They could've at least waited." She said while pulling out three Poke Balls. "Return for now." All of her Pokémon were absorbed into the red spherical devices as she left the room.
As she walked out, a thought crossed her mind that made her immediately stop moving.She realized they could be anywhere in this castle. "How am I supposed to find them? This place is the size of Sylph Co. in Saffron." She wondered with light amounts of annoyance.
Then suddenly she heard a noise from down the hall. She saw a door open that looked like it lead to a training room, and some lights were on in it as well. "That probably makes more sense." She muttered.
Lillie moved into the room and immediately figured out what was going on. She was viewing a fighting type sparring session between a Lucario and a Mienshao. Ash and Anabel were calm, eyes trained on the pair as they continued to fight in a battle that seemed almost like a dance to her.
She stayed silent for a bit, watching the two move and fight in a determined manner, not letting the other gain any form of ground on them. She had trouble seeing some movements with just how fast they were fighting. This went on until finally, the Mienshao stepped into Lucario's guard and pushed him back a few steps with a simple palm thrust
Ash and Anabel nodded in content. "Not bad, you two. Take a break, and Lucario, let me explain what happened with that step-in real quick. I saw your look of shock when Mienshao did that."
Ash stepped over to the side with Lucario and began talking real quick. Anabel was congratulating Mienshao until she noticed Lillie standing there with her jaw open. Anabel smiled and waved her to walk in. "Don't just stand there. You're not interrupting anything."
Lillie stepped in, but her movements were slow as her mind raced to try and process what she had just witness come out of those fighting types. She had never seen such speed and fluid motion with fighting types before, which included the Fighting Dojo. She walked up to Anabel, expression still displaying shock. "Wow..."
Anabel laughed at that. "That wasn't anything special. Just a bit of light sparring."
"But the way they moved. It wasn't anything like I've seen before. That almost seemed better than the Fighting Dojo." Lillie praised.
Anabel just shrugged. "Well, we have a couple of friends that have good experience when training Fighting Type Pokémon. So I guess while we're on the topic, is there any particular type of training do you think you need help with?" She asked. "Confidence in yourself is a big issue, but it is also necessary to try and help your Pokémon while you're training as well."
Lillie thought for a second. "Well a start would be I guess helping with my Hitmonchan. I don't have a lot of experience with Fighting types. I kept practicing with him on a few drills the dojo showed me, but I don't have many ideas."
Anabel thought for a second. "I think Ash and I can help a bit. Send him out."
Lillie released the Punching Pokémon, who looked around at the room in wonderment. "Hey Hitmonchan. My friends here said they want to help you out a bit. You ok with that?"
Hitmonchan rose it's left fist up and let out a yell. "Chan!"
"He's in. Let me grab Ash. Mienshao go grab some water." She told her Pokémon, who nodded in response and walked away from them, towards a water fountain in the corner.
This action confused Lillie, but she let it go as they walked towards Ash and Lucario, who were going over something seemingly important.
"You are an offensive based Pokémon. But you need a sturdy guard as well. While your guard is very strong, there are some gaps in your fighting style that can be taken advantage of when you put so much focus on your offensive style. Try to keep that in mind and not throw out a move that you can't cover for unless you see the right opportunity and know you have to take it. That one sloppy jab you threw out towards Mienshao's side is what let her net a step inside your guard. You got it?" He asked Lucario, who nodded. "Good."
"Hey Ash, Lillie wants us to help with her Hitmonchan." Anabel called to him.
Ash looked over and nodded. He pointed Lucario over to the fountain in the corner where Mienshao is and walked over onto the battlefield with Lillie and Anabel.
Ash frowned to himself. "Alright, so I think a good idea would be to test Hitmonchan's capabilities. So let's do a quick sparring match and see what he's got."
Lillie looked over at Lucario and Mienshao. "But your fighting types are at the water fountain. How are you going to do a sparring match if they're taking a break?"
Ash and Anabel somewhat ignored her question as they took to the opposite end of the field, where Ash handed his hat to Anabel. "Anabel, you get on the side and watch on the outside, I'll take this first one myself."
Lillie's eye twitched. Was Ash serious? Fighting a Fighting type in close quarters alone?
"Ash, don't be an idiot! You're not a Pokémon!" Lillie yelled at him. "Just get one of your fighting types."
Ash threw his vest off and tossed his white longsleeve off, revealing a black muscle shirt. He took a fighting stance and nodded. "Don't worry about me Lil. I'm sturdier than I look. He can go all out if he wants to. Anabel, count it down."
Lillie was about to try and stop them, but Anabel had risen her hand. "Ready... go!"
Hitmonchan simply rushed Ash quickly, thinking he had the match in the bag against a human. He formed a quick Ice Punch and lunged at Ash. He swung for the Castle Guardian's face, sure that this would take no trouble.
But Ash held the title 'Castle Guardian' for a reason.
Ash sidestepped and dodged the punch with surprising speed, shocking both Lillie and Hitmonchan. He then grabbed the arm and judo flipped Hitmonchan over his shoulder, throwing him to the ground and placing a foot on his chest while still holding the arm.
"Overconfidence is anyone's downfall." Ash said sagely. "And this is no exception."
Lillie then widened her eyes in realization. "That was a lot like the move Scizor used on Flareon! But how-"
"I taught it to Scizor. Of course I know it." Ash cut her off.
"You... taught... huh...?" Lillie couldn't make words after what he just said.
Ash stepped off Hitmonchan and took his position again. "I can fight better than you think. Now next time, don't play like you know you'll win. Play like you want to win."
Hitmonchan got up and rushed Ash again. This time he made sure not to just try and hit Ash like before. He made sure to get in close and use Close Combat. But once again, the Guardian's title precedes him.
Ash blocked the initial hit and began exchanging moves with the Punching Pokémon. Ash dodged and blocked all of Hitmonchans attacks while he kept reversing Hitmonchan's hits away from him, making the Fighting type angry, but all the more determined to land a hit.
Finally, Hitmonchan went for a quicker hit than he normally did, which Ash still blocked, but he launched another one that caught Ash in the chest, pushing him back a bit before Ash roundhouse kicked Hitmonchan to the ground.
"I think I got the gist of it now." Ash brushed the dust off of him. "Lillie, I want you to listen to this too, ok?" The girl in question nodded, still in slight shock after what Ash did.
"Hitmonchan is a boxing Pokémon. In it's broadest term, boxing is a refined form of fighting primarily with your fists in close quarters combat. That being said, there are many styles of boxing." Ash looked at Hitmonchan. "What you're trying to do is more of a brawler based style. Very straightforward and simple, but also very predictable and very easy to get around without the proper endurance and defense training. So there are several solutions to this. One of them is to take on the style that I saw you attempt a bit of when fighting against me, which is the in-fighter style: A style that relies on speed to deliver fast flurries of punches along with ducking and dodging through attacks to get hits in."
"Or we could let you continue to use this style, but you would need a lot of training in endurance and defense so that you don't get knocked around so easily." Anabel finished. "It's your call. Both sides have ups and downs however, so it's up to you on which side you want. You got that?"
The Fighting type nodded. Anabel then took off her jacket to reveal a black tank top. "Alright, I want a go now."
It was then Lillie did a double take and finally couldn't take it anymore. "ALRIGHT, HOLD ON!"
Everyone froze for a second as she finally started to talk. "How can you guys both fight Fighting types like that? I've never heard of anyone that does that!"
Ash and Anabel exchanged glances. "Well, if we train personally with our Pokémon, then we need to know how to fight, right?" Ash asked rhetorically.
Lillie gawked at them. "You... YOU FIGHT WITH YOUR POKEMON!?"
Anabel nodded. "Yeah. If we want to understand what they are having trouble with in their fighting style, then sometimes we need to take the initiative and step in. So we train and work personally with them to figure out what's wrong." The Salon Maiden told her. "It's a style that those two friends I brought up earlier showed us. It's a way that this one dojo all the way out in the Galar region teaches their students, and we picked up on it."
Lillie slumped and fell onto the floor. "You guys are crazy..."
Ash shrugged. "Well at least it's effective. Trust me, if your Pokémon have difficulties along the road, then they need to know how to grow past them. If they can't and you don't know how to help them, then how are either you going to get stronger?"
Once again, Lillie knew he was right. She just wondered why she never thought of this herself.
"This is going to be a long week..." She muttered.
So many of you may think that this did not change a lot from the original. And you would be right. There were only a few things I wanted to change a bit. Some of it having to do with Galar, and other parts of it being due to an idea and a bit of a side plot I wanted to add for downtime between events with our protagonists. Hope you enjoyed. I'm getting through these revisions relatively fast I think.