Pasio University

Chapter 33- The Beginning of a Journey

The Day of the Round of 32

Elio POV

I jolted awake at 4 AM in a cold sweat, I was breathing heavily and my heart rate was accelerated. I sat up and held my hand over my chest, I'm ok... It was just a dream.... I don't want to bother her this late... But I need to talk to someone about this. I stepped outside of our room and sat in the hallway, I called Lillie on my phone and waited to see if she would pick up, I heard her answer the phone, she croaked in a tired voice, "Elio? Is everything alright?" I continued to take deep breaths, "Y-yeah. I'm ok... I just need to talk to you about something." I heard rustling on the other end, Lillie then spoke tiredly, "Sure. I'm here for you." I looked down, "I... Had a nightmare. This image of disappointed Alolan children after I beat Rich... They were in tears... I just can't shake it... I'm... I'm scared to play in front of a crowd again..." I had a sudden realization, I lap all of my problems on Lillie. She deserves better than this. I continued, "Look... I'm sorry to bother you. Dating me must be miserable, all the problems I have, and I throw them all on you..." Lillie replied, "Don't ever say that. I'll always help you. I help because I do love you. And second off... The nightmare... I feel so horrible for you." I sighed, "Why's that?" She continued, "You have such a hard time when people don't accept you. And you've had more people not accept you than anyone should ever have to deal with. Never is your fault either." I thought for a moment, "Yeah. I suppose you're right." I heard her continue, "Don't be scared Elio. The crowd in Galar will love you. Trust me. They don't have lies about you being fed to them, and they'll see the real you. The passionate, fun-loving, and selfless guy that I've been helplessly in love with for years now." I smiled uncontrollably at that last part, "Wow... You really always know how to make me feel better... Thank you so much Lillie." She responded cheerily, "Anytime Elio..." She yawned before continuing, "Anyway, I'm gonna pass out, I'll try to catch you before your flight at 10... Please call me if you need something else." I smiled, "I will. I love you." She responded with the same and then hung up.

Kukui POV

I stood at The airstrip as the plane taking us to the event arrived, not a long flight, only 2 hours. Still though, can't help but worry about jet lag since we have to play today. I waited for all the players to arrive at the airstrip. Today's lineup, we're bringing back the classic. I finally feel confident to field the Calem-Elio-Brendan starting trio. They definitely mesh again, and I'm really glad they do. As for backups, Lyra made some insane progress, Ethan is always steady, but as for the 6th, I may leave that up to game time. The team was jovial today, everyone arrived with a big smile on their face, just enjoying the moment. Last to arrive were the starters, all accompanied by their respective girlfriends, who all gave them goodbye kisses, (Calem being flustered about it as expected). They then boarded and I took one last look at the campus. This is it. We can save the program. The most unlikely of all scenarios could play out right in front of my eyes, but I don't think a win today would be quite enough.

The flight was taking a while, when I get antsy about stuff, time tends to come to a screeching halt. I looked over to Dawn, "Nervous?" She shrugged, "A little. It's a cool feeling though, it means something important is about to happen." I nodded, "Yeah. It's a real feeling. Don't overdo it." Dawn chuckled, "I always overdo things." I laughed then looked over to Brendan, "You know anyone in Dewford?" He shook his head, "Nope. I traveled there when I was doing gyms and what not, but I can't say I stayed there a long time." I nodded, "Anything you noticed on film?" He nodded, "Yeah. They're gonna overcommit to stop our offense, all we gotta do is play sound and counter." I nodded my head, "Don't get too excited about chasing points, I think we have more raw power than they do. We just play our game then we'll be fine."