Champion's Confidant

With the Ice Princess

The blonde girl pulled her jacket around her even tighter than before. There were many, many differences between her home region and the one she currently found herself in, but if Lillie could pick the one she liked the least, it would be the temperature. Tropical Alola was much more hospitable to her than frosty Galar.

Looking at her feet where her Vulpix lay, she at least could smile knowing that her partner was comfortable. As an Ice-type, the Alolan Vulpix acclimated to the colder temperatures very quickly. Even her brother, who normally dressed in ripped clothes, was putting on an extra layer under his sweatshirt to stave off the cold.

Gladion sat with her on a bench in the train station they had stopped at as the family took a few moments to recharge, especially the mechanical Pokémon that sat some distance away with the sibling's mother, who was also dressed much more warmly than she normally was. The Magearna sat quietly, temporarily powered down to rest as the rest of the family took a moment to gather their bearings.

Lillie turned to her brother and patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Gladion. I'm sure we're closer than we think."

He gave her a smile as he peeked at her between his bangs, but there wasn't much light in his eyes. "I'm not so sure..." he said. "I mean, I know Magearna is pointing us on the right track, but it's not like the beam of light she uses goes with the curvature of the planet or anything. She's just a living compass, and that means even if she's pointing in the right direction, there's no telling if the path we're taking is the best one."

Lillie hummed to herself, her mind opening up her mental library to think through all the books she's read. 'What Gladion is saying is true, she thought. 'It's like if there was a path over a mountain or a path around it, the path around the mountain would be faster, even if it looked like you were going the wrong way.' She shook her head, though. "I disagree," she said. "Even if Magearna isn't pointing us in the most efficient path, I feel like there's a reason she's taking us the direction she is."

"And why do you think that?" Gladion asked, his tone of voice communicating curiosity over confrontation.

To that, Lillie could only shrug. "I... suppose it would be best to call it faith."

"Faith?" he responded.

Lillie looked across the train station to where Magearna sat with her mother. "It's thanks to Tapu Fini that we even have an idea that Father is alive somewhere. And Magearna is pointing the way to something. We have no guarantee that what Magearna is pointing to is Father or that Tapu Fini even gave us the correct information. The Tapu can be incredibly fickle when helping people, even cruel at times."

Gladion frowned. "You're sounding like you're starting to doubt that Father is even out here somewhere..."

She shook her head. "No, it's not that. I just know from the books I've read that there's a lot we're taking for granted. But still... I feel like if Father was truely dead, Tapu Fini would have shown him to us. So I have faith in her, and in Magearna. I know we're getting close. I know!"

"Vul!" cheered Snowy, standing up and shaking her six bushy tails.

"Snowy has faith, too," Lillie said, looking once more at Gladion, "so I can't let you give up hope! Not you and not Mother, either!"

From across the way, Lusamine visibly slumped over, hearing Lillie call her out. The daughter of the Aether Foundation President could only look upon her childish mother in pity; when she isn't calling her a baby, Lusamine is acting like one herself. "Mother, I saw that," she chastised, causing Lusamine to slump over further, almost falling off the bench now.