1. Ash's Story (Part 9: Alola)

Chapter 46: Kantonian Spirit

Leaving Malie Garden did not feel like leaving a quiet place behind. The garden stayed with us in the way Ribombee rested near Lillie's shoulder, still tired from helping the frightened Pokémon and visitors through the wind. Its wings moved more slowly than before, but there was a new steadiness in every small beat.

Lillie looked toward the city street, then turned to me with Nebby's bag held close. "Ash, I was thinking of taking Nebby to visit the ruins on Ula'ula. Can we go there after we arrive at your Grand Manor?"

"Absolutely, Lillie," I said. "Maybe we will even encounter Tapu Bulu there."

Nebby's bag shifted softly against Lillie's side. She placed one hand over it with the gentle patience she always saved for Nebby. The thought of another guardian deity made the island feel larger, as if Ula'ula had been waiting behind the harbor with its own test of faith.

Trenor looked from the road ahead to the map on Selene's tablet. "Shall we head to Route 10 now, or is there something else on your minds?"

"I would like to visit the Malie Library first," Lillie said. "There is a particular book I have been wanting to find."

Rosa smiled slightly. "That sounds more useful than chasing Hau to a malasada shop."

Nate gave the library a thoughtful look. "A city modeled after Johto, an old library, and a hidden book. That is a good combination."

Trenor groaned. "Do not make it sound like the beginning of a mystery."

"It probably is one," Selene said quietly, which did not help Trenor's expression at all.

The library waited beyond the main street, and Lillie kept checking the direction every few corners as if the book might leave if we arrived too late. She did not say the title yet. I knew better than to push her. Lillie shared important worries when she was ready, especially when Nebby and the ruins were involved.

Part of me wanted to ask whether the book was about Tapu Bulu, the ruins, or the old stories surrounding Cosmog. Another part of me remembered how many times people had tried to force answers out of her family before she was ready. So I walked beside her instead, letting the question stay quiet.

Ribombee drifted near us in slow circles, still testing its evolved body. Sometimes it rose too quickly, startled by its own new balance, then corrected itself with embarrassed grace. Snowy watched it like an older sister pretending not to worry.

Malie City gave us a strange mixture of new and familiar. The streets were Alolan in color and warmth, but the building lines carried memories of Johto in their bones. I had traveled long enough to know that resemblance never meant sameness. Places borrowed shapes, but people gave those shapes new meanings.

We started toward the library, but lunch caught up with us before the books did. The sign for Sushi High Roller appeared along the street, polished and confident, and the smell of fresh rice and fish convinced even Trenor that taking a break was practical.

Inside, the restaurant felt different from the one I remembered in Kalos, but close enough that the memory surfaced before I could stop it. I had gone to a Sushi High Roller before with Serena and Alice, back when a meal could turn into a lesson about taste, travel, and how different people noticed different details in the same place.

Lillie listened while I talked, but I saw the small change in her eyes. It was not anger. It was the quiet envy of someone realizing I had memories, meals, and journeys from before she had been there to share them.

"I am glad you had those memories," she said, carefully polite.

I reached for her hand under the table. "And I am glad I get to make this one with you."