1. Ash's Story (Part 0: Prologue)

Chapter 11: A Wedding Gift

"Are you serious right now?" Ash asked.

His voice bounced through the grand hall of Atem Castle, where morning light poured across the polished stone floor. Everyone had gathered because Adam said he had news from Alola, but Ash had not expected the news to sound like something from a storybook.

Adam stood near the front of the hall with Aurora beside him, both of them looking far too calm for the announcement they had just made. Alice stood close to Ash, Serena leaned forward with shining eyes, and Lillie pressed both hands together as if she was afraid to interrupt too quickly.

"Marriage?" Eve gasped, staring at Adam. "Professor Burnet is going to marry Professor Kukui?"

"That is what they told us," Adam answered, his voice gentle but amused. "They are already certain about each other. They were only planning to sign the papers quietly and return to their research."

The room went silent for one stunned heartbeat.

Then every child seemed to speak at once.

"No ceremony?" Serena cried, sounding as if someone had insulted every ribbon in the world.

"No flowers?" Reisa asked, already looking offended by the decorations that did not exist yet.

"No cake?" Helen demanded, sounding personally wounded by the idea.

"No music?" Lillie whispered, her disappointment quieter but just as clear.

Ash blinked at all of them, then looked back at Adam. "Wait, if they love each other and they already want to get married, why would they not have a wedding?"

Aurora folded her arms with a small, knowing smile. "Because Professor Kukui thinks everyone is busy. Professor Burnet thinks a ceremony would trouble people. Both of them decided that a simple promise would be enough."

Alice frowned slightly. "That sounds kind, but also sad."

"It does," Gina said, stepping forward before the disappointment could settle too heavily. "That is why we had an idea."

Mark looked at her. "You mean we are doing something?"

Gina nodded, and the glimmer in her eyes made Ash straighten before she even finished speaking. "We give them the ceremony they were willing to skip. Not because they need one to be married, but because they deserve one as a present."

Lillie's face brightened so quickly that Ash almost laughed. "A surprise wedding?"

"A surprise wedding celebration," Aurora corrected softly. "The promise is theirs. The choice is theirs. But if the adults confirm they are comfortable with it, then the celebration can be from all of us."

Ash looked around the hall. Alice's eyes were serious already. Serena looked as if she had a dozen dance steps in her head. Reisa was smiling like she had found a new game. Helen was murmuring about cake layers under her breath.

Ash grinned. "Then we make it so good they never forget it."

Professor Kukui had come from Alola with the kind of energy that made every room feel warmer. He was a professor, a fighter, a move researcher, and somehow also the kind of adult who would crouch down to explain something properly if a child asked the right question.

Kukui had challenged Aurora before, back when his dream of giving Alola a proper Pokémon League still burned inside him like an island flame. Burnet was quieter, but not weaker. Her research into dreams, hidden worlds, and Ultra Wormholes had already made her important to Lusamine and Mohn before Mohn disappeared.

"They help everyone," he said later, sitting on the floor with the others around a long planning table. "So this time, everyone should help them."

The table became a battlefield of ribbons, lists, sketches, and snack plates that kept disappearing whenever Mark passed them. Alice arranged the guest list. Lillie copied names carefully while Serena and Reisa compared colors.