Ash's Story (Part 5: Modern Sinnoh)

Chapter 94: Gratitude and Moonlight

After Aaron's battle, we returned to Lily of the Valley Island long enough to rest our partners and decide where to go next.

The Elite Four challenge had begun, but Cynthia's path was not a straight hallway for us. Sinnoh still had places calling our names, and Professor Oak's words about Ramanas Park and distant connections had stayed in my mind.

Route 224 was one of those places.

We left the main road near the League and entered the tunnel that led toward the far route. The cave air felt cool, and our footsteps echoed against stone walls that still carried the feeling of old battles and long journeys.

Dawn walked beside Lillie with Piplup in her arms. "This is a strange way to continue after beating Aaron."

"Sinnoh keeps doing that," I said. "Every time I think we are following one road, it opens another."

Gladion looked ahead into the darker path. "That is usually when trouble appears."

Tox's voice stayed calm behind us. "Then we watch for symptoms before the emergency."

Daniel glanced toward him. "Only you would make a cave sound like a clinic."

Tox did not look offended. "Caves are full of hazards."

A quiet voice spoke from deeper in the tunnel.

"...I'm Marley," the girl whispered. "...You are?"

All of us stopped at once.

A girl stood near a bend in the path, holding a basket tightly against her chest. Her dark hair framed a face that looked calm at first, but her hands were clenched too hard for calm to be true.

I lowered my voice. "I'm Ash. This is Lillie, Dawn, Gladion, Tox, and Daniel."

Lillie stepped forward gently. "Are you lost?"

Marley looked at each of us for a long moment before answering.

"Will you help me, please?" Marley asked softly. "I want to get through this tunnel. Will you let me go with you?"

"Sure," I said. "We can help you."

Marley nodded once, then moved beside us without another word.

She did not explain herself as we walked. She kept the basket close and looked back whenever a loose pebble clicked behind us. Pikachu noticed too, and his ears stayed raised.

Marley walked like someone trying to take up as little space as possible. She never stepped on loose gravel if she could avoid it, and she kept her shoulders tucked inward whenever the cave narrowed.

It reminded me of the old Lillie in Alola, before she had learned how to stand in front of fear without apologizing for breathing. Lillie noticed too. Her voice became even softer around Marley, the way someone speaks to a skittish Pokémon that might run if kindness moves too quickly.

When a Golbat fluttered overhead, Marley flinched and covered the basket with her arms. Crobat left Gladion's Poké Ball on its own for a moment, hanging upside down from a stone edge and watching the tunnel behind us.

Gladion looked at Marley's reaction and did not ask another question. He only said, "Crobat will warn us if anyone follows."

Marley glanced at him once. "...Thank you."

Gladion looked away like the words had made him uncomfortable. "It is practical."

Pikachu's meaning came quietly. "She is listening for someone bad."

I nodded without saying anything aloud.

Dawn waited until the tunnel widened before asking the question everyone was thinking.