The air in Dendemille Town was crisp, filled with the scent of wind-blown petals and the looming chill of the nearby Frost Cavern. But inside the local inn's restaurant, the atmosphere around Lillie was far more suffocating.
A Heart Adrift in Kalos
Lillie stared at her Rotom Phone, scrolling through her last exchange with Bai Chen. His last message was from two days ago—a brief note saying he was heading to Dendemille Town.
She scrolled further up. The screen was a wall of her own text: long, detailed accounts of her daily life, her discoveries, and her thoughts. Bai Chen's replies, by contrast, were short enough to be considered dismissive.
With a heavy sigh, she slumped onto the table, her face a mask of sorrow. Beside her, Banbaro—the massive, woolly creature Bai Chen had gifted her—nudged her arm with a gentle low, offering a piece of fruit it thought she might want.
"I'm not hungry, Ban," Lillie whispered, pushing the fruit back. "Do you think Mr. Bai finds me annoying? Sending him so many messages every day... and now, coming to the Kalos region behind his back..."
Banbaro let out a soft, uncomprehending moo.
"If he finds out I followed him, will he think I'm a stalker?" Lillie agonized, her imagination running wild. "I'm not actually stalking him! I just wanted to see if... if he has someone he likes. But to him, it must look terrible."
Panicked, she stood up, ready to book the next flight back to Alola. But as soon as she rose, a spark of stubbornness held her in place. "I'm already here. I'll just take one look. Just to confirm... and then I'll leave quietly without him ever knowing!"
The Diamond Dust of Dendemille
The next morning, Lillie committed to her "perfect" disguise. She tucked her long golden hair into a black beret and traded her signature white dress for a black turtleneck and trousers. With a mask covering her face, she looked like a completely different person.
She set up camp on the second-floor balcony of a cafe overlooking the main road from Laverre City. "He won't notice me. He said he doesn't like using his sensory abilities in crowded cities because the noise is too taxing."
Hours passed. Around noon, the quiet hum of the town was shattered by a sudden commotion.
"Quick! Someone famous is in the battle zone! He's incredibly handsome!" "Really? Let's go!"
Lillie's heart skipped a beat. Anyone who draws a crowd like that... it has to be him.
She rushed to the battle arena, finding herself wedged into a crowd that was eighty percent female. Suddenly, the sky turned into a kaleidoscope of glittering light. Lillie caught a stray spark—it was Powder Snow, but it shimmered like crushed diamonds.
In the sky, an icy blue silhouette danced with regal grace.
"Articuno?" Lillie gasped.
"One last hit. Use Ice Beam!" a familiar, commanding voice rang out.
A frigid lance of energy froze the entire battlefield solid. The opponent's Pokémon stood no chance. As the smoke cleared, the Rotom Drone announced: "Winner: Bai Chen! Rankings are being updated!"
Bai Chen stood in the center of the crater, feeding a berry to the legendary bird of ice. "Good work," he muttered softly.
Before he could even recall Articuno, the crowd surged. "Can I get a picture?" "You're Bai Chen, right? My house is nearby—the bed is very soft!"
Lillie saw the visible discomfort in Bai Chen's eyes. She wanted to rush in and save him, but Ash and Clemont were already acting as human shields, while Serena and Bonnie pulled Bai Chen into the chaotic safety of the side streets.
The Great Venting Session
Lillie followed them at a distance, eventually tracking them to a quiet restaurant. She hid behind a wall, peeking in, but she couldn't see Bai Chen anywhere.
"Are you looking for Mr. Bai, big sister?"
Lillie nearly jumped out of her skin. Bonnie was standing right behind her, a Dedenne perched on her head.
"N-no! I'm not—" Lillie instinctively denied, but her mask slipped.
"I'm Bonnie! And this is Dedenne," the young girl chirped, dragging Lillie toward the table before she could protest. "Hey everyone! This is Lillie, Mr. Bai's friend from Alola!"
Trapped, Lillie sat down next to Serena. She planned to leave the moment before Bai Chen returned, but the conversation quickly turned to the one topic she couldn't ignore.
"So, Lillie," Serena asked gently. "What exactly is your... relationship with Mr. Bai?"
Lillie's face turned bright red. "We're just... ordinary friends!"
Bonnie sighed. "Ordinary friends don't fly across the ocean on a whim. Mr. Bai is a real troublemaker, isn't he? So many girls were chasing him during the flight race that we had to give out fake contact info just to escape."
"He... gave out his contact info to that many girls?" Lillie's eyes lost their luster. No wonder he's too busy to reply to me.
"And it's not just the girls," Bonnie continued, oblivious to the growing storm. "I even saw him talking to Valerie on the phone all the time. She's so beautiful—"
Clemont quickly covered his sister's mouth, sensing the drop in temperature. But it was too late. Lillie's aura had shifted from shy to dark.
"I really don't understand what's going on in that head of his," Lillie muttered, her voice eerily calm. "I share every detail of my life with him. I work overtime at the Foundation just so I can be useful to him. And he doesn't even notice."
She took a long breath, her resentment bubbling over.
"His head is filled with nothing but training, training, training! Does he even have a soul? And he's so reckless—always getting hurt because he knows he heals fast. Doesn't he think about the people who worry about him? He's completely self-centered!"
Bam! Lillie slammed her hands on the table, standing up in a fit of rage.
"That blockhead! That womanizer! That muscle-brained, self-centered jerk!"
The table went dead silent. Ash, Serena, and Clemont were staring at something behind her with wide, terrified eyes.
Lillie's bravado evaporated. She slowly turned around.
Standing right behind her, holding several shopping bags, was Bai Chen. A Nergigante sat on his shoulder, looking quite amused.
"M-Mr. Bai?" Lillie squeaked.
Bai Chen stood silent for several long seconds. He looked at the Nergigante on his shoulder. "Am I really that bad?"
"Rawr," the dragon replied (roughly translated as: 'You do make me take too many baths.').
"I-I didn't mean... I, I, I..." Lillie was mortified. She wanted the ground to swallow her whole. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!"
Bai Chen stepped forward. Lillie flinched, expecting a lecture, but instead, she felt his hand reach out and gently remove her black beret.
A moment later, something light and straw-woven was placed on her head.
"It really does suit you," Bai Chen said with a satisfied nod.
Lillie reached up, touching the brim of a beautiful, pristine white sun hat. "This is...?"
"I saw it in a shop window while I was running away from the crowd earlier," Bai Chen explained, his voice softening. "I thought of you immediately, so I went back to get it."
Lillie's heart did a complete 180-degree flip. She remembered the Banbaro he gave her. The recovery necklace he brought her. He never gave those things to her mother or the researchers—only to her.
Bai Chen reached out and gently unpinned her hair, letting the golden locks cascade down her shoulders before readjusting the hat. "Beautiful. Do you like it?"
Lillie's face was now hotter than Moltres's flame. She pulled the wide brim down to hide her smile. "I... I love it," she whispered.
"I'm glad." Bai Chen smiled, then tilted his head curiously. "By the way... why exactly are you in Kalos? And specifically in Dendemille Town?"
Lillie froze. The sweetness of the moment was suddenly met with the reality of her "secret" investigation.
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