With Hope training with Tapu Bulu, battling Acerola for a test was out of the picture, so we ended up parting ways. As she was a candidate for the Elite Four, there was no viable way for me to properly test her on my own. Instead, a different but still extremely important event occurred: the soon-to-be-newest member of my team had to make a choice.

A grid of Pokéballs were laid out on the Pokémon Center bedroom floor. Mimikyu stood in front of the set, humming softly as his eyes flicked about them. Next to him, Eevee looked over them as well and occasionally pointed to one or another with his paw. Ribombee would swoop in and bring that ball over for Mimikyu to inspect, but he would almost always shake his head and move on. Several times over, this process repeated. Lillie hummed as she watched in a chair, petting Nebby who was sitting in her lap and purring, weirdly enough.

"This isn’t fair," she whispered as she watched. Almost in surprise, Lillie then blinked and looked up as if she hadn’t expected to say that out loud.

"Excuse me?" I asked.

Lillie shifted awkwardly in her seat. After a moment, she nodded once, as if coming to the conclusion that this was indeed an argument worth pursuing.

"Your team size!” she shouted. “You already have a full team, but the new one you’re building has five while I only have four!”

“The math works out, though,” I pointed out.

Lillie scrunched up her face. “What do you mean?”

"It makes sense if you account for how long my Pokémon have been with me. Togekiss hatched back when I was in Sinnoh, Tinkatuff was given to me for winning Sinnoh’s Conference, and I didn’t meet Eevee until right before I left Hoenn. Here in Alola, I’ve only caught Ribombee and Mimikyu. My team hasn’t grown as quickly as you think."

Lillie immediately shook her head, as if to say I was wrong.

"That's still five to my four,” she said with a huff.

In that moment, Ribombee brought a Love Ball to Mimikyu, who shifted his body to cock his Disguise’s head to the side. Relatively quickly, he turned it down, and Ribombee flew back to return the ball to its previous position. Several seconds passed as Mimikyu’s gaze panned over the rest. Then, out of nowhere, shadows stretched out from beneath him and caused one specific ball to sink into the ground.

Eevee let out a squeak out of alarm, and the shadows retracted back to Mimikyu. Popping up as if coming to the surface of water, the Pokéball he grabbed appeared on the floor.

"Kyu!" Mimikyu cheered.

I looked at the ball he selected.

"A Dusk Ball? Are you sure?"

This Pokéball was black with several large, green circles on it, and it had a ring of orange right where its two halves connected. It didn't exactly match Mimikyu's appearance, but Dusk Balls inherently appealed to Pokémon that lurked in the dark. Considering Mimikyu’s inherent nature, he was likely attracted to that connection in particular.

"If you're so sure..."

Shadows once again caused the Pokéball to change locations, and I forced myself to not stiffen when it bounced up out of nothing on the bed next to me. Mimikyu hopped forward with a smile right after, staring at me and awaiting the moment, and I slowly picked up the Dusk Ball and touched it to his head.

There was no delay—he was sucked up the second the front of the ball touched him. After a flash of light, the Dusk Ball shook three times before letting out a click. With that sound, the “capture” was now complete, and Mimikyu had officially joined my team.

"This is exactly what I mean." Lillie very animatedly made a show of crossing her arms.

Looking over to her, I couldn’t help but to shake my head.

"I feel like you're just playing this up as a way to try to guilt me into helping you out with something."

She immediately turned away, preventing me from seeing her face. Several long seconds passed before she finally said one word.

"...No?" she offered.

I let loose a single laugh.

"Hope's getting to you. If you want help catching something, you can just ask."

Lillie finally turned back my way. Her face was bright red out of embarrassment, but she was pushing through that blush. Grabbing the seat of her chair, she pushed forward closer to me. In her lap, Nebby made an unhappy noise as the jerking motion shocked him out of his rest.

"So you know how we're staying in Tapu Village right now?" Lillie asked.

"Yeah? Its Pokémon Center, at least," I said.

"Well, there's a path to Mount Lanakila to the north, but you can only get so high without a proper escort. The peak is closed off to everyone due to construction, but the caves are halfway up...”

I was already shaking my head out of amusement.

“Is there a specific species there you want?” I asked.

Lillie’s blush became ever brighter than before.

“I... I want to add an Alolan Vulpix to my team! To have an Alolan Ninetales, like you!”

Ninetales had been resting on the bed behind me, and she brought up her head and let out an amused snort at Lillie's words.

Lillie didn’t meet my eyes after that, staring at the floor instead. It took all my effort not to laugh. It was hard not to be both extremely flattered and amused by this request.

“Okay,” I said.

“Okay?”

“Let’s do it.” I stood up from where I was sitting on the bed and clapped once to gather everyone’s attention. “Everyone! We’re going to scale an icy mountain! To do that, we’ll need to prepare, so let’s gather up and figure out our preparations!”

Lillie went still, stunned at my declaration before gaining a bright smile.

“Yeah! Let’s go to Mount Lanakila!” she cheered.

And with that, we collected the remaining Pokéballs, Mimikyu released himself from his new Dusk Ball, and Lillie, all the Pokémon here, and I began working on our plan to ensure her desired capture would be nothing but successful.

Alola was a hot region, so to ascend the chilly Mount Lanakila, we needed to get Lillie a new set of clothes. With our scheduled date to meet back up with Hope, we didn't have time to go all the way back to Malie City, so we were forced to return to the oasis camps of Route 13.

(Tapu Village didn't have any shops, for obvious reasons.)

On Route 13, there weren’t any dedicated buildings, but a few enterprising travelers had sent up a handful of tents and booths to sell traveling goods. From them, we were able to buy clothes and gear to ensure we’d stay warm. I didn’t need much—just new clothes—but both Lillie and Cosmog managed to piece together an entire outfit from between all the merchants in the oasis.

Lillie was bundled up so tightly I could only see her face. Her puffy pants were a deep purple while her layered jacket was a bright orange. There was no visible skin anywhere except the front of her head. The gloves on her hands were so thick that any attempts to grab her Pokéballs became a fumbling mess. Still, she was warm, and her newly acquired boots ensured she’d be able to ascend the snowy path quite well. Nebby even got three caps, too—a normal-sized one for his head and two more for the two puffballs connected to his body.

He sat in her pack as we climbed the curving paths that stretched up the mountain’s side. While we were slowly being brought higher, it was less of a climb and more of a long trek. Still, the air around us rapidly cooled down as we increased in height. Looking over to Lillie, I had to hold back a laugh at just how puffed up her clothes made her look.

"Hey! Not all of us can have designer clothes meant for cold weather," she complained as she essentially toddled to move forward.

"You know, I got this outfit made for traveling through Sinnoh. It's specifically designed to withstand the chilliest of its northern routes."

I was back in my old outfit, but I was also wearing every possible piece of those clothes. As hot as Alola could get, Mount Lanakila was by far the coldest place around.

In other words, it was the perfect place for Ice Types.

For once, Ninetales was actually enjoying Alola’s weather, running around and playfulling darting over the snow ahead of us. When she ran, she didn’t leave any tracks, nimbly running over the recently-fallen snow as if it was a solid surface. Behind her, her wild mane of hair trailed behind in her breeze, and her tongue goofily lolled out to one side as she panted while she ran.

"One thing I don't get," Lillie said, huffing out words between heavy breaths, "is how you caught Ninetales somewhere else when she's an Alolan Pokémon."

I hummed, not breathing as hard due to being in a better physical shape, but still being somewhat tired from the distance we’d hiked.

"Honestly? I think it's because of Glacia."

"Who?"

"You know, Glacia. The Ice Type specialist in Hoenn's Elite Four?"

I was met with a blank look.

"Well, Glacia pushed hard to expand Hoenn's Ice Type population a few years ago. Since Alolan Ninetales and Vulpix can live in chilly caves just as well as they can snowy peaks, she managed to get the Aether Foundation to send a few of them to Shoal Cave a few years back."

"But then how did you catch her as your starter if she was in Shoal Cave?" Lillie asked with a mask of pure innocence. “If she was in a cave, it would be dangerous, right? Did you have an escort or get someone to bring her to you?”

“I, uh...” I purposefully stared straight ahead. “Look! There’s the cave! Most of the Ice Types here should be inside!”

Lillie just let out a sigh at my sudden change in topic. Thankfully, she didn’t continue this line of questioning.

“Let’s head in,” she said through her deep breaths.

Ninetales stopped to stare at the entrance of the cave as we headed into it. For some reason, she couldn’t look away.

We collapsed onto the ground as soon as we were off the mountain’s snowy path.

The inside of this cave was both more lit up and wider than I expected. It was a cavern rather than a tunnel, though it did split up and curve in the far distance. Large pillars of ice braced the ceiling, and there were other entrances and cracks in the walls that let in a significant amount of light. With how much pure white snow and ice there was around here, that light bounced around and made this interior as bright as day.

"Wow," Lillie breathed.

Parts of the walls were literally sparkling.

"This is way more impressive than Shoal Cave,” I mused.

Ninetales heard what I said, and let out a snort. Her nose was stuck straight in the air, becoming the perfect image of grace despite how downright goofy she had looked just a few moments prior.

She moved off to the side to keep guard, and after Lillie and I took this moment to rest, we then sent out members of our team to give them a chance to train in these parts.

While Lillie was able to select Brionne right away, I had more of a difficult choice. There were only so many viable options I could actually use in this cave.

For starters, Eevee was out of the picture. While he had an Everstone always on him, I didn't want to risk an accidental evolution into a Glaceon in this chilly environment. While training against a weakness was generally a good idea, I didn’t want to risk the Flying Type Togekiss so far away from a Pokémon Center. I also eliminated Ribombee, as though he had no specific weakness to Ice, he was still vulnerable to extreme changes in temperatures due to his nature as a Bug.

That left me with only two team members, and I went ahead and tossed both of their Pokéballs forward.

"Mimikyu. Tinkatuff," I said.

Mimikyu hit the ground and immediately shivered. He sank downwards, disappearing into a shadow that rushed backwards and connected to mine.

As for Tinkatuff, she just took a deep breath. The cold air made her shake a little bit, but otherwise, she was unbothered. As a partial Steel Type, her biology made her more resistant to the latent cold than most. Considering we were aiming for her evolution, this harsh environment would push her, too.

"Keep an eye out for any unwanted ambushes, Tinkatuff. Mimikyu, the same goes to you."

Tinkatuff nodded, and Mimikyu's dark claw left the ground from between my feet, where he gave me a thumbs up.

"Are you ready, Lillie?” I said, looking over.

She stood from where she was kneeling next to Brionne.

"I am," she replied.

We pushed forward.

The purpose of sending our Pokémon out right away was to ensure we could battle right away. A 2-1 division between the battles—or a rotating trio, more specifically—ensured that our Pokémon had plenty of time to rest and that Lillie’s Pokémon in specific would be in good shape for when we eventually encountered a Vulpix.

This cave was lush with Pokémon, after all, practically a private little habitat halfway up the mountain for a variety of cold-dwelling species. We’d barely entered the place at all before the first wild Pokémon came forward.

"Hold up."

Our opponent was a wild Alolan Sandslash, a variant of the common Sandslash that had diverged into an Ice and Steel Type firn. Sharp icicles stuck off its back, and it had a pair of vicious claws perfect for tearing.

However, while the Sandslash was there, it wasn't the Pokémon that came forward for a battle. Instead, it snarled at us and nudged what looked to be its child forward—an Alolan Sandshrew whose back only had a layer of thick, protective snow with no ice.

Seeing it wanted to use us for practice just the same as we were using it, this was the perfect chance to see just how Mimikyu would fight in a match.

"Mimikyu. Fight as you want," I told him. I had no plans for orders since I wanted to observe his base capabilities during this impromptu fight.

Mimikyu emerged from the ground, rising up from a shadow much to the Sandshrew's fright. He followed that action up by drawing out his claw to scratch the icy ground, making a horrific noise and sharpening his fingers with that use of Hone Claws.

The wild Sandshrew seemed frozen at the sight, and it glanced back to its parent. The tougher Sandslash seemed hesitant, but it still sent its child a reassuring nod. Comforted by that sign of support, the Sandshrew pulled itself tight into a Defense Curl before beginning to roll forward. Ice formed on its body as it moved, using a variant of Rollout called “Ice Ball” that threatened to slam into Mimikyu.

Disguise could help block some attacks, but if Mimikyu was going to be hit with a large enough attack, it would do little to block any moves aimed at where his true form laid in wait. Without that option available to him for this attack, he sunk back into a shadow and rushed right at the Sandshrew with Shadow Sneak.

The Ice Ball rolled right over him, completely missing him with the move, then he burst from the ground and swiped at the Sandshrew with Shadow Claw.

That sudden slash was enough to disrupt the move, and the Ice Ball slid out so that Sandshrew fell onto its side. Lillie cheered for Mimikyu while I continued to watch silently. As Mimikyu approached, looming over the young Ice Type, it tried to lash out with a Scratch but failed to penetrate Mimikyu’s cloth with a Normal Type move.

Could Mimikyu have phased through that attack? Or is he too physical of a Ghost to avoid moves that way?

Regardless of whatever the truth was, by taking the ineffective Scratch head-on, Mimikyu succeeded in completely intimidating the Sandshrew. While it did seem Mimikyu was readying himself for a Play Rough, Sandshrew seemed to have had enough of this fight against a Ghost and ran right to its parent, where it hid under its legs with a whimper.

Sandslash growled at us, protecting its child. Lillie was quick to move, though, and she reached into her pack.

"Thank you! Here!" she said.

She tossed a few Oran Berries forward, which Sandslash snatched out of the eye. Eyeing Mimikyu warily, it stalked off to move away, feeding its child the food as Mimikyu returned to my side.

“Impressive fight, though, I should probably save you for tougher opponents, it seems,” I said.

Mimikyu squirmed under the praise and sunk back down into the shade beneath my legs.

(I held back a shiver at that.)

The following battles felt less eventful. The only moment of note was when a wild Sneasel sought to pinch berries from our bags. It obviously thought it could get some of the fruits without needing to fight in a match, but Ninetales noticed it before it could get too close, and a four-times effective Rock Smash from Tinkatuff was enough to scare it off.

Snorunt, Vanillish, and even a single Castform ended up battling us in these caves. At one point, a rare wild Drampa poked its head out of a hole only to go back to sleep without a battle. Matches came to us often, but these wild Pokémon hadn’t been trained by trainers. We always won, we always offered the wild Pokémon berries afterwards, but we also didn’t end up finding any wild Vulpix, either.

The battles continued and continued as we pushed deeper inside.

We took breaks several times over, even going as far as to set up our tents in a nested nook to camp out for the night. What was nice about this space was that it was a cave mostly without Zubat. While still present on this mountain and present at night, enough light bounced off the ice and snow that the bats were warded away during the day.

"Is it weird I'm kind of in the mood for ice cream right now?" Lillie mumbled as we sat for lunch.

I shrugged.

"It's thematic. I'm sure Ninetales wouldn't mind some."

The fox nodded her head to show she agreed.

We mostly moved in circles, backtracking a few times to ensure we never encountered too tough of a foe. Stronger wild Pokémon would lurk in the deepest reaches of this cave, and we didn’t want to encounter any of them for our goal.

However, while the encounters were frequent at first, as more and more time passed, wild Pokémon attacks became rarer and rarer. It got to the point where we’d only see one every ten minutes or so, then out of nowhere, they completely stopped appearing, and the cavern went silent.

"I'm starting to get suspicious," I said quietly as we walked.

"Maybe they're not used to seeing humans?" Lillie offered.

I shook my head at that.

"No, this area is still patrolled by local officials. It might not be frequented by humans, but the Pokémon here should be used to people passing through. This feels like it's something else.”

Ninetales stood on a large chunk of ice ahead, and her ears were straight up as she looked around on high alert. Our Pokémon did the same, but it was tough to look around without higher ground. Tinkatuff seemed to recognize the futility, and she dug to pull out a shiny rock in the ground that she inspected before throwing to the side.

I continued to look, goosebumps starting to appear on my arms. There was something about this situation that felt off. I was getting the sense something had gone very wrong.

It took a few moments, but a flash of black drew my attention. One sign of danger appeared; above us, on a ledge, a single Absol looked down.

The second I looked into the Dark Type’s red eyes, it turned away and walked off, its warning shared. Knowing that Absol served as harbingers of disaster, I knew in my heart that we needed to leave. Now.

"We need to go,” I said.

"Why?"

"The Absol. It was warning us. With no other Pokémon here... It isn’t safe. We’re leaving.”

To make sure we’d move fast, I returned Tinkatuff while Lillie did the same with Brionne. I grabbed Lillie’s hand and began to run.

Our footsteps echoed through the otherwise silent caverns. Ninetales jumped off her rock to run at our side, easily in pace. I could see the wide-open entrance to the cave off in the distance. It wouldn’t take long for us to reach there and get away from whatever was going on.

Then, Nebby poked his hatted head out of Lillie’s pack, and something awful cried out.

It sounded like the resonation or metal, or the sound of a wire whipping back and forth. I could hear static crackling in the air behind it, and I called out a panicked command for defense.

"Ninetales!"

Ice and snow tore itself off the walls to become an interior snowstorm. That storm then hardened into a protective Aurora Veil around us.

Nobody moved; Lillie and I stopped running. We looked around through the white of the snow, and then something black exploded against the barrier.

Lillie screamed.

Lightning burst every which way from that impact. Ninetales, from where she had hidden, unleashed an Ice Beam right at our attacker. Raw, Electric Type energy zipped backwards to dodge the move, and it reconsolidated into a new form.

Dark, thick wires wrapped together to form a creature ten feet tall. A head that was a pure white spark was paused in a permanent burst right at its top. Three legs that resembled plugs supported it on the ground.

With it reformed, it let out its cry once more. Lillie and I were forced to cover our ears.

"Xurkitree. An Ultra Beast. Shit! Hope isn't here."

We had no second, elite trainer. We had no Kartana, another Ultra Beast, with us. It was just me and my team against the wild Ultra Beast seeking out Cosmog.

"We have to run,” I said.

So we continued to flee.

With Xurkitree blocking our exit, we ran the other way, praying that the depths of the caves might be able to hide us. I grabbed Mawile’s Pokéball in one hand, readying myself to send her out and Mega Evolve if needed. From my shadow, faint eyes peeked out as Mimikyu watched the battle go on behind us.

Why now, of all times?

The whistling of the wind behind us signified a Blizzard, and then I heard that awful cry once again.

"Down!" I shouted.

We dropped to the floor, and there was a sudden flash. Nebby managed to use Teleport to bring us to the side, and the Xurkitree, in the form of pure lightning, flew over our heads.

However, the Ultra Beast didn’t crash into a wall or stop its attack. Like a jagged chain of lighting, it changed direction in the air and zapped itself right towards us.

I didn’t have a chance to send out Mawile, but another of my Pokémon was already out of his ball.

In this moment, Mimikyu proved himself to be a hero. He leapt from my shadow to charge into the air forward. His body blurred as a Double Team duplicated him a mimicry of a wall. Rather than attack us, the Xurkitree focused on the threat, and it bounced from illusion to illusion to get at Mimikyu.

His duplicates rapidly dwindling, Mimikyu used this moment to strike. A Shadow Claw raked across Xurkitree’s electric body, but Mimikyu recoiled which he was shocked right back.

Unfortunately, that attack let Xurkitree narrow down his position, and it launched itself right at him. It reformed in the air to draw back a hand of frayed, bronze wires that snapped forward in a Thunder Punch.

I ended up laughing. When Mimikyu hit the ground, he was singed but mostly fine.

“The Xurkitree attacked his Disguise!”

I rubbed my head out of complete disbelief.

The fake Pikachu head at the top of Mimikyu’s body was now blackened and charred. It would do nothing to convince any opponents that it was a part of him, but it had done its job of protecting Mimikyu from a single attack. Xurkitree actually landed not too far away and seemed to twist up its body in disbelief.

That pause was enough for it to be struck by an Ice Beam, and Ninetales finally caught back up from behind.

"What do we do?!" Lillie whispered as Ninetales continued her battle.

In this environment, she was holding it off, but she wasn’t making much of a headway. Lillie and I started to slowly take a few steps back, inching our way in the other direction so as to not draw its attention, but then a new sound rang out, and everyone paused.

It was a howl of sorts. Too high pitched to be a dog.

What was that?

Where Ninetales had been preparing a Blizzard, she looked up and howled back.

From around us, more and more similar voices joined in to form a choir of high-pitched singing. Ninetales’s tails began to swish back and forth in excitement as she gained a sharp grin.

We had traveled deeper into the cave in an attempt to run from the Ultra Beast. Lured here by Nebby, it had not once paused to consider exactly where it was.

A new Pokémon appeared. Following it, another. More and more vulpine figures emerged onto ledges that surrounded us, above our heads.

Dozens of Alolan Ninetales were suddenly here, staring down at the Xurkitree. Ninetales was smiling, and I found myself gaining a grin, too.

At the appearance of new foes, the wild Xurkitree sparked and crackled out of annoyance. It lifted up its twisted arms in an attempt to unleash a wide-ranged attack, but then all of the foxes moved.

Countless Ice Beams shot forward. Mixed in with them, the occasional Blizzard. The sheer drop in temperature froze the lightning in place. Ninetales, too, added in with her own, powerful attack.

"Look, Alex!" Lillie jostled my arm.

From between the wild Alolan Ninetales’s feet, wild Alolan Vulpix appeared as well.

These Pokémon didn't let loose that powerful of an attack, but they were still able to let loose Icy Winds of their own. Xurkitree stretched upwards, trying to escape the freezing barrage, but the ridiculous amount of Ice Type moves meant it slowed down, until eventually, it was stuck in a block of ice.

I could see the occasional bit of electricity jump off of Xurkitree’s body from within its frozen prison. It was still conscious yet frozen. Its lack of natural biology meant it neither needed to breathe or even eat. Likely, with how densely the ice was packed in around it, this Xurkitree was truly stuck. There was no escape, and I imagined it’d remain frozen for a long time.

“Wow,” I breathed.

Lillie fell down to the floor, mostly out of disbelief. Cosmog wiggled his way out of her pack to rub against her head and comfort her.

"I appreciate Gardevoir so much more for being able to talk Kartana down," I mumbled.

It had taken a lot to make this Xurkitree stop. Ultra Beasts were not something to underestimate.

With this invader finished, one by one, the wild Ninetales on the ledges above us returned to disappear back into their caves. We stared up at the wild Pokémon for several long moments until Lillie’s eyes widened and she shouted out at them.

"Hold on! Do any of you want to join my team?!"

Not a single response, and Lillie slumped. They all seemed to have vanished, except...

One Vulpix stayed behind.

“It’s you!”

This individual didn’t jump down, but I did recognize it. It was young, a bit nervous, but we had encountered this one before.

This was the same Vulpix Lillie had helped rescue back in Akala’s Paniola Town. Somehow, the Aether Foundation had already released it back to the wild.

“Do you... do you want to join my team?” Lillie asked.

Its expression was strained, but it shook its head in denial, much to Lillie’s disappointment. Still, it looked around before jumping off its ledge to run over to Lillie.

She was shocked, but the Vulpix briefly rubbed its head against her. Lillie didn’t get a chance to pet it back because it ran away almost as soon as it finished.

“Oh,” Lillie said. “You’re welcome. I’m glad you’re better.”

We were left in silence next to the frozen Ultra Beast that couldn't escape. In the distance, I could hear life returning to the cavern around us.

Lillie remained slumped on the floor. This was a lot to take in—both the random attack from the Xurkitree and the dismissal from what seemed to be every wild Alolan Vulpix and Ninetales here.

“I... I think we should head back,” Lillie mumbled.

“Alright. Let’s see if we can rest in a real room,” I replied.

I helped her up, Nebby returned to her pack, and then Lillie and I left to return to the warmth of Tapu Village’s Pokémon Center.

Lillie was back to training the day after we descended the mountain. For what time we had spent up there, our team had definitely grown stronger, but Lillie didn’t make the catch she wanted.

On that topic, Ninetales started to frequently prod me and whine. At her orders, I ended up making a call. I talked to Wanda, who was still managing my Pokémon back home, and through her, I ended up making a few trades.

Even with my increased carrying limit, Mimikyu had shown himself to be a lot stronger than I thought. We just needed to work together on some strategies, and I needed to work on gaining my confidence around him. However, since he was so strong, I couldn’t exactly count him as a team member “in training.”

That meant my Pokémon with me were now Ninetales, Mawile, Mimikyu, Togekiss, and then all the rest.

But, the true reason I had called home and made trades was to let Ninetales talk to someone else. Wanda fetched Ninetales’s sister, and the pair barked at each other over the phone. One long conversation later and several considering hums, and the pair of foxes seemed to come to a conclusion.

I approached Lillie soon after.

“How are you feeling?” I asked.

“I’m great! I’m feeling just fine. Brionne is close to evolving, Shiinotic and Clefable are getting some great combinations, and Nebbie—”

Her smile didn’t reach her eyes. I shook my head to get her to stop.

“It’s okay that you didn’t catch a Vulpix. Not every plan has to succeed.”

Her expression fell.

“I know,” she whispered.

She looked heartbroken. I silently thanked Ninetales for suggesting this plan.

“Back home, in Hoenn,” I started, “Ninetales isn’t alone. She has a sister, a few niblings—a niece and two nephews—but the thing is, they aren’t directly part of my team. She talked a bit, and it turns out that her sister has been looking for trainers for her children. Based on that, and knowing you...”

Lillie’s eyes went wide. I held a brand new Premier Ball forward.

“Here,” I said. “Do you want to send her out?”

Lillie was utterly frozen for a single second before she wiped moisture from her eyes.

“Thank you!” she yelled.

In the distance, Ninetales let out an amused snort.

Released from the Premier Ball was a single Vulpix: the daughter of Ninetales’s sister. More specifically, it was one of the trio from the Pokémon back home.

The quiet, little Vulpix looked up at Lillie and blinked. She smiled at her, and in an instant, Lillie had already run forward to scoop the fox up into a hug.

“You’re so cute!” she said.

Vulpix whined in her arms.

However, it only took a few seconds for Vulpix to gain a smile, too, and she nuzzled against Lillie’s chest. The hug tightened as trainer and Pokémon met for the first time, but then Lillie looked up at me in shock.

“Wait, Alex! This doesn’t work out. If Vulpix evolves, we’ll have two Ninetales with us. That’d get confusing, fast! We need a solution.”

“It’s fine. We’ll know who you mean.”

“Nuh-uh,” she interrupted. “If we’re doing this...”

Lillie looked back down at her Vulpix before placing it on the floor. Her team walked over to gather around her as she rubbed her chin.

“If you’re going to be on our team... How about a nickname?” Lillie offered. “It’s uncommon, but it’ll be a great way to differentiate our teams!”

She hummed for several seconds before taking a knee.

“I’ve got it,” Lillie said. “How about... Snowy? Because your fur is white as snow.”

Lillie held out her hand, and the Vulpix didn’t wait to place a paw into it. Lillie took that as a yes, then inched forward slowly.

“Snowy, then. Welcome to the team, Snowy.”

From their expressions, I could already tell this had been the correct choice.