Blowing Bubbles

Chapter 60: Homecoming

I was awoken the next morning by bright sunlight shining through my window. I opened my eyes, then realized I was back at home. Nostalgia hit me harder than it ever did before. When I had gotten home last night, I was extremely tired, so I didn't really have time to settle down at home again. Mom was already asleep, and I was too tired to wake her up and greet her.

I quickly got out of bed, washed my face, brushed my teeth and got dressed. Then, I left the bathroom and saw Mom sitting at the dining room table eating instant noodles. She was as thin as a toothpick, and a good chunk of her curly, messy hair was gray.
She looked up and widened her eyes when she heard my footsteps. "Millie..." she muttered as a smile formed on her face. "Is that...you?! Oh, dear Arceus...please don't let this be a dream!" "It's not a dream, Mom," I replied with a grin.
Her smile became bigger and bigger as I saw tears streaming down from her face. She stood up quickly, then gave me a tight hug. "Millie..." she sobbed. "Welcome home. You have no idea how happy I am to see you...you've grown and matured so much...I hope your pokemon kept you safe during your journey."

I looked up at Mom in surprise as she wiped away her tears. "You mean...you're not going to punish me for catching a pokemon and running away?" "No," she replied. "I was upset and angry that you ran away at first, but after a while, I realized that you're growing up, and that this is something you've always wanted to do. Despite what happened with Rusty...I realized that you're eleven now, so you could handle pain a lot better. I know that there are still some pokemon in the world that are dangerous, but for once, you're right. Not all pokemon are dangerous, and I trust that you'll take good care of yours. One more thing...I watched you fight against Logan and your friend Yvonne in the Pokemon League on TV. Congratulations on becoming the champion! Gosh, my baby is growing up so fast..."

After sitting down with Mom and having some toast with oran berry jam for breakfast, I suddenly heard the doorbell ring.
I went to get it, but when I opened it, I saw Yvonne, who seemed in a panic. "Millie!" She shouted. "You have to come with me quickly!" "Yvonne, hang on for-" I couldn't finish my sentence, though, because Yvonne dragged me by my arm, and we ran to the boat port in Hau'oli city only to see Lillie, who was holding a huge bag.

"You never told us!" Yvonne protested. "Out of all the times, why does it have to be now?! Millie just became the champion!" "Lillie...what's happening?" I asked calmly. "Well..." Lillie started, "I'm going to Kanto." I felt like someone had just punched me in the gut. What in the name of Arceus? As I continued to listen to her, I felt a single tear roll down my cheek.

"Millie...you've inspired me," Lillie continued. "You've inspired me to become a trainer, so I'm traveling to Kanto to go on a journey. I'll miss you guys, of course, but I'll write letters to you, and I'll come back to visit Alola someday. Before I go, though, I have a gift for each of you." With that, Lillie gave Yvonne a beautiful necklace, and then she gave me a Clefairy plushie. "Millie...I know it looks a little worn, but this Clefairy plushie was really special to me. I want you to have it. I trust that you'll take good care of it."

Pretty soon, Lillie was on the boat, sailing away from the port. "It...it doesn't make sense!" I protested, trying to hold back my tears. "It's just-I-I mean it's...argh! I don't even know, dammit!!!" With that, I turned away in frustration and broke into tears, squeezing the clefairy plushie hard.

For a few minutes, it was just silence, and the only thing breaking it was my weeping. I sobbed a bit, then squeezed the plushie harder. I then looked down and watched in sadness as countless tears dripped onto my knees.
"Millie..." Yvonne whispered as she patted my back. "It must hurt to say goodbye...but Lillie can still see us. You need to show her your beautiful smile, just one last time. Nobody likes seeing a loved one when they're sad." I looked up at Yvonne, then got up and wiped my tears away. "Okay..."
I looked at Lillie, then smiled and waved at her. "Lillie!" I called. "Good lu-uck!" I saw Lillie smile at me and wave back.

***

A couple of days after Lillie left, I returned to school. At first I thought it would just be the usual, minus Logan bullying me.
When I stepped in, everyones eyes were on me, and the room fell completely silent. Even Ms. Chancellor was surprised to see me back.

The silence was broken when Logan pointed something out. "Guys, Millie is the new champion of Alola!" With that, everyone screamed and cheered for me.

After so many years of turmoil and pain, today was the day I finally had a good day at school. Even Brandon and Mike were happy to see me again. We had a class party all day, and during lunch, Ms. Chancellor even challenged me to a battle, in which I won.

***

It had been three months since I became Champion. I had turned twelve a month ago (May 16th was my birthday), so now I felt a lot more mature. So far I didn't have many challengers, and when I did have one, I always won. I would sometimes use Nebby in battle, too. When my pokemon weren't battling, they were sometimes out of their pokeballs, helping my Mom and I do chores around the house.

I was sitting at the dining room table studying for my final exams when I saw Mom go outside. She came back inside with a letter in her hand; she handed it to me for some reason. "It's from someone named Lillie," she told me. My eyes lit up, so I opened the envelope and began reading the letter Lillie wrote.

Dear Millie,
Hi there! Sorry if this letter is a bit short; I have to prepare for my next gym battle. Can you believe I'm already about to battle Erika?

Anyways, I hope you're doing well, and I hope you're keeping your status as Champion. If and when I become the champion of Kanto, be prepared, because I'm going to battle you! My team right now is still pretty small, though; I have a Wartortle, a Kantonian Vulpix, and a Clefairy. Pretty soon, though, I'm going to have a full team!

I hope Nebby is doing good, as well. Knowing you, I'm sure it's doing just fine under your care. At the same time, though, I hope that little rascal is behaving itself and not always getting out of its pokeball, the same way it always got out of my bag!

Before I end this, I just wanted you to know that Yvonne and Gladion also got a letter from me. I also wanted to wish you a happy birthday! I hope your new year of life brings you lots of joy and harmony.

Okay, take care!

-Lillie

I couldn't help but smile. "Hey Mom, can I have a break from studying for now?" I asked. "Okay," she agreed. "Make it short, though. Just because you're the champion doesn't mean your grades don't matter!" "I know," I reminded, then went and got a pink gel pen and some good paper. With that, I sat back down and began to write my letter to Lillie.

~~THE END~~