“Mum, can you hear me?” Lillie’s pleading gets louder with every gasp and I hold my breath for a moment, hoping that everything will be okay. My nosebleed slowly subsides.

“I hear ... you...” As Lusamine’s voice faintly filters through to us, I can hear Lillie and I both sigh with relief.

“We’re going home now. And then ... you’re going to rest.” She casually takes her mum’s hand between hers. “Besides, you need to take responsibility for what you’ve done. Do you understand that?”

Instead of answering, Lusamine lifts her other hand and places it gently on Lillie’s cheek. For a moment, the two of them just look at each other.

“It’s strange ... but when I look at you like that, there seems to be beauty in you, after all. Different from back then...”

“Because I’m not a little girl anymore.” Lillie’s wry smile makes me chuckle as I pack up my team.

She’s incredibly mature for her age. In the short time we’ve spent together, Lillie has grown far beyond herself. Her courage and righteousness have turned her into someone who is hardly comparable to the girl I met on the crumbling bridge.

“I wish it was ... different,” Lusamine whispers before her arm falls weakly back to the ground. “I wish everything was different. You’re getting older. And I knew one day you’d go your own way...” Shakily, she sucks in the air. “I wanted something for eternity... Something that would be mine alone and that would give me the same love I have to give.”

“I ... would stay with you forever, if that’s what you want...” Lillie’s lips twist. “We’re family, right?”

But Lusamine shakes her head lazily. “You said it yourself: you’re a living being. I can’t stop you just because I’d be alone.”

“But-”

“I wanted your father by my side. Forever. Till death do us part ... that was our promise,” her mother interrupts her. “Then he disappeared into an Ultra Wormhole and ... I was alone. As much as I love research, it never filled that hole in my heart. And everything I did to find him ... was criticised. I know I’ve gone too far ... but isn’t that something anyone would do for that one person?”

Lillie doesn’t answer. She knows just as little as I do about what such feelings mean and what they trigger. The conversation in Malie Garden has shown that and even if I believe that one day she will feel exactly the same love, it is still too soon.

“You’ll understand one day, Lillie.” Lusamine seems to agree with me. “I just hope you’ll be smarter than me.”

“Why the frozen Pokémon? Why the Nihilegos?” Eyelids half-lowered, Lillie tilts her head. “What were they to you?”

“Your father was gone. Gladion ran away. The way you looked at me ... I knew you’d leave me behind, too. One of my Pokémon got sick... I was afraid of losing more, so I froze them so they’d stay with me forever. So that ... someone would stay.” She laughs helplessly. “And when I saw Nihilego for the first time ... I thought it was talking to me. In its very own way."

“And it told you to catch it?”

“I think it wanted to show me where your father is ... at least at first. I had to have it ... so badly. But when I touched it once, a year ago, I thought it was terrified. So I took it in my arms and ... I felt needed. Not pushed away and left behind. This Pokémon ... needed me. It seemed more grateful to me than anything else in my life.”

“It certainly was ... for a moment.”

Lusamine snorts. “It was my imagination because everything else seemed bleak, exhausting and ugly. It was so much easier than facing reality and admitting I’d failed.”

“You didn’t fail.” Instantly, Lillie squeezes her mum’s hand. “You just lost your way for a second.”

“You way to-”

A sudden tremor interrupts Lusamine’s words. Rock breaks from the walls and pushes me to my feet. We’ve been in this place long enough.

“Will you take me with you if I help?” Simultaneously, Guzma speaks up, coming towards us in limp strides. “Didn’t mean to interrupt, but we should get out of here before those Nihilegos come back and destroy us.”

In a flash, Lillie jumps to her feet, giving Guzma an eager nod. As a result, he takes Lusamine and carefully pulls her body onto his back. The next moment, we are rushing back.

The way to Lunala doesn’t take much time, but the screeching of the Nihilegos is audible. We have to get out of here before things get worse. Fortunately for us, it’s no problem for Lunala as it spreads its wings, gathers momentum and wraps its arms around us all in the next blink before diving through the open Ultra Wormhole.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

The darkness gives me a breath of peace, challenging my exhaustion. My clothes look terrible. My strength is at its end. I just want to go to bed and never have to get up again – a stupid thought.

When we land in our world and Lunala spreads its wings to hand us over to the night and Gladion and Amethio, I can barely keep my eyes open. My body throbs dully.

“You’re back!” It is Lillie’s brother who comes rushing towards us. Beyond that, he is at a loss for words.

Somewhere in between, Guzma suggests taking Lusamine to a hospital. Lillie has no objections and although she hesitates, she lets him go ahead – with her brother as a bodyguard. That leaves us and Amethio, who comes closer but has no praise to offer.

“What happened?” Instead, he throws in a question and Lillie’s cautious glance in my direction makes her eventually answer.

I guess I look worse than expected. A glance down at me sends gratitude to the darkness – you can barely see anything – and the sudden faint blue glow of the moon makes me raise my brows.

“I bless you, Domino,” Lunala starts behind me, making me whirl around to face it. “For your Mimikyu. The next time you meet, this blessing will give her the strength to travel with you again. She will be exhausted and will need to rest, but the light I give you will heal her. A little more every night.”

“Thank you...” I don’t know what to say or how to react. Joy would be appropriate, but my soul is drained.

“Try to learn,” Nebby continues. “The Z-Move is a power deeply connected to the light of the heart and soul. Understand its nature and learn to use and control it properly.”

“I’m working on it.”

Lunala’s head lowers. “You haven’t used it correctly once. Your path was the wrong one.”

“And which one is the right one?”

“You will have to find out to become stronger. Just know you are not alone. The light of the moon will always be with you.” Its chest swells. “If you ever need help, call for me and I will come to stand by your side. This is my thanks for your kindness and friendship towards me and Lillie.”

My insides tighten with every word. I want to believe in Lunala. I want to think Mirra will be okay and I now have a powerful Pokémon as a friend who will come when even Amethio doesn’t know what to do. Yet the certainty crushes me. It feels like I’ll use up this help tomorrow.

“Believe in yourself, Domino. You’re a girl who values adventure.” Once again, Nebby mixes into my thoughts. “Setbacks are normal. You started small and, after your first successes, you threw yourself straight at much stronger opponents – rashly and convinced you were immortal.” It seems to smile at me in rebuke. “Don’t suppress your mistakes. Accept them. Analyse and think them through. That’s the only way you’ll grow.”

Nothing has changed. I need to learn, act smarter and make better decisions. My team needs guidance to grow. They know how to fight, but finding the right strategy isn’t always easy.

My shoulders slump. Suppressing is easy, but if I’m honest, I want too much. I can’t fulfil my dream of an adventure on my own. In this world, people need to trust their partners. Although I would rather protect and guard them, I have to trust them with my life. Just like I imagined it with Ying at the very beginning. The two of us against the rest of the world. I for her and she for me, whoever has to take the damage. Now we’re more than just two and I think that makes our hurdles a little easier.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Lillie turn to Nebby and I know my time with this Pokémon is up. So I focus on Amethio, whose gaze is fixed on me.

“She told you everything?” I move closer to him.

“You did ... an outstanding job,” he replies. “Without you, not all of you would have come back.”

His words shouldn’t make me so proud, but they feel like balm on my soul – like I’ve finally done something right. The tightness in my chest loosens slightly, leaving me with a tired smile.

“But I hope I won’t have to go hiking again anytime soon.” I pat my shoulder gently with one hand. My whole body is exhausted. “I can barely stand upright ... and I think some rest is the best for me after all.”

“Won’t be a problem.” His eyelids lower. “Rayquaza doesn’t seem to be in Alola any longer. There’s a good chance it’ll turn up somewhere else soon.”

“And you know where?”

“Speculation,” he replies. “But there is a group that is likely to come into contact with it soon. They’re tracking it just like we are. With more luck. If they find it ... I’ll catch it.”

His explanation is terribly short on information, but I’m too exhausted to follow up. It’s enough to have a hint.

“And what are we going to do until then?”

“You recover.” His gaze shifts briefly to Lunala. “I need to finish a few things in Master Gibeon’s name. After that, we’ll leave Alola.”

That’s enough for me. It’s something I can cling to.

“Domino...” When Lillie approaches me from the side, Amethio automatically distances himself. Simultaneously, I see Lunala disappear into the night sky. “How are you?”

“I think I’ll manage.” My eyes only slowly move away from the stars.

“Nebby will now set off on its own journey.” With her hands folded behind her back, wet sadness reflects in her eyes. “But it has promised to come back to me one day. Later, when I’m in full bloom, it said.” A giggle escapes her. “I hope that won’t be long.”

“I’m sure it won’t.” In my eyes, she already is in full bloom, and yet I can understand Lunala. Lillie is only at the beginning of her growth.

“I hope it sees a lot of the world.” Her hands loosen. “And I ... will see part of my world again tonight.”

“You’re spending time with your mum?”

An eager nod confirms me. “I’m going to stay with her tonight and see how she is tomorrow.”

The journey back is going to be tough. Corviknight can only carry two of us. Sending Lillie through the Canyon alone is absurd and even Amethio probably won’t want to walk back alone in the dark. The sigh weighs like lead on my lips and just as I am about to step forward bravely, the distant shout of someone else reaches me. It takes ages before I catch sight of Zir on his Skarmory. They glide almost gracefully through the air in a nightly glow and when they land, my heart lifts.

“Here I am, sir!” Straightening his shoulders, Zir climbs off his companion and looks at Amethio as if he can hardly wait for the next instructions.

The following steps are quite simple. Zir flies Lillie to her mum, while Amethio and I return to the airship. This saves us the miserable walk.

The night can’t harm the Steel-type Pokémon – only stars twinkle in their feathers and on Skarmory’s robust body. A spectacle I can’t follow. Leaning my forehead against Amethio’s shoulder, I am overcome by fatigue.

I’ve done enough for today.