Latias's new friend

Latias did not really understand what Lillie was saying about charity, donations, and all that... She was an idiot. How was she supposed to understand any of it?

She only admitted she was an idiot when she encountered something she genuinely did not understand and could not think of an excuse to argue her way out of it.

Lillie, however, had only chosen to help out of sympathy. She had no idea how much her decision that day would benefit the Aether Foundation in the future, but that was a story for another time...

She gathered her thoughts and recalled her body's instinctive reaction when she had touched the girl's hair at the Festival of Masks. Back then, she had not understood what was happening and had assumed her symptoms were getting worse again.

After a moment's thought, she reached out again and rested her hand on Latias's head. The instant she touched her hair, a sensation like an electric shock shot through her entire body. Fortunately, she instinctively lifted her hand, and only then did that strange sensation finally disappear.

"..."

There it is again... Although it isn't as strong as when I touch a Pokémon. Could it be because this little girl is always around all kinds of Pokémon at the Manor, and their presence has rubbed off on her?

Lillie began inventing explanations in her head to make her condition seem a little more reasonable.

Latias, however, was keenly sensitive to people's feelings and had noticed what had just happened. She could sense that Lillie seemed afraid of her.

That feeling made her a little uncomfortable. I'm so cute. Why would she be afraid of me?

So she asked, releasing a little psychic power as she did. In a brief haze, Lillie understood her meaning without even