May stood behind Lin Hao and tilted her head, her gaze landing squarely on the message on his screen: "See you at Spear Pillar in five days."
The sea breeze blew into the station hall from the harbor, rattling the battered train timetable by the entrance.
Lin Hao slipped his phone into his jacket pocket, turned to the ticket window, and tapped the glass. "Two tickets to Ecruteak City for tomorrow morning."
The clerk pushed two paper tickets through the slot beneath the window. Lin Hao took them and held one out to his side.
May stayed where she was, her hands still tucked into her outdoor jacket's pockets. "Lin Hao."
"Yeah?"
"I'm not going to Ecruteak City with you."
His outstretched hand froze in midair, and he turned to look at her. May pressed her lips together, all her usual bustling energy gone.
"Are you running a fever?" Lin Hao pushed the ticket a little closer. "Who was insisting on coming with me back at the noodle shop?"
May took half a step back and pulled the backpack strap that had slipped to her elbow back onto her shoulder. "But with how strong I am now, I'd only hold you back if I went to Sinnoh with you."
Lin Hao withdrew the ticket. Pikachu leaned halfway off his shoulder, eyes darting between them twice, a confused tail tracing a question mark in the air. "You haven't held me back."
"In the battle on Iron Island, I did exactly one thing from beginning to end." May dug her fingers into her backpack's nylon strap. "Picked up the Metal Pipe off the ground."
"That still helped."
"Lin Hao, don't try to make me feel better." She raised her head and looked straight into the eyes beneath his cap's shadow. "You have