The courtyard at Lillie's house.
Speaking of Ash's father...
Since Ash had never mentioned his father,
and they had only met his mother, Delia,
Kiawe and the others had once suspected
that Ash's father might have been like Mallow's mother-
had he died of an illness, or gone missing?
But earlier, in Tapu Fini's mist,
Ash hadn't seemed to miss his father, either.
Could Ash's father have been a scumbag?
They had all sorts of theories...
They were already pretty close to Ash, so after agonizing over it for a long time, they finally asked.
"That's what you're curious about?"
Ash was rather speechless.
"My dad's alive and well..."
"He just works away from home and hardly ever comes back."
"Pikachu."
Pikachu nodded emphatically.
"What does he do?"
At that question, Ash scratched his head.
"I think he said he was some kind of outside adviser. He never explained it to me in detail, and he doesn't even get to come home once a year."
"My dad mostly keeps in touch with us through letters and phone calls."
After hearing Ash's explanation,
Kiawe and the others understood.
Ash simply didn't usually bring it up.
Besides, wasn't Ash just like his father?
He spent the whole year traveling away from home, too.
Like father, like son!
"At first, we thought..."
"Nope, he's alive and well."
The next day.
The Battle Royal Dome.
The Battle Royal Dome was packed and buzzing with voices that day.
The previous evening, at the suggestion of Island Kahuna Hala, they had decided to hold a match at the Battle Royal Dome.
Its main purpose was to cheer on Li Wei, Professor Kukui, and Ash, who would be representing the Alola Region in the tournament.
The venue was none other than the Battle Royal Dome, one