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English
Series:
Part 2 of Infinity Train: Blossomverse
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Published:
2020-12-08
Completed:
2022-01-01
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175,832
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32/32
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Infinity Train: Knight of the Orange Lily

Summary:

[Prequel to Infinity Train: Blossoming Trail, set during Episode 55 of Pokémon Sun and Moon]

Gladion sacrificed everything in order to get stronger. To stop Nihilego. To save his sister.

His sister responded not with thanks or worship or praise. But with orange lillies to his face.

And so he left in anger and hurt, wanting to prove that he deserved to be the hero in her eyes...

Only to find himself on a quest throughout an infinitely large train and facing some very painful truths that he wanted to toss into the darkness.

Notes:

This story is set after Book 2 of Infinity Train and in the middle of Episode 55 of Sun and Moon.

Timeline of the story should end around Episode 87 -- Gladion returning during the Necrozma arc -- so most stuff with the Ultra Rangers will be glossed over. This is more of a focus to build up on Gladion and have Lillie learn to forgive and bond with her mom.

(Aka I feel like Gladion is the bad guy for not helping his sister sooner)

The story is a prequel to "Blossoming Trail" so Ash will not know of the Train in this story. And before you ask, there WILL be references to this story in Blossoming Trail but they'll be minor.

Chapter 1: Gladion and the Wolf / The Pearl Gates Car

Chapter Text

After seeing how people have loved Chloe’s trip on the Infinity Train, I began thinking to myself (and I’m sure everyone has also) if other characters from Pokémon who got on the Infinity Train before or if there’s a possibility that they could’ve entered it.

 

And after thinking it over, I realized I had the perfect person for this: Gladion.

 

If you have not read my rant in Chapter 12’s author notes of “Infinity Train: Blossoming Trail”, I ranted how Gladion was apparently the hero of the story in regards to his sister’s trauma and Lusamine was the wicked mother. But in reality, Lusamine was in the dark and felt guilty for not doing more, while Gladion knew what Faba did and said nothing until the last minute. If Gladion went and told his mom, there would’ve been a way for Lillie to gain some treatment and be on the road to recovery. But did that happen? Nooooooo.

 

So here I have been pondering why Gladion would do such a thing and how he needed to face the truth that all of Lillie’s trauma is his fault. Sure Faba and Nihilego were what triggered it, but Gladion’s reluctance to do anything aggravated it. And he had the gall to blame Ash for making Lille go back to square 1 ?!

 

So yeah, for those who know how much I treated Goh, let’s just say that they’ll know what’s coming for this edgelord. 

 

Timeline-wise, this story will start sometime during Episode 55 --- the night before Professor Burnet and Kukui’s wedding -- and will be more of a character focus on Lillie and her mother. It also will fix some aggravating issues I have with some characters -- Faba -- and perhaps put more focus on others that I felt needed more exposure (Mallow). Since Gladion doesn’t return till Episode 87, this is the perfect time to figure out where he’d been and he went through while the Ultra Power Rangers went and did their thing.

 

As for everything else; well that will depend on you. Again, any car and idea is welcome to the story.

 

And as for “Infinity Train” timeline wise, right after Book 2 but way before Book 3 even starts. Whether Grace or Simon will be the main antagonists is up in the air, but it won’t change much in the long run.

 

And with that, it is time for the knight to begin his quest.

 

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Infinity Train: Knight of the Orange Lily

 

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A Pokémon / Infinity Train Crossover

 

By Green Phantom Queen

 

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Prologue

 

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Gladion and the Wolf

 

Or

 

The Pearl Gates Car

 

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“Once upon a time, there was a boy with eyes like the first leaves of Spring.

 

“The boy lived with his mother and little sister and they were happy as can be in their small home. The mother always warned the children to never go into the woods alone, for  Until one day, while they were playing catch with their favorite ball, the girl entered the woods to retrieve it. The boy followed her, like good brothers did only to find that she had been taken hostage by the fearsome King with No Name. 

 

The boy chased after the girl and, while he was not able to stop the King with No Name, the King let his sister go but not without some scars in the process.

 

The girl was no longer able to approach the darkness without fear of it devouring her in her sleep. She would scream at night from the nightmares that clawed at her waking hours and she hated looking at the woods, afraid that it would swallow her whole.

 

Their mother did not pay attention to this at all, mostly because she was never told of this at all. All the local healers and wisemen gave powdered herbs and other medicines that would make it easier for the girl to sleep but not cure her phobia of the darkness. And the boy watched how his sister suffered and knew he had to do something.

 

So in the middle of one night when the moon was waxing, the boy gathered as much food as he could and set off into the woods to find the King with No Name and demand that this monster leave his sister alone.

 

But here is the thing you must know about quests.

 

They suck.

 

No one likes to talk about the long, long journey it takes to fulfill the quest. No one wants to recount the monsters that were slain, the nights sleeping in the cold and rain, how the people on the quest probably starved to death or suffered from horrifying wounds without a medic in sight.

 

And in the end, the boy’s attempts to become a knight to protect his sister were all in vain.

 

Because if he had taken the path of the child and told his mother what had happened, none of this quest nonsense wouldn’t have happened. His mother would have been able to understand what was wrong with her daughter, and the girl would’ve slowly learned to become brave and strong, and not be afraid of the unknown.

 

But alas, boys try to become men without taking the painful yet important steps in their transition into adulthood as if they can just take a simple shortcut to awaken into a body with more experience and strength on their side.

 

For when the boy finally reached the area of the woods to where the King of No Name lived, he found out a horrible truth when he somehow found himself at the beginning of his quest, and his sister crying over his unmoving body. 

 

He had died a fool and the King with No Name was plenty quick to mock the boy’s foolishness.

 

But the boy would not accept the King’s words that it was the boy’s fault for this tragedy. Instead, the boy opened his mouth and said that he will save his sister from the King’s influence, no matter how long it took.

 

The King took up on that offer and before the boy could blink, he found himself awake in the forest once more. He looked around; he wasn’t dead, and his sister wasn’t crying over his corpse.

 

That thing with the King and his sister had to be a dream...yeah, that was it. The King was crafty and his magic powerful. 

 

But the boy was determined to not fall for those tricks and he began to set forth on his journey through the woods anew.

 

And he continued to chase after the King with No Name, forever hoping to become the knight to save his sister from her nightmares, unaware that this dream would never ever be fulfilled.



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The sky looked so beautiful tonight.

 

That’s what Gladion said to himself as he stared at the blue sea stretched out before him and the stars above his head glittering like diamonds. Umbreon stood by his side, also basking in the glow of soft moonlight shining down on it.

 

It was over. The nightmare with Nihilego and Ultra Space. After all this time, his sister was free from the trauma and could truly love Pokémon. Everything he did was worth it; the years he sacrificed to get stronger, the battles he fought. All to get revenge on the Ultra Beast that traumatized his sister.

 

A part of him wondered if it was all worth it. After all, he had to leave his family behind, leave Lillie all by herself. The progress she made was good, thanks to Ash.

 

But...could it have been stopped sooner? Could Lillie be better off if all that was needed was to make her remember that Silvally, back when it was still Type: Null, was trying to protect her from Nihilego? That if Gladion actually approached his sister then none of this would have happened?

 

No, this was for the best.

 

Even if Lillie was healed of her trauma, that wouldn’t mean that Nihilego couldn’t return. That thing would’ve returned and wreak even more havoc and there would be no way to stop it. Gladion had to get strong to protect Lillie. Had to make sure that he could be the hero in her eyes. To make sure no one could hurt his sister again.

 

To make sure he never showed any signs of weakness ever again.

 

As he walked across the white sandy beach, he noticed that he wasn’t the only one out late at night.

 

“Ash…”

 

“Gladion!” Ash gasped and Pikachu cried his name. “Oh you’re just in time! You see, Professor Kukui is getting married to--”

 

“I’m sorry,” Gladion interrupted. “I’m heading off on a journey.”

 

“What?” asked Ash. “But, why?”

 

Gladion sighed, remembering the battle, remembering Ash and Pikachu fighting off against the Nihilego that possessed his mother with seven rainbow colored lightning bolts.

 

“I’m going to embark on a journey to complete the Grand Trials,” Gladion explained, the waves crashing down being the only noise in his ears. “That Z-Move you and Pikachu unleashed...I had to do more. I had to be more.”

 

“Gladion…”

 

Gladion closed his eyes. “Give Professor Kukui and Burnet my thanks. I’m heading off now.”

 

“Wait, Gladion!”

 

Gladion and Ash turned to see Lillie approaching them, Snowy by her side. Lillie’s hands were behind her back and although she was smiling, Ash couldn’t help but see something was...off about it.

 

“You’re heading off so soon?” asked Lillie.

 

Gladion nodded. “Yeah. I have to get stronger. I wasn’t much help against Nihilego, and everything I did all these years were for…”

 

“No, it wasn’t for nothing,” said Lillie. “Here, a going away present. We had a lot of leftover flowers for the wedding decorations.”

 

She brought her arms out and showed off a pretty bouquet of flowers wrapped in black tissue paper and a red ribbon. Gladion narrowed his eyes at them.

 

“What...are these?” he asked.

 

“Gladiolus flowers,” Lillie answered. “Mother said that she was looking at these flowers blooming when she thought of your name. Don’t you like them?”

 

“...they’re orange,” Gladion noted.

 

“Yeah, that’s such a pretty color!” Ash pointed out. “Like the sky when the sun starts to set. Isn’t that romanti--”

 

“What are you trying to say, Lillie?” Gladion interrupted, glaring at his sister.

 

“Nothing much,” Lillie answered before her voice dropped to a hiss. “Except that I just realized how you essentially left me behind all these years to get ‘stronger’.”

 

Ash blinked and Pikachu looked confused. Snowy whimpered in concern as Lillie’s eyes hardened into an icy glare.

 

“I had a good reason for it! I needed to be strong enough to protect you!” Gladion shouted.

 

“I needed you more than anything!” Lillie snapped. “You left me all alone without any way to figure out my problems. My memories were locked and you were the one with the key to help me remember them!”

 

“I couldn’t just show you Type: Null without you freaking out!”

 

“But you could’ve said something!” Lillie retorted. “You said nothing, you didn’t even tell Mother about what happened. And then you left me alone to fend for myself! Left me to have to work my way through my trauma. If it wasn’t for Ash, I wouldn’t have even made any progress.”

 

Ash gulped, seeing the lightning bolts spark between the siblings. “Lillie…”

 

“I don’t have to hear any of this,” Gladion muttered, grabbing the orange lilies. “I’m just glad that this is all over.” 

 

“Glad that I’m all right, that Mother is recovering, that karma finally caught up with Faba, that Nihilego can never hurt us again or that you can stop playing pretend of being a knight in shining armor?” Lillie responded, her voice as cold as Snowy’s Powder Snow.

 

Gladion bit his lip, recalling that tale of the girl who went through the mirror. Of the white knight on his Rapidash who fought off his blood-red foe. He wanted to be that character -- okay, maybe not like the character who was bumbling and seemed to not put connections together -- but he wanted to be someone who could save people.

 

Or at least, someone who can protect his sister.

 

Gladion swiped the hateful bouquet out of his sister’s hands and walked off, Umbreon not far behind.

 

“Gladion, wait!” said Ash. “I’m also taking the Island Challenge. So...when you finish it, let’s have a battle.”

 

Gladion stopped walking, but then decided to not respond at all. He just continued walking, not wanting to let anyone show how was close to screaming and howling to the sky like his Lycanroc would.

 



“I don’t get it,” said Ash as he, Pikachu, Lillie and Snowy left the beach. “Why did you two start fighting over a bouquet of orange lilies?”

 

“Ash...do you know what it means when someone gives you an orange lily?” Lillie answered.

 

“No.”

 

“When you give someone an orange lily, it represents how you have strong feelings for someone. Very strong feelings that you have to express.”

 

“What do you mean? Like how you give roses to someone you love?”

 

“Somewhat…”

 

“Really? What do they say?”

 

Lillie grit her teeth as she forced the words out of her lips.

 

“To give an orange lily is one of the most powerful messages you can deliver to a person. One that you hope they get the message loud and clear. And what I meant to Gladion, I meant it from the bottom of my heart….

 

“’...I hate you’.”

 

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Gladion curled his hands into fists as he walked across the beach, stuck in his thoughts. How dare Lillie give him these flowers. Orange gladiolus lilies. To be mocked at by given orange, the color of hatred by his own flesh and blood hurt more than when Faba attacked him with Alakzam or when Nihilego trapped Lillie in the first place.

 

What would she know? What would she know about his suffering?! Of the days he had to train, the nights he slept in hotels? How he battled trainer after trainer in order to become stronger? 

 

Gladion grit his teeth, having half a mind to chuck the flowers into the ocean, hoping that they would be the perfect offering to the dead. How could Lillie betray him like that? How could his own sister say such a horrible thing?! She should be grateful! After all, it was thanks to him that Lillie could remember the truth. If not, Lillie would never recover from the trauma caused by Faba.

 

He felt frustrated. His reward for all of this was his sister being ungrateful and slapping him across the face with these lilies. Well fine! If that’s how she wants to play this, then he honestly would like to go on a a never-ending quest and actually be a knight than just “play pretend”.

 

As he mulled on the idea of going on this quest, he noticed a bright light and the whistle of a train pierced the crash of the waves and gentle night breeze.

 

Gladion gasped; trains don’t exist in Alola. And he’s too far away to be at any location where a train would be. So how was he hearing such a thing?

 

He turned and watched as a large black train somehow traveled across the sea in front of him. Green lights flashed from behind its windows, and a door opened with a soft hiss.

 

“Umbreon, return,” said Gladion, returning his loyal Dark-type Pokémon into its Poké ball. This was already suspicious. Why was there a train resting on the sea only for him? Did anyone see this? Were there any Alolan myths about something like this?

 

This felt too good to be true. He had to be dreaming...this couldn’t be happening.

 

Yet the light within the Train beckoned to him, making him feel so calm and light-headed. It was soothing and maybe it’d be okay to see what was inside for five minutes. There was no one here for miles, no one here to spoil his fun.

 

Gripping onto the bouquet of orange lilies in his hand, Gladion approached the train and grabbed the outer rail, still unsure if there was a single soul who didn’t hear the train appearing in the middle of nowhere and were racing out to see what the noise was about. He took a deep breath and smelled the salty air as he peered inside, hoping to get a look at what could be inside this Train. 

 

There was nothing. Perhaps he had to get a little bit closer?

 

Gladion placed his foot on the bottom step. All he saw was light.

 

 

He woke up to a painful white light piercing through his head.

 

Gladion groaned, feeling like had been tackled by Lycanroc. The Rock-type was very affectionate when no one was looking, sometimes tackling Gladion to the ground and wanting to be given scratches and play fetch with a ball. But he recalled that Lycanroc hadn’t been let out of its Poké ball for a while.

 

He slowly sat up and placed a hand on his forehead, trying to recall what happened after that Train appeared. But the light was making his headache worse .Having no choice but to open his eyes, Gladion looked in awe, fear, confusion and shock at what he saw.

 

In front of him was a large gate made of pearls. A heavenly light shone from within, beckoning him to enter. He could hear music, a choir of angels calling out to him and horns blaring out a triumphant ballad. The floor was made of fluffy clouds and he could smell incense smoke off into the distance.

 

Did he...did he just die? Did this train take him to the afterlife?!

 

Just before he could question that he had died via train, of how his last words were how he lashed out at his sister, he was interrupted by a loud and chipper voice.

 

“Welcome aboard, new passenger!”