[attr="class","aurelie"]

[attr="class","aurelie_body"]Aurelie flushed in embarrassment when she saw the blond man she'd called out to was preoccupied with his own decoration-detangling duties. But his prompt and cheerful response assuaged her worries, and her face brightened when he hurried helpfully toward her.

"Oh! Hello!" she exclaimed, her single uncovered eye widening with recognition as he approached. "You're the Lilycove gym leader, aren't you? I, um, I hope I didn't pull you away from anything urgent. I was just looking for a way to hang these lights up over there..."

Flashing him a grateful smile, she pointed with her chin toward the top of the columns where the lights should be hung. Then the redhead's brows knit quizzically as she looked back at the blond man and studied him more fully. She'd recognized him from a few news articles about the city gym, but...

There was something else about him, something vaguely—yet hauntingly—familiar. She couldn't quite place it, but there was something about the shape of his face, or the outline of his jaw. Yet, Aurelie had never been to Lilycove's gym and barely followed the gym scene at all. Where would she know him?

Something about a windy day? she thought confusedly. Or a storm? In a way, a storm would make sense, because the elusive memory associated with him made Aurelie feel anxious and scared.

As if summoned by her thoughts of a storm, the sound of the wind outside suddenly rose to a howling shriek. All the lights inside the huge department store abruptly flickered and then went dark. Over a hundred volunteers and shoppers held their breaths, waiting for the electricity to come back on.

Thankfully, after a few suspenseful minutes, the lights started shining, the heat resumed, power was restored, and people started breathing normally again. Aurelie let out a relieved sigh, her momentary puzzlement forgotten.

"Phew! Thank Arceus that didn't last very long," she chuckled, shaking her head. "Can you imagine how chaotic it would be in here with an actual power outage? I bet everyone would lose their minds!"

[attr="class","cred"]VEL OF PIXEL PERFECT

[attr="class","aurelie"]

[attr="class","aurelie_body"]Aurelie's face lit up with a look of even further recognition when the gym leader introduced himself and then remembered her from the boba tea contest she'd hosted in the fall. "Yes, that was me! So, you were one of the competitors? No wonder you looked so familiar!"

Surely, that explained the subtle, niggling feeling in the back of her mind that the friendly gym leader, Lam, felt like someone she'd met before. Surely, that must be where she knew him from. She relaxed, breaking into a smile. It hadn't been from anything stressful or storm-related at all, just a lighthearted, low-key contest where he'd been one face among twenty or so others.

Surely, that was the only reason.

Her train of thought was sharply derailed, though, when the lights flickered, went out, turned back on, and then went dark again. A hundred people in the mall held their breaths, waiting for power to come back. In the darkness and silence, Aurelie's mutter emerged clearly. "Arceus, you have got to be kidding me."

The minutes stretched on, and widespread panic mounted as nothing happened. She snorted at Lam's wry comment. "A headache's one way to put it..." she started to say, but her words were half-drowned out by the rising hubbub of dozens of people all expressing even more confused or frustrated sentiments.

"Is the power going to come back?" "What do we do now?" "Are we going to be ready for the event?" "Should we just go home?" "Is the power out all over the city? Is my family okay?" "What do we do? What are we supposed to do now?"

"I can't stand this," Aurelie whispered. She was finding it harder to stay calm or patient, hearing the growing fear and uncertainty of the other holiday helpers. Biting her lip, she found herself turning back to the gym leader.

"Uh...Lam, right?" she said aloud. "Is there maybe someone you can call to ask for help? Or at least updates? The event organizers? The Rangers' office? Or even the mayor's office?" She figured he must know someone with some news to give to all these people, not least of all herself.

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[attr="class","aurelie"]

[attr="class","aurelie_body"]Aurelie caught her breath in wonder when the gym leader released an adorable little Shinx that glowed in the dark with a gentle luminosity. Not only did its soft, almost fairylike glow drive away the shadows, it somehow managed to bring a little calm and peace to her anxious mind. Judging from the appreciative murmurs echoing around her from the crowd, she wasn't the only one.

"That's such a clever idea! I'm glad you thought of it," she exclaimed cheerfully to Lam, before catching herself and clapping a hand over her mouth when she noticed him dialing. "Oh, sorry, you're on the phone."

Taking a deep breath, she looked back toward Lam's shining Shinx. Again, the sight of it sent a renewed sense of hope and patience flowing through her. As the frightened conversations quieted around it, she had an idea.

Speaking in a low voice, to not interfere with Lam's call, Aurelie turned toward the people around her. "Maybe more of us should release Pokemon that let off light. Or even use your cell phones, if you're not worried about the battery! The more light we have, the less likely it'll be for people to run around blindly and hurt themselves or cause a panic."

Suiting actions to words, the redhead took out a Pokeball to summon forth her Delphox, who held aloft her fiery wand like a torch. She heard thoughtful murmurs spreading further, and one person released a Lanturn. Taking heart from others following the example, Aurelie headed to another group of people and repeated her suggestion.

Slowly, little lights began springing up through the crowd, brightening the cavernous space. It seemed to help a little, even though the suspense of the defunct electricity and the howl of the storm outside were still very much present. Fewer people were hyperventilating or struggling toward the exits, at least.

Aurelie smiled, feeling at least a little less in the dark. As someone who feared being blinded, she had to admit she'd been on the verge of panic as the blackout continued. But light helped. Vision helped. And knowing help was on the way...definitely helped.

She pressed her lips together and glanced at Lam. "Any progress? Or at least any word on what's happening outside?" she asked quietly, trying to be discreet.

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[attr="class","aurelie"]

[attr="class","aurelie_body"]As she listened intently to Lam's account of his call with the Rangers, Aurelie felt increasingly sure that she had met him before. Or at least heard his voice. And she was growing equally certain that it had been in a situation at least as stressful as this one, though likely very different from this power outage.

Now, when, where, or how she would've managed to find herself in a stressful situation involving a gym leader, when she didn't even care about the gym challenge, was a mystery. Perhaps she had met him at some point on a battlefield...except that Aurelie rarely fought in battles.

Could it have been in that strange memory of Galar? she wondered, as Lam's explanation wound down. Or maybe in the resurfaced island that later disappeared? I did meet some League people there and it was very stressful, but...him?

Stranger things had happened, she supposed. Like a blind child being appointed gym leader. But maybe he hadn't been there. She found herself hoping he hadn't, because he was being so kind and laidback.

Just as she was about to open her mouth to respond, suddenly the fluorescent lights overhead blazed back to sharp white light. It was almost blinding after the semi-darkness they'd been squinting through a moment ago. Gasps and cheers rang out from the crowd.

"Wait, is the power restored? Or did your Rangers really work that fast?" Aurelie exclaimed, looking both startled and delighted. Similar questions rippled through the crowd.

The loudspeaker above their heads crackled to life. "Okay, people, we got the backup generators for the mall working again! But power hasn't been restored to the city yet. The utility company said they're working on that as fast as they can, but their estimated ETA is in three hours.

"And snow's piling up really heavily in the parking lot outside, so I don't recommend that anyone go rushing out right now." At this, Aurelie winced and nodded at Lam, acknowledging the truth of what he'd told her about his phone call.

The voice on the loudspeaker paused for a moment as they heard hurried whispers in the background. "Okay, I've just received word that the charity auction scheduled for tonight was canceled by the organizers due to the weather! So, please stop any work you've been doing.

"But...they also say you can feel free to eat whatever food's been laid out or take some home with you, because they're not sure when they'll be able to reschedule it until the storm has passed. So, until we get the all-clear from the utility company, you might as well enjoy the fancy party food!"

At this, different people in the crowd groaned and cheered, with several whipping out their phones and others rushing off immediately toward the banquet tables laden with party platters. Aurelie shot Lam an amused glance and flung up her hands in a cheerfully helpless gesture.

"Well, it sounds like exactly what you were saying! And like they said, we might as well eat, drink, and be merry while we're stuck in here for...Arceus knows how long."

A whiff of buttered salmon reached her nose, and the redhead took a deep, appreciative sniff. "So, want to join me for the feast?" she asked, playfully offering her arm to him.

Whatever her suspicions...well, Lam had just been so friendly and patient throughout this long, arduous process. Acting on any suspicions she had could absolutely wait until after eating her fill. Or maybe even never. Certainly not until she was absolutely, unquestionably sure how they'd met, anyway.

[attr="class","cred"]VEL OF PIXEL PERFECT