"Wow! Brayberry!" Ash smiled as he saw a fruit with Pikachu.
"Cool." Emi smiled back.
"Cilan, do you see it yet?" Another dark-haired girl asked a green-haired boy.
"Not yet, Iris, but I think we should see it fairly soon." The boy told her, holding a tracker.
"That's great news." Emi smiled.
Ash soon ran off with Pikachu to take a closer look.
"We found it!" Pikachu beamed.
"That's it!" Iris added.
"It must be." Cilan smiled.
"Wahoo!" Emi cheered.
They soon looked out to see a great sight right before their very eyes. It was the mountain town known as Eindoak Town where the people were preparing for the Harvest Festival. Before they went ahead though, they soon had company in the form of Akito, Estelle, Felicity, and Vincent, along with their new friends.
"Hellooo?" Akito called out. "Is anybody here?"
"Akito!" Emi beamed.
Akito and Emi soon ran up together before sharing a hug with each other.
"So this is your boyfriend." Iris smirked playfully.
Emi smiled bashfully. "Uh, heh... Yeah, Iris, this is Akito."
"So, that's the famous Akito Fudo," Iris said, coming over to the boy. "I've heard quite the stories about you. Name's Iris Dragonlight."
"That's a cool name," Estelle said. "Hi, Iris; I'm Estelle, Akito's twin sister."
"And I'm Vincent, their older brother." Vincent introduced.
"Well, hi, there." Iris gave a small smile.
The Fudo siblings smiled back.
"I am also the favorite cousin, Felicity." Felicity beamed as she came over.
"I'm Seth, and this is my sister, Victoria, and these are our parents: Paul and Susan." Seth introduced.
"New friends?" Ash asked.
"Just met them, actually," Akito replied. "Their parents can stay, right?"
"Well, I suppose that'll be okay," Ash smiled. "Nice to meet you guys. My name's Ash Ketchum, and I'm training to become a Pokemon Master."
"Hi!" Pikachu smiled.
"Oh, and this is Pikachu." Ash then added.
"So cool!" Victoria beamed as she looked at Pikachu.
Pikachu smiled to her. Victoria took out her notebook as she began to take notes.
"Uh, is she okay?" Ash asked.
"She's really eager about studying Pokemon someday." Susan replied.
"We can see that." Iris said as she saw Victoria taking notes about Pikachu.
"So, this is Iris and that's Cilan." Ash then said.
"Ooh!" Iris beamed and came up to Seth. "You're cute~"
"Uh, thanks?" Seth smiled bashfully.
"Looks like we've got yourself a girlfriend." Victoria teased her brother playfully.
"I... What...?" Seth's eyes widened a bit.
"I'm Iris and this is Axew!" Iris beamed, taking out her favorite Pokemon.
"Uh... Hi." Seth said to the Pokemon.
"Kinda cute and creepy at the same time." Estelle said about Axew.
"I always thought so." Emi had to agree.
"Fascinating." Victoria smiled as she started to make notes about Axew.
"It's nice to meet you." Cilan told Victoria, taking the back of her free hand and kissing the back of it.
"Ooh~..." The others oohed to that, making her blush.
"Guys!" Victoria complained.
"What?" Estelle asked innocently.
"Hm..." Victoria pouted.
"Wow... That place looks nice..." Seth said, looking over above the mountains.
"And just in time for the Harvest Festival." Cilan smiled to them.
They then walked along the mountains together.
"Ah, this brings back memories of when I was a small boy." Paul smiled.
"Small?!" Akito asked with a laugh.
"Okay, so when I was a boy." Paul smiled.
"That sounds better." Akito smiled back with a chuckle.
They continued to walk along until they saw a couple of Deerling who seemed to have some sort of trouble.
"Oh! Deerling!" Estelle beamed before taking another look. "But wait, what's going on?"
"They seem be in some sort of trouble." Seth said.
"Oh, my." Victoria frowned for the Pokemon in distress.
"I'm gonna go help them." Ash decided.
"Wait for me." Akito added.
Ash looked to him and soon let him come along.
The Deerling looked quite scared about their situation as Ash and Akito soon came by to help them.
"Careful!" Pikachu reminded them.
"It's okay, Pikachu, we got this." Akito replied.
"Do they always do this?" Susan asked.
"Ah, if someone needs help, I think Ash and Akito are a great help." Estelle smiled.
"Especially that time with a young Professor Oak." Emi whispered.
"Guys, I'm coming too!" Iris said, about to step in.
"I'm not sure if that would be wise." Vincent said.
"She shouldn't," Cilan replied as he held back Iris. "The ground won't hold."
"Okay..." Iris shrugged with Axew on her shoulder.
One Deerling kept trying to hold the other up until the ground underneath them broke, about to make them fall with it until Ash and Akito soon helped them from falling.
"It's okay, it's okay, we got ya." Akito told the Deerling.
"Whew." Victoria smiled.
Ash and Akito tried to keep their balance as it seemed like they were about to fall off the ledge, worrying the others until someone then came out to grab a hold of them. A golden glow shot through the two before they soon fell down the cliff with Pikachu.
"Ash! Akito!" Cilan cried out.
"Oh, my goodness!" Susan panicked.
"I can't watch!" Victoria added as she covered her eyes.
Ash and Akito soon landed on another ledge before they both soon jumped up high. Very high indeed.
"I... I can't believe it... They just sprung!" Felicity gasped.
Ash and Akito soon landed with Pikachu and the Deerling onto another ledge with a cave door.
"Did you see what I say...?" Iris asked in surprise.
"How in the world-?!" Vincent asked out of shock.
Paul and Susan looked to each other, feeling both shocked and overwhelmed that they had witnessed that.
"We're okay, guys!" Akito called out as the Pokemon looked happy. "We're all in one piece!"
"Well, at least Ash and Akito are safe." Emi sighed.
"Fair enough." Estelle agreed.
"Yeah." Victoria added.
"But just one question," Seth said. "How do you guys plan on getting out of there?!"
Ash and Akito then looked at the cave behind them.
"Hey, there's a breeze coming out!" Ash called out. "We'll find a way through!"
"Alright!" Vincent replied.
Pikachu and the two Deerling then began to follow them into the cave.
"Oh, the dears..." Susan frowned out of concern.
"Don't worry, they'll be fine." Emi assured her.
"How does your mother not worry about you all the time?" Susan asked her.
"Lots of practice," Emi replied. "Lots of kids like us travel alone for Pokemon journeys. It's like our rite of passage."
"It's true." Iris said.
Susan still looked unsure, but hopefully after this adventure, she would change her mind.
Ash, Akito, Pikachu, and the Deerling soon walked through the dark cave together.
"Hmm... Which way to go now?" Akito wondered.
"Not sure." Ash said.
A voice squeaked out which seemed to trigger both Ash and Akito.
"Follow me." The boys both said before looking to each other.
They then went through one door as they now knew where to go, not knowing that they were getting some help from a Pokémon. They soon came into one room which seemed a bit crystallized.
"Heeey! Anybody hear me?!" Ash called out.
"Is anyone there?!" Akito added. "Hello?!"
There were suddenly some bright lights which highlighted the cave a bit from their yelling.
"There must be someone around here." Akito said.
"I just wonder what that light was?" Ash replied.
They soon felt triggered again as something suddenly hit them deep inside.
"Ugh... That weird feeling came back again." Akito groaned slightly.
"You too?" Ash asked.
"Yeah... What IS that?" Akito replied.
"I'm not sure... Hopefully we can find out," Ash said. "Almost reminds me of that aura thing from when we met Lucario."
They soon walked along the path with the Pokemon following them, hopefully finding a way out. Eventually, of course, they would soon find their way out. They kept walking for a while in the dark before stopping as they soon spotted what looked like an open door. The boys went up to the door, finding a set of stairs. After going up the steps, they then came through a wall before they then moved it out of the way which took them into a room which was empty except for a few shelves, barrels, some tables, and a bit of chairs.
Meanwhile, Iris, Cilan, and the others began to climb up their own steps until they heard familiar voices calling out in the distance.
"Guys!" Akito's voice called out.
"Akito!" Estelle gasped once she heard his voice.
"Iris! Cilan! Come on, get up here!" Ash called out from up top with Akito as they both waved to signal to the others. "You gotta check out this view!"
"Come on, what're you just standing there for?!" Akito added.
"Come on up!" Pikachu beamed.
"And to think we were worried." Cilan chuckled.
"Whew." Susan sighed.
"What a couple of kids." Iris smiled playfully.
"Yeah!" Axew added in agreement.
"Come on, let's go." Paul told them.
And so, they went to join Ash and Akito.
"Aww, what cute Pokemon." Estelle cooed to the Deerling.
"They sure are." Susan smiled as Victoria took notes on the Deerling.
