Change of Perspective Chapter Ten
So I'm close to 100 reviews... and close to this becoming the highest reviewed fanfiction I've received on this account so yay, thank you very much for that.
Well I ended last chapter on a cliffhanger so I guess I'll get right to it... Happy Phione Fighting 0_o
Day Four Part Three
They'd decided to fight, well no that wasn't right. Two of them had decided to fight and the others realised they had no choice but to go along with it, even if it was against their better judgement. "Mist... are you sure about this, I've read the book and well people die, granted they were bad guys but still..." Brock said in an attempt to dissuade his long time friend.
"Brock where's your fighting spirit?" Solidad asked instantly before Ash responded, making the former breeder sigh, knowing all too well that his manly pride wouldn't let him look like a coward in front of her.
"I'd still rather not die" Misty answered for Brock as she stared down her ex-boyfriend. "Just what is going on in that head of his?" she thought as she observed her former body sitting on a fairly large rock near the entrance.
"Aw we won't die" Ash said as his eyes stayed focused on the entrance, poised to attack when Manaphy appeared. "We just might get a few broken bones" Ash said as he turned to his friends with a serious look on his face. "...What?" Ash asked when he saw Misty and Brock staring at him with slack jaws.
"Aren't you even remotely afraid of this?" Misty asked as she observed her former body, sensing a strange enthusiasm emanating from it. "Of course he isn't its Ash remember, he just loves to battle... but that doesn't seem to be the only thing on his mind" she thought as she turned to Solidad who also seemed to be excited.
"A little... but this is worth the risk" Ash said as he looked at Pikachu, somehow giving him commands with mere contact, their bond was just that strong.
"Ash I think we should just quit and get prepared, it's not like we can just abandon them here and they aren't going to give this one up" Brock said as he looked at Solidad. "Right?" he asked gaining a nod from the pink haired woman.
"Gee we sure can count on you" Misty said sarcastically as she thumbed Gyarados' Pokéball. "Gyarados wouldn't be a smart move in an area where rocks are bound to fall from the ceiling" Misty thought as she turned to the dome shaped building. "Hey Brock you mentioned another exit right?" Misty asked getting a nod from the older male.
"It's behind a waterfall in the sanctuary, apparently it leads right out to sea" Brock said as he stared at the Phione frolicking in the water. "Or so the story says anyway" Brock said awkwardly as he inspected his Pokéballs, thinking of who he should call out when the time came. "I'd say the second the water Pokémon start appearing we should head for the exit and slow down the horde" Brock said logically.
"Where do the Pokémon come from anyway?" Misty asked gaining a shrug from Brock which she assumed meant 'I don't know' however this wasn't the case.
"Everywhere" was all Brock said, after all the story was quite ambiguous, but one thing was certain they appeared everywhere. "Usually I'd suggest we stuck together as a unit but there's a high chance Manaphy will run, it's a legendary Pokémon after all" Brock said as he turned to Ash who was kicking his legs back and forth.
"For that reason we should have one group deal with pursuing Pokémon and one group pushing forward after Manaphy" Brock said, gaining a nod from Misty. "I guess you already know what jobs yours?" Brock said with a smile which made the former woman laugh.
"Make sure Misty doesn't get herself killed?" she asked gaining a nod from Brock. "So I'll be chasing after Manaphy and you guys will..."
"We'll be attacking pursuers, if you do your job and get rid of anything in front of us we can stop anything coming at you from behind" Brock said as Solidad listened in, completely fine with what was happening, after all it'd be some great training for contest battles and well she had something else on her mind which Ash seemed to share.
"The main difficulty though will be..." Misty said as she turned to Ash who still wasn't really listening.
"If Misty ends up doing something stupid" Brock said with a loud sigh because let's be honest, there was a large chance that would happen.
Time passed slowly in the underground cavern, the wait was tense but to some degree the two sensible members of the group were grateful for it. "My team's ready" Brock said as he pulled out three Pokéballs and thumbed a fourth.
"Well I've only got Gyarados... I won't use him unless I need to" Misty said as she looked over to Ash who was now talking with Solidad. "Why do we always get dragged into these crazy things?" Misty had to ask Brock before the mania began.
"Part and parcel of being Ash's friends probably" Brock grinned. "Just remember Ash will most probably succeed with catching Manaphy, if anyone can it'll be him" Brock said confidently "our job is to get us out alive" Brock then told Misty.
"What about Solidad?"
"She'll be fine, in fact she's the one I'm least worried for" Brock said with upmost confidence in the woman's abilities. "She has the strongest overall team with her, though you and Ash have Gyarados and Pikachu respectively" Brock revealed to his long-time friend, knowing that Solidad possessed a full-team of Pokémon on her person.
"Well that's a positive I guess" Misty said as she looked at the stairs leading up to the dome structure. "I'll get in position, Manaphy should be back any minute now" Misty said, earning a nod from her friend.
"Good luck" he said with a smile.
"You too" she echoed his sentiments before walking away, rather uneasily but thanks to Brock she had a little more confidence.
"Ok, Solidad, Misty come over here" Brock called to the two 'crazy' member of their group, both of which walked over instantly.
"It's almost time" Brock said as the two friends turned to each other in confusion.
"How do you know?" Ash asked, making the breeder laugh.
"Can't you hear the water?" Brock asked which just confused them more. "It sounds like high-tide... which means the time is near" Brock sighed.
"Wow that's quite smart" Ash said as he affixed his vision to the entrance again.
"Remember the plan?" Brock asked, gaining a nod from the indigo victor.
"Pretty much" Ash said as he scratched the back of his head.
"Good, then get into position" Brock ordered and with a nod of the head both of them agreed and got ready for the fight of their lives.
"Mana" the prince of the sea cried as it swam into the crevice which led to its home of the last few years. The Pokémon didn't know why it returned back there everyday especially with all the abuse it had to put up with, it just did.
"Mana-Manaphy" it cried once more, thoughts of the previous night where it had been attacked by the very beings it was trying to help and yet, even now it didn't hold any grudge, believing that they were nice people.
Unfortunately this faith was going to be tested once more.
As Manaphy came ashore it walked, or more so slid forward only to see a sight it wasn't expecting, it was them, the people he had tried to help but what were they doing it wondered, especially when he heard the leader of the group cry out to its companions.
"He's here!" was all it heard as a thunderbolt flew towards him.
(Scene Change)
A furious thunderbolt flew towards the prince of the sea, unfortunately for the group even when taken by surprise Manaphy was a swift target, dodging the electric attack by a mere inch.
"Mana Manaphy!" it cried out in fear, aiming to turn tail, fleeing back to where it came but it was too late.
"I'm sorry Manaphy but we need you" Ash said as he pointed towards the entrance. "Pikachu use thunderbolt to seal the exit!" Ash roared as he pointed to the top of the crevice, startling all the Phione in the area in the process.
"PHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!" they all cried in a sharp pitch, making the oldest male grunt loudly, it was coming, the so called wrath of the ocean. Luckily for them one of many exits which could be used as an entrance was sealed, more importantly it was the one Manaphy had tried to escape from.
"Mana-Mana Man" it cried as Ash stared down on it, ignoring the cry of the Phione, the tears which would summon the wrath of the sea.
"Pikachu use Thunderbolt again!" Ash ordered without any hesitance, but this time Manaphy was prepared, diving into the water and swimming up the stream in an instant, disappearing from sight. "Woah that's fast!" Ash remarked as the room started to shake violently, causing him to stumble a little before regaining his balance.
"Call out your Pokémon!" Brock shouted as he pulled his Pokéballs out. "Swampert, Croagunk, Chansey come on out!" Brock shouted as he threw his Pokéballs to the ground. "Misty, Ash both of you head for the temple, we may not be able to see Manaphy but we know where he's heading!" Brock shouted to his long time friends.
"Right!" Ash shouted as he ran to Misty and ascended the stairs with her, turning back at the last second to see water breaking through the rockface, sending large boulders tumbling to the ground, in the water were what could only be described as a 'swarm' of Sharpedo. "Mist should we really leave them?" Ash asked in a moment of doubt as Solidad released her Pokémon.
"Idiot they'll be fine!" Misty told him with as much confidence as she could muster as a blue blur flew past them. "After it!" Misty called out in a tone of determination, she wasn't going to risk her life for nothing, they were going to catch that legendary Pokémon.
"Buizel, Totodile, Oshawott I choose you!" Ash roared, throwing his Pokéballs through the entrance as he sprinted through it himself, leaving behind the breeder and the coordinator who glared down their opponents, ready for the fight of their lives.
The swarm was seemingly endless to the former breeder, well the threat level was. As he looked in front of him he could count at least fifteen Sharpedo, all baring their voracious fangs angrily, poised to attack those who violated the law of the sanctum.
"Chansey use Egg Bomb between the Sharpedo then Swampert you follow up with Muddy Water. Croagunk your job is to guard the front and attack any Sharpedo that break through with Brick Break!" Brock ordered, gaining an instant response from his Pokémon.
First of all Chansey threw her egg between the Sharpedo, scattering them as they were ejected from the water by the powerful blast. This left them stranded as Swampert's torrent of Muddy Water crashed into them, throwing them into the rock walls violently, stunning them in the process.
Meanwhile as this occurred, Solidad ordered her Lapras to use Hydro Pump on the falling rocks that threatened to crush them whilst attempting to redirect them at the enemy. "Keep them at bay, Arcanine I know you don't like water but use roar to cancel out Phione's cries!" Solidad ordered, completely understanding what was summoning the first wave of Pokémon.
"Arcaniiiiine!" the Pokémon howled, frightening a few Phione into flinching which only halved the amount of noise the Phione made.
"Now use flamethrower on them!" Solidad ordered as she turned around witness a small 'explosion' of electricity at the top of the stairs, clearly Ash and Misty were already in combat. "Brock let's fall back a little" Solidad suggested gaining a small grunt of approval from Brock as he concentrated completely on what was in front of him.
"Swampert, Chansey, Croagunk walk backwards but continue with what I've ordered" Brock said as a few Poliwrath climbed out of the stream of water, taking him by surprise. "Use Muddy Water again Swampert!" Brock ordered, summoning another torrent of water, but before it made contact it was blown away by five fists each belonging to an individual Poliwrath.
"Chansey avoid them, Croagunk use Poison Sting to cover Chansey!" Brock ordered as he walked backwards, edging his way closer to the entrance.
"Gardevoir, Slowbro come on out!" Solidad summoned her two psychic types in response to Brock's plan. "Slowbro use Confusion on the Poliwrath and Gardevoir use psychic on the rocks, try flinging them at the enemy if you can!" Solidad ordered almost coldly as the Poliwrath came to a standstill, leaving them vulnerable to the poisonous barbs Croagunk was unleashing on them.
"Good work Solidad!" Brock complimented as a few Poliwrath collapsed however they weren't out of the woods yet. This was made all too clear as Mantine flew through one of the openings and dive bombed towards Solidad. Brock seeing this knew that Solidad was in some real danger since she was preoccupied with her own Pokémon so he decided to play the role of hero for once. "Watch out!" Brock shouted as he dived at Solidad, dragging her to the floor, making her narrowly avoid a potentially hazardous wound from the Mantine.
"Ouch" Solidad winced, looking up to see Brock staring down the flying Mantine angrily, as if he really wanted to hurt something, it wasn't an expression she'd ever seen on his face and she'd known him for a long time. "Thanks" she said gratefully as she got to her feet and looked around to see that they were pretty much surrounded.
"Don't worry about it" Brock said quickly too busy tracking the Mantine with his eyes whilst mentally keeping check on his Pokémon. "We have to get inside, this place is going to be impossible to guard for much longer" Brock said gaining a nod of recognition from Solidad.
"Right" Solidad agreed without saying any needless words. "Everyone fall back" she commanded her Pokémon all of which obeyed dutifully, shifting back warily as they stared down their opponents. "Lapras use Sheer Cold!" she then ordered.
"Laaaaaaaaa" the transport Pokémon cried as it's body glowed a bright, white blinding light.
"Everyone return!" Brock cried abruptly as did Solidad before turning tail and running towards the steps as the ground around them began to freeze, which spread out continuously without end, turning everything it touched into freezing cold ice just as they planned during their long wait.
"Praaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaass!" it continued to roar as the Pokémon around her dived inwards, becoming rooted to the spot instantly by the powerful Ice-Type move.
"Great idea freezing the water that clung on their bodies Solidad" Brock complimented as he sighed with relief before sprinting up the stairs, turning around to see the water had been completely frozen over from Laparas' assult. "Nothing is getting out of there any time soon" Brock said as Solidad held her Pokéball up.
"Great work Lapras, return" she said softly, returning Lapras to its Pokéball from a distance. "It's not over yet though..." Solidad sighed tiredly as she stared at the Pokémon swarm which seemed to be attempting to break free from their ice prison. "That won't hold them for too long I'm afraid" Solidad said disappointedly, wondering what move she should take when they did break out.
"Get inside I have a plan" Brock said with a no-nonsense tone as he ushered the woman inside with his arm where he witnessed a quite shocking sight. "Woah" was all the former breeder could say as he spied the floating burnt bodies of at least twenty Tentacool and Tentacruel.
"They sure don't waste time do they" Solidad whistled, clearly impressed as she took sight of Ash and Misty's 'wreckage'.
"Nor do we" Brock replied, grinning as he pulled out his fourth Pokéball. "Go Forretress!" Brock called out as the first Pokémon in the swarm broke free and attempted to make its way over to them, only to slip on the frozen ground.
"Fooorrretress" the steel/bug type Pokémon roared as Brock grinned almost maniacally.
"Solidad I recommend getting back" Brock shouted as he too fled backwards. "Use explosion!" he then shouted to his Pokémon which began to glow in an instant. "We're going to blow this joint" Brock said in an attempt to be cool as rays of light burst off the Pokémon.
"This isn't time for bad puns Brock" Solidad giggled as she covered her ears, shielding them for what was bound to come.
*BOOOOM* an explosion engulfed the entrance, completely obliterating a few statues which stood dutifully by its side, causing them to tumble to the floor, breaking into multiple pieces as they sealed off the doorway.
"Forretress return" Brock commanded, returning the 'sacrificial' Pokémon to its Pokéball as he guarded his eyes from a small dust cloud. "Good work pal" he said as he put the Pokéball inside his pocket.
"Where now?" Solidad asked as she looked side to side.
"Follow the path of destruction" Brock said as he pointed Croagunk's Pokéball to the left side of the gangway. "That way" he deduced, throwing his Pokéball towards it before following with Solidad in quick pursuit.
"Pikachuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!" the electric type roared as it swatted down yet another Phione, which was all they were encountering now.
"Ash calm down you'll need Pikachu for Manaphy!" Misty scolded him as she ran by his side, looking down at some of the fallen Pokémon with regret in her brown eyes.
"Oh yeah" Ash said dopily. "Pikachu rest on my shoulder buddy, Buizel, Oshawott, Totodile continue as you have been" he told his loyal Pokémon, all of which roared in agreement to their master's wishes.
As the duo ran through the halls they looked side to side as if to guess where to go next. "Left" Misty said instantly and since she'd been right so far Ash decided to go with his ex's instincts.
"Manaaa!" the Pokémon they were pursuing cried from the end of the hall before going right into another room.
"How fast is that Pokémon?"Ash said in exhaustion as he tried to keep up with his former body which was several paces fast than his current one.
"It's slowing down at least" Misty said before grinding to a halt. "Woah stop Ash!" Misty cried, holding her arm out which Ash grabbed hold of instantly when he saw what was in front.
"Omanyte... Omastar... aren't those extinct?" Ash asked as he stared at around four Omanyte and a larger than the norm Omastar.
"Well it's in front of us now so I don't think we should really rely on that logic" Misty sarcastically remarked as she stepped back a bit, it wasn't that she was afraid it was just that she didn't want to use her Gyarados yet.
"I've got this" Ash said as he stepped forward confidently. "Totodile, Oshawott use Hydro Pump on the Omanyte and Buizel use Aqua Jet on Omastar!" he ordered his Pokémon as high pressure streams of water ploughed into the ancient Pokémon which were part rock.
"Omaaa!" the Omanyte cried, a few of their shells cracking from the force of the blow, as this happened Buizel crashed right into Omastar before screaming out in pain.
"W-what happened?" Ash stuttered as Buizel reeled backwards and crashed to the floor, blood gushing out of its arms.
"Ash recall it quickly" Misty cried as Buizel struggled to get to its feet, shaking from shock.
"But..."
"Buizel was stabbed by the spikes on Omastar's shell, only use range attacks" Misty said, making the Indigo league victor nod as he returned his Pokémon.
"Sorry I let you down buddy" Ash apologised as he stared down the only remaining Pokémon. "Oshawott, Totodile you aren't going to let your friend's effort go to waste are you?" Ash asked in an attempt to rally their spirits.
"Osshhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" Oshawott roared, body glowing bright white.
"Totoooooooooo" the crocodile like Pokémon roared in a similar manner, also glowing bright white.
"What the?" Ash said in disbelief as the two Pokémon in front of him began to morph.
"Double evolution?" Misty queried dubiously, such an occurrence was rare but not unheard of. "It must of been from all the battling" Misty thought, because whilst it was true that Pikachu had done a lot of work, so had Oshawott and Totodile.
"Well at least something's going our way" Ash remarked as he slid Buizel's Pokéball into the holster on his hip and watched as his Pokémon finished transforming.
"Croconaw!" the newly evolved Totodile roared, now standing at a much more impressive height, baring razor like fangs and a spiky red main.
"Dew-ott!" the newly evolved Oshawott cried, a sharp look in its eyes as it stared down Omastar.
"Double Hydro Pump!" Ash ordered instantly as he pointed at the Omastar, something which the twin water-Pokémon obeyed, sending an even more powerful jet of water Omastar's way, allowing it to meet a similar fate as its pre-evolved form.
"Woah that's amazing" Misty awed at the strength the two Pokémon displayed.
"You're telling me" Ash said in similar disbelief as the two Pokémon turned to him. "Good work you two now let's get going!" Ash said gaining a nod from his new Pokémon before running where Manaphy had fled too.
"Hey Ash doesn't it feel like Manaphy is baiting us?" Misty asked as they broke out into another sprint only to receive a shrug.
"Either way we'll catch it, that's all that matter right now" Ash said confidently as they entered a room which took his breath away.
"That's so beautiful" Misty sighed as she looked up to see a massive waterfall which feel from the ceiling, in front of that was a pool of cerulean blue water which was as large as the swimming pool back at her gym, however unlike her pool this one had a giant statue of a Manaphy in its centre.
"Hey Mist... you said that it was luring us... I think you were right" Ash said as he directed his vision to the water to see the shadow of an extremely large creature.
"Hm?" Misty mumbled as she looked down, but unlike Ash she smiled, this was a great opportunity for her. "Go behind the waterfall... I'm guessing Manaphy is there" Misty said as the creature from the water burst out, revealing its beautiful form.
Multicoloured fins, glistening from the sheen of both the water and its natural coat, Milotic stood in all its glory before them, not impressed that they'd violated the sanctum.
"Milooooooooo!" it cried, though it sounded more like a heavenly song to Misty's ears.
"I'll use Gyarados to distract it, I'm going to capture that Milotic, you go on and get Manaphy" Misty commanded with a strong deep tone, one which Ash couldn't say no to.
"Ok, be safe" Ash agreed as he ran down the side of the pool in an instant, only for the giant serpent to rear its head his way. "Oh crap" Ash practically screamed as Pikachu's cheeks crackled, ready to attack on command but it was needless.
"Go Gyarados!" Misty summoned her most powerful creature into the water. "Use crunch on Milotic!" she then ordered without wasting any time at all, she needed to get Milotic away from Ash.
"GYAAARRRRAAA!" the Pokémon roared seizing Milotic's attention as it flew forward savagely, crunching down on the Pokémon dubbed the most beautiful in existence, drawing blood from it as it used its humongous strength to drag Milotic under the water.
"Now's your chance Ash" Misty said, eyes focused on the water which showed the image of the two serpents practically dancing, when in reality one of them was fighting for its life whilst the other was mercilessly trying to kill it, Gyarados was quite temperamental like that.
"Thanks" was Ash's only reply as he sprinted up the poolside and dived into the water, ignoring the flailing tails the best he could as he swam through the waterfall which wasn't as powerful as he'd imagined.
"Mana" a weak cry reached Ash's ears.
"Found you" Ash said as he looked up to spot the legendary prince of the sea, cowering at the back of the room as roars of Milotic and Gyarados reverberated through the small hidden chamber. "Manaphy..." Ash said as he walked forward a few paces, wondering why Manaphy wasn't trying to escape through the 'secret exit' Brock mentioned.
"Mana Mana Mana" it begged, as if it was asking for him not to attack.
"... Hey... Manaphy" Ash said with a sympathetic tone. "If you had just returned us back to our bodies I wouldn't have had to go through all this" Ash said as he stopped and sat down in front of the Pokémon to show he meant it no genuine harm.
"Mana?" Manaphy questioned as it used its unrivalled sensitivity to read his heart, discovering that Ash was telling no lies.
"I saw those Phione, they really don't like you do they?" Ash asked as the chamber shook a little, probably from the battle going on outside.
"Mana" Manaphy whimpered, shaking his head side to side, clearly upset by it.
"After seeing that I decided" Ash said as he got to his feet and looked down on Manaphy. "I was going to take you away from them, I had a feeling they've been doing bad things to you... am I right?" Ash asked as Manaphy looked up and read his heart once more, almost busting into tears when it realised Ash was telling the truth.
"So Manaphy... I know this is a little much to ask but... can we battle?" Ash asked the Pokémon as Pikachu hopped off his shoulder. "If I win I'll take you away from this life" Ash said confidently "what do you say?" Ash asked the Manaphy which began to shake as it got to its feet, wiping away its tears as it did so.
"Mana!" it cried with determination, accepting his challenge.
"Great, here I come"
His motives revealed, he wishes to save Manaphy too but what will happen?... Less than four days remain.
(End Chapter)
Holy crap I wasn't expecting to update today. I am afraid this is a rather poor chapter by my standards, but hey maybe you might think differently. We see that Ash's anger and enthusiasm wasn't just because he wanted his body back, but because he too is quite perceptive, or perhaps it was woman's intuition, Solidad came to the same conclusion after all.
Will he catch Manaphy, will he return to his body and what of Hunter J's presence which has yet to be made completely relevant?
Well you'll have to keep reading for that, all I can say is the battles later on in the fiction will be much more intense... this one is rather lacklustre in comparison to the one that I have planned later on... so yeah there will be another battle.
Oh just to let you guys know I ordered Platinum finally, it should be here tomorrow and thus I probably won't update tomorrow but hey you can always hope I guess.
As usual I hope you enjoyed and that you can LEAVE A REVIEW to assist me in getting 150+ reviews, oh and I'd absolutely love if you can get me to 100 reviews with this chapter, only 10 to go, but hey I'd appreciate getting me to 103 so it's the highest fiction I have on this account.
Happy Manaphy Hunting and Phione Fighting!
-Aquilon