Chapter 10: Duel in the Desert

Well, the good news is that I'm not dead. You're welcome, by the way, for not dying. :). My surgery actually went very well, as I did not need the bone grafts after all, plus I had a really quick recovery time, but I had to live off of soup, cheese sticks and yogurt for two weeks. Great weight loss program, BTW lol

The oasis Cora had directed her tribe to was not a very large oasis, with only a few trees and a medium-sized pond of water, but to Team Rocket, it was the most beautiful sight they had seen in a long time. Jessie, James and Meowth sprinted to the water and buried their canteens into the clear water, hoping to guzzle down as much water as they could before Giovanni's battle.

Jessie sloshed some of the water on her face. "This has to be the most wonderful thing ever!" she praised. The water was mildly cool and clear, reflecting the afternoon sky that was beginning to meld into violet and deep blue.

Meowth guzzled the water with his paws. "No kidding!"

"Ahem," an older man, with a neatly trimmed salt-and-pepper beard and carrying a shard of translucent blue crystal, coughed. "I must purify the water in the name of Sucun, The Cleanser."

"'Sucun'?" James whispered to Jessie.

"Sounds sort of like Suicune," she guessed, but scrambled out of the way as the man reached for a dagger. He knelt and placed one end of the pale blue shard into the water. It glowed for a moment, then faded.

"I bless this water in the name of The Rain Dancer and The Healer. May the Child of Ho-Oh bless and keep this water clean." He got up, brushing the sand off his white robes. He walked away, leaving the three feeling very out of place.

"And here I thought I couldn't feel more awkward," Jessie muttered.

Meanwhile, the rest of the sect hovered around a flat, sandy clearing, littered with small boulders. Cora stood at one edge of the clearing, while Giovanni stood at the other. The former Rocket leader had since shed his pack, taking only a small drink of water before gathering his composure. Cora's salamence lounged lazily to one side, eyes half lidded, yet glittering with awareness. Cora shed her golden cloak, revealing her clothing, a white tunic with a leather breastplate and a skirt with two slits that went to her knees. She wore sandals bound with leather thongs, decorated with beads. A broad necklace of turquoise and bone rested on her collarbone.

"Are you ready, Giovanni of Viridian?" She taunted.

Giovanni growled deep in his throat, pokeball in hand. "I don't have time for this," he snarled quietly to himself. "Go, Kangaskan!" He flung the ball high in the air and in a flash of white, a kangaroo-like pokemon appeared, an infant pokemon nestled in her pouch. She let out a battle cry and stomped her foot, sending dust flying in the air.

Cora smiled, reminding Giovanni of his Persian when the pokemon had caught a pidgey. She motioned to Salamence. "Salamence, join the battle." The dragon pokemon rolled off its side with a snort and walked onto the field. The harness, though not the headdress, was not him. Beating its bright red wings, the dragon took to the air, sending sand everywhere.

Cora pointed to James. "You, officiate the battle." James scrambled upright at the calling of his name and scurried to the field, recalling Cora's blade. Jessie and Meowth followed behind him.

James straightened his clothing and coughed. "The battle between Cora and Giovanni shall begin. No substitution and the winner will be determined by winning two out of three matches."

"Well, since you chose first, it would seem fitting that I went first, just to be fair," Cora said. "Salamence, start things off with a steel wing!" The dragon's wings seemed to luminesce and turn a silvery color as he plunged out of the sky, dive-bombing towards Kangaskan.

"Kangaskan, use dizzy punch!" Giovanni commanded. Kangaskan used her thick legs to propel herself in the air, just as Salamence started to pull out of his dive. Kangaskan brought up her fist, punching Salamence in the lower jaw. The dragon was flung upwards and was forced to pull out of his attack; it shook its head, as a boxer would do when struck in the head..

"Now Kangaskan, hit again with dizzy punch!" The kangaroo pokemon leapt up in the air once more, determined to slug the dragon back down to earth.

"Salamence, dodge the punch using spiral maneuver!" Cora shouted over the din. Salamence leaned backwards in midflight and veered away, gaining momentum as he spiraled downwards. "Now, spin out and use flamethrower as you pull out!" Salamence cork screwed out of the dive and shot up, blasting a gout of flame at Kangaskan. She was caught unaware and bellowed in pain as she took the full fury of the flames. She fell out of her attack and crashed to the ground, soot and smoke liberally covering her body. She pulled herself upright, ready to fight.

"Salamence, finish her off with a dragon claw attack!" Salamence seemed to leer in delight and dive bombed Kangaskan again. His claws glowed with a supernatural light and extended.

This time it was Giovanni's turn to smirk. "Kangaskan, use outrage." Her eyes glowed red and she roared, swinging with her fists, roaring and screaming.

Cora cursed out loud. "Salamence, back pedal now!" The dragon snorted in surprise and started to back wing away from the rampaging pokemon, but was struck with some of the onslaught. Salamence crashed and tumbled across the clearing. The small boulders had cut into the beast's skin and rivulets of hot blood dripped onto the desert floor.

"Kangaskan, finish Salamence off! Giovanni cried, the lust of battle upon him.

"Salamence, use protect now!" Salamence curled his wings around his head and a glowing green barrier surrounded his bulky frame. Kangaskan screamed in fury and frustration as it pounded at the barrier but the wounded dragon held fast. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Kangaskan staggered back, spent. A confused look was in her eyes and Cora seized the opportunity. "Salamence, use dragon claw once again!"

"Kangaskan, repel him with dizzy punch!" Giovanni demanded; however, the pokemon was too exhausted and confused to fully listen to her trainer and Salamence swung his claws, once, twice, across the pokemon's face. She staggered back and letting out a wounded cry, collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

"Kangaskan is unable to battle, Salamence has won this round," James said, in awe of the furious battle. He nearly shrunk behind Jessie when the man shot James a dirty, furious look.

"Very well then. I still have two fresh pokemon, while your Salamence is panting over there with exhaustion," Giovanni said scornfully, eying the blue and red beast. "Cloyster, enter the field." He flicked the pokeball, summoning a bivalve pokemon, with a deep violet shell, with spikes jutting from it. "Cloyster, use withdraw." Cloyster slowly sealed his shell, the spiked pointing upwards.

Cora snarled. It was a delay tactic, designed to keep Salamence at bay while it struck at her pokemon with water and ice based moves, until it wore him completely down. "We'll see about that. I'll just take the fight to it," Cora thought. "Salamence charge Cloyster and use dragon claw to pry the shell open!" Salamence roared and swooped over the sand. He then used his enhanced claws to latch the edges of the shell and pry them open as a person would shuck a shell. Salamence grunted with the effort, for it was proving much more difficult than first realized, but soon, the dragon had managed to pry a half-a-foot wide fissure in the otherwise impenetrable living fortress. Giovanni meanwhile, was just standing there, watching the battle unfold and Cora wondered if the man was simply shell shocked by the fact that he was going to lose and eventually, die out in the desert. But as she watched him, she realized that he had a ghost of a smile on his face.

"He's planning something," she gasped. "But he won't be able to go through with it," she added. "Salamence, once you open the shell, use flamethrower again!" Just as she said that, flames began to lick the dragon's maw as he started to prep for the attack.

"Cloyster, use ice beam." Giovanni said calmly. Slowly, Cloyster creaked his shell open and on the tip of his innermost spike, formed a crackling bolt of icy energy, the air dropping, the cold sapping the heat from the outside. The bivalve pokemon launched the ice beam, catching the dragon full in the chest and face. Salamence was catapulted into the air, limp in his motions, ice crystals forming on the dragon's chest and face, despite the temperatures. Salamence plunged into the shallow end of the oasis, eyes closed, unconscious. The ice crystals seemed to form a cruel parody of a coffin, encasing the upper torso.

"Salamence!" Cora screamed, running through the crowd of her fellow tribesmen. The adrenaline pumping through her veins, she grabbed one of Salamence's claws and with an effort, heaved the dragon out of the water. Using her machete sword, she swung it in a downward arc, shattering the crystals, taking care to not hit the dragon directly. She managed to get a large portion of the ice in one motion and the dragon's eyes flashed open as he took in a huge gulp of air. "Thank the Rainbow God," she muttered, cradling the beast's head. "You did a good job," she cooed. "Now get some rest." Salamence closed his eyes and rested his head back on the warm sand, eager to get some well deserved rest.

"Salamence is unable to battle," James said dutifully. "Cora and Giovanni are now tied. The winner of the next battle is the winner of the match."

Cora walked back to the field, plucking off a pokeball as she did so.

"Ready to surrender?" Giovanni asked.

"Never," Cora replied venomously. "I still have one more left. Go! Alakazam!" A bipedal creature with golden skin and brown armor like protrusions protecting its torso, forearms and knees. A spoon appeared in each hand.

"Alakazam, let's start things off by using Thunderpunch!" Alakazam ran towards the Cloyster, right fist raised, sparks sizzling off his hand.

"Cloyster, use withdraw!" Cloyster sealed his shell shut once again and Alakazam's fist bounced harmlessly off of it, the lightning fizzling to mere sparks that danced across the sand. Alakazam nimbly bounced back away on his toes, scowling, an ironic reflection of Cora.

Cora watched the scene closely; Giovanni seemed to be repeating his earlier tactic of having Cloyster withdraw into its shell, then unleash its attack when his enemies were close. What Giovanni didn't realize though, was that Cora had a much simpler way of cracking Cloyster's shell, so to speak. "Alakazam, use psychic to open Cloyster up!" Alakazam nodded and raised one hand up. The pokemon's eyes flared blue as did the spoon in his hand, which was held sideways in his grip. At first, nothing seemed to happen and the crowd had fallen into a deathly silence, then Cloyster's shell was cloaked with a pale blue aura. Slowly, but surely, cloyster's shell was cracking open under the force of Alakazam's psychic abilities. Cloyster's face was alight with fear, for it was losing control of its own bodily functions. Giovanni though, did not looked disconcerted by the turn of events. He was standing there, arms crossed, watching with a blank expression.

"Now Alakazam, use thunderpunch once more!" Cora bellowed, pointing. Alakazam growled and charged, one hand controlling psychic while the other hand crackled with energy. Ozone filled the air and the simplest touch created static, Alakazam's attack was so fierce.

Giovanni smiled slightly, expecting the move. Just as Alakazam was about fifteen feet from Cloyster's vulnerable insides, Giovanni stated, "Cloyster, use explosion." Cloyster leered maliciously and glowed with a bright white light, then seemed to explode, sending shock waves and sand flying everywhere, obscuring everybody's view. Cora held the hem of her tunic over her mouth and nose to keep sand from getting in her lungs. When the air cleared, smoke steamed off of the shell of the bivalve pokemon as it rested deep in the sand, on its side. Alakazam was laying about thirty feet away, flat on his back, also unconscious. James nervously spoke.

"Both Cloyster and Alakazam are unable to battle. The match is a draw." The crowd gasped audibly, Jessie and Meowth the loudest among the shell shocked Holohians.

"Now what?" Jessie whispered anxiously. Cora and Giovanni did not dictate what would happen if the match became a draw.

"I don't know," Meowth breathed.

The field was shushed as both trainers withdrew their pokemon back into their respective balls. Cora eyed the Viridian Gym leader for a moment, then burst out in laughter, tossing her head back to the sky.

"You're bold, Giovanni of Viridian! I like that!" she laughed. "I would have never expected the explosion!" She turned back to him. "I shall grant you permission to stay with the tribe until you meet with this supposed "friend" of yours, Giovanni of Viridian." The Holohians broke out in protests.

"But, Chief-"

They are mukaatu-"

"No mukaatu-"

"Silence!" Cora screeched. "Now Giovanni of Viridian, as I was saying, I will allow you to stay with our tribe; however, you must honor the traditions and customs of our people. In other words, you must become one of us. If you disrespect us, I will banish you and you and your companions will die as the mukaatui as you. Truly. Are." she hissed. "Do we have a deal, Giovanni of Viridian?"

Giovanni scowled; while he was grateful for the offer of shelter, food and water, he was not expecting to "becoming" one of the barbaric Holohians or whatever they called themselves. Unfortunately, it was the only way, the first true step towards vengeance against the man who destroyed his empire.

"Deal."

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Nighttime fell over Agate Village like a heavy but comfortable blanket. Blaidd tossed and turned in the stuffy old chair he was resting in. His eyes flickered to one of the windows and to the dark shadows outside, the contours of the ancient trees, with only the occasional lantern light to banish the darkness. He frowned. He had been very restless recently. His eyes went to his compatriots, who were sprawled across the floor of the bed and breakfast, like it was one giant slumber party and he was the chaperone. Despite what the owner had said, there wasn't nearly enough room for all of them and they had reached the general consensus that it would be safer to stay as a group, even if it meant they had to sleep on the floor.

The recent conflicts had changed them more than they knew, Blaidd recognized. He fiddled with one of the threadbare tassels on the chair with one paw, thinking. He decided that tonight would be his chance to convince her that she too, had Aura. At the very least, he could at least teach her to shield it, if she didn't wish to learn its way. He slowly got up, wincing as the chair groaned with the shifting of his weight. He froze, wondering if anybody heard, however; with Max's snoring, he doubted that they could have heard a cannon go off outside the bed and breakfast.

"How ironic" Blaidd whispered to no one. "How the youngest can be the loudest." He padded carefully and cautiously around the conglomeration of limbs, sleeping bags and dozing pokemon. He finally reached her sleeping bag. He knelt down next to her, resting on the balls of his feet, and nudged her shoulder. "Misty."

She groaned quietly and stirred onto her back. Her eyes flickered open, still heavy with sleep. "Ash?" she said.

"Blaidd. I need to talk to you. I'm sorry for bothering you this late, but it's urgent, well, I think it's urgent," he admitted.

She sat upright, wiping the sleep from her eyes. Azurill chirped sleepily and she shushed him back to sleep. "What is it?" she whispered. "Is something bad happening?"

Blaidd shook his head. "No nothing bad is happening."

"Then why are you bugging me?"

"I've come to a revelation of sorts. And it concerns you." Blaidd rocked back and forth imperceptibly. "Can we talk?"

It was then that Misty remembered how socially awkward Blaidd could be; he had, after all, spent many years imprisoned in a crystal orb, then spent two years as a human. He probably didn't realize, for all his wisdom, that this seemed rude. So, she decided to humor the lupine pokemon. "Alright, what do you want to talk about?" she asked, hugging her knees.

"Well," Blaidd looked about. "Maybe not here."

"Outside then?"

"Much better." Blaidd helped her up and led her outside, nudging a wood stop in the threshold in case the door shut behind them. The night sky seemed limitless above them, the Milky Way weaving its way from north to south. "It's about your Aura signature."

"We already talked about this," Misty practically growled. "I don't, I don't show any interest in it."

"And why not?" Blaidd questioned.

"Because, it's not my place." She muttered.

"I don't understand."

She sighed. "Ash is supposed the hero, not me. He's supposed to do these things while I play back up, just in case," she chewed on her lip, eyes downcast, as if recalling a memory from long ago. "I'm not the heroic type, I'm the clean-up batter."

"That's an ...interesting way to put it," Blaidd remarked. "But you won't be taking his place. The prophecy is meant for him."

Misty let out a bitter and acerbic laugh. "That makes me feel better. But, I have to ask, why me?"

"I don't know," Blaidd admitted. "It would seem that Arceus is playing a cruel trick on both of us. It doesn't mean though, that you should see it as something bad. Aura works in its own ways, ways that we cannot begin to fathom. You were chosen to be able to use Aura as well. You are not, as you say, "A clean-up batter", although I must admit, I'm not sure what that phrase means."

"It's a baseball term."

"Oh. My point is that you need to learn how to use Aura as well."

"I do?"

"Yes. Having untrained Aura is a bad thing. It heightens your empathy towards people so high that you cannot bear to be around them; it can also manifest itself at inopportune times and you can experience extreme mood swings, since Aura is often tied to thought and emotion. Some people have been known to hear other people's thoughts at random, like birds pecking at your psyche. Plus, your Aura signature will be like a shining beacon to those looking for it and since yours is a mirror reflection of Ash's they may mistake Ash's for yous and that could prove hazardous.

"At the very least, let me teach you the basics of Aura, such as shielding it from prying eyes, meditating and some other basics. If you decide to cease training after that point, then I will stop. Is that alright with you?"

"I don't know. I've never had any of those things happen to me before."

"Only because you haven't had the misfortune of a personal tragedy recently. Aura is often first triggered that way, usually manifesting itself at puberty. Have you had any horrific or traumatizing happen to you lately?"

"You sound like a psychologist, but no, nothing lately."

Blaidd scowled. "I'm sensing that you're hiding something from me."

She didn't say anything and Blaidd decided to not press onwards with it. "What do you say, to my offer?" he queried once more, trying to meet her eyes.

"Like I said, I don't know." Misty fought of a yawn. "But I am very sleepy. Can I go back to bed now?"

"I'm not keeping you. I just want you to think it over though. Will you do that for me?"

"Fine," She started to open the door when Blaidd added.

"Besides, you could always whip Ash into shape. You would make for great competition with him." He chuckled as she grumbled something under her breath and fought off a growing flush to her nose and cheeks.

Agate Village was shrouded in silence as Blaidd was left standing outside the bed and breakfast. He had at least opened the proverbial door, so to speak. Maybe she will decide to learn, he hoped. In the meantime, he would have to shield her from outside eyes, an exercise that would prove very taxing. Most users of Aura used their own Aura to hide themselves and to mask themselves. He would have to use his own stores of Aura to create a shield around her. It would prove arduous in that he would have to "pump" Aura for her shield for almost all hours of the day. Maybe he could convince Ash to do it too, in shifts.

Blaidd flopped back onto the grassy yard outside the bed and breakfast, too tired to do nothing more than to just rest and give her space. All he could do now was pray to Arceus.

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She laid there, staring at the blank expanse of the ceiling, of shadowy, amorphous shapes without definition or meaning. His words weighed heavily on her and combined with the prophetic words of the seer, left her unsure and wavering about herself and her place. Both of them clearly saw something in her that she either didn't or refused to see before.

But what was it?

She turned to her side; the wood paneling of the floor was uncomfortable and too slick for her liking. She had already gotten used to sleeping outdoors. She heaved a hefty sigh. Where was her place? Why her, of all people? Why was she chosen to have Aura? Blaidd never told her why, he just told her that she possessed it. When he first mentioned it, she merely thought of it as some sheer coincidence. Now with this new revelation, it was like she had been sideswiped and left spinning in the middle of the road. Fate was indeed cruel and capricious.

And it wasn't like Blaidd left her any choice in deciding her fate either. At least, not with all the dangers of having an untrained Aura.

Misty sat upright, hugging her knees, glancing up into the stygian darkness that seemed to surround them. There was no clock, so she had no way of telling the time. She guessed it was late, maybe two or three in the morning, when everything seemed the darkest and gloomiest, thoughts and environments included.

Ash, who had his sleeping bag next to hers, gave a sudden snort, startling her. He turned his back to her and went back to sleep, muttering something incomprehensible in the process. She smiled at him, watching as he and pikachu, who was curled up in a tight, fuzzy ball, slept. How peaceful he looked, in fact, how peaceful they all looked. May and Drew were practically pressed together, their fingers entwined as they slept; Max was resting on May's left. Brock was draped across a chair, snoring loudly, head tilted back, while Gary and Dawn were sleeping in nearly the same position, on their right sides. She suspected that Gary at one point, was watching her sleep, just as she was doing now.

And yet, she was wide awake as a noctowl was.

Her thoughts turned back to Ash. How would he react if he knew that she could potentially use Aura as well as he? He would probably be thrilled, she surmised. Other than Blaidd, he was all alone in dealing with this, so to have someone to learn alongside him would thrill him to no end; he'd probably enjoy the competition too. But what if he grew jealous? The chances of it were slim, but it couldn't help but plague her. She was heading into unknown territory, both physically and metaphorically.

Misty laid her head back on her pillow, thoughts of insecurity and self-doubt dancing in her head. There had to be something good coming from this, she thought.

But what?

"Can't sleep?" Ash whispered to her in the dark.

"No-wait, I thought you were asleep."

"I was," she saw a figure shift in the blackness. "But I just woke up."

"I didn't wake you, did I?"

"Nope, don't worry." she swore she saw him grin in the night. "You're good. What's on your mind?"

"Stuff."

"Well, what kind of stuff?"

She shrugged. "You know, just 'stuff'."

"That's not very helpful."

"Look, it's not very important, okay?" she hissed. "Sorry, I'm just, stressed that's all."

"Mom always told me that it helps if you talk about it. Maybe it will you fell better."

She hesitated, wondering if she should tell him. The poor kid already had enough to deal with, so why make it worse? "It's hard to explain. . ."

She heard him inch closer to her. "Can't be that hard," he insisted.

"Promise you'll keep it a secret?"

"Cross my heart, hope to die."

"Ash, you're such a kid," she teased.

He flipped over on his back, looking up at her. ""Am not."

"Are too."

"Aren't you going to tell me?"

". . .Blaidd told me that I have Aura."

"Everybody has an Aura, Misty." he stated simply, like it was an everyday matter.

"I think he meant that I could use it, like you."

He bolted up in the darkness. "No way!" he hissed.

"Yeah."

"That's so cool!" Inwardly, she breathed a sigh of relief. Her fears were nothing more than phantoms after all. "Can I teach you?"

"You're. . .you're not upset or anything?"

"Why would I be?" He then added haltingly. "I'm glad I'm not by myself anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"Other than Blaidd and this one guy in Sinnoh, it was just me. Now, it's nice to know that I'm not by myself anymore-hey! I got an idea! I can teach you!"

"You already said that and I think Blaidd was planning on teaching me. You still have a ways to go, remember?" she teased.

"Hey." he grumbled. "Can I show you something though?"

"What?"

"I'll show you." he reached for her hands. "Wait, we better do this outside. We might wake the others up."

"What are you planning, Ash Ketchum?"

"I'll show you." He stood up, pulling her with him. "Come on!" He whispered loudly, pulling her outside. Pikachu groggily looked up as Ash got out of the sleeping bag, waking Pikachu in the process. Pikachu shook his head at the pair and went back to sleep, uninterested in their activities. She smirked as he failed to notice the improvised doorstop that Blaidd had placed earlier. She wondered if he ever came inside. Ash kept persisting and dragging her along. He seemed so enthusiastic that she went along with him, wondering what schemes he had concocted in his head.

Meanwhile, Blaidd, who had been dozing in a nook of a tree, perked up at the voices. It was Ash and Misty, Ash tugging on her hands, insistent on something. Curious, Blaidd sat up and using the foliage as cover, crawled to get a better view. "I wonder. . ." he muttered.

"Okay Ash, you dragged me out here in who knows how early in the morning, what did you want to show me?"

"Give me your hands."

"You're holding onto them, remember?"

He flushed in embarrassment. "Right." He cradled his hands underneath hers and she fought off the urge to blush at the contact. He was so close, she could nearly feel the heat of his person. It was comforting, in a way. "Close your eyes." he urged softly. "And concentrate."

"Concentrate on what?" she asked.

"Imagine the Aura flowing through you."

"Alright," she closed her eyes. "How do I find the Aura?"

"You can't just "find" it. You have to imagine it, feel it."

"Are you sure?"

"Trust me."

"Okay, I trust you." She tried to imagine the Aura, as he said, but it was proving more difficult than she thought. "Feel it," she whispered. She pictured the Aura as she saw Ash doing it, the blue energy flowing out is hands like a river.

Then, she felt it. It was a pulsing energy, flowing through her like blood through veins. It was like a creek, bubbling and flowing with the life essence of her being, her "Aura". She gasped at the revelation.

"Cool, isn't it?" Ash's voice echoed dimly in her ears. She nodded. "Now, imagine it flowing out your fingertips and into your hands."

She reached for the life energy and nursed it, pushed it, until it was no longer a slow moving creek, but a river blocked at a dam. She pictured it breaking out of the dam and into her hands. "How interesting that it looks like water," she thought. At first, there was nothing, then she felt a sudden drain of energy, like she ran a marathon.

"Careful," Ash warned.

"Right." She reined the energy back, trying to place it back behind the dam.

"Open your eyes," Ash said.

Misty slowly peeked and gasped at what she saw. In the palm of her hands, still being cradled by Ash's, was a ball of vibrant blue energy, swirling in the palms of her hands like a ball of water. "It's, it's.." she stammered.

"Cool, huh?" he grinned. The light of the Aura cast unnatural shadows on both of their faces, but it was hard to not see the look of elation on his face.

"Yeah."

"I like how yours looks like water," Ash said. "It fits you."

"Thanks, I think."

They watched the orb of Aura in Misty's hands for a while, her basking in the glow of her triumph, small as it was, him almost fit to burst with glee. The orb seemed to dance in her palms, the energy flowing and gliding over itself; it had a life of its own. Slowly, Ash removed his hands from underneath hers and she watched as he added to the orb, Aura pouring from his hands. His reminded her of fire, crackling with vibrant energy, animated. At first, his Aura spilled over hers, not wanting to join, but eventually, he coaxed it to fuse with hers and the orb seethed with life, calm and violent all at once. The gesture felt strangely intimate to her.

The words of the seer echoed in her head. "You complement each other, as fire does to water, ash to mist." Perhaps the seer was more right than she first thought.

Then, Ash started to pull away and the orb grew in size, but it was less dense and Misty could see gaps in the sphere. With a singular gesture of his hands, the orb was scattered to the winds. Seeing the questioning look in her eyes, he explained. "I didn't want you to get too tired, since it was your first time."

"I wasn't getting tired-" her protests were cut off by a yawn.

"Sounds like you are," he countered with a smile. "We should get inside before Blaidd or the others get suspicious."

"What would they get suspicious of?" She already knew the answer, but she wanted him to try and explain it.

"You know, they might think we're um..." he was turning bright red. "You know." he added weakly.

"I get it. Don't hurt your brain there, Pokemon Master."

"Not funny, Mist."

His old nickname for her struck her as odd, out of place. She eyed him and she noticed how for the first time, he was actually taller than her, with a lanky grace that comprised teenagers at this point in time. "I thought it was."

"Uh-huh. We should get inside." This time, he fought back a yawn. He started to stroll back, Misty walking next to him. Before they went inside, she suddenly grasped his wrist. "What was that for?" he asked.

"Thank you." she replied haltingly. "For showing me."

He nodded. "No problem." He moved aside to let inside, then shut the door behind him. He watched her in the darkness as she went back to her sleeping bag. "Night Mist." he said softly, unsure if she heard him. "And thank you."

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Blaidd crawled back to his place in the tree, smiling to himself despite his tiredness. He didn't need to show her the beauty and power of Aura because he did it for him. "Halves of a whole," he muttered out loud before closing his eyes once again and letting sleep take him once again with open arms.

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