The blimp ride to Canalave City took most of the next day. Harry and Ash even let out Vespiquen, Drifloon, Staravia and Spiritomb to float alongside them. From time to time Vespiquen, Staravia and Spiritomb had to stop Drifloon from getting blown away by the wind but Drifloon was getting better at riding the wind instead of fighting against it.
Eventually they landed in Canalave City and got out of the blimp. The Flying and Levitating Pokemon floated down to join them.
"It think that's enough exercise for today," Harry said and recalled Drifloon and Vespiquen while Ash recalled Staravia, "Spiritomb do you want to go in your Poke Ball?" Unlike the Flying types, Levitating alongside the blimp didn't count as exercise to Spiritomb. The Forbidden Pokemon shook his head.
"So who's challenging the Canalave Gym first?" Ash asked.
"I'll go first this time," Harry said. Ash nodded. The group headed towards the gym. When they arrived however they discovered that it was closed. "Not this gym too!"
"Don't worry," said a voice behind them and they turned to see Barry, whom only Harry was really familiar with, behind them. Barry sweat dropped when he saw Spiritomb. Both Harry and Spiritomb rolled their eyes in exhasperation.
"Hi Barry," Harry said, "Haven't seen you since the Tag Battle Tournament. How are you?"
"I'm fine. I've now got five badges," Barry bragged, "The Gym Leader Byron just went to Iron Island for a couple of days after I beat him!"
"Five badges huh?" Harry smirked, "Well once Ash and I beat Byron we'll have six."
"What is that Pokemon anyway?" asked Barry pointing to Spiritomb.
"This is my Spiritomb," Harry said, "Trust me he's not as scary as he looks." Spiritomb smiled warmly and Barry sweat dropped again at the evil looking expression but didn't comment. Instead he looked at Ash, Dawn and Brock.
"Hey you guys were at the Tag Battle Competition too," Barry said before nudging Harry teasingly, "Your partner's pretty cute." Harry blushed. It wasn't that he didn't agree with Barry but he wasn't interested in that sort of thing right now.
"Uh, that's very flattering," Dawn blushed.
"We're friends," Harry said, "We just got lucky to be partnered with each other back then." Barry smirked but didn't say anything else.
"What are your names again?" asked Barry, "I don't remember."
"I'm Ash, that's Brock and this is Dawn," Ash introduced all three of them and Barry nodded as he remembered hearing their names during the Tag Battle Tournament.
"So I guess you'll be leaving now that you've got the Gym Badge," Harry said.
"Yeah, but I'm gonna go to Iron Island to do some training," Barry said.
"Well you know since the Gym Leader's on Iron Island anyway, why don't we go too?" said Brock.
"Sure," Harry shrugged, "No point in staying here if the Gym's closed."
"Well the ferry will be leaving in an hour," Barry informed them, "so how about you and I have a battle before we go Harry?"
"Okay," Harry shrugged, "One on one?"
"Got it," said Barry, "Go Empoleon!" A large penguin like creature with a beak that was connected to three trident shaped crest on its head appeared.
"So your Prinplup's evolved," Harry said. Dawn took out her pokedex.
"Empoleon the Emperor Pokemon and the final form of Piplup. It swims as fast as a jet boat and uses its metal wings to destroy any drifting ice that gets in its way."
"Okay I'll go with Riolu then," Harry said and Riolu stepped towards the larger Pokemon. Ash, Dawn, Brock, Pikachu, Piplup and Spiritomb all moved back to give the two rivals and their Pokemon some space, "Riolu Aura Sphere!" Riolu hurled Aura Sphere at Empoleon and the attack knocked the Emperor Pokemon off its feet.
"Your Riolu knows Aura Sphere!" Barry gaped at the Emanation Pokemon, then snapped out of it, "Empoleon use Hydro Pump!" Empoleon fired a stream of water from its beak at Riolu.
"Dodge it and use Brick Break!" Harry called and Riolu jumped over the Hydro Pump and brought his hand down towards its head.
"Metal Claw!" cried Barry and Empoleon's wings glowed before it crossed them and blocked the Brick Break. It then shoved Riolu backwards, "Now Hydro Pump!" Empoleon fired a Hydro Pump and this time sent Riolu sprawling, "Good job Empoleon. Now use Hydro Cannon!" Empoleon opened its beak and a cannon ball made purely out of water appeared inside it.
"Dodge it!" cried Harry and Riolu rolled swiftly out of the way, dodging the Hydro Cannon which was a bit smaller than it should have been. Barry looked critically at Empoleon.
"Your Hydro Cannon still needs more power, Empoleon," he said and Empoleon nodded.
"Riolu Force Palm!" Harry ordered and Riolu darted forwards and slammed a Force Palm into Empoleon stomach before blasting it away with a burst of yellow energy, "Good, now use Aura Sphere!" Riolu formed another Aura Sphere and hurled it at Empoleon.
"Dodge it!" cried Barry and Empoleon tried but the Aura Sphere had locked onto its Aura and turned in mid-air before slamming into Empoleon from behind, "Empoleon no!"
"Empoleon is unable to battle Riolu wins," announced Brock, "That makes Harry the winner!"
"There are various ways to stop Aura Sphere," Harry informed Barry, "Using Protect or causing another attack to collide with it for example. Once it makes contact it's even possible to knock it away before it can actually do damage. But the one thing you can't do is dodge it because it locks onto a Pokemon's Aura until it touches them."
"I'll keep that in mind," Barry muttered as he recalled Empoleon.
An hour later the group took a ferry to Iron Island in search of the Gym Leader Byron. Upon arrival they found that a Pokemon Center had been built on the island. Nurse Joy had seen them coming.
"Wow Nurse Joy's here to greet us in person!" yelled Brock with hearts in his eyes. Naturally he was the first one off the boat, "My darling Nurse Joy it warms my heart to see you upon this desolate waste…" Croagunk Poison Jabbed him, "Land." Brock collapsed and Croagunk dragged him away.
"That was weird," said Barry.
"Brock always does that," Dawn said looking slightly embarrassed.
"I'm sorry but you shouldn't have come," said Nurse Joy, "There's a problem with all the Steel types."
"What kind of problem?" Ash asked.
"Come and see," Nurse Joy led them into the Pokemon Center. Inside were several Steel types in glass cases. Every one of them looked like it was in pain.
"Wait, does that mean it's dangerous for Empoleon to be here?" asked Barry. Joy glanced at him.
"Well I don't know what's wrong with them," she said, "Even the Gym Leader Byron doesn't know what's happening. He's gone off to try and find the source of the disturbance."
"Hey Byron specializes in Steel types!" cried Barry, "Doesn't that mean all his Pokemon are here?"
"Well it seems that Pokemon don't get affected as long as they're inside their Poke Balls," Joy said, "All of these Pokemon are wild. Byron took his Kabutops with him since it's not a Steel type. Your Empoleon should be fine as long as you don't let it out of its Poke Ball."
"Aw man!" groaned Barry, "I still need Empoleon to master Hydro Cannon."
"How about we go and find this whatever's causing this?" Ash suggested, "Apart from Barry, none of us have a Steel type Pokemon."
"If you do you'll have to be careful," Joy cautioned, "The Steel type Pokemon are not only in pain but also very aggressive. The only one that's not been bothered by the disturbance is Riley's Lucario."
"Who's Riley?" asked Harry. Riolu looked interested at the mention of his evolved form.
"An Aura Guardian who lives and trains on the island," Joy explained, "He went with Byron to find out what's going on."
"Well I guess we should go too," Harry muttered.
"I'll stay here and see if I can help Nurse Joy with the Steel Pokemon," Brock said.
"You'll stay here so you can keep getting yourself Poison Jabbed you mean," Harry muttered, "Sometimes I think you're masochistic."
"What does that mean?" asked Barry.
"He knows Croagunk will Poison Jab him whenever he starts hitting on a woman but he does it anyway," Harry said, "It's almost like he enjoys it."
"I'm more worried about the Steel types right now," Brock said stiffly, "Go and find Riley and Byron."
"Come on then," Ash said and the group, except Brock and Nurse Joy, left the Pokemon Center.
At first there didn't seem to be anything wrong but then a Magneton came floating towards them with its eyes shut in pain. It suddenly started randomly firing Discharge around the area and was soon accompanied by two Skarmory and a Metang. The group had to duck behind a rock to avoid the Discharges, Flash Cannons and Air Slashes.
"What do we do?" cried Dawn covering Piplup's head protectively.
"Riolu can you sense what's got them so riled up?" Harry asked. Riolu reached out with Aura but all he could feel was pain and anger around him. A Steelix suddenly burst out of the ground behind them and lunged at the group with its huge jaws wide open. They scattered and the Steelix Crunched the rock they'd been sheltering behind and crushed it with its powerful jaws. It then turned towards Harry and Riolu and lunged again, "Aura Sphere!"
"Riolu!" Riolu cried and quickly blasted Steelix in the face with Aura Sphere causing it to rear back in pain. Suddenly the Metang smashed into Riolu with Take Down and then turned to Harry and swiped at him with Metal Claw. Harry ducked and Spiritomb quickly came to his rescue, blasting Metang away from him with Dark Pulse.
"Thank's Spiritomb," Harry said and hurried over to Riolu, "Riolu are you okay?" Riolu groaned as he picked himself up. Harry glanced around quickly, searching for his friends.
Barry had sent out his Heracross who was currently in the process of pounding an Aggron with Close Combat. Ash's Pikachu shocked one of the Skarmory out of the sky and Dawn's Piplup tried to fend off the other with Bubblebeam but the Skarmory kept dodging with Agility and then smashed into Piplup with Steel Wing.
"Piplup!" screamed Dawn and Skarmory lunged at her this time, its wings glowing white as it tried to hit her with another Steel Wing.
"Kabutops use Aqua Jet!" bellowed a voice and a Pokemon with lethal scythes on the end of its arms rocketed down from a rocky hill surrounded by Water. The Aqua Jet knocked Skarmory away from Dawn just in time.
"Lucario, Aura Sphere!" cried another voice and an orb of blue energy, stronger than Riolu's, smashed into the Skarmory and knocked it out. Now the only Steel types left conscious were the Magneton and Steelix, the latter of which lunged at the newcomers and their Pokemon, "Quick do it again Lucario!" Lucario blasted the Steelix with its stronger Aura Sphere and knocked it out.
"Riolu, Aura Sphere on Magneton!" Harry called and Riolu blasted the Magneton with Aura Sphere. All the attacking Steel types had been defeated now.
"Byron!" cried Barry, recognising one of the men, a middle aged guy with purplish hair and an unshaven face. Byron's companion was much younger, a handsome man with spiky black hair covered by a blue hat.
"Barry!" boomed Byron, "Wasn't expecting to see you here kid. These your friends?"
"Yeah. Well sorta. This is Ash, Dawn and Harry," Barry said pointing out each of them in turn.
"Sorta?" said Dawn looking annoyed.
"Hey the only one of you I've had any proper interaction with is Harry," Barry said reasonably.
"We had interaction back in Twinleaf Town," Dawn said grumpily.
"Yeah but I don't remember that," Barry replied.
"Is everyone alright?" asked the young man accompanying Byron.
"Yeah," Ash said, "I guess you're Riley. Nurse Joy mentioned you."
"Yeah I'm Riley," he said nodding, "I'm training to be an Aura Guardian with Lucario." He gestured to the one Steel type who wasn't out of its mind and Lucario nodded.
"I'm Byron," said the Gym Leader, "I was here training but then my Bastiodon, Steelix and Bronzor went mad so I left them at the Pokemon Center. Fortunately Kabutops isn't being affected." Kabutops nodded. Harry took out his pokedex.
"Kabutops the Shellfish Pokemon and the evolved form of Kabuto. It became extinct long ago but was revived with modern technology. An excellent swimmer, it slashes prey with its claws before draining their fluids."
"Riley how come Lucario's not being affected by whatever's going on here?" asked Ash.
"He's using Aura to block the waves out," Riley explained, "We're still not sure where the waves are coming from though." Lucario meanwhile was shaking hands with Riolu.
"Hypothetically if Riolu evolved right now, could he could block out these waves?" asked Harry.
"Depends how strong his Aura is," Riley replied with a shrug.
"Well he'd already mastered Aura Sphere," Harry said.
"In that case he probably could," Riley said, "If he wanted to evolve that is."
"I was just wondering," Harry said. Riolu looked at him with a slightly annoyed expression, "Sorry Riolu. I know you're not ready to evolve right now." Riolu's expression faded and he nodded to show he accepted the apology.
"Okay now that the greetings are out of the way, we need to find out what the hell's going on here!" said Byron. The others nodded and followed the Gym Leader and his Kabutops.
"Spiritomb," Harry said, "You go on ahead and have a look around." Spiritomb nodded and Harry let out Vespiquen and Drifloon, "You girls go too and all of you stick together." They nodded and flew over the island, scouting the area.
About five minutes later the three scouting Pokemon returned.
"Vespi!" cried Vespiquen gesturing to the west with her arm. Lucario turned to where Vespiquen was pointing and closed his eyes. He could sense a lot of Aura's coming from that direction.
"Found them," Riley said, "Let's go!"
"Good job guys!" Harry called, "Lucario's locked onto the location so return!" He recalled Vespiquen and Drifloon and pointed a Poke Ball at Spiritomb but the Forbidden Pokemon shook his head. He wanted to witness this outside his Poke Ball. Harry nodded in acknowledgement and put away the Poke Ball. Byron recalled his Kabutops and the group followed Lucario.
"Brooon!" cried a Bronzor and a moment later a stream of flames shot out from over the edge of a rocky slope. Harry caught the Bronzor as the Flamethrower subsided. Bronzor instantly used Gyro Ball on him to knock him away and then lunged back into the pit.
"Golbat use Shadow Ball!" cried a familiar voice and the Bronzor came flying over the edge of the slope again this time unconscious. Harry had recovered from the Gyro Ball, which had been used simply to make him let go rather than actually hurt him and picked up the poor Pokemon.
"What's that?" said Dawn as they looked over the edge. Harry, still carrying the Bronzor, joined the others. Below them was a large ruins which was made out of metal. There was also a large pillar with strange markings and even two statues, one of Dialga and the other of Palkia.
Then a Skarmory was shot out of the sky by a Flamethrower from a Skuntank down in the ruins.
"Team Galactic!" Ash snarled as the Skarmory fell to the ground. Working around the ruins and statues of the two Legendary Pokemon were a group of Team Galactic grunts. Jupiter and her Skuntank were also visible.
"You know them?" asked Riley.
"Yeah," Harry muttered angrily, "Riolu was badly hurt by that Skuntank once." Riolu nodded and glared down at Skuntank. Bronzor shifted slightly in Harry's arms but seemed too weak to do anything. Heatproof gave it some resistance to Skuntank's Flamethrower but the attack had still hurt and the Shadow Ball from the Golbat had been too much for it.
"The Steel types all seem to be focussing their attention on this area," Byron said thoughtfully, "This must be the source of the disturbance."
"Well all the Steel types except Lucario are on a rampage all around the island," Barry pointed out.
"Yes but Team Galactic seem to be trying to stop them from getting something down there," Riley said. Now that they looked properly it did seem that the Steel types weren't just being senselessly violent. They were attacking with a purpose. "The Pokemon must know the disturbance is coming from here so they're trying to destroy whatever's causing it."
Below them, Skuntank was using Flamethrower to fend off any Steel type Pokemon that came towards Team Galactic. Most of the Bronzor powered through Flamethrower thanks to Heatproof but were instead knocked away by Shadow Balls from the numerous Golbat in the area. Only one Pokemon, a Bronzong, lasted more than a few seconds, powering through several Golbat with Gyro Ball and knocking aside Jupiter's Skuntank as it headed for a strange machine between the statues of Dialga and Palkia. The machine had a large golden device in it somewhat resembling a giant key.
"That's what they're aiming for!" Riley said pointing to the machine with the huge key in it.
"Stop that Bronzong!" yelled Jupiter. At that moment a familiar red haired woman appeared and threw a Poke Ball.
"Purugly use Fake Out!" cried Mars and the fat cat burst out of its Poke Ball and clapped its paws together sending a shock wave towards Bronzong. Of course the attack barely did any damage but it did cause Bronzong to flinch and stop its Gyro Ball, "Shadow Ball!"
"Skuntank Flamethrower!" called Jupiter and Skuntank, having recovered from the Gyro Ball, blasting Bronzong with a stream of flames from its mouth while Purugly shot a Shadow Ball from its own mouth. Both attacks hit the Bronzong at the same time and the Bronze Bell Pokemon collapsed.
"Is the machine ready yet?" Mars barked at her grunts.
"It is… now," said one of them making the final adjustment on a control panel.
"About time," muttered Jupiter and turned to the key. She removed it from the machine and carried it to the pillar with the strange markings. One of the markings was exactly the same shape as the key. The key levitated out of Jupiter's hands and floated to the pillar before slotting itself neatly between the markings carved into it. The pillar glowed bright blue and so did the statues of Dialga and Palkia.
"Here we go," Mars said eagerly. She patted her Purugly's head absentmindedly as a massive beam of light shot out of the pillar into the sky. The group on the edge of the cliff all covered their eyes from the blinding blue light. Bronzor suddenly woke up and cried out with pain before knocking Harry off his feet with Gyro Ball.
"Bronzor!" cried Harry as the Pokemon continued spinning on the spot as if it could somehow blow away the sound waves with the force of its spin. Even Lucario was being affected now. He clutched his head in his hands.
"Rio?" Riolu looked up at his evolved form in concern. When Lucario looked at him, his eyes were blue, the same colour as the light from the pillar. Lucario suddenly created a Bone Rush and slammed the bone into Riolu, knocking him straight into a rock.
"Riolu!" cried Harry and rushed to the Emanation Pokemon. Riolu was dazed but otherwise alright. However the fact that Lucario had attacked him showed how serious the situation had become.
"Lucario not you too!" gasped Riley. Lucario fired an Aura Sphere at the group. Riley jumped between Lucario and the trainers and a blue glow surrounded his body. A blue sphere of light surrounded the group and there was a massive explosion as the attack struck the barrier. Riley's barrier held.
"How did you…?" Dawn gasped.
"Aura," Riley replied simply. Suddenly Barry's Poke Ball opened and Empoleon burst out.
"Empoleon!" Barry cried. Empoleon glared at him. Even being inside the Poke Ball wasn't enough to protect it from the waves anymore. They were lucky that Byron's Steel type Pokemon were in the Pokemon Center. Bronzor joined the other two Steel types. "Empoleon it's me! Remember we came here to do some training together?"
"Poleon!" cried Empoleon and created a Hydro Cannon in its beak. This one looked much stronger than the one it used whilst battling Riolu. Hydro Cannon blasted the whole group off the cliff. It was a long fall and unfortunately the explosion caught Jupiter and Mars' attention.
"Oh not them again!" said Mars in annoyance while the group groaned and rubbed their bruised backsides. Harry had never suffered a long fall before and had gained a new appreciation for human resilience in the Pokemon world. The group picked themselves up and found Team Galactic in front of them in addition to their crazed Pokemon, as well as the Bronzor, behind them. Then Mars shrieked as Spiritomb floated down and chuckled at Team Galactic, "What the hell is that thing?"
"Typical," Harry muttered, "Why is everyone afraid of my Spiritomb?"
"Maybe because it looks creepy," said Barry, "And it has an evil smile and an evil laugh!"
"Spiritomb can't help that," Harry said.
"We need to destroy the machine," Byron boomed.
"You go," Riley ordered, "Ash and I will hold off Lucario and Empoleon."
"Right," Ash said as Lucario and Empoleon reached the bottom of the slope, having slid all the way down, "Pikachu go!" Pikachu jumped forwards.
"Gallade let's go!" Riley let out a Pokemon that resembled a gladiator with sharp blades on its arms. Ash took out his pokedex.
"Gallade the Blade Pokemon and one of the evolved forms of Kirlia. A very protective Pokemon, Gallade fights feircely using the swords on its arms."
"Use Psycho Cut!" Riley ordered and Gallade's blades glowed blue before he shot two blades of Psychic energy at Lucario. The Aura Pokemon formed a Bone Rush and spun it in order to block both blades before lunging at Gallade, ready for a counterstrike, "Counter with Fury Cutter!"
"Gallade!" said Gallade and held up his bladed arms as they glowed red. Lucario and Gallade started duelling using Bone Rush and Fury Cutter respectively. Gallade's Fury Cutter steadily gained more power and his movements were precise and elegant while Lucario was in such a blind rage that his attacks were rather sloppy in comparison.
"Pikachu Thunderbolt!" ordered Ash and Pikachu fired a Thunderbolt at Empoleon but the Emperor Pokemon blasted the Thunderbolt with a Flash Cannon fired from its beak, creating an explosion. Empoleon then shot through the smoke whilst spinning and its beak and crest glowed white before it slammed into Pikachu with Drill Peck. Fortunately Pikachu was resistant to Flying type moves so he quickly recovered and the two Pokemon continued fighting.
Meanwhile Harry, Dawn, Barry and Byron were charging at Team Galactic. Barry had released his Heracross while Dawn used Piplup. Both Riolu and Spiritomb were with Harry and Byron was using Kabutops. The Bronzor from earlier was fighting a group of Golbat above them.
"Spiritomb help Bronzor," Harry ordered and Spiritomb broke off from the group and floated up to help the outnumbered Bronzor against the numerous Golbat.
"Skuntank use Flamethrower!" ordered Jupiter and Skuntank fired a stream of flames at the group.
"Kabutops Aqua Jet!" boomed Byron and Kabutops charged straight through the Flamethrower whilst surrounded by water and knocked Skuntank aside.
"Riolu Aura Sphere!" ordered Harry and Riolu blasted Purugly out of the way with an orb of Aura, "Now destroy that machine!" Riolu aimed another Aura Sphere at the machine but a Golbat got in the way and shrugged off the Fighting type move before shooting an Air Cutter at Riolu, "Riolu dodge with Quick Attack and get closer!" Riolu shot between the Air Cutter, avoiding every blade of wind.
"Stop that Riolu!" yelled Jupiter and Skuntank leapt at the Emanation Pokemon only to pull back with a terrified expression when Kabutops swiped at her with its lethal claws.
"Piplup!" squealed Piplup as Purugly used Body Slam on him.
"Heracross use Megahorn on Purugly!" ordered Barry and Heracross' powerful horn glowed white and he thrust it into Purugly knocking it off Piplup. Then Heracross was struck by an Air Slash from one of the Golbat, so Barry recalled it.
"Piplup Whirlpool!" cried Dawn and Piplup summoned a Whirlpool which caught several Golbat inside it sending them spinning around helplessly. Harry took a quick glance up at Spiritomb. Bronzor had stopped attacking the Golbat and was now attacking Spiritomb instead, unable to recognize friend from foe.
"Riolu blow that thing up with Aura Sphere!" ordered Harry and Riolu, who was now just a few metres away from the machine, took a running leap, bouncing off one of the Golbat in mid-air before forming an Aura Sphere. Now there was nothing between him and the machine. Riolu hurled the Aura Sphere straight into the place where the huge golden key had been.
"No!" screamed Mars as the Aura Sphere blasted the machine apart. Riolu landed with a smug smirk.
Back near the cliff, Gallade's Fury Cutter has built up enough power to destroy Lucario's Bone Rush so the two Fighting types were instead attacking each other with Close Combat. Pikachu had just hit Empoleon with a powerful Volt Tackle. The Emperor Pokemon got up and was about to attack again but the sound waves that had affected all the Steel types had stopped when Riolu destroyed the machine. Lucario stopped fighting Gallade and glanced around as he also regained his senses.
"Lucario are you okay?" asked Riley. Lucario looked at him, then at Gallade and nodded. Riley and Gallade smiled in relief, "Thank goodness. Well done Gallade, you take a rest." Riley recalled Gallade.
"Pika Pi?" Pikachu said to Empoleon who nodded, now back to its usual self. Ash smiled in relief.
Meanwhile the pillar that Mars had slotted the key into tumbled down. The key itself burst out of it and Mars caught it with a relieved expression on her face.
"We still have the Spear Key," she told Jupiter.
"Good," Jupiter replied, "Then let's get going."
"Commanders," said a grunt, "We only managed to get sixty percent of the scan completed."
"No matter," Jupiter said, "We'll find Spear Pillar eventually. It just might take a bit longer than we expected." She, Mars and the grunts ran towards a helicopter.
"Stop right there you crooks!" boomed Byron as he and the others caught up with them. Kabutops lunged forwards but Jupiter spun around and held up a remote with a red button on it.
"Stop right there!" Jupiter yelled, "Or we'll all be blown to smithereens!"
"You'd blow yourself up?" Harry said, "You're mad!"
"I'd rather be dead than fail our leader," Jupiter said coldly, "Besides we're going to destroy the whole world eventually anyway."
"You're a freaking lunatic!" Harry said. Jupiter looked annoyed.
"Shut up!" she screamed but only made herself look more like a maniac by yelling that, "Now we're going!" The helicopter doors shut and it took off.
"Lucario," Riley said, "We need to find those bombs." Lucario nodded and quickly scanned the area with Aura. He grunted and looked at his trainer, "Right, let's go! The rest of you get off the island!" Riley and Lucario ran towards the Iron Ruins. Everyone went in the opposite direction except Riolu.
"Riolu what are you doing?" Harry said. Riolu hesitated. He wanted to help Riley and Lucario, "Riolu we're not Aura Guardians and Riley told us to leave." Riolu hesitated then hurried towards the ruins, "Riolu no!" Harry ran after him. Spiritomb followed.
"Harry!" cried Dawn.
"We need to go!" cried Byron. Ash grabbed Dawn's arm and pulled her away.
Harry and Spiritomb found Riolu with Riley and Lucario in an underground chamber filled with pillars. Upon each pillar was a bomb.
"What are you doing?" cried Riley.
"Riolu wanted to help," Harry said.
"There's a good chance we'll die," Riley said, "We've only got one chance to contain the explosion."
"Riolu, Lu, Rio, Lu!" Riolu said determinedly. Harry took out his Poke Ball and recalled him but Riolu just broke his way out again. The stubborn little creature was just refusing to leave. For a split second Harry considered running and was instantly ashamed of himself. Riolu had always stuck by him when he was doing something stupid so it was time for him to return the favour.
"Lucar!" cried Lucario and Riley realized that there was no time to argue. He and Lucario turned to the bombs. They focussed their Aura. Riolu stepped beside Lucario and did the same. Harry watched, wishing he could do something to help. Without knowing why he reached out towards the bombs and closed his eyes.
Then the bombs exploded.
Harry still had his eyes closed but when he realized he was still alive he opened them and saw that Riley, Lucario and Riolu had all contained the explosion within a massive sphere of Aura. Harry wasn't just seeing the sphere however. He was also feeling it.
Harry glanced at Riolu who was sweating and gritting his teeth. He thought of Riolu as his best friend but this was something different. It was as if Harry could actually feel Riolu's thoughts and feelings almost as though they were his own. He doubted Ash and Pikachu had ever experienced this kind of connection and they were practically family.
Riolu caught his trainer's eye. Despite the immense peril, he smiled. Harry had stayed with him even though there was a very good chance he'd get blown up. Riley, Riolu and Lucario all grunted with effort. Harry could only silently encourage Riolu but apparently that was all the Emanation Pokemon needed. Together the trio of Aura users aimed their hands towards the ceiling and the massive Aura barrier shot upwards, smashing through the ceiling. The explosion was still raging within the barrier, struggling to break free but the Aura practitioners kept it going until it was high above the island. Finally they released it.
The explosion was massive but it was taking place miles above the island. They were all safe.
"Thank Arceus," Harry said with relief then glared at Riolu, "That was stupid and reckless Riolu!" His expression softened as he sighed, "But I suppose it's partially my fault. I was reckless enough to get involved with Team Galactic in the first place and I guess that recklessness rubbed off on you. But please don't make this kind of thing a habit. You're supposed to stop me from doing stupid things remember?" Riolu nodded and smiled cautiously. "Come here." The two of them hugged. Spiritomb floated down next to them and both Harry and Riolu patted his keystone.
"Harry," said Riley quietly, "Your presence helped Riolu. I could feel it," he paused, "You have Aura."
"Really?" Harry said startled.
"It seems so," Riley said, "I'm not sure how strong your Aura is but I could feel the connection between you and Riolu."
"So does that mean I could be an Aura Guardian?" Harry asked. He wasn't sure if he was excited or scared by that possibility. After all if he was an Aura Guardian he might have to get involved in containing explosions on a regular basis.
"Potentially," Riley said, "Ash has that potential too. When I was using Aura to block Lucario's Aura Sphere, I sensed it."
"Well I don't think I want to be an Aura Guardian," Harry said, "Seems too dangerous." Riley nodded.
"Fair enough," he said, "But if you ever change your mind, contact me. Now let's go back to the others."
Riley and Barry were both going to stay on Iron Island for the time being. Riley had given Harry and Ash his phone number in case they ever wanted to study Aura with him. Byron had decided to return to Canalave City along with Harry, Dawn, Brock and Ash. They waved goodbye to Riley and Barry as the boat sailed back towards the city.
"Bron!" called a voice and Harry glanced back and saw a Bronzor floating towards them. He was certain it was the same one that had been with the group when Lucario and Empoleon went mad.
"Hello Bronzor," Harry said, surprised. Bronzor floated around him then stopped in front of his face.
"Well," said Byron, "Looks like Bronzor has taken a liking to you." Harry wondered if Bronzor remembered that he had caught it and carried it after it was hurt by Skuntank's Flamethrower and Golbat's Shadow Ball. It was crazy at the time but it seemed to have some memory of the events.
"You wanna come with me?" Harry asked. Bronzor bobbed up and down and Harry took the gesture as a yes. He took out a Poke Ball and Bronzor willingly went inside it. Harry looked at the Poke Ball, then at Spiritomb, "Do you mind returning to grandfather's lab for a while?" Spiritomb smiled.
When they disembarked the ship they were surprised to find a familiar young man waiting for them in the harbor.
"Roark?" said Ash.
"Oh hello Ash," Roark said then looked at Harry, "Harry, I see you and Ash know each other. Dawn, Brock hi." He then looked at Byron. There was a short silence.
"Hello son," said Byron.
"Hello dad," Roark replied.