Ash and May climbed up the volcano as quickly as they could. Ash frequently had to stop and help May up a ledge that was too tall for her to climb on her own, but soon enough the blades of the helicopter came into view and they both hid behind a ridge. From there they could see into the lower part of the crater where dozens of people were gathered into a crowd. Half were wearing red hoods and the other half were wearing blue bandanas. In the midst of the crowd was one man who wasn't wearing either team's uniform. He had spiky brown hair, small circular glasses, and a full hiking outfit. He was also holding a rock tightly to his chest even in the midst of the clear danger he was in while surrounded by both teams. Though he didn't recognize the man, Ash grit his teeth, knowing that those two groups were up to something.
"There's a lot of them down there..." May gulped.
"Yeah..." Ash nodded.
"What do we do...?" she asked. Ash went quiet as he tried to think. Without a Pokémon to battle with May was in almost as much danger as the stranger below. The only way he could think of to ensure that both May and the man got an opportunity to escape without getting hurt was for him to draw their attention and hold them off long enough for the two of them to get away.
"I'll draw their attention...you try and get him out of there." He informed her.
"But there are so many of them…if you got hurt in there…" she worried.
"Don't worry. I've got it under control...ish."
"I'll...I'll do my best..." she promised.
"I know you will. It'll be ok." He assured her. May hesitated before she pulled him into a hug.
"Please return safely Sir Ash..." she whispered. Ash blushed softly and wrapped an arm around her gently.
"I will. I promise." He said. May held him close for a minute longer before finally letting her go. Their eyes met and Ash's blush only deepened. May smiled a little and then crawled away along the ridge to get into position. Ash turned his attention to Pikachu, who flashed him a smile.
"Very smooth…" he teased. Ash quickly wiped away his blush and shot his friend a warning glare.
"Don't start. Look I'm gonna need your help with this." He explained. Pikachu nodded and Ash began to move quietly around the large group of people. Soon he had moved himself between the Magma helicopter and the grunts without being noticed. Checking that he could see May in position on the other side, he took a deep breath. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt on the Magma helicopter." He whispered.
"Right!" Pikachu agreed. He jumped off Ash's shoulder and launched Thunderbolt on the helicopter. The jolt drove the machine's instruments crazy and drew the attention of the Magma Admin that Ash had taken on before.
"What the?!" he gasped. Taking that as his cue, Ash jumped out from his hiding spot and waved his arms.
"Hey! If you're gonna attack someone, attack me!" he yelled.
"It's that brat again! Don't let him get away!" the admin ordered his troops.
"Yes Sir Tabitha!" the grunts responded. They all ran towards Ash and surrounded him, forming a blockade around him as Tabitha approached from the front. Just as the grunts were about to pull out their pokeballs, Tabitha took out his own and yelled at them.
"No! I want to be the one to finally end this runt." He demanded. The grunts backed off as Ash and Pikachu turned their attention toward Tabitha. Tabitha threw his pokéball, releasing his Mightyena who squared off with Pikachu. "Get them Mightyena!"
"Might!" Mightyena barked as he began to charge at Ash and Pikachu.
"Pikachu use Iron Tail!" Ash called.
"On it!" Pikachu answered. He leaped up and as he started to fall back down towards Mightyena, his tail glowed brightly.
"Shadow Ball!" Tabitha countered.
"Mightyena!" the Dark Type responded as he fired a Shadow Ball from his mouth aimed right at Pikachu. Caught off guard from the attack, Pikachu got hit and was sent flying, crashing into one of the nearby rocks.
"Pikachu!" Ash gasped. Pikachu struggled to get back onto his paws as Tabitha smirked.
"You want to be a hero, we'll show you what we do to heroes! Take Down now!" he yelled.
"Migh!" Mightyena roared as he charged in and slammed into the immobile Pikachu. The Electric Type flew backward and skidded to a stop across the rocky battlefield. Ash gritted his teeth in frustration as Pikachu got back up, despite his injuries.
"Thunder! Full blast!" he called.
"Right…!" Pikachu nodded. He summoned all the strength he had left and leapt up, firing a powerful Thunder towards Mightyena. The black Pokemon tried to dodge, but the blast was so wide that his efforts were useless and he got hit. Mightyena howled in pain and was unable to move with so much electricity coursing through his body, which gave Ash an opening.
"Divebomb and finish with Quick Attack!" he yelled.
"Take this!" Pikachu yelled, switching from Thunder to Quick Attack before launching himself into Mightyena with a burst of speed. The force of the blow sent Mightyena flying and he soon slammed into a rock, shattering it and burying him in the rubble. Tabitha growled angrily and recalled his fallen Pokémon.
"And there's more where that came from!" Ash taunted before he started running away with Pikachu hot on his heels.
"Stop him!" Tabitha ordered his men, clearly enraged. The grunts followed his orders and chased after Ash. The Aqua Admin, a woman with bright red and curly hair, simply watched the commotion and laughed to herself.
"Idiots. Well, I guess the meteorite is all ours then." She smirked. However, when she turned to look at where the man holding the rock was, only to find he was no longer there. "What?!"
"Admin Shelly!" one of her grunts called, as he pointed down the path. Following his direction, Shelly saw May quickly leading the man away from the conflict.
"Oh no, you don't! Get her!" Shelly ordered her grunts.
"Use Thunderbolt!" Ash called out.
"Take this!" Pikachu yelled, jumping up and using Thunderbolt on most of the grunts' Mightyena that were following him and Ash. But there were still plenty more Pokémon coming. Realizing fast that Pikachu couldn't take them all, Ash released his other Pokémon from their pokeballs. Out came a Treecko, Taillow, and Corphish, ready to fight.
"Tree!"
"Tail taillow!"
"Phish!"
"Corphish Bubblebeam! Treecko, Bullet Seed! Taillow Quick Attack!" Ash called.
"Corphish!" the crustacean yelled as he fired a barrage of bubbles and hit two of the incoming Golbat.
"Treecko cko cko cko!" Treecko echoed as he fired off a Bullet Seed and hit a Mightyena in the face.
"Tail…low!" Taillow chirped as he flew through the remaining two Mightyena with Quick Attack.
"What?!" Tabitha gasped as the last of the Pokémon began to fall.
"One more Thunderbolt!"
"On it!" Pikachu acknowledged as he launched one more Thunderbolt and took out the remaining Golbat. Ash smiled as Tabitha's frustration became more apparent.
"Impossible!"
"Yes!"
"You little...!" Tabitha growled. He wanted so badly to continue the fight, but even though his anger he could see that staying to fight wouldn't do anything. "Everyone back in the chopper! We'll deal with this later!"
"Better luck next time!" Ash teased. Tabitha piled into the helicopter with the other grunts and lifted off from the volcano. But no sooner had Ash declared victory over Team Magma than he suddenly heard May scream from the other side of the crater. "MAY!" he took off running towards her voice as fast as he could. Turning the corner he found Shelly had May and the man with the rock backed up against the wall of the crater. They were both surrounded by Walrein from the Aqua grunts.
"Hand over the rock and the scientist girl or you'll end up a smear on the wall." Shelly threatened May. The young Princess gulped and tried to keep the scientist guarded behind her. Even as she tried to stand her ground, Ash could tell she was absolutely terrified.
"Fine then. Walrein Water Pulse!" Shelly ordered.
"Wal!" Walrein bellowed as he fired a Water Pulse at May and the man. May gasped and knocked both the man and herself down to the ground, narrowly avoiding the attack. Horrified by the sight of her in danger, Ash ran as fast as he could towards the commotion.
"Ice Beam now! And don't miss this time!" Shelly demanded.
"Walrein!" the Ice Type roared as fires Ice Beam at May. Again she tried to move the both of them out of the way, but this time the attack managed to snag May's foot and froze it to the ground in thick ice.
"Ah!" she screamed. Ash's eyes widened in fear as his vision zeroed in on May and Shelly.
"Leave her alone!" he yelled. Shelly looked behind herself and finally noticed Ash standing there.
"Finally done playing with Magma, are you? Well then, convince the Professor here to give up the meteorite and we'll let you all go." Shelly offered.
"Let her go. Now." Ash demanded as he glared at her.
"We're not Magma kid. We don't run when things get a little tough." She warned him.
"Thunderbolt!" Ash called to Pikachu.
"Take this!" Pikachu echoed as he leapt up and launched his Thunderbolt at one of the Walrein.
"Knock it out of the sky with Ice Ball!" Shelly countered.
"Wal! Rein!" Walreign yelled as he fired an Ice Ball from his tusks. The attack slammed into Pikachu while his attention was on the other Pokémon and sent him flying.
"Ack!" he yelped as he crashed to the ground. Ash grit his teeth in frustration as he turned towards his other Pokémon.
"Corphish! Crabhammer!" Ash called. Corphish jumped towards Walrein and nailed him in the face, but the type match-up meant that there wasn't much damage dealt. Shelly threw another pokéball which produced her Crawdaunt onto the battlefield.
"Stop them all with Swift!" she ordered.
"Craw!" Crawdaunt growled before he launched the star-shaped energy from his claws and hit all of Ash's Pokémon at once, preventing them from moving closer towards the battle. Ash grit his teeth in frustration as he tried to think quickly of another plan, but his concern for May and anger towards Shelly was clouding his judgment. Shelly noticed this quickly and began to stoke the fire.
"Such burning anger. Just what is she to you?" she questioned him. Ash tried his best to ignore her taunting and focus on the battle.
"Use Bullet Seed on Crawdaunt Treecko! And Pikachu use Thunder on Walrein!" he called.
"Tree!" Treecko grunted as he managed to break free from the Swift attack and fire his Bullet Seed at Crawdaunt.
"I'm on it!" Pikachu answered as he struggled to get up. He summoned his remaining strength and launched another Thunder attack towards Walrein.
"Daunt!" Crawdaunt said as he was hit by Treecko's Bullet Seed. He tried to shield himself with his claws, reducing the damage he took but not by much.
"Dodge and use Body Slam!" Shelly ordered Walrein.
"Rein!" Walrein roared as he jumped into the air and dodged the Thunder attack. His body started to fall and he landed on top of Pikachu with his full weight behind the Body Slam.
"AAHH!" Pikachu cried out in pain.
"Pikachu!" Ash gasped in shock. Pikachu struggled desperately to get out from under Walrein, but he just didn't have the strength.
"Let's wrap this up! Blizzard!" Shelly ordered. Walrein reeled his head back and launched a powerful Blizzard, hitting everyone in the area.
"Ah!" May yelped as he tried to shield her face from the blowing wind and snow with her arms. The Professor behind her tried to shield the meteorite in his arms.
"Oh my!" he gasped. Pikachu cried out in pain from his close proximity to the attack as Treecko tried to stand his ground against the super effective move. Taillow was easily sent flying by the wind and Corphish could only shield his face with his claws to try and bare the force. Ash hit the ground to try and avoid the brunt of the attack, but it didn't help all that much.
"Now men! Let's get what we came for!" Shelly ordered her grunts.
"Yes madam!" the Aqua grunts responded as they began to spread out. May gasped in fear as several came towards her and the Professor. Ash heard her fear and tried to get up to help her, but the Blizzard kept him pinned down.
"Ack!" the Professor yelled as he was shoved aside and the meteorite was ripped from his grasp. "No!" Ash grit his teeth and recalled Treecko, Taillow, and Corphish to their pokeballs, knowing they didn't have the strength yet to stand up to such a powerful and super effective attack. Shelly laughed in triumph as the grunts began loading onto the helicopter as the blades began to spin.
"It's not over till it's over..." Ash reminded himself of an old friend's advice. He grit his teeth and started moving towards May and the Professor. Shelly noticed him starting to move again and laughed.
"Still fighting, are we? Alright then, how about Crawdaunt aims for a different target this time?" she offered.
"W-What…?" Ash stammered as he raises an eyebrow.
"Crawdaunt be a dear." She said casually. Crawdaunt nodded and opened his pincers, then aimed them at May's head, earning a terrified gasp from the young lady. "I've got one more attack left in Crawdaunt's arsenal. What do you think her pretty little face would look like after being blasted with a Hyper Beam at close range?"
"You psychotic…" Ash growled as he clenched his fists.
"Still feeling brave?" Shelly asked. Ash was so angry he felt he could strangle Shelly right then and there. But he made a vow to protect May no matter what and he wouldn't risk her life like that. "Let us leave with the meteorite and we'll spare them."
"...Just don't hurt her…" he mumbled.
"Good boy." Shelly smirked before turning towards her grunts. "Move out! Let's get that meteorite back to HQ!" Ash looked down in shame as Shelly boarded the helicopter with the others and recalled her Pokémon as they lifted off and flew away. Ash cursed himself under his breath for letting them win. But he could at least take comfort in the fact that May was safe. He walked over to May who looked to be on the verge of tears after everything that went down.
"Sir Ash...I'm so sorry..." she whimpered. Ash ignored her apology and just hugged her tightly.
"Are you okay..?" he asked. May blushed at his actions as she quickly tried to find her voice again.
"Y-Yes..." she nodded. Her gaze drifted to her foot, still frozen to the ground. "Just a little cold..."
"Don't worry...I'll get you free." He assured her.
"I'm so sorry...I-I didn't mean to mess it up..." she said sadly.
"You didn't mess anything up..." he replied with a shake of his head.
"But they got away..." she reminded him.
"It's okay..." he said again as he examined the ice on her foot. "It's more important that you're okay..." May's face lit up with a blush as Pikachu made his way over to them. Ash looked at his partner and his face fell a little when he saw his messy fur and injuries. "What about you Pikachu..? Are you ok?"
"A little sore but I'm ok..." the Electric-type responded.
"I see...do you think you could help with this ice?" he asked, gesturing to the ice on May's foot.
"Of course." Pikachu nodded. He turned around and used Iron Tail, gently hitting the block of ice until it broke, finally freeing her foot.
"Thank you Pikachu..." she thanked him.
"We should get somewhere safe..." Ash told them.
"Ok..." she agreed. She slowly started to get up, but immediately she stumbled when she tried to put weight on her iced foot. Her foot was very numb and it was only because Ash grabbed onto her that she didn't fall back down.
"Careful..." he cautioned her.
"Sorry...my foot is numb..." she realized.
"That's fine. I've got you." He promised. He wrapped an arm around her waist and May held onto him to keep her balance. Ash helped her walk to the mountain top cable car station and sat her down in one of the office chairs.
"Thank you, Sir Ash..." she said gratefully. Ash nodded and began looking over the controls, hoping to find a way to turn the power back on and get the other cars moving. "This is the other cable car station...?"
"Yeah...an old friend of mine was good with technology. I picked up a thing or two from him so I might be able to get things moving again." Ash explained.
"So there's a way to get it going again...?" she questioned him hopefully. Ash nodded and continued looking through the controls. He recognized a lot of them, but none of them seemed right.
"Hm...I just don't know enough…" Ash sighed.
"I don't think I'd be much help in this situation..." May reminded him.
"That's alright." Ash replied. "We'll find another way."
"Perhaps I can be of some help then." A new voice suddenly spoke up. Ash and May looked over and saw the Professor from the battle walk into the station and begin working on the system. "It's the least I can do to thank you two for helping to save me."
"Thank you very much Mr…?" Ash's voice trailed off as he realized they had never done introductions.
"Heh, I'm Professor Cozmo. And you two are?" the Professor started them off.
"I'm Ash from Pallet Town." Ash returned the introduction.
"I'm Prin-...May." May caught herself.
"Oh, and this is my partner Pikachu." Ash added as Pikachu jumped onto his shoulder.
"Hi!" Pikachu greeted.
"Nice to meet you all." Cozmo smiled as he finally managed to turn on the power. "There we go!"
"Awesome!" Ash exclaimed as the lights turned back on. He looked at May and smiled as she sighed in relief. "Hey, how's your foot? Any better?"
"Better...I'm starting to feel my toes again." She chuckled a little.
"Good." He nodded.
"Did you two need to use the cable car to get back down the mountain?" Cozmo asked the two.
"Actually we're going back down the other side to get to Lavaridge Town." Ash corrected him.
"Oh, you're headed to Lavaridge Town? That's easy. The Jagged Pass isn't far from here." Cozmo explained, pointing out the window towards the path.
"Oh perfect. Thanks." Ash smiled.
"My pleasure. I'll get everything squared away here if you two need to get going.
"Thanks very much, Professor." Ash expressed his gratitude.
"Yes thank you." May echoed. They both flashed him one more smile and headed out towards the Jagged Pass. May was holding Ash's hand for both comfort and balance as they began to descend down the side of the mountain. Ash meanwhile smiled to himself with a light blush back on his cheeks.
To be Continued...