Soon after their battle, Ash and Akari walked back into the Feildlands Camp where they met up with Professor Laventon. Upon hearing their footsteps he turned around and greeted them with a smile.
"Ah welcome back you two." He grinned.
"Hey, Professor." Ash replied.
"Great news Professor. Ash has agreed to help me with Warden Mai's request." Akari informed him.
"Oh wonderful!" the Professor exclaimed. "I know you were worried about doing that on your own."
"You mentioned that title before. What is a Warden?" Ash questioned them.
"Oh sorry." Akari apologized. "A Warden is a person who looks after one of the Nobel Pokémon across Hisui."
"And a Nobel Pokémon is…?"
"Well…it's a very special Pokémon, but it's probably easier for her to explain than for me to try to." She added. "I'll take you over there. It's just across the bridge."
"Thanks, Akari." He gave her a small smile. She smiled back and the two headed towards the river where a Security Corps member was standing guard. Akari was first to cross the bridge, but when Ash tried to follow her, he was stopped by the officer. "Huh? Is something wrong sir?"
"I'm sorry but can't let you through. Only One Star Corps members can cross into this area." The officer explained, catching Akari's attention.
"Oh sorry! It's ok he's with me. Captain Cyllene assigned him to be my partner." She quickly explained.
"Very well then." The officer agreed before stepping aside for Ash.
"Thank you, Sir." Ash said politely before he finished his trek across the bridge, meeting Akari on the other side. Waiting for them just a few steps away was a young woman dressed mostly in blue with short black hair and a very similar face to someone else Ash knew from his time. "Marley's ancestor..."
"Hi, Akari." She greeted his partner before noticing him. "Who's this?"
"This is Ash, my new Survey Corps partner. Ash, this is Warden Mai." Akari introduced the two of them.
"Hello, nice to meet you." Ash greeted her politely.
"Nice to meet you too. Well if you two are partners, are you both ready to go to Deertrack Heights? That Alpha doesn't look like he wants to leave anytime soon." Mai replied.
"An Alpha?" Ash wondered.
"Right. An Alpha Pokémon has invaded Lord Wyrdeer's land. I need help removing him." She added.
"Wyrdeer? I've never heard of that Pokémon." he commented again, earning a sigh from Mai.
"You really aren't from around here are you young man?" she asked with a hint of sarcasm.
"Heh…not really..." he admitted as he scratched the back of his head with a hint of embarrassment.
"It's a long story." Akari admitted.
"One we don't have time for I'm afraid. The short of it is, Wyrdeer is the Pokémon I tend to as his Warden. He's been blessed with the power of Almighty Sinnoh." Mai explained quickly.
"Almighty Sinnoh? Another Pokémon?" Ash wondered with genuine curiosity.
"In a sense yes. It's the ancient Pokémon that rules over this land as it governs all time." She continued.
"Sounds kinda like Dialga…" he remarked to himself.
"The Wyrdeer I care for is a descendant of a Pokémon that was blessed with the power of Almighty Sinnoh. So he has the honor of being one of our Nobel Pokémon. But unfortunately, an Alpha has invaded the Nobel's sacred space and I can't drive it out by myself." She added.
"Wow! Then of course I'll help get rid of it." He declared.
"Pika!" Pikachu agreed.
"Thank you very much, Ash. But before we go, would you have a battle with my Munchlax? Just so I can make sure a new recruit can handle this." She suddenly requested.
"Oh!" he said, taken aback slightly, but quickly shrugged it off in exchange for his trademark battle spirit. "Sure thing! Let's battle!"
"Good." Mai nodded before turning to the Pokémon standing at her feet. "Ready Munchlax?"
"Munch!" he nodded as Ash looked at Pikachu.
"Let's do this Pikachu."
"Yeah!" his partner nodded as he jumped off Ash's shoulder and ran over to the makeshift battlefield. Akari stepped back out of range as she and her Pikachu settled in to watch the battle.
"Let's start with Rollout!" Mai called the first move.
"Munch!" Munchlax agreed as he jumped and began somersaulting as fast as he could, allowing him to start rolling toward Pikachu once he hit the ground again.
"Use Iron Tail to stop them!" Ash countered. Pikachu jumped into the air and used Iron Tail, swinging his tail down into the ground so hard that cracks in the earth quickly form, causing Munchlax to stumble along the broken ground and throw off his Rollout. "Now use Thunderbolt!"
"On it!" Pikachu replied as he quickly fired his Thunderbolt at Munchlax, hitting the target before he had time to recover from the Rollout. Munchlax cried out in pain and was thrown back by the force of the blow.
"Yes! Way to go Pikachu!" Ash cheered.
"Don't give up Munchlax! Tackle let's go!" Mai called. Munchlax got back onto his feet and then ran at Pikachu with the full force of his weight behind him.
"Use Quick Attack!" Ash countered. Pikachu used a burst of speed energy and charged at Munchlax, causing the two to collide head-on. However, with the weight advantage, Munchlax was able to overpower Pikachu and send him flying backward.
"Pika!" Pikachu yelped as he crashed into the ground near Ash's feet. Both Akari and her Pikachu gasped in fear as Mai and Munchlax prepared their final move.
"Finish this off with Rollout." She ordered. Munchlax again began spinning and rolled towards Pikachu as fast as he could as Pikachu seemed to struggle to get back up onto his paws.
"Pikachu! Thunderbolt counter shield now!" Ash suddenly called. Pikachu nodded and suddenly started spinning around while using Thunderbolt, creating an electric force field just in the nick of time as Munchlax collided with the field and was stopped by the flying sparks.
"Munch!"
"Munchlax?!" Mai gasped.
"Alright!" Ash cheered.
"Wow!" Akari gasped happily.
"Pika!" her Pikachu agreed.
"They're amazing..." she smiled softly and blushed just a little. Her Pikachu's eyes sparkled with admiration as she watched Ash's Pikachu and blushed a little as well. Akari noticed the similar expression on her partner's face and smiled at her. "What do you think? Should we go for it with them?"
"Pi Pikachu." Pikachu nodded, still blushing at the idea.
"Alright." Her trainer smiled.
"Finish with Tackle!" Mai called to her Pokémon. Munchlax ran towards Pikachu in response, looking to put everything he had into one more attack.
"Use Iron Tail full power!" Ash countered. Pikachu waited for the perfect moment with his tail glowing and then struck Munchlax with Iron Tail when he got close enough to reach. The attack sent Munchlax flying and forced him to crash near Mai's feet and faint.
"Yes!" Ash cheered.
"Awesome!" Pikachu echoed his enthusiasm.
"They did it!" Akari exclaimed.
"Pika!" her Pikachu smiled. Mai walked over to her Pokémon and knelt down, gently helping him sit up.
"Munchlax are you ok?" she wondered.
"Munch…Munchlax…" he replied tiredly.
"You were wonderful, take these." She smiled as she fed Munchlax a few Sitrus Berries to restore his energy. Munchlax happily chowed down on them and soon retook his place next to Mai as she faced Ash. "That was an impressive battle, Ash. Well done."
"Thanks, Mai." He replied as Pikachu perched on his shoulder and Akari ran over to join them.
"Ash you and Pikachu were just amazing." She grinned.
"Chu chu." Her partner agreed.
"Thanks, Akari, Pikachu." He replied with a grateful smile.
"Alright, you two. Let's head to Deertrack Heights." Mai spoke up, drawing both their attention.
"Oh right." Ash suddenly remembered their mission. Mai nodded and began to lead the group up towards a nearby mountain as Ash and Akari followed close.
After a short walk, the group came upon a clearing near the top of the mountain and they stopped just outside of its range. It looked to Ash like a perfectly normal clearing, but it clearly held some important significance to Mai.
"Here we are. This is Deertrack Heights." Mai announced.
"Looks nice..." Ash commented. But no sooner had the words left his mouth than a familiar cry echoed out across the clearing. From a set of boulders that must've been serving as a nest, a large Krickitune entered the clearing and let out another loud cry. "Whoa! That's one big Kricktune!"
"That would be an Alpha Krickitune." Mai clarified.
"So this is what an Alpha Pokémon looks like..." he nodded.
"They're also very powerful. So you'll have to be careful." Akari added.
"No problem." He replied. With that, he walked over to Krickitune, drawing the massive Pokémon's attention. Krickitune cried out loudly as he faced Ash and got into a battle stance.
"Good luck Ash…" Akari whispered.
"Let's go Rowlet!" Ash called as he threw out Rowlet's pokéball.
"Row!" Rowlet called as he appeared on the field. Krickitune wasted no time and launched his first attack, firing a Bug Buzz at the Grass Type.
"Dodge it! Then use Aerial Ace!" Ash ordered Rowlet. His Pokémon dodged the Bug Buzz and then flew right Krickitune so fast he momentarily disappeared before suddenly reappearing as he nailed his attack. Krickitune stumbled back from the super-effective hit but was clearly far from being done with the battle.
"TUNE!" the But Type yelled with clear rage.
"Keep it up with another Aerial Ace!" Ash followed up. Rowlet used the momentum from his last attack and dove in for another Aerial Ace, but this time Krickitune was ready and blocked the attack with his blades. Rowlet was momentarily stunned by the block giving Krickitune an opportunity to use Slash, causing Rowlet to screech in pain and back off before he could sustain more damage. "Oh no Rowlet!"
"Kricki…TUNE!" the Alpha yelled as he launched another Bug Buzz at Rowlet.
"Quick Rowlet dodge!" Ash called. Rowlet managed to fly out of range of the Bug Buzz, but Krickitune moved quickly into the next attack and used Slash again, leaping into the air to do so. "Keep going up!"
"Let!" Rowlet agreed as he flew higher and avoided Krickitune's attack. The Alpha Pokémon used Bug Buzz mid-air in an attempt to try and reach him, but Rowlet easily dodged the attack and Kricitune began to fall, leaving him defenseless.
"Now's our chance! Aerial Ace and give it everything you got!" Ash ordered Rowlet. Rowlet flew straight down with all his power and struck Krickitune with his best Aerial Ace. The added power sent Krickitune careening to the ground and he crashed into a rock, fainting from the impact.
"Alright! Way to go Rowlet!" Ash cheered.
"Rowlet!" Rowlet chirped as he happily flew back down to Ash.
"Wow! You guys were great!" Akari smiled as her Pikachu nodded in agreement, though still looking at Ash's Pikachu instead of Rowlet.
"Pika!"
"That was very nice work, Ash. Thank you for helping me out with this." Mai chimed in.
"It's no problem. I'm glad we could help." He replied with a smile.
"Thanks to your help, I'm sure Lord Wyrdeer is happy too." She added.
"Maybe one day I'll get to see him in per-" A loud cry from above them suddenly cuts them off and draws everyone's attention to a cliff towering above the clearing. Standing above them on the ledge was a white Pokémon that bore a striking resemblance to a Stantler. "Whoa...!"
"Oh wow…" Akari whispered. "Is that…?"
"Yes." Mai nodded. "That's Lord Wyrdeer."
"Whoa...He looks kinda like a Stantler...?" Ash commented.
"Not surprising. Wyrdeer evolves from Stantler." She replied.
"They do? How? I've never heard of a Stantler evolving."
"Through a lot of hard work, the most powerful Stantler in a herd can evolve into Wyrdeer." She explained.
"I see." He nodded. Wyrdeer suddenly leaped off the ledge and landed in the clearing near the group, startling them. He slowly approached Ash, looking at him with great interest.
"Wyr..." the Nobel Pokemon said in a soft voice.
"H-Hello there." He said nervously. Wyrdeer sniffed him briefly before taking a step back. He dipped his muzzle into the long white fur under his chin, pulling out a small purple stone plate in his mouth. He offered it to Ash and after a moment, the young trainer accepted. With a short and polite nod, Wyrdeer suddenly ran off, disappearing into the wilderness. "Uh..."
"Seems Lord Wyrdeer has taken quite a liking to you, Ash." Mai smiled.
"I guess so…" he said with a small nod.
"What did he give you?" Akari wondered. Ash looked down at the stone plate that Wyrdeer had given him. It took him a moment, but he suddenly realized it was Arceus's Mind Plate.
"Whoa…" he gasped.
"What is it?" Akari piped up again.
"Uh…nothing. It's fine." He shrugged as he quickly put the plate away.
"Well anyway, Wydreer and I appreciate your help, Ash. Thank you." Mai smiled.
"You're welcome, Mai. I'm glad I could help." He smiled back.
"You really are amazing Ash..." Akari fawned shyly.
"Thanks, Akari." He grinned at her, only making her blush grow larger.
"There you all are!" Professor Laventon's voice suddenly called out, drawing the group's attention as he ran over with a few members of the Security Corps.
"Oh hello, Professor Laventon. Glad you could join us." Mai greeted them.
"Mai I was wondering, would it be alright if we build a base camp here? I'd love to be able to have a camp out here so that our team members don't have to go all the way back to the Fieldlands Camp while they're exploring." The Professor asked.
"That's not a problem Professor. You all have earned Wydreer's favor. As long as you respect the land I have no issue with you all setting up a camp." She replied.
"You want to put another camp here Professor?" Ash wondered.
"Oh yes. We're always looking to put up more base camps. It'll help the other Survey Corps members get around to more areas." He clarified.
"Oh, that makes sense." Ash nodded.
"Please feel free to build. Wyrdeer has given it his blessing." Mai assured them before heading off on her own.
"Alright then. Let's get to work." Akari announced. Ash and the other members nodded in agreement and everyone began getting to work to set up a brand new camp.
A few hours later, everyone in the group took a step back to admire the newly made campsite, complete with everything they needed just like the first one. It had taken a long time and the sun was already setting, but it was worth it to the team.
"It's perfect!" Akari cheered.
"Sure looks good." Ash agreed.
"Pika!" both Pikachu agreed.
"Thanks for your help you two." Professor Laventon nodded to both of them.
"No problem Professor." Ash smiled.
"For now it's getting late. We should all head back to Jubilife Village." Akari suggested.
"Sounds good to me." Ash agreed.
"You two go on ahead. I have a few more things to take care of here." The Professor replied.
"Ok. Goodnight Professor."
"See you, tomorrow Professor."
"See you both." He replied. With that decision made, Akari and Ash headed off with the Security Corps, heading back to the Village as the last of the sun drifted below the horizon.
Not long after the moon and the stars had appeared in the sky, Akari and Ash arrived back in Jubilife Village. Akari was chatting with their escort as Ash and Pikachu hung back and began talking among themselves. Ash kept his head low and sighed to himself, which Pikachu picked up.
"What's wrong Ash…?" Pikachu whispered.
"It's just…we were all over the fieldlands and there's still no sign of May or Glaceon..." he said quietly.
"I know…I'm worried too…" Pikachu said sadly.
"I'll never forgive myself if they're hurt…" he continued.
"We'll find them...we have to...someone in this region has to know where they are…" Pikachu tried to encourage him.
"You're right…we'll just keep our eyes and ears open and continue the mission…" he agreed. Pikachu smiled and nuzzled him for some comfort. Ash smiled back a little and pet his head. "Thanks, buddy."
"You're welcome."
"Hey, Ash." Akari suddenly called, drawing their attention to her and her Pikachu. "Want to get some dinner?"
"Oh uh, sure thing." He nodded. The two smiled at each other and headed to The Wallflower.
"Beni, two bowls of Potato Mochi please." Akari ordered for them as she sat down at one of the tables. Ash sat across from her and Pikachu crawled down into his lap. Akari smiled softly at him and he smiled back. "You know…you're unlike anyone I've ever met Ash..."
"Oh…really?" he wondered, noticing a change in her tone of voice.
"Yeah…" she nodded. "You're so...confident."
"Heh, thanks. I get that a lot from where I'm from." He admitted.
"I can only imagine…" she smiled softly. "Tell me, do you like it here in Jubilife?"
"Yeah. I sure do. It feels a lot like a place I used to know actually." He replied.
"Well, then I'm glad you like it here." She smiled with a sense of hope in her eyes.
"So Akari, how come you joined the Survey Corps? Doesn't seem like many people around here want to venture out into the wilds." He asked.
"Well, I've always wanted to explore and help people. As a member of the Survey Corps, I can do both. If we learn more about Pokemon through the Pokedex project, maybe more people will want to live peacefully with them." She explained.
"Oh wow. That's a pretty cool dream." He smiled.
"Thanks…" she smiled back as another blush crossed her cheeks. "Can I...ask you something?"
"Sure thing."
"...Do you think you might stay here long term?" she carefully asked.
"Oh um…long term?" he wondered with a hint of surprise.
"Yeah you know...for the foreseeable future?" she insisted.
"I don't…I don't know Akari…" he sighed.
"You…don't...?" she gasped, her smile fading.
"I'm here for something important…but after it's over…I'm not sure I'll stay here…" he continued, trying to be as vague as possible.
"Oh...I thought you liked it here..." she said, her face falling.
"Don't get me wrong. I do like it here." He insisted. "It's just…I have a life back home…my friend and I do…"
"I just…I wish you would consider staying...I know I'd like it..." she tried, gently placing her hand on his, earning a slight blush from Ash.
"Uh...A-Akari…?" he stuttered as he seemed to finally notice the blush on her cheeks as she squeezed his hand.
"Something wrong Ash?" she asked sweetly.
"H-How come you keep blushing...?" he wondered, hoping it wasn't what he thought it was.
"Isn't it obvious...?" she whispered as she suddenly leaned across the table and kissed his lips with her own. Ash's eyes widened in shock as his face turned bright red. He was too stunned to move as Akari closed her eyes and deepened the kiss, Pikachu watching the situation unfold in horror. It wasn't until she wrapped her arms around his neck that Ash snapped out of his surprise and pulled away from the kiss.
"U-Uhh..." he stammered, at a complete loss for words.
"That was really nice." She whispered with a happy smile.
"Uh...I-I have to go..." he suddenly announced, getting up from the table quickly, though stumbling as he went.
"What? But-" Akari couldn't finish her sentence as Ash quickly ran off to his barracks as fast as he could with Pikachu right on his tail.
To be Continued...