"There he is." Akari announced as she and Ash finally arrived at the Grand Tree arena. Looking ahead, Ash saw the giant tree was separated from the rest of the path by a small fence sporting the symbol of the Pearl Clan. Near the fence was an altar that had what appeared to be stone food and water bowls on top of it. Standing at the altar was a young boy who couldn't have been older than ten or eleven years old, which surprised him.
"That's the Warden?" Ash asked.
"Yup." Akari nodded. "That's Lian."
"Unbelievable...he's a kid..." he commented offhand. Akari sweatdropped as she and Ash walked over to the entranceway, drawing the attention of the young Warden. "Hello."
"So." Lian said with a familiar southern accent as he looked Ash up and down for a brief moment. "You're the mysterious stranger from the sky eh? The one that everyone is talking about?"
"Uh, I am yes." Ash sweatdropped, apparently underestimating how quickly his story had been spread around.
"There's been quite the buzz about you to reach all the way out here." Lian remarked as he folded his arms over his chest. "What brings you around these parts?"
"We were tasked to help calm Kleavor by our Commander." Akari explained.
"I see. I'm mighty sorry but I cannot allow you to go near Kleavor." Lian quickly deflected. "It's much too dangerous."
"I understand it's dangerous but he can't stay in a frenzy. It could really hurt him if we don't figure it out." Ash tried to persuade him. "We just want to help."
"I said no. And if you continue to insist on this I will have to use my Goomy to keep you back." Lian warned them.
"There's no need to fight. We all want the same-"
"I'll battle back." Ash interrupted Akari.
"Very well. Goomy!" Lian called out. A nearby bush rustled and from it crawled a Goomy who made his way onto the path next to Lian.
"Let's do it Pikachu!" Ash called out. Pikachu smiled and hopped off his shoulder and onto the path, facing Goomy and ready for a battle. Sensing that the two of them were going to battle no matter what she said, Akari sighed and backed off to give them both some space.
"Dragonbreath Goomy!" Lian called his first attack. His Goomy took a deep breath and fired off a Dragonbreath headed right for Pikachu.
"Dodge it with Quick Attack then use Iron Tail!" Ash countered. Pikachu heeded the order and quickly dodged Dragonbreath with Quick Attack before using the momentum to run up to Goomy and increase the power of his Iron Tail. The hit sent Goomy flying and he lands on the ground back a few feet from where he was before.
"Goomy!" Lian yelled with concern.
"Goo…" Goomy groaned as he managed to barely get back up to continue the battle.
"Don't give up Goomy! Use Bubble!" Lian tried again. After taking another deep breath, Goomy fired off the Bubble attack, though it didn't seem to worry Ash or Pikachu all that much.
"Use Thunderbolt to block!" Ash commanded his partner.
"On it!" Pikachu answered as he fired Thunderbolt and easily eradicated the Bubble before it even reached him.
"What the?!" Lian gasped, having never seen someone deflect his attacks so easily.
"Now wrap this up with Iron Tail!" Ash called out. Pikachu ran in quickly while Lian and Goomy were still stunned and struck Goomy with Iron Tail again, sending the little Pokemon flying backward. He crashed into the ground near Lian's feet and wound up fainting from the hit. "Looks like we won. Nice work Pikachu."
"Thanks!" Pikachu smiled as he took back his perch on Ash's shoulder. Akari walked back over to the group as Lian restored his Goomy's energy with a few berries from his pack.
"Thank you Goomy...you did a great job." Lian assured his partner before turning back towards Ash and Akari.
"Well now that the battle is over, could you please let us see Kleavor Lian? We really want to help." Akari pleaded.
"I'm mighty sorry...but it's just too dangerous...even I, Kleavor's loyal Warden, can't get close enough to him. Normally I'd offer him his favorite foods and that'd calm him right down. But even that hasn't worked." Lian explained to them.
"There has to be something we can do." Ash insisted.
"Hold on." Akari piped up. "If food normally calms him down, maybe there's a way to get the food to him without getting too close."
"How would we do that?" Lian inquired. Ash thought to himself for a moment before he noticed the pokeballs on Akari's belt and was struck with an idea.
"How's about throwing the food at him?" he suggested.
"Throwing the food at him?" Lian asked.
"Yeah like our pokeballs. If we can find a way to condense the food into a small package, we could throw it from a safe distance and get it to him." Ash explained.
"Ash you may be onto something. Maybe if I concentrate the food into a bag or some kind of capsule. I'm pretty skilled at crafting so if I could see the food perhaps I could put something together." Akari offered.
"You're skilled at crafting? You make pokeballs and things?" Ash wondered.
"One of the best in the Galaxy Team." Akari nodded proudly.
"Wow! That's awesome!" Ash smiled, making Akari blush a little to herself. It was at that moment that the three of them suddenly saw Irida walking up the path.
"Your idea is a novel one Akari." She announced.
"Irida?" Lian wondered as she approached the group.
"While I certainly don't endorse the Galaxy Team's use of those capture devices, adapting the idea to work with food may help our beloved Kleavor." The Clan Leader explained while her Glaceon nodded in agreement.
"Then let's get to making them." Ash grinned.
"Alright. I'll get you the foods that Kleavor likes." Lian promised Akari.
"Thank you, Lian." Akari smiled.
"One moment before you all go." Irida spoke up.
"Huh? Is something wrong?" Ash asked.
"If you don't mind Ash, would you battle with Glaceon and I as well?" she requested.
"A battle Irida? Why? You normally do not enjoy battling." Lian pointed out.
"It's still not something I enjoy...but it's my duty as Leader of the Pearl Clan to do my duty to protect our Noble Pokémon. And in this case, that means making sure our stranger from the rift is truly strong enough to take on Kleavor in such an angry state." She explained.
"Alright then. Let's battle." Ash agreed.
"Thank you. Glaceon would you please?" Irida looked at her partner. Glaceon nodded and got into a battle stance in front of Irida. Lian and Akari moved back to give the battle some room as Ash looked at Pikachu, noticing his partner drooping his ears.
"Not feeling up to battle bud...?" he asked.
"I can't...not while Glaceon is missing..." Pikachu informed him.
"I understand buddy. Don't worry about it." Ash assured him.
"Is something wrong?" Irida questioned them.
"Sorry. My Pikachu's mate is a Glaceon so I'll need to use a different Pokemon." He explained.
"That's not a problem for me. Bring forth your Pokémon." She replied. Ash grabbed Rowlet's pokeball from his belt and sent out his Grass and Flying-type to face Glaceon. With the Pokemon selected, Irida called out her first attack.
"Start with Swift Glaceon!" Glaceon leaped into the air with her tail glowing yellow and launched Swift at Rowlet.
"Use Aerial Ace!" Ash ordered Rowlet. Obeying the command, Rowlet used Aerial Ace, flying through and slashing through Swift stars with ease as he headed for Glaceon.
"Powder Snow let's go!" Irida countered. Glaceon took in a quick breath and launched Powder Snow at the incoming Rowlet, forcing Ash to quickly change tactics.
"Get back Rowlet then use Leafage!"
"Row!" Rowlet cooed as he stopped his Aerial Ace just in time to avoid the Powder Snow. He then fired Leafage at Glaceon from a safer distance. The attack hit Glaceon, but it didn't seem to do much damage.
"Swift one more time!" Irida called out.
"Gla!" Glaceon agreed as she jumped before firing off another Swift attack.
"Use Leafage again!" Rowlet fired off another Leafage and the two attacks collided midair and exploded upon the impact, showering both Pokemon in smoke.
"Now Quick Attack!" Glaceon jumped through the billowing smoke and landed a Quick Attack on Rowlet, forcing the owl Pokemon back a bit.
"Rowlet!" Ash gasped.
"Now Powder Snow!" Irida called. Glaceon once again fired Powder Snow at Rowlet before he could recover and landed it, causing Rowlet to screech out in pain.
"Oh no!" Akari gasped in shock as Rowlet fell to the ground.
"Irida can be strong once she gets into a groove." Lian commented.
"Rowlet you have to get up!" Ash begged.
"I believe this match is over. Your Rowlet has taken a lot of damage." Irida decided.
"We're not done! Rowlet can still fight!" Ash argued. As if responding to his passion, Rowlet slowly got back up onto his talons and stood tall, ready to go on after all. "That's it Rowlet! Now use Leafage!"
"Row…let!" Rowlet screeched loudly as he launched his attack. However, instead of Leafage, a Razor Leaf attack was at Glaceon, surprising the Ice Type and making contact as it pushed her backward.
"Way to go Rowlet! Use Aerial Ace and wrap this up!" heeding Ash's command, Rowlet flew in and used Aerial Ace, hitting Glaceon and sending her crashing into the ground, causing her to faint.
"Glaceon!" Irida gasped.
"Alright, Rowlet! That was awesome!" Ash cheered.
"Row row!" Rowlet happily hooted.
"Way to go Ash!" Akari grinned as she ran over to congratulate them. Irida meanwhile took out a Sitrus Berry and fed it to Glaceon.
"Glaceon are you ok?" she asked her partner. Shaking off her daze and eating the berry first, Glaceon then sat up and nodded.
"Gla." She assured Irida. She smiled a little before standing up and turning her attention back to Ash.
"Well done Ash. I give you my full cooperation in your plan to help Kleavor." Irida announced.
"Thanks very much, Irida." Ash smiled.
"Then let's get back to headquarters and make those new capsules for the food." Akari suggested.
"Good idea. Let's go." Ash agreed.
A while later, back at the Galaxy Team's headquarters, Ash was out in the lobby, waiting on Akari to finish crafting their newest tool. Lian had given them a sampling of the foods that Kleavor liked and Akari had been hard at work for nearly an hour.
"Ok. I think that should do it." She finally announced with a grin. She ran over to Ash and handed him a bag of food tied off with string. "What do you think?"
"Oh wow. Akari this looks really good. I could easily throw these just like a pokeball." He said with a genuine note of surprise.
"Professor Laventon and I decided to call it a balm. It's tight enough that it won't lose the food, but it'll still open up and produce the food when it hits Kleavor." She explained.
"Great! Then these should work perfectly!" he agreed enthusiastically.
"Then let's spilt them between us and head back. I think we're prepared for the attempt." She smiled. Ash nodded in agreement and the two of them headed off again, quickly making their way back to the Grand Tree Arena.
"Back here again." He commented as they walked back to the fence of the arena.
"Be careful you two." Lian warned them.
"Right…" Akari said as she took in a nervous breath.
"Let's do this." Ash said as he headed into the arena with Akari following behind. The two looked around the gigantic tree as everything around them seemed to go still all at once. Not even the leaves of the trees seemed to be swaying in the wind anymore.
"It's too quiet..." Akari gulped.
"Be on guard..." Ash cautioned her. All of a sudden they both felt the ground shake underneath them shake as if a gigantic footstep had just been taken. Then, in the blink of an eye, a large yellow Pokémon ran by them, so fast its form was hard to make out.
"What the?!" Akari gulped. The unknown Pokemon began slicing down trees as he ran without slowing down even for an instant.
"Is that Kleavor?!" Ash asked. But before Akari could answer, the Pokemon sliced through more trees and leaped into the air, spinning as he hurtled quickly towards them. "Incoming!"
"Ack!" Akari yelped as she jumped out of the way as Ash dove the other way. Now fully visible in the open field, the large Pokemon roared loudly as Ash and Akari finally got a good look at him. He was an insect-like Pokemon with rocky edges and large axe-like arms. "That's Lord Kleavor alright..."
"Alright. Get ready." Ash said as he took a deep breath.
"R-Right..." No sooner had the words left her mouth than Kleavor suddenly began to charge at them, swinging his axes in a wild manner. Both Ash and Akari quickly jumped out of the way of the attack, causing Kleavor to barely miss them and crash into the trunk of the large tree instead. "It's so fast!"
"Stay focused!" Ash reminded her. "Quick the balms!"
"Right!" she nodded as she quickly started throwing balms at Kleavor as Ash did the same. Several of their balms hit their marks on the massive Pokemon, but even so, Kleavor roared angrily and charged again, this time specifically at Ash. The young trainer jumped out of the way as Akari moved in behind Kleavor and threw more balms at him. Feeling each hit, Kleavor turned around and faced her as she threw a few more. Glaring at her now, Kleavor got into a battle stance and then charged right at her, giving her barely enough time to duck and roll out of the way. "Ack!"
"Akari!" Ash yelled out in concern. Akari landed on her back not far from Kleavor, who once again turned towards her, looking like he was going to charge her again. "Kleavor! Stay away from her!" he drew the Pokemon's attention as he threw some more balms at Kleavor. The frenzied Pokemon looked at him instead of Akari and roared. Quickly thinking up a plan, Ash ran and stood in front of the tree, trying to goat Kleavor into charging at him again. Luckily for Ash, Kleavor took the bait and charged at him once again. Ready for him this time, Ash jumped out of the way once again, causing Kleavor to slam headfirst into the tree, stunning himself and giving Ash and Akari an opportunity to switch up the fighting style.
"Let's go Pikachu!" Ash called out, prompting his partner to jump off his shoulder and stand in the gap to battle.
"Oshawott!" Akari mirrored his call as she threw her pokéball.
"Osha!" Oshawott called as he took the battlefield as well.
"Use Iron Tail Pikachu!"
"Oshawott use Water Gun!" Pikachu ran at Kleavor with Iron Tail while Oshawott fired Water Gun from his mouth. The stream of water was first to hit, blinding Kleavor by hitting him in the face. The Water Gun pushed him back a bit and just when it ended, Pikachu came in and nailed him with another Iron Tail, sending the massive Bug Type crashing into the tree trunk once again.
"Akari the balms!" Ash yelled as he began throwing as many balms as he could while Kleavor was down. Akari joined in and did the same, but just as they both reached their last balm, Kleavor got back up and roared, seemingly ready for another attack.
"Ash I only have one left!" Akari called to him.
"So do I! We have to make these count! Don't throw until my signal!" he ordered her. She nodded and stood in position, readying her last balm as he did the same on the other side. Kleavor himself got into position as well, the position Ash recognized as his charging position. He waited carefully until Kleavor actually started charging him once again then made the call. "NOW!" he threw his balm as Akari threw her's as well. The balms both hit Kleavor at the same time, suddenly causing a bright light to envelop the Noble Pokemon. Both Ash and Akari were forced to shield their eyes from the blinding light as the glowing power that surrounded Kleavor seemed to fade away. Once the light faded, both trainers slowly looked back at Kleavor and were quick to notice the yellow glow had vanished.
"Did it work...?" Akari cautiously asked.
"I don't know…" Ash admitted as he slowly approached Kleavor to check on him, Pikachu jumping back onto his shoulder just in case he was needed. Kleavor shook the daze from his head before looking at them with a curious expression, almost as if he didn't realize they had all been fighting him just moments before. "Kleavor...are you alright...?"
"Kleav kleavor." He nodded, earning a relieved smile from both Galaxy Team members.
"I'm glad. That's great." Ash smiled. Kleavor studied Ash for a moment before approaching him. Surprised Ash looked up at him as he presented Ash with an object before running off into the woods. Ash looked at the object in his hand curiously and was quick to realize it was the Insect Plate, another of the Life Plates Arceus always had.
"That's like the one Wydreer gave you." Akari commented as she recalled Oshawott and walked over. "What are they?"
"I don't know." he lied. "But they must be important to be held by the Noble Pokemon."
"Probably. But why are they being given to you?" she inquired.
"I have no idea." He replied, this time honestly.
"Oh…" she answered with a hint of disappointment. Ash put the plate away in his bag as they both turned back towards the arena entrance, noticing Irida and Lian walking over.
"Very impressive you two." Irida complimented them.
"Yeah. I can see the calm look on Lord Kleavor's face and it's mighty wonderful." Lian agreed.
"Thanks you guys." Ash smiled.
"We should be thanking you for helping Lord Kleavor. It means a great deal to us." Irida countered as she gave them each a small bow of gratitude.
"No problem. We're glad we could help." Ash assured her.
"That reminds me. We should get back to headquarters and report to the Commander." Akari suggested.
"Oh right."
"You two go on ahead." Irida insisted. "Lian and I can finish things up here."
"Thank you Irida." Akari smiled. Irida smiled back and with that, Ash and Akari began their trek back to Jubilife Village.
To be Continued...