Basculegion pulled up along the coast of Firespit Island, allowing Ash and Akari to hop off his back and onto dry land again. Akari sighed in relief as Ash did his best to shake off the blush that was etched into his cheeks and recalled Baculegion. Once she'd caught her breath, Akari looked up at the massive volcano before them.

"Oh boy..." she gulped.

"No kidding…" Ash agreed.

"Well let's hurry. Iscan is probably already at the Molten Arena." She reminded him.

"Right." He nodded.

"Pika." Pikachu echoed. The group was about to head up the mountain when Noble Basculegion suddenly roared at them, drawing their attention.

"Noble Basculegion?" Ash asked, carefully approaching the large Water type.

"Bas!" Basculegion answered as he pulled an item from within his scales. He held it in his teeth and presented it to Ash, revealing it to be the Splash Plate.

"Another one of those things?" Akari wondered.

"Yeah..." Ash nodded.

"And you still have no idea why they're being given to you?"

"No I don't..." he half lied.

"Well...we can't worry about it now. Let's get moving." sh reminded him.

"Right." he nodded as he slipped the plate into his bag alongside the others. With that decided, the two trainers headed toward the top of the volcano, avoiding most of the wandering Pokemon as they did. The higher up they went, the hotter it got, forcing both trainers to wipe the sweat from their foreheads more than once. Soon enough, however, the flags of the Molten Area came into view, signaling the end of their latest hike.

"Up there. Finally." Akari sighed in relief.

"That must be where they took Growlithe." Ash deduced. As they drew closer, they saw Iscan already at the top, looking into the Molten Arena from outside. "Iscan?"

"Shh…" he motioned to them as he waved them closer.

"Are they in there?" Akari wondered.

"They are…" the Warden nodded.

"Then we have to prepare for a battle against them. No doubt they won't just let Growlithe go." She commented.

"Right..." Ash confirmed her theory. "Everyone ready?"

"Yes." Iscan answered.

"Let's do it." Akari echoed.

"Ug! Why won't this Growlithe evolve?!" Clover yelled angrily as she stamped her foot. The Growlithe in the center of the bandits whimpered a little, clearly having been attacked in an effort to force an evolution.

"Seems we'll need to push him harder." Charm said as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"A lot harder." Coin agreed. It was at that moment that Ash, Akari, and Iscan ran into the Arena and faced off against the bandit trio.

"Stop it right now!" Akari yelled, drawing their attention.

"Hmph. You again?" Charm groaned.

"Like we were going to just let you take him!" Ash glared.

"Let Palina's Growlithe go right now!" Iscan demanded of them.

"No way! Once this pup evolves we'll have a Pokemon so strong no one will be able to beat us!" Clover smirked.

"It won't work! That's not even the Lord's son!" Ash tried to inform them, but the three of them just laughed him off.

"Trying to convince us of a lie? That's your best strategy?" Coin mocked them.

"It's not a lie! It's the truth!" Iscan also tried.

"Enough! I'll take care of him! Go Toxicroak!" Coin called as she threw her pokéball and released her partner, facing down Ash.

"Good idea!" Clover agreed as she released Abomasnow to face off with Iscan.

"Time to get rid of these kids once and for all." Charm added as she sent out her Gengar to face Akari.

"Not a chance! Let's go Growlithe!" Ash called as he brought out his Growlithe.

"Grow!" Growlithe howled.

"Let's do this Pikachu!" Akari said as she brought out her Electric Type.

"Pikachu!" her partner sparked her cheeks.

"You won't get away with hurting Palina!" Iscan yelled as he played his flute. Within seconds, Noble Basculegion leaped out of the sea below and landed next to Iscan, ready to fight.

"Bas!"

"Growlithe use Fire Fang!" Ash called out the first move. Growlithe obeyed the command and charged toward Toxicroak with his fangs on fire.

"Counter with Poison Jab!" Coin ordered her partner. Toxicroak's knuckle blade began to glow with a purple color and she charged at Growlithe, taking a big swing at him once he was in range.

"Dodge it!" Ash yelled, prompting Growlithe to jump out of the way before sinking his fangs into Toxicroak's arm, causing the Poison Type to cry out in pain before Growlithe broke away and growled at her.

"You don't have to take that! Use Mud Bomb!" Coin commanded. Toxicroak took a deep breath and fired off a barrage of mud at Growlithe.

"Block it with Rock Slide!" Ash countered. Growlithe howled loudly and rocks suddenly started raining down on the field, the large rocks blocking the Mud Bomb from making contact with Growlithe. "Nice work!"

"Fine then! Use Brock Break!" Coin tried again. Toxicroak's knuckle blade began to glow white this time and she once again charged at Growlithe.

"Now's your chance! Flamethrower!" Ash called out. Growlithe took a deep breath in and then fired his best Flamethrower. The quick attack left Toxicroak with nowhere to go and she was hit hard. The attack sent her crashing into a wall where she fainted.

"That's the way Growlithe! Excellent!" Ash congratulated his new partner.

"Lithe growl!" Growlithe barked happily.

"Annoying brat…" Coin grumbled as she recalled Toxicroak.

"Use Shadow Ball!" Iscan ordered Noble Basculegion. The Noble Pokemon obeyed his warden and fired off a blob of ghostly energy, hitting Clover's Abomasnow and knocking him out.

"No, not again!" Clover growled as she recalled her fainted partner.

"Excellent work my friend." Iscan smiled.

"Bascu!" Noble Basculegion cheered.

"Finish it with Thunderbolt!" Akari yelled. Her Pikachu jumped into the air and launched Thunderbolt, hitting and knocking out Charm's Gengar.

"Little pests..." Charm grumbled as she recalled her Gengar.

"Way to go Akari!" Ash grinned.

"Thanks, Ash!" she smiled with a small blush before she and the others turned back to the trio of thieves.

"Now let Palina's Growlithe go!" Ash growled at them. However before the women could respond, the smaller Growlithe suddenly ran past Ash and his friends, stopping only to stand between them and the bandits as he growled.

"Little Growlithe?!" Iscan gasped.

"What the?! How'd he get here?!" Akari wondered aloud.

"Growlithe!" Palina called as she too ran into the area.

"Palina?! What are you doing two here?!" Iscan questioned her.

"After you all left Growlithe dove into the ocean and swam here!" she revealed, shocking everyone.

"He what?!" Akari gasped.

"That's crazy!" Ash agreed.

"He did that after what happened to his father?!" Iscan tried to confirm.

"He wanted to save his friend! I couldn't stop him!" Palina added.

"Out of the way runt." Charm hissed at the little Growlithe. However, the son of the Lord simply growled at them and refused to move. Before anyone could make a move, a ghostly howl suddenly echoed across the volcano, startling everyone. Growlithe's ears perked up and he let out his own howl, then his whole body started glowing.

"Growlithe?!" Palina gasped.

"He's evolving?! Now?!" Ash realized. The glow got even brighter and Growlithe began to change shape. When the glow finally faded, a large Rock and Fire type Arcanine was standing in his place. He let out a powerful howl, so loud that the bandits actually backed away with a hint of fear.

"Sisters, I think it's time we left." Charm announced as she threw down more smoke bombs, coving their escape. Everyone coughed and shielded their eyes until the smoke cleared, and found that once again they had gotten away.

"Dang it…they got away again!" Ash groaned.

"That's not important now…" Palina said as she slowly began to approach Arcanine, but suddenly dark clouds began to form overhead.

"Palina look out!" Iscan called when he noticed the change in the sky.

"Huh...?!" she gasped as she looked up. As she did, lightning fell from the clouds and struck Arcanine, causing him to howl in pain. "Arcanine!"

"ARC!" Arcanine cried out. As he was struck, his body started glowing yellow and absorbed the power into him.

"Oh man...not him too...!" Ash gasped as the lightning faded. Now glowing a very familiar yellow, Arcanine turned towards the group and growled in a menacing voice.

"H-He just went into a frenzy?!" Akari panicked.

"Arcanine..." Palina whispered as she backed away.

"Paulina stay back!" Iscan yelled as he shielded her behind him.

"Everyone fall back and regroup!" Ash yelled as he took off running with his Growlithe running at his feet. Akari quickly recalled Pikachu and ran after him with Iscan and Palina following close behind. They all ran back towards the flags at the gate and were quick to run past them. Iscan looked back and saw that Arcanine didn't appear to be following them passed the gate.

"I think we're safe now!" he called to the rest of the group, prompting everyone to stop and catch their breath.

"Is everyone ok...?" Akari asked in between her panting.

"I'm fine..." Ash replied.

"Palina?" Iscan wondered.

"I'm fine too..." she assured him. As Ash recalled Growlithe to his pokeball, a new voice joined the group.

"Lina!" everyone turned around and saw Irida running over to the group.

"Irida?" Palina said with a hint of surprise.

"What happened? I saw lightning from the rift come striking down to the arena. Is anyone hurt?" the Clan Leader asked.

"We're all fine, but some type of energy was in that lighting and it was absorbed into Arcanine's body...he looked to be in so much pain..." the Warden explained.

"So he's gone in a Frenzy as well...Lina, gather all the food that Arcanine likes for an offering." Irida instructed her friend, to which Palina nodded.

"I'll make as many balms as I can." Akari promised as she followed Palina to get the supplies.

"Sounds like we're in for another big fight Pikachu…" Ash said as he looked at his friend.

"Let's do it." Pikachu nodded.

Within the hour, Akari and Paulina returned to Iscan, Ash, and Irida. Akari's arms were filled with balms, though there were significantly fewer of them than they had against Lord Kleavor or Lady Lilligant.

"Looks like we have a low supply this time…" Ash commented as Akari handed him a share of the balms.

"Yeah…it's all we could make on such short notice…" Akari replied apologetically.

"Well then, we'll just have to make every balm count." Ash declared.

"Right." Akari said as she took a deep breath. "Ready to do this?"

"I sure am. Let's help Arcanine." He nodded.

"Please be careful you two…" Palina begged them. Both trainers nodded and then headed into the Molten Arena. Arcanine heard their footsteps and turned around as they moved closer. He howled and began to approach them, easily able to walk through the lava, unlike his opponents.

"Go!" Ash yelled as he started throwing balms, with Akari quick to copy him. Their balms hit their target, but Arcanine still growled at them and then began charging straight toward them.

"Look out!" Akari yelped as she dove out of the way while Ash dove in the opposite direction. Both of them managed to stop themselves narrowly before they rolled into the lava, but it didn't leave them much room for error.

"Akari be careful!" Ash called to her.

"Right!" she nodded as she got back onto her feet. Ash did the same and started throwing more balms, which she did as well.

"Arca!" Arcanine barked as he glowed orange with a firey power. From the heat around his body, huge fireballs formed near his head and with one powerful bark, the fireballs started flying at them at maximum speed.

"Yikes!" Akari yelped as she narrowly dodged one that was aimed at her. Ash ducked one himself by rolling as close to Arcanine as he could get. He threw as many balms as he could at the closer range and suddenly managed to hit Arcanine in the face with one, making him dizzy and pause his attack which Akari noticed. "Ash an opening!"

"I'm on it! Go Basculegion!" he called as he threw out Basculegion's pokeball, releasing his Water type.

"Help us out Dewott!" Akari screamed as she threw out her own pokéball and released her partner.

"Use Aqua Jet!" Ash commanded.

"Razor Shell!" Akari ordered. Basculegion roared as he coated himself in water and used Aqua Jet. Dewott meanwhile grabbed his scalchops as they grew into blades of water and then leaped at Arcanine right alongside Basculegion. Both attacks hits Arcanine for massive damage and made the Lord howl out in pain. While he was still stunned by the double attack, Akari and Ash threw as many balms as they could, when Akari suddenly ran out of balms. "Oh no!"

"Akari!" Ash yelled, drawing her attention back to the battle. She looked up and saw that Arcanine had shaken off the attacks from before and had now zeroed in on her.

"Uh oh…" she gulped as she tried to back up, but as soon as she moved her foot, she found that she was unable to move any further with a pool of lava situated right behind her. She was trapped between a Rock type and a hot place.

"Nine!" Arcanine roared as his body began giving off heat once again, this time forming a massive fireball right above his head, clearly intending to launch it at her.

"Akari get Dewott to turn him around!" Ash yelled at her.

"Do what?!" she asked in confusion.

"Just trust me!" he insisted.

"O-Ok! Dewott use Razor Shell full power!" she yelled. Dewott once again grabbed his water blades and leaped at Arcanine. Lunging in with the biggest swing he could give, Dewott hit Arcanine in the face with Razor Shell, which not only stunned Arcanine and made him lose his focus for his attack, but also forced Arcanine to stumble backward, turning his body more towards Ash. Summoning all the strength he had left in his arm, Ash threw his last balm with all his might, nailing Arcanine right in the face. He howled loudly as his body began to glow brightly again. Ash and Akari shielded their eyes as the trapped energy inside Arcanine's body was released and faded into the air.

"Did it work…?" Ash asked cautiously as he slowly lowered his arms. Both he and Akari looked towards Arcanine and found the Lord blinked and looked around, seemingly confused about what was going on.

"Arcanine…?" Akari cautiously asked.

"You ok?" Ash wondered as he approached.

"Nine arca!" he smiled at them, earning a smile from each of them as well. Having heard the happy bark, Palina, Iscan, and Irida ran into the arena to see what was going on. Palina slowly approached her Lord, drawing his attention.

"Arcanine...are you alright?" she asked gently. Lord Arcanine smiled at her and barked happily, causing her to smile back softly. "I'm so glad."

"That's so great." Irida commented. All of a sudden, the group heard another ghostly howl like the one before. Everyone looked around the arena in confusion, but it was Palina who looked atop the volcano and found she could barely see the soul of Arcanine's father watching them proudly before he faded away completely.

"So...it really was him." She smiled. Arcanine softly howled a tribute to his father and Palina gently stroked his rocky fur. "Congratulations Arcanine. You are indeed ready to become Lord of the Isle."

"Lithe grow!" her Growlithe happily barked in agreement.

"I promise I'll do my best to be a good warden to you from now on." She assured Lord Arcanine. He smiled at her and then softly nuzzled her cheek with his snout. She stroked his snout before turning to Ash and Akari. "And thank you both for saving him. You have my eternal thanks."

"You're welcome." Ash replied.

"I'm glad he's ok." Akari smiled.

"Arc arca." Lord Arcanine suddenly spoke up. He dug through his stony fur and then pulled out a red plate that he then offered to Ash.

"Oh. Thank you Lord Arcanine." Ash said as he accepted what he recognized as the Flame Plate.

"Guess that's another one…" Akari commented.

"Guess so…" he nodded before putting the plate away in his bag with the others. All of a sudden, Palina's Growlithe perked his nose up into the air and sniffed curiously.

"Growlithe? Is something wrong?" Palina questioned her partner.

"Lithe!" he answered before he ran off and stopped by one of the small pools of lava. He then barked at Palina to follow him, so she too walked over and knelt down next to the small lava pool where she spotted something.

"Huh…Now that's odd..." she remarked as she picked something up off the ground.

"What is it Palina?" Akari questioned her as she and Growlithe returned to the group.

"This little trinket was over by the lava." She explained. She held out her hand and opened it to show the object to everyone else. But only Ash knew what it was...it was May's half of the Terracotta Ribbon. His eyes widened in shock and his mouth ran dry.

"Th-That's…!" he stammered.

"No way…" Pikachu gasped, recognizing the ribbon as well.

"Ash is something wrong?" Akari wondered.

"That ribbon…it belongs to my girlfriend…it's one of her most prized possessions…" he shakily explained.

"Oh..." Akari said, her mood immediately dropping at the mention of his girlfriend.

"Strange...I haven't seen anyone coming or going from this area in weeks." Palina informed them.

"Can I...Can I see it please…?" he managed to ask through his dry mouth.

"Oh. Of course." The Warden nodded as she handed the ribbon to him. Ash gently took it into his hands and held it close to his chest and closed his eyes, just happy for a moment to have a little piece of his beloved May back with him. He ran his thumb over the metal center, then over the fabric until it reached a slightly charred edge from the side that was closest to the lava. Once his skin brushed against the charred fabric, a horrifying thought crossed his mind and his eyes shot open again.

"No...she couldn't have..." his gaze slowly drifted toward the lava pool and the terror inside him began to rise. He remembered his dream about May's demise just the prior night and his breathing started to become erratic and heavy. His mind began to spin and everything else in the world seemed to disappear.

"Ash...?" Akari softly asked, growing concerned.

"She couldn't have...she couldn't..." Ash felt his knees grow weaker and he suddenly collapsed to the ground onto his hands and knees, surprising everyone when he started to cry. Akari, more stunned than anyone, quickly knelt down to his level and took a hold of his shoulders.

"Ash what's wrong...?!" she pleaded for him to tell her. Ash continued to cry for another few moments before regaining enough oxygen to form words again.

"M-My girlfriend...s-she must have...f-f-fallen into the lava...a-and…" he couldn't finish before tears overtook him once again and the words dissolved away. Even though he didn't finish, it was clear to everyone what he was implying and the joy that was once among the group quickly dissipated.

"Oh, Ash..." Akari whispered, pulling him into a hug. Normally such an action would have made Ash uncomfortable, but he was so distraught that he just crumbled into her arms and cried his heart out. Pikachu as well teared up, quickly realizing that there was a big chance that his beloved Glaceon had been met with the same fate. Palina frowned and looked at Iscan sadly, unable to provide another explanation for the ribbon's placement at the volcano. Iscan hugged her to comfort her as Irida watched the two trainers mourn and Arcanine sadly howled into the air.

A few hours later, long after the sun had set, Ash was back in his barracks in Jubilife Village. He hadn't stopped crying since May's ribbon had been discovered, nor had he let the ribbon go from his grip. He felt his whole world had caved in around him. The woman he loved, the woman he planned to spend the rest of his life with, was quite possibly dead. And he hadn't even been there for her.

"Glaceon…" Pikachu mumbled as he cried in his sleep, trying to ignore the very real chances that Glaceon had gone down with May. Ash paced around the barracks in a complete state of stress and panic, trying to organize the most chaotic thoughts he'd ever had.

"It's not fair...why did she have to land there of all places...?!" he screamed to no one in particular. An excruciating pain began to enter his body the more he thought about it. And it hurt more than any attack he had ever been through. He groaned in pain as he held his head, finding himself nearly unable to think clearly because the pain was so bad. He needed some kind, any kind, of relief from the pain and he needed it right away before he completely lost his sanity. He bolted out the door and quickly ran to another barrack, wasting no time in knocking on the door. Within a few moments, Akari opened the door, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. When she looked up she was surprised to see Ash standing there, looking like a disheveled mess.

"Ash...? What are you-" her sentence was left unfinished when Ash kissed her lips with a burning urgency. Her eyes widened in total shock and a deep blush lit up her face. Ash slowly pulled away and kept his eyes locked on hers. She could see the pain and desperation in his and was quick to realize what he wanted.

"Akari…"

"Oh…" Ash grabbed her into another kiss and this time Akari started to kiss him back. Ash wrapped his arms around her and held her close, causing her to moan into his mouth. Ash responded with his own moans as he slowly guided her back inside her barracks. Akari allowed him to move her body back inside and close the door to her barracks.

To be Continued...