Chapter 10: Pyxis
Ash, Zinnia, and their Pokémon partners finally landed at the foot of the Sky Pillar. They both dismounted their rides. Zinnia returned her Salamence to its Pokéball. Ash thought back to what Zinnia had said to him during their ride to the tower.
"Huh? Girlfriend?" Ash asked, confused.
"Yeah, the cute blonde with short hair. Serena? She is your girlfriend, correct?"
Ash rubbed the back of his neck, slightly embarrassed. "Well… not exactly…"
"Really? Could've fooled me. You two were really cute together. I can tell just by the way she looks at you, that she's very much into you. And the way you two trust each other so much is really a great thing." Zinnia said, smiling.
"Well, of course we trust each other! I would trust Serena with anything. We've been through a whole lot together so I know that I can trust her, and I hope she knows she can trust me just as much." Ash said confidently, with Pikachu chiming in as well.
"Well then, Ash, if she's not already your girlfriend, I suggest doing everything in your power not to let her get away. That's the type of trust you don't see very often. It's really something special. And that look in her eyes tells me she wants nothing more than to be by your side. I would keep her around, if I were you." Zinnia said.
Ash briefly contemplated her words. He knew that he felt different, if only slightly different, about Serena, compared to his other friends. Her presence made him feel happy, her attitude and passion inspired him, and her cute smile lit up the world. As much as he liked thinking about that smile of hers, he didn't have a whole lot of time to. Not when the looming Sky Pillar stood right in front of him and his new friend. They were looking it up and down, standing at the bottom, both unfazed by the storm.
"So, how come we can't just fly to the top?" Ash asked Zinnia.
Zinnia chuckled. "If only it were that easy. There's actually an invisible barrier of wind close to the top. Basically, if you fly up past that point close to the tower, no matter how fast or how heavy you are, you'll be sent flying back down by wind. Supposedly, it was put in place by my ancestors, the Draconid people, because back then, the trek up the tower was used as a trial of sorts. Not sure what that trial was for, but whatever the answer, we still can't fly up to the top. We have to go the long way."
"That barrier or whatever has got another thing comin'!" Ash mounted Garchomp once more. Pikachu, knowing his partner was about to do something reckless, jumped off Ash's shoulder and on to the ground before Ash said anything else. "Let's fly, Garchomp!"
"Ash, wait!" She reached her arm out towards Ash and Garchomp, but the dragon-type launched itself off the ground and straight up towards the top of the tower. Zinnia watched them ascend and sighed.
"Pika pi?" Zinnia's attention was caught by Ash's partner standing next to her, looking up at her, concerned.
Zinnia smiled. She bent down and began to scratch the mouse's head, much to his delight. "Don't worry, Pikachu, he'll be fine. He won't be hurt. I understand the feeling of wanting to find out things for yourself. Honestly, I kind of admire that."
Pikachu scurried its way up to Zinnia's shoulder and found a comfortable perch, and nuzzled her face happily. Zinnia giggled. "You're a friendly one, huh?"
Ash's face was being repeatedly hit with massive raindrops and the forceful wind as he rode Garchomp vertically up the side of the tower. Garchomp was one of the fastest dragon-types around, so it was practically no time at all before they were nearing the highest point of the tower. Right before Garchomp reached the top, its momentum was forcefully pushed to a stop, even managing to push it back down several meters. This sudden change almost caused Ash to fly off of his ride, but he closed his eyes and held on tight to ensure he didn't fall. Garchomp hovered in the air just under where its momentum had stopped, wondering what exactly had just happened.
Ash opened his eyes, confused. He looked around and saw that they hadn't actually been able to fly higher than the tower. He looked up again. "Try again, Garchomp! But, slower this time."
Garchomp slowly began to increase its elevation, only to be once again forced to a stop and pushed several meters down. Ash frowned, sighing. "I guess Zinnia was right. That sucks."
Zinnia watched expectantly as Ash and Garchomp slowly reached the ground, Pikachu still perched on her shoulder. Ash looked sheepish as he dismounted and returned Garchomp to its Pokéball. He rubbed the back of his neck. Zinnia sighed and shrugged. "You should've just listened to me, Ash."
"Sorry, Zinnia. I just wanted to see it for myself. Not like I didn't believe you or anything, I just needed to see for myself to really believe it. Gotta exhaust all my options before I try to climb this giant thing." Ash said, motioning to the tower.
"It's okay, Ash. I learned a lot about you from that. I really admire your attitude. It will certainly help us get up to the top here. Even I don't really know what we'll come across." Zinnia told him.
Ash chuckled sheepishly. "Well, thanks. I say let's get moving, then!"
Zinnia nodded. "Agreed. Let's go."
Ash nodded back, holding out his arm towards Zinnia, who looked confused for a moment, before Pikachu jumped off of her shoulder and back onto Ash's arm and finding his place back on Ash's shoulder. Zinnia smiled at this. She could tell the trust between those two was just as, if not more, strong as the trust between Ash and Serena.
As the two entered the opening in the front of the tower, they both took a moment to dry themselves off. Pikachu hopped off of Ash's shoulder and shook the moisture out of his fur.
"Nice to be out of that storm, huh, buddy?" Ash asked, grinning at Pikachu. The mouse smiled back and nodded.
Ash turned to Zinnia to see her smoothing out her hair and getting the water out of it. She had seemed to be the rather quiet, reserved type to him. From what he could tell, she didn't have a whole lot of experience around people. That was very different to him and his own experience. He was easily able to connect with people without even having to try, having been surrounded by lots of people since Professor Oak's summer camp where he met Serena. He figured he was going to have to reach out a little bit more than usual to make sure that he and Zinnia were able to work well as a team.
"Hey, Zinnia. I know we're probably gonna run into some danger as we're climbing, but you don't mind if we chat for a bit, do you?"
"Well, I'm not a big fan of small talk, but go ahead. What do you want to know?"
"So, do you have a dream? A goal for yourself, at all?" Ash asked, genuinely curious.
Zinnia seemed to smile sadly, looking down at the floor. By this point, everyone had settled into the damp, cold air of the inside of the tower and had sufficiently dried themselves. Pikachu took his place on Ash's shoulder and they began to walk in the direction of the first staircase.
Zinnia looked up slightly. "I don't, at the moment."
The dark-haired girl stayed quiet for a moment. Ash looked over at her with a gentle expression, silently encouraging her to elaborate. She saw this look and figured that she could trust him.
"...I honestly can't even remember a significant amount of time where I've been too far away from home. My grandmother only passed away a few months ago. She raised me, so it took a big toll on me. But because of that, I've never really had the chance to go anywhere too far away. I can tell you're well-traveled, and that you're great around people. I'm… not. The only friend I've ever truly had was my grandmother. I've never met my parents. But, if given the chance, I would not hesitate to explore the world. The inheritance from my grandmother would surely be enough to allow me to do that." Zinnia explained.
Ash and Zinnia began to ascend the first staircase as he gave her a confident smile. "Why wait? Once this whole mess is over, there's nothing stopping you. I think everyone, especially people our age, should have some kind of goal for themselves. It pushes us forward, gives us motivation to go on when we don't have anything going our way. For us, we're young. We should have long-term goals for ourselves for when we get older; we should identify who we want to be as we get older."
They both reached the top of the stairs. Ash continued. "I can tell you're a strong girl. If you don't have it figured out yet, I know you will soon."
Zinnia smiled gratefully at Ash. She hadn't known him for long, but she could tell he was completely genuine and kind, which she appreciated.
"So, uh, real quick, that was a lot of stairs. How many floors are there to this thing?" Ash said sheepishly. Pikachu sweatdropped from Ash's shoulder.
Zinnia sighed. "Ash, we've only just started. There are five floors in total, including the top. We'll have to climb three more staircases just like that one."
"Great." Ash sighed, already exhausted given the thought of all that climbing.
"Pika." Pikachu seemed to scold his trainer for not wanting to climb so far.
"Don't give me that, Pikachu. You don't have to climb anything other than me to get to your spot."
Pikachu seemed to grin slyly before proceeding to nuzzle his trainer's face happily. Ash sighed, but smiled in spite of himself. "Yeah, yeah, I love ya too, buddy."
Zinnia giggled. "You two have a great relationship. You're like brothers."
Ash turned and smiled at her. "Yeah, that's for sure. Pikachu's somethin' alright."
"Pika!"
The second floor of the Sky Pillar looked to be completely empty; not a single Pokémon or person in sight. It was a little dark; only small openings in each wall let what little light there was outside into the enclosed space. It was like a deserted old ruin with nothing in it; just an empty room made of old stone with old, peculiar-looking designs or drawings on the floor, walls, and ceiling.
"Empty… this is kinda givin' me the creeps." Ash said, looking slightly anxious. Pikachu agreed, shuddering.
Zinnia said nothing as she looked around the room. She seemed to be looking for something, but Ash had no idea what it could be.
They walked directly the stairs on the other end of the room with no disturbances. They climbed the next set of stairs and reached the third floor. There, Ash took his first step onto the main floor and his eyes widened as he stopped in his tracks.
"Zinnia…"
"What's wrong?" She asked as she stepped foot on third floor next to Ash. She almost immediately stopped in her tracks too, looking around the room, and understanding why Ash had stopped and looked confused.
Around the edges of the room, huddled small groups of dragon-type Pokémon. Altaria and Swablu, Shelgon and Bagon, even the occasional Gible. They all looked to have recently been attacked or ambushed, as they seemed frightened by the presence of Ash, Pikachu, and Zinnia, and some of the Altaria and Shelgon seemed to have sustained injuries. The small groups were sizeable in number, lining almost every inch of the walls of the third floor.
Ash looked around, his face falling at the sight of these scared Pokémon. "These guys…"
"They were attacked. Brutally, at that." Zinnia said plainly, her face turning into a scowl.
"Who could've done this?" Ash looked to her.
"Not sure, but from the looks of it, I don't think it was a Pokémon native to this tower. Someone must've brought in an invasive species to wreak havoc on these innocent wild Pokémon." Zinnia said, looking at the injuries sustained by the larger Pokémon.
"You think Team Sigma could've done that?" Ash said pensively.
"It's more than likely. But why would they target the Sky Pillar?"
"You don't think they knew someone might try to summon Rayquaza, and they set this up as a way to keep that from happening? Like, maybe they're waiting for us at the top?"
"There's only one way to find out." Zinnia stated simply. She started marching towards the other end of the room, where the stairs led to the fourth floor; the penultimate level of the Sky Pillar.
Ash nodded seriously and followed along, still deep in thought. Pikachu, from Ash's shoulder, looked sadly at all the wild Pokémon who were frightened or injured, the bigger ones standing defensively by their families or friends. Ash and Zinnia were careful not to interact with any of the wild Pokémon so as not to frighten them further or get into a fight that they didn't need to have.
As Ash and Zinnia reached the stairs and began to climb towards the fourth floor, they began to hear plenty of heavy footsteps walking around above them, as well as some deep, angry growling. Zinnia put a finger to her lips, signalling for Ash and Pikachu to stay quiet, to which they both nodded in response. Zinnia motioned for Ash to stay put and she climbed the stairs slowly, peeking her head just above the floor so she could see what they might be up against. Zinnia's eyes went wide very quickly after she got a good look at what was occupying the fourth floor, and ducked back down, her eyes wide in shock.
"What's up?" Ash whispered.
"Take a look for yourselves."
Ash and Pikachu peered onto the floor and were also shocked by the sight. Wandering around the fourth floor were a large group of miscellaneous dragon-type Pokémon; most of which were native to other regions. Three or four Gabite and Fraxure, as well as a couple Druddigon and Zweilous, all of whom were wandering the room, like they were guarding the place. At the helm of this takeover operation seemed to be the Pokémon looming at the far end of the room, guarding the stairway, levitating off the ground, its three heads looking in all different directions and looking angry and ready for a fight.
"These Pokémon… they're all-"
"Not from here." Zinnia finished. "This has to be the work of humans. How dare they tread foot on this sacred ground and attack the wild Pokémon. I will make sure that whoever is responsible for this receives their receipt."
"That Hydreigon seems to be the leader of this ragtag group." Ash noted to no one in particular. "It looks really tough, that's for sure."
"We're in for a fight." Zinnia nodded, still looking intently at the Hydreigon on the opposite side of the room.
"Do you think they belong to a trainer?" Ash asked.
"Doubtful. They may be a 'ragtag group', as you described them, but they look like they still operate with a pack mentality, with that Hydreigon leading that pack. Given that they likely don't belong to any trainer, they have no inhibition and will likely not think twice to not only injure our Pokémon, but even us, too." Zinnia said seriously, not taking her eyes away from the three-headed dragon-type.
Ash nodded, understanding the situation. He looked around again. "With all the Pokémon wandering around, I don't think we're gonna be able to ambush. It looks like the only way to get up to that top floor is to just walk right up there and force our way through."
Zinnia said nothing as Ash looked to her for a response. He then turned to Pikachu. "You don't see anything else we could do, do you buddy?"
Pikachu seemed to scan the room before shaking his head. Ash then grinned at his partner. "Good. I wouldn't have it any other way. Let's do this, Pikachu."
Ash stomped his way up the rest of the stairs, past Zinnia, who snapped out of her trance and saw Ash making his way past her, looking a bit shocked and confused, wondering what he was planning to do. "Ash, wait!"
Ash put his foot down hard as he finally stepped foot onto the main floor, catching the attention of all the dragon-types, who immediately turned and growled threateningly at him and Pikachu.
Ash grinned confidently, adjusting his hat and then looking back up at the menacing Pokémon. "Listen up, you big, scary dragons! You may be big and have sharp teeth and powerful moves and the numbers advantage, but if you think we're gonna let you just come into this old tower thing and do whatever the hell you want, you got another thing comin'! We have a Garchomp! And… a small yellow mouse! And… whatever Zinnia has."
Zinnia walked up to stand next to Ash as the dragon-type Pokémon seemed to have no reaction to Ash's speech. "Really? That's your victory declaration?"
"It sounded cooler in my head."
Zinnia shrugged. "Well, it's done now. Salamence, come out!"
"Garchomp, let's go!"
The two huge dragons emerged from their respective Pokéballs, both letting out a loud roar. The Gabite almost seemed to flinch slightly at the sight of Ash's ride Pokémon. However, all the wild dragon Pokémon were growling and slowly closing in, moving towards the opposite end of the room.
Ash and Zinnia both stood confidently behind their dragons, wearing grins on their faces. Pikachu leapt off of Ash's shoulder and stood in between the two huge dragons, grinning like his trainer and sparking his cheeks, ready for battle. It provided a somewhat comical image, almost like the small mouse was the de-facto leader of these two huge dragons. Ash might've laughed if he wasn't so focused on the dragons opposite them.
All of a sudden, Ash heard growling from behind them. He quickly whirled around to see more Gabite, Fraxure, and a single Druddigon leading that small group emerging from the dark corners of the room behind them. All of a sudden, they were surrounded.
"Zinnia! Behind us!"
Zinnia whirled around and saw the dragons moving towards them from the back corners of the room. Zinnia became slightly anxious. "So they were planning an ambush from the start. They couldn't have planned that themselves. Someone must've told them to do that."
Ash grunted in understanding. "You're probably right."
As all the dragons began to close in, they formed a circle around Ash, Zinnia, and their Pokémon. Ash faced the far end of the room, while Zinnia faced the back, their respective dragons in front of them, prepared for battle. Pikachu once again sparked his cheeks and growled.
Ash and Zinnia were both backing away slowly from the oncoming dragons, and eventually backed into each other. They stood back to back for a moment, both surprised, before Ash grinned. Standing back to back with a friend, surrounded by enemies, outnumbered… this was the kind of battle Ash lived for. Without moving his head, he looked toward Zinnia.
"You trust me, right?"
Zinnia hesitated for a moment, caught off guard by the question. Ash then felt her posture relax a bit, like her nerves were slowly melting away. She smiled, Ash's confidence infectious.
"Of course."
"And I know I can count on you, too." Ash said confidently, louder now. "Let's do this! Garchomp, Dragon Rush!"
Garchomp jumped off the ground, rearing back and taking off towards the group of dragons, enveloped in a blue, dragon-shaped light. It crashed into a Fraxure and a Gabite, sending them both crashing into the walls of the tower, effectively removed from the battle already.
"Now, Fire Blast!"
Garchomp took a breath and sent out a five-pointed blast of flames towards a Druddigon, landing another direct hit and even causing a burn, knocking the oddly-colored dragon to the ground, still feeling the effects of the burn.
"Salamence, Dragon Claw!" Zinnia called.
The light blue dragon took off toward the Druddigon in the back, flying incredibly quickly and landing yet another direct hit, causing it to fly backwards and crash into the back wall, falling to the ground, out of the battle for the moment.
"Aerial Ace!"
Salamence, just like Garchomp, flew directly into a Gabite and Fraxure, sending them both flying back in the wall next to the collapsed Druddigon.
"Use Dragon Pulse!" Ash called.
Garchomp formed and then sent a condensed sphere of energy flying toward a Gabite, who was sent crashing back by it, and crashed into a Fraxure, both of whom crashed into the wall of the tower, also temporarily knocked out.
"Pikachu, Electroweb into Iron Tail!"
Pikachu leapt into the air and formed some of his stored electricity into a ball and sent it flying toward a Druddigon. The sphere expanded after making contact with the dragon and captured it in a web pulsing with electricity, effectively trapping it in place. Pikachu then raced towards the Druddigon and sent it flying into the wall with an Iron Tail to the stomach.
"Dragonbreath!" Zinnia commanded.
Salamence let out a huge breath of dragon energy fused with the air toward the remaining Gabite and Fraxure in the group that had approached from behind them. It hit both of the dragons, landing two more super-effective direct hits and sending the two crashing to the ground.
"Zinnia! Help me with these Zweilous!"
"I'm with you, Ash!"
"Garchomp, Dragon Rush!"
"Salamence, Dragon Claw!"
Both Pokémon flew towards different Zweilous as the two two-headed Pokémon could only watch in horror as the huge dragons flew with enormous velocity towards them. Both Garchomp and Salamence connected, sending the dragons flying backwards, landing on either side of the Hydreigon. The leader had simply watched the battle unfold thus far, though it looked more angry than ever by this point.
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"
Pikachu once again leapt into the air and collected its electricity and launched two different lightning bolts towards the Zweilous, landing two final direct hits and causing the Zweilous to collapse, both defeated.
Ash and Zinnia, knowing they couldn't celebrate just yet, turned their attention to Hydreigon.
The three-headed Pokémon roared angrily. Before anyone could blink, it launched a Dragon Pulse that Garchomp attempted to block with its arms, eventually managing to disperse the energy. The attack had still managed to cause noticeable damage, and had pushed Garchomp back several meters as it was blocking.
"Garchomp, you alright?"
The dragon nodded its head yes, though it was panting by now from blocking the attack and from the energy it had exerted taking out the other wild dragons.
"Leave this to me, Ash."
"Huh?"
"Salamence!"
Zinnia took her necklace out from under her shirt, holding her fingers against the key stone it held. "Mega Evolve!"
The key stone and Salamence's Mega Stone, held on a metal band around Salamence's neck, formed a connection of rainbow colored light as Salamence began to glow and change form. Its body became more sleek, its wings becoming more aerodynamic. As the light dissipated and revealed Mega Salamence, Ash was looking on in amazement.
"Whoa… Mega Salamence…"
"Pika…"
Hydreigon didn't seem to be all too impressed and began to fire up Dragon Rush, flying quickly at Salamence. Just as Hydreigon was getting close, Salamence seemed to disappear; it moved so quickly that nobody could see it dodge the Dragon Rush. It reappeared just off to the side of Hydreigon as it flew to a halt, confused as to how it missed.
"Dragon Claw!"
Again, as if disappearing into thin air, Salamence flew up to Hydreigon and slashed it with Dragon Claw, sending it flying back into the wall. However, unlike Hydreigon's minions, Hydreigon was resilient and angry enough to will itself back into the air fairly quickly.
"That's one tough Hydreigon." Ash commented.
"Fire Fang!"
Salamence once again took off and appeared behind Hydreigon as it made its way forward, landing another direct hit into the neck of the biggest head of the dragon with Fire Fang. The three-headed dragon cried out in pain.
"Aerial Ace!"
Salamence tackled Hydreigon out of midair with Aerial Ace, crashing itself and Hydreigon into another wall.
"Finish this with Dragonbreath!"
Salamence landed yet another direct hit with the super effective move, finally causing Hydreigon to collapse on the floor, defeated. Salamence growled in satisfaction and reverted back to its normal form. Zinnia approached her partner and rubbed its head. The dragon smiled.
"Thank you, Salamence. You deserve a rest." Zinnia said softly as she returned it back to its Pokéball.
"You too, Garchomp. Return." Garchomp nodded to Ash and it dematerialized into its Pokéball.
Ash then approached Zinnia, grinning. He held up his hand. "Great work, partner."
Zinnia looked at Ash, surprised for a moment, before smiling back at him. She high-fived him. "Thanks. You too, partner."
Ash looked up. "So, what do you think is up top?"
"It's not nothing, unfortunately. Let's go find out."
Ash nodded as Pikachu hopped back onto his shoulder. They approached and climbed the final set of stairs and eventually reached the top floor of the Sky Pillar. They no longer had to stand in the rain, as the top floor was above the low clouds that had formed thanks to Kyogre's Drizzle. As they stepped foot onto the main floor, they heard a female voice.
"Stop there."
Ash and Zinnia's attention was drawn to a woman standing at the opposite end of the floor. She had the Sigma symbol on her top. Her outfit was similar to the Commander Ash had seen earlier, Chi. She had a slim figure, long, dark brown hair and amber eyes; quite a pretty woman. She wore a frown on her face, standing with her arms crossed, facing Ash and Zinnia.
"I am Zeta, Team Sigma Commander. And I will not let you go through with this."
Sorry I took so long with this one, y'all! I just moved back into school so it's all been a little crazy. I will hopefully have another chapter ready next week and won't leave you on this cliffhanger for all that long!
I honestly feel like not having Zinnia in the Pokémon Anime was one of the biggest missed opportunities of the entire show so far. I loved Zinnia in the games, so I really wanted to make sure her relationship, at least with Ash, was emphasized in this chapter so they could work together well as a team in the next chapter without it feeling forced or out of nowhere. It only gets more interesting from here, so I hope you'll stick with me!
Also, I hope you all were paying attention during the last chapter (9) because I mentioned something very briefly in that chapter that will come into play next chapter! Let me know what you think it is and we'll see if you're right!
Song: "Pyxis" by Home from his 2014 Album "Before the Night"
Some really solid lo-fi action for you. This song is really nice, and from my research, a Pyxis is a greek type of vessel, a boat of sorts sailing through the night or through a storm. I really liked that idea and thought it fit here.
