Urshifu sent off a series of warning shots, scattering a group of nearing Rampardos. A stream of flames was let out at an Amuara and Aurorus, as Infernape landed next to him. An aura sphere launched between the two, dispersing a flock of Aerodactyl. Lucario walking up to the others. The three had been patrolling the area around the barrier for a few hours now. It was good training, and kept the researchers at ease while they worked. Urshifu looked out into the tundra, the storm was getting worse, and the others knew it. They had to make sure everyone was back inside the bubble.
"Okay, just about everyone is accounted for." Goh said.
"Who's missing?" Professor Cerise asked.
"Ash and Peony left a while ago with Cobalion." Goh said. "Other than that, Urshifu, Lucario, and Infernape haven't made it back yet."
"That's not good. I don't doubt that they can handle what's out there, but with both Ash and Lucario gone, I don't know how long we can be safe in here." Professor Cerise said.
"This isn't the first time Ash has gone out into a storm with legendary Pokémon rampaging about." Tracey explained. "Knowing him, he's on his way back with one of the steeds as we speak."
On cue, the doors opened, and a thud was heard.
"Peony!" The group exclaimed.
"She put up a mighty fight, but I got her." Peony said wearily. Outside, the ghost horse was tied up, but seemingly at peace.
"Okay that's one of the missing members, now where's Ash and his Pokémon?" Professor Cerise sighed, looking at the monitor, with the storm going as bad as it is, he couldn't get a clear signal on where Ash was.
On the mountain
"Pikachu. Look up ahead!" Ash said, holding his partner close. "It looks like a castle, we can take shelter from the storm in there!" Ash exclaimed, running forward. "It's okay, we'll make it through this. Just like we always do."
At the base of the mountain
Urshifu landed, not even disturbing the snow. Bending down, he picked up the human's yellow box. They had used it many times since they had joined forces, but where was the human. Nearby Infernape landed on a tree branch, searching into the distance for tracks. The storm was making it difficult to see where Ash had gone, fresh snow meant no footprints. Lucario ran forward, his eyes glowing blue. Rather than searching with his eyes or ears, he was searching with his soul. Just as Ash had contacted him before hatching, he was attempting to contact Ash. The glow in his eyes faded. There was too much raw aura power everywhere around them, he couldn't lock in on Ash's location. The three continued their search, the mountain behind them.
Back at the peak
"G-g-great. No roof." Ash said, the freezing storm beginning to take its toll on him. "Need to find a way to stay warm, and before it's too late." Ash said, looking around. "It can't be?" Ash said, rushing to the back. "Please work!" Ash said diving at the tree.
As he landed, Ash didn't feel the bark of the tree, or even the stone of the floor. Looking back, the trunk resealed behind him. In front of him was a garden of sorts, not like his, but definitely more than what should be up on the peak. He was still able to make out the sounds of the storm, and even see a bit of it through the tree.
"Who'd have thought an aura tree would be all the way out here?" Ash mused to himself. "Guess I won't need this for now." Ash said, taking off his coat. The inside of the tree was fairly warm, it looked like steam was even coming out of the pool of water.
While this tree was tall there wasn't much to it, it wasn't massive like the Sir Aaron's, or layered like Ash's, but at least it was safe.
Near the DynaTree
Urshifu came to a sudden stop, he wasn't sure why, but knew the human was safe. Signaling the others, they quickly began heading back towards camp. Perhaps the human was back there already.
Back at camp
"Guys, we can't just wait around, we have to find Ash!" Serena shouted amidst a panic.
"Serena just calm down. There's nothing you can do right now, the storm is too dangerous to go and find him." Professor Cerise said, grabbing her arm. "If Ash is out there, we can only hope he makes it back until this clears a bit. For now, we need to focus on finding Keldeo."
"Hope! You're telling me we're just hoping he survives!" Serena cried out.
"Yes, I know that's not the best way of looking at things, but I don't see another way." Professor Cerise sighed.
A few hours later
"Okay, the storm is clearing up. Let's get out of here." Ash said, walking up to the bark of the tree, only to not pass through. "Okay, let's try communicating with it." Ash said, sending an aura message through the tree. Still nothing happened. "Now we have a problem. I'm not a threat, please let me out!" Ash shouted upwards.
'BLAM'
Ash looked out in fright at a Kyurem attacking the tree.
"Keep me in! Keep me in!" Ash shouted, falling backwards into the pool.
Back at the camp
"With Ash missing somewhere in the Tundra, our teams are now threefold." Goh said. "Team one is me, Chloe, and Tracey. We found out how to find Keldeo, so we're taking Virizion and Terrakion there to take care of it. Team two is Richard, Professor Cerise, and Peony. You three know where the second steed is. Team three, by their own demands, is Serena and Mrs. Ketchum. They're going to go on the search to find Ash. Back here, Chrysa and Ren will be running comms and recon." Goh said. "Everyone be on high alert, we still don't know what's out there."