Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon, but you guys know that. It's owned by Game Freak and Nintendo. This story and plot are mine and yaddy yaddy yadda.
Onward to the story!
Edited as of June 18th, 2018. Should be less grammar mistakes and redundancy. Happy reading!
"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts." -Winston Churchill
Chapter 4: The Final Round's Conclusion
In the past thirty minutes, Ash and his friends checked the vicinity around the Pokémon League before Victory Road's entrance. They were searching frantically for Team Rocket's Balloon, Team Rocket themselves or Aurora to be able to find Pikachu, but they had no luck. They all agreed to meet back at the Kalosian Lake in order to see what they found. They came back together in pants.
"Any luck?" Ash asked.
"No," Everyone said simultaneously.
Ash looked down at the ground somberly. He couldn't live without Pikachu. He had to find him. He'd dealt with Team Rocket for years. There was no way they went too far with him. He started to look around his surroundings. He noticed Victory Road in the distance.
Ash thought for a moment, "If Pikachu isn't after the Victory Road entrance, then he's before it. We've been wasting time!"
" If he isn't here, then he must be before the entrance to Victory Road!" Ash declared.
"What?!" Everyone screamed out.
"That can't be!" Tierno said.
"Sadly, it makes sense…" Clemont said.
"I'm going after them on Charizard. You guys make sure everyone else at the league is safe just in case Team Rocket comes back," Ash threw out Charizard's Poké Ball. Charizard was still in his Mega X form.
Charizard greeted Ash. He looked around. The Pokémon was puzzled as to why they weren't in the stadium. One look from Ash's eyes made it clear. Pikachu was kidnapped. The black and blue Pokémon lowered his back so Ash could mount him.
"Wait! I'm going with you!" Serena spoke up.
"Serena… I don't want you getting hurt," Ash said, concerned for her safety. Pikachu was already missing. He didn't want to worry about something else.
"I think I've proven time and time again that I can fend for myself, Ash," Serena said, annoyed. There was a hint of sassiness in her voice.
Ash wasn't used to hearing sassy Serena. She was normally so soft-spoken, sweet, kind… Whoa. Where did those thoughts come from? Still, he had his worry for her going and getting hurt. He didn't want to see that happen to her.
"Serena…" Ash felt tongue-tied. He never felt this way before.
"You absolutely have no idea how scared I get for you. Just like you don't want me getting hurt, I don't want you getting hurt. I want to go with you and make a difference." Serena touched Ash's hand, her hand on top of his. Immediately, a reddish tint appeared on both of their faces. "Please, Ash. Let me go…"
Ash felt Butterfrees in his stomach. At that moment, he saw everything on Serena's hand, staring at it intently. Its smooth shape. Its lovely form. Her fair skin. What was with Serena's touch making him feel this way? He felt a warm feeling welling up inside of him. His hand started to glow blue. It was faint so no one but Ash and Serena could see. Ash thought, "Is that-?"
"Ash?" Serena looked at Ash, but she can tell in his expression that she shouldn't ask. At least not here.
"Are you two done having a moment?" Shauna spoke up, taunting the two of them. The blue glow of Ash's hand disappeared. Ash and Serena snatched their hands away from each other. They looked away from each other, blushing profusely.
"Wha? W-we weren't having a moment!" Serena stammered.
Ash stayed silent as his blush intensified. He was still transfixed by the blue glow and… Serena. He was pretty sure of what that bluish hue was, but he hadn't used it since Sinnoh. Internally, something told him that he shouldn't say anything about it just yet. He wasn't sure why.
And then, there was Serena. He hadn't blushed like that since… ever. He shook his head. He didn't have time to think about girls. He needed to find Pikachu. Ash also had a feeling that Serena wouldn't back down willingly.
He sighed, "Fine. You can come."
Ash got bombarded by Serena as she hugged him with a small blush. Ash's blush returned full force when he returned the gesture. He didn't know what else he could do in that situation. Returning the hug was the best thing he could do. Serena was surprised at Ash's actions and smiled from behind his shoulder. Everyone could see how much they cared about each other; they were just too reluctant to fully say it.
Ash climbed onto Charizard fairly easily. Ash gestured Serena to climb on as well. Serena looked slightly hesitant, but Ash's encouraging smile stamped out any anxiety she had. With the help of Ash's hand, she sat right behind him.
"I'll meet everyone else back at the stadium when I find something. Keep looking around here for Pikachu or go back to see if everyone is safe," Ash said with a serious voice.
"All right. It's the least we can do." Clemont said.
"Ash, you be careful, ya hear?" Bonnie called out.
Ash smiled. He could always count on his friends to look out for him. "All right! We're off!"
With a flap of his gracious wings, Charizard took to the sky, seeking to fly over Victory Road to find Pikachu. Ash's friends looked up as they saw Ash, Serena, and Charizard moved higher in the air. They dispersed to do what Ash had asked.
Serena yelped as they moved higher up. She had never ridden a Charizard before, so it felt completely weird. Afraid that she was going to fall off, she held onto Ash's hips. Ash was glad that he was in front of her because he was blushing terribly at the moment. "What about Serena makes me feel this way?"
Serena didn't realize what she was doing until she looked at her hands. Ash hadn't said anything about it. Was he OK with this? She wasn't sure. Ash was normally an outgoing guy, so it felt out of place that he wasn't talking much. She decided to speak up, "Ash, I didn't mean to-"
"Don't worry about it, Serena. I don't mind." Ash turned to face her and gave her a reassuring smile. There was something about Ash's smile that always made her feel good inside. His face always gave her the energy to continue on, even if he didn't realize it. He added, "If this was my first time on a Charizard, I would want to hold onto something too."
"Right…" Serena said, with slight disappointment. He didn't mind her holding him because he thought that it was a friendly gesture. She was a bit closer to winning his affections, but not yet. Ash is a pretty dense teen. She had been noticing that Ash was warming up to her and treating her differently from her friends. She thought it was because he was incredibly polite.
Charizard's blistering speed allowed him to fly over Victory Road in the matter of a few minutes. Serena allowed herself to enjoy the ride despite them trying to look for Pikachu. It was a rare occurrence that she and Ash were alone together like this. Oh, how she wished that they were flying on Charizard on a more romantic setting. Serena mentally slapped herself. "How can I think about something like that at a time like this? I'm such a terrible person!"
Ash's head perked up when Serena thought she was a terrible person. It sounded as clear as day that's what she said. "Did I just hear-? I feel the same way when I felt Riolu's feelings back in Sinnoh. Could it be the same with Serena?"
"Serena, you aren't a terrible person at all," Ash said, not facing her. He was steering Charizard, looking at the sky. Serena widened her eyes. She hadn't said that aloud . "In fact, you are the sweetest and most thoughtful person I've ever met. Don't feel so bad about yourself."
Serena was slightly bewildered that Ash somehow read her thoughts. However, she put it past her as she smiled at Ash's compliment. It meant more than anyone has said to her, ever. Serena wanted to reveal how she felt about him, but knew this wasn't the time or place. His compliment strengthened her resolve. She promised to herself that she will tell him how she really feels about him once the battle was over. She promised herself all or nothing and she was going to take that chance.
"Uh… Thanks, Ash." Serena said with gratitude. Though she was somewhat curious, "Ash, how did you hear my thought? I didn't say that aloud."
Ash looked up for a few moments and then responded, "To be honest, I don't know. I just felt what you were thinking. I'm not sure why."
"Does this have something to do with your hand glowing a bit earlier?"
"I'm not sure. It probably does, though."
"I didn't know you could do that."
"I didn't know I could still do that. That hasn't happened in a couple of years."
"When was the last time?"
"When I was traveling in Sinnoh. I had encountered this Riolu that had the ability to use Aura Sphere. Normally, Riolu can't learn that move until it evolves into Lucario, so a Pokémon Hunter tried to kidnap him. Luckily, Dawn, Brock and I were able to save him and defeat Hunter J. It was all because of aura. I could feel what that Riolu felt." Ash explained.
"Wow, Ash!" Serena clasped her hands in awe, "You're so amazing!"
She realized that she had let go of Ash and felt some of her anxiety returning. She quickly grabbed onto Ash's sides tighter than before and blushed. Ash blushed in surprise. He felt a tingling feeling at his sides, but wasn't sure if was from Serena or if it was from being high in the sky. Either way, the boy knew that he didn't want it to stop. He could hear Charizard snickering as quietly as he could. He grew annoyed at the lizard.
Serena moved to take her hands away, but Ash held them in place. Ash felt slightly nervous. Why did he feel nervous? What were these foreign feelings? He said in a comforting voice, "It's all right. I won't make you fall. Y-you can hold onto me."
"O-ok…" Serena felt like she was melting into jelly. She never imagined Ash saying something even remotely romantic to her. Maybe he was just being extra friendly because Ash was that kind of person, but she didn't care. She would enjoy this for all that it was worth.
Ash started to look down. They were in the vicinity near the entrance of Victory Road that heads to the Pokémon League.
"Do you see anything, Serena?" Ash turned around to face her.
His question snapped her out of her dazed state. She started to look down as well. At first, she didn't see anything, but then, she heard a mysterious tune. Then, she saw something alarming.
"Ash, look over there!" She pointed to Team Rocket's Balloon. Ash looked over to where she was pointing to. The balloon had a large tear on it. A few feet near it, she saw Team Rocket unconscious, lying against their balloon, but didn't see any sign of Pikachu or Aurora.
"Charizard, land here."
Charizard obliged as he landed a few feet away from the fallen Team Rocket. Ash quickly got off Charizard with ease and helped Serena down. Even in stressful situations, he was such a gentleman.
Ash observed the three. Jessie, James, and Meowth seemed to be unconscious, but they weren't hurt. They were smiling in their sleep. They looked happy. It freaked the teen out somewhat, but he was happy that they were alright. Despite all the antics they've had over the years, Ash had some empathy towards them. He told Serena, "They're out cold."
"Who could have done this?" Serena wondered.
"And where is Pikachu?" Ash shared the same concerns as Serena. They looked around the area they landed. They were in a thick forest, and the Pokémon League stadium was faded into the distance. Ash picked up a cage. It had a large hole burned through it, signaling that someone had used fire to burn it. His eyes widened in shock, "This was the cage Pikachu was in! Did somebody burn it?"
"From the looks of it," Serena responded, inspecting the cage. "Since Aurora was with Team Rocket, did she save Pikachu? Did she use Chari to burn the cage?"
"She probably did, but that still doesn't explain why Team Rocket is unconscious and Aurora and Pikachu are nowhere to be seen."
"We've got to find them. Aurora will know what happened."
Serena started to walk forward until she almost tripped on something. She looked down. Serena had almost tripped over a small pile of Oran, Sitrus, and Leppa Berries. She picked up an Oran Berry and inspected it.
"Why are there a pile of berries in the middle of the forest?" Serena wondered. Just as she asked the question, a Fletchling hovered near the pile with an Oran Berry in its grasp. It looked at Serena and Ash with a horrified expression and made a terrifyingly high-pitched screech.
"(Help! Help! Come quick!)" The Pokemon yelled.
A few moments later, smaller Pokémon like Scatterbug, Dedenne and Bunnelby started to appear and circle around Ash and Serena. They appeared in large numbers. They all looked angry and ready to attack the duo.
Ash tried his best to placate the small Pokémon. "We aren't here to steal your food! We just accidentally stumbled over it!"
The Pokémon began to back off. They could see that they had no intentions to steal the berries. However, one of the Bunnelby didn't listen. From its large ears, it prepared a Mud Shot attack to shoot at Ash and Serena. Just as it fired the attack, an orb of pure energy come from above and stopped the attack, causing an explosion.
Once the explosion cleared, the Pokémon looked at the source of the attack. From the top of a nearby tree stood Aurora, having Pikachu on her shoulder. She was standing on a strong supportive branch, one hand on the trunk to support herself. She had a good aerial view over where she was. She could see the large crowd of Pokémon surrounding Ash and Serena and was able to precisely aim an aura sphere before Ash could get hurt.
"Pikachu?" Ash looked at Pikachu in wonder. Pikachu was now fully awake and it somehow looked like he was well rested. He could tell the mouse wasn't healed completely, but he was faring a lot better than he did before.
"How could that be?" Ash wondered.
"(Ash!)" Pikachu replied warmly. Pikachu jumped from Aurora's shoulder to Ash. Ash ran as he caught Pikachu in an embrace.
"I'm so glad, you're all right, buddy," Ash said, rubbing his head.
"(That feels nice…)" Pikachu said in content.
Aurora climbed down the branches onto the ground. The same Fletchling who gave the high-pitched screech landed on Aurora's finger and nuzzled her.
"You did your part well, little one." Aurora commended the small bird. From the pouch around her waist, she gave the bird Pokémon a Razz Berry. Fletchling happily ate it. Fletchling perched itself on Aurora's shoulder and smiled at Ash's and Pikachu's interaction. It wanted to have a good trainer like that someday.
She turned to face the rest of the forest Pokémon. "Don't worry... these two are good. Thank you for helping me find some berries to help Pikachu. I can take the rest from here."
The forest Pokémon nodded their appreciation as they dispersed to wherever they were before. Aurora went over to the pile of berries, picked them up and put them all into her pouch except one of each: an Oran Berry, a Sitrus Berry, and a Leppa Berry. She then approached Ash. Ash and Serena looked completely confused.
"Hello, Ash. Serena." She acknowledged the two.
"You know Serena? Wait… you know the Pokémon in this forest, too?" Ash looked shocked.
"I met Aurora during the intermission. She was pretty nice." Serena explained to Ash.
"Aww, thanks. You're a sweet girl yourself, Serena. As for the forest dwellers, I do not personally know them, but let's just say they don't call me 'The Lady Who Shares The Hearts of Pokémon' for nothing." Aurora said in response. Even though she knew based from how Serena acted earlier, this wasn't true, she couldn't resist asking. She titled her head and asked in mock innocence, "Are you two a couple?"
"Wha? N-no!" Serena and Ash both widened their eyes. They said simultaneously, "Why would you say that?"
"Heh. Just a guess. I can tell you have a lot of friends, Ash, and that fact that only Serena came with you…" Aurora made a cheeky smile.
"She came with me because she insisted on coming. That's all." Ash cut Aurora off.
Aurora and Pikachu snickered at Ash's embarrassment. It's clear from how they were reacting from her question that they liked each other. It was only a matter of time before they became a couple, at least in Aurora's eyes. She decided not to push the matter any further. Truthfully, it was none of her business, but the thought made her curious.
"Aurora, thank you for saving Pikachu. I do wonder, though. Why does Pikachu look like he was in a Pokémon Center and why is Team Rocket unconscious while you're not?" Ash asked.
"Oh, that? The impact of the landing really did a number on their heads. They've been unconscious since I awoke myself. I was smart enough to tuck myself in for impact so I got hurt less." Aurora lied. She didn't want him to know what really happen because she didn't know how he would feel from it. As for the first question, Aurora said, "As for Pikachu healing up, I guess you could say I have a little gift to heal Pokémon. I've picked up a few techniques to help with a speedy recovery."
Ash found no reason not to believe her. He thought it was very sweet that she went out of her way to heal his most loyal Pokémon. Still, there was another thing bugging him. "Also… where did that aura sphere come from? You didn't have your Lucario out and I have Chi-Chi in her Poké Ball."
"Well, young one..." Aurora decided not to lie this time. Aurora formed a small ball of energy in the palm of her right hand. Just as quickly as it appeared, it vanished. "That's because I made it."
Aurora took a deep breath before continuing, "I'm… an aura guardian, Ashton, er… Ash. It's my job to protect both people and Pokémon. I go from place to place helping to keep nature in balance. I can use my power to ask others for aid as well, typically being Pokemon."
Ash and Serena was shocked. Aurora was an aura guardian? Was that the reason why her Pokémon could talk? That explained the large mass of Pokemon.
"I'm not the only guardian within our midst, though," Aurora said suddenly and closed her eyes. She put out her right hand and slowly started to spur energy from the surrounding area. A small green orb started to form and progressively became larger and bluer. Soon, the ball reached its full size and was completely blue. She crushed the newly formed aura sphere in her hand. Her hand now radiated with blue energy as she raised it in the air.
"What I just did was made my hand infused with specific aura. When you combine aura from the surrounding area and aura of your own, you can detect other aura guardians or psychics, at least for others to see. Like so…" Aurora made her hand go over Ash's head.
Aurora's hand quickly turned a dark green to the point that Aurora's hand was barely visible. Her hand was tingling intensely and was extremely hot. It wasn't unbearable by any means, just surprising. All three of them could see steam coming out of her hand. Aurora didn't know how she felt. She knew that Ash was an extremely powerful aura guardian.
"Woah! Your hand…" Ash said in shock.
Aurora stared at her hand in amazement. Aurora made her hand turn back to normal in an instant. The tingling feeling and the steam vanished. Aurora was too transfixed with her hand to notice the worried looks of Ash and Serena. "That was amazing. Dang... Ash has so much untapped power. Way more than I originally thought. I definitely need to talk to him after the match…."
"Aurora, are you alright?" Serena asked, concerned over the mysterious lady.
She snapped out of her thoughts immediately when she heard Serena. "Oh?"
"Are you OK, Aurora?" Serena repeated.
"Oh, I'm alright, you two. I-I haven't felt that way since…" Aurora struggled to put how she felt into words. Aurora cut herself off and said. "I haven't felt that way in a long time. Well, that definitely proved my suspicions. Ash, you are an aura guardian and an extremely powerful one at that."
"Aura guardian?" Ash knew he had a special gift, but an aura guardian? His mother had told him that there weren't too many aura guardians left. He was one of them?
"Yes. Normally, when I use this method to check out who is an aura guardian, I get a tingling sensation in my hand and feel a warm feeling. The aura in my hand then turns the color of the environment, but usually much more slowly and less dark than what you witnessed." Aurora explained. She noticed the shocked look on the younger guardian's face. It wasn't surprising, especially since he found out later than most. Most guardians develop their powers starting at around seven. Ash is a special case where that didn't happen and he uses his aura in bursts without realizing it.
Serena thought about how Ash's hand was glowing earlier and how he was able to read her thought. Those must have been powers of an aura guardian. "Wow! That's amazing! I've never met aura guardians before!" Serena squealed in excitement.
Aurora put a finger on her mouth and ordered her to hush. Serena looked at Aurora in shock. Her yellow eyes looked sympathetic, but she can sense a bit of annoyance.
"Sorry, Serena. You never should yell that sort of thing out. An aura guardian also tries to keep their powers secret, especially if they are a powerful one. It sends out too many red flags for people to take advantage of." Aurora berated the younger girl in a hushed voice. "Even now, I don't think I should have told you two yet. I can't explain why, but I know I can trust you two. Can you keep a secret?"
"Of course we can!" Ash said almost immediately. Aurora smiled warmly. Her brain was saying to her that she had made a huge mistake, due to Serena being there, but her gut told her she had made the right choice.
"Don't worry, Aurora, your secret is safe with us," Serena promised.
"That feels nice to know. Normally, I would have never said that so freely, but I don't sense any more unseen eyes." Aurora looked around cautiously.
"'Unseen eyes?'" Serena echoed in confusion.
"Never mind me and my useless ramblings…" Aurora shrugged it off. "Pikachu, come here so I can complete what I started."
Pikachu jumped off Ash's shoulder and ran to where Aurora was standing. He jumped right onto her shoulder comfortably. She fed him the Oran Berry, then the Sitrus, and finally the Leppa. Pikachu happily ate all three of the berries. He instantly felt a lot better.
"(These taste amazing! Thanks, Aurora!)" Pikachu said ecstatically.
"It's my pleasure, Pikachu. You can have more if you want."
"(No thanks.)" Pikachu shook his head.
"Suit yourself." Aurora shrugged her shoulders. "I'm just glad we had a little time to catch up."
"You're willing to heal Pikachu?" Ash said incredulously as Pikachu jumped on Ash's shoulder again.
"Naturally. I help all Pokémon. He felt so weak... I had to use a little bit of my power to revitalize him. You two came in as I was completing the process. However, Pikachu isn't completely healed because I didn't have enough time to finish. I asked the wild Pokémon around here to help me find some berries to help speed things along. Thankfully, they decided to help." Aurora rubbed Pikachu on his nose. Pikachu sighed with content.
Ash remembered something. He noticed that they were being very friendly to each other. Granted, Pikachu was a very friendly Pokémon, but Pikachu was being quite intimate with Aurora. They must be close somehow. It was bugging him since he found out during the battle. "How do you know Pikachu?"
Aurora and Pikachu visibly paled. They frantically thought of an excuse to get out of explaining. She visibly looked somber as she remembered her times with Pikachu. She shook her head and thought, "I shouldn't be thinking it. It makes me too sad. I can't get distracted. Still, I wonder how Pikachu's old trainer been doing since we've slowly grown distant. I'll never forget how Pikachu left…"
Aurora decided to respond by saying, "Now isn't a good time to say."
"…Why?" Ash asked slowly.
"We still have our league match to finish, young one." Aurora reminded him.
"Shoot, that's right! We gotta get back to the stadium!" Aurora made Ash completely forget about his question. Ash turned to Charizard. He knew what to do. He lowered his back, so they could all mount him. Ash got on Charizard and helped Serena on, too. Aurora, however, stayed on the ground.
"Don't worry, Charizard. Chari can carry me. Before we take off, do you want some berries, too?" Aurora acknowledged the draconian.
Charizard shook his head no. "(I prefer to beat you without healing myself.)"
Aurora laughed, "A proud one at every sense of the word. You do your kind good, Charizard. Can I have Chi-Chi's Poké Ball back, Ash? I'm sure you've kept it safe."
"Oh, that's right." Ash scrambled in his pocket and immediately found Chi-Chi's Poké Ball. He handed over her ball to its rightful trainer.
Aurora threw up a Poké Ball with a blue flame sticker on it. A slightly larger Charizard came out with three horns on its head, red eyes and small wings on its arms. A Mega Evolved Charizard Y appeared at Aurora's side.
"Hello again, Aurora. Need a lift?" Chari asked immediately.
"Yep. Back to league stadium."
"You want to race young'un?" Chari faced Charizard in challenge. "I may be getting old, but I still have quite a fire in me!"
"(Hmph... As if an old timer like you can outpace me in the air!)"
"You're as proud as you are arrogant. I like that." Chari smiled in approval, but added, "You still haven't seen my true speed yet, though. Don't be so quick to turn down a challenge."
Charizard thought about it for a moment. He never backed away from a challenge. "(Fine, it's your downfall.)"
"Aurora, what are they talking about? What did Charizard say?" Serena asked curiously.
Aurora opened her mouth to answer, but Ash beat her to it. "They were talking about racing each other. Charizard didn't want to race Chari, thinking she's too old. Somehow, she managed to convince him."
"Ash, you can understand Pokémon, too?" Serena asked.
"I'm not sure to be honest. The feeling of understanding just comes and goes." Ash explained the best way he could. He could understand his Pokémon pretty well and even some wild Pokémon. He couldn't comprehend every Pokémon, though, especially if they were feeling an intense emotion.
Aurora was watching the interaction between the two carefully. "A male aura guardian to have enough empathy to understand Pokémon without being trained… That's impressive. Even though he doesn't fully realize who he is, the amount of aura he has is astounding."
Aurora glanced over to Serena. She had a dormant power inside of her. It was so unique that Aurora couldn't pick up on what it truly was. "Serena definitely isn't as normal as she lets on… Is she an aura guardian or a psychic? Her aura feels like it's leaning towards both paths. It's hard to tell at first glance."
Aurora noticed her hands starting to glow white. This happened whenever she was deep in thought. Before Ash or Serena could see, she made the white glow disappear. Aurora quickly climbed onto Chari's back. "When I say go, we'll race to the stadium and land at the battlefield. Deal?"
"Yes," Ash responded. He glanced to his back, "Serena, you better hold on tight. This may get a bit rough."
Serena didn't need to get told twice. She grabbed on to Ash's waist. A small blush once again crept up on their faces. Ash was really glad that he was sitting in the front. Once she was secure, Ash knew he was ready to start. Unfortunately for him, Chari was standing slightly in front of Charizard, so Aurora could see them both blushing.
"Oh, you two are so cute! Are you sure you're not a couple?" Aurora asked.
"NO!" They both said simultaneously with a blush.
"That's not what your faces say…" Aurora sang to the two of them. If it was possible to make their faces redder, it happened. She decided she had enough taunting. She wanted to finish the battle with Ash. "All right! Ready?"
"Hey!" Ash scrambled to regain his composure.
"Set…"
"Aurora, we're not ready yet!" Serena agreed.
"Gooooooooo!"
Chari made no hesitation as she leaped into the air and started to leave Charizard in the dust. He wasn't about to let his pride get tarnished by an old timer. Without Ash telling him, he started to fly up in the air after Chari. Ash yelped in surprise as he held on Charizard's neck to keep himself stable and Serena held on to Ash. Ash was too occupied with flying on Charizard to realize the position he was in with Serena. Meanwhile, Serena felt incredible. She hoped that this race would never end!
Meanwhile…
Chan's boss was watching the stadium intently. He was weighing in all of his thoughts. "I noticed a change in that pesky guardian's demeanor as she was fighting Ash. Normally, she isn't so keen to changing her battling styles so suddenly between all of her Pokémon. She normally destroys someone's team with one of her Pokémon or keeps the same strategies among all her Pokémon. I have a bad feeling she remembers. This makes things more complicated."
The aged man looked outside to the stands. He could see that the audience was getting tense with the lack of battling. He knew what he needed to comfort them. He sent out some of his employees to placate the restless crowd to tell them things that would reassure them. He could sense a drop in tension a few minutes after he did that.
The key to running a good business is to play on people's ignorance. Let them think they know more than you do. It's an easy way to get an instant reliable customer. So many unsuspecting trainers come to participate in these battles makes old man grin happily. It may be getting harder to control them, but the fact that they were so ignorant put him at ease.
Aurora was the first champion to see through the façade when she became Champion of the Hokori Region five years ago and the old man despised the core of her very being. Not that she could expose them. People said that she was a monster for even thinking that he was evil... at least in the Death Zone of the Hokori region. The matured man smiled as he remembered how she made a fool of herself. "Serves her right for trying to expose me…"
"So far, she's been the only person who saw through my part of the League, even with her lost memory. That within itself is astounding…" The man mused. There was something about his adversary that scared him. He knew she wouldn't stop until the League was ruined. He wouldn't try his hardest to prevent that and would start with the retrieval of Ashton Ketchum.
"Ah, yes. Ash… We've been waiting for you to mature and now that you're almost a man, it's time to take advantage. With your power, we'll be invincible! No one will be able to stop our plans." The old man cackled to himself.
The bald old man suddenly perked his head up without warning. He had an unsavory feeling that he was being watched from afar. He knew exactly who it was, too. He whipped his head around the room, trying to find out where she was, but she was nowhere to be seen. "I-is that Aurora? Blasted woman! Where is she? Why do I sense her, but she's not here? Am I getting that paranoid?"
Suddenly, he felt a warm sensation at his heart. He felt as though he was being tugged on by a weird wave. A brown substance started to form right above him. The aged man looked up in confusion at the increasingly thickening brown cloud. A figure formed from the energy and fell on top of him. He was shocked to say the least.
"OW! Get off me!" With the use of his psychic power, he forced the mysterious fellow on top on him to move and to sit in a chair. The person was unconscious. The old man inspected the figure a bit further. He widened his eyes as he recognized the fellow.
"What?! How did he get back here?" Chan's boss asked himself. Immediately when he asked that question, he realized he knew the answer.
"Aurora!" He screamed in frustration to no one in particular. The scream was loud enough for Chan to wake up.
"H-huh? W-where am I?" Chan tried to stand up, but found that he couldn't. He tried to move his arms, but he realized that his body was immobile. His head was groggy as he tried to remember why he felt that way.
"You're in the same place you started, you idiot! Why couldn't just do your mission right?!" His superior barked at him.
Chan became a bit more attentive. "M-mission, sir? I don't remember doing-"
"You don't remember?! Aura guardians can't make psychics lose memory, you nincompoop!" The old man barked in his face. He may have had the appearance of a sweet elder, but he had the ferocity of a Hydreigon. Chan shuddered at his enraged boss. "And oh, you can't move? How does this feel?"
His boss slapped Chan in the face. Chan felt an unbearable pain. It was almost as if he had been slapped there prior. Chan didn't respond, not knowing what he could say. Anything he would say would set off the old man's wrath even more, so he decided to stay silent. As the old man approached his employee to assault him, he widened his eyes in realization. "I felt Aurora's presence before he was sent here. If this grunt is being truthful about losing his memory…"
"Tell me what you know, runt." The Pokémon League curator's eyes suddenly glowed white. Chan's eyes matched his features. The old man probed the grunt's mind. He found nothing of importance. He didn't sense a remote trace of Aurora or her aura. He looked deeper in Chan's psyche. He had to find something. Even if someone loses their immediate memory, it is still in their brain in its stored memory area. He just had to look a bit deeper. He noticed a tiny bit of yellow aura in Chan's head.
It contained a little message: "I'm going to send you back with one message. Tell your boss that I'm back. Tell him that I've grown much more powerful than I ever used to be and that I'm the biggest threat he has. Tell him all this... because… I'm gunning for you. No, not just you. Your entire organization. Whoever you and your cohorts killed will not be put to rest until the Zurui are stopped. And oh, one more thing. I'm taking Ash with me to train and there is no one who will stop me. You guys have been deceiving too many innocents and you will not deceive him. With that, I bid thee adieu."
The message ended after that. The old man couldn't see where Chan was when he heard this nor was he able to pinpoint what else Aurora had said to him. This message was trapped deep within the stored part of the grunt's brain, so it was tough to gain any info.
One thing was certain. Aurora remembered who Ash Ketchum was. That could prove detrimental to his plans. She somehow made Chan lose his memory of her except a small part specifically there to taunt him. It was in the stored part of the brain, where it was less likely for Chan to remember. He didn't understand how Aurora could take away memory. He didn't know guardians known to do such a thing. He wondered just how much she picked up from fighting psychics constantly.
"Gah! You're useless! I told you before you lost your memory not to let her see you. What do you do? You let her see you. Now I don't have any other valuable information against her." The bald man chastised his petrified employee. His boss looked like he was going to strike Chan again. Chan backed away in fear. This boss allowed himself to calm down. He brought his hand down. He would just have to take control of the situation like he always does.
"Through his blunder, we have confirmation that Aurora indeed remembers who Ash is and will try to make a move on him soon. We don't have too much time left to act. Who knew aura guardians could make psychics lose memories? That's certainly news. I need to make an important call to our agents in Kanto and Hokori." Chan's boss smirked in his thoughts. His superior brought feeling back to the young man's body before leaving the room to think more on what he found out.
The crowd screamed in surprise as a couple of Charizard landed in the middle of the stadium with people on their backs. Aurora jumped off Chari's back first as Charizard landed, in shock.
"H-how did that old-timer beat me? I should have been faster," Charizard thought incredulously.
Chari smirked at the younger Pokémon. She knew that she would win, but wanted to see if he would put up a good fight. And put up a good fight he did. Chari was flying at about his speed throughout the race, only speeding up when Charizard thought he was pulling ahead. She was trolling him the entire time and wanted him to think he almost had her.
"Hello, everyone! Missed us?" Aurora greeted the crowd in delight. The crowd started to cheer upon seeing the combatants again. They were excited that the battle was going to continue again. Aurora took that as an invitation to continue. "Sorry about the long wait, but Team Rocket presented me with a bit of difficulty. Ash got back Pikachu. Everything else is fine now! Ash and I can finally finish what we've started."
Ash and Serena slowly got off Charizard as they noticed Aurora speaking aloud. She turned to the young teens. She wanted Ash to get back into the spirit of battling, "So Ash, are you ready to mount a comeback or suffer the hands of defeat?"
This immediately had the desired effect. Ash responded, "I'm ready to defeat you!"
"Good." Aurora walked over to her spot on the stadium, where she was commanding moves earlier and faced him. "Because ready or not, here… I… come!"
Serena smiled at Ash who was now thinking of which Pokémon he'd use. She decided to get his attention, "Ash…"
"Yeah, Serena?"
Serena abruptly hugged him in front of the entire stadium. There were a lot of 'Aww…' and 'That's so adorable' being said from the crowd. "I know you'll go for it 110%! Remember? 'Never give up until the end?' You taught me that advice, Ash. Good luck!"
Serena was tempted to kiss him on the spot, but was too afraid to. She ran back to exit the battlefield in the stands. As she was leaving, Ash stood there motionlessly. Ash was thinking about the hug. "Serena… what about you makes me go all crazy?! It's like I feel stronger around her."
Aurora snapped him out of his thoughts. She returned Chari in her Poké Ball, but decided to say, "If you're done going 'gah gah' for your girl, I'd like to restart the match, young one."
"My girl?" As he opened his mouth to counter, Aurora put up her hand, "Save it. As much as I would like to tease you further about a possible future relationship with Serena, I want you to have a clear head before we fight again. I want you to come at me with your best potential, not get distracted."
Ash knew Aurora was right. He returned Charizard into his Poké Ball and walked over to his side of the field. The former water field didn't even look like a water field anymore. The water was evaporated via Chari's Fire Blast and the white circles were destroyed in a combined effort by Gible and Chari. It was almost as flat as a regular grass field, except for the crater made from Gible's defeat.
"What a surprising turn of events! Ash has returned with Pikachu and they both landed here suddenly! Both combatants returned their Charizard, so it's a guess on what Pokémon they'll be using."
Ash walked over to his side of the field. Pikachu jumped off his shoulder, stood beside him and started to tug on his pants, "(Let me battle again!)"
"Are you sure, buddy? Your battle with Chi-Chi really did a number on you." Ash said, concerned.
Pikachu emitted sparks from his cheeks, "(I feel a lot better since fighting her. I know I can do it, Ash!)"
Ash stood eye level to Pikachu and rubbed his head. If Pikachu was willing to fight, who was he to deny his wishes? "All right, buddy! Go for it!"
"(Let's do this!)" Pikachu said enthusiastically as he jumped onto the field, sparks coming out from his cheeks.
"I could just use Chari or Rio to end this rather fast… or I can make things more interesting. I've used four different Pokémon… might as well use a fifth." Aurora contemplated.
"So you've chosen Pikachu… I think I have the perfect counter for him…" Aurora threw up a Poké Ball with a pink ribbon tied around it. It landed right in front of her. The capsule rumbled as it released a relatively small pink and white Pokémon with four feelers surrounding is body, large blue pixie-like eyes and a slightly shaggy tail. The Pokémon looked extremely excited to come out, its tail wagging about freely. Said Pokémon ran to Aurora and gave her a large hug. Despite being small, Aurora had a hard time trying to pull her off even though she had no hands.
"Happy… I know you like to hug, but please focus on the battle…" Aurora implored. The Pokémon nodded as she went back to the battlefield.
"And Aurora decided to use a Sylveon! How will she combat Pikachu's blistering speed?" The announcer genuinely wondered.
"Happy, ready to use your moonshine technique?" Aurora asked the Pokémon.
"Moonshine? I love moonshine against electric types! Who's it gonna be?" Happy the Sylveon looked around and saw Pikachu. Happy leaped like a gazelle as she landed in front of Pikachu and grabbed his paws with her feelers. She tilted her head slightly as she read his facial expression. The Sylveon squealed in delight as she said, "Hello, friend! Are you going to be my opponent?"
"(Yes?)" Pikachu was put off guard by the euphoria Happy was emanating. He could tell that she was really excited, much to the credit of her namesake. Then, the fairy type proceeded to jump up and down with Pikachu, almost as if they were dancing. The audience thought it was humorous for Pikachu to be led astray. Everyone could see Pikachu's eyes turning into swirly marks in confusion. Happy noticed this and decided to stop. Happy let go of Pikachu while letting him spin on the ground, dazed.
Aurora shook her head and looked at Ash and Pikachu apologetically, "I'm sorry about Happy, Ash. As you can tell, she's really…"
"Happy?" Ash finished. Aurora nodded. He knew what it meant to be excited in a battle, but he never expected so much energy from one Pokémon. He looked down at Pikachu, concerned, "Pikachu, are you all right?
"(Pretty Staryus)…" Pikachu mumbled incoherently. Pikachu made himself stand still. He closed his eyes and held his head still to make the world stop spinning. Eventually when everything was stable, Pikachu opened his eyes again. Happy looked down with remorse, but Pikachu didn't hold it against her. Pikachu had a feeling she'd be a strong battler just like all of Aurora's other partners and was curious to see Happy's battling style.
"It's Sylveon vs. Pikachu! Battle of the cute Pokémon! It's a make or break battle for Ash. He has just two Pokémon left while Aurora has five. What will he do to turn this battle around? It seems as though Pikachu became better in the time it got kidnapped, so let's see how Ash will take advantage of that!" The announcer surmised.
"Both battlers ready?" The referee raised both his flags.
"Yes." Ash and Aurora said simultaneously.
"Then… begin!" The referee brought them both down.
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash brought out his hand. Pikachu obliged by emitting surrounding his body in electrical energy. He shot the buildup of electricity at Happy.
"Operation Moonshine is a go!" Aurora said.
"Hooray! Operation Moonshine is in effect!" Happy said excitedly.
Happy made her tail shone a steely glow as she slammed it into the ground. The electrical directly hit the Sylveon, but she didn't take any damage. The electricity was being grounded out through Happy's tail. From where she was standing, Happy extended her feelers and attached two of them around Pikachu. The feelers wrapped around his entire body, trapping his arms and tail inside. Pikachu stopped his attack abruptly in surprise. She took advantage of it by lifting Pikachu from the ground and started to twirl him around her fast. Pikachu tried to use Thunderbolt to force Happy to stop, but Happy was still using Iron Tail and it was still on the ground.
"Finish up the operation! Shining Moonblast!" Aurora commanded.
"Shining Moonblast?" Ash thought. He couldn't think of how Pikachu could escape and even if he did, Pikachu would be disoriented from the spinning. He gritted his teeth in frustration as he watched helplessly, trying to think to counter Happy.
Happy wouldn't give him enough time. Happy winked as she opened her mouth to build up energy from the Moon. An image of the Moon appeared as she summoned an orb of pink energy. As she was getting struck by the Thunderbolt, she used some of that power as her own. The orb of pink energy became infused with electricity. She abruptly stopped spinning Pikachu and made him be only a few feet away from her face. She e shot the ball of electricity infused energy at Pikachu directly.
"Pikachu!" Ash hollered to his friend as he got knocked back by Happy's combination of moves.
"Keep up the pressure! Psyshock!" Aurora said.
Happy cheerfully jumped around in a zig-zag towards Pikachu as her eyes started to glow blue. As she opened her mouth, several spheres of bluish-purple spheres were created and thrown towards Pikachu.
"Dodge it!" Ash pleaded. Ash's words reached the fallen mouse's ears. Pikachu's ears twitched slightly as he jumped up right before the attack hit him. Happy jumped right into Pikachu's previous spot, looking up at the airborne mouse.
"Great job! Use the air to your advantage, Pikachu. Go into Happy using Iron Tail and Slam!" Ash called out.
"(Let's do this!)" Pikachu yelled as gravity started to make him fall. However, as he was falling, he made his tail become made of pure steel and used his increasing momentum to start flipping tail first towards Happy.
"Happy, we won't let that stop us! Use a combination of Heal Bell and Fairy Wind to stop Pikachu dead in his tracks." Aurora commanded
Happy made her feelers go near her mouth. Her ears twitched slightly as she sang a soothing song that sounded similar to a bell. Her feelers produced a light pink wind as she sent the sound waves into the air faster. The air distorted slightly at the changed bell sound. It hurt anyone who heard it. The sudden change in sound messed with Pikachu's sensitive ears. He lost his concentration as his tail turned back into its normal color. He landed on the ground with a thud.
"Amazing! Aurora used Happy's Heal Bell, a normally beneficial move, to disrupt Pikachu's Iron Tail!" The announcer said in shock.
"Buddy, are you OK to continue?" Ash asked. Pikachu stood up and nodded his head enthusiastically.
"All right! Thunder!" Ash said.
Aurora folded her arms and shook her head. "That's not going to work young one."
"Who said anything about Thunder hitting your Sylveon?" Ash said with a smirk.
"What?" Aurora said, confused.
Happy made her tail glow a grayish color, bracing herself for the Thunder. However, Pikachu aimed his attack for the ground. The sheer electrical power of Thunder was more than enough to disrupt the ground. Rocks started to fly about. Pikachu's attack approached Happy fast. Happy made her tail return to normal. She had a feeling she knew what to do.
Aurora looked too surprised to do anything, so Happy decided to take avoiding the attack into her own paws. For the first time the entire battle, Happy had a serious face. Happy ran directly towards the flying rocks and jumped on them, straight towards Pikachu. She jumped from rock to rock at an alarming speed, narrowly avoiding Pikachu's electric attack in the process. Pikachu doubled his efforts to land an attack on Happy. He aimed his Thunder attack directly towards Happy. She used Protect to take the attack. She took no damage.
"Huh?" Ash stepped back slightly in shock. "How did she move like that? She did it without Aurora's command!"
"Your reflexes are very quick, Happy. Well done." Aurora congratulated Happy. Happy returned to her more jovial demeanor.
"Thank you, Aurora! That was a true test of my jumping skills for sure!" Happy responded.
"I think we need to finish this. Use Moonblast!" Aurora brought forth her hand.
"Pikachu, counter it with Electro Ball!"
"I don't think so!" Aurora said with vigor. "Happy, you know what to do!"
Happy made her tail turn into a steely gray and slammed into the ground. The force of the impact was enough to knock Pikachu off balance. She took this opportunity to generate a large ball of pink energy and shot it at Pikachu.
"(Argh!)" Pikachu screamed at he got knocked into the wall behind Ash. Pikachu fell from the wall and landed on the ground with swirls in his eyes.
Ash looked horrified as he said, "Pikachu, no!"
The referee waited a few moments before saying, "Pikachu is unable to battle. Sylveon is the winner!"
The crowd expressed disappointment that Pikachu had fainted, but was amazed to see Happy's fancy footwork. They had never seen anything like that.
"You did awesome out there, buddy! You showed so much effort…" Ash slowly walked over to Pikachu and held him in his arms. Pikachu weakly licked his trainer's face in appreciation. "It's time you took a long rest. Charizard will take care of this."
Ash walked back to his spot and slowly placed Pikachu beside him. Ash covered his eyes behind his hat, thinking deeply. The situation was hopeless. Aurora had five Pokémon left. Even if Charizard managed to defeat Happy, Aurora still had four other she could switch into. He felt trapped in between a rock and a hard place.
"And the lightning mouse finally goes down. Sylveon defeated it without taking damage. However, let's give a hand for Pikachu's astounding endurance!" The announcer said, clapping his hands. Soon, the entire audience followed his lead. Serena, Clemont, Bonnie and the rest of the gang stood up and cheered.
"Haha! Great job Pikachu!" Bonnie called out from the stands.
"Yeah! Never give up until the end!" Serena cheered.
Some people even stood up and clapped, following their lead. Diantha, Goodshow and his some of his employees also joined in the clapping from the top of the stands. The entire stadium was abuzz for Ash and Pikachu.
Ash circled his view around the stadium, surprised that they were clapping their hands for him. He was overcome with inspiration. He glanced at Aurora and noticed that she and Happy were clapping for him with large smiles. Aurora's smile seemed to have another meaning to it, but he couldn't see it. If everyone believed in him, why shouldn't he?
"Everyone…" Ash said quietly. Ash revealed his eyes from behind his hat. They had a determined expression. He turned his hat around. He might as well have fun and give it all he had.
"Go Charizard!" Ash said, throwing a Poké Ball in the air. Charizard in his Mega X form appeared, ready to battle.
"Happy, return!" Aurora said, aiming her Poké Ball at Happy. However, Happy jumped away to avoid the red light.
Aurora furrowed her brows in confusion, "Happy, don't you want to rest?"
"I'm feeling fine, Aurora! I want to test what I can really do!"
"Are you sure, Happy? Charizard may be Ash's last partner, but he's also one of his strongest. I can feel it my very being…" Aurora said with her hand to her heart.
"That shouldn't matter! You taught me that. You're trying to find excuses to bring out Chari or Rio! They aren't your only win conditions." Happy countered. Happy stared down her trainer with a frown on her face. Aurora stared back. She decided to continue their conversation telepathically.
"Oh, no no no. I don't consider them win conditions at all. You guys are all around the same level, Happy. Do you really feel that way?" Aurora asked.
"Yes." Happy responded immediately. She narrowed her eyes."You rely on them more than the rest of us. That why I called them 'win conditions.'"
"Oh, Happy, I'm so sorry... I didn't mean to neglect you and the others. I love you… all of you… Don't ever forget that."
"I know that. I can feel it being your Aspect of Emotion. I accept your apology. So… will you let me stay out?"
"Of course! I want you to battle your heart out." Aurora chuckled slightly, "You know, it's stupid. I wanted a Charizard vs. Charizard matchup, but I guess it isn't meant to be. I didn't realize you felt left out. You're on Happy. Do your best and kick Charizard's tail!"
Aurora and Happy realized they had looked at each other for too long. Aurora decided to play it off. "OK, you win Happy. I can't stand to see your cute little face all mad like that."
"Hooray! I get to stay!" Happy jumped up and down in delight. She hopped over to Charizard grabbed his claws and jumped up and down. "I can't wait to battle you! Good luck!"
Charizard raised one his eyebrows in confusion. This was more happiness than he could stomach. The worse part about it is that Charizard could see that Happy jumping up and down was completely genuine. He wondered where it all came from.
"(Uh… Sure… But you're gonna need luck to beat me!)" Charizard responded to the upbeat Sylveon.
Happy smiled as she sang, "Don't be too cocky, Charizard. Big things come in small packages…"
"True that, Happy. Good luck, Ash." Aurora said poker-faced.
"Thank you, Aurora. Charizard, let's show them what we got!" Ash said. Ash knew that this point it would be almost impossible to come back and win. Still, he wanted to try his hardest against Happy before Charizard went down.
"(You got it!)" Charizard roared loudly.
"Charizard vs. Sylveon. It's a battle of the bigger will! Let's see how it will play out!" The announcer summarized.
"Both battlers ready?" The referee asked. Ash and Aurora nodded.
"Then engage!" The referee brought down his flags.
"Charizard, use Flamethrower!" Ash commanded.
"Use Shadow Ball!" Aurora folded her arms in observation. "I wonder… will their attacks would collide or would Charizard's Flamethrower go through it?"
Happy smiled as she created a sphere of ghastly energy in her mouth. Charizard breathed a line of blue fire towards the attack. The two moves hit each other at the same time. The shock of the impact exploded instantly. Neither side was affected.
"This confirmed my suspicions. Let's take advantage of this, shall we?" Aurora inwardly smirked.
"It seems they both are equally powerful." Bonnie said with excitement.
"How should that be possible?" Tierno wondered "Charizard has Mega Evolved and Mega Evolved Pokémon are stronger than regular ones."
"Not really, Tierno. For Ash's third gym leader match, Pikachu defeated a Mega Lucario." Clemont pointed out.
"W-what did I just feel?" Serena held her head and widened her eyes. She had gotten a slight headache just now. This didn't go unnoticed as Shauna asked, "Serena, are you OK?"
Serena noticed the worried look in her friend's eyes. She wanted to make Shauna feel a bit better. "I'm fine, though that Sylveon is stronger than she's letting on…"
"What do you mean Serena?" Clemont asked.
"I don't know… somehow… I know that Aurora held back just now. That draw is a trap for Ash to try something more reckless."
"She said that she wasn't holding back as much earlier in the battle. She took out Gible with ease immediately afterward. Once she used Happy, Pikachu went down just as easily."
"Yes, but even after she said that, it seems she tests out the Pokémon Ash sends out before counterattacking with her full strength." Serena explained the best way she could.
"How would you know this?" Trevor asked curiously.
"I'm not sure, but I can feel it in me… Aurora's Sylveon held back just now, but Ash's Charizard did not. Shadow Ball is not the same type as Happy, but Flamethrower is the same type as Charizard. Something tells me that if Happy uses Moonblast and if they clash attacks…"
Clemont widened his eyes in realization. He finished Serena's statement. "Then Ash is in trouble!"
"Yes. I hope he's sees though Aurora's strategy…" Serena squeezed her fingers even tighter than before in worry.
Ash looked up at the stands. He had sensed parts of his friends' conversation. He had picked up the important parts. "Serena… I don't know how you figured out Aurora's strategy, but thank you… I have to be careful."
Serena widened her eyes again, knowing she has just heard Ash's voice, but he didn't say anything. He was thanking her which meant he heard her conversation with their friends. That shouldn't be possible, though. They were several rows away from the battlefield. "D-does this have something to do with Ash and Aurora being aura guardians? Am I… one? If you can hear this Ash, then, you're welcome."
From where he was standing on the battlefield, he pinpointed where Serena was and looked directly into her eyes. Serena stared into his. He had heard Serena clearly and wanted to let her know that. Serena looked concerned, but Ash wanted to let her know that she had nothing to worry about. Serena knew he heard her message. She beamed in happiness. The rest of Ash's friends thought that they were just staring at each other endearingly.
Aurora arched one of her eyebrows up in surprise. She knew aura was being passed around and Ash and Serena was straight in the middle of it. They were staring at each other, but she knew it wasn't because they were adored one another. Ash had to be relaying a message to her, meaning Serena must be a budding guardian as well.
Aurora didn't intrude. They had no control over their capabilities, so she would let it slide… this time. She promised herself she wouldn't look into her opponent's aura during a match, trying to be fair. She also promised herself not to use her aura to strengthen her Pokémon, not unless against someone could do that as well. She would continue to that, but was curious to know what the message was.
Still, Aurora wanted to make Ash focus on the battle, not his budding guardian capabilities. "Hmm… it seems you are more distracted than I thought… Let's use this to our advantage, Happy. Let's waste time with Helping Hand. Then, use Moonblast!"
Ash realized that he had been focusing on Serena for too long. Ash focused his attention on the battle once more. "Charizard dodge it!"
Happy's body glowed white as she clapped her feelers together. Nothing happened. Then, she created a ball of pink energy with an image of the Moon behind her as she shot it at Charizard. The fire dragon effortlessly dodged the move and started to fly above the ground.
"Like I expected. I wanted Charizard to dodge to get you back into the swing of things. Ash, don't get distracted. Next time, I won't be so lenient." Aurora folded her arms as she berated Ash.
"Sorry, Aurora. If you wanted me to get back into it, it worked. Still, stop going easy on me! Charizard, use Flame Burst!" Ash brought out his hand.
"Who's to say I was helping you out with Helping Hand? I always plan ahead. Happy, dodge and grab Charizard's neck!" Aurora also brought out her hand.
Charizard opened his mouth to create a ball of fire and shot it towards Happy. Happy looked elated as she dodged the move without breaking a sweat. However, the ball of fire exploded into multiple smaller flames, but Happy jumped in the air and avoided all the smaller flames. Charizard looked at the Eeveelution in surprise as she grasped the black dragon's neck with two of her feelers and climbed on his back.
"This is great! Charizard, grab Happy, spin and use Seismic Toss!" Ash said, seizing the opportunity.
"Yeah, you mean great for me!" Aurora brought out her hand and said, "Deflect Charizard's claws with your other two feelers Happy and force him on the ground!"
Charizard tried to grab Happy, but she wouldn't let him. Happy used her feelers as if they were hands. She swatted away Charizard's claws whenever they got close, but kept a tight grip on Charizard's neck. Charizard started to perform aerial tricks in order to force Happy off, but Happy was used to riding on large flying types, Charizards more specifically.
She forced Charizard's neck up. Charizard was caught in surprise as the Eeveelution forced the fully evolved lizard high in the air. At this point, Charizard was too distracted to try to use his claws, so Happy took advantage of this. She used her two free feelers to grab the tips of Charizard's wings. Then, she forced Charizard to tuck in his wings and dip his head down. This took more effort than before because Charizard was trying to fight back. Charizard was trying to keep his wings open so he could have a better time shaking Happy off.
"Happy, make this easier on yourself. Use Moonblast on Charizard's back!" Aurora called out.
"Charizard, you gotta get that Sylveon of you!" Ash pleaded. He racked his brain for any ideas. He had never seen any strategy like this for any quadruped. It was clear Happy had experience riding on flying Pokémon, though he did not know how that was possible. He didn't want Charizard to feel so limited. He wanted Charizard to be able to spread his wings. He widened his eyes as he got a good idea.
"Charizard! Spin yourself and plummet to the ground! Break Happy's ground!" Ash said, hoping it would work.
Happy summoned an orb of pink energy as she shot it at Charizard's back. A small explosion happened as Charizard fought off the pain. She did this multiple times. He knew had to carry out Ash's request. Charizard could see Ash believing in him. Charizard gave a large roar as he started to spin around.
Happy began to lose her footing on the large draconian. He flew up high into the sky, spinning, before flying straight for the ground. Happy felt her grip loosening from the spinning. Eventually, she became too disoriented to maintain a stable ground on Charizard's back and slipped off. Now, she was spinning with Charizard, off his back, screaming as she held on for dear life. The only thing keeping her airborne was her feelers wrapped around Charizard's neck.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Happy chanted every time Charizard spun around. Her pixie-like blue eyes widened as her ribbon-like feelers finally lost their grip on the Mega Evolved Pokémon. She was sent flying off the fire type.
"Waaah!" Happy grunted as she landed on the ground roughly. She shook off any lingering rocks on her fur and looked at Charizard with a determined gaze.
"Keep it up! Use Flare Blitz!" Ash brought out his hand.
"Hold him back using Psyshock!" Aurora commanded. She wanted to see how Psyshock would fare against Charizard's most powerful physical fire type move.
Happy sweat-dropped as she formed an orb of psychic energy and shot it at the Charizard. Charizard flew through the minor explosion Psyshock created when Flare Blitz went through it. He struck Happy directly. Happy braced herself for the attack. She took it relatively well, but managed to sustain a burn. The burn engulfed her as she took her first turn of burn damage. For the first time this battle, Happy didn't look too happy. She frowned. She hated when secondary effects of moves happened.
"Oh! Charizard gets the burn! Will this be a breakthrough for Ash?" The announcer said, excited.
"I'm sorry, friend. I wasn't expecting you to get burned. Heal yourself with Heal Bell." Aurora said calmly. Happy closed her eyes and released a pulse of blue energy while creating a soothing bell-like sound. The blue pulse engulfed her completely as she shone a bright light. Once the light dissipated, everyone can see that any signs of the burns had vanished.
"I know you won't really need to heal, but this is the best opportunity to. Use Wish!" Aurora said. Happy raised her feelers in the air and summoned a shooting star in the sky. It twinkled beautifully as it passed by the sky.
"Stop her from recovering! Use Flamethrower!" Ash countered. "If Happy heals, then this battle is gonna be harder to win…"
"I anticipated that." Aurora smirked. "Protect!"
From his mouth, Charizard blew out a stream of blue flames towards Happy. To counteract it, Happy summoned a force field. The fire-type attack made contact with Happy's Protect, but did not destroy Happy's barrier. After trying to break through the shield, Charizard eventually stopped. Happy stopped using Protect once she knew she didn't have to. Then, Happy's body started to glow as Wish started to take effect. Happy was now healed completely. She was just as peppy as ever.
"Thank you, Mistress, I'm feeling a lot better! Now, I'm ready to do this!" Happy slapped two of her feelers together
"Let's get a little more serious. Swallow one of your Moonblasts." Aurora complied. Happy summoned an orb of pink energy, held it in her mouth and ate it whole. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, Happy's fur bristled almost as if she was a Jolteon. She raised her feelers in the air involuntarily. Her body became encased in a pink aura.
"Now release the energy in a physical form!" Aurora said.
Happy concentrated. She focused on making the energy go to her back. The concentration of pink aura increased towards her back and her feelers. With a simple flick of her feelers, the pink aura changed to resemble fairy wings. They were fluttering stunningly to the wind. Her feelers were like ribbons moving on their own in the wind. The effect was visually appealing to the audience. They gasped as they drank in Happy's increased beauty with their eyes.
"Oh my gosh! Happy looks so adorable!" Bonnie had stars in her eyes in admiration. She wanted to leave her seat just to scoop Happy up in her arms and hold her. She literally started to leave her seat, but Clemont stopped her using his Aipom arm. He forced her to stay seated and face palmed in response.
"Bonnie!" Clemont said, somewhat annoyed. Bonnie pouted. Clemont sighed as he put his Aipom arm back into his backpack.
"Wow! I've never seen anything like this!" Shauna had sparkles in her eyes.
Serena had the same feeling. She never would expect to see a move like this in an important match, but that didn't make it any less interesting. "I agree. This looks like something I would see in contests or in performing."
"Leave it to the girls to be hypnotized by cuteness. I don't know why the Champion did that, but for whatever reason, that Sylveon is acting as a distraction." Clemont thought.
"While I'll admit the Sylveon looks cute, she did that move in a serious match. Ash needs to be careful. She wouldn't have done that without a reason." Clemont raised his glasses in observation.
"Ash, if you're hearing this, be prepared for anything…" Serena thought and hoped her message would get sent to Ash.
Ash was too busy concentrating on the battle to hear, but did sense that she said something. He didn't know what to think of Happy's wings, but didn't want to get distracted by them.
"Wow, look at Aurora's Sylveon! It looks as if it grew beautiful fairy wings. Visually stunning!" The announcer said in awe.
"It's not only good for looks, pal. This is part of one of my favorite combinations from the old days. Happy, hold your Hidden Power in front of your mouth!" Aurora smirked as she folded her arms. Happy created a brown orb of energy in her mouth and held it. She knew what was coming next, but waited for her trainer's next call.
"Now Hidden Orb Dash!" At Aurora's call, Happy covered her mouth with her feelers without forcing the Hidden Power to eaten. She promptly shot the attack at Charizard. Much to his surprise, the Hidden Power was shot nowhere near Charizard. Happy took advantage of his slight confusion. With a flap of her makeshift wings, she made a mad dash towards Charizard.
"Charizard, dodge-!" Ash tried to call out. However, it was too late. Before either of them could think, Happy jumped up and tackled Charizard in the stomach. The lizard didn't know where the burst of speed came from, but he knew he had taken some serious damage. He landed on the ground back first with a large thud. Happy stood on his torso looking down at him with a serious expression.
"Wow, that's fast!" Ash said in shock. He'd underestimated the Moonblast raising Happy's power and speed. It reminded him of another technique he used to do in Sinnoh with Torterra. He would command Torterra to eat his attack to get a power boost, but he's never seen a Pokémon have enough control to put the aura in a physical shape.
Ash asked, "Charizard, are you OK?"
Happy jumped off Charizard's torso as the Mega Evolved Pokémon stood up again. Charizard looked at Happy with a sign of new respect. "(I'm alright, but I'm fired up!)"
"That's good to hear. Use Flare Blitz!" Ash commanded.
"Happy! Sunny Side-Up!" Aurora called out.
"Operation Moonshine? Sunny Side-Up? What is with some of these names?" Ash thought, annoyed. He decided not to dwell on the weird commands Aurora told her Sylveon to do. He knew that whatever the name was, it must have a meaning. Charizard cloaked himself in blue flames. He charged at the pure fairy type. Happy smiled as she jumped up above Charizard. Her underside barely missed the blue flames of Charizard.
"Do it!" Aurora said. Happy complied as she fell straight towards Charizard. She summoned a sphere of brown energy as she shot it at Charizard's side. The Mega Evolved Pokémon grunted as he could feel his back cooling slightly. Then, a streak of pink formed behind her wings as she rammed into Charizard's back. The blue flames were too hot to endure so she leaned over to her side to escape. Charizard landed on the ground roughly and Happy winced in pain from the blue flames. She wasn't burned, but Charizard's back was still too hot to handle.
"Even her Hidden Power wasn't enough to stop him… That's some Charizard." Aurora thought in observation.
Her last attack was enough to use up all of Happy's extra energy. Her 'wings' vanished. Although she was affected by the Flare Blitz, Happy looked like she still had a lot of her own energy. She was smiling brightly at Charizard. It had been a while since she was in a battle with a worthwhile opponent. However, Charizard looked like he was getting tired. He wasn't sure how many more hits he could take.
"Mistress! In my time out, I've used all my other moves! I'm really excited to end this." Happy said enthusiastically.
"Really? Well, that makes this battle that much easier." Aurora smiled and cross her arms.
Ash looked confused. "What do you mean, Aurora?"
"Ash, you've been an excellent challenger this match. You've managed to outsmart me at certain points. As much as I would love to drag this on longer, I must bring this battle to a decisive end! Happy, jump up into the air, consume one of your Moonblasts to form your 'wings' again and dive straight for Charizard. Then, finish this up with Last Resort!"
Happy quickly summoned an orb of pink energy and ate it. As the pink aura surrounded her, she closed her eyes and focused them to be at one point. Once again, her makeshift wings formed. Happy opened her eyes and screamed. A cluster of stars formed around her and her entire body turned white as she ran at a quick pace towards Charizard. Eventually, she started to leave a pink streak showing the Moonblast's added effect of being swallowed.
"Last Resort? Use Happy's momentum to your advantage, Charizard! Grab Happy as she's attacking and use a combination of Flare Blitz and Seismic Toss!" Ash said in retaliation.
Charizard once again cloaked himself in blue flames and dashed towards Happy. As the Sylveon jumped up to strike Charizard, the lizard moved over to his side and grabbed two of her feelers in one swoop. He started to fly up high. He attempted to grab Happy's body completely, but she wouldn't allow him. She used her two remaining feelers to grab Charizard's neck and force him down.
Happy and Charizard, both in their most powerful attacks plummeted towards the stadium at full speed. Both Pokémon were looking at each other, determined. They both wanted to win against each other for their trainers' sakes. When they landed on the ground, there was a large explosion. The black smoke covered the entire battlefield, leaving the audience in suspense.
"Whoa! I can't see anything! Is either Pokémon still standing?" The announcer said, anxious to learn of the final result.
"You seem a bit confused. Last Resort is a move Happy can only use once she's used up all her other moves, Ash. It is her most deadly attack." Aurora explained with her arms folded.
Happy used her Fairy Wind attack to blow away some of the smoke. She had very few scratches on her body, but otherwise looked alright to continue fighting. "Happy is up and is looking like she didn't take too much damage, considering the combination of attacks Charizard used. How is Charizard faring?"
Eventually, all the smoke cleared out from the battlefield. Charizard was barely standing with a blank look on his face. He slowly moved forward one step and fell on the ground, with squiggly marks in his eyes.
Ash cried out uselessly, "Charizard, no!"
"Charizard is unable to battle. Aurora's Sylveon is the winner. This battle goes to Aurora of Shingetsu Town."
"Let's hear it for Aurora with that commanding performance! She's beat Ash five to zero and is now the winner of the Renaissance Conference!" The announcer said. The crowd roared with applause. They hadn't expected to see a match like that and they moved every moment of it. Aurora looked down bashfully. She was never one to like attention all that much even though she was one to want to please a crowd. She stole a quick glance at Ash.
Ash was disappointed that he lost. He had come so close to realizing his dream only for someone to take it away from him again. He suddenly became very conscious of everyone in the stage. He didn't want to be looked at. He wanted to get away. Ash covered his eyes with his hat and ran off inside, leaving a streak of tears behind him. His shadow running became smaller and smaller until he vanished.
"(Ash!)" Pikachu called out. He immediately ran towards Ash, wanting to comfort his friend.
Aurora sighed as she watched Ash go inside. Aurora looked gloom, despite winning the tournament. Happy ran up to her and patted her back. She looked up at Aurora with sympathetic eyes. Aurora rubbed her head in appreciation. Aurora knew she had to acknowledge her. "You did phenomenally. This victory feels hollow, though. Ash looks so devastated. This is exactly what I was afraid was going to happen. I didn't want to defeat him... or be the reason he lost in the Kalos League."
"You did what you had to do. I know it wasn't easy to outright beat him, but it was for the best. Go on. Do what's in you heart. I think that will set you on the right path." Happy encouraged.
Aurora nodded. She returned Happy in her Poké Ball. She ran towards the corridor where Ash went to pursue him. She ignored the audience looks of shock and she called out, "Ash, wait!"
A/N: This chapter was an absolute blast to write. I've been itching, no, dying to write an Amourshipping scene and I FINALLY got my chance here. I can't believe I went almost 40,000 words (at least at that point in Word) without writing one. I feel a lot happier now. SatoSere ftw! ^_^
I thought Ash losing would be more realistic since Ash had never won against a Champion before. It seems like he's taking the loss badly, too. Can't say that I blame him. So close and yet so far...
Little trivia: Ash has never seen Last Resort being used in the anime before Sun and Moon's anime. Sun and Moon isn't a factor in this story. That's why he didn't recognize the move when Happy used it. It's never been used in the anime period. If I recall correctly, it was only used in the manga by Lenora's Stoutland and Platinum's Pachirisu.
Well, see you in the next chapter on August 8th :)
Next Chapter: Intensity's Aftermath
~SPG123~