A/N: A random little trivia about myself: I write multiple chapters at once since I like to write down whatever idea pops up in my head. I'm known to write four or five chapters at once, especially when motivation is high. It's been working well for me so far ;)

Welcome to the newest update to the story. Ash is confused. Aurora is uncomfortable. Serena, Clemont, and Bonnie have no idea what happened to the both of them. I hope you enjoy~

Disclaimer: Pokemon and all of its subordinates are owned by Nintendo and Game Freak. The plot is mine, of course.

Onward to zah story!

Edited as of June 20th, 2018. Happy reading!

"The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed." -C.G Jung

Chapter 7: The Journey Continues! Connections, Connections…

Just as Ash thought he was starting to get through to Aurora, she managed to make things even more confusing. "My life coming to an end? How could that happen? What the heck does she mean? How comes she knows me, but I don't know her? And why are our counterbalances hindering us?"

"I will be able to answer all your questions in due time, Ash. And no, your life wouldn't really come to an end. I just mean it would most likely be changed forever. Some things you've known and loved will not have been completely true and others hidden from you." Aurora said somberly. Aurora made a small mischievous smirk as she thought, "Just as you are starting to read my aura, I can look into yours just as easily, Ash. And... I know you're reading this, nosy boy."

Ash wasn't surprised that she read his thoughts after he had read hers. He couldn't help but ask, "So… my life is really a lie?"

"No. Uh... well, not in the sense you're thinking of. I don't know. Ugh! It's… hard to explain. I need to show you what I mean. Do you want to go to Viridian Forest now or go to your friends? I moved here relatively, so we are closer to Santalune City than Victory Road." Aurora said. Ash couldn't believe she bypassed Victory Road so quickly. It made him wonder how fast aura guardians could be. It also made him worried about his friends. They were still on the other side of Victory Road.

"I want to see my friends first. I want to find Serena. She must be worried sick." Ash said immediately.

Aurora turned to her Pokémon. They all nodded in agreement. "You all heard the boy. Find his friends and bring them over here to save time. Let's show Ash a taste of our real speed!"

All of Aurora's Pokémon vanished in the blink of an eye. Ash was shocked. Aurora chuckled, "Remember our battle with Happy against Charizard? When I first used my combinations against you? That's the slowest speed these Pokémon can go when they are really trying to go fast."

Ash didn't know what to think. He thought about how her Sylveon was able to hit Charizard before he could completely say his command. He wondered, "If that's the case, did Aurora even try against me?"

"No, I didn't," Aurora responded to Ash's thought. Ash was dissapointed. Aurora continued, "At least… not at first. It wasn't until Pikachu outlasted Chi-Chi when I started to battle harder. Everyone I faced in the Renaissance Conference was so weak, so I accommodated my battling style… even in the last match. You showed me you got metal. So, I showed you my true strength with Happy without using my aura. I regret not trying earlier because the battle would have been more fun that way for both of us."

"So you thought I was weak?" Ash asked with a small voice.

"Quite the opposite! In fact, you were probably the strongest trainer I fought there. It's just I haven't actually tried in a battle in a long time. In a way, it became subconscious not to do my best, as odd as that sounds." Aurora sweat-dropped and rubbed the back of her head. It felt weird to be admitting this to Ash, but she didn't want to lie to him.

"You should always try your best in battle, no matter who your opponent is. Like you said yesterday, sure it will sting when you lose, but your opponent will shake it off. You shouldn't hold back for anyone's sake. In fact... I want to challenge you to another battle! One where you don't hold back." Ash said.

Aurora smiled. She was glad some of her advice had gotten through to him. Then, she looked a bit concerned, "Are... are you sure Ash? I don't want to hurt you. I... can get a little like my father if I get passionate enough."

"You still don't think I'm strong, do you?"

"That's not it. I know you're strong, but-"

"Why are you hesitant to battle me then? I can tell you love to battle, too."

"If I get too passionate in a battle, I may become colder and harsher than normal. If I'm too eager, I'm known to literally battle so hard that the opposing side is heavily injured. I hold back to prevent that. So... if you want to battle me at my best, you'd have to be prepared. If you're not, then you will most likely get crushed unless you're near my level. Are you sure you want a rematch this soon?" Aurora warned.

Ash still looked eager to battle. If anything, hearing her warn him made him want to battle her more. Ash was never one to turn away from a challenge. She could tell in his expression. She wanted to deny him, but his face was too much. Against her better judgment, she sighed and conceded to his wishes, "If you want to see the true strength of Hokori, I guess... it won't be that bad. Fine. I accept your challenge, Ash. I won't hold back this time."

Ash looked at her competitively, but then look thoughtfully, "Alright! After the battle, are you willing to go to the Viridian Forest?"

Aurora sighed and looked at the younger guardian with a sad smile, "Yes. I'm willing. Thank you for helping me regain my senses. I'm sorry for running away like that. I'm just afraid of hurting something. Even as a master guardian, I struggle to control myself sometimes."

Ash smiled reassuringly. "We didn't have control over ourselves during the vision, so don't worry about it. You didn't hurt me and I don't think you will hurt anyone else. Now, I need to find Serena, Clemont, and Bonnie."

"No need to. Look." Aurora pointed in front of her

Suddenly Chi-Chi teleported with Bonnie and Serena holding either paw and Chari flew down with Clemont in her arms. Clemont looked completely flustered, but was otherwise OK. The rest of the Aurora's partners came a few moments afterward.

"Serena!" Ash immediately ran to hug her. Serena blushed at the gesture. He grabbed her shoulders in concern, "Everything happened so fast… I'm glad you're alright."

"I'm glad that you're okay, too, Ash," Serena said. Ash smiled and decided to hold her hand. She turned to Chi-Chi. "Thank you for taking me to him safely. That was quick, though! We're almost through the forest alre-"

"Ha! Ha! I win!" Chi-Chi interrupted and gave a little victory dance.

"Humph. Only because you cheated. Teleportation wasn't allowed." Kairyu said sorely.

"It didn't matter. I'm Aurora's fastest partner anyway. Besides, I didn't want to put that much strain on these two. They wouldn't be able to take my speed." Chi-Chi pointed to Serena and Bonnie. Kairyu was about to respond, but decided against it. He didn't need to egg Chi-Chi on any further.

"Whatever." Kairyu turned his head and huffed.

"What's going on here?" Aurora asked in a playful manner. She knew her partners could get very competitive and wondered what they did.

"Once we found Ash's friends, we decided to have a little race to decide who could get back. Personally, I wasn't really going all fast because of the blond kid's fear, so I didn't care if I lost." Chari said. "The two girls didn't seem to mind. Just the blond boy."

"I wasn't sure if it was a good idea, but you guys were right. You are fast. I didn't expect to come here so quickly. " Clemont said. Clemont grabbed his glasses and eyed Aurora suspiciously. "Now… what are you?"

"What... am I?" Aurora blinked, slightly confused.

"Yes… what are you? You made a ball of energy from your hand and sent us back with a shock wave. I doubt you are human." Clemont said accusingly.

"So that's what this is about. Perhaps I owe you a bit of an explanation. I am completely human, Clemont. However, I am an aura guardian, the humans closest in characteristic to Pokémon. We can emulate Pokémon qualities and moves. We also can manipulate the essence of life: aura." Aurora explained. As a demonstration, she created an aura sphere in her hand and showed it to Clemont. "Aura is in me. Aura is in you. It's omnipresent. I understand if you're a little incredulous about this, but-"

Before Aurora could finish, Clemont collapsed on the ground. Aurora sweat-dropped and made the aura sphere disappear. She wondered if she did something wrong.

"Come on! Big brother! You are such a drama king!" Bonnie frowned. "I'm sorry about Clemont, Aurora. I bet he's never seen aura at all. I don't know why he acts like this..."

Aurora raised an eyebrow in interest. "You're... taking this surprisingly well, Bonnie. Will your brother be okay?"

"I have no reason not to believe you after what I've seen. Clemont will be fine. Are you really similar to Pokémon, though? Can you show me how?" Bonnie asked

"Uh… perhaps once your brother wakes up..." Aurora sweat-dropped. No one had ever asked her to use her powers, so it felt a bit weird to do it. She could tell how eager Bonnie was, but inwardly smiling. It reminded her of how Ash was. She was being serious about waking Clemont up, though. Aurora didn't want him to feel too weirdly about aura.

"I think all he needs is a little pick-me-up. My favorite is the Tamato Berry. All I just need to do is this…" Aurora took out a Tamato Berry from her pouch. She broke off one of its spicy spikes. Then, she forced Clemont's mouth open and dropped the berry piece. Clemont began to subconsciously chew the berry. Within a few moments, Clemont's eyes and mouth were on fire.

"Hot! Hot! Hot! Hot! Hot! Hot! Hot! What did you do to my mouth?!" Clemont began running from side to side. Aurora sighed as she raised her hand and surrounded Clemont in her aura. It oddly felt very comfortable. She lifted him up from the ground and had him stay in the air until he stopped fidgeting. Clemont looked like he was terrified, but Aurora said with a stern tone, "I will feed you the rest of the Tamato Berry should you pass out again, so I suggest you don't do that. Stop being dramatic."

"Aurora, what are you doing?! Are you hurting him!?" Bonnie said, pulling on Aurora's arm.

Aurora touched the young girl's shoulder to let Bonnie feel what Clemont was feeling. She visibly relaxed and eased into Aurora's touch. Aurora said to the blond girl, "Of course I'm not. I've been using aura long enough to know if I'm hurting something."

Aurora continued in a much softer voice, "Now, are you going to stay calm? There's nothing wrong with being afraid of something you don't understand, but being in fear of it won't solve any problems."

Clemont took a moment to regain his composure before nodding his head. Aurora smiled as she gingerly brought him down. Clemont looked at his hands and his body. He felt an indescribable feeling. Aurora had a knowing smile. She had her hand touching her heart as she said, "First feeling aura is always memorable. I apologize that you had to feel it this way, but I'm glad that you calmed down. Do you need some water to help get rid of the spicy tang of the Tamato Berry?"

"No… no thanks. I'm fine." Clemont said politely. He coughed slightly, but he could feel the spicy tang of the berry leaving his taste buds. Aurora merely shrugged her shoulders and ate the rest of the Tamato Berry. He was shocked to see that she wasn't wailing from the spicy taste.

Bonnie came up to Aurora and pleaded, "Now can you show me? Please?"

Aurora blinked her eyes and felt a little nervous. It felt odd being open with her power, especially to two kids she just met. However, she could sense in Clemont and Bonnie that they could be trusted. With a sigh, she decided to humor the girl. Aurora thought about it for a little bit and decided, "All right, I guess. I have an idea. Just think of something and I'll say what you're thinking."

"Anything?" Bonnie asked.

"Anything," Aurora assured her.

"All right! Um… What should I think about… Oh, I know! When I get back to Lumiose City, I want to get a Fennekin. Serena's Delphox is so cute and I want a cutie on my team someday!" Bonnie thought. Aurora smiled at the thought. She glanced back at Ash and Serena. She could tell that they both read the thought too. Serena had a small blush while Ash was grinning broadly. Serena was touched that Bonnie felt inspired by her.

"OK, Bonnie. You were just thinking about getting a Fennekin once you made it back to Lumiose City. You were inspired to get one because of Serena's partner, Delphox. I've never met any of Serena's partners, either." Aurora said. Aurora didn't really think about Serena's Pokémon too much, so it surprised the woman to hear Serena had a Delphox with her. It made her curious to see Delphox and Serena's other Pokemon in the flesh.

"Woah! You can read my thoughts!" Bonnie said cheerfully. "How is that similar to Pokémon, though?"

"Well, it's a combination of a psychic type Pokémon's characteristic and me just reading your aura in general. It's not the best example, but it's pretty simple to show." Aurora explained. She whipped her head around towards Ash and Serena. "Are you willing to tell them that you both are aura guardians? The choice is yours. Just think your thoughts and we should be able to communicate."

Ash and Serena looked at each other. Then, they looked at Aurora. Ash responded, "We want to, but we're still trying to digest this ourselves. I'm trying to figure out why I was acting like a little kid."

"Ash, when you were looking at your vision, I think that pretty much told them that you are an aura guardian. Serena… I don't know if you did anything to show that you are a guardian." Aurora said in her thoughts.

Serena thought for a moment. "During your battle with Ash…"

"You picked up on what I was planning on doing… right? And then conveyed it to Ash? I wouldn't be surprised." Aurora interrupted telepathically. Both Ash and Serena looked guilty. Aurora chuckled slightly and told Serena, "It was kind of obvious. Ash looking at you in the match was a big indicator. I don't really care and it really didn't matter. If you don't want to tell them, I respect that."

"Actually… We want to tell them, I just don't know how they would take it, especially with about how Clemont acted." Serena said, slightly timid.

"That's all the permission I need. If they are your true friends, there's nothing to worry about. There's only one way to find out." Aurora smirked.

Before Serena or Ash could respond, Aurora said aloud, "If you want me to do a more visual presentation, I'll humor you."

"Really?!" Bonnie said with sparkles in her eyes.

"Bonnie, you wanted me to show how a guardian is similar to a Pokémon. I'll show you in another way, through a guardian's reflexes and speed. Chi-Chi, please use Thunderbolt on me." Aurora gave a gesture to come at her. Chi-Chi unleashed her claws as she pointed one at Aurora. Without warning, a surge of electrical energy was produced and headed straight towards her trainer. Aurora dodged the Thunderbolt with complete ease.

"Come on, Chi-Chi. I know that you can do better than that! Show me your competitive spirit!" Aurora taunted. She became surrounded by a visible yellow aura as she felt herself getting more pumped. She looked at Chi-Chi with a smile, but that smile was one of arrogance.

Chi-Chi visibly got annoyed. She thought with a devious smirk. "Oh, I'll show you all right. Let's do this!"

The electric cat started to bristle in electrical energy before turning into a lightning bolt and charging straight towards her trainer. Aurora smiled at Chi-Chi's change of tact. The lightning bolt moved sporadically until it reached near Aurora's left leg. Aurora jumped up and levitated above the ground before Chi-Chi could hit her. Then, Chi-Chi ricocheted from the ground and towards Aurora's stomach. Aurora dodged once again. It looked like she was lying down on an invisible incline. This time, the lightning bolt barely missed her torso.

There was an audible buzz of anger as the lightning bolt stopped mid-air moved towards Aurora's head. Aurora smirked as she expanded her hands and summoned a force field. The force field looked similar in structure to a Pokémon's Protect. The lightning bolt made contact with the shield, but did nothing. Aurora landed on the ground smirking at the lightning bolt. She made the Protect emulation disappear.

Aurora continued to dodge all of Chi-Chi's moves. Every time Chi-Chi's lightning form came near, Aurora made a sharp turn. Ash watched it in wonder as he got reminded of his adventure to the Tree of Beginning. He was reminded of Sir Aaron's Lucario who moved just as quickly as Aurora. He didn't know why he thought of the Tree of Beginning or Sir Aaron's Lucario. He looked at Aurora, confused.

Aurora and Chi-Chi's movements were precise and deliberate, as if they both were expecting the other's move before it even happened. Aurora began to pull away. Aurora induced her hands in electrical aura. She grabbed Chi-Chi whilst the cat eas in her lightning form and knock her down. Ash and his friends looked amazed. They never imaged anyone grabbing a lightning bolt. They thought it was impossible. From the look on Aurora's face, it looked like she and Chi-Chi regularly did this.

Chi-Chi reverted out of her lightning form and back into her regular form. She was panting slightly. She jumped out of the way while Aurora maintained a fighting stance. She growled, "Ok, Auru, you asked for this. Everyone else, avert your eyes!"

Aurora's partners, Ash, Serena, Clemont and Bonnie all covered their eyes. Chi-Chi shined an extremely bright light. It was enough to blind Aurora, but she didn't look too phased.

"Flash? So... you want to play dirty? Fine. I can still dodge every move you do while being blinded. Come and get me." Aurora's eyes became completely yellow. At this point, Aurora completely forgot about Ash, Serena, Clemont and Bonnie. She was so focused and pumped to see what Chi-Chi would do. Chi-Chi looked like a white streak of aura in her eyes now, even though her aura was normally red. Aurora gestured her hand towards Chi-Chi to come at her.

Chi-Chi's fur was bristling up, similar to a Jolteon. She was annoyed, but accepted Aurora's invitation gladly. She looked like a blur as she ran into her trainer, but Aurora dodged it with ease. Chi-Chi then started to jab at Aurora at lightning quick speed. Aurora showed no hesitation in dodging every single one. Then, Aurora grabbed one of Chi-Chi's paws mid-jab, catching the Lightning Cat Pokémon off guard.

Chi-Chi flinched as she expected Aurora to flip her over and pin her down, but Aurora smiled and shook her head. She let go of Chi-Chi's paw and said, "That's enough. I think I've shown how fast a guardian's reflexes can be. You're as speedy as ever, Chi-Chi. Just… don't rely too much on your speed next time and focus on your opponent's reactions. You can predict my moves a lot better that way."

"Yes, Aurora," Chi-Chi said. She seemed a bit disappointed. Aurora smiled and gave her partner a hug. Chi-Chi was surprised, but accepted it nonetheless.

"Hey... Don't look so upset, OK? You did really well. I was able to predict where would attack. That's something you really can't prepare for. You were too focused on showing me up, instead of using my weaknesses against me. You'll get me next time if you focus." Aurora advised. Chi-Chi nodded in understanding as she walked towards the rest of her partners.

Aurora turned to look at Ash and his friends. "So... was that alright for a visual, Bonnie?"

She got no response, just blank faces.

"Um…" Aurora sweat-dropped. "Maybe... I shouldn't have shown that."

"That." Ash started.

"Was." Serena continued.

"Amazing!" Bonnie finished, clasping her hands together. "I didn't know that aura guardians were so fast! I could barely see you when you were dodging Chi-Chi's moves!"

"Really?" Aurora rubbed behind her head bashfullt.

"Yes, really! You were moving super-fast!" Bonnie continued. "Can you show me how to do that?"

Aurora squinted her eyes at Bonnie slightly. Bonnie felt heavily scrutinized. She was wondering what Aurora was looking for. Then she sighed, "Sorry, kiddo. You aren't an aura guardian, so trying to teach you would most likely get you hurt."

"No fair!" Bonnie puffed up her face and crossed her arms. Aurora smiled. The way she was acting reminded her of Ash when he was young. Aurora frowned as she remembered the situation at hand. She looked down as she thought about the good times she had with Ash. She shook her head as she tried to break away from her memories. Aurora gave a small chuckle as she focused on Bonnie again.

"How about us?" Ash asked. Aurora could hear the inviting tone in his voice. Aurora walked over to the teen and raised her hand over both of their heads. She hummed as a mass of blue and green energy started to approach her hand. She made her hand glow blue until the visible energy stopped coming to her. Then, she made her hand go in front of Serena's forehead. Her hand shifted from blue to green in less than three seconds.

She moved her hand away from her and it immediately turned back into blue. When she put her hand in front of Ash's forehead, it turned a dark blue with steam coming out. Aurora's hand radiated heat and she wasn't trying to make heat. She shook her hand and made it go back to normal before she could be mesmerized by how intoxicating Ash's aura was. She stared into her hand in awe.

"Aurora, what did you do?" Clemont tipped his glasses upward slightly in curiosity. His question was enough to get Aurora to stop daydreaming.

"Huh? Oh, um… I was checking to see if Ash and Serena were aura guardians for you and Bonnie to see. They definitely are. However, Ash's aura is much more potent than Serena's. I base this off of how my hand looked and felt. I did this earlier when I first saw them." Aurora explained to the blond siblings.

"Woah! Does that mean that you can do the cool stuff that Aurora can do?" Bonnie asked the couple immediately upon hearing Aurora. Ash and Serena looked at each other, uncertain of how to answer.

"Uh…" They started.

"Bonnie!" Clemont said annoyed.

"What?" Bonnie pouted.

Before Clemont could respond, Aurora stepped in, "Bonnie… it's much too soon to ask something like that. They haven't been taught to use their aura effectively. Eventually, Ash and Serena will do things even I can't do... under the proper training, of course."

Clemont eyed Ash and Serena suspiciously. They could feel that they were being scrutinized by their blond friend. He gave a small sigh. "Aura guardians, huh… Well, this day is getting even weirder. Still, I'm happy to be friends with such unique people. If you two could be just as strong as Aurora, nothing could stop you from reaching your dreams."

"We meant to tell you earlier…" Ash started.

"But a lot of things happened from the time we first found out." Serena finished.

"When did you first find out?" Clemont asked.

"We found out a little after we reunited with Aurora when Team Rocket stole Pikachu," Serena told him.

"Aurora showed that I was an aura guardian and Serena figured out she was one during the second half of the final battle," Ash explained. Aurora chuckled slightly. It was loud enough for Clemont to hear. He inquired, "What's so funny?"

"Nothing is. The connection I'm sensing is extraordinary in this young couple. It's causing me to feel a bit more at ease." Aurora explained.

"Connection?" Ash asked.

"Of course. Whenever two aura guardians begin dating, it's very similar to how two psychics would be. A bit of mind reading, finishing each other's sentences… stuff like that. As it progresses… well… I won't spoil all the fun of discovery," Aurora smiled.

"Though I do wonder how they became a couple in such a short span of time. Whatever the case may be, I'm happy for them. They'll need each other for what's ahead. The prophecy... it's no doubt talking about these two," Aurora thought somberly.

Ash and Serena looked at each other. They had no idea what Aurora was talking about. They wondered what she meant.

"How about we head into town and recuperate a little? I understand if everyone needs time to process everything's that's happened," Aurora turned to Ash. "Soon after that, we can have our battle. Are you OK with it being one vs. one?"

"Of course!" Ash responded.

Aurora brought out her hand for Ash to shake. Aurora gave a confident grin. This one was much more different than how she was in the beginning of their match. Her eyes were glowing yellow slightly. "I look forward to it. Good luck… and I'm sincere when I say this… but you're going to need it to defeat me, future Pokémon Master."

"Don't count me out, Aurora!" Ash said, looking at the elder guardian with a defiant glare.

By Aurora being a Champion, he knew that she was a Pokémon Master in some right. If he could defeat her… he'd be one step closer to understanding how a Pokémon Master works. The thought of it got him excited. He returned Aurora's hand with a strong grip. Aurora may have had a strong grip, but Ash matched and surpassed hers. Aurora's eyes started to glow a harsher yellow. Ash's eyes also started to glow a dark blue. Ash's friends gasped in surprise. They both looked fired up, ready to rumble.

Aurora smiled with pride. Then, she made her eyes go to normal. Instead, she said, "Heh. It seems I spurred a little of your power, Ash. This is good. This battle will be much interesting than our last one. I can hardly wait!"

"Then let's go!" Ash started to sprint towards Santalune City. Serena stayed right behind him and Bonnie looked excited as well. Clemont sighed as he huffed along at a slower pace. Aurora smiled as she saw them exit the forest. All of her Pokémon waited before one of them said what they all was thinking.

"D-did you just sense that? He had a huge spike in his aura. I could still feel my fur stand on end!" Chi-Chi said, pointing to some of her back fur pointed up. "The kid's ridiculously powerful. He has the potential to grow more way powerful than you."

"I know he is more powerful than me, but... power can only go a long way. His power is unstable. He needs proper training for his potential to truly shine . This means we need to be super careful from here on out. I don't want to find out how much damage either one of us could do if we were to become influenced by our conflicted side," Aurora responded.

"Right. I don't think any of us wants to see Aru when she's angry. She'll be out for blood... and... I don't want to find out how Ash's counterbalance will be like." Happy said with a slight shiver. All of her Pokemon started to look anxious. Happy noticed this and decided to chance the subject, "Have you decided who you are going to use to battle against him?"

"Yes. I choose Rio," Aurora said almost immediately.

"What?! Why him?!" Every partner except Suzie and Rio exclaimed. Suzie just tapped her claws together in disappointment.

Aurora expected this type of reaction. All of her partners were always so eager to battle. "The better question is why not? He's the only one that didn't get to battle him during our initial match. It's only fair. Besides… should anything happen with our conflicted spirits, Rio is the Aspect most likely to fix it. He is my Wisdom and I trust in how he will handle the situation should it come to that."

They all looked at each other in understanding. Rio stepped up and formed a bone club of aura. Aurora did the same. They clashed their bone clubs in an 'X' shape as they looked at each other, determined. Rio looked happy, despite being serious most of the time. He said, "I will do you proud. Are you going to Mega Evolve me… or power me up with your aura?"

"No Mega Evolution unless he uses it as well. I may want to battle at my hardest, but I also want to be somewhat fair. However, I will power you up since Ash did ask us to try our hardest." Aurora said.

"Hey, Aurora! Is something wrong?" Ash asked from a distance.

"Nothing is. Just deciding who I should use to defeat you!" Aurora called out competitively. Aurora could feel Ash's frown. She continued in a less terse voice, "I'll catch up with you guys soon. I'll meet you at the Pokémon Center."

"All right. Meet you there!" Ash said as he started to dash towards the city. Serena, Bonnie, and Clemont closely followed him.

Aurora took a deep breath and exhaled. She did this multiple times.

In and out.

In and out.

Each time she did this, her hands started to glow blue. The blue glow increased the more she breathed. The bone club she was holding did the same thing. Rio could feel his strength surging as he began to mimic his trainer. He exhaled deeply. Eventually, both of their bone clubs were glimmering brightly. Aurora and Rio smiled at each other knowingly and jumped back and darted for each other.

With a loud crash, their bone clubs clashed once again, this time with more force. The rest of Aurora's partners felt the power of the shock wave and shivered as a result. Meanwhile, Rio and Aurora looked at each other boldly, trying to overpower the other. Eventually, with a loud growl, Rio pushed back his trainer and knocked her down on the floor. When she tried to get up from the ground, she was met with a bone club an inch from her face and Rio looking triumphantly at her.

Everyone gazed at the sight in shock. Their Mistress hadn't been knocked down in a long time. Aurora contemplated on counterattacking, but decided against it. Aurora made her bone club disappear and raised her hands. Seeing this, Rio also made his attack disappear and helped his trainer up from the ground.

"Excellent job! You caught me off guard with your movements and capitalized on it. You are ready." Aurora bowed respectfully at her friend and returned the rest of her partners into their capsules.

Rio placed a paw on her shoulder, "Aurora. I don't think it's a good idea to battle while both your spirits are unstable. You both may start to attack. I'm also afraid of what would happen to one of Ash's partners should we get carried away. We hold back for a reason."

"I can't help but be a little curious, Rio. I just love to battle. I know it isn't a good idea. " Aurora answered a little too fast.

"There's a but to this isn't there?" Rio guessed.

Aurora sighed, "I know it isn't a good idea, but it's inevitable that one of us… or even both of us may attack. Ash challenged me to a battle and I accepted. To me, battles are sacred. They are like promises. Once you make a promise to battle, breaking it means you have no respect for your opponent and I respect my dear young one very much. I know I may get too heated up, but it will be a good test to see if I don't lose myself. It would also be my first proper battle at my full strength in a long while."

"I know that. I'm just afraid of the consequences." Rio shivered at the thought of his Mistress going out of control. The last time that happened, it wasn't pretty for any of them.

"You know everything. Now c'mon. We've got a challenge to win. I can only hope that I can hold out against the irrational rage I'm feeling. It's… getting stronger and I'm not sure I'll be able to contain it once it releases. I'm pretty sure Ash is feeling the same way, but is concealing it from his friends." Aurora said.

Rio nodded grimly. He sensed his trainer's aura. She was right. He could sense her aura rising in power without her realizing it. From a distance, Rio could also sense Ash's aura rising as well. He sweated nervously, but tried to put it beside him. He decided to focus on the battle ahead. He would do his Mistress proud.

Aurora looked up at the sky and took a deep breath. She thought, "I know me and Ash will get out of control soon… so in the event that happens, I hope it will repel us from the Zurui and not any of our loved ones..."

A few hours later...

Everyone had eaten and relaxed at the Pokémon Center. Ash took the time to do some more training as he awaited Aurora to meet him at the Pokémon Center. He knew exactly what Pokémon he would fight with. He decided to train Charizard a little bit more. Pikachu and Greninja didn't mind helping out with the effort, especially Greninja. He felt like he had a better chance at winning since it was only a 1v1. They trained until it got late. Ash returned his Pokemon in their capsules. Everyone wondered where Aurora went.

Eventually, Bonnie pushed Clemont into the Pokemon Center. He looked confused, but Bonnie forced him inside anyway. She winked at the couple as she went inside with her brother. Pikachu also jumped off Ash's shoulder to follow Bonnie inside. Ash looked confused but Serena looked somewhat happy. Serena decided to sit Ash down on a tree's trunk. Serena almost immediately fell asleep on his shoulder. Ash was caught off-guard, but enjoyed watching her snooze. His body relaxed as he just sat down, lounging around.

Ash was now sitting beside Serena under a tree in the back of the center. He didn't expect his day to end like this, but he certainly wasn't complaining. It was dark outside. Ash stole a glance at his honey-blond girlfriend. She continued sleeping soundly. She looked beautiful in any place she was in. Truly, Ash felt like he was the happiest man on Earth just thinking about his relationship with Serena. He started to frown when his thoughts shifted to Aurora.

"Where are you? You promised to battle me!" Ash's hands started to glow an intense blue. He looked at his own hand in wonder. Suddenly, he felt angry. So very angry. He didn't know why. He felt like he needed to punch something to release tension. "Why am I feeling this way? I've been feeling like this all day, but it's starting to feel stronger. I feel like I'm fighting myself even more! Is this… my counterbalance's doing?"

"'Is this my counterbalance's doing?' Gee, I wonder who else it could be? Sometimes, I wonder when you'll start getting smarter, Ash. How someone like you can be a battling prodigy, I'll never know." A second voice sighed in Ash's head. He had a shiver down his spine upon hearing the voice.

"What does that supposed to mean? Who are you?" Ash asked the voice. He could hear amused snickering in response. He was starting to get freaked out. Ash started to go back and forward with the second voice.

"'What does that supposed to mean?' What it implies, of course." The other person snickered in mockery. Ash's confusion soon turned into annoyance. The voice continued, "I have a better question. Who are you?"

"I asked you that already!" Ash clenched his teeth in being irked.

"And out of the two people talking in this Mew-forsaken mind, only I know the answer. You're just as clueless as you are naive. Welcome to the insane asylum that is your head. Population: you."

"Insane asylum? What does that even mean?"

"What do I even mean?"

"Stop that!"

"Stop what?"

"Ugh!"

"I can't wait to take control of you, Ash. Just a little bit longer. Use your brain and stop asking dumb questions. Maybe then, you'll be able to answer your own self. Maybe then, you'll be able to overcome me."

"What are you talking about?"

"What am I talking about?"

"You're annoying." Ash was less than fond about his counterbalance's way of answering his questions with a question similar to his own. The voice seemed to know this and began to laugh.

"And you're unbearable. Then again, I am a part of you so I guess you just insulted yourself twice over." Ash's counterbalance retorted once again.

"Hey!" Ash responded, beyond irritated. One of his eyes were twitching because he was so annoyed.

Ash felt the urge to just scream out. His counterbalance continued to laugh at him. Ash felt like he needed to punch something, but then he thought about Serena. With just a simple thought about her, he was able to calm himself down. He didn't know why Serena had the ability to soothe his rage. Whenever he felt his emotions rise in anger during the day, a thought about Serena was able to calm him down. None of today made sense to him. He felt his counterbalance's presence disappear soon afterward.

His thought shifted back to Aurora. Apparently, Aurora knew Ash at a certain point, but Ash doesn't remember meeting her at all. He shook his head, "No… I have a feeling we've met. She's been too informal to Pikachu and keeps calling me 'young one'. I thought that was a little quirk, but it seems much more than that. Aurora, how do you know me?"

Ash's head started to hurt just thinking about everything. This was the first time of the day where he could just collect his thoughts. "Man, it's hard to believe I'll be heading home soon. This is the sixth region I've been to and still no League win! I came very close, but still…! I could almost taste the victory! Well… back to phase one, I guess. Once I figure out what's wrong with me and my spirit, I'll travel to the Hokori region and definitely beat the league there! If I could be runner-up here, the next step is being Champion! I'll definitely defeat Aurora!" Ash thought, while fist pumping in the sky. He was careful not to shake or wake up Serena.

Suddenly, the leaves in the tree he was lying against was shaking. When Ash looked up, he saw a dark figure jump out and face towards him. He'd halfway expected to see Aurora after the weird day he'd been having, but instead saw a blue jackal Pokémon with striking red eyes.

The Lucario noticed Ash and Serena sitting together at the base of the tree, Serena, snoozing on Ash's shoulder. He smiled. It reminded him of how Aurora was when she was his age. He was also conscious of how he ruined Ash's private time and looked remorseful.

Meanwhile, Ash was looking at Rio with an infuriated face. His hands were glowing blue as he started to become angrier than he should be. He immediately looked at Serena. She looked as serene as the sun setting. Luckily, she was blissfully unaware of the somewhat tense atmosphere surrounding her in her sleep. Rio gasped, then looked stern. He brought out his paw. Some of the aura contained in Ash's hand transferred to Rio's paw as he released some of the energy into the sky.

Rio narrowed his eyes. He spoke telepathically, "Do not do something so dangerous, young master. You could attack at any point and I noticed you using some of your aura without any control."

"So?" Ash asked.

"Progression is both a welcoming and frightening process, young master. Normally, it is a wonderful thing, but you are a special case." Rio explained. Rio raised his paws and said in a gentle voice, "Stay calm, Ash. That may the key to preventing any mishaps. Just stay calm and think of something to help you keep calm."

"I… I'll try." What immediately came to mind was Serena. It seemed like his method of staying calm was working.

"Good. Maybe we can battle after all if we don't go all berserk." From the sky, Aurora landed right beside her partner. Ash looked up at the elder guardian in surprise. She looked pumped, as if she was waiting for the right moment to fall in.

Ash was immediately annoyed upon seeing the older guardian. "I really wanted to battle! Where did you come from?!"

Aurora frowned and looked off the side. "I was napping in a tree near here. I wanted to come earlier, but then I saw you training with Charizard and didn't want to disturb you... nor did I want to pick up on any strategies you're planning to use against me. After that, you sat alone with Serena. Obviously, I didn't want to disturb you, so I waited. When you made no movement, I finally became too antsy myself. Believe me when I say I wanted to come earlier, but didn't know the best point."

Ash was still annoyed, but less so than before. The sun had finished setting at that point in time and the night sky glistened profoundly. Aurora smiled. She returned Rio in his Poke Ball and sat down cross-legged and looked up at the sky. It was soothing to look up at the sky with Ash. She became overcome with memories. Aurora began to tear up slightly.

Ash noticed this and said in concern, "Aurora?"

"I'm… I'm fine, Ash. I'm… happy, is all. Before we had gotten separated, every night I used to have you on my lap as we tried to figure out the constellations in the sky. It always felt soothing as it does now. Like right now, I see Ursaring Major. When you look up and read the stars, you can become better tune with nature and Pokémon. You become more sensitive to a Pokémon's change of feeling. For example, I can sense that Pikachu is being very respectful of your alone time with Serena, but also wants to be by you."

"How would you know that?" Ash asked.

Aurora closed her eyes and had a small smirk, "Little Chu has always been a friendly Pokémon. He was always so nice and considerate of others. He's always been that Pikachu that will make a new Pokemon feel very comfortable very fast. I suspect he hasn't changed, especially with you being friends with him."

"How did you meet Pikachu, anyway? It's clear you have a history with each other." Ash asked.

Aurora seemed a bit sad. She said, "Until you recover all your memories, I'll refrain from giving the full details of how I know Little Chu. What I will tell you is that we had a happy beginning, but things declined after a while."

Ash stayed silent. "Why is she so secretive?"

"There are things that you won't understand in your current mindset. Once you regain your memories, you'll understand my reasons a lot more," Aurora responded to Ash's thought. Aurora looked up at the sky. "Anyway, it's starting to get late. We should all get to bed."

"Serena's sleeping right now. I don't want to disturb her," Ash said, looking at Serena.

Aurora smiled, "My, my, such a gentleman. I like that. Don't worry about Serena. I can take care of her."

Aurora's hands suddenly glowed yellow. The sleeping Serena's body became outlined in the same hue. Serena slowly levitated up. Serena picked up on the change in landscape subconsciously and started to readjust herself. Soon, she was laying down in the air. Ash was looking at all this in awe. He was in awe about Serena's stunning beauty. He was amazed about Aurora lifting her up without touching her.

"I might as well teach you something new before you go to bed. This is called the aura grip. It allows an aura user to move another's aura with their own. It's a bit of give and take… you get access of how another living thing is feeling, but the living thing also feels what you feel," Aurora explained. "As I have Serena consumed in my aura, I can feel how calm and happy she is. It feels quite nice actually… Must be some good dream."

"Really? Can I try?" Ash asked eagerly. By now, he had stood up and looked ready for action.

"Sure… but be careful. She's still sleeping… I'll use my aura grip as an anchor until I feel you have a strong grip on her. Now… close your eyes and listen to the sound of my voice." Aurora said. Ash did as instructed. He concentrated only on Aurora.

"Try to use your aura to sense where Serena is."

"I know she's right in front of me."

"That's your brain talking. Use your aura. Clear out your mind and try to feel where she is without touching her. If you're able to do that, you'll be able to perform the grip," Aurora said, crossing her arms.

The older guardian observed Ash's every movement. She noticed his hands starting to glow dark blue. Serena's body began to faintly glow blue, but it didn't look stable. It kept on blinking dimly and then brightly every few seconds. Eventually, Serena started to glow a continuous blue and Ash started to get himself adjusted.

"Good. Now… keep your mind clear of all distractions, including the sound of my voice. The rest will naturally flow to you. You should feel a slight ripple as Serena's and your auras intertwine. Once that happens, focus on keeping Serena above the ground for now. Try to keep her in the air for as long as you can." Aurora instructed.

Ash continued to focus. He focused on seeing Serena without opening his eyes. He wanted to feel Serena and her aura. Just like Aurora predicted, Ash started to feel a ripple. It felt incredible. Ash could feel what Serena felt. Serena visibly smiled. She didn't know what was going on, but she could feel Ash's presence. It felt strong and reassuring.

Aurora smiled at the interactions between the two. She noticed that the blue outline on Serena was getting more noticeable and defined. Both Ash and Serena were smiling with their eyes closed. Serena murmured, "Ash…"

Aurora chuckled as quietly as she could. "If that isn't a clear indication that they are sharing auras now, I don't know what is. Now… let's see if he could keep her up by himself." Aurora's hands stopped glowing. The yellow outline surrounding Serena vanished and showed only a blue outline. Ash was the only thing supporting Serena. Ash began to shake. Serena suddenly felt a lot heavier than she had been before. He wasn't sure how much longer he could hold her.

"I will not drop her… I will not drop her…" Ash chanted in his mind. His face became beaded with sweat. He tried to pour more aura into her, but he could feel himself panicking. He knew what was about to happen. Before his concentration completely broke, Ash opened his eyes and grabbed Serena and held her bridal style. The blue outline around Serena vanished as Ash was panting in fatigue. Aurora had her arms crossed, but was smiling.

"That wasn't that bad for the first time, Ash. You picked up the fundamentals of an intermediate guardian technique pretty quickly. I think your potent aura helps." Aurora noted.

"You were testing me?" Ash panted but noticed her tone sounded like an instructor's.

"Naturally. You did the grip nearly flawlessly. The only thing you need to work on with your aura grip is being able to hold up large quantities of aura at once. You have the fundamental part right, but if I were to shoot a projectile of living energy, like an aura sphere, you wouldn't be able to stop it. That's natural for someone who recently started to use aura again. If you want to learn more about your aura, seek me out tomorrow night and I will try to teach you something new." Aurora stretched her body and yawned. Aurora then said, "I'm beat. I'll see you tomorrow, Ash."

Aurora jumped up and grabbed a branch. She swung her body around in order to have enough momentum to be on top of the branch she was swinging on. Ash called, "Aurora, wait!"

Aurora used her legs to hug the branch she was on. Then, she hanged upside down and looked down as if she was a Golbat. She gave Ash her full attention upside down.

"Uh…" Ash titled his head to the side in slight confusion. The teen was a bit weirded out, but he shook his head. Ash said, "Aren't you going to sleep inside with us?"

"No… I like sleeping outside and gazing at the stars. I guess it's the Pokémon in me." Aurora said. She swung herself around until she was sitting on the branch normally. She continued, "I'll just lay in this tree. Don't worry. By the time you wake up, I'll probably be training up myself in preparation for our battle. "

"One more thing..."

"Yes?"

"Why did you decide to show me this?"

Aurora smiled. "I see a lot of myself in you and vice versa. Our auras are very similar like my partners mentioned earlier… I guess I want to extend the branch of my family's knowledge to you."

"What does that mean?"

"Hopefully, in the next few days, you'll understand. And maybe... you'll figure out why I look so familiar to you," Aurora yawned and stretched her arms.

Ash widened his eyes. He hadn't told anyone that, not even Serena. He looked up at Aurora, but she was lying down on the branch, looking up at the starry sky. Before he could ask how she knew that, Ash could hear snoring. He figured it was no use. Ash walked back inside the Pokémon Center with Serena securely sleeping in his arms.

Unbeknownst to Ash, Aurora was still wide awake. She looked up at the sky with a melancholy expression. "It hurts so much to keep in what I really want to do with him. I'm not sure how much longer I can go without revealing what happened on that awful day to him…" Aurora could feel her rage rising. Her heart began to beat faster. Her hands became immersed in red aura. She began to have a nasty headache. She clutched her head in pain.

She heard a second voice in her head that sounded eerily creepier and slightly higher than Aurora's regular voice. "Pain. Agony. Torture. Strife. Let me come and do damage tonight. Let me out, my dear, sweet balance. Let me have my fun. You know you want to release your rage. Why let some kids stop you?"

"Aru... please stop this..."

"Why should I stop? Shouldn't you feel pain sometimes, too?"

"I don't want you to feel pain, Aru. You forcing me to feel pain isn't going to help anyone! Please, just stop!"

"Sticks and stone may break your bones, but your words will never work on me. I might have changed the ending a little..."

"Seriously, Aru?" Aurora said, slightly more annoyed than before.

"You know I like to change little sayings around. It's fun. It's time to be a little more serious, though. Can you resist me or shall I take control? Let's find out together..." Aru said, eerily cheerful. Aurora began to scream in pain.

"Don't you dare... Ugh!" Aurora clutched her head in pain and squirmed around in the tree. Aurora's eyes flickered between a bloody red hue and her normal yellow color. "N-n-no... R-r-resist… r-resist… resist… her. Don't... give in..."

"You will give in..."

Aurora breathed deeply. "Calm… calm… calm… down. Don't give her what she wants. Think about Ash… and the good times. Don't let her take control…"

Aurora's eyes stayed yellow. Slowly, Aurora's heart rate returned to normal. Her hands stopped being immersed in red aura and her head stopped hurting. Her face was beaded with sweat. She heard taunting laughter in her head and she couldn't make it stop. She knew exactly what her counterbalance was trying to do and it irritated her. She could do anything to stop her either.

"If I'm feeling this bad, Ash isn't too far from it. I hope we can hold out until he remembers himself completely. Hmm. Ash's aura was through the roof when I was teaching him. That may have aided him in picking up the grip slightly faster than normal. Oh Mew, he's close to the peak of the berserker stage. Oh boy..." Aurora sighed. She looked up at the nightly sky and it slowly lulled her to sleep. She fell asleep, highly anxious.

Clemont, Bonnie, and Pikachu were lounging in the Pokémon Center lobby. Bonnie already dozed off and was resting on Clemont's shoulder. Dedenne was sleeping in her bag. Clemont had his eyes closed, but was more of a meditative state. He was still conscious, but was resting his eyes. Meanwhile, Pikachu was sitting down, looking outside. His ears perked up when he noticed that Serena's body was floating in the air.

Pikachu almost ran outside to see what was up, but then felt a familiar presence. Pikachu thought, "(A-ash?)."

Pikachu looked closer outside and noticed Ash's hands glowing with Aurora's. They looked like they were in harmony and that Serena was enjoying being lifted up in the air. Pikachu smiled as he observed them. "(Heh, Ash is growing up… He'll come inside eventually.)"

Pikachu decided to walk back over to where Clemont and Bonnie were and sat down, watching Ash and Aurora. He decided to close his eyes for a few minutes.

After a few minutes, Ash entered the Pokémon Center with Serena in his arms. Pikachu was the first to notice a change in the atmosphere when his ears perked up. Ash looked confused and had sweat beaded on his face. Ash sat down on the chair opposite to Clemont and Bonnie.

"(Ash? What's wrong?)" Pikachu asked.

"Nothing's wrong, buddy." Ash replied.

"(I know when something's up!)" Pikachu frowned.

"You know me too well, buddy. Well… I feel so confused. I feel angry and I don't know why I feel angry." Ash looked down at Serena sleeping. He was surprised that she didn't wake up earlier. She must have been a heavy sleeper. "The only reason why I feel alright is because of Serena. When I see her, I calm down in an instant. I'm not sure how much longer I can last doing that."

Pikachu remained silent. He had no idea his trainer felt that way. He wished that he could do something to help, but knew that only Ash could deal with it. When he was a small Pichu, his auntie Pikachu told him stories of how some aura guardians were born with a little extra in their spirits: their spirits were mostly human and a little Pokémon. Some guardians acted more like Pokémon than others, but all of them protected Pokémon in general.

His Meema told him that the eldest guardians had one weakness: that same special spirit. Should their spirit be in conflict, the opposite side of them are known to rampage. If the conflict lasts for too long, the spirit burns up and the aura guardian die. Pikachu didn't believe in those stories until he saw how Aurora and Ash were behaving today. He was really afraid because he cared for both of them and didn't want to see either of them go.

"(I think you should go to bed Ash. It's good to rest, you know.)" Pikachu suggested. He didn't want to stress out his friend with what he remembered. He was a bit afraid that Ash would peer into his thoughts, but realized that Ash didn't know how to use his powers fully. Based on how he was acting, the little mouse knew he hadn't of looked into his thoughts.

"I'm not feeling tired, though." Ash yawned slightly. His face was still glistening.

"(Says the boy with sweat on his face while yawning. Go to bed and that's an order from me.)" Pikachu pointed to the bed area. He felt weird ordering his trainer to do something, but felt it was the best thing for him to do.

Ash smiled. Leave it to Pikachu to care about him so much. "Sure thing, Pikachu. After I put Serena into a bed, I'll go to sleep myself."

Ash got up with Serena in his arms. Serena curled up closer to his chest and seemed to sleep even more soundly. She looked really comfortable. Ash blushed in surprise. His entire face became as red as a beet. Pikachu noticed this and started to snicker at his best friend. Ash growled, "Yeah, yeah. You know I can take away your ketchup tomorrow, right?"

Pikachu widened his eyes and immediately stopped snickering. He loved his precious ketchup. Ash laughed at his best friend, "Gotcha, didn't I? And you can't shock since Serena is in my arms…"

"Maybe not tonight, my friend, but tomorrow's a different story…" Pikachu thought with narrowed eyes.

Ash knew never to separate Pikachu and his bottle of ketchup, but knew he couldn't retaliate as long as he had Serena, so he decided to savor the rare moment Pikachu couldn't do anything to him. Ash continued, "I'll meet you in my room. See ya later, buddy."

Ash stood up to walk over to the bed, Serena secured in his arms. Pikachu waved goodbye, but had his paw suspended in air.

He looked worried. "(Ash…)"

Pikachu shook his head and tried to stray his thoughts from Ash. Pikachu jumped on Clemont's lap and caused him to open his eyes in surprise. Clemont wondered what was happening, but noticed that everything was calm. He wondered why Pikachu disturbed him like that. He then looked outside. He noticed that it was pretty late. Clemont smiled, "Thank you, Pikachu. I need to put Bonnie to bed. You need to get to bed, too."

Pikachu nodded. He waved Clemont goodbye as he ran to Ash's room. Clemont nudged his little sister to wake up slightly.

Bonnie said, "Huh, wuzzup?"

"Time to go to bed, Bonnie."

"As long as Torchics cluck, I'm there in a flash."

"What? Oh, right… She must be still dreaming…" Clemont deduced. He coaxed Bonnie to stand up and held her hand. He muttered, "Some dream… Come along, Bonnie."

Clemont made it to Bonnie's room before Ash did. He guided his little sister to her bed. Upon contact, Bonnie fell back to sleep. Clemont put some covers over her and walked out the room as quietly as he could. He entered his and Ash's room and closed the door.

Ash arrived at Serena's room. He was fortunate that the door was left open. He moved on through and noticed it was very tidy. Serena always did like to keep herself clean. He also noticed Bonnie sleeping on the opposite bed. Ash gingerly placed her on her bed. Serena curled up in contact of another fabric. Ash slowly put a cover over her to keep her warm. Ash looked at his sleeping beauty as he thought, "Today may have been a hectic today, but I'm glad to have had some alone time with you… I love you, Serena,"

Ash gave Serena a kiss on the cheek before leaving her room and entering his. Once she heard the door close, Serena opened her eyes, touched the cheek where Ash kissed her at. It was still tingling. She smiled in ecstasy. She had heard Ash's thoughts and grinned. She whispered, "Hehe, I love you too, Ash. Fake sleeping… maybe I should do that more often."

A/N: This was more of a transitional chapter, though it was pretty fun to write. Ash challenged Aurora to another battle to where she will battle at her hardest. Since she's an aura guardian, how that will come into play this time? Contrary to what you may think, their rematch isn't happening any time soon. It'd be way too fast for that. Ash loves to battle, so I figured it would be in character for him to challenge her to another battle. If Chi-Chi could faint, maybe another partner can, too.

Both Ash and Aurora are feeling the effects of the second stage of the conflict. Both of their counterbalances are pissed off and they are definitely letting their respective balance know. One of them is gonna snap. Who's gonna attack first? We shall see.

Next Chapter: Guardian Conflict: Battle of Wills

~SPG123~