A/N: Hey guys. SPG123 here. Welcome to the second part of Ash's trial. Which Pokemon is Mew going to transform into today? Let's find out!
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon, but I do own this story and blah, blah, blah.
Day 2…
Neither Ketchum slept well last night. Although Ashton was more accustomed to being in trees, neither of them were used to sleeping on a branch without a sleeping bag. As a result, they both felt sluggish by the time morning came. When Ash woke up, it was morning and Ashton looked exhausted. The counterbalance made a flimsy smile, trying to let Ash know he was alright, but failed miserably. He looked ready to pass out.
Ash wasn't exactly sure what to do. He didn't want to stay in any one place for too long. He also didn't know what Mew would transform into today. Ash decided the best course of action was make Ashton more alert. He hoped a good dose of water would temporarily spur Ashton to keep moving. It would also be a good excuse to punish him for staying up past his shift. Ash wondered what he did to stay up all night.
Ash easily climbed down the tree. Ashton was nodding off on his branch. Ash groaned, then got an idea. He brought out his hands. A now alarmed Ashton was trapped within Ash's aura grip. He was able to move Ashton off of the tree, but immediately when Ashton's feet touched the ground, he couldn't maintain his steam. The outline immediately disappeared, but Ash was proud at his improvement. He felt like he'd gotten more flexible in a stretch.
Ashton flashed an approving smile, then fell asleep while standing. Ash rolled his eyes.
"Ashton, wake up!" Ash huffed in annoyance. He tried shaking him, but the counterbalance wouldn't budge. When he shook him enough, Ashton tipped over to fall. Ash caught him just before he reached the ground, but immediately regretted his choice. Ash struggled to keep him up.
"Zzz… Ruru… five more minutes…." Ashton said in his sleep. Ash sighed.
"Ugh… I didn't know you were so heavy. I feel like I'm lugging a Snorlax." Ash complained under his breath. With slow, heavy steps, Ash walked north of his location toward the water source. Internally, he wanted to whack Ashton on his head, but decided to let him sleep for now.
It wasn't easy, but Ash managed to arrive at a pristine lake. It made Ash's eyes sparkle with admiration with how pretty the water was. He put down both of their leafy bags by the nearby trees to prevent them from being undone. Then, with all his strength, he threw Ashton as far into the lake as possible. At first, nothing happened. Then, bubbles appeared. A very annoyed Ashton swam to the surface of the body of water with a frown.
"What the hell, man?!" Ashton's normally spiky hair straightened enough to reach behind his shoulders. His red eyes were glowing in anger and the water bubbled all around him. Ash couldn't stifle a laugh. Ashton got even more steamed.
Ash smiled and called out, "You shouldn't have stayed up all night. That's what you get for overextending yourself."
Ashton was so annoyed that he didn't know what he was feeling. All he knew was he wanted Ash to feel his wrath. His body became immersed with a dark blue aura and he raised his hand. Ash's face quickly changed to one of horror. As Ashton raised his hand, a large whip of water rose from right behind him. Ash stepped back, wide-eyed. With a yell, Ashton splashed water at Ash. In turn, the large whip of water whacked Ash and knocked him against a tree. Ash nearly lost his breath at the force of the attack.
The whip of water disappeared almost instantly and Ashton looked at his hand in awe. He didn't know he created the powerful torrent. Ashton got out of the water as quickly as he could and helped Ash up. Ash kept coughing, holding his chest. Ashton felt guilty. After a few moments, the pain began to subside. Ash's body began to glow blue as his aura aided with tending the injury. When he recovered his bearings, Ash was irate. He shoved Ashton into the water. Ashton came up again with a frown.
"I didn't deserve that, you know." Ash snarled at his red eyed self. Ashton raised his hands in defense.
"I didn't even know I can do that, Ash. I swear I just wanted to splash water on you." Ashton explained. He got out of the lake and tried to show Ash he didn't know what he was doing.
Ash's anger soon began to taper off. Ash nodded slightly, but still was somewhat annoyed. They both began to look at the calm lake. They looked at each other with an understanding look. They both brought out their hands. The water responded to their call and began to rise. However, their hold on the water was unstable and it immediately dropped back down. Both of them looked exhausted, though they were excited.
"Ashton, did we used to do this with Aurora?" Ash asked curiously.
"No. However, she always used to say how guardians are part Pokémon and depending on who our partners will be, we would be more proficient in certain typings. I never really paid attention whenever she said things like this because the future always felt so far away." Ashton replied while trying to lift up more water. Ash stopped in his tracks. The water immediately dropped down as Ashton gave his full attention to his balance.
"Wait…" The gears in Ash's head began to turn as he widened his eyes. Ashton looked slightly confused.
"Got any ideas, Ash?" Ashton asked.
"Yes. Mew may be showing us who our guardian partners might be. We're going to have a water type! Imagine Squirtle, Buizel or even Greninja as a partner!" Ash was getting giddy with excitement.
"I'm not sure about that. I would think we would have caught them all by now. I mean, look at Larivitar. You never caught him." Ashton pointed out.
"Ashton, I don't think that will matter. Mom used to say if something leaves, but is truly meant to be by you, it will always come back. She always said this about Dad." Ash argued. Ashton suddenly looked angry. He clenched his fists tightly.
"Ruru… used to say that as well." Ashton said in a strained voice. He clenched his fists. The water near them began to steam slightly. Ash wondered what he said wrong. Ashton quickly gathered his thoughts and the water stopped bubbling. Ash was tempted to ask Ashton what upset him, but decided maybe now wouldn't be the best time to ask. Ashton grunted, "I agree with you. Maybe we should see what Mew transform into for the next few days. If she transforms into Pikachu, that pretty much confirms your idea to be right."
Suddenly, a couple of canteens appeared at their feet. Puzzled, their guard immediately rose. They stepped away from the seemingly safe items. Then, a small green bud appeared right in front of them. Neither Ash knew what to expect.
"You know, I like your boldness a lot. Throwing me off of a cliff? I should be angry, but I'm only mildly annoyed at Ashton. Things like that always remind me that you Ketchums aren't as predictable as I think you are."A feminine voice purred from all around them.
"Mew… show yourself!" They both demanded. Their response was laughter.
"Why, I've already shown myself if you look closely. Look at what I've given you. Devices to carry water in. You really can't carry water too well in your backpacks, after all." Mew noted. Ash and Ashton looked around, but they couldn't see anything.
"What's your angle?" Ashton asked, suspicious.
"There is none. I can acknowledge that you don't have as much survival experience as your ancestors, so I'm being nice… only for the first two days. After today, I will treat you no differently, so be prepared when my… tough love… side comes out." Mew laughed gruffly.
"Oh, well, thank you, Mew." Ash said in appreciation. He heard an amused giggle.
"No problem, my boy. I haven't really been acting like your benefactor lately, so doing something like this feels good. I want you to succeed." Mew happily said. Ash found himself smiling as well. Meanwhile, Ashton had his eyes narrowed.
"I'm not buying the sudden change for a second." Ashton frowned.
"Really now, Ashton?" Mew questioned, slightly annoyed.
"You plan to trap us in some way… I just know it!" Ashton said with certainty. Ash wasn't really sure Mew's intentions, but he didn't mind giving her a chance. Mew huffed slightly.
"I have no intention to trap you. I would have done it already if that was the case. It doesn't surprise me that your balance is more trusting. That's what usually happens." Mew sighed. Ashton crossed his arms. "You will trust me soon enough. For now, I think it's time we get back into the swing of things. I apologize for what I'm about to do, but this is a survival challenge. I can't be too nice to you."
Suddenly, the ground began to shake. Before either guardian could properly react, vines sprouted from the ground and wrapped themselves around both of their legs. Ash and Ashton yelled as they were yanked from the ground. The ground soon became their sky as they dangled in the air. Their hats fell on the ground. The bud that appeared earlier grew taller and developed a green dinosaur-like body. The Pokémon had large, amicable red eyes and darker green spots all over her body.
"Bulbasaur?" They both said in surprise.
"Yep. I take it he's one of your most reliable friends you've met on your travels." Mew noted while looking at the two. They both nodded. She closed her eyes and seemed to be deep in thought. Then, she giggled. "Hmm… I'm really liking the disruptive moveset this Pokémon can get. I forgot grass Pokémon have so much utility. You have good taste."
"So you are showing me who my guardian partners will be?" Ash said eagerly.
"Really Ash? You're excited while she has us at her mercy?" Ashton said, annoyed.
"I just can't help it! We're going to see Larvitar and Bulbasaur soon! I can't wait to find out more!" Ash said. Ashton face-palmed and sighed. Mew giggled once again.
"Yes. Good on you for figuring it out. I like your enthusiasm. You two complement each other well." Mew noted. She looked at Ashton deviously. "Enjoy this dose of karma, boy."
Mew arched her back upward. Her large bud burst a slew of golden powder onto Ashton's face. Ashton coughed heavily at the sudden attack, then began to lose all feeling in his body. Both of their eyes widened when Mew threw Ashton into the lake with all of her strength. Ashton screamed as he was knocked head-first into the water. Afterward, she gently placed Ash down by the lakeshore. Without thinking, Ash jumped into the water to help his counterbalance.
Mew watched the dark amber eyed boy swim at an alarmingly fast pace… much faster than a regular human. Then, when he reached the spot where Ashton sunk down, he took a deep breath and dived down. Mew mused to herself, "Interesting… his aura will react to his feelings and allow him to do things he normally shouldn't do in his current mind. I'm really liking the beginning stages of his guardian instincts returning. I need to uncover more of it. Ash Ketchum… I can't wait to see more from you."
Mew looked at the two leafy backpacks and took out the berries Ash and Ashton forged with the assistance of the forest Pokémon. She looked back at the lake. Neither Ash nor Ashton came up from the water yet. As much as she wanted to destroy the berries just to make the challenge harder, she relented on those feelings. Mew thought about what Aurora said to her before her trial was started: "You know if you try anything to him that I don't approve… I don't mind defending him against you."
That was enough to deter her from making it harder. Mew knew she shouldn't push a Ketchum too far. Humans were free spirited, but somewhat easy to control. She never liked manipulating humans unless it was for good reason… like causing the spiritual conflict to strengthen both Ketchums involved. She sat down in slight sadness and looked at the glistening lake. Mew sighed at Ash receiving she perceived to be the 'baby' treatment. If it was Aurora, Gordo, or any other Ketchum, she would have been a lot nastier because she knew they could take it. Ash, however, didn't have as much exposure to Mew as his ancestors. She could acknowledge this and it made her more annoyed with Nyxcipher and the Zurui.
She saw an alternate future where Ash was never separated from his mother and Mew personally trained him just like any other Ketchum. It made her sad. Mew saw him with much stronger Pokémon and his aura growth wasn't as stagnated. So much potential was wasted on this version of Ash because of the separation. She hated it. It made her that much more determined to bring back out that potential.
"I have to be careful. Can't do anything too harsh to Ash… yet. Gotta wait until Aurora brings him to the tree. Then, the true training will begin." Mew had to remind herself. It was hard to do that when she saw so much potential. It made her want to scoop him up, teleport him to the tree, and keep him there against his will. Once again, she had to hold herself back. Mew didn't want Ash to be any more reluctant than he was now.
She perked up when she saw the lake bubble up. She saw Ash surface with his arm wrapped around Ashton. She returned all the berries into the backpacks. Mew then ran off into the forest, waiting to ambush them once again. She wished she could read and write in the human language, but that was one thing she never decided to try learning. Otherwise, she would have left them both a message.
"Ash…" Ashton could barely say. He had been smart enough to hold his breath right before he landed in the water. Otherwise, they both knew Ashton would be unconscious. Never had he been so terrified before. Ash could feel him shaking.
"Don't worry… I got you." Ash said as calmly as he could. He began to swim them both back to the shore without too much trouble. Ashton looked at his balance with appreciation.
"Ash…" He coughed out some water. Ash glanced at him for a split second before focusing on land again. Ash frowned. He doubled his efforts to make it to shore.
"Everything's gonna be OK. I'll… make sure of it." Ash declared. His eyes began to glow blue. The water responded to his feelings. The current of the water shifted to aid him. His speed suddenly increased dramatically. With a determined yelled, Ash swam himself and Ashton back to the shore. Ashton coughed out more water and quivered from the touching the ground.
In the back of his mind, he wondered where Mew ran off to, but he decided it wasn't that important. He quickly splattered out all the berries from both of the leafy backpacks. He immediately looked at the berries in confusion. He wished he had listened to Brock or Cilan about the different berry types.
"Uh… Which berry do I use?" Ash asked his counterbalance, hoping he would have an answer.
"Ugh… I… don't know. Try... anything…" Ashton coughed. His face had a bit of a blush to it due to being paralyzed and he couldn't open his eyes. That was the last answer Ash wanted to hear. He shook his head and sucked it up. He had no idea what he was doing, but he would do anything to help Ashton.
"Um… how about this one?" Ash picked out a somewhat withered Rawst Berry with green leaves. He fed it to Ashton.
"Ugh! Too bitter!" Ashton coughed it out immediately.
"This one?" Ash fed him again. This time, he fed Ashton a small pink Pecha Berry.
"Way too sweet!" Ashton complained.
"Uh... This one?" Ash fed him an Aspear Berry. As soon as Ashton took a bite, he immediately regretted it. He yelled in pain upon trying to take a bite and spat it out.
"Ow! Too sour and hard!" Ashton frowned.
"Ashton, you are not making this easy…" Ash huffed with slight annoyance.
"I can't help that I can't move!" Ashton roared at him. Ash raised his hands in a placating manner, even though Ashton could not see him.
"Alright! Alright!" Ash said in an appeasing way. He began to search for more berries. Then, he found a Chesto Berry. "Er… Let's try this one!"
"So dry…." Ashton could feel his mouth drying out. Ash began to panic slightly. He searched the berry pile even more. The boy found a red berry with a very odd stem. It was a Cheri Berry. He wasn't sure it would work, but he didn't see too much else.
"Um… this is the last kind I think can heal statuses. The others we have are Oran and Situs Berries. This has to work!" Ash said earnestly. At this point, Ashton wasn't sure if Ash would poison him before he actually helped him. He couldn't do anything about it and it made him annoyed. Ash fed the Cheri Berry to his red eyed counterpart.
"Hah! So… spicy! It burns…." Ashton coughed out.
His body sprang up from coughing from the spiciness. Ash was smiling at his counterbalance moving. Ashton immediately moved over to the lake to drink some water. The spiciness in his mouth eventually subsided. Ashton made a sigh of relief. It took him a few moments to realize that he had feeling in his body again. He thanked Ash under his breath and took a look at the different berries. Then, he started to smile himself. He began to put the berries into different piles.
Ash was curious about what he was doing. Ashton placed each individual type of berry in two separate piles. Then, he put half of each in Ash's bag and half of each in his bag.
"Thanks for saving me, Ash. I'm not sure what would have happened to me if it wasn't for you." Ashton said with deep gratitude.
"No problem, man." Ash grinned.
Ashton shivered and crossed his arms. He noticed that Mew was no longer here. He wondered where she went. Ashton commented, "I… have a feeling she's only shown us a glimpse of what she can do. She's… not trying too hard to kill us. Otherwise, she would have paralyzed you and thrown you in the water with me."
"I feel the same way. I do wonder where she ran off to." Ash said with a thoughtful expression.
They said nothing else as they walked back inside the forest. For the rest of the morning and afternoon, both Ashes trekked along the forest floor, weary of their surroundings. Never in their lives had they been so fearful of where they walked. Ashton was especially on high alert.
Eventually, Ashton decided to stop walking in the middle of the forest. Ash was puzzled, but decided to stop with him. Ashton smiled and poked Ash. Ash winced when his hot finger touched his arm and immediately knew what he wanted to do.
"We should try to keep practicing your control over your aura. This is also practice for me because Ruru said I spread my aura around too much. I really took her words to heart after she calmed me down." Ashton told him.
"Aurora's had that much of an influence on you, huh?" Ash noted.
"You have no idea, Ash." Ashton grinned. Then he added with a small blush. "I want her to be proud of me, if only a little bit."
"Wow. Mew was right. You really don't have too much confidence in yourself." Ash observed. Ashton turned away from him and sighed. Ash made a warming smile and put a hand on his shoulder. This prompted Ashton to look up again. "I could tell in how you defended everyone in Aru's attack that she was proud. Heck, Aru said so herself."
"No, she said that to you. Remember, you were the one to force Aruru to let go of Serena." Ashton pointed out.
"I saw what you did to Aru earlier and used it to my advantage. It was thanks to you I was even able to use the aura grip. In the end, it doesn't matter. What matters is that you followed your beliefs. Aru and Aurora saw the conviction from you. I can safely say they both are proud." Ash continued to smile. Ashton still looked a bit doubtful, but thankful.
"Thank you, Ash," Ashton said in a small voice. His voice quickly got more serious. "We really should practice, though. I want us to learn how to have better control of our powers. Try heating up your skin again without burning the ground."
Ash nodded. He closed his eyes and began to concentrate. He clenched his fists tightly and started to breathe deeply. His body became surrounded in a dark blue aura as his body began to heat up. Ashton could feel the heat emanating from his brown eyed counterpart. He smiled in approval.
"Good. You're showing much better control than yesterday, but you're still making too much aura. Focus a bit more on heating up your body instead of using your aura." Ashton suggested. Ash nodded and took an even deeper breath. The aura around him began to die down. Ashton stepped a bit closer to his balance and see if his body was still hot. To his delight, it was burning hot. Ashton was beaming proudly at his balance.
"Woah." Ashton suddenly gasped and widened his eyes. Ash was confused by this.
"What's wrong, Ashton?" Ash asked in concern
"N-nothing's wrong. Just… had a bit of a deja vu moment." Ashton admitted.
"How so?" Ash pressed a bit further.
"The things I said just now is exactly what Ruru said to you when you were four learning this. You even perfected the technique in the same way. I guess I got a bit of a chill when I realized this." Ashton rubbed behind his head. Ash made a small smile to Ashton.
He commented with a small smile. "It seems you really are playing the part of a teacher, dude."
"Heh. I guess so." Ashton replied.
"Ashton, is there anything else Aurora was able to teach us before we got separated."
"Ruru didn't really teach me too much about aura, but she did teach me hand to hand combat." Ashton immediately responded with excitement. Ash raised an eyebrow in intrigue. Ashton continued, "She always told us to keep our physical body in top shape so the process of learning aura would be easier. Ever since we were two, Ruru showed us several techniques to help defend ourselves. When we were seven trying to get away from the Zurui, you helped to take down two psychics using what you learned."
"Really?" Ash widened his eyes in astonishment. Ashton nodded eagerly, but seemed a bit uncomfortable thinking about his encounter with the Zurui. He decided to stay focused on the positive, but he still had to repress a wave a sadness.
"Yep. You took advantages of the vulnerable spots of their bodies. For example, you hit one of them in their solar plexus." Ashton explained.
"Solar plexus?" Ash seemed confused and asked his counterbalance what that was.
"The solar plexus is a series of nerves located on your abdomen just below your diaphragm and behind your stomach," Ashton told him, moving his hand to be right at Ash's solar plexus. When Ashton applied a little bit of pressure, Ash increasingly felt a tight feeling in his chest. Ashton continued, "If you hit here, you can knock the wind out of someone. It's useful as an escape tool as well as a way to mount an offense."
Ash listened intently. He didn't know why he was so intrigued, but he was bemused about one thing. "Ashton, how come you remember this so well? I mean, we were seven when we separated from Aurora, so it's a bit odd that you remember everything so specifically."
Ashton sighed morosely. He laughed bitterly, "Ash… I had nothing to do in your mind for nine years. To keep myself sane, I focused on the good times I had with Ruru and you. I kept replaying the scenarios in my head. It was all that I had left before I could fade. I often hung on by a shred of my consciousness…"
Ash slumped his shoulders and he immediately regretted his question. "Ashton, I…"
"Don't worry about me, Ash. What's important is that we've reunited with Ruru and we have a pretty decent relationship again. We can only move forward from here." Ashton said. Ash agreed.
For the rest of the day, Ashton decided to show Ash all the vulnerable points of the body Aurora showed him. Ash was in awe at how much Ashton knew because that meant Aurora showed him so much. Ashton explained how Aurora practiced with him. He told him how Aurora often made a goal a game to allow him to work harder toward reaching it. Ash seemed eager to learn more so Ashton humored him.
Ashton also told him how to immobilize his opponent without using his aura. He explained how to flip someone and leave them pinned. He would have actually showed his brown eyed counterpart these techniques, but he didn't want to hurt him. However, Ashton was willing to let Ash try some of the techniques on him. They decided to spar for several hours.
At first, Ash struggled to land any hits on Ashton, but as the day went on, Ash started to land some hits on Ashton. He still wasn't able to properly immobilize Ashton or fight on par with him, but he was able to strike at Ashton's pressure points more. Ashton was smiling in approval by nightfall. Soon, the duo fell asleep in a couple of trees. They had completely forgotten about the transforming pixie hunting them down because they had been so engrossed in their training. Unbeknownst to the two Ashes, a grass and poison type Pokémon watched the two the entire time with a large smile from on top of a tree.
By nightfall, Mew had considered surprise attacking the duo again, but decided to wait until tomorrow so she could transform into one of Ash's more powerful Pokémon. Still, she found that she couldn't bring herself to interrupt them. She never really watched how humans trained each other, so she thought of this as a bit of a learning experience.
"Interesting. Humans are always so interesting to watch. Still, thanks to Ashton, my job of helping Ash is getting easier. I want him to try to use what he learned today against me tomorrow. I know exactly who to transform into tomorrow. This is going to be fun…" Mew mused in her thoughts. She cackled darkly as she jumped off the tree and ran off.
A/N: Counterbalances being opposite to their balance doesn't always have to be all violent. Hoped you enjoyed the character development from everyone involved.
As stated previously, I will continue updates monthly until I get used to college. It's prelim season and it's making me terrified... not that you guys need to know that. I'll see you next month with the third part!
Next Chapter: Tree of Remembrance: Day 3