Chapter 16

A/N: Sorry for the late update!

"Now then, the Aura Council. After the creation of the world, 17 races of humans roamed the earth, forming 17 different nations, each having their own empire. Most of times were times of peace. However, war sparked and the nations found themselves in battle. They took sides and each of the empires was devastated. The three fairy Pokemon deities saw this and decided that a new nation is needed, a new nation which will remain as a neutral position and lead the other nations. Thus, the Aura nation was created. It was in turn led by a council of nine members, each representing a different human aspect: courage, guts, wits, intelligence, luck, emotion, patience, bond and spirit. The Aura Council ruled the nations peacefully for 10000 years before a terrible catastrophe called the Corruption hit the earth. The nations were separated again, and the Council members were scattered around the world, reincarnating at each century. Ash, Dawn, you were both chosen because you two were reincarnations of Courage and Bond respectively."

Ash, Dawn and Brock were listening intently. Dawn seemed a little shocked as she was proclaimed as a reincarnation of a Council member. They looked at each other. Ash bent down and stretched out his hand to touch the stone block. Pikachu jumped down to his side.

"So, this block basically tells us that there's a council somewhere here and Dawn and me have to prepare for a battle?" asked Ash.

"As it seems, yes," confirmed Jarlo. Dawn also squatted down to touch the stone. Dawn's hands felt their way around the outline of the block and her fingers touched Ash's. Both of them withdrew their hands sheepishly. Just then, they both fainted and fell down on the snow.

Brock had been surveying their surroundings to find a place for temporary shelter when he heard snow scrunching sounds in front of him. Ash and Dawn were nowhere to be found! Just then, he found them on the snow covered ground. Pikachu was trying to wake Ash up. Suddenly, Jarlo's voice came screeching into his ear.

"Alert! Alert! Blizzard coming! Find a shelter and get out of the way!" shouted Jarlo.

Sure enough, his ViewCam also reported a snowstorm coming their way with an ETA of twenty five seconds. He saw the winds around him picking up speed. He looked down to his friends. He had spotted a cave nearby which could be used but there was no way he could get both of them to the cave within twenty seconds. Just then, Brock's Toxicroak jumped out of its Pokeball and heaved Ash onto its shoulder. Pikachu quickly helped. Brock looked on, a little astonished, before he hastily picked Dawn up and brought them to the cave.

The winds outside the cave howled and screeched deafeningly. Brock sighed as he sat on a rock a few meters away from the cave entrance. Beside him, Pikachu and Toxicroak sat side by side. Toxicroak was croaking loudly. It seemed to be shivering. Brock jumped, started. He had almost forgotten that Toxicroak feared cold as much as it fears heat. The mucus on its skin would dry up even in cold. He quickly opened his bag pocket and took out a tube of gel. He squeezed some gel on his hands, and lathered it evenly over Toxicroak's body. Toxicroak gave out a croak of relief as the gel was spread over its body. Brock grinned embarrassedly. He thought of the first time he met it. They both had been good friends and they shared a mutual bond together. Toxicroak always seemed to know what Brock was thinking. A few minutes later, Brock was done. He wiped his hands. Though Toxicroak's body was covered in poison, Brock had developed a natural immunity to it after suffering so many Poisonjabs from it.

Brock turned and looked at Ash and Dawn. They were laying there, their faces a mask of serenity. He squinted at the back of the cave. It was too dark. However, something inside his heart compelled him to explore the cave. The feeling grew until it became a necessity. He called Jarlo.

"Jarlo? Are you there?" asked Brock as he pressed the intercom button.

"The ViewCam screen can show my status. It's connected to a proximity sensor to sense my presence. When I'm within two meters of the computer, it would show that I'm available. Any further than that and I'm either busy or away. So, what's the problem?" replied Jarlo.

"Does the ViewCam have a indirect light source?"

"There's a xenon pencil light on it, yes. Just command it to open for you,"

"Okay, thanks," Brock closed the channel.

Brock walked a few meters until he really couldn't see anything. Behind him, Toxicroak was following him. "VC open pencil light," instantly his surroundings was bathed in bright white light. He continued walking. A few Zubats flew overhead. The cave floor was covered in a thin sheet of snow. As he walked, he thought of his first cave visit with his father, Flint. They went into the cave in Mount. Moon, near his hometown of Pewter town. He had even got his first pokemon, an Onix, there. He smiled contently.

After another ten meters, he saw some light peeking out ahead. Brock's head furrowed. He really didn't expect that to happen. He quickly rushed up front and saw that the light was coming behind a stone wall. He wanted to check it out but he thought about waiting for Ash and Dawn to wake up. They were friends, and friends do things together. He began walking back.

--

Commander Salium ordered a troop of elite soldiers for the next mission. Galaxian had told them of Cyrus's plan and the next move. They were to protect the same group of people they were ordered to capture the night before. Nothing must go wrong or the consequences will be severe. Ellen Salium sighed. A few hours ago, he was simply a lawbreaker. Now, he was a lawbreaker, a fugitive from a childhood friend, and a battered soldier. This day was not going to get any worse, right? Thought Ellen.

A/N: Sorry again for the late update-and the cliffhanger-. It's school, parents and writer block all wrapped together. Review, please!