Fire. Fire was everywhere, spreading quickly, ravenously eating at the small village, leaving only ashes behind. A man ran through the burning village, searching for someone. "Where are you?" He cried.
"Et," A small voice weakly coughed. The man perked up and ran towards the voice, and charged into the small hut, coughing on smoke, he didn't care. He saw a small feminine figure curled up.
"Meloetta!" He cried, but wish he hadn't, for he took in a breath full of smoke. He grabbed the small figure and ran out of the hut just as it collapsed. He started to cough again, tripping in the process.
"Ridley!" A voice cried, "Do you have her?"
Ridley glanced over and saw and old man looking over at him. His father. He was laying down, trapped, a wooden beam had fallen on his legs, trapping him as the fire got closer.
"Father!" Ridley, cried, trying to make his way over to him. But his father held up his hands, telling him to stay back.
"Do you have her?" His father asked again. Ridley glanced over and saw Meloetta hovering nearby, staring at the burning village in horror.
"Yes father, I do, but you need help, you'll burn!" Ridley once again tried to go to his father.
"Stop, remember your duty! Protect Meloetta, quickly, leave with her before the men come!"
Ridley gulped, he had always done that, but he never thought he would have to choose between Meloetta and his own family.
"Go! Quickly!" The fire was getting closer to his father.
Ridley quickly called out Golurk from his Pokeball, "Come on Meloetta!"
"Etta!" She cried, eyes wide in fear. She flew into his arms, and he climbed onto Golurk, "Golurk, fly, quickly!" The Golurk pulled in his arms and legs, replacing them with his rocket like body, and launched himself into the air.
"Melo," Meloetta said softly looking back at the burning village. Ridley didn't look back, he had learned it was best not to stay living in the past.
/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*
It had been three days since the attack on his village.
Three days since his father told him to run.
I ran like a coward. Ridley thought bitterly.
"Etta mel," Meloetta said, looking at Ridley, Ridley looked at her fondly. He knew why she was scared. Last time the village had been attacked people had been looking for her. They had successfully captured her and tried to use her powers.
But this attack was made by different people. It had come out of nowhere, and had spared no one. Ridley didn't dare hope that anyone had survived, it was just impossible.
Suddenly Meloetta perked up, "Melo?" She listened for a moment, "Etta! Meloetta ta!" She pointed towards the forest.
"Do you want to land?" And Meloetta nodded vigorously. "Golurk, land!"
Golurk started to descend, as soon as they had cleared the tree tops Meloetta leaped off Golurk and sped off.
"Meloetta!" Ridley cried, running after her. As he caught up he saw Meloetta tackle into somebody, knocking him to the ground.
"Etta! Meloetta etta ta melo lo!" She sang happily, hugging the person. The boy sat up and stared at Meloetta.
"Meloetta?" He asked. The boy was cradling something red in his arms.
"Ta!" She said with a nod, spinning around. Ridley studied the boy, and then he too recognized him.
"Ash?" He asked.
The boy glanced up and saw him, looking at him. Ash didn't recognize him. Ash's gaze turned to the Golurk lumbering up behind Ridley, then recognition flashed in his eyes.
"Ridley!" The boy that had saved Meloetta several years earlier smiled, and Meloetta landed on his shoulder. "What are you doing here, shouldn't you be at the village with Meloetta?"
Ridley flinched, and Meloetta flew to him, patting him on the shoulder.
"Oh no," Ash said, "What happened?"
"There was an attack, I barely managed to get Meloetta out. Everything else was destroyed, including... the people."
Ash's eyes widened, and he focused on Meloetta, "Oh man..." Ash's hands clenched, "I've should've know! Arg!" He kicked a rock, and the small thing in his hands stirred. Meloetta looked up, then saw the small creature.
"Melo? Etta etta!" She quickly flew to the small creature in Ash's hands, "Melo melo!" The red creature stirred again, then looked up at Meloetta.
"Tini," It said weakly. Ridley's eyes widened, it was a Victini!
"Etta," Meloetta flew closer to it.
"Meloetta, do you know that Victini?" Ridley asked, and Meloetta nodded, then flashed a memory into his mind of the old village, showing her and a Victini playing in a flower field.
"Victini was attacked," Ash began, "And I don't know what to do, Cele- I mean, I wasn't able to help and-"
Ridley came forward and picked up the Victini, and she started to squirm, but Meloetta said something, and then she calmed down.
"Looks like it got attacked by a Water-Type, which she's weak too." Ridley said, turning the small Victini over.
"This is strange that I ran into you, because I was actually looking for you."
"Really?" Ridley said, surprised, as he pulled out an Oran Berry.
"Yeah, you see..." Ash paused trying to word his next phrase, "I need Meloetta."
Ridley was instantly suspicious, he gave a small signal that he used when Meloetta was invisible, it meant to hide behind him. Meloetta looked confused, but obeyed.
"What do you mean?" Ridley said slowly.
Ash held up his hands, "I know it sounds crazy, but you got to believe me. Meloetta is in danger, this is not some random attack. Meloetta is in great danger and I can protect her."
"It is my birthright to protect Meloetta, and I am certainly not handing her over to anyone," Ridley looked down at the Victini in his hand, "Strange how you happen you have a Victini with you, and how you seem to know about the attack on my Village," Ridley frowned, the more he thought about the more Ash seemed to be the enemy.
"Ridley, I-"
"And we just happen to meet on the road, but you're looking for me?" Ridley stepped back, having have lost him home, family, and was on the run, anything that seemed suspicious put him on edge, "Are you the one that attacked this Victini?"
"What? Of course not! Ridley, please calm down and listen, just let me explain wha-"
"Golurk, Flash Cannon!" Ridley shouted.
"Etta!" Meloetta shouted, but Ridley put out a hand and blocked her. Victini tried to fly, but she was still too weak. Golurk pulled in one arm and prepared the attack, the socket started to glow, the released the attack, a beam of bright light directly at Ash.
When the light cleared Ash was unharmed, holding his hands out in front of him, and a blue light surrounded him. The blue, protective aura flickered once, then vanished. The blue stone on the ring stopped glowing as well.
Ash focused on his Aura, and gathered a sphere of blue energy and launched it towards Ridley. Golurk stepped in front of him, taking the blast. Golurk launched a Shadow Ball, which Ash tried to block, but the ball hit his hand.
Meloetta was trying to support Victini, but was crying for the boys to stop. They either ignored her, or they did not hear her. Ash launched another sphere, and it hit Golurk in the chest, after a few more Ridley had no choice but to return the Pokemon.
Suddenly Ash lost control of his Aura, and the power swept through him. Ash glanced down at his hand. When Golurk's Shadow Ball had hit him the loose ring had fallen off. Your Aura becomes more powerful by the minute. It will become out of control, like a Dragon-Type using Outrage. You must wear the ring at all times. His father's words echoed in his head. Ash turned, looking for the ring.
He felt the aura surrounding him, quickly overpowering him. With his lack of experience and the vast power he had, he had no control. The aura overtook him, and his vision flashed blue.
Meloetta grabbed Victini and watched in horror as Ash's eyes turned blue. Ridley took a step back, and Ash launched an Aura attack. Meloetta barely managed to get Victini out of the way, and watched as another Pokemon flew up as well. A Celebi.
'Bad,' Celebi stated. Ash let out another burst of Aura, one that hit Ridley square in the chest. Ridley was flung back, his shirt starting to burn. Fear flashed in his eyes as he quickly recalled seeing his father trapped under a beam, the fire coming closer.
Ash turned and ran into the forest. Meloetta looked between the man that had protected her for years, who was now burning, and the boy who had saved her life. Deep down, although it hurt, she knew who she had to go to.
'Ring,' Celebi said, scooping up the ring. Meloetta helped Victini into the air, they needed to get the ring on Ash before he hurt himself, or anyone else.
/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/*/
"Nurse Joy! Please, help!" Grace called, running into the Center. The nurse was no where in sight.
"Di no!" A voice said, Grace turned and saw Audino coming from the back room.
"Audino, where's Nurse Joy, my Swablu is hurt, really bad!"
Ten minutes before Grace had been out waiting for Jade to return, when she had seen her Swablu flying overhead, but she seemed to be fleeing from something, but there had been nothing. Then a flame in the shape of a V had come out of nowhere, striking her Swablu. It happened again until Pikachu had launched a Thunderbolt, hitting a small creature, that then turn invisible again and flew off.
Nurse Joy came out of the back, looking for something, "Nurse Joy!"
"Yes," She said, as she started gathering supplies.
"My Swablu is hurt! Please help it!"
She glance at the Pokeball, "I'm sorry, but some hiker found a man in the woods and he was burnt, there was no hospital around so I need to attend to him. I will get to your Swablu as soon as possible."
Grace thought for a moment, the man had been found in the woods, and he was burned? Her Swablu had been chased out of the woods by something that attacked Jade, could they be the same thing?
"You said he was burnt? Because my Swablu was out flying and this invisible thing came out of no where, it was attacking it with V shaped flames!"
Nurse Joy looked over at her, "Oh my, these burns on the man seem strange as well, bring your Swablu back here, I would like to compare the burns." Nurse Joy's hands were full, so Audino opened the door, and Grace and Pikachu followed her into the back room.
There was a man laying on a table, covered with burns on his chest. Remains of his shirt were shredded, burnt pieces of cloth. Strange circular burned marks covered his chest. A pair of goggles and a red hat were laying by him.
Nurse Joy pointed to a table, "Let you Swablu out there," Grace did as she said. Swablu came out, moaning. Her left wing was completely black, and her right was almost as bad. Her blue feathers were ruffled and singed on the ends.
"Oh my!" Nurse Joy said, "Audino, we'll need more healing salve. She studied Swablu, then the man, "No, they weren't caused by the same thing, but still, I don't like this at all."
She turned back to the man and started to bandaged him up. Audino came back into the room and started to work on Swablu. "The man only had one Pokemon on him, a Golurk. I've healed it up, but it looks like it was harmed by the same things as its Trainer."
"You are saying that it could have been a Pokemon, but then it kept attacking once Golurk was recalled?"
"That's what I think," She said, adding some cream to the burns. Audino came up to Grace and handed her Swablu, who looked like a mummy in the bandages. Grace returned the Pokemon to the Pokeball.
"Pika?" Pikachu leapt up onto the table, sniffing at the man, then he ran over to the goggles. "Pika! Pika! Pikachu!"
He seemed to being calling to someone, but nothing happened. He frowned, starting to look worried. He looked at the red hat and his eyes widened, and he picked up, pointing to it. Grace took it from him.
Her eyes widened too, "That hat was found next to him, we think that is his," Joy said.
"This hat isn't his..." Grace said, "I know who's hat this is, it might be the person that did this," The hat crumpled in her hand. She had seen him enter the forest, he even had a Charizard, a Fire-Type, "Come on Pikachu!"
"Pika pika!"
Grace ran out the door, there was no way Ash was getting away with this.
A/n: Sorry it took so long to upload this chapter, I am now back in school, so uploads will take longer, but I hope to have one, maybe two chapters up this weekend.
More things will be clear in the next chapter, I wanted it to be in this chapter, but this one was getting long.
Please leave a review, I like to know what parts were good, and what I could improve on, so your feedback is appreciated, thanks. :)