Here we are again! After doing a chapter of my new story with my OC Mr Question Mark, I have now done one for Aura less. It's going to be an alright chapter I hope as my new chapter for my new story left a bitter taste in my mouth (Cilan talk). Anyway, the next chapter of my new story will be better and...
Hey. I'm doing Aura less right now aren't I? Better talk about that. Ummmm...umm...ummmmmm... what to say? What to say?
Anyway, um...I hope that you enjoy this new chapter here and OH! I JUST REMEMBERED! since this chapter is mostly about the background of Iris and Axew, I've got a bit of Ash in here as well, that is Ash just after he is attack by Gary. Just thought that I should put something like that in.
Anyway I hope you enjoy Chapter 9 of Aura less.
Solana yawned as she got off the plane. They had arrived at the nearest port town in Unova and it was estimated that it would take around a day at least in order to reach Wellspring Cave.
"Apparently we came when the weather is good." Said the man as he approached Solana, the 'friend' following close behind. A few days ago there was this massive thunderstorm here but it appears that something like that won't happen again."
"A thunderstorm?" asked Solana, looking up at the sky. It didn't look like this place received any bad weather judging from the clouds and the bright blue sky.
"Yeah." Said the 'friend'. "Some kid was caught up in it as well."
Turning slowly towards the 'friend' so not to attract suspicion, Solana asked "Kid?" she almost smiled. Somehow she had a feeling who that kid was.
The 'friend' nodded. "Apparently he came here with a Pokémon that wasn't native to Unova." He shrugged. "It doesn't really matter though." The 'friend' reached into his jacket, showing a shoulder holster.
He pulled out the object inside thee holster and pointed it at the sky, closing one eye so that he could see it better, without the sun in his eyes. (OMG! Guns in Pokémon!")
The weapon was shaped like an average handgun, except the trigger was light-blue in colour and the rest of it was the standard black. An Aura Pistol. Although some people, usually those who had an aura level of very high or higher could form Aura Pistols using their hands alone, others used Aura Pistols that had been manufactured. It was more reliable and took up less energy. As such, practically everyone in the AJD, regardless of aura level, used the Aura Pistol that the 'friend' was holding.
The mechanism was very simple. Ike a normal gun, it fired standard bullets, except in this case, the gun was loaded not with bullets but with aura. The user would focus their aura into the trigger area and that would cause the 'shot' of aura to be loaded into the mechanism. It was then shot. They usually did lot of damage when aimed at vital places and the effectiveness of the shot would depend on the aura level of the user.
Solana frowned at the gun. Although she tolerated the aura Pistols she had never really accepted them. As such, the only real weapon that she had was her Capture Styler and she used that as well as her own aura to fend off anyone who decided to attack her.
The 'friend' let off a shot and a small blue object flashed in her vision before sailing off into the sky. Nodding, the 'friend' put the weapon back into the holster and looked at the man.
"Is our transport here yet?" he asked.
The man nodded and walked off, Solana and the 'friend' following the man. They were almost there. Soon, they would catch the Aura Taker and their reign of violence would end.
Solana understood this situation perfectly. And it was because of that situation that she begged whatever legendary Pokémon out there:
Please don't let the Civilian get caught up in this. Please... (Basically Solana knows that there will be lots of violence and doesn't want Ash involved)
Ash looked behind him. Somehow, he had felt that someone out there in the world had called his name. There was no evidence to support this but he had felt it anyway. Shaking his head, he turned back to the scene that he was looking at originally. Iris was to his left and Cilan to his right, both trainers standing ready for battle. He frowned.
"Come on!" he shouted. "Why can't Pikachu and I join in?!" Of course, he knew that this battle would mostly be an aura vs. aura battle, not an aura vs. non-aura that he usually did.
"Because you'd only be trying to win!" shouted Iris back, using her aura to project her voice so to emphasis her point. After Ash's...offer to help her sleep, she had had numerous good night's rest. Of course her dream content was mostly the same and thinking about it in front of Ash made her blush.
"But aren't battles supposed to be won?" countered Ash, sticking his fingers in his ears to lessen the volume of the shouting. Pikachu was doing the same while Cilan elected to do what he had learnt from Audino in the Pokémon Centre: setting up a sound barrier using his aura to surround himself and Pansage.
"Don't be a kid!" she yelled. Ash made a sour face. Somehow, Iris using aura to project her voice seemed a bit unfair. Regardless, she continued. "Besides, you'd just use Volt Tackle and not aura Volt Tackle and that would result in that explosion of air or...what was again?" she asked.
"Negating." Ash mumbled. "It's negating." (Assume that Ash has already told Iris and Cilan about aura and non-aura negation).
"Right!" said Iris. "And Axew could be seriously hurt by that!"
"How 'bout no Volt Tackles then?" he asked. "And you should use standard attacks as well!"
"Just sit and watch!" she yelled, increasing her aura a tiny bit. It was that tiny bit that caused Ash and Pikachu to fall off the tree stumps that they were sitting on.
"Yes Iris." Ash groaned as he picked himself up. "Pika" said Pikachu as it picked itself up.
Axew punched the air using its tiny fists, saying "Axew axew!" as it did so.
"That's right!" agreed Iris. "Let's get started!" she looked at Cilan.
He nodded and looked at Pansage. "Alright then Pansage. Let's give them what they ordered."
"Pan Pansage!"
"Ordered?" wondered Ash. "What does he mean?"
"Just watch!" said Iris. "Axew, use Aura Scratch!"
Axew's hands glowed a faint blue and it ran forward towards Pansage. Cilan smiled.
"Alright Pansage. Use Aura Bullet Seed. A mild flavour if please." Commanded Cilan.
"Mild?" asked Ash as he watched Pansage walked slowly to the approaching Axew. Pansage puffed up its cheeks and fired an Aura Bullet Seed. One flew out of its mouth.
"Huh?" asked Ash as he saw it sail in the air. Axew saw this too and it tried to swipe the seed away using its hands that were infused with aura but when its hands made contact, there was a cracking sound in the air and the seed hit Axew. Axew looked surprised and as Pansage tried to fire another, Axew used Aura Scratch again and when the hand made contact, there was another cracking sound.
Axew shrunk back as the difference in aura was too large and was hit by an Aura Bullet Seed. It hid its head as the barrage (?) continued. It was not long before Axew hid its face in its hands.
"Axew!" shouted Iris, causing Ash and Pikachu to fall of the stump once more. As they got back up, they saw that Iris had run forward and was leaning next to the Pokémon. "Are you OK?" she asked the Pokémon. Axew raised its head and tears were starting to form in its eyes.
"Sorry about that. Was it too much?" Cilan asked. Pansage turned its head at the scene with a "Sage?" It didn't know what was going on either.
"It's fine Axew." Comforted Iris. "Just remember to give it your all. We are in training after all."
"A training battle?" asked Ash.
"That's right." Said Cilan. "They wanted one so that they could get Axew used to training. So we agreed to only use our moves softly. Even though Pansage's aura level is high and Axew's is low, it should have been fine but..." Cilan recalled when the aura attacks had collided and the cracking sound was heard. It was clear that Axew's aura had been 'broken' upon contact.
"That's not a battle!" said Ash.
"Whatever!" said Iris. She was no longer using her aura to project her voice at this moment. 'A tiny bit of experience piled up will result in Axew getting stronger."
"A tiny bit?" said Ash sceptically, folding his arms. (There's always one!) "Battling much more intense when you go all out and-"
"And, Ash Ketchum, that thinking is why you are such a kid!" Yelled Iris, throwing Ash and Pikachu off their stump once again. Somehow, Iris felt overly annoyed when Ash criticised her. Why was that? Regardless, she continued speaking. "Cilan and Pansage are much more refined than you are as they will adjust their power to suit other's needs."
Cilan and Pansage bowed. "It is an honour to be a part of Axew's growth so we were happy to accept." "Pan pansage pansage" they both said.
"Hey!" said Ash as he realised something. "It's the first time seeing you two battle each other!" In his previous travels, he and his friends had always had small training battles but there usually much more intense.
"Say Ash. Iris and Axew have their own pace at which they train so why don't you give them that?" Cilan said.
Ash shrugged. "Alright then." He said. "Chu" came the reply from Pikachu.
Iris turned back to Axew now that ash had decided to let them battle. "Do you want to continue Axew?" asked Iris.
Axew wiped the tears from its eyes and nodded, turning back to Pansage. "Good!" said Iris with enthusiasm. "Let's get them!"
"Yeah!" shouted Ash. "Go get them!" Ash preferred being in the battles themselves but he didn't mind cheering.
"Right! Use Aura Scratch!" commanded Iris. Axew's hands had the same blue glow as it ran towards Pansage.
"Prevent Axew from moving!" shouted Cilan. Pansage completed this command by grabbing the top of the horn on Axew's head, preventing it from advancing. Axew's tried to Scratch Pansage off but to no avail.
"Hey!" said Iris. "Stop messing around!"
"I'm not. This technique involves stopping the opponent before attacking from a distance. It's quite popular in Gym Battles. Here let me show you." Sid Cilan, adding with a dark smile. "Pansage, Aura SolarBeam!"
Pansage took one hand off Axew's horn and held it a distance away, ready to launch the attack when it had finished charging.
"Come on Axew!" yelled Iris.
"Use another move!" shouted Ash. "Axew has to have one!"
"Yeah but-"said Iris, hesitant to use it.
"But what? Just use the move!" said Ash.
"I don't need advice from you!" yelled Iris back. "The one who needs advice is you and that advice is just watch!"
"Why are you watching me?" yelled Ash. "Watch the battle!" Ash pointed towards Pansage and Axew. Iris's gaze turned to them just as Pansage finished charging.
"Attack!" yelled Cilan. The SolarBeam shot out of Pansage's hand and hit Axew on the head. Well, it wasn't really a beam so much as a SolarString. It was small and tiny compared to the Beam that Ash had Oshawott deflect.
"That's a SolarBeam?" asked Ash.
Axew toppled over and over until it finally stopped in front of Iris. She caught the Pokémon and helped it stand up and looked Axew in the face. "Well?" she asked.
Axew straightened up, shook its head and looked ready to walk back onto the battlefield. Ash felt that this was the opportunity to say what he needed to.
"You know, moves are extremely important in battle." He said. "I know you should already know this but you need to have a variety of moves. So use other moves Iris!" Iris was trembling with rage and a faint blue mist that Ash didn't need to see using his aura perception appeared around her as her aura manifested.
"Oh yeah!?" said Iris. She flung out two aura Hands and they grabbed the front of Ash's collar. He cried out in shock as he was brought closer to Iris, so close in fact that their noses were almost touching. "Well, sorry Mr Know-it-all!" said Iris into Ash's face.
Ash backed his head away. He didn't think that Iris would actually get so angry. "What I'm saying is that you want Axew to have experience right? But Axew won't get experience if you keep on having these false battles. Axew will start thinking that this is a real battle and when it comes time for one, Axew will have a tough time."
Iris blinked at what Ash said. She didn't want to accept it but he was right. "Fine then. We'll just have to show you a real move!" she said.
"Great! Looking forward to it. But um... Iris? Can you put me back now?" Ash asked with a sheepish grin. Iris realised the position that she was in and blushed. Not letting go of Ash she turned to Cilan who had a mischievous grin on his face.
"Oh ho ho." He was saying. "Don't mind me. Carry on. Carry on." To avoid further misunderstanding, Iris pulled Ash away by pushing back her Aura Hands except with too much force and Ash groaned as he was placed past the tree stump. Ash leaned over the stump and looked at the battle.
"Let's go Axew!" he shouted. With a "Pika pika!" from Pikachu. Iris's attention was diverted from Ash and looked at the battle but it could still be seen that she had a faint blush on her face.
"Alright. Axew Aura Dragon Rage!" she said. Axew nodded and raised its head up, a faint blue glow appearing in its stomach. Ash and Cilan looked in amazement as the energy built up, the light getting brighter and brighter. Axew opened its mouth, the light from its stomach appearing there.
"Ax..." it said. Cilan and Ash awaited the attack that was about to follow.
"chew!" Axew said as it chomped down on the attack. A bright white light appeared from Axew followed by a larger explosion. Smoke burst from Axew and when it cleared it could be seen that a large crater was where Axew was standing. Axew looked around at its surroundings.
Cilan and Pansage were twitching where they stood, while Ash and Pikachu were upside down on tree stumps that they had sat on.
"Awesome..." groaned Ash where he was.
Iris let out a laugh before saying: "Heh heh. Messed it up." She added with a sigh. "Again..."
"AGAIN?!" yelled Ash looking at the trainer in shock.
The ruined building looked as though it was ready for demolition. Since its bleakness gave off such an uncomfortable feeling, people stayed away from it naturally. As such, it was the perfect place for the Team Rocket trio.
The trio sat around what looked like a table in an old science classroom. The laptop that they always carried was in front of them. James clicked a button and the screen showed their boss: Giovanni.
"Ready sir. All units are assembled." Reported James.
Giovanni nodded. "This briefing is about your new mission. It will take place in Unova's Desert Resort."
"Desert Resort?" asked Jessie.
The laptop screen changed to show a map of Unova and it zoomed in on the centre, a landmass of almost pure brown. Giovanni's voice could be heard over the map. "The Desert Resort lies almost in the centre of Unova. A meteorite called the Meteornite is said to be in this area. Your mission is thus: locate the Meteornite and secure it.
The screen changed again showing a rock that was moving through space. "The Meteornite burst into our atmosphere a long time ago." Giovanni reported. "It broke about and was scattered. The largest piece is the one that you are looking for. It's said to be hidden in the Desert Resort. One small piece of the Meteornite holds an incredible amount of energy. The energy sample that you sent us from the Dream yard was completed. An energy flow of the same frequency of the Meteornite was detected. And the origin of that energy was the Desert Resort."
The screen changed back to Giovanni. (But I wanted to see more pictures!) "If we can obtain that source of energy, the flow of energy could alter the entire world. This is the key to Team Rocket's plan for world conquest." said Giovanni (Not Pokémon Conquest! See what I did there?)
"Also-" continued Giovanni. "An additional agent will be sent over to assist." The screen showed the man's face, a tall man with blue hair."
James nodded. "The importance of this mission is not one to be taken lightly."
"Indeed." Said Giovanni. "Head to the rendezvous point immediately"
Iris was sitting on a log of a tree that she had found after scouring the forest for a place to rest. She sighed. "Aura Dragon Rage still isn't perfect" she complained. "It annoys me so much!"
"You can't really call it Aura Dragon Rage can you?" said Ash he climbed the tree log that Iris was sitting on. Cilan was using his aura to levitate himself up to the log to which he sat on. Ash managed to get up the log as well shortly after Cilan.
"And thus we will call it Aura Dragon Sneeze." Said Cilan.
Ash laughed and pointed at Cilan. "Good one Cilan!" He turned back to Iris. "So, you shall now call it Aura Dragon Sneeze."
"It's not a sneeze!" said Iris as she used her aura to project her voice. Ash stumbled back and fell off the log with a cry but was saved by Cilan using an Aura Hand to catch him. He was swinging back and forth until Cilan pulled him back up. Ash gave an annoyed glance at Iris
"S-sorry about that." Said Iris. "It's just that it really bugs me." She was also annoyed at Ash as well. The main reason that she had used Aura Dragon Rage was because Ash had pressured her into doing it. She didn't have to listen so why did she? She didn't know but it was all Ash's fault. Of course she didn't say that to his face.
"My apologies." Said Cilan. "I was just playing around."
Ash folded his arms, thinking. "Doesn't Axew have any other moves?" he asked.
Iris shook her head. "Only Aura Scratch and Aura Dragon Rage." She said. She turned to Axew and patted its head. "Aura Dragon Rage is meant to launch aura infused energy towards the opponent but every time Axew uses it, the energy balls don't attack but explode." She said solemnly.
Axew hopped off her lap and Pikachu followed the Pokémon as they went off the tree log. The group watched as the Pokémon headed towards a tree nearby with apples on it. "So I thought that taking it slow would be the best way for Axew to learn." Said Iris as the group watched the Pokémon. "I know that it will take a lot of time to get Axew to evolve in Haxorus. "
The group continued to watch as Axew climbed the tree and got two apples of it, putting them onto its tusks thus making Axew's hands free. It went down the tree and approached the group once again and after it reached Iris, Axew took the apples of its tusks and handed one to Iris.
Iris took the apple from Axew and took a bite. She smiled as she swallowed it. "Thanks Axew. It's delicious."
Axew jumped off the log again, Pikachu following. Cilan let out a chuckle. "Your praise must have made Axew want to go and get more fruit." He said.
Iris nodded and called out to Axew "Make sure you stay close!"
"But I have to say." Said Ash. "Axew's power is really impressive. You must have worked really hard to get Axew up to that power level." He said. Iris blushed at the comment that Ash had said. "I have no doubt that a little special training and Axew will have Aura Dragon Rage perfect!"
Cilan nodded. "That explosion was just Axew's raw power being released. Anyone can tell that Axew is strong."
Iris smiled, her mood lifting. "Thanks you guys." She said.
"Yeah!" said Ash with enthusiasm. "So now, you should battle with us!" he said pointing to himself.
"I have no problem with that." Said Cilan. "Axew seems to be ready for it.
Iris let out a hesitant groan. Why did Ash want to battle her so much? They was no reason for him to be so eager so why was he so eager? She looked at the apple in her hand while Cilan continued to talk.
"And besides, Ash is certainly a unique trainer. I'd have to say that having a battle with him to expose you to many different types of battling flavours." Cilan said.
Iris knew that by far, Cilan was right. Ash didn't go by the book at all. The Gym Battle and when he had attacked the mud proved that point. Battling Ash would get her the best experience that she knew, besides from Cilan who was a Gym Leader. But still, he hadn't used his aura in a battle at all. What if got serious and used it? She didn't know what the outcome would be at all. "No way." Was her response. "I don't want to lose at all."
"If you're always like this then you'll never be in a Pokémon battle." Said Ash.
"So what?" she said as she stopped eating. Ash tilted his head and realised something that Iris was excluding.
"Hey." He said. "How did you get Axew in the first place? You never told me."
"That story intrigues me as well." Added Cilan.
Iris paused for a bit before answering. She had no reason to tell them but somehow she trusted them. Ash and Cilan. She understood why she trusted Cilan, he was a Gym Leader and they were respected no matter where you went but why did she trust Ash so much? She didn't know.
Regardless, she spoke. "It was a gift" she said.
"A gift?" asked Cilan. "From who?"
"An elder." Came the reply from the girl.
"An elder?" asked Ash, repeating what she had said.
Iris nodded. "From my hometown. You see, my hometown is a small village where people excel in raising Dragon type Pokémon.
Kind of a flashback...
Iris sat in front of the Elder in front of her. They were both sitting and Iris listened to every word that the Elder had to say.
"Iris. The time of you great trial is here." The Elder said. (and the court finds Iris...GUILTY)
Iris nodded. Elder reached for a small hand-woven basket next to her and pushed it forward towards Iris.
"And because of this, I am giving you this Axew to train. As such, you two will be made to travel together." Elder opened the box to reveal a small Axew, sleeping however as the sunlight hit its eyes, it woke up and looked around. It saw Iris and the two of them stared at each other
"Yes Elder." Said Iris as she picked up the Axew.
"Axew's growth into a Haxorus will also be your own growth as well. This Axew only hatched a few days ago. Understanding Axew's heart is the key to making it strong but the path you take to understand it is entirely up to you."
Iris nodded as Elder spoke.
"You must know that by understanding a Pokémon's heart is the journey into an adult. Becoming one with your Pokémon is the basis of that growth. Remember this Iris." (Remember...It's Mufasa!)
End the kind of flashback...
Iris sighed. "So that's the story. It's been a while since we started on our journey and it dawned on me that I have to do something and quickly to understand axew. That's why I had that battle with you Cilan."
"I see." Said Cilan.
Ash paused before speaking thinking about how Iris had met Axew. So...one of the first faces that Axew saw when it woke up was Iris, one of its best friends...
Ash dismissed the thought (will be further explained so don't worry.)and turned to Iris.
"So, is that Elder lady your grandma or something?" Ash asked.
"No." Said Iris with a smug grin. "She's the leader of our village. Isn't that right Axew?" Iris turned to the space near her only to find that Axew wasn't there. She looked off into the distance and frowned. "Where are those two?"
Meanwhile, Axew was sniffing an apple that was in front of it.
It was standing on quite a thin branch that wobbled very time Axew moved closer to the apples. Pikachu cried out for the safety of its friend but Axew kept on getting closer to the apples.
"Pikachu!" cried Pikachu as Axew managed to grab one of the apples. Axew stood still as it felt the branch beneath it droop slowly. The apple that Axew had grabbed came off its branch and Axew sighed.
The branch broke and Axew fell down, still holding onto the apple. It opened its eyes once it hit the ground and looked around. Right next to it, on both sides was a large antenna, purple in colour. There was the cry of a Pokémon and Axew was lifted up, trapped between the antennas, as the Pokémon stood up.
The Pokémon tried to shake Axew loose but to no avail as Axew cried out as it was flung around. Realising that nothing was happening the Pokémon walked away. Pikachu, still in the tree, decided to act. Using Iron Tail, it leaped from the tree. It hit the body of the Pokémon but the shell on its back reflected the blow as it was not to Pikachu's full power. Pikachu bounced off and landed on the Pokémon's back.
Taking action against the Pokémon that had attack it, the Pokémon flung its back up, sending Pikachu sailing through the air before it hit a tree. Pikachu fell to the ground and then heard heavy footsteps behind it.
Turning around, Pikachu saw the Pokémon running towards it, its whole body covered in a bright blue glow. Although Axew was not part of the Pokémon, it to was glowing and crying out. The only thing that Pikachu could do was dodge as the Pokémon, using its aura to make it faster, ran into the tree.
The tree was ripped off its stump and sailed through the air, Pikachu electing to run for it, all the while, the Pokémon chasing after it. The Pokémon was using its aura to accelerate even faster and was getting closer and closer towards Pikachu who wasn't using aura.
Realising that Pikachu would be hit sooner or later, Axew charged up an attack. Its belly shone with a blue glow in addition to the glow that the Pokémon was giving off and soon the blue glow was in its mouth. It was not soon after that Axew's Aura Dragon Rage failed again and an explosion occurred.
The group saw them smoke coming from the forest.
"What the-?" asked Iris.
'It's Axew's Aura Dragon sneeze!" exclaimed Ash.
"Hilarious!" said Iris using her aura to project her voice again as she yelled at Ash.
Iris leapt off the tree log using her aura to slow her descent as she ran further into the forest. Cilan did the same leaving Ash to follow close behind after he had descended the log manually.
Iris and Cilan used their aura to increase their speed and saw a bush in front of them rustle. Pikachu shot out with a "Pikapi!" and ran towards his trainer who was bringing up the rear, grabbing onto his shirt. Iris and Cilan moved back to approach Ash and watched Pikachu.
"What's wrong?" Ash asked. "Where's Axew?" he said as Pikachu continued to point at the bushes that it had come from.
Pikachu, realising that its trainer was not understanding leaped off from ash and gave its version of the events in Pika-speak. It even imitated the Pokémon involved (I love it when Pikachu does that) but Ash held out his hands in front of him.
"Slowly!" he said. "You're speaking too fast!"
They didn't need an explanation from Pikachu any further as a cry of "Axew!" filled the air. The group turned to the source of the sound and saw Axew on top of the Pokémon that it had landed on.
"What are you doing up there?" asked Iris in surprise.
Ash had gotten out his Pokédex and pointed it at the mysterious Pokémon.
"Scolipede, the Bigapede Pokémon. Scolipede uses the horns on its head for attacking and they usually use their aura to sharpen these horns in order to demonstrate dominance."
Ash put down the Pokédex only to see Scolipede rush forward towards them. The group ran away, Scolipede's objective to chase them, not to run them over and as such it didn't use its aura to increase its speed.
What it did use its aura for was to launch an attack of purple spray with a blue glow that missed Ash by millimetres and hit a rock. The rock dissolved quickly and Ash looked in shock. That had almost hit him.
"It's Aura Toxic!" identified Cilan. Scolipede kept on approaching and Iris, who had run forward using her aura stood fast and held out her hands, ready to take on the Scolipede.
"Come on!" she said as the Scolipede approached. In response, Scolipede let loose another Aura Toxic, one that approached Iris at an amazing speed. Responding quickly, Ash pulled Iris out of the way, using his leg to make her trip, just as the Aura Toxic sailed over her head and hit the tree behind her.
Catching her just before she fell, Ash and Iris looked like a couple dancing at the end (you know where the guy catches the girl). Iris looked at Ash in amazement, admiring his quick thinking in the situation as he looked and reached for a Pokéball on his belt. Pulling Iris up and taking out the Pokéball Ash said to Iris: "Cilan and I will take care of Scolipede Iris."
Cilan nodded and he brought out a Pokéball. "Come on out Pansage!" he said. The ball burst open revealing Cilan's Pokémon.
"Snivy! I choose you!" said Ash as he threw the Pokéball, Snivy bursting forth from the light that followed.
The two Grass Type Pokémon looked as the Pokémon approached. "Aura Bullet Seed at its feet!" cried Cilan.
Pansage fired the seeds at Scolipede's feet, the seeds hitting the ground in front of it causing Scolipede to rise up in the air.
"Now Vine Whip on those horns!" commanded Ash. Snivy complied with the command and caught the horns in the Vine Whip but was swung around as Scolipede resisted. Snivy eventually let go and sailed through the air, Ash catching it by going into a dive and landing on the ground before Snivy could hurt itself even more.
Ash gritted his teeth and looked at the Scolipede, running back to where Cilan was. "The difference in power is too much!" Cilan was saying as Ash recalled Snivy. "We have to find a way to hold that power back!"
Ash nodded and was thinking about what to do when Iris ran in front of the boys and pulled out a Pokéball. "I'll save you Axew!" she said.
Ash and Cilan looked in surprise at the Pokéball. "You had another Pokémon?" asked Ash. She was about to throw it but hesitated.
"Throw it!" yelled Ash to her and she did so.
"Alright then, Excadrill let's go!" the Pokéball burst open revealing what looked to be a fat log with a sharp tip. It crashed into the ground at an odd angle making it look like the Leaning Tower of Excadrill before it finally fell over.
"What in the world is that?" asked Cilan.
Iris sighed. "I guess you're still in a bad mood." She said.
Ash reached for his Pokédex and pointed it at the Pokémon.
"Excadrill, the Subterranean Pokémon and the evolved form of Drilbur. It has the capability to dig large underground caves using its aura as a drill and can cut through iron plates by using the same aura to increase the sharpness of its claws."
Ash compared the pair: the picture that the Pokédex provided and Iris's Excadrill. "It doesn't look like it does in the Pokédex." Ash noted.
"That's right." Said Cilan. "That's because it assumes this form when it is digging underneath the ground. So why does it look like this now?" he asked.
Iris kneeled in front of Excadrill and put her hands together as if in prayer. "Please Excadrill, you have to help!" she pleaded. When nothing happened she rose up angrily and looked at Scolipede.
"Fine! I'll have to do it. You guys, make sure Scolipede doesn't go anywhere!" she glared at Scolipede.
"Are you sure?" Cilan asked.
"It's not like I can do anything else!" she responded. "This is my part of my growth that elder told me about. It's my duty to do this!"
"Of course Iris." Said Cilan.
"And we're gonna help you do this!" said Ash as he brought out a different Pokéball.
"Alright Pansage. Aura SolarBeam on Scolipede." Said Cilan. Ash threw his own Pokéball while Pansage was charging up its attack.
"Tepig, I choose you!" Ash said as the Pokéball burst open, revealing Tepig in its battle stance. Pikachu appeared next to the Pokémon and was also ready to fight.
"Tepig, Ember and Pikachu, use Thunderbolt at Scolipede's feet!" commanded Ash.
Tepig let loose the flames from its snout and Pikachu let loose a Thunderbolt at Scolipede's feet. They hit their target, causing Scolipede to rise up just like before.
"Attack now Pansage! At the feet!" said Cilan. The aura SolarBeam was let loose and it hit the ground in front of Scolipede, exploding in a burst of light. Ash turned to Iris who had used her aura to climb up a tree quickly and said: "Now!"
Iris nodded and swung down from the tree using a vine that she had acquired. She swung down and let out an aura Hand, knowing that if she had done it without one, the power needed to dislodge Axew might not be present. The aura Hand caught Axew by the leg and pulled it out from Scolipede's horns. She landed flawlessly and Axew looked in thanks at its trainer.
She hugged Axew and said "Thank goodness." while Axew returned the hug.
"Great job Iris!" said Ash and Cilan nodded while straightening his bowtie.
The two then turned to their Pokémon and smile at them. "Thank you too Pansage" said Cilan as he returned the Pokémon.
"You were awesome Tepig." Said Ash as he too returned his Pokémon. The two guys then turned to look at Iris.
"I was so worried about you!" said Iris as she held Axew closer to her chest. She was about to head back to where the guys were but Scolipede stood in her way. It glared at her and she backed away.
"Oh boy." She said. "Don't tell me it's still angry..." Scolipede turned to face her, using its back legs to kick up dirt. But dirt was not the only thing it kicked up. In the process, it also hit Excadrill, who was rolled out of the way. Cilan and Ash moved to the side as the Pokémon rolled back, hit a rock that caused it to sail through the air until it hit the ground.
Scolipede turned around at the sound of the impact and so did Iris.
"It's moving!" exclaimed Ash. Indeed it was. Excadrill body was rotating fast into the ground, producing some sparks as it did so. It buried deep into the ground, it shaking as it did so, particularly around the feet of Scolipede.
Excadrill burst from the ground, its body shining the light blue of aura as it hit Scolipede in the face. Scolipede glared at its opponent, who was now out of 'digging' mode and both Pokémon looked like they were ready to start a fight.
"Excadrill..." said Iris as she looked at the Pokémon.
"Iris! Give Excadrill a command!" Ash shouted.
Iris sighed. "Why? Excadrill just ignores me..." Iris moaned, resulting in Ash and Cilan backing away whilst saying "WHAT!?"
Scolipede moved first. It shot out the same purple liquid covered in a blue glow towards Excadrill. Excadrill hand glowed blue as well and it deflected the liquid, which resulted in the sound of glass cracking shooting through the air.
"Excadrill deflected Aura Toxic!" said Ash.
"Since Excadrill is a Steel Type, Poison Type moves won't have any effect." Reported Cilan.
Excadrill moved next. It took its hand and put them near it s head so that it maintained its drill shape and leaped towards Scolipede whilst spinning. In addition, its body glowed blue. It smashed into Scolipede, causing it to cry out.
"That's so cool!" said Ash as he watched in awe.
"Indeed." Said Cilan. Ash looked at him and saw that a faint mist was coming from him and judging since no-one had reacted, Ash guessed that Cilan was using his aura to perform a connoisseur evaluation on Excadrill.
The mist swirled around Excadrill before they reacted. All of this didn't take more than 3 seconds. "I have to say that Excadrill is quite the fighter. Underneath all of its power there is definitely the hint of a love for battling." Iris glanced at Cilan after he said this.
Scolipede skidded on the ground after Excadrill had attacked it and ran towards it, its body enveloped in aura so that the damage would be increased when it attacked. Excadrill countered the attack by focusing its aura on its head and lowering it. Scolipede ran into Excadrill's head and the sound of glass cracking occurred again.
Scolipede's aura was 'broken' leaving Excadrill the chance to counterattack. It lifted its head and sent Scolipede flying through the air before not ling it was in the distance.
"Sorry Scolipede!" cried Iris, projecting her voice as Scolipede was nothing more than a blip. "I hope you can forgive us!"
Excadrill let out a roar in triumph at its victory.
"Excadrill sure seems happy." Noted Cilan. Iris walked forwards and approached Excadrill.
"Thanks Excadrill." Iris said as Axew leaped down from her chest and walked towards Excadrill.
"You're really strong." Said Ash to the Pokémon. Excadrill glanced at the people talking to it before returning to its 'digging' mode. Cilan and Ash looked surprised but Iris expected as such and returned Excadrill to its Pokéball.
"Excadrill's the same." Iris complained. "But someday, Excadrill and I are going to battle as a team."
"Axew are you OK?" Iris asked her Pokémon. Axew cried out happily, Iris smiled and continued. "I'm sorry if today was a bit too much for you." She said. Axew nodded and smiled.
"You know..." said Cilan attracting Iris's attention. "Battling takes time to perfect. People move at different paces to perfect things so I think that you and Axew should move at your own pace to complete your goals. The same goes for Excadrill of course."
Iris smiled at Cilan and turned to Axew."How about that Axew? Wanna work at our own pace from now on?" Axew nodded happily.
"Alright then!" said Ash. "Then how about we go and have that battle!?" ash asked enthusiastically. Pikachu also looked just as enthusiastic to battle.
Iris sighed. "Didn't you hear me Ash?" she asked. "Didn't I just say that Axew and I were going to work at our own pace? Battle Pikachu if you want to battle so badly." (I love this next bit)
Ash and Pikachu pointed at themselves before pointing to each other.
"Battle...ourselves?" Ash asked."Pika?"
Cilan, Axew and Iris looked on, happy that they were about to calm down and-
"Sounds like a great idea!" said Ash earning a "Pikachu!" from Pikachu. Iris's and Cilan's jaws dropped upon hearing this and Axew stared at the trainer and his Pokémon as they went into the clearing right in front of them.
"Are those two really serious?" wondered Iris.
"You can't say that those two are ordinary at all." Remarked Cilan.
"Ready then?" ash asked his Pokémon. "Then Pikachu use Thunderbolt!"
Pikachu let loose a Thunderbolt that hit Ash. He cried out as electricity surged through his body and twitched a bit after the attack was over. Sparks were protruding off his body.
"Great! Now use Volt Tackle!" Ash said as he ran forward. Pikachu did the same and ran forward, electricity coursing its body and it smashed into Ash. Ash cried out again and was blasted back before hitting his back on a tree. He fell down and Pikachu landed on the ground doing a thumbs up.
"Is that all!? Round 3 here I come!" said Ash as he managed to get up.
Iris and Cilan sweat dropped. "Is it necessary to take it this far?" asked Iris.
Cilan shrugged. "Can't help it. That's who those two are."
Iris and Cilan watched as Ash was hit by another Thunderbolt. "And speaking of things that you can only do with two people..." said Cilan as he continued to watch the 'battle'.
"What?" said Iris. Somehow she felt that he was leading onto something.
"Have you ever taken dancing lessons? Because that ending with Ash was quite an interesting mix." Commented Cilan.
Iris blushed as she realised what he was talking about, when Ash had pushed her out of the way of the Aura Toxic.
"SH-SHUT UP!" she said with a fierce blush. "It was an accident!"
Cilan nodded and was glad that he had gotten the soundproofing technique from Audino. He figured that he would sleep well tonight.
Solana leaned in the back of the truck and looked up at the sky. The clouds were drifting in the wind and the man was driving the jeep with the 'friend' in the passenger seat. She was the only one in the backseat. when she was looking up she could have sworn that she saw what looked like a Scolipede fly through the air but that was impossible. Scolipede couldn't fly. Anyway, she figured that Wellspring Cave would be almost ready when she was there as they had enlisted the help of the Nacrene and Striaton City police in helping block off the area.
Even though Solana knew that it was hard for the Aura Taker to kill his next victim inside the Cave, she also knew that the possibility remained. Neither Kellyn nor she knew what to do after they had set up the perimeter. They were both the type of people reacted to actions that others made. They could do nothing before that.
But somehow, Ash made people act and that would be the perfect time for the AJD and the Rangers to act. But that would involve Ash actually being involved and she didn't want that.
She rubbed her forehead while she thought. She didn't want Ash to be there but somehow, her previous experiences with him told her that if he was present, they would find the Taker much faster.
So what did she want? His safety? Or the safety of other before him?
Solana knew one thing though. The Aura Taker would be captured for sure. And if the Civilian assisted in that then she had no problem with that. She just hoped that if he did appear, he would be careful.
"You better be." She said to no-one in particular as she finished off her thought while clutching the part of her chest where her heart was.
I know I know. Don't worry. an extension of Ash's past is just after this little note that I've set up. So hold onto your Ponyta's. Wait a minute. we're in Unova! What Ponyta's? Let me check my reference book...
HOLD ONTO YOUR BLITZLE'S! That's right. *sigh* Anyway,. here are some updates on character's aura profiles:
Cilan
Aura level: Very high
Aura abilities: Uses aura to analyse a connection with a trainer and their Pokémon
Uses aura to create shields
Uses aura to create physical objects like fists and platforms
Uses aura to distinguish and memorise smells
Uses aura to help close wounds
Uses aura to run faster and leap higher
Uses aura to set up sound barriers
Iris's Axew
Aura level: Low level
Aura abilities: Aura Scratch
Aura Dragon Sneeze *POW* I-I mean Rage. Aura Dragon Rage
Iris's Excadrill
Aura level: High
Aura abilities: Unknown
Ash woke up and saw the stars in the sky. He looked to his right and saw Cilan in his own sleeping bag and Iris in the tree, surrounded by Axew's APS. The faint blue colour was like a torch but that wasn't what woke Ash up.
It was Axew and Iris's relationship. Iris had been one of the first faces Axew had seen when it had woken up and they had been close friends ever since. Pikachu woke up like Ash did and tilted its head at him.
"Pika pi?" it asked. It looked where he was looking at figured out what he was thinking. Pikachu and Ash's relationship was much closer than Iris and Axew so they often thought the same way. And right know, they were both having the same thought.
Ash got out of his sleeping bag and got dressed from his pyjamas into his standard clothes. He put on the hat before walking to a lake that the group had camped near. Pikachu followed and the two sat cross-legged in front of the lake, Pikachu leaning next to Ash and looking at Ash's back.
Where the scar was.
"Don't worry." Ash said to Pikachu. "The scar's fine. I just...what Iris said about Axew reminded me of when I woke up."
Pikachu nodded. Although Pikachu had only known as since he had become his Pokémon, they had been through a lot and as such, ash had shared practically all his childhood with the Pokémon. So Pikachu knew exactly what Ash meant when he said 'he woke up'.
Ash looked at the reflection of the moon and reflected on how white it was. Almost like the roof of that room.
What the-? The reader suddenly entered the time-space continuum and travelled back in time. Now remember. Don't cause any paradoxes. (note, some of this flashback is not centred on Ash. There will be a small bit from Chapter 1 in here. Only 4 paragraphs so don't panic)
Thus: a flashback
"H-Hey." She said. "A-Are you OK?" No response. She tried again and again but still there was no response. She stood up and looked around. Who had done this? Who had hurt this boy? She covered her mouth as soon as she took a sniff of the scene, the wound's smell filling her nostrils. Her eyes started to water as she looked at the boy. If anything, it was too late for him, she thought. She had no idea how long how had been here and-
"M-Mom?" said a weak voice. Leaf went wide-eyed at the boy and bent down and touched his face. It turned ever so slowly and she got a good look at the boy's face. It was dirty of both blood and dirt and the tears of the boy. His brown eyes were cloudy and it looked like he was in a faraway place.
"I-I'm not your mom." Said Leaf, her voice wavering. The boy's face looked shocked as he looked at the girl. He winced in pain and Leaf looked in amazement as the boy's hand moved closer to the girl's leg. How was he moving his hand in the state he was in? What kind of aura did this boy have?
She looked into the boy's eyes and what she saw was...determination. This boy had decided that he wasn't going to die and that was that. No-one was going to tell him different. "F-Find my mom." The boy wheezed. "Please.." His eyelids drooped but stayed open. Leaf nodded and ran towards Pallet Town.
4 hours later...
The ambulance rushed to the Viridian City Hospital. The small boy that was in the stretcher was still breathing miraculously. Leaf hadn't known who the boy's mother was so all she had done was run around aimlessly looking for the mother of a boy with black hair. She had found her at the Professor's lab and had told her everything and the hospital was called immediately.
Leaf was riding in a car behind the ambulance, the driver being the local town Professor, Professor Oak. Leaf knew his son but did not really talk to him at all. Neither person spoke to the other while the mother of the boy was riding in the ambulance.
Leaf realised that this was probably harder on the mother than it was on her so that begged the question, why was she crying? She didn't even know the boy yet she was crying in the front seat of the car. The Professor himself was sweating quite hard as he gripped the wheel of the car. He was muttering something about "going too far Gary" and would often glance at Leaf but not say anything.
The Professor had contacted her parents about the situation and they had not objected to the Professor taking their daughter to the hospital. Leaf wiped her eyes for the somethingth time and sniffed. She took another tissue and used it to wipe her nose and look at the ambulance.
She only had one wish in her heart: for that boy to be alright.
2 days later...
The media coverage on the boy was huge. To think that a normal 6 year old boy would be struck down by another person for no reason. It was unthinkable and the reporters pounced on the story like Persians. There had been articles about it and news reports yet the only faces that were captured were those of the mother and Professor Oak telling the media details that were a mix of truth and lies in order to protect the privacy of Ash and Leaf.
In Unova...
"Come and look at this Cilan." Said Cress as he looked at the newspaper. Cress was always the one who enjoyed literature and when he had read most of the books in the Striaton City library he had moved onto the newspaper.
"What is it?" asked Cilan. The younger Cilan moved over to the table where Cress was sitting. They had just begun construction of their cafe/gym and when it was finished it was going to be one of the best gyms around. Or so the brothers said.
Cress pointed at an article. It read "Boy gets aura attacked in Kanto". The article then detailed that a six-year old boy had been attacked and that the assailant was unknown. The wound was detailed quite a bit and the mere details made Cilan have a sick taste in his mouth.
"That's terrible." Said Cilan. Cress nodded. "That boy will probably become quite well known in his hometown. I hope they catch the guy that did it."
Cilan nodded. "Can't say that I disagree with you. But to think that the boy actually managed to get to hospital in that condition. His aura must have a unique flavour to be so resilient. I'd like to meet that boy myself to see what type of aura he has."
Over on the other side of Unova...
The elderly lady cringed at the news in the paper.
"What is it Elder?" asked the girl next to her. She was helping out only for today and Elder had taken the opportunity to read the paper.
"A boy was attacked Iris." Replied Elder. "In Kanto. Quite viciously too. Here." Elder passed the paper to the girl, using her aura to blank out the spots that were a bit too graphic for a girl her age. Iris had read the paper and often asked Elder what certain words meant but after she finished, Iris passed the paper back to Elder.
"Why didn't the boy fight back?!" she asked. "What a kid! He was in danger yet didn't use his aura!" She couldn't understand what the boy in the article was thinking.
Elder glared at Iris. "Don't speak badly about those you don't know Iris. The boy might not have the amount of aura that you have in the first place. You could have a low level and as such, couldn't fight back."
Iris hung her head, ashamed that she didn't consider that point. "Sorry Elder." She said. Elder's words must have affected her greatly as she was starting to tear up.
"Don't say sorry to me but to the boy." Replied Elder.
"I don't even know who he is though!" cried Iris.
Elder shrugged and looked at the stone statues of Zekrom and Reshiram in the Village of Dragons. "Fate works in mysterious ways Iris."
Iris only tilted her head at this
In Kanto...
Leaf had stayed in a nearby hotel with the Professor. He looked awfully tired so it was reasonable to say that he had not gotten any sleep. Leaf had managed to get some but very little. Even though Unova didn't get news about Kanto there were some cases such as this one.
They were currently at the hospital now and it was here that Leaf had learnt the boy's name. Ash Ketchum. His mother had stayed at the hospital during the entire surgery and when Ash had gotten out she had contacted the Professor. He and Leaf had rushed over there and they were all standing outside Ash's room. He was sleeping and the monitor that ran from his arm indicated that his heartbeat was stable. Something was wrong with the monitor though.
Below the heart rate monitor there was a stationary line. If that line was the boy's heart rate, Leaf knew what that meant; she had seen her mother watch enough medical dramas to know what it meant. But that line measured one's aura pulse, the rate of someone's aura coursing through their body. If there aura was low it would beep every now and then, if it was high it would beep frequently. But why was the boy's aura pulse zero?
Leaf regarded it as a technical failure and listened as the doctor explained the situation to the Professor and Ash's mother.
"The boy's condition as of now is good. The wound was healed rather quickly and external damage has been taken care of. Externally the boy is fine. The wound will leave a nasty scar and that's all." The doctor was a tall man with a white coat and brown hair. He wore glasses and was constantly pushing them up.
"External. That's the outside right?" asked Leaf. Her vocabulary was quite large but she was learning new things every day. (she is 7 people. I don't think external is in a 7 year olds vocabulary)
The doctor turned to her and nodded. "That's right. On the outside he's fine. Nothing wrong with him." Leaf was glad that this was the case but a question came to mind. She had a feeling that the answer to this question was something that she didn't want to hear but intuition told her that she had to ask it because no-one else was going to.
"What about on the inside then?" Leaf asked. The three adults looked at her, the doctor is an annoyed expression as if he hadn't wanted to tell them while the mother and Professor Oak merely looked at her with no expression.
The doctor rubbed his forehead. "Yes. That's the problem. The inside."
"Wh-what do you mean?" asked the mother.
The doctor had a look around and upon seeing a bench with a table he walked over to it indicating to the others to follow. They had sat down at the table and the doctor had asked the nurse to get the pencil sharpener. Leaf wondered what the pencil sharpener was used for.
The nurse quickly brought over the sharpener and the doctor pulled out a pencil from his pocket. The pencil sharpener was a handle on, you turned the handle in order to make the pencil sharper and the shavings fell into box at the bottom. The doctor removed the box and tilted the sharpener so that everyone could see.
"Right now, your son is this sharpener. The wound was external but we managed to fix it. The problem is though..." The doctor inserted the pencil into the sharpener and wound the handle. The pencil sharpened and the shavings fell to the bottom of the sharpener instead of the box as it was removed. "The residual aura." Said the doctor pointing at the shavings. The boy or in this case the sharpener is fine after the wound but the problem is the remaining aura from the wound."
"C-can't you do something about it?" asked the Professor.
The doctor rubbed his forehead. "That's the problem. Normally the aura inside the body would cancel it out but this isn't the case." Leaf wondered why it wasn't the case and was about to say something but the doctor kept on talking. "As such, we don't know what to do. We can't proceed. We might make the problem worse with our own aura."
The mother closed her eyes and breathed out, calming herself. "So...what will happen to my son?"
"We don't know." Came the reply.
"You don't-" said the mother. She looked like she was on the verge of breaking out in tears.
"Let me explain." Said the doctor quickly. "Right now the residual aura can be doing whatever inside the boy's body. Normally it would negate and that might be the case right now however the negation might cause a physical reaction within the body. The explosion that results from normal negation might occur within his body causing an..."
The doctor didn't want to continue and merely used a hand gesture. Neither the mother nor Leaf knew what that meant and looked at the Professor. He had a grave expression on his face.
"What the doctor means to say is that there might be an internal explosion within Ash. He would literally be ripped apart from the inside." Explained the Professor.
The mother let out a small gasp and covered her mouth with her hands, tears falling down it while Leaf just gagged. Although the boy had survived, he might die at any moment? That was too cruel. Too cruel.
"It gets worse than that." Sad the doctor grimly. "The residual aura might cause...that in the worst case but it could sever his spine completely. That is another possibility."
By this time, both Leaf and the mother had tears down their faces. So...in the end, there was nothing to do except leave this up to chance?
The doctor hung his head and said sorry before leaving, taking the pencil sharpener as he did so. (Of course you guys know what happens with Ash)
2 hours later...
By the time that the mother and Leaf had calmed down it was OK to see the boy. The mother went in first and Leaf didn't interrupt as they were talked inside. The Professor didn't interrupt either as the mother eventually walked out of the room. Tears were down her face as she walked out and Leaf looked in shock.
Before visiting the doctor had told them that they should show any negative emotions should the boy realise his situation. Leaf had seen been practicing using aura to prevent her tears from flowing out in order to prevent this. Leaf looked at the woman and she turned to her.
"It's alright dear." She said. The mother gave a smile in order to console leaf but it seemed to be directed at the mother herself rather than at Leaf. "Try and do better than I did." The mother wiped her eyes and sat on the bench in front of Ash's room. Leaf nodded and walked inside the room.
Ash looked up at the white room and the light on it.Somehow it was too bright. He had just woken up and saw his mother and she had embraced him immediately. After protesting by saying his wound hurt she had let go. Then Ash had asked the question that appeared to him. Then his mother had burst in tears. He had tried to comfort but she had merely kissed him on the forehead and left him. She had that the girl who had come and found him had come along and was going to see him. Ash had no objection to that.
The door opened and Ash saw the girl that he had only faintly seen in his vision before enter the room. She had long hair and seemed short for her age but somehow she looked older than Ash. (Think the clothes that she wears for the LeafGreen game that she's wearing now. I'm bad at describing clothes.)
Ash frowned. The same question that made his mother cry came to him when he saw the girl. Regardless he smiled.
"Hello." He said. "Who are you?"
"I-I'm Leaf." Said the girl.
Ash smiled and an awkward silence hung in the air. There really wasn't much to be said on either side. Trying to break the silence, Ash spoke up.
"Um...well I think I have to say thank you for finding me." He said. "I don't know what would have happened if you didn't." Said Ash.
Leaf nodded and approached the bed. As soon as she did, Ash reached for the tissues on the side of the bed and held them out to Leaf. She looked at them. She wasn't crying was she? Just to check she wiped her eyes and finding that there were no tears she gave an odd look to Ash.
"I'm not crying." She said. Ash hung his head and shook his head. He had to ask the question. The same question that had caused his mother to cry.
"Then why are you using your aura to stop your tears?" Ash could see the aura that was built up around her eyes using his aura perception. It hung around her eyes like glasses and Ash pushed forward the tissue box forward even more.
Blinking, Leaf wondered how he had known. No, she thought, he must be guessing. That's right. Guessing.
"I'm not crying." She said again as she pushed the box away from her. Ash caught her hand and Leaf looked at him and found that he was looking at her. And in his eyes she found sadness.
"Are you sad because of me?" he asked. He pulled out a tissue using his other hand and used it to wipe her face and wiped it again to make sure. Even though there were no tears Ash still wiped Leaf's face as though he was wiping away the aura that had accumulated there. And amazingly...it worked.
Leaf let loose her tears as Ash tried to comfort her even though his own situation was much worse. Much, much worse. She put her head on the bed sheet and cried into it, Ash thinking of nothing else to do except pat her head.
"I'm-I'm sorry." Sobbed Leaf. "I can't do anything. I have all this aura yet I can't do anything about you. I'm sorry!" she shouted into the blanket.
"Yes you can." Said Ash.
Leaf looked up at Ash. How had he come up with something when no-one else had? Even the doctors hadn't come up with something?
"Wh-what can I do?" asked Leaf. She was willing to try anything to help this boy.
Ash merely smiled. "Will you be my friend?" Leaf could only stare at the boy. He was in a situation that would scare the pants off anyone else his age yet he was asking her if she wanted to be his friend?
"S-sure." Said Leaf.
Ash smiled. "Well then Leaf. There's nothing else you need to do. I'm already happy." He smiled at the girl. The smile was a true one, devoid of fear of what was to come and filled only with genuine happiness.
Leaf could do nothing else but smile back and it was in that hospital room that Ash made his first friend.
Flashback end...
Ash looked at the moon in the lake and smiled. He had made a friend that day and when he had been told of his situation he hadn't panicked. He had a friend in Leaf after all and that made all the worries go away. He didn't need to die now that he found a reason for living. Besides, he hadn't even reached his goal of being a Pokémon Master yet!
Ash let out a laugh as he remembered and patted Pikachu on the head. He was thinking about going back to bed but decided against it. Ever since he had that close brush with death, Ash learned to appreciate life and the joys that it brought. And one of those joys was his time with his Pokémon.
"Hey Pikachu." He said. "Remember that time when you wouldn't listen to me at all and then you defeated all those Spearow and we saw Ho-oh? The time we became best friend?" he asked
"Pika?" said Pikachu. Of course he remembered. That was the time that Ash and Pikachu had become best friends just as Ash had said.
"Oh!" said Ash with a smile and he turned to his Pokémon. "And remember that time when we saw Team Rocket for the first time? And we used the bike to shock them?"
Pikachu nodded and smiled while Ash recounted his memories that he had shared with Pikachu during their travels. Although Iris and Cilan had yet to hear those tales, Ash was going to tell them of his adventures some day. But he still had to look forward to adventures with Iris and Cilan as well. Ash and Pikachu continued to talk throughout the night about their adventures and occasionally they would spend time on one memory.
To anybody else, it would appear that trainer and Pokémon were simply talking and not understanding each other but not for Ash and Pikachu. They understood each other perfectly.
With the moon still in the sky, ash looked over to the campsite where his new friends Iris and Cilan were sleeping. He smiled at their direction.
"I hope we can have even more fun like this guys." Ash said as he smiled before turning to Pikachu and further discussing their adventures.
And all throughout the night, with the moon watching above and the lake as their witness the cheerful voices of Ash and Pikachu broke the silence. It was not over for the Aura Zero and his best friend Pikachu.
Far from so.
So what did you think of this little snippet of Ash's past? there might be more of these back stories as the story progresses but we'll see. there's not really much else to be said after this except that there's one more chapter before my original chapter.
Anyway same same as always and,
Review if you please.