Chapter 39: The final test
It was early in the morning near the outskirts of Lumiose city, after having some breakfast the group met up with Clemont and Bonnie.
"Alright Laverre City is a few days walk from here. We'll just need to head north on route 14" Ash said looking at the map.
"It was great seeing you two again. Have fun and be careful out there" Delia said. Red and Korrina were facing each other.
"So I guess this means we have to part ways again" Red said uneasily.
"We won't be apart for too long. I'll need to head back to Shalour city and the gym. Plus I'm sure there are some assignments the Mentor has planned for me. I'll see you again as soon as I can".
"Alright, I guess I just don't want to be away from you so soon" Red said.
"Don't forget, so long as we have our Aura connection" Korrina started before she put her arms around his shoulders and kissed him for almost a minute.
" We're never truly apart" She said as both their faces turned red. Not long after leaving the city, Felix found them and resumed their training. For two days they spend full day sessions working almost entirely on Aura. As they trained, Ash and Red noticed Felix seemed a bit anxious about something.
It was late in the evening on the 2nd day and the two brothers were both practicing their aura powers. Ash took a deep breath as he gathered his aura and manifested it forward. Blue energy began to form in his hands. After another minute Ash's eyes glowed blue as he moved his hands around , creating trails of aura. Ash then abruptly forced his right hand down and his left hand back. Creating a wave of aura that pushed several large rocks away from him and Pikachu.
At the same time Red's eyes were glowing blue as he moved his hands in front of him, creating an aura barrier. Felix was watching his students as they used their aura powers.
"Impressive work you two" Felix said. They continued practicing for another two hours before sat them down.
"You two have been incredible students. You've dedicated yourselves to learning the ways of the aura guardians and the results have shown. I believe you are ready for your final test".
"Final test?" Red said.
"One final challenge for you to overcome. Once you do, you will no longer be students. But Aura guardians and full members of the brotherhood".
"Really!?" Ash said.
"Yes, you've both shown me that you're ready for a final test. Now this final test will require the use of every skill you've learned over the years I've trained you. The course will require you to move through an environment. Hone in on the aura and surroundings of the environment. Overcome the obstacles in your way, requiring strength and courage. Most importantly, it will require your bond with your pokemon to be incredibly strong ".
"Wait Korrina's final test was finding a mega evolution stone" Red said.
"It normally is, a test like this is usually the second to last test. But since you both have Mega evolution stones this will have to be your final test. But I guess your test will require something similar" Felix said.
"What do you mean?" Ash said.
"You'll find out tomorrow, now get some rest. You'll need it" Felix said. Ash and Red walked back to the campsite very excited for their final test tomorrow.
"I can't believe tomorrow we could be aura guardians!" Ash said.
"I wish Korrina could be here for this" Red said. When they reached the campsite they saw Serena and Clemont in a battle.
"Spritzee use Fairy wind". Spritzee raised his wings and unleashed a pinkish gust towards Chespin.
"Chespin use Rollout!". Chespin curled himself into a rock ball and hurled himself at Sprtizee.
"Spritzee jump now!" Serena shouted. Sprtizee flapped his wings and leapt up over Chespin as he rolled under him. As soon as Chespin did, he turned around and smashed into Spritzee's back as he set himself down.
"Spritzee!".
"Great job Chespin , keep it up!" Clemont shouted.
"Spritzee Moonblast".
"What?" Clemont said. Sprtizee's eyes glowed white as he gathered his power and unleashed a massive white beam right into Chespin. The blast destroyed the rock around Chespin and sent him flying backwards.
"Since when does your Sprtizee know Moonblast?" Clemont said sweatdropping.
"You'd be amazed at how good you can get when you train with Ash" Serena said as her Spritzee gave a proud expression.
"Spritzz!".
"Hey they're back!" Bonnie shouted. Clemont and Serena turned to see Ash and Red walking back into the camp.
"Guys!" Serena said.
"I can see Sprtizee's Moonblast was a success" Ash said.
"Yeah , thanks for all the help" Serena said. Red sat down next to a tree while Ash went over to Serena.
"So what exciting thing did you guys do today?" Serena asked.
"We we made a lot of progress with our aura abilities" Ash said as his eyes glowed blue for a moment. A small burst of aura energy came from behind Serena and pushed her into Ash's arms and lips. After a few seconds Ash withdrew, leaving Serena with a blushed face.
"We also learned that tomorrow is our final test" Red said.
"Final test?" Clemont said.
"One final challenge Felix has set up for us. If we can pass it , we'll be Aura guardians" Ash said.
"Really! Wow that's exciting to hear" Serena said.
"We are excited, but at the same time this final test sounds very challenging. It's going to take every bit of skill we have to complete it" Red said.
"Well I know how hard you two work at that. I'm sure you'll do fine" Serena said. Twenty minutes later each of the had gone into their respected tent. In Ash's tent Serena had already appeared to have fallen asleep next to him. Ash looked over at her before leaning forward and kissing her on the cheek.
Ash then turned over to Pikachu who was laying just above his head.
"Are you anxious too Pikachu?". Pikachu said yes through their aura connection.
"I know, this is what we've worked so long and so hard for. A chance to become a member of the guardians of pokemon across the world. Someone who can always be there and help others. I know it won't be easy, but all we have to do is stick together and everything will be alright".
"Pika!" Pikachu said full of determination.
"Having trouble sleeping are we" Serena said as she raised her head towards him.
"Oh sorry, I didn't mean to wake you".
"It's alright , I was basically awake anyway. I can see you're excited about your test tomorrow" Serena said.
"Hell yeah, I can finally become an Aura guardian".
"Thanks great" Serena said with little enthusiasm. Ash could see and feel something was bothering her.
"Serena is everything ok?".
"I don't know it's just, when I first heard about it I was excited. But not that I think about it, what will it do to us?".
"What do you mean?".
"Well what if when you become an Aura guardian, you get dragged off to do things like Korrina or Felix. What if doing this means the two of us are constantly kept apart" Serena said.
Ash hadn't thought of it that way, now he began to see Serena's point. What if being an Aura guardian meant that he and Serena would have to be apart. He knew that Red and Korrina's relationship was like that and they made it work, but he wasn't a fool. He could tell that Red wanted more than that. That he wanted his and Korrina's relationship to be more like his and Serena's. Where they could be together on more than just occasions.
"I guess I hadn't thought of it like that. It is a valid concern".
"I don't want you not to make it as an Aura guardian. I'm just afraid of what it will do to us".
"No, that's not going to happen" Ash said as he took Serena by her shoulders.
"Serena I won't let being an Aura guardian destroy our relationship. I don't care how hard it will be , I will find a way to be an Aura guardian and always have time for us. Always, I care about you too much. I won't leave you".
Serena's saddened express faded away into a very touched expression.
"Thank you Ash" She said before kissing him.
Elsewhere outside the tent in the camp, Felix was eavesdropping on them. When he heard everything Ash said to Serena a single tear came down from his right eyes.
"He's more sense-able than his father". The next morning Ash woke up with Serena next to him. Ash carefully got up and kissed the side of her cheek before quietly waking Pikachu.
"Time to get up" Ash said.
"Chu" Pikachu said as he yawned and stretched like a cat. Pikachu climbed onto Ash's shoulder before he left the tent. As Ash got out of the tent, he saw Red waiting for him.
"Morning Ash".
"Morning Red". Red tossed Ash a banana and a yogurt pack.
"Eat up, we got a big day today" Red said. Ash ate the food after giving Pikachu a bowl of food. They noticed that there was a thick fog around the area. After eating Ash and Red got into some shorts and short sleeve shirts like they normally did for training secessions with Felix. Twenty minutes later Felix appeared through the fog.
"Morning boys, are you ready?".
"We're ready" Ash said.
"Good, now leave all but one of your pokemon here".
"Why?" Red said.
"It's the rules of the test. Choose one pokemon, I'd suggest the one you have the strongest bond with" Felix said.
"I guess it's just you and me Pikachu". Red took a single pokeball off his belt and then put his belt back in his tent while Ash did the same.
"Follow me" Felix said. Ash and Red followed Felix through the fog for several minutes before they reached the edge of a thick and foggy, swamp.
"Where are we?" Ash said.
"The location of your test". Felix said smiling as he used his aura to lift some of the fog , revealing the sheer size of the swamp.
"Woah" Ash said.
"In order to pass this final test you just need to navigate through this swamp and find your mega evolution stones" Felix said.
"Our stones" Red said realizing that his mega evolution stone was gone.
"My stone!" Ash said as he saw his was gone as well.
"I've hidden them both in the swamp. Trust me when I say that this isn't as easy as it sounds. You'll need to use every bit of training I've given you to find the stones".
"Are we doing this separately or together?" Ash said.
"Separately, your stones are in completely different areas, and it's a big swamp. Good luck" Felix used his aura to bring the fog back. He then walked into the fog and disappeared.
"Well here we go. See you on the other side" Ash said as he walked into the thick bog. Red sent out his Charizard.
"Alright Charizard, this is the last test. If we can pass this then we'll be aura guardians".
"Graww!" Charizard roared in excitement. The fog was so thick that Ash and Pikachu could hardly see what was in front of them. Ash had to watch every step he made to avoid plunging into the mucky water. He carefully stepped on rocks and logs to keep out of the water. He did this for a few minutes before he reached some shallows with no rocks or logs.
"I guess I have no choice" Ash said as he took his shoes and socks off. He carefully stepped into the muck, a few minutes later Ash stepped came across a rock that he had stepped on earlier to get into the shallows.
"What!? Aw man this means we just went in a giant circle".
"Pika" Pikachu said sweat dropping.
"Alright calm down, we just have to remember what Felix said. All of our training. I remember this, if you are bogged down in an unknown environment and can't find a way out. Use the aura of the pokemon, ask them for help. Ash took a deep breath and concentrated on the aura around him. After a minute he found the aura of a few Goomy moving through the muck. He could tell they were only a few feet in front of him.
"There we go" Ash said. He tried to communicate with the three Goomy with his aura. But when they felt a human's presence , Ash could feel how scared and uneasy they were about humans.
"That's not good, I guess I'll have to get them to trust us" Ash said. Ash showed his true aura to the Goomy to show he was friendly.
"Pika pikachu" Pikachu said to the Goomy. After hearing Pikachu's words and seeing Ash's true nature from his Aura, the three Goomy slowly came closer.
"Ga" one of them said.
"Alright I think they trust us. Ask them the last time they saw a human and where they went" Ash said.
"Pika pikachu" Pikachu said as he spoke to the three Goomy.
"Ga" one of the Goomy said back nodding. Ash was relived when he could feel a bit of confirmation in their aura.
" Ga" one of them said to Pikachu.
" Pika!" Pikachu said with excitement. Through their aura connection, Ash could understand what Pikachu was saying to him. Apparently the Goomy had seen a human older than him moving through the swamp near the other edge of the shallows. Apparently if they followed the logs with moss on them it would lead them to where the Goomy saw the man.
"Alright thanks Goomy, come on Pikachu" Ash said. Elsewhere in the swamp Red and his Charizard were slowly moving through the thick swamp.
"Alright I think we've made little to no progress here. I think we've come across this rock before. Charizard and Red sighed.
"Let me try my aura vision again" Red said as he took a deep breath and concentrated on searching for a human's aura. After a minute he believed he felt traces of a human's aura in the area ahead of him.
"Alright I think I found something, Charizard can you get us over there?". Charizard nodded as Red got onto his back. Charizard lifted off the ground and slowly flew directly forward.
Elsewhere Ash and Pikachu were slowly moving through the shallows , following the logs with moss on them. The fog was still just as thick, but eventually Ash and Pikachu made their way to the other end of the shallows.
"Alright here we are" Ash said as he looked around.
"Huh, I don't see many places Felix could have hidden it. Well I guess I could try to track the aura energy it emits" Ash said before he took a deep breath and felt the aura around him. He could feel the aura of a few pokemon in the shallows, but not the energy of his mega evolution stone. However, he could feel the aura of another human. It wasn't Felix.
"Who's that?" Ash said as he followed the aura trail. When Ash reached the end of the trail, he found a man wearing a red jacket with black shorts and a symbol of a pokeball on his red hat. It was then Ash realized it was a pokemon ranger.
"Hey what are you doing here kid?" The ranger said.
"I was just uh, looking for something" Ash said.
"Well you can't be here, this area's off limits" The ranger said.
"Why is this swamp off limits?" Ash said.
"There was an accident here, a group of team rocket grunts tried to fill the swamp with chemicals so they could force all of the pokemon out and poach them. Luckily an army scout team found them and scared them off before they could poach any pokemon. Unfortunately some of the chemicals are still here, and some of the grunts are still here".
"Well that explains why those Goomy were so afraid of humans" Ash said.
"I need you to leave now, or you'll be removed by force for your own safety" The ranger said.
"Did Felix know about this? He had to , it's probably part of making the test harder" Ash said to himself. Ash knew those rangers probably had some information about the swamp that could help him. But it was clear they wouldn't help him. That was unless, he collected the info from him without him knowing.
"Alright we'll leave" Ash said as he backed up out of the ranger's sight. The ranger assumed Ash was gone, and took out a walkey talky.
"Hey I've made a clear sweep of this area but I haven't found any chemicals or team rocket grunts. Alright I'll head back to your position" The ranger said. He turned around and started walking down a path of rocks and fallen trees through the deeper waters. Unknown to him , Ash was following him. Unfortunately for Ash, the fog got thinner which meant he would have to be very careful while tailing the Ranger.
Elsewhere Red and Charizard landed on the small grass island with a few trees on it.
"Alright I suppose it could be hidden here somewhere" Red said. He took a deep breath and read the aura around him. He found a few pokemon in the grass and in the water. However, he could not find his stone's energy. But he could find another man's aura.
"That's not Felix's aura" Red said concerned. He quickly scaled a tree as Charizard flew directly above him. Red watched closely below him as a team rocket grunt walked below him.
"Team rocket is here?".
"This is one four to six eight, most of my team's been captured. But I still managed to get the chemicals on team four's boat." The ranger said.
"Chemicals! What the hell are these guys planning?" Red said to himself.
"Shame we couldn't poach those pokemon".
"They're poaching pokemon? Figures"
"Alright boss I'm heading to your location" The grunt said
"Maybe that rocket boss knows something. Not to mention I should probably stop whatever he's doing" Red said.
The rocket walked across the island and onto a path of rocks and fallen trees. Red began tailing the grunt by parkouring across the tops of trees in the water, rocks, and fallen trees, not on the exact path the grunt was on, but close enough to follow and not be noticed.
Elsewhere the ranger Ash was tailing had reached a small island with a few trees on it. Ash slowly and quietly leapt onto the island and climbed into one of the trees. He noticed there were another 2 pokemon rangers and a Kalos army scout wearing Kevlar and a combat helmet with a FAMAS assault rifle.
"Find anything?" The soldier said.
"Some kid , but I sent him out of the swamp Lieutenant" The ranger said.
"We cleared this island twenty minutes ago. A trio of team rocket grunts were here trying to get some Shelmet near the shore" The Lieutenant said.
"Well that's good news, at this rate we should have the whole swamp secured by nightfall" another ranger said.
"What about that man I saw earlier?" another ranger said.
" What man?" the Lieutenant said.
"Earlier this morning, I saw this guy running through the swamp and jumping from log to rock like some kind of ninja" the other ranger said.
"Felix!" Ash said to himself.
"Where did you see him?" The Lieutenant said.
"Directly in that direction" The ranger said pointing to the right.
" Alright let's go".
"Pika". Ash quietly got down and parkoured across the water on the rocks and fallen trees.
Elsewhere Red was parkouring across the fallen trees and rocks beside the path the rocket grunt was taking. He eventually reached a series of small grass and rock islands. Red continued following the grunt to another island with a few trees on it. Red scaled one of the trees while Charizard flew directly over him.
Red used his aura vision to see through the fog , and was able to see the auras of five men including the grunt he had been tailing.
"Alright it you're all that's left of your team that doesn't leave us with many grunts left" One of the men said.
"True but I still think we should salvage what we can. I mean this was a pretty big investment, those chemicals weren't cheap" another grunt said.
"I know but our operation in Kalos hasn't gotten any reinforcements, and we've been loosing grunts left and right" The boss said.
"Not to mention all of the officers" Another grunt said.
"Marlen won't be happy if we loose any more manpower, forget the salvage. We're pulling out know" The boss said.
"Alright I'll contact the deputy boss and tell him to radio everyone" One of the grunts said.
"Harten come in, Harten. Harten pick up now this is serious" The grunt said into a walky talky.
"He didn't pick up?".
"Do you think the army got him?" another grunt said.
"Can't be, the army hasn't gotten to his area yet" The boss said.
"Well maybe not the army, but when I was there a few hours ago I saw something or someone" another grunt said.
"What?" The boss said.
"I'm not sure exactly who, but this guy was wearing a black and blue robe and was moving like a ninja across the swamp".
"Felix!" Red said.
"So exactly where was Harten?" Another grunt said.
"Why?".
"Sir if Harten is missing I don't want to be anywhere near where he was".
"Alright fine over by the Stunfisk. Which is directly that way" the Boss said pointing to the left.
"Alright got it, these guys have been a lot of help" Red said.
"Alright let's get to the boat and " The boss started before Charizard simply dropped down from mid air and landed right on top of two of the grunts, knocking them out.
"What the!?" The boss said as Charizard growled at hem and gave a puff of smoke. Red leapt out of the tree and slammed into another rocket grunt before getting up and confronting the boss.
"Hello there".
"A kid!" The boss shouted before his remaining grunt whipped out an electric baton and ran at Red. Red grabbed the man by his arm and smashed his other palm into his shoulder while kneeing him in the gut. As the grunt fell over the rocket boss slowly backed up onto to realize that he had backed up into Charizards arms.
Charizard grinned as he lifted the man up directly in front of his face and saw his terrified expression.
"Graww" Charizard roared as he engulfed the man in a jet of fire. After a few moments Charizard dropped the now unconscious and covered in soot rocket boss to the ground.
"Nice work Charizard, now lets wrap them up for the army" Red said before he tied all of the unconscious rocket members to a tree.
"Now let's get over to where they said Felix was" Red said before parkouring across the rocks and logs with Charizard close behind him.
Elsewhere in the swamp, Ash and Pikachu reached a series of grass and rock islands. Ash took a deep breath and used his aura vision. He could see and feel small hints of the energy emitted by his stone.
"We're close, but I can't pinpoint it's location" Ash said. As Pikachu looked around, he saw a Whiscash laying against the edge of the grass island, covered in burn marks with a look of giving up on his face.
"Pika!" Pikachu shouted.
"What's wrong?" Ash said.
"Pika Pikachu!" Pikachu shouted pointing to the Whiscash. When Ash saw the hurt Whiscash he rushed over to him.
"What the hell happened to you?" Ash said as he saw the large burn marks up close.
"Wish" The Whiscash moaned.
"Team Rocket's chemicals! They did this!" Ash was now enraged. But his rage quickly turned to compassion as he looked down at the Whiscash again.
"I didn't bring my backpack which means I don't have any potions. Wait I can still heal with my aura!" Ash said. He took a deep breath and put his right hand on one of the burn marks. At first the Whiscash moaned in pain when Ash touched his wound, but when an Aura sphere formed around Ash's hand Whiscash's pain began to fade away. The burn marks on Whiscash started to heal back into normal skin.
In the water a few Barboach and Poliwag saw what was happening and watched in amazement. When Ash got up, Whiscash got back into the water and then leapt into the air.
"Cash!" He shouted in joy. It was then Ash and Pikachu saw the Poliwag and Barboach coming towards the edge of the water towards Ash, each having a burn mark on them.
"Oh no, they're all hurt" Ash said before he healed them one by one. After Ash healed the last one , all of the pokemon swam around happily in the water near Ash.
"You know, if they were all burned by the chemicals that means the chemicals are probably still in the water. I know we have our test, but we can't just do nothing" Ash said.
"Pika" Pikachu said nodding.
"Pika Pikachu" Pikachu said asking the Whiscash where the chemicals were.
"Cash" Whiscash said nodding as he swam to the north. Ash parkoured across rocks and fallen trees following him.
Elsewhere, Red and Charizard continued following the path across the swamp when he made it to a small grass island. As soon as they did, Charizard felt uneasy and so did Red.
"Something isn't right here, I feel like we're not alone" Red said. He continued looking around until he saw what looked like a pair of red glowing eyes. Then everything got strange, his legs felt wobbly, he lost his balance and nearly fell over. When he regained his senses he opened his eyes and realized it was now nighttime and Charizard was gone.
"Charizard! Charizard!" He screamed. Red tried to use his aura powers to find his Charizard, but his aura was completely gone.
"What happened?" Red said. It was then that Red heard movement from the water. He turned and saw something big was underneath the surface. He tried to use aura vision to see what it was, but for some reason his aura powers were acting up. Suddenly something burst out of the water behind him.
Red turned to see a large violet and ghostly looking serpent with very familiar looking red eyes and a black mouth with jagged violet teeth.
"Gaaah!" The Serpant roared as he shot it's head right at Red. Red lurched back just in time to avoid it and tried to summon aura to protect himself. But just like before nothing happened.
"What's going on!?" Red said. As the Serpant raised its head up, Red turned and tried to get off the island. But for some reason the paths were gone.
"What?" Red said. It was then that the serpent struck again knocking Red into the water. Red slowly opened his eyes as he saw darkness all around him. The darkness was soon met with the glowing eyes of five serpent heads as they all came closer to Red.
"How did this happen? What's going on, this is like a nightmare and. Wait a minute, a Nightmare!" It was then Red realized where he had seen those eyes before. They belonged to a pokemon.
"Nice try" Red said as he gathered all of his aura energy and focused it on his mind and brain. Red's eyes shot open and he was back in the swamp at daytime. Floating in front of him and Charizard were three large ghost pokemon.
"Haunter!" Red shouted before unleashing a wave of aura and knocking the three Haunter back. Red put all the pieces together, it was the Haunter who had clearly put him to sleep and used Nightmare on him. When he knocked them back , they lost their hold on Charizard , who now woke up and saw the three Haunter.
"Haaa!" The middle one roared in anger. Something didn't seem right about the Haunter, normally they had sinister looking smiles on them. These three, however, had very angry expressions on their faces. As if they were upset by Red and Charizard.
"Haa!" The middle Haunter growled as he and his friends prepared to unleash Shadow ball. Charizard's claws glowed violet before he charged forward and slashed the shadow balls apart with Dragon claw.
"They're poison, use Flamethrower!" Charizard unleashed a jet of fire that engulfed two of the Haunter and knocked them out. The last Haunter, however, vanished and reappeared behind Charizard. As soon as Charizard turned to face him, the Haunter used Hypnosis and Charizard began to loose his strength.
"No, fight it Charizard!" Red said as he pushed his own Aura strength into Charizard's . Charizard felt his strength return to him as his eyes glowed blue and he unleashed another jet of fire right into the Haunter.
"Haa!" It cried in pain before falling into the water unconscious.
"Well that was unpleasant" Red said as Charizard nodded.
"Those Haunter were angry with us, I wonder if they thought we were team rocket grunts?" Red said before returning to the path with Charizard flying behind him.
Elsewhere, Ash and Pikachu had followed Whiscash to a small rock island, where a pair of rocket grunts and Golbat were still pouring Chemicals into the water.
"We need to pull out now" One of the grunts said.
"I already told you, if we stay and recover what pokemon we can" The other grunt said.
"But the army is here,if we couldn't stand up to the army while everyone was here, what makes you think we can do it alone?".
"We're not, we're just doing what the group commander said. Salvaging what we can".
"I still think we should pull out now".
"There they are. Alright we'll take them from behind with stealth" Ash said. Ash quietly parkoured behind the island and stepped behind the grunts. As Ash put one of the grunts in a choke hold , Pikachu unleashed Thunderbolt knocking out both Golbat. Not a moment later the other grunt turned and saw Ash.
The grunt lunged at him with his electric baton only to have Ash aim lower and knock the man right over him. Ash quickly slammed his palm into the man's neck knocking him out.
"Well that takes care of them, but now what do we do about the Chemicals in the water? Wait I've got it" Ash said before he took a deep breath and gathered his aura. A sphere of aura formed around the chemicals in the water before Ash lifted it up and back into the barrels.
"Cash!" Whiscash cried in joy as he jumped up and out of the water.
"Well the pokemon here should be safe now. Which means we can ask Whiscash if he saw Felix.
"Pika" Pikachu said nodding.
"Pika Pikachu" Pikachu said as he called out to Whiscash. The large pokemon heard what he said and swam over.
"Cash" Whiscash said nodding.
"Pika!" Pikachu said very excited. Apparently Whiscash had seen Felix earlier and had seen him put a stone on a small island not far from there.
"Alright! Lead the way" Ash said.
"Pika" Pikachu said pointing to the grunts.
"Right we should take care of them" Ash said before he put the unconscious grunts and their chemicals on the boat and drove set it int he direction of the army scouts. Whiscash let Ash and Pikachu onto his back before he swam towards the island.
Elsewhere on grass and rock island , a Kalos army captain and 3 other soldiers were with a pair of Pokemon rangers.
" So now that we've cleared that area I want more men brought into the" The captain started before one of his men saw something.
"Sir what's that?" One of the soldiers said. The rest of the group turned to see a team rocket boat float right into the island with two grunts and 4 barrels of chemicals on it.
"Ok" The Captain said slightly confused. Elsewhere Charizard and Red landed on the island the rocket boss had lead them too. Red took a deep breath and felt the aura around him, he encountered something strange. It almost felt like there was another presence there, a very familiar one, but it was masked somehow making it feel like no one was there but him and Charizard.
After a moment Red could feel his Mega evolution stone , it was only a few feet in front of him.
"Found it!" Red said excited. As he stepped closer the fog around the island vanished revealing another aura guardian that wasn't Felix. The aura guardian was wearing a white robe and white cloth over her mouth and nose.
Despite this Red knew instantly who it was.
"Korrina!" He shouted in surprise. Korrina lowered her hood and the cloth on her mouth.
"Hello Red". Red almost dead sprinted over to her and picked her up off the ground before planting a kiss on her lips.
"What are you doing here? I thought you had to go back to Shalour city" Red said when he let her down.
"I just told you that because Felix asked me to do something for him" Korrina said.
"What?" Red said.
"Take part in your final test" Korrina said as she gave a rather devious looking smile.
"What?" Red said even more confused.
"You need your Mega evolution stone to pass , well I have it" Korrina said opening her right hand and revealing Red's stone.
"What's going on?" Red said.
"When I took this test I had to fight my grandfather to get my stone. Now you have to do the same thing. If you want to pass your final test, you're going to have to take this from me. Or should I say us" Korrina said as her Lucario revealed himself.
Red backed up next to his Charizard.
"Both Charizard and I?" Red said.
"That's right, no Mega evolution, no regular battling. Just two a battle royal. I hope you know I won't be holding back like I was the first time we fought" Korrina said.
"You didn't hold back that time" Red protested.
"Oh yes I did" Korrina said giving a sinister smile. Charizard growled as he stepped behind Red and covered him with his wings as he turned them metal. Charizard sprinted forward towards Korrina and Lucario. Lucario and Korrina leapt up and off Charizard's wings. Just then , Charizard opened his wings and Red leapt up and grabbed Korrina by her leg.
Unfortunately Lucario managed to get his legs around Charizard's neck and hurled him into the ground. Meanwhile as Red pulled Korrina down and onto the ground, she used her hands and knees to keep herself from crashing. She then twisted herself around and smashed her forearm across Reds face and pushed him off her with her leg.
Red stumbled backwards and fell down next to his Charizard.
"A valiant effort baby, but not good enough" Korrina said. Red and his Charizard got up and full of determination.
"We're far from beaten" Red said as his Charizard growled. They both charged forward towards their enemies. Red saw that trying to grab hold Korrina wouldn't work, so he would try direct attacks. Charizard's claws were glowing violet as he slashed at Lucario. Korrina's Lucario either lurched away, parried, or blocked them with his own Metal claws.
At the same time , Red came at Korrina with several fast and powerful strikes. Felix had taught him that even if facing a skilled opponent, direct strikes could be effective if they were done right.
Korrina was certainly a skilled opponent, she blocked or avoided most of his strikes. While they clashed, Red and Charizard occasionally had to block or dodge when Korrina or Lucario struck back. Eventually Red managed to land a hit on Korrina's right shoulder at the same time Charizard was able to do the same to Lucario.
Korrina and her Lucario lurched back but their opponents pressed the advantage. Red struck Korrina again in the other shoulder as Charizard did the same. As they came in for a third strike, Korrina and Lucario were ready for a counter strike. Korrina knocked Red's arm away and wrapped her own arm around it as she locked her ankle behind his. She then smashed her palm into his stomach and hurled him into the ground.
At the same time Lucario did something similar, as he lurched to the side and pulled Charizard's arm back as he smashed his leg into Charizard's, hurling the larger pokemon forward and onto his stomach as Lucario leapt onto his back.
Red tried to get up but Korrina had gotten on him and was holding him in place as she moved her face closer.
"I told you, I was holding back last time" Korrina said as she moved her head in closer and gave him a short kiss and raised her palm to strike him in the throat.
"Well I've gotten better" Red said as he finally got some leverage and forced his knee up , pushing Korrina out of position. Red quickly pushed her off him and got up. At the same time Charizard pushed himself up and whipped himself around, smacking his wings into his face and knocking Lucario off him.
Red and Charizard stood next to each other as Korrina and Lucario got up.
"I'm going to get that stone from you" Red said with a determined smile.
"Oh no you're not" Korrina said as she gave another devious smile. Just like before Red and Charizard charged at Korrina and Lucario. Only this time , Charizard's wings had turned metal and his claws were glowing violet.
They delivered several quick and powerful strikes at their opponents. Like last time Korrina and Lucario dodged or blocked each of the strikes and then struck back only to have Red and Charizard block these.
Finally Red and Charizard were able to land a strike and knock their opponents back. They quickly pressed the advantage and struck them again. As Korrina and Lucario got into a a counter strike stance, Red and Charizard were ready. Instead of striking they moved to a more open stance and position.
This confused Korrina and Lucario who quickly tried to strike them. Unfortunately for them, Red and Charizard had gotten into a counter strike stance that they had developed themselves. Red came back slightly and grabbed hold of Korrina's arm, before twisting her arm back and around, against its joint.
Red then forced Korrina forward and onto the ground as he got over her. At the same time , Charizard lurched back and caught Lucario's paws in his own claws. Lucario almost jumped in surprise as Charizard grinned and smashed his metal wings into Lucario's face, hurling him back before Charizard body slammed him into the ground and held his claws over his face.
When Korrina looked up she saw Red's palm a few inches from her throat.
"We win" Red said as he took his Mega evolution stone from her now open hand.
"I guess you did" Korrina said. Red and his Charizard got up and helped their opponents up.
"Congratulations, you two passed your final test. " Korrina said before she put her arms around Red and kissed him.
Elsewhere Ash and Pikachu were still riding Whiscash to the island. When they reached the shoreline Ash stepped off and took a deep breath and used his aura vision. It was then he felt something strange. It almost felt like there was another presence there, a very familiar one, but it was masked somehow making it feel like no one was there but him and Pikachu.
Much to Ash's joy he could feel his Mega evolution stone was directly in front of him.
"Alright it's just up ahead" Ash said as he stepped forward. As soon as he did the fog on the island vanished revealing Felix and his Lucario standing right in front of them.
"Felix?" Ash said.
"Hello Ash, I'm very impressed that you made it this far".
"What are you doing here?" Ash said.
"I'm the last challenge of your final test" Felix said revealing Ash's mega evolution stone in his right hand.
"My stone!".
"If you want the stone, you have to take it from me. Or should I say us" Felix said smiling as his Lucario stepped forward.
"Alright Pikachu, looks like we're going to have to do this together".
"Pika!" Pikachu said with determination as he leapt down and sparked his cheeks. Before Ash and Pikachu could even make a move , Felix and his Lucario lunged forward and grabbed them both before hurling them onto the ground.
Ash and Pikachu tried to get up but Felix rushed over and hurled his palm towards Ash. Ash and PIkachu both jumped back just in time. Ash and Pikachu were able to get up just in time to see Felix and Lucario coming right at them.
Felix unleashed a furry of quick and powerful attacks at Ash, at the same time Lucario unleashed a furry of strikes with aura coating his hands. Ash had to use every bit of skill and training he had to dodge and block each of Felix's strikes. Pikachu was using his speed to narrowly avoid each of Lucario's strikes and blocked a few with his now metal tail.
After another minute Felix landed a hit on Ash at the same time Lucario landed a hit on Pikachu. Before they could even respond they were hit another two times and knocked onto the ground.
Ash saw Felix and Lucario coming on for the knock out and knew they had to act fast. Ash waited until Felix got closer enough then hurled himself up and into Felix's shoulder and used Felix's own force to hurl him onto his back.
At the same time Pikachu jumped up and slammed into Lucario's stomach before smashing his tail against his arm and knocking him onto his back. Just as Felix landed on the ground he slammed his foot into Ash's chest, knocking him to the ground on his back.
At the same time Lucario swept his legs around, knocking Pikachu back next to Ash. All four of them quickly got up and faced each other. Felix made a powerful strike forward at the same time his Lucario came in with a power up punch.
Ash and Pikachu lurched back as quick as they could, narrowly avoiding their opponent's strikes. As soon as Ash was clear he quickly came at Felix with quick yet powerful strikes.
At the same time Pikachu unleashed a large thunderbolt at Lucario. Felix dodged or blocked each of Ash's strikes as Lucario evaded the lighting and blocked each of his Iron tail strikes.
After another few moments Ash managed to land a strike on Felix's chest. At the same time Pikachu managed to smash his tail against Lucario's kneecap. Lucario and Felix were knocked back and off enough for Ash and Pikachu to follow up their strikes with another and managed to hit their opponent's again.
Just as they came in for another strike, Felix grabbed Ash by the arm and twisted it around his back and kicked him into the ground. Pikachu's tail was knocked aside and Lucario slammed his fist into Pikachu.
Ash and Pkachu landed next to each other. They looked up and saw their opponents coming right at them. Felix and Lucario came in quick, Ash and Pikachu had just enough time to get up and protect them selves from their opponent's fury. Ash did his best to block each of Felix's strikes, but Felix was too powerful.
He broke through Ash's defenses and slammed him three times before he was knocked to the ground. Pikachu tried to keep Lucario away, but he was strike by Lucario's foot and hurled back.
Ash and Pikachu were now in great pain, both questioned if they could continue fighting. How could they defeat Felix, their teacher. It was then Ash remembered everything Felix taught him.
"Never give up until the end Ash" Felix said to Ash years ago.
"Come on Pikachu let's do this" Ash said as he and Pikachu got up. Felix and his Lucario smiled before they came it at Ash and Pikachu. Both dodged and blocked each of their opponents' strikes.
Ash managed to strike back and land a hit on Felix. Without missing a beat Felix struck at Ash, only to have Ash dodge it, come in again and struck Felix across the shoulder.
Pikachu lept clean over one of lucario's sweeping strikes and blasted him with a short burst of electricity. Felix grabbed Ash by the collar of his shirt and prepared to throw him. At the last moment Ash knocked Felix's arm away and delivered a powerful kick to his chest, knocking him onto his back.
At the same time Pikachu knocked Lucario's incoming paw away with his tail and filled him with electricity. Before Felix could get up Ash got down over him and stopped his palm a fraction of an inch from his throat.
Felix's eyes widened as he saw this.
"We win" Ash said as he took his mega evolution stone from Felix's now open hand. As Ash got up he extended his hand and helped Felix get up.
"You did it Ash, you passed the final test" Felix said as Pikachu ran over and climbed onto Ash's shoulder.
"We did it Pikachu we're aura" Ash started before Felix wrapped his arms around Ash and lifted him up.
"I'm so proud of you" He said as a tear came out of his right eye. After Felix put Ash down they headed back to the campsite where they met up with Red and Korrina halfway there on a grass island.
"Korrina? Ash said.
"I asked her to help out with the test" Felix said.
"I can't believe our training is finally done. We're finally going to be aura guardians" Red said.
" Felix's Lucario nudged him on the shoulder. Felix turned towards Felix. He told something to him through an aura message and nodded.
Felix took a deep breath and turned back towards Ash and Red.
"Korrina could you leave us alone for a few minutes".
"What's going on?" Red said.
"It's just something I really need to be alone with you about".
"Alright, I'll see you back at camp" Korrina said before walking off.
"Felix what's going on" Red said. Ash and Red noticed that Felix's expression looked very troubled and realized something was wrong.
"Felix you look distressed, if everything alright?" Ash said.
"No, it's not" Felix said.
"What's bothering you?" Red said.
"Boys there's something I need to tell you. It's something I should have told you years ago, but never had the strength to do it".
"What is it?" Ash said.
"I did something very bad, something I still haven't forgiven myself for".
"How bad could it be?" Red said.
"When I was a younger guardian , I fell in love with a woman. We got married and had children. But I foolishly decided that my life as an aura guardian was more important. So I decided to devote my entire life to being a guardian and left them".
"I did, but after a few years passed I realized that I couldn't just leave my two sons without even knowing me" Felix said. Ash and Red gave almost concerned looks as they motioned towards Felix.
"So when they were very young, I started training them. But never told them I was there father".
"No, No, no!" Ash screamed as he backed away.
"All these years, all this time , and you-you" Red said trying to find words.
"Pika" Pikachu said as he tried to comfort Ash.
"Ash, Red , I" Felix started.
"Stay away from us! How dare you call yourself our father! Do you realize what is was like growing up alone, without a father. Always wondering who he was and why he just up and left us. Do you realize how hard it was for our mother, having to raise us and support us on her own. All while you were running around being an Aura guardian!" Ash screamed.
"I won't deny that It was the biggest mistake of my life. Not a day goes by that I don't regret my decision. I knew I had to make up for it some how, I had to see you and give you my guidance. I couldn't leave you without any, and I couldn't live without seeing you".
"Why didn't you just tell us then!?" Ash screamed.
"I wanted to, I truly did. But I was afraid of what it would do. You only seeing me just for a portion of your life. I was afraid your mother would try and keep you from me".
"Then why didn't you just come home!" Ash screamed louder than any of his previous screams.
Felix's eyes began to swell with tears.
"I don't know, I guess I still wanted to put my life as an Aura guardian first. It was a mistake, I never should have put that above you. I don't know if you can ever forgive me, but I don't want you to live without a father and I can't live without my sons" Felix said.
Red's eyes began to tear up.
"I already saw you as a father, I'm glad that you're my real father" Red said before he almost ran into Felix's arms.
Ash's face almost turned red with rage.
"Red how can you say that!? After everything he's done to us and mom!".
"I need to be alone right now" Ash said as he set PIkacu and down turned towards another area of the swamp.
"Ash I" Felix started as he came closer to Ash. When Ash saw this he punched Felix across the face, knocking him to the ground.
"Stay away from me!" He screamed before disappearing into the fog.
"Pika!".
"Maybe we should let him calm down" Red said.
"No, I'm to blame for this. I need to fix this". Ash was sitting alone on a small grass island in the swamp. Ash could hear the someone coming behind him, he could tell from his aura it was Felix.
"Felix get away from me".
"Ash I just want to talk" Felix said.
"I said get away!" Ash screamed as he got up and unleashed a blast of aura almost knocking Felix into the water. Felix was able to keep himself on a rock , and get into the island Ash was on.
"I said get away from me! You're not my father!" Ash screamed.
"I don't have the right to call myself your father. A father is always there for there child, always takes care of them. They don't just show up when it's convenient for them. They put their families first and above everything. I've done none of that. I am a failure as a father" Felix said as he backed away from Ash and put his hands up against his now tear ridden face.
Ash slowly turned back towards Felix and saw him. Ash could now feel how much sorrow Felix felt for abandoning his family.
"You really do regret it don't you". Felix put his arms on his son's.
"Ash I know I can never make up for abandoning you all those years ago. I know there is nothing I can do that will take back all the mistakes I made. But I need to be a part of your life now , you are my son".
Ash felt his eyes tear up. For so long he had wanted a father, Felix had always been the closest person he ever had to being a father, now he found out that he was his father. He didn't know if he could forgive him for abandoning him. But he knew that he had wanted a father his entire life, and now he could have one.
Ash lowered his head as tears spilled down. He put his arms around Felix and embraced him.
Almost an hour later back at the camp after explaining to everyone what happened, Ash and Red stood next to each other in front of Felix. Ash had his Charizard and Lucario out , while Red had his Aerodactly and Charizard out.
Ash was wearing a black and gold colored set of robes while Red was wearing a black and Red set of robes. Serena was standing next to Felix with a wooden box in each hand. Serena and the others were standing a few feet behind Ash and Red.
"I can't believe it's finally happening. I'm so excited!" Serena said.
Felix held the red book with the black spade and Reduka written on it out in front of Ash and Red.
"Place your right hands on the book" Felix said as the 6 of them did as he said.
"Ash , Red. Do you swear that you will uphold the ways and the customs of the Aura Guardians?"
"I do" They both said as their pokemon all nodded.
"Do you swear that you will stand up for and protect the innocent people and pokemon of the world who are in need?".
"I do".
"Do you swear that you will stay true and faithful to the brotherhood, never betray us or our ways?".
"I do".
"Do you swear to never abuse or miss use the power of Aura that you have been blessed with?".
"I do"
"Do you swear to honor and trust in the legendary pokemon before us ?" Gurkinn said.
"I do".
"Finally, do you swear true allegiance and faithfulness the Reduka the creator of life. Our eternal father and Guardian"
"I do".
"Ash ,Red. As a senior member of the Aura guardians I hereby welcome you as a full member of the brotherhood" Felix said. Korrina opened the boxes revealing two wrist blades in each. Korrina put their mega evolution stones in the wrist blades and then handed them to Ash and Red.
"These will mark you as Aura guardians". Ash and Red slowly put the wrist blades on and then let the blades come out and over their palms.
"We did Red. We're Aura guardians!".
"I'm so proud of you guys!" Serena said as she came over and hugged Ash.
"And I'm proud of you" Korrina said as she hugged Red.
"Today both of my sons have joined the brotherhood and have allowed me into their lives as their father. I can't express how happy I am".
"Woah woah woah, not so fast dad. You're not all the way back in the family yet" Ash said.
"What?" Felix said.
"You've gotten our forgiveness but there's one more person you need to make amends with" Red said.
"Delia."Sigh" You're right. I need to make things right with her".
"Lumiose city isn't far from here. I'm sure you can find her there" Ash said.
"Once I've made amends with Delia , we'll come and meet you together. Our family hasn't been together since you were both infants" Felix said.
"Alright, we'll see you then" Ash said. Felix hugged both his sons before heading out.
"So Felix was your father. You know now that I think about it, the idea of that never seemed hard to believe" Clemont said.
"I'm just glad your family is finally going to be back together" Serena said.
"Me too, my entire life I've always wondered who our father was. I guess in the end if I could pick who I wanted my father to be. It would be Felix" Ash said.
"So uh, Korrina. Now that the test is over , does that mean you have to leave" Red said nervously sweat dropping.
"Of course not, my best student can handle the gym while I'm gone. Also apparently there is something big going on with team rocket in this area. The mentor thinks the tear of Reduka they have is some where in this area and requests that any aura guardian available help pan out a search. So I thought since you guys were going through this area why not".
"Sweet, especially since we're aura guardians now. We can help out with that" Red said.
"Plus I'll get to spend all the time I want with my boyfriend" Korrina said before she put her arms around Red and kissed him.'
Author's note
Yup Ash and Red are now Aura guardians, and Felix is Ash and Red's father. I realize most of you probably guessed this already as I didn't make it as discrete as I originally planned.
So now that Ash and Red are guardians things will heat up a bit more, especially with team Flare and team rocket.
Lastly class starts for me on tuesday and so starting then updates will be slower. Sorry but I have priorities.
So until next time Please review, comment, suggest, or ask.