Chapter 46: The frost cavern
It was early in the morning as the group continued down route 15. Much was on their minds from the previous day.
"I still can't believe we didn't get the tear or Reduka back" Red said.
"At least team rocket is done for" Korrina said.
"That's true, it will be nice not having to deal with team rocket over and over again" Red said. Korrina had noticed that Ash and Serena were holding hands and staying extremely close to each other all morning.
"Hey Red, have you noticed that Ash and Serena seem more affectionate towards each other this morning".
"Now that you mention it, those two have seemed closer than I've ever seen them before. Though I suppose after what happened yesterday I can understand why they'd feel closer to each other" Korrina said.
"Right, looking back it makes me appreciate the time I have with you even more" Red said as he came closer to Korrina and took her hand as she blushed a little. Clemont and Bonnie were now watching as the other 4 held hands and walked beside each other.
"Look at them brother, all of them so happy together. You need to".
"I know!" Clemont said. The group continued onward until they reached the edge of a town.
"Here we are Dendemile town" Serena said.
"Finally, let's get to the pokemon center" Korrina said. The group entered the town and saw a few dozen people walking around. The roads seemed to be made of older cement bricks and cobblestones rather than pavement. The buildings themselves also seemed a bit older in style.
About half of the buildings were in and around them, where as the other buildings were up on a higher area. In the center of the higher up area was a large windmill .
"This place looks amazing" Serena said. A few moments later the group started to notice it was very cold out. A breeze blew cold air from above them and made it many degrees cooler. Serena, Bonnie and Korrina, whos' shirts didn't have sleeves, started shivering as a breeze blew past them.
"Brr, it's really cold here" Sereha said as she rubbed her arms. Ash opened up his backpack and took out his long sleeved jacket and put it around Serena as Korrina put her guardian robes on.
"Thanks Ash, that's a lot better" Serena said.
"We should get to the pokemon center, I'm sure it's much warmer in there" Red said. The group made their way over to the pokemon center. Once inside they saw a few people in winter jackets and ice type pokemon like Beartic, Glaceon, and Jynx.
"Welcome to the pokemon center , may I help you" Nurse Joy said.
"Yes could you take a look at our pokemon" Ash said as he and the others set their pokeballs on the counted and Pikachu leapt onto the counter.
"No problem, I'll have them back to you in no time" Joy said as she put the pokeballs on a tray and handed them to her Wigglytuff. Joy picked up Pikachu and personally took him back to another room.
"Alright now we wait " Korrina said.
"Hey Ash didn't Dad say he'd be in town with mom?" Red said.
"He did, we should look around for them while we're here" Ash said.
"So how long are we going to stay here?" Clemont said.
" Maybe a day or two, we've been on the road for a week. I wouldn't mind sleeping in a real bed for more than one night" Serena said.
"I agree" Bonnie said.
"Let's find a table until our pokemon are ready" Red said. The group started looking for a table, however, most of them were taken by strong looking men with beards and ice type pokemon.
" How much did you find on your last trip?" one man at a table has said to the man sitting across from him.
"About 55 grams".
"Dam that's almost 22 hundred dollars".
"Wouldn't have been able to get it without Beartic" The man said as he patted his Beartic who was eating beside the table.
"22 hundred dollars? What are they talking about?" Ash said. He was about to Ask when he noticed his mother and Alexa sitting at a booth across the room.
"Hey Red it's mom" Ash said as Red noticed Delia and Alexa sitting at the table.
"And you just forgave him after he's been gone for more than 15 years" Alexa said very surprised.
"It's not quite that simple Alexa" Delia said sweat dropping.
"Alright I guess it's none of my business anyway. Now back to the matter at hand, this story will be the front headlines for weeks".
"People from around the world will come here" Delia said.
"Mom" Ash said as Delia and Alexa turned turned to see the group in front of them.
"Ash , Red!" Delia said with excitement. She got up and quickly hugged her sons.
"I was hoping you two would get here soon" Delia said.
"So Mom, we know about dad and according to him you guys made up and everything"Red asked.
Delia let go and looked right at her sons.
"Your father and I have reconciled our relationship. It wasn't an easy decision, but I guess even after all these years he's still the same man I fell in love with".
"Uh mom , can I ask why didn't you tell us who dad was or why he left". Delia gave a slightly painful look.
"I', so sorry I never told you enough about him. It's just, even thinking about Felix was painful. I also didn't want you to get involved with all that dangerous aura guardian stuff. Though it appears that you did right under my own nose" Delia said giving her boys a look.
"Right, we're sorry we never told you about our training with Felix all these years" Ash said as he and Red sweat dropped.
"I guess we all kept the truth from each other" Red said still sweat dropping.
"So where is dad? He said he'd be here with you?" Ash said.
"Your father isn't in the town at the moment. I asked him to gather some more up close information for Alexa and I while we prepare our equipment".
"Gathering some information? Wait you two are here for a story aren't you" Serena said.
"That's right, just north of here is the frost cavern. It's a massive frozen cave filled with ice type pokemon in and around it".
"So that's why it's so cold here" Red said.
"But what's so interesting about some cave?" Korrina said.
"It's not the cave it's what a hiker found there just a week ago" Delia said.
"What did he find?" Clemont said.
"Gold" Alexa said.
"Gold!?" The group said.
"Huge deposits of gold were found all over the cavern" Delia said.
"So that's what that man must have been talking about when se said he found 55 grams" Red said.
"That's why all these men are here, prospecting. Hoping to make a fortune off the gold" Alexa said.
"So you guys want to be the first ones on the story" Ash said.
"That's right, we're here to make sure all of Kalos knows about it" Alexa said.
"We were about to head out to the frost cavern. If you kids wanted to come with us" Delia said.
"Oh yeah!" Red said.
"But first we need to get our pokemon" Ash said.
"Plus I wouldn't mind getting a winter jacket" Serena said.
"Me too" Bonnie said.
"Well you're lucky, because of the rush they have great deals on winter coats" Alexa said. Ash and the others got their pokemon back from Nurse Joy before changing into winter cloths.
The group made their way north of Dendemille Town and across a bridge.
"I still can't believe we're going to have the whole family together again. And just in time for your fifteenth birthday" Delia said.
"Huh?" The rest of the group said.
"Oh yeah our birthday is coming up, I guess we lost track of time" Red said.
"Wait a minute, we've been traveling together for a little over a year. We celebrated everyone's birthdays but your guy's. Did we miss your birthed at some point?" Serena said feeling bad that she may have overlooked Ash's birthday.
"Actually our birthday was a few days after we first left Lumoise before we met up again in Santalune city" Ash said.
"Wait we didn't celebrate your birthday" Clemont said.
"That was the day we stopped at that town and Bonnie went looking for a wife for you" Red said.
"We missed your birthday, aww" Bonnie said.
"Aww man" Clemont said sweatdropping.
"It's alright , we spent the day with our pokemon and each other" Red said. Serena remembered at her fourteenth birthday It was just after her and Ash started dating. He went through so much trouble to plan her a great party. He spent half the day keeping her busy until the others surprised her at a private room in the hotel. She had to make sure she prepared a great party for Ash; Plus Red.
As the group crossed the bridge they saw snow starting to fall and the group had more and more snow on it. Soon the entire wilderness was covered in snow as the wind picked up.
"It's getting colder, good thing we got these jackets" Korrina said as she came closer to Red and he put his arm around her shoulder.
"We should be getting close, to the cavern" Delia said as they noticed a few groups of prospectors who had set up camps along side the paths. Like the men at the pokemon center, the prospectors all had ice type pokemon out.
"The cavern should be just up ahead, but first we need to meet up with Felix. I told him we'd meet outside the cavern" Delia said. The group got off the side of the path and under a few trees.
"It's been a while since we've gotten to see a snowy place like this. I don't any of my pokemon have seen a place like this" Serena said as she let out all of her pokemon. The others also let their pokemon out as Pikachu leapt down from Ash's shoulder.
Serena looked around and noticed that Ash's Totodile was gone. In his place was Mightyena.
"Hey you brought your new Mightyena" Serena said.
"I have to get some training in with Mightyena before the next gym. Plus I need to open up an Aura connection with him" Ash said. Mightyena looked around as Pikachu and Ash's other pokemon gathered around.
"Pika pikachu" Pikachu said as he extended his hand forward.
"Graww" .
"Grauu".
" Hawl".
"Grauww", Ash's other pokemon said.
"Yena" Mightyena said. Ash knelt down in front of Mightyena and looked into his eyes.
"Alright Mightyena, now that we're partners I'm going to open up an aura connection with you. Once our connection is opened we'll be able to grow close extremely fast" Ash said. Mightyena seemed very enticed and interested in what Ash was saying.
Ash put his hand on Mightyena's forehead and took a deep breath. The others watched closely as Ash's eyes began to glow blue and Mightyena's eyes also glowed blue. Ash felt his aura open up with Mightyena's. He could feel Mightyena's inner most feelings and personality. He felt like he had known Mightyena for months.
Mightyena felt the amazement of their aura connection opening. After another minute Ash removed his hand as Mightyena smiled. Mightyena came forward and licked Ash's face.
"I never get sick of watching that" Korrina said.
"Now you'll be so close with him" Serena said.
"Actually, when I opened our aura connection I found out something pretty important. Mightyena's a girl" Ash said.
"What?" The others said.
"Yeah, Mightyena is a girl".
"Oh " Serena said.
"Yena" Mightyena said to Pikachu.
"Pika" Pikachu said. Apparently Mightyena loved to chase down small pokemon like Pikachu and wanted to try chasing him.
"Pika" Pikachu said nodding. Pikachu sprinted forward with Mightyena close behind. Furfrou noticed Pikachu making a sharp turn near him as Mightyena leapt forward and tried to pounce him.
Pikachu's great speed allowed him to easily move out-of-the-way. Unfortunately for Furfrou, he was too close to Pikachu. Mightyena smashed right into Furfrou and sent them both into a mound of snow.
"Furfrou are you ok?" Serena said as she walked over with Ash. Mightyena got up with a happy expression on her face. Furfrou also got up and noticed they were both covered in dirt and snow.
"Might!" Mightyena said with enthusiasm and happiness.
"Frou!" Furfrou shouted angrily at Mightyena.
Mightyena turned to Fufrou as he barked at her. Apparently Serena spent almost 2 hours every morning grooming him and her other pokemon. He liked staying clean and well groomed. Mightyena rolled her eyes.
"Might" Myghtyena said.
"Frou!" Furfrou said as he started to growl. Because of his Aura connection with Mightyena, Ash could understand what she had said.
"Wow" Ash said. As Pikachu and the other pokemon gave similar expressions.
"What did she say?" Serena said.
"Well, uh" Ash said. Just before Ash could finnish, he and Red felt a familiar aura presence approaching them. They both looked up to the trees above them and saw an Aura guardian balancing himself on a tree branch.
"Dad" Ash said. Felix dove out of the tree and landed softly into a pile of snow.
"Huh?! How did he do that?" Alexa said in confusion as Felix got came out covered in snow, but unharmed.
"It would take too long to explain" Delia said sweat dropping.
"There you boys are" Felix said as his sons and wife stepped forward. Serena and the others could see the expressions on all four of their faces. It looked like a mixture overwhelming happiness and unsureness. Though Serena and the others could understand why they felt this way. It was the first time their entire family had been together in 15 years.
Delia's eyes started to tear up as her sons and husband stood in front of her all at the same time.
"All four of us together, I never thought this day would come" Delia said as she looked like she was going to stumble. Felix quickly caught her in his arms and held her up. Ash and Red joined in with Felix as they all embraced each other.
Seeing such a scene almost made Serena tear up. She could understand such a moment. With her father being in the army, she only got to see him a few times a year. Korrina was also very touched by seeing this. After her parents' passing she had wanted to have a full family again. She did have her grandfather and her pokemon, but it wasn't quite the same.
Pikachu and the other pokemon were also very touched after seeing this. Pikachu went over and climbed onto his shoulder before rubbing his head against Ash's neck.
"Say how about I get a picture of the four of you" Alexa said taking out her camera.
"Yes!" Delia almost shouted. Alexa raised her camera as Delia and Felix stood arm in arm with Ash beside Felix and Red beside Delia. Alexa took a few pictures, some of all 4 of them. Some of just Delia and Felix, then some of Felix and the boys.
"Here you are" Alexa said as she gave Delia the pictures.
"Thank you so much Alexa.
"Well I did some reconnaissance in the frost cavern. I think I found the best places for us to look at where you'll be able to get the best information for your story" Felix said.
"Thank you Felix, this should make our job much easier know that we know where to go" Delia said.
"The cavern is just up ahead, follow me" Felix said. The group followed him across the path to a large cave entrance.
"Here we are" Felix said. A pair of men with two Piloswine came out. The men were dragging a supply sled while their Piloswine were dragging another. As they walked by they noticed that a few of the bags not he sleds had gold in them.
"300 ounces , 11,484 dollars!" One of the men said sounding very excited. When the group entered the cavern interior. The walls were mostly ice with some visible rocks under the ice.
The group was also very rocky with snow on it and a few patches of ice. As Serena walked close to the walls she could see a few small gold deposits under the ice.
"Hey look there's some gold here!" Serena said. Ash and the others came up to the wall.
"Woah it's really there" Red said.
"Charizard use Flamethrower on the wall" Ash said. Charizard came over to the wall and let out a small jet of fire on the wall. The ice slowly melted away as the gold began more and more visible. When al the ice was gone the gold was now sparkling.
"It's beautiful" Delia said. Felix stepped forward and used his right wrist blade to break off a piece of the gold. He then looked at the gold for a moment and then took a small bite of it.
"H'mm, that's pretty pure. It must be 24 carat" Felix said.
"Twenty four carat" Delia said as she wrote that down on a notepad and Alexa took a picture of the gold deposit.
"If you think this place is impressive just wait until we got deeper into the cavern, there's a very special room I should show you" Felix said. He lead them further into the cavern and past a few groups of prospectors as they extracted gold from the walls.
As they got deeper into the cavern they noticed the gold deposits were getting larger , but the temperature was getting colder. Occasionally Delia would stop and ask some of the prospectors some questions .
Ash and the others also noticed some wild pokemon like Cubchoo, Vanillite, or Bergmite. Alexa would sometimes take a picture of the pokemon or the gold. When the got to another entryway they noticed there weren't any more prospectors ahead of them.
"Hey why aren't there any more prospectors here?" Korrina said. When they got through the entryway they saw a much larger area with a small river of water that cut the room into 3 areas.
"Oh" Korrina said.
"I didn't see any of the prospectors bring boats" Clemont said.
"The room you need to see is across from this river".
"How are we suppose to get across" Alexa said looking at Felix. " Now that I remember I did use my Parkour skills to get across the river" Felix said sweat dropping.
"Alright I guess we'll have to get creative" Felix said as he let his Lucario out.
"What is your plan?" Delia said just before Felix picked her up in his arms and began parkouring across the rocks on the river. Delia gripped onto Felix as hard as she could before they arrived on the other side.
"There we go" Felix said as he let Delia dow. She had a slightly terrified expression on her face.
"Felix you are not doing that to me" Alexa said from across the room. Not a moment later , his Lucario lifted her up and did the same. When Mightyena saw this , she smiled before she ran across the rocks and landed got to the other side.
"Yena!" She shouted back to the other side. Furfrou walked up to the edge of the water and slowly put his paw in it before realizing how cold it was. He quickly backed away as Mightyena shook her head in disappointment.
"Might" She growled calling Furfrou another name.
"Frou!" Furfrou growled.
"What is she saying to him?" Clemont said. Ash lifted up Serena before parkouring across the the river. Ash's Charizard lifted up Delphox and began flying her across the river. He smiled a little with Delphox in his arms before he realized that Zorua was in Delphox's arms.
"Zorua!" Zorua said as he rubbed his head against Delphox's arms.
"Graww" Charizard growled in anger. Once the others were all across Felix continued down the path showing them large areas with beautiful scenics and gold all over the walls. As they traveled they started to see some pokemon they hadn't seen in the other areas. Pikemon like Cryogonal,Haunter, and Beartic.
Normally these pokemon would have been hostile to the humans, but they could feel their true nature from the aura guardians in the group and thus didn't see them or their pokemon as a threat.
"So what is this grand room you wanted to show us?" Alexa said. That was when they entered another room larger than any in the cavern. Unlike the other rooms which had deposits of gold on the wall. This room was completely covered in gold with a few patches of snow on the ground.
"Woah!" Everyone but Felix said. The gold on the walls sparkled so much that it almost made certain parks of the room hard to see.
"So much gold" Clemont said as the pokemon starred on in wonder.
"This is incredible!" Alexa said as she started taking pictures of the room.
"I see what you were talking about Felix" Delia said.
"I don't get it, why is there so much gold in here?" Serena said. Felix turned to another part of the room.
"It's alright , they're not going to hurt you" Felix said. It was just then a part of the wall started moving. Everyone quickly turned as they saw a moving section of gold get off the wall and reveal its full body. The gold on its back was just a protective shell. Its body seemed bipedal with a soft furry gold colored underside.
His lower paws and feet were similar to that of Pikachu's only bigger. His upper paws seemed like a mammalian version of a Charmander's paws. The creature's head was shaped similar to a Totodile's only gold colored with a whiter gold colored bill.
"Chia" The pokemon said as he gave a scared expression. Felix walked over and lifted the pokemon into his arms. Ash took out his pokdex but it had no information on the pokemon.
"Nothing on the pokedex. Dad what is that pokemon?" Ash said.
"His name is Aurum and he's a very rare pokemon. A near extinct breed of pokemon that can live for hundreds and sometimes thousands of years".
"What!? That's incredible" Red said.
"It's so cute! Why are they so rare?" Serena asked.
"They were once abundant in the world. That was until people discovered their special ability called the gilded effect".
"I'm guessing it has something to do with gold" Red said.
"That's correct, the gilded effect is when deposits of gold form around areas where Aurum call their homes. When people discovered this they hunted Aurum down and tried to use their abilities. However , if an Aurum stays out of a cold environment for too long, they can easily grow sick. Because of that so many perished in the hands of their poachers" Felix said.
"That's so sad" Korrina said.
"Not only that but an Aurum only stays awake for about half a year" Felix said.
"What do you mean?" Delia said.
"An Aurum are so rarely seen because they sleep for a period of a hundred years".
"A hundred years!" The others said.
"That's why they live so long. They stay awake for a year to find a new environment to hibernate in and turn it gold before hibernating for a century" Felix said.
"That's incredible" Ash said.
"Amazing!" Alexa said as she took a few pictures.
"These little guys don't get much contact with other creatures, even among other pokemon. I think he'd like some company before he has to go to sleep for a year. Would anyone like to hold him?" Felix said.
"I do! I just want to hold him, and hug him! Love him!" Bonnie shouted as she ran over with an eager expression. Aurum looked a little freaked out and held onto Felix tighter.
"Uh maybe someone else should Bonnie" Clemont said sweat dropping.
"Aww" Bonnie said.
"Serena how about you?" Felix said.
"I'd love to" Serena said as Felix gave Serena Aurum. Despite the gold on Aurum's back,Serena found him much lighter than she thought he'd be.
"Chia" Aurum said as he rubbed his head against Serena's arms.
"You're so adorable" Serena said.
"Chai" Aurum said. Ash watched as Serena cradled Aurum. Serena was cradling him in a very caring way, almost like a mother would. Serena's caring and mother-like nature towards her pokemon was one of the reasons Ash loved her. Serena continued to cradle Aurum for another minute before handing him over to Ash.
As soon as Ash held Aurum he felt Aurum's aura. He could feel centuries of life and experience all wrapped up inside the pokemon, it was amazing.
"Wow your aura is incredible" Ash said.
"Chai" Aurum said. He turned over and saw Pikachu on Ash's shoulder.
"Chai!" He said.
"Pika" Pikachu responded. From what Ash could hear from pikachu, apparently Aurum wanted to play with Pikachu and the other pokemon.
"Alright you guys have fun" Ash said as he set Aurum down and Pikachu leapt from Ash's shoulder.
"Chai!" Aurum said as he ran across the room.
"Pika!" Pikachu said as he chased after him. Upon seeing this, Mightyena quickly joined in and chased after Aurum. As the small gold pokemon ran forward he used a small ice beam on the ground behind him. Pikachu slid across the ice using his Iron tail to steer himself safely across.
Mightyena, however, lost control as she slipped and slid across the ice crashing into none other that Furfrou.
"Furfrou are you ok?" Serena said as the two pokemon got up. Furfrou noticed his fur was even more messy now and turned to Mightyena with a look of pure rage.
"Frou! Fur Frou!" he barked while snarling. Mightyena laughed a little before growling something to Furfrou.
"Frou!" Furfrou said with an almost freaked out expression.
"Seriously what is she saying to him?" Serena said as Ash sweat dropped. Aurum continued to run with Pikachu close behind until Ash knelt down and scooped them both up into his arms.
"Gotcha" Ash said. A few moments later Mightyena leapt forward crashing into Ash, knocking him onto some snow.
"Mightyena" Ash said as Mightyena snickered a little before licking his face. Serena watched as Ash played with the pokemon and was able to interact with them. Even after all this time it amazed her at how well he handled himself with and around pokemon. It made her blush a little. Aurum quickly got up and ran out of the room with Pikachu close behind.
"Hey guys wait up" Ash said as he followed them.
"Look at him go, isn't he something" Delia said.
"He certainly is" Felix said.
"I should make sure he doesn't get himself hurt" Serena joked as she followed him. Moments later Mightyena sprinted after Ash and Aurum. As she kicked off she sprayed snow onto Furfrou with her back legs.
"Fur!" Furfrou growled before chasing after Mightyena, now determined to get her back.
"Look at those two, can't you just see how well they go together" Korrina said.
"I know Mightyena clearly likes Furfrou" Clemont said.
"I was talking about Ash and Serena" Korrina said.
"Oh" Clemont said sweat dropping. In another more snowy area Pikachu had finally caught up to Aurum and tackled him to the ground.
"Pika!" Pikachu said in victory. Not a moment later, both pokemon were scooped up by Ash.
"Gotcha" Ash said as he held them up in his arms.
"You should've know you couldn't get away from me" Ash said as he smiled at both pokemon. As he looked down at them he didn't notice another person coming at him. Serena almost tackled Ash into the ground as she ran into him. Pikachu and Aurum leapt out of Ash's arms as he fell to the ground. When Ash hit the snow he saw Serena with her face directly over his.
"And you should have known you couldn't get away from me" Serena said. Both smiled and blushed a little as Serena lowered her head and kissed Ash. A few moments later they were joined by Mightyena who pinned Pikachu and Aurum under her paws.
"Might!" She barked in victory. Serena and Ash could see the proud manner in which Mightyena was standing and both sweat dropped.
"She certainly has pride" Serena said.
"Maybe a little too much" Ash said. Furfrou sprinted over to Mightyena snarling.
"Frou! Fur frou!" He barked with a red face.
"Yena" Mightyena said with an unimpressed look on her face as she let Ash and Pikachu up. Just as Ash and Serena were about to get up Ash heard something land in the snow beside then. He turned over and saw it was a small cylindrical metal device with a red lens in the center.
"What the?" He started before his vision went white and his ears started ringing.
"Ahh!" Serena and Ash both shouted as they grabbed their temples. Pikachu and the other pokemon did the same. When they regained their senses they saw 3 people standing in front of them. They were all wearing orange suit uniforms and had orange hair. The middle one was a woman who's uniform had a skirt and two arches on her shoulders. She had blue hair with loops on the side and wore black goggles over her eyes.
Ash had seen these people before, but where. It was then he realized that Aurum was in the woman's arms.
"There you are my little precious. I've been looking all over for you" The woman said.
"Hey put him down!" Ash shouted as he and Serena got up. The woman turned to Ash and Serena and shook her head.
"Stand aside kid, you don't want to mess with team Flare" The woman said.
"That's it team Flare!" Ash said to himself. The two men in suits pulled out electric batons and took a step forward. Ash revealed his wrist blades and took a defensive stance.
"He's an Aura guardian! Dam it, keep him busy".
"Yes commander Mable" One of the men said as the woman ran off with Aurum.
"Chia!" It shouted in fear.
"Aurum!" Ash shouted. The two flare grunts each let out a Golbat and sent them at Ash and Serena.
"Pikachu Thunderbolt!" Ash shouted.
"Pika chu!" Pikachu shouted as he unleashed a bolt of electricity engulfing both Golbat and knocked them out. Ash quickly came forward and blocked both electric batons with his wrist blades before striking forward cutting the ends off both batons. With their weapons gone, Ash bashed the end of his palm into the right grunt's face and his knee into his gut. The other grunt tried to grab Ash from behind, but Ash thrusted himself forward and hurled the grunt over him and onto the ground.
"Come on we need to stop her!" Ash shouted as he and Serena sprinted forward. Mightyena and Pikachu had already started running with Furfrou close behind.
Elsewhere in the cave Felix and the rest of the group were looking for them.
"Ash! Serena!Where are they?" Delia shouted.
"I can feel Ash's Aura, he's still in the cavern , but something's wrong. I can feel his distress. Something is happening" Felix said. Not a moment later Red saw a trio of team Flare grunts walking ahead of them.
"Any word from Commander Mable?" one said.
"Just got news, she found the pokemon. We're pulling out" Another one said.
"Hold it!" Delia shouted as she ran forward and confronted the three grunts.
"You three have something to do with my son missing! You better tell me where he is now!" Delia shouted. The three grunts smiled as they all pulled out electric batons. Felix stepped up in front of Delia and revealed his wrist blades.
"Au-Aura guardian!" One of the grunts said as he started shaking. Korrina and Red also stepped forward and did the same.
"Thr-Three aura guardians" another one said.
"Come on guys we can take em. Go Litleo" One said as he let out a Litleo. The other two let out a Golbat and Manetric as they raised their Batons. Red's Charizard, and the two Lucario's stepped up next to their trainers before all six charged forward and clashed with the Flare grunts.
It was less than a minute before all three Flare grunts and their pokemon were on the ground unconscious.
"Too easy" Korrina said.
"Come on Ash and Serena need our help" Felix said. Elsewhere in the cavern Ash and Serena had chased Mable to a dead end. She slowly turned around and saw the others standing behind her.
"Give it up Mable" Ash said.
"Never! Team Flare will rain fire on this world until it shines of beauty and this pokemon is the key" Mable said.
"Rain fire?" Ash said.
"The key?" Serena said just as confused.
"Houndoom destroy them!" Mable shouted as she threw two poke balls forward. A pair of black dog pokemon with curved horns on their heads and black pointed tip ends on their tails.
"What are those?" Serena said opening her pokedex.
"Houndoom the Dark pokemon. The evolved form of Houndour. Houndoom's eerie sound is said to cause those who hear it to shudder in fear.".
Upon seeing them Mightyena growled and stepped forward.
"You want to battle?" Ash said.
"Yena!" She said with confidence. Furfrou reluctantly walked up in front of Serena trying not to look at Mightyena as he took an aggressive stance.
"Houndoom use Flamethrower on Furfrou and Firefang on Mightyena".
"Furfrou use Sand attack into Headbutt".
"Mightyena go in at a lower angle and use Crunch". Mightyena was confused and reluctant to do what Ash told her to do. Normally she would have loved to rush in and overpower her opponent. But since he opened up an aura connection with her and she saw his true nature, Mightyena trusted him.
She ran forward getting lower and lower. When she made contact with Houndoom , she was so low that she smacked into his legs and sent Houndoom tumbling over her. She turned around just in time to see Houndoom smack into the ground face first.
Mightyena gave a tilted head expression before rushing forward and crunching down on Houndoom with her mighty jaws.
Meanwhile Furfrou quickly splashed some snow mixed with sand into the other Houndoom's eyes, making it very hard for him to see. Houndoom tried to use Flamethrower but his inaccuracy coupled with Furfrou's agility, allowed Furfrou to easily evade the fire.
Furfrou smacked his head into Houndoom and knocked him back next to Mable.
"Dam this isn't going well. Looks like we'll have to tag team them. Houndoom use Smog, then keep close in behind it" The first Houndoom opened his mouth and let out a thick cloud of poisonous gas as the other Houndoom kept close behind it.
"Mightyena , stand back to back with Furfrou, get ready for Houndoom to strike anywhere". The two pokemon stood back to back, but Mightyena was still skeptical about Furfrou's abilities. She didn't think he's be able to cover her back and began focusing all around her area instead of in front of her.
"Flamethrower!" Mable shouted. The other Houndoom pushed some gas into them and ignited it with fire. The fire engulfed both pokemon in fire and force that hurled them both back. Had Mightyena been focusing on just what was just in front of her she could have seen it coming and warned them.
Furfrou and Mightyena got up with their fur covered in burn marks.
"Frou!" Furfrou barked at Mightyena.
"Yena!" Mightyena barked back.
"Stop it guys , focus on the Houndooms!" Ash shouted.
"Houndoom use Flamethrower! Go around them" The two Houndoom began running around in circles around the two dogs as the unleashed fire. Furfrou and Mightyena started to back up a little closer to each other as the fire closed in.
"Ok now what?" Serena said.
"We'd need dirt of water to put out the fire. Wait dirt and water! Use Sand attack!" Ash said.
"Right! Furfrou use Sand attack all around you in combination". Furfrou and Mightyena began splashing sand and snow into the incoming fire, slowing it down. They would have been able to stop the fire, but Mightyena continued to try and cover everything around them both.
Both pokemon were engulfed in fire from the two Houndoom.
"Furfrou!".
"Mightyena!" When the fires cleared both pokemon looked very hurt from the two attacks and struggled to get back up.
"Mightyena isn't working as a team" Serena said concerned.
"Mightyena you have to work with Furfrou as a team! It's the only way" Ash shouted.
"Pika!" Pikachu shouted.
"End this now, Beat up" Both Houndoom rushed in gaining moment. "Get up!" Ash shouted. Furfrou got up but Mightyena was slower getting up. Furfrou wanted to move , but he knew that Mightyena would get knocked out.
He grit his teeth and turned to face the two Houndoom.
"What is he doing?" Serena said. Mightyena watched as Furfrou stood his ground and held his ground as the two Houndoom rammed into him. Mightyena's eyes widened as she saw Furfrou hold off both Houndoom before forcing himself forward and the two Mightyena back.
"Howl into Take down!" Ash shouted. Mightyena let out a loud howl increasing her own attack power before charing forward and smashing both Houndoom.
"Take down!" Serena shouted. At the same Furfrou came forward and smacked into the two Houndoom, knocking them out.
"What!?" Mable said.
"Great job!" Ash said. Mable returned her two Houndoom before looking at Ash and Serena.
"I was sent here to get this pokemon. I'll never let him go!" Mable shouted.
" Alright , Pikachu use Quick attack!" Pikachu leapt down from Ash's shoulder and sprinted forward and smacked into Mable's chest. She stumbled backwards and dropped Aurum. Aurum sprinted over and ran into Serena's arms as Pikachu ran onto Ash's shoulder.
"No!" Mable screamed.
"Give it up Mable , you're not going anywhere" Serena said. Mable looked back up.
"That's what you think" She said before she raised another flash bang.
"Look out!" Serena shouted. Ash covered himself and the others with a thin layer of aura that shielded them from the effects of the flash bang. When it was over Mable was gone.
"No! She got away" Ash said disappointed.
"At least Aurum's safe" Serena said as Aurum rubbed his head against her arms.
"I guess you're right. We should find the others" Ash said. Furfrou was panting heavily as he tried to catch his breath. Mightyena was very impressed with how Mightyena had stood up against both Houndoom.
"Yena" She said. Furfrou turned to Mightyena with a slightly irritated expression.
"Frou, Fur frou". Mightyena blushed a little before licking Furfrou across the face. Furfrou's face also turned red as he jumped a little.
"Well look at that" Ash said.
"That's so cute" Serena said as Pikachu and Aurum gave amused expressions. Ash and Serena made their way back to the group.
"So she escaped?" Korrina said.
" Yes" Serena said.
"At least Aurum is safe" Felix said as he held Aurum in his arms.
"Mable said that team Flame wants Aurum because he's the key to raining fire on the world" Ash said.
"That doesn't sound good" Delia said.
"Dad do you know what that means?" Red said.
"I'm not completely sure, I'll have to bring it up with the Mentor. In any case the Frost Cavern isn't safe for Aurum anymore. I'm going to take him north of here near a hidden Guardian enclave. It's cold enough there for him to be able to thrive and be watched before his long sleep" Felix said.
"That's good" Serena said. After the group got outside the cavern and prepared to go their separate ways.
"I'll be back in a few days Delia, good luck with your story" Felix said before he gave her a short kiss before scaling into a tree with Aurum on his shoulder.
"Well it's ashamed we can't use anything about that Aurum" Alexa said looking at the pictures she took.
"We still have plenty with the gold story" Delia said.
"True".
"Alright kids Alexa and I need to get back to Lumoise city and get this story going. It was great seeing you again" Delia said.
"It was great seeing you too mom" Red said he hugged her with Ash. The group started to make their way back to town as the sun began to set. Korrina and Red noticed Mightyena was walking right beside Furfrou with her tail wagging.
"Who didn't see that coming" Red said as Korrina laughed a little. Ash and Serena still had a lot on their minds after their encounter with Mable. Still though, Serena had to think about Ash's upcoming birthday. She had to make it special for the young man she loved.
Miles away across Kalos, Lysandre was staring through a glass window from a control room. The door behind him opened as Mable walked in.
"Sir, I'm afraid I have bad news" She said sounding scared.
"You failed" Lysandre said in an almost monotone voice.
"I'm so sorry sir. I tried , but there were Aura guardians there and".
"Enough, I know who stopped you. A young man with a Pikachu".
"Actually yes" Mable said confused.
"His name is Ash, for a time he was more of a help than a bother to us. But he's now kept us from both a tear and the key. Ashamed it had to be this way, I really liked that boy and his friends. But they now stand in the way. I could eliminate them, but if I do so I would have the full force of the Aura guardians coming to end us".
"Sir if I may". Lysandre raised his hand.
"No, the problem is mine. It may have adverse consequences but I have no choice. Ash Ketchum must meet his end. Unfortunately he's now a fully trained Aura guardian. Doing so will not be so easy, therefore I must lure him in and get him to lower his defenses" Lysandre smiled.
"And I know just who to target".
So sorry for the delay, I had such a grueling week with a project that took up almost every moment of every day last week. That's college for you. Anyway I will try and get the next chapter up in about a week or so, but I'll do my best.
Now some of you have brought up concerns that Ash and Serena are only 13 are have confessed their love for each other and what other implications that will mean, especially with maturity.
I want to make one thing clear, this story is rated T for teen and will stay that way. Maybe in the next story when they're older something will happen, but I will never do lemons, NEVER.
Also keep in mind this isn't the only story where one admitted love for someone at that age and it be real. Also consider age maturity in Pokemon. Ash was only ten when he was in Hoenn but he looked and acted like he was about 13. Now he's about 14 so he'd look and act like he's stay 17 or so.
Just keep that in mind. Anyway the story will pick up and you will see more of Team flare, they will be replacing team rocket. Also I do plan on adding a section of chapters that would represent a movie sort of. I have an idea for what will happen and unless the movie 17 get's released on the internet before then it's what i'll go with. If it does I will base it more off the movie.
Though that arc won't happen for a while.
So until next time, please review, comment, suggest, or ask.