Ch 40: Friends
It was early in the morning on Cinnabar island and Lucy was up with Dratini doing some training.
"Alright Dratini let's work on some speed and evasiveness." Lucy said as Dratini swam underwater.
Swimming beside him was Milotic, who used her mighty tail to hurl large rocks she had collected at Dratini. Dratini swam fast and avoided each rock as it flew through the water at him. After avoiding each rock, the two surfaced.
"Not bad, now let's try out your Dragon rage." Lucy said.
Dratini and Milotic went back underwater before Milotic unleashed several more rocks at Dratini.
The small dragon serpent gathered his energy and unleashed a burst of dragon energy at the rocks, tearing them apart.
Lucy looked impressed.
"He is improving." Lucy said to Seviper who was beside her.
"Seviper." He said nodding.
Just down the beach, Serena was also up with her pokemon practicing for their next showcase.
"Alright Vaporeon use Quick attack across the water." Serena said.
Vaporeon made several quick bursts of speed across the water in a circle.
"Water gun!" Serena shouted. Each time just before Vaporeon made a burst of speed, he would shoot a jet of water up into the center. This resulted in 5 continuous streams of water forming a fountain like design with water raining down and forming a rainbow.
"Yes, just how I wanted it to turn out." Serena said as he other pokemon gave impressed looks.
"Alright Vaporeon now use a water pulse in the center followed by an Aurora beam." Serena said.
"Time for some target practice, Dragon rage." Lucy shouted as Milotic unleashed several large rocks into the air and Dratini tried to hit each of them with Dragon rage.
Vaporeon came to the center of his fountain and unleashed a trio of Water pulses before unleashing a beam of yellow icy energy in the center.
At the same time Dratini unleashed a Dragon rage at a rock Milotic had hurled up. However, he unleashed his attack too soon and it flew right under the rock and continued on towards Vaporeon.
"Oh no, Vaporeon look out!" Lucy shouted.
Vaporeon turned his head just in time to see the Dragon rage hit the water in front of him and hurl him back and under the water. The Dragon rage also ruined the display Vaporeon had made.
"Vaporeon!" Serena shouted.
"Oh Dratini." Lucy said as Dratini sweat dropped and looked on nervously.
Vaporeon came up and gave Dratini a very angry expression. He swam over to Dratini like a demon.
"Vap Vaporeon!" Vaporeon shouted at Dratini very angrily.
"Drati." Dratini said trying to apologize.
"Vap!" Vaporeon shouted still very angry.
Serena and Lucy rushed over to the edge of the water where their pokemon were.
"Vaporeon just calm down, it was an accident." Serena said.
Vaporeon gave Dratini the cold shoulder before swimming to shore and walking beside Serena.
"Sorry about that Serena." Lucy said.
"It's alright, it was just an accident." Serena said.
"Vap." Vaporeon said still sounding angry. He had worked so hard to get that display right and Dratini messed it up.
"Oh Vaporeon." Serena said.
"I guess he's just upset all his hard work went to waste." Lucy said.
"It wasn't wasted, he was able to do it which is what matters most." Serena said.
Vaporeon sighed before giving a more calm expression.
Lucy then noticed that Ash wasn't with Serena.
"Hey where's Ash? He normally trains nearby when you train." Lucy said.
"He said since he pumped up his pokemon's training to the next level he needed more space so it wouldn't affect my pokemon. After seeing it I agreed with him." Serena said.
"Huh." Lucy said.
That made Lucy think, she had know Serena for a long time. But at that point she and Serena hadn't done to much just the two of them. She had spent plenty of time with Serena, but usually involved Ash and or Brock.
Plus whenever they split up into groups of two, it always seemed like it was her and Brock, then Ash and Serena.
"You know, we've been at this for a while, how about we get some breakfast." Serena said to her pokemon.
"Sol."
"Ni."
"Scy."
"Grauu."
"Mis."
"Vap." Serena's pokemon said.
"We'll come with you, Dratini's done enough for today." Lucy said.
The two returned their pokemon and started walking towards the hotel.
"So Serena, have you found out where your next showcase is?" Lucy asked.
"I did, apparently it's in a place called Neon town. Have you heard of it." Serena said.
"I've heard of Neon town, it's in the desert. People call it the city of lights. The entire city is filled with casinos, hotels, and theaters, at night there are so many lights from the buildings you can hardly see." Lucy said.
"It sounds exciting." Serena said.
"Don't get too anxious. I also know that a lot of people there don't get enough sleep , and get angry." Lucy said.
"Angry?" Serena said.
"Yeah, once when I was a guardian in training passing through the city some guy in a sleeveless jacket vest bumped into my master and demanded he apologize for it. Let's just say that guy didn't get his apology." Lucy said.
"So according to Ash, he and Brock got us tickets on a casino liner that is heading for the port closest to Neon town. We're leaving today before lunch, Earl is also meeting us to give us our fossil pokemon." Serena said.
"A casino liner." Lucy said with interest.
Several minutes later they were at the hotel with Ash and Brock as they had breakfast.
"So how is Vaporeon's new routine coming along?" Ash asked.
"It's going good, there was just a little accident this morning with Dratini." Serena asked.
"Accident?" Brock asked.
"Dratini was doing some target practice with Dragon rage and accidentally hit Vaporeon, causing his display to get wrecked." Lucy said.
"Yikes." Brock said.
"So our next destination is Neon town, after that we head back north to Saffron city." Ash said.
"Isn't Saffron still controlled by Team rocket." Lucy said.
"Oh yeah that's right, man I thought the army would have been able to do something by now." Ash said.
"I don't know what I'd do if I were in their position." Brock said.
"Aren't there other cities where you can get gym badges?" Serena asked.
"I Lucy did you hear anything from the brotherhood about Mewtwo?" Ash asked.
"No, no one in the brotherhood has ever heard of a Mewtwo. That's what worries me." Lucy said.
"If no one in the brotherhood has heard of Mewtwo, then he either can't be a real pokemon, or is an undiscovered one." Ash said.
"Do you think he was a pokemon that Dr. Faraway discovered in the jungle?" Brock asked.
"Maybe, but the name Mewtwo, it makes me wonder if he's connected to Mew." Ash said.
"Good morning youngsters. I have a visitor here to see you." Blaine said as he walked over with Earl beside him.
"Hey Earl." Brock said.
"Hello , I hope you're all doing well. I have your fossil pokemon, or at least yours Brock. I had to send your Omanyte immediately to Professor Sycamore Serena." Earl said as he handed Brock a pokeball.
"Alright thanks Earl. Ok Kabuto , come on out." Brock said.
A small Kabuto came out with a rather shy expression.
"Hey there little guy, I'm Brock, I'm your trainer." Brock started before Kabuto shot him in the face with a mud shot.
"Uto." The Kabuto said nervously as he hid under his shell.
"He's a bit, shy." Earl said.
Brock wiped the mud out of his face.
"That's alright, at least he doesn't jab me with poison. I'm sure with time I can get this guy to be comfortable around me." Brock said before he returned Kabuto to his pokeball.
"So did the Air force come and take Brock's Aerodactyl?" Lucy asked.
"Actually no, they were about to when we discovered someone had broken in and taken him." Earl said.
"What?" The group said in unison.
"I don't know how it happened." Earl said. The thought of that Aerodactyl being in the hands of some crook frightened Ash.
"Is the Military doing anything about it?" Serena asked.
"The Officer who came told me the Air Force would keep a look out for it, but I haven't heard anything from them yet." Earl said.
Ash then noticed the time.
"Guys, if we want to make the ship we better start packing soon." Ash said.
"It was good see you kids again." Earl said.
"It was good seeing you too Earl." Serena said.
After finishing their breakfast, the group went to their rooms and started packing their stuff. After doing so they met up at the entrance.
"It was a pleasure having you here." Blaine said.
"Thank you for having us." Ash said.
A few minutes later they made their way down to the docks where a few ships were waiting.
"So which once is ours?" Lucy asked.
"It's called the Golden luck." Ash said.
"How and why did you guys pick a Casino liner?" Serena asked.
"Well it's destination was the closest to Neon town out of all the boats. Plus we got a nice discount." Brock said.
"How much?" Lucy asked.
"All 4 of our ticks, plus 2 rooms." Brock said.
"What? How did you do that?" Serena asked.
Ash and Pikachu sweat dropped.
"There's a catch." Ash said.
"What catch?" Serena asked.
"The owner of the ship is from Kalos and recognized me from the NPC. We got our tickets and rooms for free, but I have to spend all day in the battle theater battling anyone who buys a ticket to face a professional trainer." Ash said.
"What? But Ash, there's so much to do on a cruise ship." Serena said.
"It was the best option, I can take one for the team." Ash said.
Serena sighed.
"H'mm, Brock." Lucy said as she pulled him to the side.
"I need you to spend the day with Ash." Lucy said.
"But a cruise ship, there's so much we can do." Brock said.
"I know, and I haven't had a chance to have some time just me and Serena. We've been traveling together for months and haven't had much time for this. It always seems like it's just me and you and Ash with Serena. " Lucy said.
"Alright, I guess Ash and I could use some Bro time too." Brock said.
"Thanks you." Lucy said before giving him a kiss on the cheek and walking off.
"Wait, if Ash has to spend the whole day battling people how can we hang out?" Brock said.
Meanwhile Lucy walked over to Serena.
"So Serena, I was thinking. Since Ash has to spend all day battling and Brock says he wants to hang out with Ash, I thought maybe you and I have a girls day." Lucy said.
Serena had also been thinking about the fact that she and Lucy hadn't spent much time together just the two of them.
She did like spending time with Ash, but she hadn't had a day with just another girl in a long time.
"That sounds fun, let's do it." Serena said.
Eventually they found a large ocean liner with the name "Golden Luck" written on the side.
"Here it is." Ash said. The group walked up to the gang plank where a sailor stood.
"Tickets." He said in a Kalos accent.
Ash took out his passes that he and Brock got earlier.
"Very well, you may all enter." He said.
The group walked onto the ship and into the main area of the ship interior. They saw it was a large red casino filled with slot machines, card tables, and roulette tables.
"So this is what a Casino looks like. I've never been to one." Serena said.
"Neither have I, my parent's aren't the gambling type." Brock said.
"Alright well, I have to head to the battle theater area. Brock I guess you're coming with me." Ash said.
"Right, see you guys later." Brock said.
"Pika." Pikachu said before he left with Ash and Brock.
"Alright, sow now that we have the day to ourselves what do you want to do?" Serena asked.
"Well feel like doing anything in the casino?" Lucy asked.
"Maybe later, but maybe we should see what else this ship has to offer first." Serena said.
"That's not a bad idea." Lucy said before they walked out of the Casino and looked around through the ship.
They found a few stores, restaurants , and even a spa.
"Ok , so there is a few things we can do. Which should we do first?" Serena asked.
"Feel like a day at the spa?" Lucy asked.
"Sounds great." Serena said.
Inside the spa the two got in line and saw that they also tended to pokemon there as well.
"Guys come on out." Serena said as she let her pokemon out.
"You guys will like this." Serena said as Lucy let her own pokemon out. The two girls and their pokemon went through each of the stations in the spa, relaxing and enjoying each of the treatments.
Their pokemon also enjoyed the spa treatments, Charla especially enjoyed the muscle relaxing massage.
After a half hour the two were in the sauna with their pokemon.
"This is certainly relaxing." Lucy said as she felt the steam.
"It's been a while since I've been able to have a girls day like this." Serena said.
"Really, you and Korrina never had anything like this?" Lucy asked.
"Once or twice, but only because Bonnie and I dragged her into it. Korrina was never into stuff like this." Serena said.
"She didn't really seem like a she was a tomboy when I met her." Lucy said.
"Don't get me wrong, she's no tomboy. She's just not into this kind of stuff. She's more into physical, aura guardian like stuff." Serena said.
"I'm a guardian and I'm into this, I know Aria is into this." Lucy said.
"Not Korrina." Serena said.
"I guess that's just who she is." Lucy said.
"It is nice to have someone around my age who enjoys this with me. I suppose Bonnie did, but she was just a little girl. Plus we know how much Ash enjoys it, believe it or not Red hated it even more than Ash. But since he's with Korrina , he didn't really have to deal with it as much." Serena said.
"It must be nice, already being engaged." Lucy said.
Serena blushed a little.
"I remember when I first met Ash when I was just a little girl. After summer camp I had dreams of one day marrying him. Who would have thought that would come true." Serena said.
"Brock and I have only been together for a few weeks now, but I know he's something special. Maybe even the one." Lucy said.
"He and Bonnie would have gotten along good. " Serena said.
"Bonnie always proposing for the males in the group." Lucy said laughing a little.
"Yeah, though she never did it for Ash." Serena said.
"Probably because she wanted you and Ash to get together." Lucy said.
"I think so, gosh I miss her. She added so much life to the group." Serena said.
Elsewhere in the large casino area, Ash stood at the edge of a large battlefield surrounded by a theater like set of seats that went down into the floor.
Brock stood at the edge of the field by Ash.
"Alright since the ship owner wanted me to do this as a professional trainer I've swapped out most of my team for my old Kalos team." Ash said.
"Awesome I've wanted to see some of your other pokemon from Kalos." Brock said.
"It will be nice to battle with them again." Ash said.
"Pika." Pikachu said nodding.
"You know it never seems like you and I get a chance to talk man to man." Brock said.
"I guess not, usually we're either with the whole group our just our love interests." Ash said.
"I guess so." Brock said.
Moments later Ash and Brock noticed the seats were getting filled up.
"Huh, this is reminding me more and more of the NPC. Those were some good days, facing the best trainers the Kalos region had to offer, proving we were up there with them." Ash said.
"What was it like when you first got in?" Brock asked.
"It was amazing I can tell you that. The head of the NPC was the last champion before Diantha, he personally gave my my ID badge and ring." Ash said.
"Wow." Brock said.
"The first few matches were some of the most intense we ever faced. We had spent years training just to get in, then we hit the ground running that first battle. It was hard and we did our best, but the trainer we faced had been in for two years, needless to say did didn't win." Ash said.
"When did you win your first match?" Brock said.
"A lot of the members told me new contenders don't win until at least match 5. We won our first at match 3." Ash said.
"Really? Was he knew like you?" Brock asked.
"No actually, he had been in for a year. It felt good, Pikachu, Lucario , and Charizard battled like they never had before and we beat him. Barley , but we beat him." Ash said.
"That must have felt amazing to win your first match in the NPC." Brock said.
"It did, plus my parents were there, Serena's parents were there, Red and Korrina were there. It was a very good day." Ash said.
Moments later a man wearing a cruise employee uniform walked over to them.
"Pardonnez -moi, monsieur Ketchum, nous sommes prêts à commencer." The man said telling Ash they were ready to start.
"Uh Ash." Brock said pointing to a massive line of people stretching back up the stairs and nearly to the casino entrance.
"What? My pokemon will be exhausted by the end of this." Ash said as he and PIkachu sweat dropped.
"Well maybe you could cut it in half. I could partner battle with you, if they'd let me." Brock said.
"Alright thanks Brock." Ash said before he turned to the cruise employee.
"Monsieur, pour accélérer les choses , mon ami pouvait bataille double avec moi . Il est très habile . Un ancien chef de la salle de gym ." Ash said asking the man if Brock could help him.
"Tres bien" He said saying it was ok.
"Awesome, he said it's ok." Ash said.
Brock and Ash stood on one end of the battlefield while a pair of passengers stood on the other.
"Tonight, we have a pair of professional trainers. Each of you who have bought a voucher to battle them will get a chance." A man with a microphone said.
"Yes, I get to face a real trainer!" One of the two passengers said as he let out an Arbok. His partner let out a Magnamite.
"Alright go Onix!" Brock shouted.
Onix came out and roared at the Magnamite.
"Alright, I choose you Trevenant!" Ash shouted. The massive ghost tree came out and stood in front of his trainers.
"Trevaa!" He roared.
"Alright, Arbok use Poison sting."
"Magnamite use Thundershock." The two passengers said.
"Trevenant, use Shadow claw into Wood hammer." Ash said.
"Onix use Rock tomb." Brock said.
Trevenant's claws glowed violet before he slashed at each of the incoming poison stingers to the side before raising his right arm back and smashing it into Arbok with Wood hammer. The Arbok was hurled back before slamming into he ground with swirly eyes.
Onix hurled several massive rocks into the air that took the incoming thundershock. The rocks then came down and onto Magnamite, plowing him into the ground.
"We won!" Brock said.
"Uto?" Kabuto said upon seeing he had beaten Magnamite.
"Great job Trevenant." Ash said as Trevenant gave a proud expression. He was glad to be battling with his trainer again.
Ash used Trevenant for the next few battles before switching to his Goodra.
"Goodra Dragon Pulse into Dragon tail!" Ash shouted.
"Chansey Egg Bomb into Double slap!". Brock shouted.
Ash's Goodra unleashed Dragon pulse at the opposing Arcanine's Flamethrower, tearing through it and knocking Arcanine back.
Goodra then sprinted forward and slammed his tail into Arcanine's back, knocking him unconscious.
At the same time Chansey unleashed an egg bomb that exploded in the opposing Doduo's face before Chansey sprinted over and smacked both their heads.
When the line got close to its end, Ash switched to his Crawdaunt.
"Crawdaunt use Harden." Ash said. His Crawdaunt hardened his defenses and prepared himself as a his opponent's Primeape smashed into his shell with Karate shop.
Crawdaunt looked up at Primeape with confident eyes.
"Crabhammer!" Ash shouted. Crawdaunt raised his claw and smashed it across Primeape's face, hurling him back several feet.
"Alright." Ash said.
"Pika!".
After finishing up with the last of the trainers, Ash and Brock made their way to the ship's pokemon center.
"Well what a day. Over 20 battles." Ash said.
"You're pokemon were amazing. I can see how they were able to compete in the NPC." Brock said.
"Thanks Brock, I'm glad you and I were able to battle together. So many battles." Ash said.
"Yeah." Brock said.
Later that night Ash and Serena were in their room in bed.
Pikachu was already asleep on Ash's pillow with Serena's head on Ash's chest.
"Have a fun day with Lucy?" Ash asked.
"Yes, it was nice to hang out with a girl my age that is into that stuff too." Serena said.
"Brock and I got to battle plenty of trainers." Ash said sweat dropping.
"Thanks for doing that for us. This ship is nice and I had a great day with Lucy." Serena said before giving Ash a short kiss.
"It was no problem. Battling with my old Kalos team was pretty nice. Plus Brock and I had plenty of battling together." Ash said.
"Well, the spa treatment has made me pretty tired. Goodnight." Serena said before she drifted into sleep.
Ash slowly reached into his backpack and took out Altair's time flower.
"Alright , let's see what else Altair was up to." Ash said as he connected to the flower's aura. His vision began to change and he saw Altair in third person.
Ash saw Altair was in a thick jungle with Lucario beside him. As Ash looked at the jungle, he couldn't help but think something about it looked very familiar.
Altair and his Lucario sprinted through the jungle path until they came across several Arceons, Mankey, and Butterfree all rushing away from the direction Altair was running from.
Ash noticed that the Arceons running weren't dressed like the roman Arceons. They seemed more primitive, wearing loin cloths and other primitive attire.
Finally Altair and Lucario reached the end of the trail and saw a large temple in front of them.
As Altair stopped Ash noticed he and Lucario weren't alone, there were several other guardians and their pokemon beside them.
"Split up, we'll cover more ground!" Altair shouted.
He and his guardians rushed into the temple grounds with Altair and Lucario leading the way. A minute later, Altair and Lucario rushed into a courtyard with 2 other guardians and their pokemon beside them.
Waiting for the guardians in the courtyard were over a dozen templar soldiers , several Psychic templar knights, and a few Drowzee and Hypno.
Altair and the other 2 guardians easily cut through the templar soldiers as they came at them.
With the soldiers scattered the knights came at the aura guardians.
A Drowzee unleashed Psybeam at one of the Guardian's Pidgeot, only to have the massive bird avoid the attack and come in with a powerful fly attack that hit and hurled the Drowzee back and into the temple wall.
As this happened the Pidgeot's guardian used his aura to absorb the templar's Psychic attack. He then blocked the knight's sword with his hidden blades and exchanged a few strikes before forcing his leg forward, behind the knight's leg and shifting his body to force the templar off balance.
After doing so he leapt up and into the knight, hurling him onto the ground before slamming his left hidden blade into his body.
At the same time another aura guardian's Alakazam was using Psychic to keep back a Drowzee's confusion, before breaking through and slamming the Drowzee into the wall with Psychic.
As this happened the other guardian used a burst of aura to hurl back a few rocks that the templar knight hurled at her with his psychic abilities. After seeing that his rocks weren't working, the knight went for broke and charged at the aura guardian , relentlessly attacking her.
The guardian blocked every attack before striking back with an acrobatic front jump kick to the templar's head before backflipping. As she landed, the knight stumbled backwards before having his throat sliced by the guardian's right hidden blade.
All the while, the two Hypno unleashed Psybeam at Lucario only to have their attacks blown away by a powerful aura sphere that Lucario unleashed.
He then sprinted forward and slashed them both with Metal claw, knocking them out.
Altair easily held back the last two knight's Psychic attacks with his aura as he also held back their sword with his hidden blades.
Using his enhanced strength he forced them forward and hurled them onto their backs as he slammed his hidden blades into both of them.
"Keep moving." Altair said as his guardians and their pokemon ran to another area of the temple.
Altair and his Lucario sprinted up the steps to the next area of the temple.
When they reached the next level's courtyard , they saw even more templar soldiers and knights waiting for them.
When they stepped off the stairs they were joined by another 4 guardians.
"We're with you mentor!" Another guardian shouted.
Altair unleashed an aura sphere that burst just as the templar soldiers came in front of them. The sphere burst, knocking all the templars off balance.
This allowed Altair and his guardians to make even faster work out of the templar soldiers. With their regular soldiers dead, the 7 knights rushed forward with their pokemon.
One of the guardian's Venasaur unleashed a powerful Frenzy plant that entangled the Drowzee in massive spiked roots. At the same time the guardian unleashed an aura sphere that went through the templar's psychic attack and knocked him off balance.
The guardian rushed forward and knocked the knight's sword aside before slashing through his chain mail with his right and left hidden blade, making the knight stumble before falling to the ground.
At the same time another guardian's Blastoise absorbed the Drowzee's Psybeam with his shell before blasting him with a Hydropump, hurling him back.
His guardian was knocked onto the ground by a knight's Psychic attack. As the knight tried to stab the guardian with his sword , he was knocked off balance by a burst of aura from the guardian.
As the guardian rolled to the side he sprung up and knocked the knight's sword aside as he brought it up. The guardian then slammed his hidden blade into the knight's side and pushed him into the ground before plunging his other hidden blade into his body.
All the while Lucario slammed his fist into the ground , unleashing a pulse of aura that knocked the 3 Hypno off balance before Lucario slammed his fists and feet into each of them.
Altair knocked each of the last 3 knights' swords aside before cutting through the first knight's throat. He then brought his arm up and knocked the second knight's sword arm aside and trapping the last knight's leg with his own.
He then forced the last knight off balance with his leg before slicing across his chest and throat with his hidden blades. The second knight tried to slash Altair, but had his sword blocked by Altair's blades before Altair leapt into him and slammed his left hidden blade into his chest.
When Altair got up he saw his guardians had killed the remaining knights as well.
"Keep clearing the temple!" Altair shouted as he and Lucario rushed up to the next level. When they reached the citadel's outer wall, the two began scaling it before they reached the top.
When they reached the top they saw Malik and his Charizard standing over 3 dead templar knights and 3 knocked out Hypno.
"There you are Altair." Malik said.
"Malik what's the situation here?" Altair asked.
"Not good, look for yourself." Malik said as he and his Charizard moved out of the way. Altair and Lucario looked down the edge of the citadel interior and saw the main courtyard where 3 aura guardians and their , Charizard, Alakazam, and Pidgeot were in chains. Ash also saw there were several of the primitive Arceons in chains as well.
Around the courtyard were several templar knights and their psychic pokemon around them. On the walls above the courtyard were several templar soldiers with arrows pointed at the guardians below.
Standing in front of the chained guardians was a templar knight much bigger than the others. His tunic was black with a grey thinner cross rather than a thick red cross and he had a black cape as well.
Behind him was a large Alakazam wearing a similar tunic.
"So have you three decided to cooperate?" The head knight said.
"Our mentor gave us a duty to protect this temple , we will not tell you anything." One of the guardians said.
"You will tell me where the legendary pokemon is, or you will watch your pokemon die one by one." The knight said as he signaled one of his knights.
The knight nervously walked in front of the pokemon with a small Abra behind him.
"We must do something." Malik said.
"Do you have any guardians with you?" Altair asked.
"Two are nearby." Malik said.
"Send them after the archers, then we'll surprise the knights." Altair said.
"Grouu." Lucario growled nodding.
"Alright, let's get ready Charizard." Malik said.
A pair of guardians used their parkour skills to stealthily move across the top of the walls and silently assassinated the archers from behind with their hidden blades.
"I count to three , then your pokemon die." The head knight said he turned to the knight.
"What are you doing?!"The head knight shouted.
"Sir." The knight said as he slowly drew his sword and nervously looked at the Charizard. He then turned back to the head knight.
"I can't do it sir. I can't kill a pokemon." The knight said.
The head knight knocked the sword from the knight's hands then grabbed him by the collar of his armor.
"You are a knights templar, you obey your superiors. Are you going to kill that Charizard or not?" The head knight asked.
The knight looked down at the Charizard and then his Abra before turning back to the head knight.
"No." The knight said before he was hurled into a wall.
Altair and Malik were interested in how the knight refused the order to kill a pokemon.
"I'll deal with you later." The head knight said as one of his men handed him a large halberd axe. The head knight raised his Halberd and powered it up with Psychic energy.
"No!" One of the guardians shouted as his Charizard gave a terrified expression with a tear in his eye.
Altair and Lucario leapt down off Malik's Charizard's back and slammed his hidden blades into two of the knights as Lucario hurled the head knight back with a burst of aura.
"Mentor your came!" One of the chained guardians shouted.
Malik and his guardians came down and assassinated several more knights.
Malik's guardians then both ran at the head knight with their hidden blades held out.
The head knight hurled his halberd forward ,knocking the first guardian's blades aside and hurled him back with a burst of Psychic energy.
The second guardian unleashed a pulse of aura that knocked the head knight slightly off balance. As the second guardian leapt up with his hidden blades held out, the head knight quickly recovered and blocked the guardian's blades with his halberd then pushed him back with it.
As the guardian was pushed back, the head knight unleashed a Psychic attack that hurled him back.
The Head Psychic's Alakazam's eyes glowed blue as he unleashed Psychic on the two guardians' Gengars, forcing them to the ground under the psychic attack.
Altair and his Lucario saw this they rushed forward at the head knight.
When the head knight spotted Altair and his Lucario, he swung his Halbert forward unleashing a wave of Psychic energy far more powerful than the other knights had unleashed.
Altair was hurled onto the ground as the Alakazam also unleashed a Psychic that held Lucario in place.
The head knight lunged forward and tried to slam his halberd into Altair, only to have the aura guardian mentor roll to the side and lunge up at him with his hidden blades. Altair made several quick strikes at the head knight, but this man was far faster and more agile than the other knights.
He used his Halbert to block each of Altair's strikes, but couldn't strike back himself.
Finally he tried another Psychic attack, but this time Altair was ready. He absorbed the Psychic energy with his aura and unleashed a pulse of aura that knocked the head knight off balance. Altair then came up with his right hidden blade and cut through the Halbert staff, breaking it in half before Altair did an acrobatic jump kick that made a dent in the knight's helmet.
As he recalled back Altair grabbed his arm and hurled the knight into the temple wall.
Meanwhile Lucario was able to move his hand enough to unleash an aura sphere that hit Alakazam and knocked him off balance while Lucario sprinted forward and smashed his fist into Alakazam's face.
As the head knight got off the wall he turned back to Altair and took off his now dented helmet. Altair now saw the Psychic's face and saw he had tan skin with a black beard.
The head knight then drew his sword and raised it above his head.
"Die son of Lucario scum!" The knight shouted as he unleashed another wave of telekinetic psychic energy with a swing of his sword.
Altair braced himself as he formed a barrier of aura around himself that absorbed the wave of energy.
As the knight came back, Altair used his hidden blades to block his first few strikes before he acrobaticly leapt up and kicked the knight's arm as he also unleashed a pulse of aura that knocked the man off balance again.
With the knight off balance, Altair leapt up and into him, hurling him onto his back as Altair plunged his left hidden blade into his chest.
At the same time, the Alakazam was slashed across the face by Lucario's metal claws and knocked out.
As the head knight bled out, he looked up at Altair.
"You may have stopped me, but Robert will have that legendary pokemon. He will save the world with him." The man said.
"Robert will not have him today." Altair said
"You guardians have too much faith in Arceons, look at the Tulls, it's only a matter of time before more men like them ravage the world. Only we templars can stop them." The knight said.
"The creator gave us free will for a reason. He intends on us to have it, I will not allow you to enslave Arceon's free will." Altair said.
The dying knight gave one final defiant expression.
"We'll see." He said before passing away.
Altair got up to see Malik and the other 2 guardians freeing the chained guardians and innocents. He then turned to the corner where he saw a knight who was still alive.
He walked over and saw an Abra standing in front of the knight in a defensive way. Altair and Lucario , who has just walked up next to him, soon realized this was the same knight they saw refuse to kill the guardian's Charizard.
The knight looked up at Altair with a terrified expression.
"If you're going to kill me, be quick about it." He said.
"I'm not going to kill you." Altair said.
"What, but I'm a templar?" He said.
"You aren't threatening me or my guardians. We only kill when we have to. Leave this place." Altair said as the knight slowly got up.
Altair kept staring at him.
"You refused to kill my guardian's Charizard." Altair said.
"I became a knight because I wanted to protect people from the Tulls. I didn't do it to slaughter pokemon and people. I, I never truly believed in what Robert is doing. But I had no where else to go." The knight said.
"What's you're name?" Altair asked.
"I'm Garnier de Nablus." The young knight said.
"You are who you choose to be, think about that as you return to your master." Altair said.
Garnier and his Abra walked out of the courtyard as Garnier looked back at Altair one more time.
Malik walked up and over to Altair with his Charizard behind him.
"You let him go." Malik said.
"He was no threat to us, it wouldn't have been right." Altair said.
"He was the knight who refused to kill our man's Charizard. I guess he's proof that not all these Templars are so bad. Maybe some can be brought to the light." Malik said.
Moments later the 3 guardians who had been chained and their pokemon approached Altair and Malik.
"Mentor, Malik. Forgive us, we allowed the temple to fall into the Templar's hands. " One of the guardians said.
"The Templars came with an army, there were only 3 of you. There was no way you could hold the temple." Malik said.
"You, your pokemon, and the people here are safe. That's what we care about. Now, we heard the Templars didn't find him." Altair said.
"No mentor, they didn't. They searched the temple high and low. But you know how illusive he is, besides he only really comes out for a guardian." One of the other guardians said.
"Grauu." The guardian's Charizard growled in agreement.
A few minutes later they were joined by another guardian.
"Mentor, we've secured the temple. The romans have cleared the area around the temple as well. We've repelled the Templar assault. General Titus is here to see you as well." The guardian said.
Moments later several roman legionaries walked into the citadel courtyard followed by General Titus in his golden armor , and Maria in her centurion armor.
"Altair." Maria said as she and General Titus walked forward.
"General Titus, Maria. The temple is secure, we appreciate your assistance." Altair said.
"This temple, it was built by you guardians years ago. Why?" General Titus asked.
"As a place of refuse for the locals here." Malik said.
"Funny, it doesn't seem like a place of refuse, more like a place of worship." Maria said looking around seeing scriptures and pictures engraved on the citadel walls.
As Ash looked at the citadel's scripts and pictures it looked even more familiar.
"Why did you have guardians protecting this temple, and why did the templars even want it?" Titus asked.
"I'm afraid that is a secret that we guardians are sworn to protect." Malik said.
"Our men fought and died to drive the Templars from this temple. We at least deserve to know what they died fighting for." Maria said.
Altair noticed Maria looking at him intensely. This was also noticed by Malik, who felt his friend's aura change around Maria.
"Very well, just the two of you follow me. But you must promise to keep this a secret, even from your senate." Altair said.
"Very well." Titus said as he and Maria followed Altair and his Lucario inside the citadel interior.
Once inside Lucario and Altair formed some aura in their hands to light up the hallway. The temple interior was just as the outside was. Many inscriptions and pictures.
"So why did you guardians build this temple?" Titus asked.
"To house a legendary pokemon that lives here half the year." Altair said.
"What?" Maria asked.
"This legendary pokemon is who the locals worship, he was one of Reduka's first children. He spends half his time in the jungle, the rest in northern Kanto at the tree of beginning." Altair said.
Finally they reached a large room with a pedestal in the center. There were two golden statures of a pokemon Ash had seen before.
As Maria walked by an inscribed picture, the picture looked like a cat like creature with large eyes, and a long tail that stretched around it's back.
Ash had seen this before.
"Wait, I know I've seen this before." Ash said.
"Alright what's in here?" Titus asked.
Altair looked over at the pedestal with Lucario.
"Suus 'Licuit, erant' recessit. Arbitratu nunc." Altair said in the ancient language , saying it was alright and that is was safe to come out.
"Who are you talking too?" Maria asked.
Moments later the room lit up from a white pinkish light.
Maria and General Titus looked around and saw something. A small pokemon floating around Altair and Lucario with a happy expression on its face.
The pokemon looked like the picture Maria saw, a pink cat like pokemon with a long thin tail.
"Mew!" The pokemon said as he flew around Altair and Lucario.
"Mew!" Ash said. He then realized that the temple they were in was the temple Dr. Faraway had went looking for Mew in.
"It's good to see you again too." Altair said.
"Grouu." Lucario growled smiling.
Titus and Maria looked at Mew with amazement.
"This is Mew, the legendary pokemon this temple houses. He was one of Reduka's first children, and the base of what all pokemon come from. He also provides energy for the tree of beginning for half the year. The rest of the year, he rests here and interacts with the people and pokemon of the jungle." Altair said.
Maria and Titus walked over to Mew who now flew around them both.
"He's incredible." Maria said.
"His Psychic powers are nearly limitless, it's why the Templars wanted him and came with a small army." Altair said.
"Such an incredible pokemon." General Titus said as he touched the side of Mew's cheek. Both Maria and Titus had never felt a sensation like they had around Mew. It was life changing.
"Mew!" Mew said happily as he flew around the pedestal. As he did Maria noticed one of his eyelashes fell off and landed on the pedestal. She wondered if she should take it, but decided to leave it.
Moments later Mew flew up through hole in the ceiling and out of sight.
"Are you satisfied?" Altair asked.
"We are, thank you for showing him to us." General Titus said before he began to walk out.
Altair stepped up beside Maria.
"I'm glad I was able to show him to you." Altair said.
She gave an expression she had never given before to Altair as he felt her aura change in a way he had never felt her aura be before.
"Thank you for showing him to me." Maria said. The two stared at each other for almost a minute before General Titus walked back in.
"Centurion , we must be on our way." Titus said.
Maria looked at Altair one more time before walking off with the general.
Altair stared at Maria as she left, before Lucario walked up beside him.
"Grouu." Lucario growled smiling
"Negare non possum mei" Altair said.
Ash opened his eyes and saw he was back in the present.
Ash couldn't believe that it was Altair and his guardians that built the temple Dr. Faraway visited and that the eyelash was from Altair's age.
Every time he saw more of Altair's memories it made him appreciate everything all his ancestor's did to bring him the world they had today.
Author's note:
Alright guys I hope you enjoyed the Altair section of the chapter, it was my favorite part.
I have been asking you a lot on my idea for a Mystery dungeon fanfic, I now ask you a different question.
If I were to make that a story, would anyone want to contribute a character to the story. The character would obviously have to be a pokemon, preferably a starter pokemon at the first part of evolution.
If I do make a Mystery dungeon fanfic, characters PM to me may be part of the story, and I'm not just talking cameos, I mean main characters in the story :)
That being said I also have to consider the future for this story, after the Mystery dungeon fanfic, or if it doesn't happen, the question is where will the third story in this arc take place.
It won't be in Kanto or Kalos as I've already done them, I don't think I'll do an orange islands thing, I won't be doing the region I made up based on africa,aka Zahara as I have other plans for that region.
I refuse to do a Unova story as I despise that region for obvious reasons.
I'm also sorry to say I won't be doing Sinnoh, I know a lot of people liked sinnoh, and I thought the games were pretty good, but I just really didn't like the Sinnoh anime, I can appreciate the fact that many did, but I just didn't.
That leaves 2 options, Jhoto or Hoenn. I have done one story about Hoenn, but not in this storyark.
So I will let you folks tell me what you want to see. I have set up a poll on my page asking where the third part of this story ark will take place so go ahead and vote.
Sp until next time, please review, comment, suggest, or ask(via PM) and vote.