Chapter 17: Regrouping

"So," Knuckles said when he was on the ground after gliding through the air, "this is Lily of the Valley Island.

"Wow," Bonnie breathed. "It's gorgeous."

"Well that's no surprise," Cilan grinned. "After all, this is the home of the annual conference of the same name. And with all the tourists –"

"Okay, yeah, I get it," Knuckles stopped him. "Well, it looks like we got separated from the others. We'd better get back together."

"Sounds like a plan," Cilan agreed. "They can't be far. Let's go!"

After landing, Sonic ran along the side of a small mountain, leaving dust in his wake. Hoopa remained in his shadow. Eventually, Sonic stopped in a forest to look around.

"Heh!" he smirked. "Not a bad place to land, if I do say so myself."

"Sure is pretty," Hoopa agreed.

Suddenly, something zinged by them, forcing them to cover their faces. Some dust settled in the thing's wake, making Sonic's nose twitch.

"Yaaaaa-CHOO!"

"Bless you," Hoopa said, patting his nose.

"Thanks," Sonic replied, rubbing it with his finger. "What was that?"

"VILE!"

"Whoa!" they exclaimed, leaping out of the way of yet another zinging object. This time, the object stopped in front of them and glared at them with fiery eyes.

"Weavile!" Sonic exclaimed. "Not the same one from before?!"

"I guess we're about to find out," Hoopa shrugged.

"Well, that was fun," Serena grinned, taking off her helmet.

"I'll say," Iris said. "Probably the most fun I've had in a long time."

"Well, don't get too comfortable," Clemont said. "It looks like we split up from the others during the fall."

"They can't be too far," Serena shrugged. "Probably just a short distance away. But where's Ash?"

"I'm sure he's fine," Clemont said. "Come on. Let's get moving."

Weavile jumped up and flew towards Sonic with sharp claws and blinding speed. Even though he was caught off-guard, Sonic still managed to avoid the attack with his superior speed. Weavile attacked him again in the same manner. This time, Sonic rolled under him, then leapt up and delivered a back-kick, striking Weavile in the back of the head and knocking it on its face. Weavile somersaulted back onto its feet and leapt at Sonic again. Sonic backflipped away to avoid the attack, but Weavile anticipated this, as it suddenly leapt up right when he backflipped and shot straight at him through the air. His claws struck and knocked Sonic to the side. Sonic quickly got back on his feet and began spinning in place on the ground. Then he flew forward, still spinning, and slammed into Weavile, knocking it onto its back. Immediately, Sonic jumped into the air and flew back down, foot outstretched in a powerful kick that struck Weavile in the stomach.

Sonic backflipped off of Weavile and landed on his feet, folding his arms confidently. "Sorry, little buddy," he smirked. "I've got places to go. Maybe get a little stronger, then we can have a rematch." With that, he turned to walk away.

"KAYAAAAAAAAAA!"

"What?!" Sonic exclaimed, nearly tripping from the sudden roar. Weavile was back on its feet, only this time it was glowing with a strange, multicolored glow. It proceeded to leap forward and attack Sonic, who had no time to dodge. He fell on his back, then got back up, only for Weavile to unleash a large black tornado that knocked Sonic into the air before he fell on his back again. Then Weavile jumped back, flexed its claws, and then extended one of his claws out so it was five times its normal length. Then, before Sonic could counterattack, Weavile leapt forward and struck his entire body with its massive claw, completely knocking him out. Then the energy surrounding Weavile dissipated.

"Weavile!"

"Hrm?" Weavile turned and saw someone familiar rushing towards it.

"Goodness, Weavile! What are you doing? You completely knocked out Sonic the Hedgehog?!"

"Grrrrrr," Weavile growled at Sonic's form.

"Oh, come on, now," the young lady said, putting her hands on her hips. "You know Sonic isn't an enemy. Now let's get him fixed up. When he wakes up, you owe him an apology."

"Awwww," Weavile grumbled as it got recalled to its Pokeball. The young brunette then picked up Sonic and carried him away.

"Whew!" she said. "Looks like you got a beating back there, huh? Sorry about that. Say, what brings you here anyway?"

"Ugh," Knuckles grumbled. "We've been searching for an hour now. Where is everybody?"

"I'm sure they're around here somewhere," Cilan muttered, putting his chin in his hand. "Tails had us jump out precisely around this island."

"Then where are they?" Bonnie quipped.

"Bonnie?"

They looked up sharply on hearing the familiar voice. "Huh?"

"Serena?" Bonnie said.

"There you are!" Serena exclaimed happily as she and her friends rushed over. "I figured you'd be okay."

"Of course they are," Clemont grinned. "It's not like this island is hostile or anything."

Serena looked around, confused. "But wait...where's Ash?"

"What, he wasn't with you?" Knuckles blinked.

"No," she replied. "I hope he's okay."

"I'm sure he's fine," Iris smiled. "After all –"

GYAOO!

Everyone froze. "What was –?!" Clemont started.

"LOOK OUT!" Bonnie screamed, ducking. Everyone quickly followed suit as a massive lightning bolt appeared out of nowhere, striking a tree above them. The tree caught fire.

"Oh no!" Cilan exclaimed.

But before the fire could get out of hand, a strong torrent of water erupted from nowhere and put it out.

"What?" Iris said, stunned. "Who –"

"What are you kids doing out here at a time like this?"

Everyone turned and saw a familiar face smirking at them, arms folded over her chest with an amused expression underneath her blonde hair.

Iris gaped in shock. "Cynthia?!"

The Champion of Sinnoh merely smiled. "Hello again, Iris. Have you been keeping well?"