Authoress' Note:
Sorry for the slight delay. I've been busy…
Anyway, thanks for your amazing feedback, everyone! Hope you enjoy the chapter and the little cameo!
Chapter 6 'Re-encounters'
"So, how long are you staying home?" a certain redhead was asking her longtime friend.
"Just for a week. After that I'll go back to Johto," he replied. "Your gym was on my way, so I came to see how things were."
"Well, not bad," she shrugged. "My sisters have a lot to learn about taking on challenges, but they are getting there…" she finished with a huff.
"You don't sound very convinced," he said amused.
Before anything else could be said, a bright flash over the gym's water arena blinded them for a second before three individual made their appearance, yelled in surprise, and fell in the water splashing everything around, including them too.
"Ugh! I'm soaking wet again!" a little blond girl exclaimed, just as a frog like Pokémon was pulling her over the water.
"This… doesn't look like the right place…" an older boy commented as he looked around.
"I bet we are even farther away from where we need to go than the last time," the girl pouted, hugging the small yellow satchel she was carrying.
The Pokémon holding them both just nodded its agreement with a croak.
"See? Greninja says so!"
"Is that true? Can't you sense him any closer?" the boy sounded hopeful, but was disappointed as the water type shook his head in denial.
"Um… not to interrupt your conversation but, what are you doing in my gym's pool?" the redhead asked in bewilderment as she let her hair loose to squeeze the water out of it.
"Ah! Sorry miss! We'll be gone in a second!" the boy apologized as he started tampering with a device in his hands.
"Wow! You are a keeper!" the little girl finally noticed them. "Please take care of my brother!"
"A… keeper?"
"Bonnie! I told you to stop that a million times!" the older boy whined in flustered embarrassment. "Besides! We have more pressing matters!"
"Well, with how things are going, we will never find A-!"
A flash of light later, they had disappeared just the same way they had showed up...
"They are… gone," a snort behind her got the redhead's attention back to her friend. "What's so funny?"
"I was just thinking that if Ash was here, he would have had a kick out of that little girl declaring you a keeper…"
"What does that even mean?!"
.:oOo:.
Screams of surprise filled the surrounding area as four humans fell through a perfectly rounded pit in the middle of a clearing, the moment the ground gave away under their weight.
Ash was not amused. He had fallen into this kind of traps way too many times in the past for it to be even a bit exciting anymore.
"What was that for?" he asked the Rocket trio while rubbing his back after he had fallen on a rock.
"Don't look at us, twehp!" Meowth was fast to defend from the top of the hole, beside the rest of the Pokémon. "We had noth'ng to do with this one."
"Why would we fall for our own trap anyway?" Jessie asked indignantly.
Ash just gave her a look, leaving unsaid the amount of time their traps had backfired.
"What's with that disbelieving face!?" she cried in outrage.
"Uh… nothing," Ash answered, raising his hands in a placating manner.
"I must admit the handiwork is not half bad," James praised in a completely different channel. "Just the right amount of dirt to hide it without hampering its true purpose, and no rough edges on the wall for easy climbing. But, I would have made it deeper..."
"Could it have been done by Team Flare?" Mallow asked warily.
"Don't think so," James informed her, signaling the vegetation that had started to grow on the walls. "It looks way older."
"This island used to be the home of an ancient civilization that was in charge of protecting the chambers within the volcano from any trespassers," the Slowking explained beside Meowth. "So I wouldn't be surprise if there were quite a few traps still lying around."
"Great, so you are saying that we not only have to hide from the unstylish jerks, but also, now we have to be careful of where we step?"
Jessie sure was in a foul mood. Ash couldn't really blame her. Slowking hadn't explained why he was needed to release Fenriar, but if it was true, their only option was to escape and hide rather than fight; as much as that went against his very instincts.
And that's exactly what they had done back in the cave. They had barely been given a chance to breathe when one of Team Flare's search parties had found them. Rather than a full out battle, the confrontation ended up being a game of chase in which the only times he ordered an attack was for distraction purposes. At the end, what had finally caused their persecutors to lose track, was the excessive foliage and the ridiculous amount of bad luck they had; which now that Ash gave it more thought, could be translated into ancient traps hidden through the forest.
"James, stop moving!" Jessie's yelling got him back to the present, just as she was climbing on her partner's shoulders in an attempt to reach the edge of the hole.
"I knew I should have stopped you from stuffing your face with those croissants…"
"What was that?"
Deciding to ignore their bickering, Ash turned to Mallow and suggested to give it a shot themselves.
"Right!" feeling determined, she climbed on Ash's shoulders and try to reach for the edge herself, but she was a few centimeters too short. "Just a bit further…huh?"
Out of nowhere, a vine came down and grasped her hand, starting to pull her up gently.
"Pikapi, pika pikachu!"
"What's that Pikachu?"
"It seems some old fwhiends saw us in twhouble and came to help," Meowth explained, signaling to a second Meowth sitting on its four legs right beside him.
"Oh, isn't that your clone friend, Meowth?" James asked.
"Clone?" Mallow asked in confusion from her new position beside a Venusaur with strange line patterns around its body.
Meowthtwo yawned in response and waited patiently for the rest of the humans to be pulled out of the trap.
"Thanks, Venusaur!" Ash said as he was placed on safe ground. "It's been so long! What are you guys doing on this island?"
As the Pokémon explained Meowth acted as official translator.
"'We had been traveling for a long time until we found this deserted island,'"Meowth started. "'We've been living here for a while, but then a group of fishy people invaded, so we went into hiding.'"
"What about Mewtwo?" Ash asked.
"'He went out to meditate. We sent message of the trespassing but he is yet to come back…'"
"Aren't we in luck?" Jessie exclaimed happily. "With Mewtwo on our side, we can send those Flare nuts packing!"
"That is, if he arrives before they find us…" James pointed out as he noticed a flying ship on the horizon.
Deciding it wasn't safe to stay put in one place for too long, they continued on towards the island's shore with the guiding help of Meowthtwo; Venusaurtwo deciding to go back to its hiding place since its larger body would have made it harder to avoid the different traps placed on their way.
.:oOo:.
"Pukokoooo!~"
"Is that the place?"
"It's the first piece of land we see in a while, so it better be."
Tapu Koko had been guiding them for quite a long time, to the point where Kiawe was starting to get worried about Charizard's stamina. Thankfully, they had just caught sight of a small island in the horizon. Besides the impressive looking volcano standing at the east side of it, there didn't seem to be much to look at.
"Hey, look! Something is rising near the volcano!" Serena alerted him.
And he stood corrected. A purplish looking ray had risen from the island and started expanding over it like a translucent cloth. As it went, a second layer rose from the island's shores to meet the one in the top.
"Bzzt, bzzt, bzzt! Scan complete! It is a force-field made out of plasma energy," Rotom informed them.
"Are they trying to keep us out?" Serena asked alarmed.
"Or prevent anyone from leaving…" Kiawe countered. "Hang on! Charizard, full speed ahead!"
They accelerated in seconds, creating a tail of wind as they went. Serena kept her eyes on the increasingly growing shield, trying to calculate how much time they had before it finished forming. She frowned. At their current speed, they would end up crashing against it.
Not wanting to test if she was right, Serena stood up from her seat and took a Pokéball out.
"What are you doing?!" Kiawe asked her over his shoulder.
"We are not fast enough! Concentrate in reaching the island, I'll stall the shield somehow," she explained. "Tapu Koko! Please lend us a hand!"
"Koko!" the electric type nodded its agreement just as Serena threw her Pokéball to the air and released Braixen in a flash of light. Understanding the plan, the Guardian went to catch her midair, and the fire type landed neatly on Tapu Koko's shield.
"Braixen, use Flamethrower just like we practice!" Serena ordered. "Tapu Koko, could you help us with a Thunder?"
Both Pokémon nodded without question and threw their respective attacks at the closing shield.
Braixen had sent her attack in a spiraling motion creating a perfect circle big enough for all of them to pass through while the electrical energy from Tapu Koko's Thunder surrounded the flames and fused with them. Thanks to the combination of elements, the shield paused its advance when the attacks connected.
"It worked, bzzt!"
"Great job, you two!" Serena praised. "Keep it up just a bit longer!"
They managed to keep the force-field from closing long enough for them to pass. Just as they all went through the shield, their attacks ceased, allowing it to close up completely behind them. With the job taken care of, Serena returned Braixen and thanked her for the help, while Rotom and Tapu Koko celebrated the small victory.
"We are finally here," Kiawe stated in relief. "Now let's search for Ash and Mallow."
"Yeah."
.:oOo:.
Back at Kukui's place, Rowlet was placidly sleeping, oblivious to the world, until two humans and a Pokémon he had never seen appeared out of nowhere and fell on the couch he was resting on. The poor grass type was scared out of his dreams by the rough awakening making him panic and fly around like a headless… bird-type.
"Ah! Watch out!" the little girl that had shown up was fast to run around the room trying to catch him when seeing his erratic flying. Finally, he let himself fall on her arms and looked around in calm confusion, making the girl giggle. "Sorry we startled you."
"This place looks familiar…" the older kid mentioned.
"Are we any closer to Ash, Greninja?" at his trainer's name, Rowlet tilted his head in curious attention.
The girl brightened up at the affirmative response from the Pokémon she had addressed and both children seemed to gain newfound determination.
"Let?" Rowlet asked.
"Oh, you see… our friend Ash is in trouble, so we are going to help him," the little girl explained, apparently understanding his confusion. Then she placed him back on the couch and turned around. "This time we'll find him! Right, Brother?"
"Right! Fourth is the charm!"
Right before the boy turned on the device, Rowlet flew towards the Greninja and landed on its head, managing to tag along for the ride.
.:oOo:.
"I'll divide our forces into two groups. Units nineteen and twenty-four are trained in terrain scouting so they will be taking water rides, while units thirteen and twenty-five are best for aerial training, they'll be taking the flying rides."
It had taken a few minutes for Professor Kukui to explain the situation to Officer Jennie. Once he had mentioned his students were in danger, she had mobilized her best units for a rescue mission. The problem was, Clemont had yet to report back, so they were still lacking coordinates. As it was, they started preparations thinking up strategies on how to best approach the problem.
"Professor," Lillie's voice gain his attention to the group of kids he was in charge of. All three looked apprehensive but determined. "We are going too."
Lana nodded. "Please don't try to stop us. We'll just find another way to go if you do."
"R-Right!" Even Sophocles' eyes shone with resolution through the obvious fear in his features.
Kukui let out a snort to remark his resignation, smiling despite the situation. "I wouldn't have try to stop you," he explained. "I know this is important to you, after all it involves your friends. And it wouldn't be fair to leave you behind when everyone else is doing their part to help."
Seeing the faintest of smiles on the kids, he continued a bit more severely. "Still, this is a very dangerous situation, so you have to promise to follow my every order and don't act without my approval. Are we clear?"
"Yes, Professor!" they answered in unison.
Once the three went to get ready, Officer Jenny approached him and whispered. "Are you sure about this?"
Kukui nodded. "It's better to bring the kids along and keep them supervised, than leaving them behind and risking them doing something reckless without anyone around to keep an eye on them."
A flash of understanding crossed Officer Jenny's face and she nodded back.
.:oOo:.
A new set of cries resounded in the island forest.
Ash's group had managed to avoid quite a few traps thanks to their new guide, but their luck couldn't last forever. They were currently going through a particularly tough area, stepping on anything that wasn't the ground, when it happened.
Meowth slipped and pushed Mallow, who in turn lost her balance and fell against Ash causing them both to fall screaming to the ground and into one of the traps. It wrapped up around them both while facing each other and hung them upside down from one of the trees.
"Pikapi!"
"Bou!"
"Wait, Pikachu! Don't step too close!" Seeing his partner looking confused, Ash elaborated. "We are surrounded by traps! You'll get caught too!"
Pikachu turned downwards to find that indeed the ground was plagued with them. He looked back at his trainer in worry wondering what to do.
"Huh, don't you think they look like a piñata?" James commented.
"Thwey look more like a larva Pokémon to me…"
"Meowth, what part of 'be careful where you step' you didn't get?" Jessie complained. "That could have been me."
"How about you stop staring and actually figure out a way to get us down from here?" Ash yelled at them in irritation.
"My blood is rushing to my head…" Mallow complained.
"And what are we supposed to do?" Jessie asked in disinterest.
"Think of something!" The two kids yelled back equally annoyed.
Not too far from them, a certain Guardian Deity started descending into a hidden clearing near the East coast. It wasn't long until he spotted the Pikachu which signature he had been following, and the Charizard behind him gave a roar of recognition to alert his riders of the finding.
"There they are!" the Kiawe kid exclaimed.
"Hey, Ash!" the girl shouted as they approached.
Hearing the familiar voice, Ash tuned out from the recently started shouting match and searched the skies for the owner; his action been enough for the rest of the group to pay attention.
"That sounded like-"
"Kiawe!" Mallow exclaimed joyfully; eyes sparkling with a new idea. "What a great timing! Could you help us down without touching the ground?"
"Whoa! Serena! What are you doing here?" Ash exclaimed with a laugh.
"Ash, are you alright?" She asked in worry instead.
"How did you two ended up in that position?" Kiawe asked next with a hint of mockery in his voice.
"Moh! It was Meowth's fault!" Mallow complained.
"Meowth?" That's when Serena noticed Team Rocket for the first time. "I should have known! What are you plotting this time?!"
"Hey! Don't look at me like that, twerpette! It was an accident! Besides, if it had been you instead of the pigtails brat here, you would have been thanking me foreve'!" Meowth retorted.
"Wh-What?!" Serena's face flushed brightly at the implication, unable to stop her imagination from running wild with pictures of herself in said position.
Ash and Mallow on the other hand didn't react, just blinking in confusion as Serena denied such claims. Kiawe decided he didn't want to know and set his mind into the task of helping his two friends.