The next morning finally arrived and found Ash sleeping in bed alongside his partner. After such a long mission in the Coronet Highlands, Ash and Pikachu had gone straight to bed and slept through nearly the rest of the day. They both had gotten up around dinner time and gone out to get some food for themselves, but they had been careful to try and avoid Akari. Ash wished he didn't have to do that, but he'd rather that than risk doing something stupid again. He had to be strong until he found May. After their covert dinner, they had gone back to their barracks and promptly passed out again until morning. Pikachu was the first to wake up this time and nudged his trainer gently with the tip of his nose.
"Ash?" he asked quietly. Ash yawned and slowly opened his eyes, finding himself greeted by Pikachu's smiling face, which earned a smile from him as well.
"Morning..." he greeted his best friend. Pikachu happily nuzzled him and Ash laughed a little in response as he sat up from bed. "Hope you slept well, buddy."
"Sure did! But we should get ready to go." he suggested.
"How come?" Ash wondered, surprised by Pikachu's eagerness.
"Akari said there is only one other Lord here in Hisui. So if he's frenzied, then we just have to help him and the mission should be over. Then we can finally find out from Arceus where the girls are." He explained, making Ash realize for the first time that he was right.
"Oh wow…Pikachu you're brilliant!" he grinned excitedly. He then scrambled out of bed and quickly threw on his clothes. The two partners took a bit more time to get ready for the possibility of another mission before heading outside with a renewed sense of purpose. It had to work. It just had to. They both took a moment to stretch out their limbs in the sun, where they were spotted by Akari leaving her barracks next door. She was surprised to see the distinct change in their moods since she last saw them and carefully approached.
"Good morning." She greeted, drawing their attention.
"Morning." Ash replied with a bright smile, surprising her.
"Well uh…you seem to be in better spirits." She commented carefully.
"Sure am!" he nodded, leaving out the exact reason for now. Akari however smiled at his newfound enthusiasm, not worried too much about how or why. She was just happy that he didn't seem too awkward around her today.
"That's really great Ash. Shall we head to headquarters?" she suggested.
"You bet!" he agreed. Pikachu leaped onto Ash's shoulder as both trainers started walking towards headquarters. They headed inside and promptly reported to Captain Cyllene's office, which drew her attention away from the mountain of paperwork on her desk. It never really seemed to shrink.
"Good morning you two." She acknowledged them.
"Morning Captain." Ash replied.
"Have we gotten any word from Irida about the Lord of the Alabaster Icelands?" Akari wondered.
"I do not know what she has to report, but she did go up to the Commander's office a little while ago. She asked me to send you both up to the Commander's office and see what the status is as soon as you are able." She explained.
"Yes, Captain." Ash replied before quickly exiting the office and heading for the staircase with Akari right on his heels. They both headed upstairs and made their way to the Commander's office once again. Inside they found Irida talking with Commander Kamado, which they stopped once the two trainers arrived.
"Ah. Here they come now." Kamado announced as they walked in.
"Thank you both for coming..." Irida thanked them, though her voice had a very solemn tone to it this time around.
"Is everything alright Irida?" Akari asked, noticing the change right away.
"I'm afraid not...I checked with the warden and it seems Lord Avalugg has also begun to behave aggressively...I believe he's been put into a frenzy as well…" she explained quietly.
"The last Lord is an Avalugg...?" Ash asked, surprised somewhat by the revelation.
"Whoa…if it's as big as the other Lords then that's a really big Pokémon...not to mention dangerous..." Akari gulped.
"You are correct Akari...that's why I don't want to wait for something to happen. I'm hoping I can ask you two to look into Lord Avalugg's condition and help him…" the Clan Leader added.
"Of course, we'll help." Ash assured her.
"You can count on us." Akari agreed.
"Good answers both of you." Kamado nodded. "Now then your mission today is to look into the condition of Lord Avalugg. And if necessary, quell his frenzy."
"Yes sir, Commander." Both trainers answered.
"Good. Dismissed." The Commander announced, prompting both trainers to head out of the office, this time accompanied Irida as they headed for their new destination.
After a long trek through the region with the Security Corps escort, Ash, Akari, and Irida finally arrived at the Alabaster Icelands base camp. The sun was blocked out by clouds up above that were sprinkling the area with a fresh blanket of snow. Ash and Akari shivered from the sudden drop in temperature, and even Pikachu moved closer to Ash on his shoulder in an attempt to share warmth.
"It's so cold..." Akari commented through chattering teeth. Both trainers were surprised however when Irida, who was wearing far thinner clothes than they were, simply smiled and stretched out her arms happily.
"Oh it feels so great!" she exclaimed happily.
"How are you not freezing Irida?" Ash asked through another shiver.
"Why would I be? I love this kind of weather." She smiled. "Probably comes from being raised up here."
"You were raised here?" Ash wondered with a tilt of the head.
"That's right. Up on that slope over there." She explained as she pointed to what looked like a town off in the distance. "That's the Pearl Settlement."
"The Pearl Clan Settlement is here…?!" Ash gasped, mirroring the enthusiasm he had back at the Diamond Settlement, which Akari was quick to notice.
"That's right." Irida nodded as she was struck with an idea. "Hey, I know. While I go on ahead and get the Warden, you guys can go check out our settlement. He and I will meet you there."
"That'd be great! Thank you Irida!" Ash replied with an eager smile. Irida nodded and headed off in one direction as Ash began running towards the Pearl Settlement in a full-on sprint.
"Ash wait up!" Akari complained as she follows him in a run of her own. Through the run, both trainers not only warmed themselves up considerably, but they also made record time in arriving at the Pearl Settlement. Full of hope that this was going to finally be the moment, Ash clutched May's half of their Terracotta Ribbon in his hand and headed over to the first people that he saw, asking questions and giving a description of May. Akari sighed to herself as she watched him. Despite everything that had gone on between them, he was still more excited about possibly finding his girlfriend than he was about his promise to stay with her if he didn't. She knew he would be, but that didn't mean his attitude didn't hurt her. But she knew she couldn't lose hope. Just as he still had hoped to find her, Akari still had hope that he'd stay with her.
Nearly an hour went by with Ash asking nearly every person in the village if they had seen May or Glaceon. Akari had been following him the whole time as well, though making little effort herself to help. But as they asked the few remaining members of the Pearl Clan, it became apparent that no one had seen May in the settlement since she and Ash fell to Hisui. Ash sighed to himself sadly as his enthusiasm significantly deflated and Pikachu's ears drooped.
"She's not here either..." he mumbled to himself as his grip on her ribbon tightened. He hadn't lost all hope because they were so close to speaking with Arceus again, but not finding her in the settlement was definitely still a blow.
"I'm so sorry Ash..." Akari half lied as she put a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him.
"Thanks, Akari…" Ash sighed, too bummed out to notice her lack of sincerity. "Damn it May where are you…?"
"Ash! Akari!" Irida's voice suddenly called out to them. They both turned around and saw Irida running towards them, now accompanied by a taller man who also wore a Pearl Clan uniform, but seemed to be lacking the need for a shirt, even in the freezing cold. "This is Gaeric, Lord Avalugg's Warden."
"Oh!" Ash's eyes widened in shock as he looked at the Warden, realizing he could see another familiar face within his own. "He looks like Wulfric..."
"Nice to meet you Warden Gaeric." Akari greeted him, stepping in when she noticed Ash was having another moment.
"So, you two are the ones that are here to "quell the Lord's frenzy" huh?" he answered, eyeing them both with a look they couldn't quite read.
"Uh, yes that's right." Ash replied, snapping out of his own head finally.
"And what makes you think he is in fact in a frenzy at all?" Gaeric questioned them again.
"Well uh, all the ones we've met so far were frenzied and needed help. And Irida told us Lord Avalugg has been acting strangely, so who's to say that Lord Avalugg isn't facing a frenzy as well?" Akari pointed out.
"And what is wrong with him being frenzied?"
"He could go out of control and hurt others." Ash answered again, wondering where all this was going.
"And what do you two intend to do about it?" he asked yet again.
"We'll help him by throwing balms of his favorite food to him. It's a way to help them without hurting them." Akari said hopefully.
"That all sounds fine and dandy. But there's one problem with your theory. Our Lord Avalugg would never harm anyone!" Gaeric announced angrily.
"Sir please-" Irida tried, but Gaeric was quick to cut her off.
"And even if he were, I have no reason to believe these two could stop him. The matters of the Pearl Clan should remain as such!"
"We can do this Gaeric! We stopped all the other Lords! What makes you believe we can't help Lord Avalugg?!" Ash demanded, a bit insulted by being brushed aside after everything they'd gone through.
"Then let's have you prove it. I want to see each of your strengths firsthand." He instructed them.
"Fine. You got yourself a deal." Ash nodded.
"Me too." Akari agreed.
"Good. And I have a Pokémon for each of you to battle. Glalie! Froslass! Go!" Gaeric called out, summoning each of Snorunt's evolved forms into the area. Glalie faced down Ash while Froslass stood across from Akari, seeming to have both picked their opponents on their own.
"Alright then. Let's do this Pikachu!" Ash called, prompting Pikachu to jump off his shoulder and land on the ground of the makeshift battlefield.
"Let's go Dewott!" Akari called as she tossed out her partner's pokeball.
"Dewott!" the Water type cried out. Glalie was the first to make a move and charged at Pikachu with a Headbutt.
"Dodge and use Iron Tail!" Ash ordered. Pikachu jumped out of range of Glalie's giant head and then used Iron Tail, hitting Glalie in the face and sending him flying backward.
"Lie!" Glalie yelped in pain as Pikachu ran after him.
"Now use Quick Attack!" Ash followed up. Pikachu gave himself a burst of speed and charged at Glalie, but Glalie recovered from the earlier hit and fired an Ice Beam, freezing Pikachu's feet to the ground and trapping him in place. "Oh no!"
"Glalie!" Glalie announced as he started pelting the stuck Pikachu with Ice Shard.
"Heh. Looks like this is over for you." Gaeric taunted them.
"No way is this over!" Ash growled. "Pikachu use Thunderbolt and give it everything you got!"
"Take this!" Pikachu yelled as he launched out a powerful Thunderbolt, strong enough to shatter the ice that had him trapped, as well as strike Glalie to get him to stop his Ice Shard.
"What?!" Gaeric gasped.
"Now give us the big finish! Iron Tail!" Pikachu quickly ran in towards Glalie, getting up as close as he could and then using Iron Tail once again. He landed another perfect blow which sent Glalie crashing into the snow where he fainted. "That's it! Way to go buddy!"
"Thanks!" Pikachu smiled as he happily jumped into Ash's arms as they both turned to check on Akari and Dewott. The small blue Pokemon grabbed the scalchops from his sides and charged at Froslass with Razor Shell at the ready. Froslass launched a Shadow Ball in an attempt to stop him, but Dewott slashed the attack in half with one scalchop and then struck her with the other. Froslass cried out in pain as she skidded backward from the hit. Dewott meanwhile quickly put his scalchops away and fired began preparing for a Water Pulse to finish things up. However, much faster than he anticipated, Froslass fired Ice Beam straight at him.
"Wott?!" he gasped.
"Dewott look out!" Akari called, but it was too late. The attack hit Dewott right in the chest, surrounding him in a thick block of ice all the way up to his neck. "Oh no!"
"Dew…wott…!" Dewott said through gritted teeth as he struggled in the ice desperately.
"You can do it Dewott!" Akari called out as Dewott's struggle continued. "I believe in you! You're a fighter so fight with all you got!"
"Dewott!" her partner yelled as his body starts glowing a brilliant white color, causing everyone to gasp in shock.
"What the?!" Akari wondered aloud.
"Wait...is he evolving?!" Ash's eyes widened in shock. Deowtt's body began to change and grow larger, forcing the ice around him to forcibly break apart. He soon stopped glowing and revealed a Pokemon that looked very similar to the Samurott Ash remembered from his Unova travels, but also very different at the same time.
"Samurott!" the new Pokemon announced himself.
"Whoa! That's a Samurott?!" Ash gasped in shock.
"Sure is! Way to go Dewott! Oh! I mean Samurott!" Akari grinned eagerly. Samurott smirked slightly and took out one of his seamitars from his foreleg, then struck Froslass with several powerful swings while his seamitar was glowing an eerie black color. The move seemed to greatly affect Froslass, knocking her out with ease. "Whoa!"
"What was that move?!" Ash asked in shock.
"If I remember correctly...it's called Ceaseless Edge." Akari answered, remembering the Professor's notes on Oshawott's unique Hisuian adaptation.
"Wow! Now that's power!" Ash grinned. Akari smiled and happily ran over, wrapping Samurott up in a big hug.
"Way to go Samurott! You're so awesome!" she exclaimed happily.
"Samur!" Samurott smiled back at her as he nuzzled her.
"Hm...impressive." Gaeric suddenly spoke up as he finished feeding his two Pokemon a few berries to restore their strength. "Seems you both possess ample strength. Very well. I will grant your request to see Lord Avalugg."
"Thank you Gaeric! Now, all we need is to know what his favorite foods are." Ash grinned.
"That may be a bit of a problem. His food is made from a special kind of ice that's found at the top of those pillars." Gaeric explained, pointing to the gigantic ice pillars just on the outskirts of town.
"Oh man..." Akari realized.
"Those pillars are so tall and slick that not even our Lady Sneaseler nor her kids could climb it." Irida sighed.
"So how will we get up there to get the ingredients?" Ask wondered.
"That's where I come in." Adaman's voice suddenly joined the conversation as he walked over and joined the group. "One of you will need to obtain a Braviary. Then you can fly onto the top of those pillars and collect the samples we'll need."
"A Braviary?" Ash wondered, remembering the ones he saw back in Unova.
"Oh, that's right! Isn't there a Noble Braviary that patrols the skies up here?" Akari asked after her sudden revelation.
"Right Akari." Adaman nodded. "Our Noble Braviary is strong enough to carry humans on a gliding device. We could equip another Braviary with the same harness to allow you both to fly wherever you'd like."
"I see. So who's the Warden for Noble Braviary?" Ash wondered, but before anyone could answer, another new voice joined the conversation.
"Hello down there!" a young and high-pitched voice called down from above. Both Ash and Akari looked up and were surprised to see a young girl with a large puffy hat over her braided teal hair waving at them as she hang-glided through the sky on a very large Braviary. The Flying-type Pokemon looked different as well, sporting white and gray feathers instead of the red and blue Ash remembered.
"Whoa..." both trainers said at the same time. They watched as the newcomer jumped down from her ride and landed on a ledge above the rest of the group.
"Hi everyone!" she said with a big smile.
"I suppose it's time for introductions. Akari, Ash, this is Sabi, Noble Braviary's Warden." Adaman introduced everyone.
"Oh wow really?" Ash wondered aloud before he could stop himself. "I mean isn't she a bit…young for such a responsibility?"
"Maybe, but Noble Braviary doesn't respond to anyone else the way he does to Sabi. She's one of the best in my opinion." Adaman replied.
"She actually kinda looks like Cheryl." Ash realized as he looked up at Sabi.
"Sabi come down here, would you? You have to help these two obtain a Braviary." Adaman motioned for her to come off the ledge.
"Sure! But they have to catch me first!" she giggled happily.
"Again Sabi?" Adaman sighed, peaking Ash and Akari's attention.
"Again?" Akari wondered, but before they got an answer, Sabi grabbed back onto Noble Braviary and took off into the sky, disappearing into the falling snow.
"Huh?!" Ash gasped. "What is she doing?!"
"I do apologize for this you two. Sabi is a bit...unusual. Once you find her she should do as she's promised." Adaman assured them.
"Alright." Ash sighed, resigning himself to the game. He just wanted to finish this mission and talk to Arceus. Why were there so many delays?
"You can find wild Rufflet on the north side of the settlement. Finding Sabi with one will be a great way to train it to evolve into a Braviary." Adaman added.
"Understood. Thanks to you all." Akari said politely as she bowed to the Diamond and Pearl Clan members alike. Ash nodded in agreement and then ran off toward the area that Adaman had indicated. And once Akari recalled her Samurott, she was right behind him.
To be Continued...