Chapter 17: Majestic Wings
"When do you think that egg will hatch, it's almost a month now," Iris stated, looking at the egg Ash was carrying.
Ash looked at Iris and then at the egg, "I don't know, but I can't wait to see what Pokémon it is."
"I bet it's a going to be a cutie," May clasped her hands together as she walked beside Ash and Pikachu.
"A Pokémon egg is arguably filled with mystery, you never know what to expect," Cilan commented, taking a glimpse of Ash's egg.
"Whatever Pokémon it is, I know it'll be a great partner, you'll it out won't you Pikachu?" Ash turned to Pikachu, who was on his shoulder.
"Pikapi!" Pikachu cheered in agreement.
"Ax axew ax," Axew gazed at the egg intently, which Iris took note of.
Iris grinned at Axew and spoke, "You've never seen a Pokémon hatch, have you Axew? You're going to help it out too right?"
Axew nodded happily, "Axew ax."
All of a sudden, Ash felt the container shaking and looked through the glass. "Talk about coincidence," May looked through the glass with her beloved.
"It's hatching!" Iris clasped her hands together as the egg wobbled.
"Look at it glow," Cilan gazed at the egg, which now began to glow as well.
The egg took the shape of a humanoid Pokémon and it jumped out of the container, breaking the glass. Its surprise escape caused Ash to drop the broken container and the others turned to the newborn Pokémon.
It resembled a lizard and had oval-shaped eyes. It sported a small red scale on its yellow head. Below the yellow portion of its head, its body was cream-colored, with thin arms and a red, scaled belly. With its arms, it held up the molted skin around its legs, which resembled trousers.
The baby Pokémon turned around and looked at the teens, "Scrag," was the only thing it said when it saw the humans.
"What Pokémon is that?" May raised an eyebrow, still slightly shocked by Scraggy's entrance.
"It's a Scraggy," Iris smiled, looking at the newborn.
"Scraggy?" Ash raised his eyebrow and reached for his Pokédex.
"Scraggy, the Shedding Pokémon, the lower half of Scraggy's body is covered by a tough rubbery skin and when someone makes eye contact it responds with Headbutt," the machine informed.
Ash put away his Pokédex and approached the baby with his friends. "Hey Scraggy, I'm Ash," the raven-haired teen kneeled down and grinned at the newborn.
"And we're your friends," May kneeled down next to Ash, giving Scraggy the same smile as Ash.
"Scraggy?" Scraggy tilted its head in confusion.
"Pika pikachu!" Pikachu introduced itself to the baby.
Scraggy looked at Pikachu and then glared, the Fighting-type then charged at Pikachu with Headbutt, but the mouse easily dodged by leaping off Ash's shoulder. The Shedding Pokémon's face then landed on the ground while the teens raised eyebrows in confusion.
"Scraggy tried to hit Pikachu the moment it introduced itself," Iris crossed her arms and gave Cilan a puzzled look.
"Yeah, what's up with that, it nearly hit me," Ash stood up with May.
"Scraggy tend to do that like the Pokédex stated, they just feel like it's natural for them to do that," Cilan explained to his friends.
Axew jumped out of Iris's hair and walked over to Scraggy, who was getting up after missing Pikachu.
"Axew ax ax," Axew extended its hand out to the Dark-type.
Scraggy looked at Axew's hand and then glared Axew, "Scrag scraggy!" the little one charged at Axew with Headbutt, this time hitting its target and sending Axew rolling back to Iris's feet.
Axew got up and glared at Scraggy, but before it could attack, Iris picked her up and sighed, "You have to have patience with it Axew. It's just an infant."
"Maybe the other Pokémon can tell Scraggy that what it's doing is bad," Ash reached for his Pokéballs.
"That's not a bad idea, Ash," May winked at Ash for his clever thinking, making the boy blush lightly.
"Why don't my Pokémon tag along too," Cilan reached for his two Pokéballs.
Ash nodded and called out his Pokémon, "Sewaddle, Oshawott, Tepig, and Snivy, come out!" The auburn-eyed teen threw his Pokéballs in the air.
"Blaziken, Deerling, Purrloin, Tepig, and Petilil, say hi to Scraggy!" May followed Ash's actions.
"Pansage, Dwebble, let's go!" Cilan threw the two Pokéballs.
In front of the teens appeared thirteen Pokémon, including Axew and Pikachu among them. They all happily greeted the newborn Scraggy. Axew then tried to talk with Scraggy again with Pikachu this time, "Ax axew axew."
"Pikachu pika pi," Pikachu motioned his arms around as he spoke.
Scraggy glared at the pair and used Leer, but only Axew moved back in fear while Pikachu raised an eyebrow. "Scrag scraggy scrag!" the Shedding Pokémon charged at them with Headbutt, but the pair narrowly dodged and Scraggy hit the ground again.
"Scraaagy," the Dark-type got up and saw the crowd of Pokémon in front of him. The Fighting-type then charged at Snivy, who was closest.
As Scraggy charged, the Grass-type lifted the baby with its vines and sent it flying at Blaziken. "Snivy, you're supposed to be helping Scraggy, not throwing it around!" Ash exclaimed while Snivy shrugged its shoulder as if saying it was only defending itself.
Blaziken nimbly dodged the incoming Pokémon and Scraggy hit Oshawott instead. "Oshawott osha," the otter got up and glared at Snivy, blaming the snake for the incident.
"Snivy sni," Snivy giggled mischievously.
Oshawott frowned and used Water Gun, but Snivy easily dodged and the Water Gun hit the pair of Tepigs instead. The pigs frowned at Oshawott and used Ember to retaliate, but Oshawott moved out of the way and Deerling was hit instead.
Oshawott began laughing once he saw the toasted Deerling and the Season Pokémon used Energy Ball on the Tepigs and Oshawott as retaliation.
"This is not working out like I planned," Ash face palmed himself.
"Looks like Scraggy is not done charging yet either," May sighed with the boy.
Scraggy got up and chose a different target, this time it chose Pansage, but monkey easily jumped over and Scraggy hit Dwebble instead. Cilan's Dwebble, in rage began to attack Pansage, blaming the Grass-type for being hit. Pansage kept dodging Dwebble's attacks and eventually, the other Pokémon got involved in the mix as well. Scraggy continued using Headbutt on the Pokémon, but was brushed outside by the others and continued their conflicts.
Blaziken, Pikachu, and Axew tried to ease the situation, but the trio also got thrown into the conflict, although Pikachu and Blaziken easily avoided their companions' attacks.
"This is getting out of hand," Cilan watched with his arms crossed.
"Ash, try to stop Scraggy before it gets all the Pokémon to knock each other out!" Iris demanded, wishing the pandemonium could stop.
Ash nodded and yelled, the raven-haired teen's sounded aggressively loud, "Enough!"
The scream alarmed even May and Iris, who didn't expect Ash to sound so angry moved away from him. All the Pokémon stopped their quarreling and turned to Ash with confused gazes.
Ash let out a deep breath and smiled, acting as if he hadn't screamed so loud. "Scraggy, can you please stop attacking the other Pokémon, look at the mess it's caused."
Scraggy just looked at Ash straight in the eye and glared, "Scraggy!" the Pokémon cried out and hit Ash with Headbutt. The boy fell over, but May caught her boyfriend in her arms before he could fall back.
"Ash, are you ok?" May looked at her beloved with caring eyes.
Ash looked up at her and gave her a half smile, "Remind me to avoid eye contact with Scraggy."
May giggled and saw the red spot on Ash's head formed by the Headbutt. Ash got his balance and sighed at Scraggy, "Alright guys, here's the deal…"
But the boy stopped when he realized the environment was getting foggy. "Hey, where'd this mist come from?" Iris looked around with baffled expression.
"It wasn't like this a second ago," Cilan also seemed puzzled and examined the source of the mist.
All the Pokémon got near their respective trainers for security as the fog got denser. "Ash, I'm scared," May turned to her lover and looked into his eyes for comfort.
Ash smiled at May and looked into her eyes so he could comfort her, "There's no reason to be afraid May, it's just a little fog. I've been in these situations many times before." May let out a deep breath and smiled sweetly at Ash.
"Pikapi!" Pikachu got the couple's attention and they turned to the mouse.
"What's up, Pikachu?" Ash turned his gaze from May to the mouse.
The mouse pointed to Iris and Cilan's position and saw that they were longer there. "Where'd Iris and Cilan go?" May grabbed Ash's hand so she could feel safer.
"They must have gotten lost in the fog," Ash said and turned to May. "We should return all our Pokémon so they don't get lost in the fog."
May nodded in agreement and the lovers returned all their Pokémon, except for Pikachu. When Ash was about to return Scraggy, the Dark-type moved away from the red beam. Ash sighed, "Scraggy, you have to get back in your ball, it's not safe at here for you."
"Scraggy scrag," Scraggy frowned at Ash.
"Maybe it's been trapped inside that egg for so long, it's not ready to go back inside another sphere," May suggested a reason for Scraggy's disobedience.
Ash let out a deep breath and then smiled at Scraggy, "Alright Scraggy, you win, but stay close."
Scraggy frowned, but nodded. The group of four began walking around the mist, looking for Iris and Cilan. "Iris, where are you?!" May shouted out so her friend could hear her.
"Cilan, can you hear me?!" Ash screamed out as well, trying to see if his friend could hear him.
"Pika pi!" Pikachu also helped out by calling out their friends too.
The teens and Pikachu continued to scream out Iris and Cilan's names, but to no avail. "My throats starting to feel sore from screaming so much," May told Ash after he screamed Cilan's name again.
"I know, mine is too," Ash scratched his throat.
"How will we be able to find them in this mist if they don't seem to hear us," May questioned, stilling holding Ash's hand.
"We will, don't worry," Ash squeezed May's hand and grinned, sensing the anxiety in his girlfriend and tried to comfort her.
All of a sudden, Scraggy began running ahead of Ash and May, alerting the pair. "Scraggy, come back!" May cried out, but Scraggy kept running until they lost it in the fog.
"Pikachu, go after Scraggy and stop it," Ash ordered his friend, who nodded and dashed after the mischievous newborn.
"I hope we don't lose them too," May said with a worried tone.
Ash smiled and pointed in front of them, "Look, they're right there!"
May turned to wear Ash was pointing at and saw Pikachu and Scraggy standing just a few feet away from. When the pair reached the Pokémon, they saw the two Pokémon gazing at the mist with petrified looks.
Ash raised an eyebrow and inquired, "What's wrong pal?"
"Pika…" Pikachu pointed at the mist.
"I don't see how you two are the chosen ones. Someone who can't even tame his Pikachu to be inside a ball seems nothing more than a laugh." a teenage voice stated with a stern voice.
"Not again," May grinded her teeth in frustration, knowing what was ahead.
"You guys and your entrances are really starting to get on my nerves," Ash spoke out to the mist, unable to detect the person speaking to them.
"That's why I don't understand, how two measly lovers could pose such a threat to criminal organizations and the Majestic 12," the youthful voice continued to speak with a serious tone.
"Come out now, who are you exactly!" Ash called out the mysterious voice.
"Someone from the dark," the voice replied.
"Is it you, Archer, Silver, or Omega?" May asked with an anxious voice, trying to identify the person.
"None of them," the voice answered.
"What do you want from us?" Ash spoke to the voice with annoyance.
Suddenly, a certain part of the fog started to clear and a figure in a black coat appeared. He was Ash's height and his voice implied that he was nothing more than a teenager or a young adult.
Ash, May, and Pikachu glared at the figure in black while Scraggy became confused by the stranger's presence. The figure gazed at Ash and May and spoke, "Tell me, why it's you?"
"Why what?" Ash made a fist and frowned at the stranger.
"Can you stop speaking riddles," May also made a fist.
The figure pulled his hood down and revealed himself to the couple and Pokémon. He was no older than Ash, he had golden blond, spiky hair and he had dark blue eyes. The spikes on the right side of his head were windswept and he had a stern gaze in his eyes.
"I remember you, you're…" Ash remembered his face from Nuvema Town, but couldn't recall his name.
"Cloud," the teen responded.
Ash nodded, remembering his name. "What do you want from us?" May asked Ash's question to the blond teen.
Cloud closed his eyes and spoke softly, "My answer," but the response only confused the couple even more. He then opened his eyes again and gave them a smirk, he then reached for two Pokeballs and tapped on the button to increase their size, "But there's only one way to find out," Cloud added.
The teen threw the Pokéballs in the air with speed. From them, a Latias and a Latios came out, both giving Ash and May stern gazes like their trainer.
"Use your strongest Pokémon, I recommend it," the teen gave them a sly grin.
"You're using Legendary Pokémon…" May reached for Blaziken's Pokéball in preparation for battle.
"What other choice do we have, but to use our strongest," Ash glared at Cloud and then looked at Pikachu, who gave Ash a stern nod.
Cloud nodded and spoke, "Latios, Latias, change the scene." Latios and Latias's eyes began to glow blue and suddenly, Ash, May, Pikachu, and Scraggy found themselves in the mountains where it was cloudy and drizzling.
"How'd we get here?" May looked around in confusion.
"Now show them the illusions," Cloud commanded and the Eon Duo's eyes began to glow blue again.
Ash and May's eyes widened when they saw illusions of themselves around the mountain area. Ash stared dumbstruck at an illusion of when he jumped off a cliff to grab Pikachu when he first arrived in Hoenn. May gasped when she saw another of her falling after stepping on the ground, she recalled that moment from the time she and Ash along with Max and Brock were in the Valley of Steel. The two then gazed behind a smirking Cloud and saw another illusion of the two holding hands while trying to escape from the Forbidden Forest.
"These are moments from our past," Ash said with perplexity, not understanding how it was possible.
"They are moments when you two first traveled together, you're not reliving them. They're merely illusions created by Latios and Latias. Even this mountain is in illusion; you're still in the plains, but your mind is somewhere else, thanks to the Eon Duo. That's why you are seeing all these things, Latios and Latias have infiltrated your minds and created these illusions with your memories," Cloud explained the reason for the multiple illusions.
Ash and May became amazed by what Cloud had told them, they didn't even know that was possible. The couple and Pikachu continued to gaze at the illusions that represented their past. "The only way you can escape from the illusion is if you battle me," Cloud made a fist.
"Fine, if that's what you want," Ash gave Cloud a dirty look as Pikachu got on the battlefield.
"Blaziken, come out!" May threw her starter Pokémon's Pokéball.
Blaziken appeared on the field beside Pikachu and glared at its opponent, the Blaze Pokémon recognized Cloud's black coat and quickly took a fighting stance.
"Latias, use Mist Ball on Blaziken. Latios, use Dragon Pulse on Pikachu!" Cloud extended his arm out.
"Pikachu, use Iron Tail to counter it!" Ash exclaimed.
"Blaziken, use Quick Attack to dodge and bash Latias!" May made a fist.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu jumped into the air and sent Dragon Pulse back with Iron Tail, Latios dodged the Dragon Pulse and the attack hit the wall of a mountain.
As Mist Ball charged at it, Blaziken moved away and dashed at Latias, but Cloud smirked, "Psychic to send that chicken back."
Before Blaziken could reach Latias, the Eon Pokémon's eyes began to glow and so did Blaziken. The Dragon-type then sent Blaziken back, crashing the starter against the ground.
"Pikachu use Agility and then Volt Tackle on Latias!" Ash commanded, retaliating for what Latias did to Blaziken.
"Latios, counter it with Luster Purge!" Cloud instructed and Latios quickly got in Latias's defense.
"Blaziken, try to stop Latios with a Mega Kick!" May prepared to back Ash up.
"Latias, stop Blaziken with Dragon Pulse!" Cloud ordered his next attack.
As Pikachu began charging towards Latias with a combination of Agility and Volt Tackle, Latios quickly charged a purple aura and shot the beam at the charging Pikachu. Blaziken jumped up and prepared to kick Latios to cancel out its attack, but Latias used Dragon Pulse to stop the Fire-type.
"Blaziken, redirect your Mega Kick and the Dragon Pulse and turn it into a Blaze Kick!" May commanded and Blaziken changed its direction to the Dragon Pulse. When the Dragon-type attack hit Blaziken's fiery talon, a midair explosion was caused.
"Pikachu, jump on the Luster Purge and charge until you get close enough for an Iron Tail!" Ash countered Cloud's counter.
"What?!" Cloud exclaimed and saw Pikachu jump on top of the Luster Purge. The mouse then began charging at Latios and sent the Dragon-type flying against the wall of a mountain with Iron Tail.
"Blaziken, now!" May commanded and Blaziken sprinted out of smoke and took Latias by surprise, the Blaze Pokémon then sent the Dragon-type crashing against a wall with Mega Kick.
Latios and Latias quickly gained their composure and Cloud smiled, "Not bad, but not good enough. Latios, Latias, use Recover!"
"No way!" Ash and May shouted in surprise. Pikachu and Blaziken widened gasped as the Eon Duo began to glow yellow and the cuts they received vanished.
"Now Latias, use a double Mist Ball on Pikachu and Blaziken!" Cloud extended his arm to the left.
"Blaziken, dodge it!" May commanded.
"You do the same, Pikachu!" Ash extended his arm out to the right.
The two swift Pokémon easily dodged Latias's double attack, but Cloud smirked. "You missed!" Ash and May declared happily.
"That's what I was going for, Latios, Earthquake!" Cloud demanded and Latios made the ground shake with by descending.
The ground began to shake uncontrollably as Pikachu and Blaziken lost their balance and the motions of the ground sent them flying against the wall. Ash and May's jaws dropped, knowing the attack would have a heavy hit on both.
Scraggy's eyes had remained wide since the start of the battle; the Fighting-type was easily intimidated by the awesome power of the Eon Duo. All of a sudden, a large red Pokémon burst out of the ground, it was almost the size of a skyscraper, but strangely enough it didn't leave a hole in the ground from where it came.
Ash and May quickly identified the giant as, "Groundon!"
"Those are just the effects of the illusion, they might intrude on our battle so you might want to keep your focus at a peak," Cloud informed them and the pair remembered the incident with Kyogre and Groundon in Hoenn.
Pikachu and Blaziken groaned as they got up, but Latios and Latias were far from done. "Latias, now use Helping Hand!" Cloud instructed. Latias nodded and got beside its male counterpart and the two began charging up blue energy.
"This isn't good," Ash grinded his teeth.
"I know what you mean, we're going to have to coordinate better now, those two are almost unbeatable," May commented, gazing at the Eon Duo and nodded with Ash.
"Powered up and ready to attack, Latios, Latias, strike down Blaziken and Pikachu!" Cloud extended his arm forward with his hand opened.
Latios and Latias shot out a stream of blue energy at Pikachu and Blaziken with incredible speed, but Ash and May had a counter attack. "Pikachu…" Ash spoke his pal's name.
"Blaziken…" May said her starter's name.
"Use Fire Volt Tackle!" the couple instructed and their Pokémon nodded. Cloud raised an eyebrow, interested in how that combination would work. Blaziken released a Fire Spin, which Pikachu went through and charged up a Volt Tackle.
As the blue ray of energy and the combination neared, Pikachu's Volt Tackle made the flames more intense. The mouse then jumped forward with Fire Spin and charged, "Pikachu!" When the attacks collided a large explosion produced in front of Scraggy and the three humans.
Cloud watched in amazement while Ash and May hid their eyes from the shine. When the smoke cleared, Pikachu was panting and glaring at the Eon Duo, covered in scorch marks. "I can't believe Pikachu managed to take a hit that strong," Ash became surprised with the amount of power Pikachu had demonstrated.
"Yeah, I don't believe it either," May was just as surprised with Ash.
"Impressive, but there's more where that came from," Cloud smirked, alerting Ash and May.
Suddenly, a Blaziken appeared in front of Pikachu and caught the mouse off guard. The Blaziken used Blaze Kick, but Pikachu jumped over it. Blaziken then saw a Sceptile appear in front of it and it used Solarbeam. Blaziken countered with Overheat, but was surprised to see that Overheat just went through the Solarbeam.
Ash grinded his teeth in frustration, realizing what just happened. May frowned with anxiety and spoke, "They were illusions…"
"Unfortunately, your focus wasn't at peak," Cloud spoke to them and before the two could respond, a Luster Purge hit Pikachu and sent the mouse flying against the ground. Blaziken was also sent flying against the dirt by Mist Ball.
Ash and May spotted Latios and Latias above them, having assaulted them while they were distracted. "We're not going to win like this," May clenched her fist as she saw Blaziken get up, covered in bruises and panting heavily.
"We can use the other combination," Ash suggested, knowing that they only had one trump card left.
May looked at Pikachu and Blaziken, the brunette then nodded at Ash. "Now it's our turn," May glared at Cloud with anger.
"Show me your strength," Cloud smirked at them.
"Pikachu, get on Blaziken and prepare to use Thunder Blitz," Ash told his yellow friend.
Pikachu grinded his teeth and with its remaining strength, it leaped on to Blaziken's back as Blaziken began to glow red. "Blaze has activated!" May cheered with delight, knowing that might still win.
"Good, Pikachu begin charging Thunder," Ash grinned slyly.
May also formed a sly smile and made her next command, "Blaziken, use Flare Blitz!"
"Blaziken!" the Fire-type cried out and began charging at Latios and Latias, who remained in front of Cloud.
"Piiiiikaaaachuuuu!" Pikachu released a powerful Thunder attack that enveloped the pair in electricity, Blaziken and Pikachu were almost a gold color, reflecting the same combination Ash used to beat Tate and Liza all those years ago in Hoenn.
As Blaziken continued charging, a furious flame also began enveloping them and they resembled an electric, yet fiery bullet. "Dragon Pulse, both of you!" Cloud countered and Latios and Latias launched their Dragon-type attacks at the powerful duo.
Much to Cloud's surprise though, the Dragon Pulse vaporized on contact and Pikachu and Blaziken bashed at Latios and Latias, producing another powerful explosion composed of electricity and fire. Ash, May, Cloud, Scraggy gazed at the attack with astonishment.
They continued to stare until it vanished and revealed the four Pokémon. Blaziken and Pikachu were standing together, panting after unleashing such a powerful combination. Latios was also panting; his body was covered in scorch marks and enveloped in static.
Latias, however, laid on the ground, unconscious, much to everyone's surprise. "We defeated Latias," May stared in disbelief, but then formed a smile and looked at Ash.
"Looks like we did," Ash gazed at May with disbelief, but then grinned happily, having defeated a Pokémon of the Majestic 12 for the first time and it was a Latias.
"We got to celebrate this later," May winked at Ash and then giggled.
"You bet, now if we could only defeat Latios," Ash smiled at May and then turned their gazes to Latios.
Cloud smiled at Ash and May, admiring them and their power. "I see, so that's why," Cloud muttered and returned Latias. His stare became stern again and spoke, "You defeated Latias, but you still have a long way to take down Latios."
"One more hit and Latios is out, we're going to win!" May formed a confident smile.
"You're finished Cloud," Ash grinned confidently as well.
Suddenly, they found themselves in the misty plains again. "What's going on?" May stopped gazing at Cloud and looked around.
"We're back where we were," Ash realized with the brunette, Scraggy, Pikachu, and Blaziken.
"With Latias gone, Latios isn't able to keep up the illusions on its own, but no Latios can use its full power," Cloud smirked, alarming Ash and May when he heard the words, "full power".
"Latios, use Recover," Cloud commanded and Latios began to glow yellow.
"Not this time, Blaziken, use Overheat!" May instructed.
"Luster Purge," Cloud glared at Blaziken and as Latios recovered, it transferred some of energy to stop Overheat. The superior Psychic-type attack easily sent Overheat and sent Blaziken flying against the ground, dropping unconsciously.
May's eyes widened, "He took care of Blaziken with a single Luster Purge."
Ash placed his hand on her shoulder, "Don't worry May, this isn't the first time Pikachu's gone up against a Latios, we'll give it our all," the auburn-eyed teen smiled warmly at his girlfriend.
May looked into Ash's eyes and smiled, "Go get em, Ash." Ash nodded and turned to Latios.
"Let's end this," Cloud smiled confidently.
"You know Cloud, you don't seem so bad compared to the other creeps in the Majestic 12," Ash told the blond-haired teen.
Cloud raised an eyebrow and glared at Ash, he ignored Ash's comment and spoke, "Shut up and battle, Latios use Luster Purge!"
"Pikachu, let's repeat the showdown in Sinnoh!" Ash cried out, making Cloud wonder what he meant. Pikachu nodded and grinned slyly. With the last of its energy, Pikachu jumped into the air and used Volt Tail.
Pikachu's tail turned into iron and then began to charge up electricity as it shot down like a bullet, breaking through Latios's Luster Purge up until a certain point. Cloud and Ash grinded their teeth in frustration, realizing they had ended in a standstill. Pikachu used up all its energy in Volt Tail while Latios roared as it tried to fight back with Luster Purge.
"Let Pikachu have it," Cloud simply stated and Latios used all its energy to send Pikachu flying into the air.
"Pikachu!" Ash cried out as Pikachu flew up and then crashed down on the ground. May and Scraggy also watched in horror as Pikachu crashed down violently.
Pikachu panted as it lied on the ground, it stared at Cloud and Latios then at Ash. The auburn-eyed boy wasn't sure what to expect. The mouse got up again and prepared to battle again, "I can't believe Pikachu still wants to battle," May was surprised by Pikachu's willpower.
Ash gave Pikachu a smile and held May's hand as he prepared to make his last stand, "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"
"Latios give Pikachu a taste of its own medicine with a Thunderbolt of your own," Cloud countered and Latios released a Thunderbolt, surprising the couple and Pikachu. Latios's Thunderbolt easily canceled out Pikachu's and shot at the mouse, but then Pikachu got pushed to the side by Scraggy and the newborn took the hit.
"Scraaaaaaaggyyyyyyy!" Scraggy cried out in pain as Ash, May, and Pikachu watched in shock.
"Scraggy, no!" Ash shouted out.
"Latios, stop now!" Cloud quickly screamed out and Latios stopped.
Scraggy dropped to the ground, smiling weakly, but enveloped in Static. Ash and May quickly ran over to it and Ash put the baby in his arms. May caressed the newborn while Pikachu ran over to inspect it.
"Scraggy, why did you go off like that?" May petted the baby with a concerned tone, tears in her eyes, and horrified by the fact that a newborn had taken a full power blast from a Legendary Pokémon.
"Scrag…" Scraggy smiled weakly and closed its eyes and fainted, while static still traveled through its body.
"Pika," Pikachu petted the newborn as well, wishing Scraggy hadn't gotten in the way.
"Don't worry Scraggy, we'll get you better soon," Ash smiled at the baby Pokémon, but then gave Cloud a stern look. "The battle's over, Cloud…" the black-haired teen said.
Cloud closed his eyes and opened them again. "Your Scraggy needs medical attention, you should hurry if you want to get it cured. Today you showed me that you are stronger than we believed, the Majestic 12 has the right to fear you, Ash and May. You're still no match for them, but with more practice, your attacks, defense, and teamwork will become your tickets to win. I hope we meet again soon and battle, I'd like to see how strong you've gotten during our next meeting."
"Why are you telling us this," May said with a baffled look, confused about whether Cloud was a friend or foe.
"Because I'm not who you think I am," Cloud answered the brunette and vanished into the mist with Latios.
"Cloud…" Ash stared at the mist Cloud disappeared and then turned to May. May saw the worried gaze in Ash's eyes and gave him a warm smile.
"Scraggy will get better in no time Ash, I promise," May told the auburn-eyed teen. "We just fought an insanely powerful trainer and we've been worse situations, right?" May winked at Ash.
Ash felt comforted by her words and grinned, "Right."
May knew now wasn't the time, but she leaned toward the boy and pecked his lips with hers; it was a short, but sweet moment for the two. May caressed Ash's cheek and they prepared to search for a Pokémon Center. Pikachu grinned at the tender moment between the two, but quickly prepared to mobilize, but suddenly.
"Ash, May, Pikachu!" Iris's voice called out to them and the trio realized it was no longer foggy.
The trio turned to Iris and saw her running up to them with Cilan. "Iris, Cilan, Axew!" May shouted in joy.
"Boy, we're glad to see you," Ash smiled at the pair.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu cheered as well, still covered in injuries.
Cilan smiled at his friends and spoke, "We were looking for you guys all over, we even called your names too, but we just couldn't find you."
"The same was with us, but we got into some trouble," May responded and gave them a sad look and turned to Scraggy.
Iris's eyes widened when she saw the injured Scraggy and realized Pikachu was also covered in wounds, "What happened?"
"We ran into a member of the Majestic 12, they challenged us to a battle and we had no choice, but to accept. We used Pikachu and Blaziken, but during one of the attacks the attacker's Pokémon used Thunderbolt and Scraggy took the hit for Pikachu," Ash explained the chaos that had transpired.
"That's horrible," Iris stated as she and Axew gave the unconscious Scraggy sympathetic gazes.
"Is there a Pokémon Center nearby, so we can take Scraggy?" May asked the two friends.
"I'm afraid not, the next Pokémon Center is a day's walk from here and it's already dusk," Cilan stated as he looked at the horizon.
Ash and May sighed with disappointed, realizing how fast the day had passed. Iris then began to speak, "Hey, why don't I go in search of herbs with Axew, I'm we'll be able to make a cure for Scraggy and even something to heal Pikachu if we look around."
"You'd do that Iris?" Ash gave Iris a cheerful grin.
"Of course, Scraggy is paralyzed and weak, Pikachu isn't exactly in top shape either, so we'll come back with the right herbs to cure both of them, right Axew?" Iris smiled and turned to her Dragon-type.
"Ax axew ax ax," Axew nodded happily, wishing to help their friends.
"Iris, thank you so much," May's eyes shined with gratitude, the brunette cared as much for Ash's Pokémon as her own.
"Why don't I help?" Cilan stated.
"Sure, Axew and I could use an extra hand," Iris happily accepted Cilan's offer.
Cilan nodded and spoke to Ash and May, "Ash, May, I'll leave the supplies here in the meantime, take care of Scraggy for now and you can set up the campsite if you'd like."
"Right," Ash and May replied.
With that, Iris, Cilan, and Axew rushed into the forest in search of the herbs. Ash, Pikachu, and May smiled; glad they had friends like Cilan, Axew, and Iris around. The couple then turned to the supplies in Cilan's bag, which had the tents and other necessary equipment for a campsite.
"We should probably set the campsite up to save Iris and Cilan the trouble, they are doing us a big favor," Ash told May as they sat on the grass in front of the sunset.
"Good idea," May responded, smiling at Ash's consideration.
"Pikachu, watch Scraggy for us while we setup the campsite ok?" Ash placed Scraggy in front of the mouse, who nodded.
Ash and May opened Cilan's bags and prepared the tent. As they setup the site, they began to talk, "Ash, that Cloud guy seemed nicer than all the other members of the Majestic 12 we've met so far."
"Yeah, but he didn't seem to believe it, he even got mad when I pointed it out," Ash told the brunette.
"I wonder why, I became surprised when he left without even harming us, I thought we would be as cruel as the others, but he even gave us the chance to heal Scraggy," May said.
Ash nodded, "I wonder if it's because he is about as young as we are."
"Maybe, but I feel like there's more to it, Silver didn't look so old either, but he was a jerk too," May recounted the event in Luxuria Town.
"There was one other thing that confused me, he kept talking about how we were the chosen ones and he's not even the first to say it," Ash pointed out a recurring statement among the M12 members.
"I don't know, maybe we've been chosen to stop all the bad guys roaming Unova or we're supposed to stop some impending crisis," May replied.
"Yeah, it's not the first time it's happened to me," Ash said, recalling the time he ran into an incident with the Legendary Birds in the Orange Islands.
"You know what makes me feel so relieved after every encounter we have with them or Team Plasma, Team Neo Plasma, or Team Rocket?" May asked a rhetorical question.
"What?" the raven-haired teen asked.
May reached for Ash's hand from across the pile of logs for the campfire, "That I make it out alive with you."
Ash gave her a tender gaze and leaned in to give her a proper kiss. The girl bit his lips softly and the auburn-eyed teen shoved his tongue in her mouth. He ran his fingers through May's hair and the girl placed her hands on his cheeks and pulled him closer. "May…I love you," Ash breathed softly on her lips and May just stared at him with loving eyes and kissed his forehead.
"Unbelievable, we leave you here for half an hour and you're already eating each other," a voice stated and the two turned to see Iris, Cilan, and Axew in front of them.
Ash and May began to blush red and gave the couple gave them sheepish smiles. "Piiiii…" Pikachu sighed, obviously tired, but smiled when he saw that Iris, Axew, and Cilan had returned.
"Did you get the herbs?" May still had tint of red on her face when she asked.
"Yep, right here, Cilan is going to help me turn into the actual medicine," Iris showed some leaves with Axew.
"Axew ax," Axew cheered happily.
"Awesome!" Ash made a fist that represented his happiness.
"We should get it done in no time," Cilan smiled and they all nodded at the green-haired male.
15 minutes later…
Iris approached Ash and May, who were with Scraggy and Pikachu, with a bowl of medicine, a towel, and a bottle of alcohol. Cilan walked over with Axew as well and sat down with the other teens.
"This should make Scraggy feel better, Ash, can you open its mouth?" Iris told Ash and then asked him to open Scraggy's mouth.
"Sure," Ash said and slightly opened the Pokémon's mouth, Iris then shoved in some of the medicine.
"May, use the alcohol and towel to ease Pikachu's wounds," Cilan handed May the other medicine equipment.
"Ok," May nodded and poured some alcohol on the towel and then rubbed it on Pikachu, the mouse squealed in pain and tried not to release an electric attack because of the alarming pain.
"Pika…." Pikachu sighed as May kept rubbing the towel, enduring the pain.
"Just relax Pikachu, just a bite more," May smiled and continued rubbing the towel, May once again felt like a mother as she tended to Pikachu's wounds, it was a nice feeling though.
As Iris gave Scraggy the medicine, Ash asked, "Iris, can I give Scraggy some medicine, I want to see what it feels like."
"Sure," Iris smiled and handed the medicine to Ash. "Just give it a few more spoons and let it rest, Scraggy should be feeling good as new tomorrow," Iris said, grinning at Ash because she knew the boy would be happy with the news.
Ash received the medicine with a smile and began giving the medicine to the sleeping Scraggy, the expression on the baby Pokémon's showed signs of alleviation in comparison to earlier, hinting at the ease Scraggy was now feeling.
As Ash gave Scraggy the medicine, he turned to May and saw her rubbing the towel with alcohol on Pikachu. May noticed and the couple smiled at each other as they each tended a wounded Pokémon.
"They look like parents tending to their children," Iris whispered to Axew and Cilan, making the duo snicker, but it was true.
The trio admired Ash and May, who sat next to each other, treating the Pokémon while smiling at each other lovingly. It certainly was a beautiful sight.
That was it, I would've included the part where Scraggy is completely cured, but I got lazy lol. However, Scraggy is going to get better, obviously. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and Cloud's appearance, the battle between the lovers and Cloud was obviously the main event. The purpose of this chapter was to have Ash and May centralized while formally introducing Cloud and Scraggy. Remember to review Review REVIEW lol, leave thoughts and opinions. Unfortunately, I won't have time to update this week so the next chapter won't be up till next week. Till then guys!