Chapter 24: Dreamscape
After bathing in the lake, Ash was drying his hair with the towel and gazed up at the blue sky with a bright smile. When he finished drying his hair, he looked down at his friend with a smile. "A brand new day and fresh start," Ash smiled, glad that for once in a while, he hadn't woken up to Iris's screams.
"Pika!" Pikachu agreed. The mouse was also drying himself by shaking off the water from his fur and grinned up at Ash.
He put the towel around his neck and began walking back to the campsite, "Let's go pal, we have to wake up May and Victini, we need to get to Virbank before nightfall," Ash informed the mouse, who nodded. Ash took one last look of the serene scene behind him, a crystal clear lake surrounded by a lush green forest, which stood beneath a gleaming and powerful sun. The black-haired teen grinned and advanced with his best friend.
When he got back he raised an eyebrow in surprise, the campsite was gone, except for the black-stained wood for the fire. "May, I didn't expect you to be and ready," the auburn-eyed teen said.
May placed her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow, "Well I don't sleep till too late Ash. I am not a Snorlax."
The raven-haired teen chuckled and motioned his hands back and forth in front of him, "Relax May. I am just glad to see you up and dressed. You even returned all the Pokémon back into their Pokéballs." Ash stated while grinning.
"I couldn't have gotten ready so quick without the help of-," May was about to say, but then got interrupted by small creature that popped up behind her.
"Victini!" the Victory Pokémon charged at Ash and hugged him happily.
"Hey little guy, glad to see you up too, thanks for helping May get ready," Ash hugged the little one and smiled at it.
"You know Ash, I picked up those habits of being up and ready from you when we traveled in Hoenn and Kanto. And Since Cilan and Iris aren't here, I figured you'd need my help with putting everything away too," the brunette said to the boy, "And thanks again for your help Victini," May turned her attention to the small Fire-type in Ash's arms and winked.
"V!" Victini smiled and hover over to her and hugged her waist affectionately.
Pikachu then climbed onto Ash's shoulder and smiled at the sight, Ash also found the scene adorable, but they had to get moving now, "We should get going now, Virbank City shouldn't be far now."
Victini stopped hugging May and floated onto her shoulder and sat there. May grinned and nodded, "Right, I want to get there as soon as possible."
Ash walked over to May and they took a glance at each other and began walking. May then unexpectedly grabbed Ash's hand and held it. Ash only smiled at her affection and held onto her hand as well while Victini and Pikachu gazed at the road ahead.
From the position of the sun, Pikachu could tell that it would be noon in just a few hours and like Ash and May, Pikachu was eager to reach the city. It may have only been one day since they lost contact with civilization, but for Pikachu it felt like they had survived in the forest for ages and all he wanted was to reach society like his friends, besides, he was also eager to catch up with Iris, Cilan, and Axew.
Victini rubbed his cheek against May and the sapphire-eyed girl grinned at his affection. Victini's affection towards them inevitably reminded her of another creature with a similar attitude, "Ash, Victini reminds me a lot of Manaphy."
"Like you said May, Victini is a baby and like Manaphy at the time, it's treating you this way because it probably views you as its mother. The liking it's taken towards you is as strong as when Manaphy first met you," the auburn-eyed teen explained why May reminisced so much of the Legendary Water-type.
"Like Manaphy and that Larvitar you told me about, Victini also seems fond of you Ash; it thinks you're its father. The amount of affection it has towards you is probably as much as the affection it shows towards me," May pointed out something Ash hadn't mentioned.
Ash couldn't help but turn light red when May pointed it out and showed a gentle smile, remembering how even he served as a parent-figure for some Pokémon in the past; including the Larvitar he met in Johto. "Guess we're its parents."
May smiled softly when he saw Ash's face and spoke, "And like any other parents. We have to look out for this baby like if it were our own." When May said that she turned her head to the left and stared at Victini with a smile on her face, she then rubbed her cheek gently against it.
"Vi vi," Victini grinned cheerfully, enjoying the fondness its 'mother' was showing.
"Yeah, definitely a great mother," Ash muttered to himself while staring at the pair with Pikachu.
All of a sudden, the sweet moment stopped when the sound of leaves rustling was heard. The group instantly stopped walking and searched around the area for signs of anyone or anything there.
Ash and May pressed up against each other and analyzed the area for a while, but the rustling eventually stopped and after a few more minutes, the pair sighed in relief and put their guard down.
Pikachu and Victini looked all over with confused expressions; even they failed to determine the source of where the rustling had been coming from. When the pair began walking, May mentioned something, "You know Ash, I can't ignore the feeling that there's more to this forest than we think. It's pretty strange if you ask me," the brown-haired coordinator stated, remembering the illusion she saw at the lake last night.
"I agree. There's something fishy about all this. Last night while setting up camp, I saw something lurking among the trees, it looked like the projection of some kind of Pokémon, but I couldn't really identify it," Ash mentioned his sighting from last night, something that had been on his mind for since the moment he saw it.
May's eyes grew bigger when she heard what Ash and figured she should also tell him what she saw, "Actually yeah, last night while I was at the lake, I saw something hovering above the water and it looked like a Pokémon I had seen before. What Pokémon though, I'm not sure, I also had a hard time trying tell what it was. I thought I was seeing things," the sapphire-eyed girl admitted.
Ash raised his eyebrows and gazed down at the ground, "Well it certainly is strange, but I guess we can't do much about. Hopefully we won't run into something as strange as that on the way to Virbank City."
"Me too, we're better off forgetting about it," May replied to Ash and they both nodded.
"V vi," Victini said, catching the pair's attention.
"Pikapi!" Pikachu also said to get the couple's attention.
"Huh, what's going on guys?" Ash looked at Pikachu and then Victini.
"I think I know Ash," May pulled on Ash's arm while still holding to his arm and looked around the forest.
Ash followed her gaze and saw that the area was becoming foggy. The auburn-eyed teen sighed and spoke, "Great, fog."
Victini's eyes became wide and it hovered behind Ash's head in fear and peeked around the zone, trying to understand what was going on. "Don't worry Victini, this isn't the first time we've been in this kind of predicament," Ash turned around to assure it that everything was going to be alright.
"I don't know Ash, this fog doesn't seem friendly, remember the last time this happened," May held on to Ash's hand tighter and had a concerned look while Pikachu became stern and observant.
The couple and Pikachu clearly remembered the last time random fog appeared, it was because of the Majestic 12 member, Cloud. Remembering the incident with Cloud and how their Pokémon got injured, the group braced themselves for the worst.
"Lit…," said a disturbing voice that alarmed the group of four.
"What was that?" May looked around anxiously as the fog began to cover up the entire forest. She could only see as far as six feet in front of her.
"Wick…" another disturbing voice said.
Ash frowned and squeezed on May's hand while Pikachu prepared to leap off Ash's shoulder and battle. Victini kept hiding behind Ash's head and examined the area frantically. "Whatever it is, it doesn't sound good," Ash gritted his teeth, trying to see through the dense fog.
"Pika pi!" Pikachu pointed in front of Ash and the rest of the group turned its eye to where Pikachu pointed at.
Their eyes all focused on the small shimmer of light coming at them, it noticeably grew bigger as they stared, as if the light were approaching. "What's that?" May glared at the approaching light.
"I'm not sure, Pikachu, be ready for anything," Ash ordered and Pikachu leaped off Ash's shoulder, getting into a battling stance.
When the light was close enough, a small figure was revealed. It resembled a candle and it had a small purple flame on the top of its head, "Litwick," the Pokémon smiled when it saw the group.
Ash, May, and Pikachu raised an eyebrow when they saw the small and adorable-looking Pokémon. "Is this the little guy who caused the fog nearly made my spine come out of my back," May was relieved when she saw Litwick and let out a deep breath.
"Looks like it, we were afraid for nothing," Ash smiled and let his guard down.
"Lit," Litwick just stood in front of them, grinning innocently.
"Vi," Victini took a peek at the Pokémon, but it still looked scared from the look in its eyes.
"No need to be afraid Victini, it doesn't look like it'll hurt us," Ash assured the small Fire-type, but Victini wasn't convinced.
May reached for her Pokédex and spoke, "I wonder what Pokémon it is," the brunette wondered.
When the Pokédex's screen lit up, the small Pokémon appeared. "Litwick, the Candle Pokémon. Litwick appear to be helping to guide the way of people by illuminating areas that are darkened, but in reality they are actually leading them to the Ghost World. They feed off the life energy of people and Pokémon, and use it as fuel for the flames on their heads," the robotic voice of the Pokédex stated.
May returned her Pokédex and said, "For a cute Pokémon, it sure sounds creepy."
"Well it is a Ghost Pokémon," Ash smiled, disregarding what the Pokédex said.
Ash walked over to Litwick and kneeled down. Ash smiled at it and spoke, "Hey there little guy, nice to meet you."
"Wick lit," Litwick grinned at Ash and extended its hand.
"It seems pretty friendly," May stated, observing the interaction between Ash and Litwick.
Ash and Litwick shook hands, but suddenly the look in Litwick's eyes changed to devious ones. "Litwick," the Pokémon said its name with an evil tone and all of a sudden, a dozen Litwick surrounded the group, forming a circle.
"What's going on?" May became alert when she saw the other Litwick pop up, they all had sinister gazes.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu got its guard back up and threatened to shock the devious Litwick if they harmed them.
"Victini," Victini hid behind May's head and hugged it out of fear.
"Litwick!" the Pokémon pulled its arm back and yelled. Behind each Litwick shot out a small blue orb.
Ash and May got caught off guard as the orb encircled them. "Huh?" the couple said simultaneously and the next second they found themselves dropping to the ground and closing their eyes.
Pikachu also experienced the same and fell to the ground while Victini barely managed to dodge the Litwick. The frightened Victory Pokémon saw the group of Litwick approaching it and it helplessly tried to awaken its parents, tears forming in its eyes, the Pokémon cried, "Victini v vi."
"Wick," the Litwick smirked as they neared the Fire-type.
Victini's tears began to stream down its cheeks and as the Litwick approached them, the Psychic-type began to feel a sense of hopelessness until it felt an energy surge inside it and the Pokémon glared at the Litwick.
The tears on Victini's cheeks and eyes evaporated, "Vi victini," the Pokémon glared and the last thing the Litwick saw was a red aura surrounding the Legendary Pokémon.
Ash slowly lifted his eyelids and rubbed his eyes with his hand. He gazed up at the black sky, which lacked a moon and stars. He immediately sat up and rubbed his eyes a bit more. "It feels like I got stomped on my Tauros, what happened?" Ash examined the area, he was still in the dark forest, but strangely enough, the forest was illuminated like if there were actual moonlight.
The raven-haired teen got up and looked around the area, "Where's May, Pikachu, and Victini. Last thing I remember was we got attacked by Litwick." He clenched his fist and analyzed the zone carefully; he eventually gave up and sighed, "Looks like they're missing."
He walked around the area and looked behind the bushes and trees, hoping he would find them. He let out a deep breath and spoke, "I hope they're alright. If I know Pikachu, he'll protect May and Victini at any cost. The only thing I can do now is try to find them."
The auburn-eyed teen looked at the forest ahead of him and said something else, "It may already be nighttime, but I'm sure I can still find them. This is probably the billionth time this has happened; the only thing I should worry about is their safety."
Don't worry guys, I'm coming, Ash thought in his mind. After that quick thought, the boy dashed off into the woods in frantic search for his friends and lover. As he ran and motioned his eyes in all directions of the forest the boy could only think to himself, I wonder if Litwick took them.
The idea of the Litwick hurting May, Pikachu, and Victini disturbed his mind. He wouldn't allow that to happen, not on his watch, but the search was becoming futile in his mind. After several more minutes of searching, an idea struck his head. He reached for two Pokeballs and held them in his hand, "I know! I'll use Tranquil and Tepig to help me find them. Tranquil may not have the same quality vision like a Noctowl when it comes to flying over a dark forest in the middle of the night, but I'm sure it'll still help and Tepig can probably illuminate this forest a bit more with its flames."
He tapped on the buttons of his Pokéballs, but for some odd reason, they wouldn't increase to their regular size. Ash frowned and examined them, "That's odd, they should be working. May used them this morning to return the Pokémon, it's not right for it to suddenly stop working," the boy muttered.
A few seconds later, Ash became frustrated and murmured, "This isn't good. If I can't use Tranquil or Tepig, it'll take me forever to find May and the others. I wonder if the other Pokéballs work." The raven-haired teen reached for his other Pokéballs and pressed the button on each of them, but none of them would work.
Looks like I'm on my own, Ash sighed and returned his Pokéballs. Once this is over I'll have to find out why my Pokéballs aren't working, the raven-haired teen thought in his mind.
He examined the area once more, the leaves, trunks, bushes and darkness would make it hard to find his friends. Ash began to walk slowly, hoping that if he looked around more carefully, he'd find them. All of a sudden though, he heard a familiar voice call out to him, "Ash…"
Ash became alert and frowned towards the direction it came from, which was his right. "That voice…" Ash muttered and stood still to see if he could listen to it more closely.
"Ash…" the voice called out.
Ash's eyes became wide and the auburn-eyed teen recognized it. He then ran in the direction of the source and muttered, "May, I'm coming, hold on." Ash charged at full speed through the forest, hoping to reach May.
As he got closer, the calling of his name became clearer and Ash couldn't help but smile at the fact of reuniting with the girl he had been so worried about, with any luck, Pikachu and Victini would be with her.
"Ash…" May's voice called to him.
"May, don't worry I'm on my way!" Ash shouted and then saw clearing where they were no trees, no bushes, just plain grass. Ash dashed out of the forest and found himself standing there and in front of him was May.
She had her back turned to him and Ash simply smiled when he saw. The boy slowly walked over to her and said, "May…it's me. Are you alright?" the boy approached her and touched her shoulder.
His touch caused May to turn around and there he saw the brunette with a frightened gaze. "I'm fine, now that you're here," May's face turned from frightened to a mischievous, happy one. Ash had never seen that sort of happy expression on her face though; it was a very strange one since he had never seen it before.
The brunette hugged him and Ash embraced, "I'm glad, May. But have you seen Pikachu and Victini?" the auburn-eyed teen asked her, looking down at the brunette.
May lifted her head up and gazed at him, "No I haven't, I woke up and found myself here. I became worried when I saw that all of you were missing and all I could do was call out for you, hoping you'd find me," the girl had her frightened look on again.
"Don't worry May, I'm here now, and we'll find Pikachu and Victini," Ash reassured her and continued to hug her.
May smirked and pulled Ash closer to her, they instantly locked lips. Ash got caught off guard, but the touch of May's lips caused him to surrender to her and he placed his hands on her waist.
The next moment, he felt May's arms wrapped around his neck and she let her tongue into his mouth. This also caught Ash off guard, but he eventually let the girl in and let their moment continue where they ended up playing with their tongues. The sensation of the kiss was different from any other Ash had received from her though, this was one was more passionate but in a rougher way. The brunette continued to aggressively kiss and she pressed up against him, she got so close that Ash could feel her chest pressing up against him and the boy couldn't help but blush because of her actions.
Taking a quick pause to breathe, the boy took a few deep breaths while May continued to press up against him. Ash flashed a sheepish smile and said, "I'd like to continue this May, but we have a Pikachu and Victini to find."
May giggled and smirked at him, "They're fine Ash, I'm sure of it. Pikachu is one of the strongest Pokémon I know and Victini is a Legendary Pokémon. They are able to handle anything in this forest without breaking a sweat and before you know it, they'll be here interrupting our little moment."
Ash sighed and flashed a weak smile, "I guess, bu-," before he could finish, May placed her index finger on his lips.
May gave Ash a seductive gaze, a gaze he had never seen. "Just relax, nothing is going to happen," the girl said and pulled the boy by his collar and kissed him once again.
The raven-haired teen got caught off guard, but this time he was starting to get annoyed with her actions. He could hear May unzipping his hoodie and taking it off. She then grabbed his hands as she kissed him and forced Ash to take off her sleeveless thin white jacket. The next thing she did was take off his hat and threw it towards the grass.
May separated from him for a second and gave him a mischievous grin, "Time for the next part," the girl smirked.
"May sto-," but he got cut off again and the next thing he felt was May pushing him towards the ground and she got on top of him in a position he wasn't exactly comfortable with.
"Do you mind seeing what's underneath this?" the sapphire-eyed girl referred to her black shirt.
"What?" Ash frowned, confused by what she was saying.
"I'm sure you'd like to see more than my belly button and cleavage, right?" May continued to grin mischievously and winked at him.
Ash glared at her, but his face turned red and the next second he found May halfway from taking off her shirt completely, but before she could finish, Ash pushed her off and got up.
"Ash, what's the big idea, I thought you loved me?" May glared at him, she lowered her shirt and stood up.
Ash glared at her and made a fist, "You're not May." The boy simply stated.
May became surprised by his words, but quickly regained her composure and gave a sinister smile and her sapphire eyes became cold, "What gave it away?" the brunette questioned with a devious tone.
As Ash placed his hoodie and hat back on, he spoke, "The real May wouldn't do something like that for no reason and out of the blue, especially at a moment like this. The real May wouldn't be so direct about stuff like that and instead of making love; she'd be worried about where Pikachu and Victini are. I know the real May, and you aren't it," the auburn-eyed teen glared at her.
"Clever boy," the fake May's voice became awfully frightening, becoming that of a demon.
"If you want to hide your identity better next time, I recommend you learn how they act. Even the way you kissed hinted at the fact that you weren't May, I was just too stupid to realize until just a few seconds ago," Ash frowned at the copy of May, not even frightened by the tone in May's voice and just kept clenching his fist as he looked at her.
"I rather ignore that comment," the false May gave Ash a sly smirk.
"Who are you?" Ash asked sternly.
"A ghost of many shapes, and the ruler of this realm, the Ghost World, welcome to my nightmare, Ash!" the figure yelled at Ash and smiled evilly.
Ash glared at the phony, acknowledging that it was a phantom or ghost who dwelled in what was apparently the Ghost World. The Pallet teen then spoke, "Well in that case. Get me out of your realm because I have to find some friends."
"Only after you battle me," the evil May revealed a Pokéball.
"Anything to get out of this nightmare," Ash reached for a Pokéball, disregarding the fact that none of them were working.
"This is more than just a dream; this is where you'll reside for all eternity. You'll never wake up and find yourself in the human world ever again," the phony May threw her Pokéball.
"Like I haven't heard that one before," Ash continued to stand his ground, but his eyes widened when he saw the Pokémon that emerged. "Pikachu…?" Ash asked when he saw that the Pokémon was none other than his best friend.
"Pikaaaaa," Pikachu glared at Ash and prepared to battle.
"Let's see how you fare against your friend, it won't be easy. You've trained him yourself," the false May crossed her arms and gave Ash a sinister look.
Ash tried to activate one of his Pokéballs, but they still refused to work, "None of my Pokéballs are working," the boy gritted his teeth in frustration.
"Well, that's too bad, you've already lost. Pikachu, Quick Attack now!" the phantom commanded.
Ash frowned and shouted at his partner, "Pikachu stop, it's me, Ash!"
Pikachu ignored Ash's words and charged at him full speed, sending Ash crashing towards the ground. Pikachu frowned at Ash as the boy slowly got up. "Pikachu, snap out of it, none of this real," Ash tried to get through to his friend.
"So smart, yet so stupid," the figure chuckled demonically. "If this isn't real, then how come you try to talk Pikachu as if it were your actual friend? The real Pikachu is probably in his own nightmare right now, being haunted by the other residents of the Ghost World and like you; he's trapped in this realm forever."
Ash got on his feet and grinded his teeth, "This Pikachu may just be the result of this twisted nightmare, but I have no choice but to get through it and try to stop it from attacking. I'm sure even the Ghost World has its own weakness and I'll figure it out soon enough."
"Foolish child," the false May smirked and said, "Pikachu, Iron Tail!"
"Pikachu, stop this!" Ash yelled at it, but since Pikachu leapt up into the air and turned its tail into iron. Ash became forced to cover himself with his arms in an X-shape.
"Victini!" a familiar cry let out and a stream of fire shot at Pikachu, stopping the illusion of the real Pikachu from hitting Ash.
Ash lowered his arms and saw Victini in front of him, frowning at the phony May and Pikachu. "Victini, how'd you find me?" Ash inquired when he saw the Psychic-type.
"An uninvited guest has infiltrated your nightmare and the Ghost World. No matter, this Pikachu is based on the power of your own and should be more than enough to stop that meddlesome Fire-type," the demonic May remained confident.
"Guess we just found the Ghost World's weakness," Ash smirked.
"Vi," Victini grinned at Ash.
"I've never been happier to see you Victini. How about we crush these guys and find a way out?" the black-haired teen smiled at the Victory Pokémon.
Victini grinned confidently and turned to its opponents. The false May smirked and spoke, "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt on Victini."
"Victini, dodge and use Flamethrower!" Ash extended his arm to the left.
"Piiikaaachuuu!" Pikachu cried out and released a stream of electricity at Victini.
Victini shot above to dodge the Thunderbolt, but it unexpectedly followed Victini upward, shocking Ash and Victini. The attack's greater speed allowed it to reach Victini and shot it down. "Victiniiiii," the Pokémon cried and hit the ground below, causing a loud thud.
"In this realm, it is much easier to defy physics," the phony May chuckled.
Ash glared at his opponent and looked at Victini, who slowly got up and frowned at Pikachu. "Looks like we'll have to fight with actual fire then, Victini, use Quick Attack!"
"Pikachu, do the same," the fake May ordered.
"V!" Victini cried and charged at Pikachu with full speed.
"Pikaaa!" Pikachu also charged forward.
They both glared at each other and charged at full power, but right before the collision, Ash made a command, "Victini, shoot upward and use Flamethrower!"
Pikachu and its trainer widened their eyes as they saw Victini shoot up and Pikachu just continued to advance. From above, Victini shot up and gazed down at Pikachu and unleashed a powerful stream of fire.
"Pikachu, make a u-turn and counter with Thunder!" the demonic May commanded.
Pikachu made a sharp u-turn, causing dust to rise and the Pokémon let out a furious blast of electricity. "Piiiiiiikaaaachuuuu!" the Pokémon cried out as the electricity aimed toward Victini.
It clashed with Flamethrower, but the much stronger Thunder easily overpowered it and blasted at Victini. The phony May smirk while Ash couldn't help but stare. Victini frowned and got forced to take different measures. Out of the blue, its eyes began to glow cerulean and so did the Thunder.
The blue aura around the Thunder forced it to stop while Victini's eyes continued to glow blue. The false May frowned and spoke, "Impossible, that Thunder should be too strong to be halted by a simple Confusion."
"Pikachu's strong, but it takes more than brawn to win a fight. It also takes strategy and willpower," Ash smiled at the ghost who took the form of his beloved.
"Victiniiiiiii!" the Pokémon shouted and blasted the Thunder back at Pikachu. The Electric-type got caught off guard by the attack and got blasted against a tree, receiving heavy damage from the attack in the process.
"Now finish this with a Searing Shot!" Ash instructed.
"Pikachu, counter with an Electro Ball!" the false May commanded.
Pikachu groaned as it got up, but it managed to get on its feet and flipped backward while shooting out an electric sphere from its tail, yelling "Pikaaa!" at the same time.
"Viiiiiiii," Victini glared and charged up enough fire in its body, which began to engulf it. Within seconds, it was ten times its size and launched it like a meteor at Pikachu. The Fire-type attack was easily superior to Electro Ball and destroyed it as it charged at Pikachu.
"Impossible!" the phony May shouted demonically as the Searing Shot crashed down on the ground and blasted Pikachu, capturing the mouse in its deadly inferno,
"Piiiiiiiii!" Pikachu cried out in pain as the fire coursed through its entire body and when the attack finally dispersed, Pikachu dropped to the ground unconscious.
Pikachu's body then suddenly disappeared into nothingness as the false May's eyes became dark black and felt herself vanishing into nothingness as well. "No, you troublesome brat, this isn't over. There's another ghost much stronger waiting for you at the end of this road. You'll be sorry when you meet it!" the demon cried as it began disappear. Its whole body began to fade away and in seconds it turned into black dust taken away by the wind.
Ash found himself staring at the trees again and grinned when he saw Victini hovering down towards. "Way to go Victini," Ash smiled at his friend.
"Vi vi!" Victini rushed over to Ash and hugged his head cheerfully.
"I'm glad you're alright too, but have you seen May or Pikachu around?" Ash said once Victini let go of him.
"V," Victini's face became sad and shook its head sideways.
"It's ok Victini, at least we're both safe now. The next thing we should do is find May and Pikachu and get out of here," Ash told the Fire-type.
"Vi," Victini nodded in agreement and smiled,
May rubbed her eyes as she sat up and saw Pikachu in her lap. "What's going on?" the brunette looked around the area and all she was the dark forest surrounding her, the dark sky had no moon or stars, but the forest managed to remain illuminated.
"Pi?" Pikachu slowly awakened and found itself in May's lap.
'What happened, Pikachu? Last I remember we got assaulted by Litwick. Where are Ash and Victini?" May questioned the mouse with a concerned look on her face, slowly regaining her composure after waking up.
"Pika," Pikachu jumped off May's lap and examined the area, seeing no sign of Ash or Victini around.
May got on her feet and took another look of the area; she placed her finger on her chin and had a worried look on, "You think the Litwick might have taken them?"
Pikachu frowned as he examined the area and tried to smell out his friends, but no luck. When he heard May's comment, he began to speak, "Pikapi pika pika pi pikachu pika." The mouse then gave May an assuring grin.
"You're right, I am sure Ash, can take care of Victini and himself. We've had worse experiences, like yesterday," May felt assured by Pikachu.
Pikachu grinned and climbed onto May's shoulder. "Pi," Pikachu grinned at the brunette.
"At least we're together, I feel much safer knowing you're here Pikachu," May scratched the back of Pikachu's ear, making the mouse coo happily.
After the brief exchange, May began to talk again, "Well we should get searching for Ash and Victini, I'm sure we won't be able to find them if we just stay here."
"Pika," Pikachu nodded and they walked into the deeper part of the forest in search for Victini and Ash. May and Pikachu searched beneath every rock, every hole in a trunk, every bush and were getting impatient with their lack of success. They had been very observant throughout the whole search for Ash and Victini.
They walked very slowly to detect any sign of Ash or Victini and even with Pikachu's Thundershock for illumination; they were still unable to find any sign of Ash around. The brunette sighed and looked at Pikachu, "At this rate we'll never find them Pikachu."
"Piiii…" Pikachu lowered his ears in disappointment.
Pikachu's saddened face caused May to give him a sympathetic look and the girl said, "Don't worry, we'll find them eventually. We just have to have hope."
"Pikachu," Pikachu grinned at May and her caring smile renewed his faith and the two agreed to give it another shot.
The search for Ash and Victini in such an empty forest shouldn't have been so hard, but this wasn't the case. Pikachu and May continued their frantic investigation, but they had no luck at all. It was tiresome and it seemed too futile to keep going.
"Pika," Pikachu pointed at a bush.
"Maybe behind here," May walked to the bush Pikachu pointed and looked behind it, but found nothing but the grass. "There's nothing here either, Pikachu," the brunette let out a deep breath.
"Pipika!" Pikachu exclaimed.
"Huh? What is it Pikachu?" May turned back to the mouse with a puzzled expression.
"Pi pikachu pi!" Pikachu pointed in to the left of them.
"What makes you say that, Pikachu?" May inquired.
"Pipika pi," Pikachu sniffed the air and pointed to the left again.
"You smell him?" May asked and Pikachu nodded. A smile formed on the brunette's face and she said, "Great, lead the way Pikachu."
Pikachu nodded and dashed toward the source of the scent the mouse had detected. May followed close behind and the only thought that could reach her mind was, don't worry Ash, Pikachu and I are coming for you. The brunette couldn't help but smile, knowing she would be reunited with her lover excited her and hopefully, Ash would be with Victini as well.
Whenever she got separated from Ash, Max, or anyone who was special to her, May would always feel her worries surge out of control, but there was no bigger relief than the one when she would be reunited with one of them after being lost. When she came to a clearing she suddenly stopped with Pikachu and they both saw figure with its back turned to them, it was clearly Ash like Pikachu had believed.
She became disappointed at the fact that there was no sign of Victini; nevertheless, she was glad to see her boyfriend in tip-top shape. May walked a bit closer to Ash and spoke with a cheerful smile on her face, "Ash, it's me and Pikachu. We were so worried about you, are you ok?" the brunette asked with a soft voice.
The figure turned around, but May instantly stepped back when she saw the expression on his face. It was the coldest gaze she had ever seen in her life and it was a gaze Ash would never give his friends, especially May.
Pikachu quickly got into a defensive stance while May became frightened, but gained her composure and frowned. "Wait a second, you're not Ash. The Ash I know would never give his friends the kind of look you're giving now."
"Correct," the cold-hearted copy of Ash grinned evilly as he reached for a Pokéball.
"Who are you then?" May glared at the strange figure.
"I'm like you, an inhabitant of the Ghost World," the phony Ash's voice became demonic.
"Ghost World?" May raised an eyebrow.
"Bingo little girl, your nightmare has brought you to the Ghost World, your permanent home. I'm resident of this world, shape-shifting into any form I please, like your boyfriend," the false Ash chuckled,
"Permanent home?" May raised an eyebrow, but then frowned again, "If this is a nightmare, then I can easily wake up from it. I'm not going to stay trapped in a fantasy world like this one."
"Little girl, it won't be easy to wake yourself out of this one. First and foremost, you'll have to defeat me," the fake Ash smirked and threw the Pokéball in his hand to the ground.
"A Blaziken," May gasped when she saw the Pokémon that had emerged.
"That's right, let's see how well you know this Pokémon's abilities, you're in for a fiery nightmare," the phony Ash crossed its arms and chuckled.
May grinned confidently and looked at Pikachu. "Pi," Pikachu nodded and got between Blaziken and May.
"That rat wasn't meant to awaken with you; the other ghosts never were too bright when it came to capturing helpless victims," the demonic ghost stated.
"Where are Ash and Victini?" May glared at the figure.
"Being haunted by the illusions of this world, just like you're about to awaken into a true nightmare," the figure smirked. "Blaziken, use Blaze Kick!" the fake Ash ordered.
"Blaz," Blaziken charged at Pikachu with a fiery kick.
"You'll be sorry. Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" May commanded.
"Pikachuuuu!" Pikachu released violent stream of electricity at Blaziken.
The phony Ash merely chuckled as Blaziken broke through the Thunderbolt and kicked Pikachu. Sending the Electric-type flying against the ground, crying in pain, "Pikaaaa!" the Pokémon shouted when it hit the ground.
"Pikachu!" May's eyes widened with surprise. She then turned to Blaziken and muttered, "But how?"
"If you didn't know, this Blaziken is actually an illusion of yours. All of its powers are based off the real one and if you didn't know another thing, Blaziken in reality, is vastly more powerful than Pikachu when used right," the demonic Ash stated and then chuckled.
May gritted her teeth as Pikachu got up, groaning from the pain. What in the world am I dreaming, those Litwick must done something to cause such a nightmare, the brunette thought in her mind.
"You've searched for Victini and your boy frantically with that Pikachu for a pretty long time, yet the only thing you managed to find, was your own demise," the evil copy of Ash smirked at May.
"Blaziken, Quick Attack on Pikachu now!" the illusion of Ash instructed.
"Pikachu, you use Quick Attack too!" May pointed at Blaziken when she made the command.
Pikachu and Blaziken braced themselves and charged at each other with full power. Pikachu and Blaziken glared at each other and when the collision was made, a sound wave was created causing the noise to echo across the forest.
For a moment, Pikachu and Blaziken remained in a standstill, until the phantom made another command, "Power up to a Flare Blitz."
Suddenly, Blaziken became engulfed in flames and lunged itself at Pikachu with enough power to send the mouse back crashing against a tree. "Piiiiikaaaa," Pikachu screamed in pain and dropped in the ground.
"Pikachu!" May shouted and rushed over to the mouse to care for it.
"Pika…" Pikachu looked at May and flashed a weak smile.
"It's alright Pikachu, you did your best," May picked up the mouse and held it in her arms like a baby.
"Pi?" Pikachu questioned.
"I don't know how we'll win, but we will, I promise. Ash wouldn't give up and I won't either," May remained kneeled down as she turned her attention to the illusions of two beings very close to her.
"Your failure to admit defeat saddens me. I'll have the honor of wrapping this up, Blaziken, use Fire Spin!" the demonic Ash instructed.
"Blaziken!" Blaziken shouted and released a spiral stream of fire.
What now…May thought, uncertain of how to react to the impending attack. She prepared to move out of the way until an unknown force caused the Fire Spin to stop halfway. The Fire-type attack became enveloped in a blue aura and May and Pikachu looked around to see who was causing this until they saw a small familiar Pokémon coming out of the trees.
Their eyes lightened up with relief when they saw who had appeared before them. "Victini!" May cried out in joy.
"Pika!" Pikachu grinned when he saw the Psychic-type.
Victini's eyes glowed blue as it hovered over to the Fire Spin and without warning, shot it back at Blaziken, causing the Blaze Pokémon to slide back from the attack, but remained unfazed.
"I should have known there was an intruder into the nightmare. That Victini's power is what I've been sensing," the phantom glared at the Victory Pokémon.
"Vi vi!" Victini hovered over to Pikachu and May, smiling happily at both of them.
"We're happy to see you too," the sapphire-eyed teen grinned at the Victory Pokémon.
"Victini v," Victini grinned at them as it hovered around in circles.
"Blaziken, Quick Attack this instant!" the voice of the false Ash could be heard.
Victini's attention from its friends quickly shifted to Blaziken and the Victory Pokémon narrowly dodged the Blaze Pokémon's charge.
"Spin around to counter and Blaze Kick!" the demonic Ash ordered.
After Victini narrowly dodged Quick Attack, it received an impending hit from Blaziken after it spun around 360 degrees to deliver the Blaze Kick. "Viiii!" Victini cried in pain as it flew back towards a tree, but the Psychic-type gained back its composure before it could crash against the tree trunk.
"Victini!" May shouted when she saw what she considered her baby being brutally attacked by Blaziken.
"Vi," Victini glared at Blaziken and braced itself for another attack.
"Not much of a fighter after all," the false Ash commented and chuckled.
May frowned and got on her feet. "Victini is going to defeat you, and I'm going to prove it to you. We won't lose to some manifestation of something that isn't real."
"Whatever you say, Blaziken, prepare a Fire Spin for our guests, start with Victini!" the evil Ash pointed at Victini.
"Victini, dodge and use Quick Attack fast!" the brunette commanded.
"Pikapi!" Pikachu ordered the Fire-type.
Victini nodded and swayed over from the approaching Fire Spin and charged at Blaziken full speed. The power of the charge and its speed allowed Victini to send Blaziken flying against the ground, but the Blaze Pokémon quickly got back onto its feet.
"That's the power of Victini, if you didn't know," May grinned confidently with Pikachu.
"Let's step it up, Blaziken, use Flamethrower!" the phony Ash instructed.
"Victini, use any ability that you feel will be able to counter Flamethrower," May let Victini make the decision as to how to strike back.
"V," Victini nodded and turned its gaze to the incoming Flamethrower. It hovered above the ground calmly and formed a smile on its face while slowly closing its eyes. All of a sudden, the Victory Pokémon became surrounded by a yellow aura and small sparkles of energy made the aura thicker.
"What's it doing?" May raised an eyebrow, confused by what Victini was doing.
"Blaziken, power up your Flamethrower to counter Stored Power, fast!" the false Ash commanded.
"Blaziken!" Blaziken shouted and thickened the stream of fire.
"Victini!" Victini instantly opened its eyes and unleashed a yellow beam of energy that shot straight through the Flamethrower, destroying it from existence and then charging towards Blaziken. Without warning, the energy beam shot at Blaziken and sent the Blaze Pokémon flying through multiple tree trunks, breaking them all in the process.
"Impossible!" the demonic Ash cried out.
"Way to go Victini, now finish this with Confusion!" the sapphire-eyed girl commanded.
Before Blaziken could get up, Victini's eyes began to glow blue and a blue aura enveloped Blaziken. The Victory Pokémon began to make the Blaziken levitate high into the air. Blaziken was too weak to fight back the Psychic's powers and the next command guaranteed its demise.
"Now, plummet it to the ground!" May ordered.
"Viiiiiii!" Victini obeyed and sent Blaziken shooting down like a meteor. When the Blaze Pokémon hit the ground, it caused a small sound wave and left a crater in the ground. Blaziken was clearly down for the count now.
The false Ash's eyes became a purple-black and it stood frozen in fear. "You troublesome girl, you may have defeated me, but the greatest opponents lies at the end of this path. You will be sorry when you cross paths with the king of the domain," the phantom stated with cold words and slowly began to disappear, every inch of its body turning into black dust blown away by the wind.
When the ghost finally vanished, Victini let out deep breaths and hovered over to May and Pikachu, "Vi v victini," the Legendary Pokémon smiled and danced around the too.
"You did it Victini, you did great out there and you didn't even need my help half the time," May congratulated Victini on its victory.
"Pika pi pikachu," Pikachu also congratulated Victini from May's arms; the mouse smiled at the Victory Pokémon and was proud of the infant for its first victory.
"Victini vi vi v," Victini rubbed its cheek against May's and then Pikachu's.
May rubbed her cheek against Victini in affection and when they stopped, she grinned joyfully at it. The happiness then came to stop when May questioned Victini about something that had been on her mind since she woke up to find herself in a nightmare, "Victini, we were looking for Ash through the forest and instead we ran into a fake. We were hoping you would be with him, but I was wondering if you actually know where Ash might be."
"V vi," Victini sighed and nodded its head sideways.
May and Pikachu displayed disappointed looks and Victini became saddened over the continued disappearance of their beloved friend. May caressed Victini and spoke softly, "Don't worry, the three of us will find Ash together, right?" the brunette smiled at Victini and Pikachu, hoping to get the same gesture back from them.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu became encouraged by May's optimism and agreed on continuing their search for Ash.
"Victini!" Victini cheered as well thanks to May's encouragement and agreed on finding Ash with its mother and brother.
The trio of friends then smiled at each other and once again prepared to search for the missing friend. After running into such a formidable foe though, they weren't sure what else to expect from this bizarre nightmare.
"We really have to get out of this place," May walked with Victini and Pikachu, gazing all over the nightmarish woodland zone.
"V vi," Victini sat on May's shoulder and held onto to her by her neck. The Victory Pokémon clearly remained frightened by the environment even after defeating illusions.
"Pi pika," Pikachu led the way; the mouse remained very alert and analyzed the area very carefully. From time to time he'd turn his head back to make sure if May and Victini were alright.
"We have to find Ash and discover a way out of here. I'm sure the Litwick created this nightmare after knocking us out, we have to find a way to wake up," May stated, desperate to be reunited with her boyfriend and get out of here.
"Pi," Pikachu nodded in agreement.
"Vi!" Victini pointed at something among the trees, the Victory Pokémon's gaze became frightened once again when it saw it.
"What's wrong Victini?" May looked at the Fire-type.
"Pikachu," Pikachu detected the figure as well and got into a defensive position, ready to protect May and Victini.
May became concerned with the Pokémon's attitude and looked where Victini had pointed. The brunette became baffled when she saw the figure, "Cilan?" the sapphire-eyed girl questioned when she saw the shadowy figure, but the only thing that stood out was its green hair.
"It's too dark to see," May tried to see through the darkness, but failed to identify the figure.
Victini remained frightened while Pikachu stayed in its defensive pose. After a few seconds though, the shadowy figure began to move away from them and May's curiosity quickly got the best of her, "Let's follow it, it might lead us to Ash or a way out of this place," the sapphire-eyed girl believed.
"V vi victini," Victini began to feel uneasy when it heard May.
"Pikachu pi," Pikachu was uncertain as well.
"C'mon you two, it's our only lead in this barren," May told the pair.
Pikachu and Victini looked at May, who seemed really serious about following the figure and in the end they had no choice, but to accept. "Pika," Pikachu nodded while Victini merely sighed.
"Don't worry, I'll protect both of you if things go bad," May assured the pair.
The pair of Pokémon reluctantly accepted and May led the way this time as they followed the figure. May couldn't help but feel like a spy as they quietly followed the shadowy figure. However, it didn't matter if May got closer, the figure still remained shadowy and the only thing that continued to stand out was its green hair, nevertheless, even the style of the green hair was unknown.
"I wonder where it's heading or maybe it's just walking around aimlessly," May murmured, hiding behind every bush and tree the trio came across.
"Pikapi pikachu," Pikachu tried to identify the figure, but even the mouse's greater senses failed it.
"Vi victini," Victini still felt uneasy and would take a peek from behind May's head, but even the Legendary Pokémon had a hard time identifying it.
"C'mon, we have to hurry or we'll lose sight of it," May came out of behind the tree and slowly walked behind it.
When the trio started to finally cover more distance between them and the figure, they could now hear the sounds of its footsteps. "Get behind the tree," May became alarmed when she saw the figure turning and without wasting another second; she pushed them behind the tree.
The figure turned around, but the trio was no longer behind it and it just continued walking.
May had taken a peek of it from behind the tree, but still had a hard time trying to determine if it was Cilan. Its face continued to hide under the darkness of the night.
"Let's keep going," May told the Pokémon pair and slowly came out from behind the tree and followed the mysterious figure.
"May, Pikachu!" Ash called out his beloved and best friend.
"Vi victini!" Victini called out as well.
When they got no response, Ash and Victini sighed. "It's no use, we've been doing this forever and we still can't find them," Ash lowered his head in disappointment.
"Viiii," Victini said with despair, the Victory Pokémon clearly missed the brunette and yellow mouse as well.
Ash raised his head and formed a grin, the auburn-eyed teen placed his hand on Victini's back and said, "Cheer up Victini, we'll find them, we just have to have faith."
Victini looked up at Ash and wiped away the tears that had formed in its eyes and grinned when he saw his father-like figure's cheery face. The Victory Pokémon couldn't wait to meet up with its 'mama' and 'brother' and seeing his 'papa' optimistic, lifted the Psychic-type's spirits.
"Victini," Victini hugged Ash's hand and smiled at it gleefully.
"That's the spirit, now let's keep searching for them," Ash grinned at Victini.
"V," Victini nodded, but the sweet moment ended when they heard leaves rustling.
"What was that?" Ash became alarmed and looked around the area.
"Vi?" Victini had a frightened gaze on and motioned its head frantically.
"Quick, hide Victini," Ash whispered and they leaped behind a bush to hide from what was causing the rustling.
Ash and Victini made a small hole through the bush to take a peek and Ash's eyes widened when he saw who dropped down from a tree. The figure wandering around the zone was none other than the silver-haired leader of the Majestic 12, Omega.
His cold gold-eyed gaze examined the area and the tan-skinned criminal sniffed the area and smirked. "Is this another fake?" Ash was uncertain about whether it was the real Omega or not. He wouldn't be surprised if Omega was responsible for this whole fiasco in the first place, but it wouldn't be good if the Majestic 12 leader had actually found them.
"V," Victini pressed against Ash with a fearful look.
"I'll keep you safe, don't you worry," Ash assured Victini and brought the little one closer.
From the small hole of the bush, Ash saw Omega jump back into the trees and disappeared from sight. "Looks like it's gone," Ash let out a sigh of relief.
Before the boy could stand up though, the sound of someone dropping down was heard from behind them and the next thing he felt was a warm energy against his head. "Not good," Ash frowned and turned around to see Omega aiming a Shadow Ball right at his face.
"Vi," Victini froze with fear when it saw the villain.
"How'd you find us and why are you here?" Ash grinded his teeth as he glared at Omega.
Omega remained quiet and merely gave Ash his emotionless, but cold expression. The Shadow Ball in its palm became larger and the figure prepared to launch it at Ash.
The raven-haired teen braced himself, but before Omega could attack, Victini tackled Omega with Quick Attack and sent the Majestic 12 leader crashing against a tree. "Victini that was amazing," Ash became amazed by the bravery and power his friend had just shown.
"Vi," Victini smiled at Ash, but its gaze shifted back to Omega, who it glared at.
Omega got up and glared at Victini, but much to the pair's surprise it changed form into something possibly more formidable. The creature's tan skin turned into was a large teal suit of armor and its height increased significantly and towered over 6.5 feet. Its body also became thicker and Omega's eyes changed drastically. When the transformation was completed a new being revealed itself, "Goluuurk," the Pokémon towered over the pair.
"What Pokémon is that?" Ash hadn't expected such a twist and reached for his Pokédex.
The screen on the Pokédex revealed the giant Pokémon and the machine informed, "Golurk, the Automaton Pokémon and the evolved form of Golett. Flying faster than the speed of sound, Golurk loses control when the seal on its chest is removed."
"Sounds tough," Ash frowned at the Pokémon. Although he became relieved that Omega was actually a Golurk, he knew that the Ghost-type could still put up a fight.
"Goooolurk!" Golurk shouted and shot out a black beam shaped like its fist from its arm.
"Dodge it with Quick Attack Victini and then use Flamethrower!" Ash commanded, ready for battle.
Victini narrowly dodged the Shadow Punch and it didn't waste a moment to unleash Flamethrower. Golurk formed a fist and it began to glow white. The Automation Pokémon then charged at the Flamethrower and broke right through it and punched Victini, sending the Victory Pokémon flying against the ground.
"Golurk," the armored Pokémon said and formed a Shadow Ball. Within the next second, it blasted it at Victini and sent the Psychic-type flying again.
"Viiiiii!" Victini cried.
"Victini!" Ash shouted and glared at Golurk.
Victini groaned as it got up, but at the same a time a yellow aura began to envelope it and out of nowhere, it shot a beam at Golurk. "Viiiiii!" Victini shouted in anger.
Golurk suddenly became iron-colored and the Stored Power Victini released had no damage on the Ghost-type thanks to Iron Defense. "Darn, it's too strong," Ash grinded his teeth until an idea struck his head.
"Victini, use Confusion!" Ash commanded.
Victini nodded and made its eyes glow blue while Golurk became outlined in a blue aura. "Send it flying!" Ash made a fist and punched forward.
"Victini!" Victini used its full power to send Golurk bashing through tree trunks.
As it got pushed back though, Golurk made an attempt to hit Victini. "Goooooluuuuurk!" the Automation Pokémon shouted and released a Shadow Ball while being thrown around by Confusion.
"Victini, dodge fast!" the auburn-eyed teen ordered.
Victini instantly stopped its assault and narrowly dodged the incoming Shadow Ball. Golurk dropped to the ground and moaned in pain, the armored Pokémon then proceeded to getting up, but Ash knew they couldn't allow that.
"Victini, finish this with Searing Shot!" Ash pointed at Golurk.
Like Ash, Victini knew they couldn't allow then powerful ghost Pokémon to get up and unleashed its most powerful attack. The little one began to glow red and without further warning, released a spiral fire-ball shaped like a meteor.
Searing Shot charged at Golurk at incredible speed and blasted Golurk, making the Automation Pokémon moan in pain as the flames consumed it. When the flames slowly faded, Golurk was left as dark as charcoal and simply dropped back down, having taken too much damage from the Legendary Victini.
"Yes, nice one Victini!" Ash made a fist and grinned at Victini.
"Vi vi," Victini danced around Ash, celebrating its second victory in a row.
"You're stronger than you think Victini, I'm impressed," Ash smiled at the Victory Pokémon.
"Victini!" Victini smiled back and gaze Ash a thumbs up.
Their victory however, was short-lived because the environment around them started to fade. The trees, the sky, the bushes, the rocks, and everything else started to transform into black dust. "What's happening?" Ash became confused, not sure if this was a good or bad thing.
"Vi," Victini became alert and looked at the area surrounding them, everything in their area started to fade at a quick rate and within seconds, everything turned black.
May, Pikachu, and Victini continued to follow the figure, since they started following it, all the figure had done was walk around mindlessly, "This is getting nowhere," May sighed, losing hope on finding leads by following the figure.
"Pika pika," Pikachu also let out a sigh.
"Vi," Victini let out a sigh of relief.
"I thought we could find Ash or a way out by following it, but this is pointless, let's just get back to looking the old fashion way," May told the pair.
They all agreed and prepared to turn back, but all of a sudden a chilly voice was heard saying, "May…"
The trio stopped where they were and turned around to the figure, who they believed was the one that said it. "Did it just say my name," May put on an uncomfortable smile and looked at the figure.
Pikachu and Victini became alarmed and saw that the figure had stopped walking. "Who are you?" May asked the figure with a worried look.
From the way its hair motioned, it seemed like the figure turned around and faced the trio now. Sounds of a devious chuckle could be heard echoing all over the forest and the group of three felt a chill crawl up their spines.
The darkness became illuminated and when the figure revealed itself, May and Pikachu gasped in surprise. The green-haired figure had emerald eyes, blue jeans, a black shirt, and a purple jacket, but his cocky grin was the most prominent feature.
"Drew?" May inquired, but then shook her head and glared at the figure.
The false Drew grinned mischievously as it walked over to May slowly. "You're not Drew, you're just another illusion," May came to her senses and knew it was impossible for Drew to actually be here.
"Pika," Pikachu began to spark its cheeks while Victini continued to hide behind May's head.
Drew stopped just five feet away from May and raised his left arm. The green-haired copy then raised his left hand and formed a Shadow Ball by its palm. May stood her ground and prepared for whatever the copy was going to do.
The fake Drew shot out the Shadow Ball at May, but before it could even get close, Pikachu intervened, releasing a Thunderbolt that blasted back Shadow Ball at the phony Drew. The false Drew took the attack, but didn't seem fazed by it.
The next moment, the phony Drew shrugged off the attack and glared at May. "It didn't have much effect on him," May frowned at the copy of her friend.
The copy then closed its eyes and a black aura began to surround it. Without any signal, Drew's skin turned into teal armor and its height increased significantly, not to mention that its body became much thicker. "What's going on?" May's eyes widened as she saw the phony Drew change into an entirely different being.
By the time it finished transforming, a new figure stood in front that looked nothing like Drew. "Goooolurk," the creature moaned as it towered over the brunette and her friends.
"It was a Pokémon this whole time," May stepped back a bit, but continued to frown at Golurk.
"Golurk!" Golurk unleashed a Shadow Ball without warning. The incoming attack was too fast for Pikachu to react, but from behind May's head, Victini shot out and released a Searing Shot.
"Viiiiii!" Victini glared and released the meteor-shaped fire-ball at Shadow Ball and easily overpowered it. Searing Shot then continued to charge at Golurk, but the Ghost-type countered easily with Defense Curl and shrugged off Searing Shot.
Golurk shook off the flames while the trio continued to glare at it. "Pikachu, Victini's going to need your help," May told the electric mouse.
"Pi," Pikachu nodded and got beside Victini.
"Alright, Pikachu, use Electro Ball, Victini, use Flamethrower!" May commanded.
"Pikaaaachuuu!" Pikachu flipped and released the electric sphere from its tail.
"Victiniiiii!" Victini unleashed the stream of fire.
"Goooooooluuuuurk!" Golurk charged at the pair of attacks with a glowing red fist.
Golurk's DynamicPunch pushed through the Electro Ball and Flamethrower with ease and hit both Pikachu and Victini, sending the pair flying against the ground in the process.
"It's strong, I'll give it that, but we can't give up guys," May remained confident about Pikachu and Victini's abilities.
"Goluuuuurk!" Golurk pushed its arm back and then punched forward, unleashing a black fist from its arm that charged at Pikachu and Victini.
"Pikachu, counter with Iron Tail and Victini, get in there and use Stored Power!" May ordered.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu leaped between Victini and the Shadow Punch and canceled it out with Iron Tail. The explosion from the impact caused Pikachu to flip back while a yellow beam of energy shot from behind the mouse and at Golurk.
The Automation Pokémon was clearly caught off guard by the incoming attack and got blasted towards the ground, causing a minor explosion. When the dust from the explosion cleared, Golurk was getting up from the small crater that had been formed.
"Don't give it a chance to attack or defend itself, Victini let's give it a Searing Shot and Pikachu, use Iron Tail to swing the Searing Shot for more power!" May made a fist and grinned confidently.
Victini and Pikachu smiled and nodded at each other. Victini began to glow red and formed a large ball of fire, within a second, the Pokémon cried out, "Viiiiiii!" and released Searing Shot.
"Pikaaaa!" Pikachu jumped into the air and used Iron Tail as a bat to increase the speed and power of Searing Shot.
Pikachu's Iron Tail caused the mouse a little pain because of steel's weakness to fire, but Searing Shot launched even faster at Golurk than before and the fire became noticeably thicker. Golurk tried to counter with DynamicPunch, but the Legendary Fire-type attack proved too much with the increased power given by Iron Tail.
Searing Shot then sent Golurk flying it hit and the fiery sphere shot through the multiple trees with Golurk in it. Searing Shot destroyed everything in its past and when the flame could no longer go on, Golurk was meters away from the battlefield and the last thing May and the Pokémon duo saw of Golurk was it trying to get up, but then dropped to the ground, causing a slight tremor.
"Good job you two, we won," May smiled at Victini and Pikachu.
"Pikapi pi!" Pikachu made a peace sign at May while Victini gave her a thumbs up.
May giggled and was glad they had averted yet another threat in this nightmare, but before she could say anything else, she noticed that the environment began to turn into black dust, everything was fading away.
"This place is falling apart," May became alarmed by how the forest was slowly falling apart.
Pikachu and Victini also became alert and saw the trees turning into black dust blown away by the winds roaming through the area.
As the environment faded, a small black hole appeared beneath the trio and the last thing they felt was a sudden rush that turned their vision black.
"This is getting old," Ash sat up and blinked several times to see where he was. To his surprise, he was back in the forest he remembered where everything was foggy and didn't appear to be nighttime.
"I can't tell what's real and what's dream anymore," Ash heard a familiar voice and turned his head back to see May sitting up, rubbing her eyes.
"Piiii…" Pikachu slowly got onto his feet while trying to wake up.
"Vi victini!" Victini appeared, dancing above the trio happily.
"May, Pikachu, Victini!" Ash cheered when he saw his beloved, his best friend, and 'child'.
May turned her head to Ash and a large smile formed on her face. "Ash!" May hugged him when she saw him.
Ash returned the embrace and spoke, "I was so worried about you. I looked everywhere for you, in that nightmare."
"I was worried about you, but now I'm here and you're with me," May held onto the boy and looked up at him with a smile.
The auburn-eyed teen grinned at her and stared into her eyes while he motioned towards her lips. Now this felt right to Ash, May kissed him passionately, but softly like always and he enjoyed May's fingers running his hair while he held onto her waist. It was probably one of the best moments Ash had had in a long time, and May's kiss was something he always valued.
"Pi pikapi," Pikachu interrupted them and Ash and May stopped.
"Hey pal," Ash grinned at Pikachu, who leaped at Ash and hugged him.
"I was worried about you too, I am glad you're safe," Ash smiled as he held onto his friend.
"Vi v victini," Victini hovered down to them and embraced the three. The Victory Pokémon had clearly been crying since there were tear stains on its cheeks.
"Victini, thank you so much for helping out in that place," May embraced the Victory Pokémon.
"I hate to think what would've happened if you hadn't showed up," Ash hugged Victini.
"Pika pi pikachu," Pikachu also held onto the Fire-type.
Victini smiled and stared at all three of the people it cared about. When they got forced to separate, May turned her attention to Ash, "Ash, did you dream of being in this dark forest where there were people we knew?"
Ash nodded, "I did, and all I tried to do was look for you, Pikachu, and Victini. Instead of finding you guys though, I got attacked by illusions and Ghost Pokémon; I don't know what would've happened to me if Victini hadn't come to the rescue and help defeat this Golurk."
"I dreamt the same thing, except Pikachu was with me the whole time. We were also attacked by illusions and Ghost Pokémon, but Victini came to our rescue," May explained, caressing the Fire-type's cheek.
"Those Litwick must have created a nightmare for us when they attacked, they're gone now though," Ash looked around the area.
"I have a feeling Victini is responsible for why we're still here, if Victini was in two dreams at once. It must have gotten into both of them in an attempt to protect us," May stated her belief.
Ash turned to Victini and smiled, "Did you really do that Victini? You were protecting us while we were asleep and even went inside our dreams?"
"Vi," Victini nodded, having used its psychic powers to protect its friends.
"Looks like this time, you were the one protecting us," May grinned at Victini and rubbed her cheek against Victini, the two sharing an affectionate moment.
They all smiled in joy for making it alright, but the happy family moment got spoiled when the sounds of stomping and the earth shaking alarmed the gang. "What's going on now?" May became alarmed and held onto Ash's hand for security.
"We're about to find out," Ash glared at the creature emerging from the fog, by this point it was all too familiar to the group of four. They knew they were in for a rude awakening when they saw it.
I try to write a simple filler chapter where the relationship between Ash, May, and Victini can be further explored and I end up writing another long chapter. Guess I overdid cause I honestly found this chapter enjoyable because of how Victini's relationship with the two trainers develops and how it actually looks like Ash, May, Pikachu, and Victini are a family. Anyway, I sincerely apologize for how out of hand this got, believe it or not, there was going to be more, but I'll just include the rest in the next chapter and in the next chapter, we'll see Ash and May finally reaching Virbank City after a nightmarish struggle. Btw, I felt like the last half of this chapter felt rushed, sorry about that, but I just wanted to keep progressing and not write 10,000 words on one battle scene, especially the Golurk battles. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, especially the Victini interactions and this chapter was clearly based off the Litwick Mansion episode. I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up because I have finals coming up so I'll need to study for that, but don't worry. I'll do everything in my power to keep you guys from waiting too long . It shouldn't take me more than two weeks to post it up, so until then guys. Keep in mind, this chapter is completely irrelevant and is just a random event the gang experiences like in the anime. So don't try to make connections with major plots going on in the story. Well remember to REVIEW, PM, or anything like that guys. Catch ya soon!