Chapter 40: Come As You Are
"Why did you bring us out here Auro?" Iris asked they walked out to a meadow, examining the area with Axew.
"Are we doing our training here?" Cilan raised an eyebrow.
Auro nodded and spoke, "That's right; we're going to use the Lake Guardians and Victini to help your Pokémon unlock deep levels of power hidden inside them. This process will also help the two of you be sharper in any critical situation you could possibly find yourself in."
"I'm still confused," Iris leaned her cheek on her knuckles.
"Cilan, take out your Pansage, I know it'll be good for this training since it's your strongest Pokémon," Auro told the green-haired teen, who obeyed and called out the green monkey.
"Pan!" Pansage landed on its feet and looked at Auro with curiosity.
"You'll understand the purpose of this training much better in the end, for now I'd like you four to sit next to each other and get into a meditating position," Auro told them.
"Meditation huh," Cilan thought about the reason for the meditating while Iris had hoped for something more exciting.
The four sat down on the grass and all got into meditation positions. "Now close your eyes and begin to clear your mind," Auro instructed.
They did as told and the Lake Guardians hovered over to the gang, floating just above their heads while Victini slowly followed them, wondering what it was supposed to do. "Ux uxie," Uxie informed the young Legendary Pokémon.
"Ti?" Victini seemed puzzled, but just nodded and hovered over Iris, closing its eyes as did the Lake Guardians.
"The Legendary Pokémon will keep the four of you focused, by meditating you will learn to keep your cool in the direst of problems, you will have more patience with your surroundings, and your body will also learn to control what it is doing through your mind. The Psychic-type Pokémon will help Axew and Pansage unlock their hidden powers, trust me, you will see that sitting on the grass with your eyes closed for a fair amount of time will do good," Auro explained and assured them that the training wasn't for nothing.
Iris sighed with Axew while Cilan and Pansage quietly nodded, their part of the training was now commencing.
The moment Blaziken saw May's rope snap and fall; the Fire-type quickly threw itself after her in an attempt to save her. Ash and Pikachu glared and gritted their teeth at the ones responsible. "Nate and Rosa…" Ash clenched his fists.
"Pika," Pikachu frowned and began to emit sparks.
"Help me!" May yelled as she held tightly onto the Fire Stone and kept her eyes shut tight.
"Blaziken!" Blaziken shouted and the next thing May felt were feathery arms grabbing her by the waist followed by a sudden stop.
She opened her eyes to see Blaziken holding her in its arms and May smiled at the Fire-type, "Thank you Blaziken."
"Ken," Blaziken nodded.
"May are you alright?!" Ash yelled from above, looking down at his beloved with relief.
May gazed up and gave him a thumbs up, "I'm fine, Blaziken caught me just in time, but what caused the rope to snap?"
"Look above you!" Ash shouted.
"Huh?" May shifted her eyes to where Ash instructed and much to her shock there were the pair they had considered friends, grinning slyly at them. Their faces were completely different from what May saw though, gone were the innocent teen faces, replaced by a dark shadow line beneath their eyes and the emotion in their eyes were cold.
"Blaziken, get Ash and Pikachu down here," May turned quickly to her Blaze Pokémon.
"Blaz!" Blaziken flared its wrists and jumped upward, but not before flashing glare at their attackers.
"Looks like Auro wasn't kidding about the whole use of force is authorized thing," May felt her heart sink as she continued to stare up at her opponents, who just returned evil smirks.
"May, we need to be awake for this part. Nate and Rosa aren't lightweights," Ash's voice helped her regain focus since she hadn't noticed that Blaziken had already brought them down.
"Right, we'll need to come up with something clever," May nodded with a stern look.
"I think you have something we want," Nate finally spoke.
"And if you don't hand it over we will hurt you," Rosa snickered and flashed a sinister grin.
Ash beamed smugly at them and replied, "You can forget about that happening."
"Well then, I guess you're going to have to suffer the fate of your friend," Rosa frowned and picked something up that wasn't visible from Ash and May's eyes. Suddenly, Rosa violently extended her arm out and what she threw alarmed the couple and their Pokémon.
Dropping like a corpse was Ash's Tranquil, not reacting to the fall and continued to drop like a rock. "Tranquil!" Ash ran up to the spot where'd it land and caught his faithful bird.
"Tranquil, are you alright?" Ash looked at his Flying-type sadly.
"Tran," Tranquil cooed weakly and lowered its head, shutting its eyes.
"You did great today, you've earned yourself a long rest," Ash returned his bird Pokémon and shot a fierce look at his opponents.
May had looked on with sadness and then glared up at her so-called friends, clenching her fists and feeling a great anger burn inside her, "How could you do such a thing?!"
"It refused to hand over the Dusk Stone to us, so we had no choice, but to take it through force," Nate chuckled as he took out the Dusk Stone from a little bag hanging from his waist.
"Thanks to Tranquil though, we now have five stones under our possession," Rosa showed off four stones resting between her fingers.
Ash and May easily identified them as the Leaf Stone, the Dawn Stone, the Thunder Stone, and the Everstone. They widened their eyes with surprise and then grinded their teeth out of frustration.
"So I was wondering if you'd like to hand over your other stones, we'll let you lose in one piece if you do," Nate crossed his arms.
"I don't think so!" Ash and May said simultaneously.
Rosa sighed and responded, "Must we always resort to aggression?"
"Feeeeraaaaaa!" a Feraligatr jumped from behind Rosa, its sharp teeth shining brightly and its claws were lethal enough to cut through a tree trunk.
"I think so," Nate responded to Rosa's question as her Feraligatr jumped over and charged at Ash and May.
"Great, a Feraligatr, another super-powered Pokémon," Ash frowned at the incoming enemy.
Pikachu and Blaziken instantly got into defensive positions, getting between their trainers and Feraligatr. The Electric and Fire-type knew if the aggressive gator laid one hand on Ash or May it'd all be over.
"Piiiiii," Pikachu began to charge up electricity.
"Blaaaaaa," Blaziken started to build a fire inside it.
"I don't think so Blaziken and Pikachu," Rosa smirked and all of a sudden a Gardevoir teleported in front of Ash and May, alerting them immediately.
"Blaziken!" May shouted in an attempt to warn it.
"Pikachu!" Ash did the same.
Their two Pokémon turned to see what was going, but they instantly felt paralyzed once they saw a Gardevoir with glowing blue eyes hovering behind them. "Pikaaaaaa," Pikachu gritted its teeth as it felt the inability to move.
Blaziken also seemed to struggle in moving a muscle and fired into the air frantically, but it couldn't even move its head to get the trajectory right.
"Gaaaaaaatrrrrrrrr!" Feraligatr roared and bashed Ash and May some feet.
The two winced in pain as they got sent flying against the ground, but May had successfully held onto the stone. Ash quickly noticed the Fire Stone and told the girl, "May, you have to keep holding onto the stone like that or el-," but before he could finish he was blasted by a Hydro Pump that sent him flying against a rocky wall.
"Ash!" May shouted when she saw the boy soaking wet and dropping to his knees while gritting his teeth.
"Feraligatr!" May heard the formidable Pokémon and was able to react in time before it could dig its claws into her.
May screamed as Feraligatr used Slash, but the brunette rolled away in the nick of time and her eyes widened when she saw how deep Feraligatr's claws had dug into the earth. "May watch out!" Ash shouted when he finally got back up on his feet.
"Not again!" May squealed in fear and saw Feraligatr coming at her again with Slash, narrowly ducking its sharp claws.
Pikachu, Blaziken, and Ash watched in horror as Feraligatr tried to slash May multiple times, but the sapphire-eyed girl had narrowly avoided all out of its brutality. Eventually though, May was about to trip and Feraligatr wasted no time in taking advantage of the moment, "Fera!" the gator roared.
"I don't think so!" Ash exclaimed as he clenched his fists and charged at Feraligatr. Unfortunately for him, the Water-type spotted him just in time and switched his target from May to Ash.
"Watch out!" May warned as soon as she regained her balance, relieved that she hadn't fallen victim to those claws, but now Ash was in danger.
Ash's eyes grew when he saw how fast Feraligatr's arms motioned and sadly, Ash's reaction time had been too slow and the boy heard the sound of something rip as he stepped away. The Pokémon and May became frightened by what they saw; Ash looked down at his sweater and saw a pair of slash marks about 2 inches in width and 6 inches in length just above the pockets. Luckily he had received no mortal wound and only the sweater suffered the brutality of Feraligatr's sharp claws.
May let out a sigh of relief as did Blaziken and Pikachu, but Nate and Rosa groaned in discontent and took matters into their own hands. Suddenly, they disappeared out of thin air and appeared right behind their rivals, quickly twisting their arms together in order to immobilize them.
"You're going to save yourself this time," Nate threatened Ash as he twisted Ash's arms a bit more, hurting the raven-haired boy who just endured the pain by grinding his teeth.
"Aaagh!" May squealed in pain and some tears from her cheeks dropped as Rosa twisted her arms.
"No escape May," Rosa snickered and picked up the Fire Stone May had dropped with her free arm.
"I think I'll the stones you have as well kid, once we do you won't find us anymore," Nate prepared to search the boy's pockets for the sweater.
"Sorry, I don't think so!" Ash banged his head back against Nate's forehead, feeling a tremendous amount of pain, but not as much as Nate.
"Daaaaaarn!" Nate covered his face with his hands as Ash escaped from his grip and rubbed the back of his head while smirking slightly.
"Sometimes it's good to have a hard head," Ash chuckled a bit as he continued rubbing the back of his head.
Rosa and May's jaws dropped and the Unova brunette quickly let go of May to deal with her other opponent. "Wow," May tried to recall what just happened, as did Blaziken and Pikachu.
"Feraligatr!" Feraligatr once again went on the offensive as soon as it saw Nate down.
May saw the Water-type charging at her with its powerful jaw, but the brunette wouldn't let it harm her like before this time and quickly called out a Pokémon, "Petilil, I need you to use Stun Spore!"
As soon as May made the command, Petilil emerged out of its Pokéball and wasted no time in releasing the sparkly powder that stopped the arrogant Feraligatr dead in its track, unable to move because of the paralyzing effects.
"Gatr!" Feraligatr snapped its jaw as it tried to move its muscles, but Petilil and May had easily outsmarted the brute.
Ash also saw Rosa charge at him with a ball of energy forming in her palm and the boy knew he had to act quickly; he looked around frantically and quickly noticed all the rocks surrounding him. "You want to throw stuff, fine!" Ash picked up as many rocks as he could and began to throw them at the powerful opponent.
"Such a child," Rosa chuckled and blasted away the harmless rocks as she moved forward, alarming Ash, but before she could blast him away she felt some roots grab her by the feet and made her fall face front.
When Ash saw this he looked for the one responsible and wasn't happier to find out that it had been May and Petilil using Giga Drain. "Nice job May!" Ash gave her a thumbs up as Rosa rubbed her face with pain as she slowly got up.
"Petilil!" Petilil cheered with joy.
"Return for now Petilil, you were great," May complimented Petilil and returned it as the Grass-type continued cheering.
The couple quickly got together and prepared to target Gardevoir next, "Let's get out of here fast," May told Ash.
"You aren't going anywhere, we're done with you punks making a mockery out of us, now things get serious," Nate's menacing tone alerted them.
The two trainers turned to see Nate and Rosa standing beside each other faint red spots on their foreheads where they had gotten hurt. "Now we battle for real and won't leave a trace of you left once we gain those stones, Gardevoir come!" Rosa shouted.
"Gar," Gardevoir no longer focused on Pikachu and Blaziken and hovered over to float in front of Rosa. The brunette girl returned her still paralyzed Feraligatr and sighed, but her gaze was now that of pure fury, most of it being directed at May.
"Go Arcanine, fire these fools into ashes!" Nate called out his Fire-type. In seconds, the fierce canine Pokémon appeared on the field and snarled at its opponents.
"We can't win, we can't outsmart them in battle, the whole fiasco of them getting hurt was just of luck," May muttered over to Ash.
"Don't worry May, we'll come up with something," Ash muttered back to her.
The two trainers gazed over to their Pokémon, who appeared in front of them in a flash, prepared to defend them no matter what. "Arcanine, Fire Spin!" Nate instructed.
"Gardevoir use Psychic to strengthen Fire Spin," Rosa ordered.
Arcanine barked proudly and released a fierce Fire Spin aiming at Blaziken and Pikachu. Gardevoir quickly took action as well and began to make the fire spiral glow blue, expanding the fiery move large enough to trap Pikachu and Blaziken.
"That's a wide Fire Spin, how are we going to dodge?" May asked as she turned to Ash.
"Well, we probably won't be able to dodge since they'll control the aiming with Psychic, so there's only one defense move we can use," Ash didn't look at May as he spoke, his stern gaze focusing on the incoming attack.
"What's that?" May asked.
"Counter Shield, Pikachu get on Blaziken and prepare to use a Counter Shield combination!" Ash commanded.
May's bulb turned on and the girl turned to her opponents, smiling confidently. "Blaziken you do the same and combine it with Pikachu's!"
"Pika!" Pikachu jumped on top of Blaziken, bracing itself for the powerful Fire Spin.
"Blaz!" Blaziken flexed its muscles as it prepared itself as well.
"Now spin!" Ash and May said at the same time.
"Your petty attacks won't work, go!" Rosa extended her arm forward.
On command, Gardevoir accelerated the speed of Fire Spin as Pikachu jumped off Blaziken's back and began to spin multiple times. Blaziken did the same and much to Nate and Rosa's disbelief, they were spinning faster than their eyes could see.
"Piiikaaaachuuuuu!" Pikachu shot out many lightning bolts in all directions, furiously bursting parts of the ground.
"Blaaaaziiiiikeeeeen!" Blaziken did the same with Flamethrower and sent the blazing technique in all directions, destroying many things surrounding it.
The most phenomenal thing about these defensive techniques though was how powerful they became once they blended. When Flamethrower and Thunderbolt came together, they formed an intimidating wall of electricity and fire that seemed almost impenetrable.
The Fire Spin crashed against this wall of electricity and fire with full force, but much to Nate and Rosa's surprise it burst on contact and created an explosion between the four opponents. Blaziken and Pikachu flipped backward immediately so they wouldn't be pushed back by the force while Gardevoir used Protect to defend her trainer and comrades.
"Ash, we should get away while we have the chance, the dust and smoke are dense enough to make our escape," May told the raven-haired boy.
"Yeah, but just in case I'll distract them with one more move," Ash nodded at May with a confident grin.
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt-Electro Ball," Ash commanded to his pal, who had been staring at them since the explosion, awaiting an order.
"Pi," Pikachu grinned slyly and jumped into the air, charging up an Electro Ball.
"Piiiiikaaaachuuuuuuuuu!" Pikachu swung his tail like a bat and send the triple-sized Electro Ball flying thanks to a Thunderbolt.
"Let's go!" May ordered and Ash followed her to Blaziken, the Fighting-type holding onto them while Pikachu jumped onto Ash's shoulder.
Through the dust and smoke cloud, Nate instantly spotted a large yellow ball charging at them and wasted no time in trying to save himself from a shocking experience, "Arcanine, stop that attack with Fire Blast!"
Arcanine barked and blasted out the strange shaped fire move at the incoming Electro Ball. Fire Blast easily obliterated the Electro Ball and in the process, provoked a powerful wind to blow away all the dust and smoke.
With hopes of spotting Ash and May, Nate and Rosa prepared their next move, however much to their surprise on the other end there was nothing. Nate clenched his fists and anger while Rosa gritted her teeth and muttered, "Smooth."
May sighed in sadness as they stood on a top peak looking over the rocky area. "All we have are two stones now and I'm sure Nate and Rosa will find the rest in time," the brunette whined.
"Don't say that May, they may be stronger and wittier than us right now, but that's how it usually is, yet we still come out on top," Ash spoke with an encouraging voice.
May remembered other situations in the past where they had come across much smarter and stronger opponents like Ash had said. Then she recalled how they were able to make it out of those situations and that's when she realized that Ash was right, they weren't going to lose now either, "Right," the sapphire-eyed girl nodded and smiled.
"That's the spirit May," Ash smiled at the girl.
"I know we can still win this, but without Tranquil how are we going to cover more ground?" May questioned.
"I'm not exactly sure, for now I think we're just going to have to cover more ground with our own feet," Ash rubbed his chin.
"Pika!" Pikachu's sudden voice alerted the couple.
"What is it Pikachu?" Ash inquired when he turned around to see what was up with his pal.
He and May saw both Blaziken and Pikachu looking below their height. "What are they looking at?" May questioned and walked over with Ash.
When they were near the edge their eyes widened with surprise, "There's a whole forest down there!" May exclaimed when she spotted the large sheet of green.
"Looks like we found a way out of this rocky spot," Ash smiled, wondering if they would find any stuff in the new area.
"Do you think we'll find anything down there?" May asked her boyfriend.
Ash smiled at her, "I was just thinking that. It's worth a shot to check it out, who knows, we might even find a stone."
"I have a feeling we will find something down there if we go!" May said with a confident voice and made a fist.
Ash chuckled at how high her spirits had gotten in such little and responded, "What are we waiting for then? Let's hurry!"
With that said, May, Ash, Blaziken, and Pikachu mobilized, scurrying down the rocky path leading down to the forest. "Ash, back there with Nate and Rosa, were you surprised about how cruel they were being?" May started to recollect the experience as they walked down.
"Yeah I was, I mean they cut your rope just to hurt you and Rosa's Feraligatr nearly clawed through me, luckily my sweater proved to be a better armor than I thought," Ash looked down at his damaged sweater.
"It was alarming, when they grappled I felt like I was going to die, I really felt like I was under the mercy of an actual Majestic 12 member," the sapphire-eyed girl expressed her thoughts.
Ash held her hand since he noticed how disturbed she appeared and replied, "Auro warned us something like this would happen and I think Nate and Rosa were acting the way they were to help us become more prepared, if we want to survive the real thing we have to experience something similar."
May squeezed Ash's hand out of affection, "I really do hope this training pays off. I'll feel much more secure about myself once it's done."
"I feel like you're underestimating yourself May, you really held your own and there's no doubt in mind you could hold your own against an actual Majestic 12 member. When Feraligatr was charging at you and you paralyzed it with Petilil's Stun Spore I was really impressed. Then you even saved me from Rosa when she threatened to turn me into dust, thank you May," Ash looked at the brunette sweetly and pecked her cheek.
The coordinator blushed and smiled sheepishly, "It was only a reflex and I didn't want my boyfriend to get hurt, I get very defensive about the things or people I love."
Ash simply chuckled as they continued walking, but all of a sudden the rock beneath May cracked. "Ash!" May yelled out as she felt herself fall and Ash felt himself being pulled down.
Blaziken and Pikachu, who had gone ahead of them turned back and caught up with them immediately. "May, don't let go," Ash managed to keep himself balanced enough to avoid falling with May, but the brunette was clinging onto her life by his arm as she hung from a high altitude.
"I hate this!" May squealed out in horror.
"I've got you, don't panic. Blaziken, Pikachu, and I are going to pull you up," Ash assured her as Blaziken placed his hands on Ash's waist and Pikachu placed its hands on Blaziken's leg.
"Let's pull you guys, quick!" Ash commanded as he felt May's hand slowly slip.
"Ken!" Blaziken began to pull.
"Chuuuuu!" Pikachu struggled to pull, but the mouse continued to assist.
Ash pulled his arm up as best as he could as he grip tightened around May since she threatened to fall. May silently watched as her saviors continued to pull her up, I don't know what Ash is talking about, there's no way I can fight a Majestic 12 member if I can't even watch my step.
"We're carrying you up slowly May, don't worry, I've got you, there's no way we're letting go," Ash felt his body start to slide forward a bit since his body could barely hold on to May, the only thing keeping him at bay were Blaziken and Pikachu.
"Please hold me Ash," May bit her lips as she felt wind start to build up.
Ash chuckled at her frightened behavior and responded, "No worries, I'm here, I'm going to hold on to you May for as long as I can, I won't let go."
May smiled softly at him and felt as though Ash was referring to the fact that he'd never leave her side. His words comforted in all problems, even as dangerous as these and the girl felt her heart relax as she felt herself being pulled up slowly and boldly by her beloved. The next thing she saw in front of her once she was on her feet was a set of auburn eyes.
"I told you I wouldn't let go," Ash chuckled as Blaziken and Pikachu let out sighs of relief.
May could never grow tired of that caring and childish attitude he had. The only thing she did was embrace him with all her strength; she wrapped herself around him enough to feel his heart beating. Ash became confused by her reaction, but he only returned her hug with the same emotion, enjoying the feeling of her heart beating against his chest.
After May's emotional breakdown, they walked down the rocky path with May sticking close to Ash than before until they finally reached the forest. The group of four analyzed the area carefully in order to avoid another assault, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
"This seems like your typical forest in the middle of a route," May stated as they walked.
"Yeah, but do you hear that?" Ash lifted his head a bit in order to focus his ears.
"Pi!" Pikachu's ears perked up.
"Bla?" Blaziken also heard the distant sound.
May followed them and successfully heard something as well, "Hey that sounds like a waterfall."
"And where there is a waterfall there is fresh water to hydrate us," Ash pointed out.
"It doesn't sound too far from here, let's go!" May cheered.
Instantly Pikachu, Ash, and May ran happily in search of the water while Blaziken only followed with little excitement, not caring much about the water discovery since it was a Fire-type.
Their excitement allowed them to rush at a rapid rate and in no time, as they passed the abundant trees and bushes they made it to the waterfall. The couple's faces lightened up with joy when they saw the small waterfall, but it was a relief to see sparkling clean water.
"Hooray!" May celebrated and ran over the side of the river. "This is perfect!" May splashed water onto her face, smiling happily, "I feel so refreshed.
"Pikachu," Pikachu got next to May and splashed water onto his face, "Chaaaa!" the Electric-type cheered.
Blaziken just decided to lean a tree trunk and rest for the time being while looking out for Ash, May, and Pikachu.
Ash jumped onto the rock lying just beneath the waterfall and hung his forward so the water may wash his hair and refresh him. "It can't get more relaxing than this," Ash spoke with a lax attitude as he let the water wet his face.
"I like how this water is so clean Pikachu, I can see my face like in a mirror," the brunette said to the little guy.
"Pi!" Pikachu agreed with her.
May gazed with curiosity at the water and looked into her eyes carefully; she could've sworn she saw them sparkle in the water. It was almost like she had sapphires for eyes she thought. If nature was as if as it is right now I would probably build a house near this river and live peacefully, May smiled as she stuck her finger into the water.
Ash pulled his head away from the water and shook his head so he could get some water off his hair. The movement he made to dry his hair almost resembled the same thing a dog would do, but he never really cared, suddenly, something hit Ash's head. "Ouch!" the boy yelled and held his head in pain, a tear forming in the corner of his eyes. It felt like the boy had gotten hit by a diamond and the boy tried to gain his composure to see what had hit him.
"Ash what happened?" May's thoughts got cut when she heard Ash yell in pain.
"Something hard fell on my head and it really hurt," Ash gritted his teeth and rubbed the spot where he had gotten hurt.
When May was about to go walk over to him, she spotted something shiny flowing down the river in her direction. "Hey what's that?" May thought and focused her eyes on the sparkling object, after a few seconds of analyzing she successfully identified it and her sapphire eyes widened.
"Ash, we found a Water Stone!" May shouted with excitement and without a moment's haste jumped into the river joyfully.
"I guess that must've been what hit me," Ash continued rubbing his head.
May swam over to the stone before it could get away and much to her joy, the river wasn't even very strong. She quickly extended her arm out and snatched it out of the water, "Yeah, we got a Water Stone!" May raised her arm up high with the sparkly blue stone shining under the sun.
"Pi pikachu!" Pikachu jumped into the air happily as well. Blaziken smirked at its trainer's antics; nevertheless it was relieved about the result.
"Great, now we just need to find two more stones," Ash made a fist of confidence.
May giggled with glee; however that joy got cut by an abrupt event. "Carvanha!" a Carvanha leaped out of the water and concentrated on digging its jaw into May.
"A Carvanha!" May's eyes widened with surprise.
"Pikachu, stop it with Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded.
Pikachu and Blaziken quickly mobilized for battle when they saw the wild Pokémon. Pikachu jumped into the air as soon as Ash made his command and released the electric move, "Pikachuuuuu!" the Pokémon cried out.
Before Carvanha could lay a tooth on May, the speed of the Thunderbolt struck Carvanha down and shocked it to its very core, forcing it to drop unconscious into the river and float away.
"Phew," Ash let out a sigh of relief.
"Carvanha!" a trio of Carvanha leaped out of the water once again.
"You've got to be kidding me!" May grinded her teeth and frowned. This time though, the brunette pulled herself together and called a Pokémon to defend herself, "Alomomola, come out and help with Protect!"
"Alo!" Alomomola cried out when it came out and without wasting a second, formed a green barrier around her and May, sending the Carvanha back.
As soon as those Carvanha dropped back into the water, five more popped out. "Where are all these Carvanha coming from?" Ash frowned and prepared to take action if May failed to keep them away.
"Alomomola, keep them away with Aqua Jet!" May ordered.
Alomomola quickly enveloped itself in water as soon as the barrier faded and thanks to its great speed managed to bash away the group of five Carvanha. "Whoa, Alomomola has really gotten faster," Ash said as he watched in awe.
"Car!" a single Carvanha jumped out.
"Water Pulse!" May frowned as she made her command.
"Moooolaaaaaa!" Alomomola blasted away the Carvanha with a Water Pulse, sending it into the water with a splash.
"Well, I guess that's that," May grinned confidently and stood proudly.
"Vanha!" a school of about ten Carvanha came out of the water, all charging at May.
"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Ash stepped, realizing May and Alomomola couldn't handle so many at once.
Pikachu glared at the Carvanha and released a Thunderbolt, "Piiiiikaaaachuuuu!" the mouse screamed violently.
Blaziken quickly joined the action and blasted some Carvanha away with Carvanha as well. The team up between the two Pokémon had a major effect on the Carvanha and sent them all dropping back into the river.
"May, more and more Carvanha keep appearing, swim back to land with Alomomola now while we keep you cover!" Ash exclaimed.
"Right!" May nodded and began to swim back to the side of the river with Alomomola and the Water Stone still in her hand.
"Carvanha!" another school of 10 Carvanha came out of the water.
"Pikaaaaaa!" Pikachu fired a Thunderbolt.
"Blaaaaaz!" Blaziken shot a Flamethrower.
Once again the school of Carvanha dropped to the water. "Just a bit more," May continued to swim over to the side of the river.
"Sharpedo!" a Sharpedo burst out of the water leading a group of 10 Carvanha.
"A Sharpedo!" May's eyes widened with fear.
"Pikachu, Blaziken, repel them quick!" Ash commanded with angst.
"Pikachuuuuuu!" Pikachu went on the offense again.
"Blaaaaaziiiikeeeen!" Blaziken shot out another offensive move.
The Pokémon successfully managed to bring them all down, except for the Sharpedo, which had used Agility to avoid the mighty attacks. "Shar!" Sharpedo continued to swim to May with a hunger-filled look in its eyes.
"One more time, this is the last one!" Ash instructed.
"Pikaaaaaa!" Pikachu released yet another Thunderbolt.
"Blaaaaaaz!" Blaziken fired a Fire Blast this time.
"Pedo!" Sharpedo dodged once again with Agility, but this time followed that with a Scald.
The boiling stream of water got blasted out as fast as bullet, but Pikachu and Blaziken's superior skill allowed them to still react in time. Pikachu's Thunderbolt and Blaziken's Flamethrower clashed with Scald, but instead of producing an explosion or cloud of smoke, a dense fog resulted.
"Alomomola, let's swim while we have the chance," May told her partner.
Alomomola nodded and they did, unfortunately, Sharpedo managed to detect them even in all that fog. "Heeeeeelp!" May screamed in horror when she saw the menacing Water-type.
"Pikachu!" Ash's voice was heard and before Sharpedo could bite May's life away, Pikachu came out of the fog, slamming Sharpedo into the water unconscious with Iron Tail.
The fog quickly cleared and Pikachu landed smoothly on the land while May got on the land. "That was too close," May sighed in relief as she stood up, not minding about being soaked.
"Alo," Alomomola agreed.
"Alomomola, you were great out there. You should rest now," May grinned at her partner and returned her to her Pokéball.
"Ken," Blaziken spoke to May.
"Chu pika?" Pikachu added.
"May are you ok?" Ash ran over to May with a concerned tone.
"I'm fine you guys, thanks for helping us," May told them, her tone clearly expressed her relief.
"That Sharpedo nearly got you, if Pikachu hadn't worked its senses to the max I don't think we would've been able to do much," Ash commented.
"But you guys did it and all four of us are still in one piece," May winked at the trio, reassuring them that everything was alright.
Ash let out a sigh of relief and smiled at her, "Plus, we did get the Water Stone."
"Yeah, now we have three again and we just need to find one more," May said optimistically.
Before Ash could say anything though, wind began to build up as the leaves on trees started to rustle. Since May was still wet she found the breeze rather cold and rubbed her arms. Ash instantly took notice and spoke, "May you are going to get a cold if you keep those clothes on. Why don't you change and use my sweater to dry and heat yourself up?"
May raised an eyebrow at his offer, but shook her head sideways and smiled, "No Ash, I'll be fine, really."
"No May, I think you really should accept it, I don't want you to get sick. Besides, in order to prevent wind from going through the openings just use your jacket as a belt to cover those areas," Ash insisted as he took his sweater off, revealing his black shirt.
May sighed and knew Ash was just looking out for her after such a hectic day. The brunette accepted the sweater and spoke, "When did you start acting responsible and treating me like my parents?" the girl gave him an annoyed tone, but then giggled.
"Just looking out for the one I care about," Ash smiled sweetly.
"So cheesy," May giggled again. "You won't look while I'm changing clothes right?" May teased him a bit, but was serious about the question.
"I wouldn't invade your privacy like that, go ahead," Ash felt a bit embarrassed to be asked that, but he would never do something so perverted.
May giggled one last time and walked into the trees. As she walked away she took glances of Ash and wondered if Ash would've volunteered to do something like this in the past when they traveled in Hoenn. He probably wouldn't, Ash was way too immature to understand these kinds of things and he'd rather hide in his embarrassment than express himself regarding things like love. The brunette then remembered how at the beginning of their relationship Ash was still timid about kissing in public or sleeping together, he's growing every day, May smiled as she thought of the Ash from their Hoenn adventures and the Ash from their Unova adventures.
When the brunette reached a spot she was comfortable with, she quickly began to undress, slipping off her wet jacket and soaking shirt. Much to her dismay though, even her bra was as wet as sponge. "Perfect, not my bra too," May muttered and began to wonder about something, I really hope Ash doesn't mind that I'm not wearing a bra under his sweater; he can still get a bit shy.
As she began to slip her bra off, she began to get a bit self-absorbed about just how developed she was physically. Oh mom, why you ever have to give me the talk? I preferred not to know what was going with my body, May sighed.
She took one a glance of her body and looked up at the sky as she prepared to put on the sweater, mom always said boys would start staring at me and boy was she right, there's not a day where there's not a creep in some town checking me out, sometimes I wish I didn't have my body like this because it brings that kind of attention. On the other hand, I've never seen Ash look at me that way; he actually seems to get uncomfortable every time I try to bring up a topic like this. Even though it would be nice for your boyfriend to actually notice you in that way, I guess Ash can't because it's not in him; he's a child at heart. Either way I love my Ash and I know he'd never do anything to hurt me. The girl giggled at her last thought and placed the sweater on, which fit her fine since and the baggy design didn't make her breasts noticeable like her own clothes. May then placed her bra inside the pocket of Ash's sweater and wrapped her shirt and jacket around the area where Feraligatr had damaged it.
As she walked back, she saw Ash gazing at the river with Blaziken and Pikachu. "Hey Ash," the brunette made the auburn-eyed teen lose his focus as well as the Pokémon.
"Hey May, all set?" Ash turned to his girlfriend.
"Yeah except I had to take my bra off too since it got soaked and well, I'm not really wearing it underneath your sweater. I hope you don't mind, my bra is in the pocket of your sweater too," May explained sheepishly.
Ash blushed a bit, but shook it off and spoke with a joyous tone, "No I don't mind at all, you did what you had to do. At least now you won't get a cold."
"Thank you for caring about me," May pecked his cheek and smiled sweetly, making Ash return the gesture.
They felt the wind begin to build up more and Ash began to speak again, "The wind is getting stronger, we should get moving before the situation here gets any worse."
May, Pikachu, and Blaziken nodded in agreement and they all got on their way. The walk they experienced after the river incident was uneventful, they weren't attacked by anything and they didn't find any stone. Eventually they exited the forest and found themselves in a meadow with a single hill standing out with a rather odd structure on top.
"Ash look at that," May's eyes became focused on the Stonehenge sitting at the top of the hill.
"I see it, I wonder what's up there, it seems odd to find something like that out here," Ash wondered about the odd structure as well.
"Why don't we check it out?" May told the dark-haired teen.
"Sure," Ash nodded.
With that said the couple and their Pokémon quickly started to run up the lonely hill. As they dashed upward, something very odd occurred, "Pi? Pika!" Pikachu's perked up, but it was too late to react and out of the blue a strong gust formed at the hill.
"Blaziken!" Blaziken braced itself along with Pikachu so they wouldn't roll down.
"Whoa, where'd this strong wind come from?" May braced herself so she wouldn't lose balance.
"I'm not sure, but I'm getting real tired of the tricks Nate and Rosa are pulling, come on May we have to find out what's at the top!" Ash said with an eager tone.
"I'm with you!" May replied with the same attitude and the pair rushed to the top with all their might along with their Pokémon.
For a moment, Ash had almost lost his balance and threatened to roll all the way. "Whoa!" Ash became alarmed as he felt himself slip and get pulled backwards.
He felt like he would have to climb back to the top until May grabbed his arm pulled him up, "I've gotcha Ash."
As she pulled him forward to regain his balance, the Pallet boy smiled and responded, "Thanks May."
The four quickly got on their way and reached to the top in no time, but they were surprised by what they found. "Wow," May couldn't believe her eyes; the architecture of the structure was beautiful.
Ash took a careful look at how many pillars there were that formed a circle with a marble floor. "1…2…3…4…" Ash counted as he walked around in a circle.
"5…6…7…8…" May counted with him.
"Pi…ka…chu…cha," Pikachu also joined them, but Blaziken remained alert, focusing more on any surprises rather than what there was to see.
"There are 12 pillars," May looked up at the top of a pillar, recalling once in her past where she had seen this type of architecture in a textbook about ancient civilizations.
"They all have writings on them, let's see what they say," Ash kneeled down to read the text engraved on the pillar with May kneeling down to do the same.
"Do not dwell in the past; do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment," Ash read the message.
"Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship," May read her text.
They continued to walk around in circles trying to read and understand these wisdom quotes. "The way is not in the sky. The way is in the heart," Ash read.
"We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves," May raised an eyebrow once she finished reading the phrase.
Suddenly, the center of the marble floor began to open up, alarming Pikachu and Blaziken while Ash and May stood up to see what was going on. As they gazed at the square hole, a marble stand rose from underneath with something marvelous that made everyone's face lighten up.
"A Shiny Stone!" Ash said cheerfully.
"We found our fourth stone!" May stated joyfully.
"Pika!" Pikachu jumped with glee while Blaziken smirked proudly.
Ash ran over to the stand and reached his hand out to grab it until a kunai got between him and the stone. "Huh?" Ash turned around to see where the lethal weapon had come from.
May, Blaziken, and Pikachu also became extremely alarmed and followed Ash's gaze to the top of two pillars. Their faces all became glares when the two attackers dropped in front of them.
"This time you won't get away," Nate glared at them.
"This time we are going to eradicate you, we just need the Shiny Stone and this game is over with the victory going to us," Rosa chuckled evilly.
"That's not fair, we don't have superpowers so we can't pop up anywhere at any time," Ash crossed his arms and frowned.
"Your day will come, if you survive," Rosa smirked and then pointed at the boy.
"Gatr!" Feraligatr once again popped up from behind her and charged at Ash.
The raven-haired boy immediately found himself in trouble since the fast moving Pokémon and Rosa came charging too rapidly. May could not afford to see Ash get hurt and instantaneously ran over to the scene, ultimately throwing herself between Rosa and Ash.
"May no!" Ash yelled when he saw May get between him and the attack and the next thing he saw was the brunette receive a hard jab from Feraligatr and Rosa.
"Aaaagggh!" May squealed in pain and dropped to her knees in pain, crying many tears from the extreme pain she felt in her stomach.
Nate merely chuckled while Rosa looked down at her with a raised eyebrow, "Well, I guess taking either one of you down equals the same thing." She looked down at May and spoke, "Guess I might as well finish you off, so you don't become a future problem," Rosa prepared to kick the brunette.
Ash gritted his teeth and clenched his fists; he felt a strong wind build around him as his hair waved violently. His eyes began to glow yellow and a faint, but yellow aura enveloped his body. Blaziken turned to Pikachu and noticed that the mouse was experiencing the same thing, its body was glowing yellow and its eyes were starting to glow the same color as well. This change in appearance instantly alarmed Blaziken, Nate, and Rosa while May was unable to acknowledge anything going on due to the devastating jab that left her numb for the moment.
"Gooooooooooo!" Ash screamed and caused the ground beneath him to crack a bit.
Pikachu grinded its teeth and screeched while releasing a Thunder, "Piiiiiikaaaaachuuuuuuu!" The concentrated power of the Thunder shot at Rosa and Feraligatr faster than a bullet, leaving them helpless.
"Gaaaaaggggh!" Rosa shouted in pain as the electricity coursed through her body.
May looked up and stared with fright as Rosa yelled in pain because of Pikachu's attack. She turned to the mouse and was alarmed with the change in appearance; she had never seen the mouse glow like that before.
Suddenly, Petilil, Alomomola, Liepard, Pignite, and Deerling came out of their Pokéballs. "You guys what are you all doing out of your Pokéballs?" May looked at her partners.
They all looked at May and just smiled, implying that they had come out to help them win the battle. Eventually Pikachu's shock came to a stop and Rosa and Feraligatr were barely able to stand on their feet.
Blaziken also watched as Ash and Pikachu returned to their normal appearances, not even the Pokémon could understand what had just happened. "Pi?" Pikachu eyes widened in surprise when it saw Feraligatr and Rosa, then the mouse turned to Blaziken with a confused expression.
"What happened, I feel a little light-headed," Ash rubbed his eyes as his hair settled again, the glow surrounding him fading and his eyes returning to their normal appearance.
"Roxas you smart son of a gun," Nate murmured with wide eyes.
"What is everyone so alarmed about?" May rubbed her stomach a bit as she slowly got up.
Ash quickly came to her side and picked her up, "May are you all right? I'm sorry I couldn't do anything to save you from that blow," the boy said softly.
"It's ok, Pikachu seems to have gotten us even with Rosa," May chuckled softly and grinned.
"No matter, it was only a thing of the moment. I'm going to finish off these two," Nate gritted his teeth and reached for a Pokéball.
"Nate, let's break them together," Rosa muttered over to him as she and Feraligatr continued to recover from the tremendous Thunder attack.
Nate frowned and nodded, "Samurott, battle time!" Nate's fearless Water-type appeared on the field and the couple quickly recognized it as the same one they had previously battled with.
"We can't escape this time, so we're going to need all the help we can get," Ash glared at their opponents who prepared for the final showdown.
"Great, all my Pokémon are ready to battle," May was finally able to stand on her.
"Alright, then come on out everyone!" Ash took out all of his Pokéballs and threw them, one unique Pokémon emerging from each.
"Sni!" Snivy landed smoothly on the ground.
"Tepig!" Tepig snorted out fire when it landed.
"Osh!" Oshawott appeared proudly on the field by pounding its chest.
"Swad!" Swadloon revealed itself with its partners as well.
Pikachu and Blaziken quickly got onto the battlefield as well, with Pikachu standing in front of Ash's Pokémon to lead them while Blaziken stood in front of May's Pokémon in order to lead them.
"It doesn't matter how many Pokémon you use, you can't win," Rosa smirked.
"Samurott, use Hydro Pump to wash these fools away now!" Nate extended his arm forward.
"Murooooooott!" Samurott blasted the powerful Water-type move.
"Pika pika chu pi pikapi pipichu!" Pikachu instructed his four comrades.
The four of them nodded and Tepig placed himself first, "Teeeepiiiiiiig!" Tepig jumped into the air and blasted its best Flamethrower.
"Humph," Nate chuckled.
When the two attacks clashed a dense fog got produced, but Hydro Pump still gained the edge. "Pikachu set the plate for me, I'm sure the others know their parts now, Swadloon, Snivy use Razor Leaf and Leaf Storm!" Ash commanded.
"Such simple attacks won't beat us even with this fog," Nate smirked, "Samurott, use Ice Beam!"
"Saaaaaaaa!" Samurott roared and released Ice Beam.
"Sniiiiiiiiivvvvvvvyyyyy!" Snivy unleashed a storm of energy leaves.
"Swaaaaaadloooooon!" Swadloon summoned its own barrage of lethal leaves.
The two similar Grass-type moves charged together, powering up into a Razor Leaf Storm, but Samurott easily froze the hundreds of leaves into ice.
"Easy solution," Nate crossed his arms.
"Oshawott, batter up!" Ash instructed.
"What?!" Nate raised his eyebrows.
Oshawott enveloped itself in deep blue water and jetted off, obviously charging using Aqua Jet. As it charged forward though it used Razor Shell as well, the blade extended to about a foot and thanks to the rapid speed of Aqua Jet, Oshawott got into the shower of ice leaves before they could hit the ground. Nate then identified the meaning behind Ash's command; Oshawott began to bash as many ice leaves at Samurott at a rate comparable with Pikachu's Volt Tackle.
"Incredible," Nate was in awe, having never witnessed such tactics from anyone besides two of his closest friends.
"Osh! Osha! Oshawooooott!" Oshawott sent as many of them flying towards Samurott.
"Samurott, use X-Scissor!" Nate extended his arm to the right.
Samurott lifted its head proudly and slashed out an X-Scissor to counter the ice leaves. The superior power of X-Scissor successfully destroyed some, but the ice leaves were so scattered some inevitably hit Samurott and damaged it a bit.
"Volt Tail!" Ash shouted.
Those two words were enough to send chills through Nate as the boy jerked his head up, having forgotten about Pikachu. Darn, we were so caught up on those pests we forgot about Pikachu!
Samurott prepared to strike down the mouse with Hydro Pump, but Pikachu had already gotten too close. "Piiiiiiiikaaaaaaachuuuuuuuuuuu!" Pikachu cried out as it shot down like an electric missile with a steel-colored tip, within a few centimeters, Pikachu spun around and dealt a heavy blow by slamming its electric-charged steel tail against Samurott, sending the Water-type crashing against a pillar.
"Samurott!" Nate shouted.
Samurott groaned in pain as it tried to recover from the blow. It slowly tried to get up as electricity coursed through its body, but then several broken pieces of the destroyed pillar fell on the Pokémon, trapping it as it got furious and tried to move in its paralyzed state.
"Ken bla blaz blaziken!" Blaziken commanded his comrades.
"Lie," Liepard nodded.
"Deer," Deerling smirked.
"Pignite!" Pignite flexed its muscles confidently.
"Petilil," Petilil nodded eagerly.
"Alo," Alomomola also beamed slyly.
"Feraligatr, obliterate them with Superpower!" Rosa commanded.
"Feeeeraaaaaa!" Feraligatr angrily flexed its muscles and charged at them while enveloped in a blue aura.
"Liepard," Liepard smirked and dashed at Feraligatr.
"Does your cat have a death wish?" Rosa raised an eyebrow.
"No, it's just clever," May smirked.
As Liepard dashed at Feraligatr it slowly began to lower itself until it found the moment to change its motion. "Pard!" Liepard flashed a sneaky grin at Feraligatr as it slid between its feet, angering the Feraligatr.
"Fera!" Feraligatr canceled its attack to look back at Liepard, but within three seconds Liepard leaped high into the air and unleashed a Shadow Iron Tail.
The technique was very similar to Pikachu's Electro Iron Tail and had the same devastating effect. Having already been weakened by Pikachu's Thunder, Feraligatr was exhausted and had little time to react, ultimately receiving a deadly blow that sent it crashing into the ground.
"Pignite hit it before it can even touch the ground!" May commanded.
"Pigniiiiiiite!" Pignite braced itself and left a white trail of energy as it charged at Feraligatr, ultimately bashing it with Take Down and sending it flying forward against a pillar.
"Deerling, Petilil, use Energy Leaf!" May extended his arm to the right.
Deerling and Petilil smiled at each other and Petilil called out a barrage of rainbow-colored energy leaves and sent them flying at Feraligatr. Deerling then fired a double-sized Energy Ball that settled itself in the middle of the barrage.
"Feraligatr, counter with Ice Beam!" Rosa ordered.
Feraligatr gained its composure before it crashed against the pillar and spun around to fire an Ice Beam. "Alomomola, go for it!" May countered the counter.
"Alo!" Alomomola got between the two attacks and released a Water Pulse.
"Feraaaaaa!" Feraligatr fired Ice Beam, but the counter was unsuccessful due to Water Pulse canceling out the energy attack, leaving a clear path for Energy Leaf.
"Feraligatr!" Rosa's jaw dropped.
The deadly grass combination dealt a major blow to Feraligatr and made it cry in pain. "Finish with a Friction Uppercut!" May instructed.
Blaziken knew it was its cue and charged at a speedy pace with sparks forming around the fist it had formed, so before Feraligatr even had a chance to recover and react Blaziken had gotten close enough and sent the final blow, "Blaaaaziiiiiikeeeeeeen!" the Fire-type sent its fist upward, punching Feraligatr's jaw, in the process sending the gator upward as well.
Feraligatr gritted its teeth in pain as it flew up and then crashed down violently on the ground, but much to May's surprise there was still fight left in it even though it could barely stand up.
"Ash, Samurott and Feraligatr still aren't down and all of our Pokémon have used their attacks to the highest potential, what can we do now?" May spoke to Ash, now concerned about how this was going to go down.
"I know May, but we have no choice, we have to drag this battle out long enough until we find a way to get their stones and get the heck out of here. Luckily, their Pokémon seem too exhausted to keep up also," Ash responded.
Nate groaned at them and spoke, "Enough of this, we are not going to let you outsmart us. We're going to end this right now!" With that said Nate leaped high into the air and formed two kunai out of aura.
While Ash was busy being alarmed by how he did that though, May spotted their key to victory beside Nate's waist, the bag of stones and an idea sparked inside her. "Petilil, use Magical Leaf on the bag hanging from Nate's waist!" May screamed at the top of her lungs
"Huh?" Ash turned to May while Nate and Rosa's eyes widened.
"Peti!" Petilil unleashed the multicolored attack.
"Ash, catch the bag as soon as it starts to fall!" May ordered her boyfriend.
Ash quickly understood her plan and nodded confidently, "Gotcha."
The sharp leaves darted at an alarming speed and Nate reacted by throwing his kunai, however that did very little against dozens of energy leaves. Magical Leaf cut the rope attaching the bag to Nate's waist and some of the leaves cut through the teen's coat, cutting through his flesh in the process.
"Gah!" Nate felt the sting of the pain and held on to his wound as he dropped to the ground like a rock, barely able to keep his balance.
"The bag is mine!" Ash grinned confidently and dashed to the spot where it would drop.
"Stupid brother," Rosa criticized Nate's tactic and darted off after Ash with a sword formed out of aura.
"No you don't!" May glared at her opponent and charged at her. Ash noticed Rosa coming with a sword, but had no clue on how to counter her murder weapon.
Suddenly, May appeared into the scene and tackled Rosa down, surprising the brunette as she dropped the sword, which quickly faded into nothing. Rosa groaned in pain as her head and back banged violently against the marble floor.
"I'm not letting you hurt Ash, don't you dare!" May spoke with a vicious tone and her sapphire eyes became merciless.
"Wow," Ash felt a bit intimidated by May's actions, but successfully catch the bag and inside found all of the stones their opponents had collected and stolen.
All of a sudden, the roar of Feraligatr and Samurott alarmed Ash as he prepared for his next pair of attackers, but before they could hurt him, all of his and May's Pokémon got between them and repelled them with their own attacks. Feraligatr and Samurott tried to fight back, but in the conditions they were in it seemed impossible.
"We just need the Shiny Stone and this is over," Ash frantically jerked his head to the stand.
"Arcanine, get that stone!" Nate released his trusted canine. The trainer was barely to stand up as he leaned on a pillar, his hand covered in blood.
Arcanine emerged out of the ball and like a dog, the Fire-type prepared to fetch the Shiny Stone. Rosa also attempted to call out her Gardevoir, but May had her pinned down. "You can't win, it's over," May smirked at Rosa while speaking in a cocky tone.
"Not if I knee you," Rosa gritted her teeth and prepared to knee May until she felt a talon on her neck. Much to her displeasure she saw Blaziken looking down at her with the Fire-type nodding sideways, warning her not to do it or there would be consequences, at last Rosa found herself defeated.
"Pikachu, I need you!" Ash called for his loyal mouse as soon as Arcanine entered the field.
Pikachu stopped leading the assault on the Water-types and turned its attention to Arcanine, who was still at full power. Samurott and Feraligatr were no longer able to go and just watched in their weakened states as their helpless comrades lost to the inferior trainers.
"Pikachu Pikaaaaaa!" Pikachu spat at Arcanine as the canine gave a smug grin, but it would end up it regretting it as Pikachu's little Pokémon squad assaulted it with various attacks, leaving the canine with the only thing to do, dodge.
"Darn," Nate sighed and dropped to his knees, admitting defeat.
Ash ran up to the stand and just as Arcanine prepared to send all burning into destruction, the raven-haired teen picked up the stone. "We got it!" the trainer proclaimed excitedly.
May turned around joyfully and the Pokémon's lightened up with cheer, but before any celebration could take place their surroundings began to fall apart and the ground started to shake. "What's going on?" Ash noticed as the trees, the grass, the Stonehenge began to collapse and disappear into nothing. May turned to Rosa, but the last thing she saw was the girl smirking and vanished like gas.
Ash looked at Nate and could hear the boy chuckling until he also disappeared into gas along with all of their Pokémon. Abruptly, a bright light appeared where the Shiny Stone once rested and Ash, May, and the Pokémon yelled as the light blinded them, destroying the entire area along with them.
Longest chapter in a while, nothing strange about this chapter since it was all just training. For any that might be confused about Nate and Rosa's actions just remember they are supposed to act like M12 members in order to better prepare Ash and May. I'd also like you to know just because Ash and May beat Nate and Rose doesn't mean they got stronger, the reason they came out as the victors was they were able to think better and got some help from Ash and Pikachu's destructive Thunder attack, which will eventually be explained in the course of the story, don't worry. Regarding Ash and May's Pokemon and their power compared to Nate and Rosa's, there will be a training chapter dealing with them power all of their Pokemon up so they may no longer have to rely on just those two. Like always REMEMBER TO REVIEW, PM, OR WHATEVER, FEEDBACK IS ALWAYS WELCOMED. This also marks the end of the first training session, this whole training arc btw will last between 5-10 chapters so I be prepared to read a lot of other crazy stuff. Lots of Advanceshipping because I think Ash and May's love for each other is critical in their survival against the impending threat. Well guys not much else to say, sorry to everyone who had faced confusion and got annoyed by the high amount of grammar errors lying around, but once again I hope you guys enjoyed it. Till next weekend, I'll try to make it shorter!