Chapter 43: Someone in the Dark
"Golurk," the giant Golurk stepped into the room with its illuminating eyes.
Ash, May, and the Pokémon watched with fright as it scanned the area like a lighthouse. The Golurk was almost as big as the room and the small steps it took as it walked were enough to make the floor tremble.
Liepard also dashed out of nowhere and reunited with the gang, but the feline seemed just as alarmed her trainer.
"Ash, what are we going to do now?" May said in fear.
"I don't know May, I was hoping you would know," Ash laughed nervously.
"Pikaaaa," Pikachu charged electricity in its cheeks if necessary.
"Tini," Victini glared at the creature, remembering the Golurk they encountered in the forest sometime ago and had hurt the beloved humans we came to know as well as Pikachu.
The gang's biggest fear had unfortunately come true, when Golurk moved its illuminating eyes to their distance and there the giant ghost had put them on the spotlight. "Uh-oh," Ash and May reacted simultaneously as they stood like statues.
"Golurk!" Golurk yelled in anger and focused its eyes on Ash and May.
"Run!" Ash shouted and they made a break for it.
"Right behind you," May screamed as they ran with fearful eyes.
"Luuuuuuurk!" Golurk began to run after them and its heavy feet made the floor shake violently, alarming Ash and May all the more.
"I thought this was a stealth mission!" May exclaimed in fear.
"Not anymore!" Ash tried to keep up the pace.
"Pi pi pi," Pikachu breathed in and out rapidly as it ran with the group. The mouse took a look back and saw Golurk catching up with ferocious speed. "Pikachu!" Pikachu's eyes widened and started to run even faster.
"Quick, through the door!" Ash ordered when they saw the laboratory exit.
"Gooooooooooo!" Golurk stomped on the ground as it ran through the room, appearing to get angrier the closer it got to Ash and May.
Ash reached the door and without wasting a second, opened the door for the others. "Go go go!" Ash yelled with anxiety as May, Victini, Blaziken, Pikachu, Snivy, and Scraggy dashed in.
Ash ran inside last and slammed the door shut. They all took heavy breaths as they looked at each other. "Do you think we lost it?" May panted with her hands on her knees.
"I hope so," Ash lifted his head and noticed that they in a long and large hallway with the ceiling as high as the one in the lab. Before he could say anything though, the metallic wall with the door burst and the giant Golurk appeared before their eyes.
Ash cursed his luck and without making any orders, they all ran with as much might as they could muster. "You gotta be kidding me," May cried in fear as they ran.
"Goluuuuurk!" Golurk roared as it prepared to run after the couple again.
"Just keep running down this hall!" Ash told them as they ran through the endless hall that contained many large metallic doors.
"Golurk!" Golurk released a large Shadow Punch, aimed at all of them.
Ash turned around just in time and saw the incoming Ghost-type attack. "Quickly, get out of the way!" Ash instructed and the gang split in half, moving to the left and right sides of the wall.
Luckily, the Shadow Punch burst between the two halves of the gang and suffered no harm, but the Golurk persisted. "Golurk go!" Golurk released two more Shadow Punches.
"Stick together!" Ash commanded and the gang became whole again in the middle of path while Shadow Punch hit the left and right sides of the path.
"Luuuuurk!" Golurk began to rapid fire Shadow Punch.
May turned back and her eyes widened when she saw the amount of Shadow Punch coming their way. "Ash, there's almost a dozen Shadow Punch aiming right at us. What are we going to do?!" May exclaimed.
"Pikachu, Blaziken, Snivy, and Liepard, counter the Shadow Punch!" Ash commanded.
"Pikachuuuuuuu!" Pikachu leaped into the air and fired a Thunderbolt.
"Blaaaaaaaaz!" Blaziken released a Flamethrower.
"Liiiiieeeee!" Liepard aimed a Dark Pulse.
"Sniiiiiii!" Snivy unleashed a Leaf Storm.
The variety of attacks clashed with the rain of Shadow Punch and bursts of energy occurred between the gang and the giant Golurk, but that did not stop the Golurk because it came running out of the smoke cloud with great speed.
"One more time, keep that Golurk at bay!" Ash instructed.
As they all ran, the Pokémon halted for a second to blast the Golurk one more time. The four powerful Pokémon shouted fiercely as they released their array of attacks, but the Golurk had a simple way of countering the combination. Moments before being hit the Golurk vanished into thin air, astonishing the Pokémon.
"Where'd it go?!" Ash and May shouted as they stopped in surprise.
"Golurk!" Golurk appeared in front of the tiny Pokémon and slapped them down to the ground from their midair positions.
Blaziken, Pikachu, Snivy, and Liepard all crashed into the ground violently while yelling pain, but the beating did not end there. Taking advantage of the moment, Golurk prepared to stomp on the four with its giant foot.
"No!" the trainers shouted with great desperation as they prepared to get between their Pokémon and Golurk along with Scraggy, but Victini would not watch any of its friends suffer anymore because of the brutal Golurk and with great courage charged at Golurk.
Victini began to glow a bright yellow and sent Golurk banging against one of the metallic walls thanks to its powerful Double-Edge. "Victini!" May cried out with shock.
"Victini!" Victini roared in anger and became covered in fire.
Blaziken, Pikachu, and the other Pokémon were in awe as Victini stepped onto the plate. Golurk quickly shook off the pain and glared at Victini, focusing its illuminating eyes right on Victini and Golurk fired a massive Shadow Ball, "Golurk!" the Ghost-type cried in anger.
"Tiniiiiii!" Victini fired a Fire Blast and the heavy Fire-type move exterminated the Shadow Ball, producing a smoke cloud.
"Lurk!" Golurk appeared out of nowhere in front of Victini and smacked the Psychic-type.
Victini shot downward like a bullet and squealed in pain, "Viiiiiii!" the little one cried out. The Fire-type's impact caused the entire floor to shake and everyone stood in horror as they replayed the image of Victini being smacked in their heads.
Ash wasted no seconds in running to Victini's spot and cried out in anger for the Fire-type, "Victini no!" the raven-haired teen didn't care if the Golurk would stop him.
Sadly, Golurk saw the boy coming and without letting him get an inch closer kicked the Ash like a doll and sent the boy crashing against the metallic wall. Ash gasped for air as he winced in pain and dropped on his knees while recovering from the blow. Everyone continued to watch in horror as the frightening giant towered above them and prepared to fire a Shadow Ball at all of them.
However, May's jaw was opened and the color in her eyes faded as a fiery red aura appeared around her entire body. Seeing Victini get injured badly before her eyes and watching Ash receive such a hard blow made her feel like a vein inside her body had popped.
Liepard, Pikachu, Snivy, and Scraggy noticed the same aura developing around Blaziken, but the flames around the Fighting-type seemed deadlier than when it had Blaze activated.
May gritted her teeth and clenched her fists furiously. Her eyes replayed the image of Ash gasping for air as he lied on his knees, the boy could have died if this had not been just an illusion, but even though it was an illusion, the pain May felt was all too real. "Noooooooooo!" May yelled with a blazing fierceness and the fire around her was almost seven feet tall.
"Blaaaaaaaaaaz!" Blaziken roared at the Golurk and without any warning fired an Overheat.
"Stooooooop!" May screamed with an earsplitting tone and the fire around her spiraled around Blaziken's Overheat.
Golurk saw the incoming attack and braced itself with a Focus Punch. The mighty Ghost-type began to make its fist glow white and without holding back any power, punched right at May and Blaziken's fire combo. Unfortunately for the Golurk, the Overheat steadily overpowered its Focus Punch.
"Go?" Golurk said in confusion.
May's eyes began to glow a brighter intense red and shouted angrily, powering up Blaziken's Overheat even more. The boost allowed Blaziken to easily overpower Golurk's Focus Punch and sent the Ghost-type blasting against the metallic wall and a giant cloud of smoke was produced.
Liepard, Pikachu, Snivy, and Scraggy watched in disbelief. None of them could understand what just happened, but the moment Golurk's body banged against the metal May and Blaziken's aura disappeared. As quick as the transformation was, it quickly faded and left May and Blaziken with confused eyes.
Ash, who had still been recovering took a glance the moment it heard the metallic bang, but by the time he caught sight of May and Blaziken they were standing there with confusion. He wondered how on earth Golurk had been brought to its knees during the minute of numbness he had experienced, but the boy continued to watch as his body still tried to absorb the pain from the kick.
"What just happened?" May said with puzzled eyes.
"Ken?" Blaziken wondered how Golurk ended up in its painful condition.
Out of the smoke cloud a bruise-covered Victini hovered up and watched in confusion at his weakened opponent. The Fire-type looked back at his friends and got relieved to see them alright for the most part.
"Victini…Ash!" May disregarded Golurk and turned her attention to the Legendary Pokémon and her beloved.
The brunette ran over to the boy and helped him up, "Ash, please tell me you're ok," the girl said with a pleading tone.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Ash winced in pain a bit, but chuckled over May's motherly instincts.
"Tini vi!" Victini also gave Ash his caring attention.
"I'm fine Victini, don't worry about me, but I'm glad you're ok," Ash said with relief as he got on his feet.
"Oh Victini!" May hugged the little one with relief once Ash was able to stand on his own.
Pikachu and the other Pokémon were still confused though, they weren't sure what the heck happened before with May and wondered why on earth May and Blaziken could not recall what just occurred. "Blaziken ken," Blaziken approached Ash.
"Thanks for your care Blaziken, but seriously I'm fine. How on earth did you guys get Golurk in that condition though," Ash's eyes turned to the Ghost-type.
May stopped her cuddling with Victini instantly and also spoke with confusion, "Yeah what on earth happened? All I can remember was Ash being kicked and then I don't know it all occurred too fast."
Scraggy, Snivy, Pikachu, and Liepard all looked at each other with even greater confusion, but no one had an answer. As they tried to find a response though, the embers from Blaziken's Overheat got detected by the hallway's fire detectors and all of a sudden an alarm went off.
The loud alarm forced everyone to put aside the question and deal with the issue at hand. "Great, the alarm is on. They'll be coming any second," Ash grinded his teeth.
Suddenly, the showers hanging from the ceiling activated and began to water the entire hallway. "The fire and smoke detectors must gotten activated. We need to get out of here fast before my hair gets soaked and we fail this mission," May said with a worrisome tone, receiving a smile and nod from Ash.
"Pika!" Pikachu put aside his confusion regarding May and Blaziken and ran ahead of the gang.
"Looks like Pikachu is going to lead, let's see where we end up," Ash spoke and they all agreed, running right behind the mouse.
The gang disappeared into the distance as they left behind Golurk. "Goluuuuuu," Golurk moaned in pain as it reached its arm out, but fainted.
"Cilan, it feels like we've been here forever and we still haven't come up with anything," Iris complained to the green-haired teen.
Cilan ignored her remark and thought carefully. He recalled effective methods of escape he had witnessed in movies and television, wondering if that could possibly work until the light bulb in his head went on, "That's it!" Cilan cheered.
Iris's eyes brightened with joy and spoke to him, "Did you come up with something?!"
"You bet I did," Cilan smiled confidently and suddenly motioned his back hands.
"What is it?" Iris questioned.
"Axew ew?" Axew was also desperate to escape and was just as curious about Cilan's solution.
Cilan appeared focused for a few seconds until he felt something metallic in his back pocket and his eyes glistened with joy. He pulled the object out with his fingers and smoothly positioned it so he could cut the rope, for a few more seconds he motioned the object until the rope finally snapped and the connoisseur got freed, "Voila!" he cheered happily, revealing a knife in his hand.
"You had a knife in your back pocket this whole time?!" Iris glared at him.
Cilan smiled sheepishly and spoke, "Hey, I forget sometimes, but I knew carrying an extra knife was genius. Who knew it'd be great for an escape plot."
"Just please free us Cilan," Iris sighed.
"Right away," Cilan smiled and prepared to Iris and Axew's ropes.
After several minutes both friends were successfully feared. "Awesome, being able to move my hands feels so refreshing," Iris said with delight as she moved her wrists.
"Axew axew," Axew agreed with its companion.
"Now if we could just escape this room," Cilan turned his eyes to the steel bars in front of them.
"I have just the Pokémon," Iris smiled confidently as she reached for a Pokéball.
"Which?" Cilan raised an eyebrow.
"Excadrill, let's go!" Iris threw her Pokéball into the air.
"Looks like we've made it, when we walk past this room we'll finally be able to rescue Iris and Cilan," Ash said with joy.
"Way to go Pikachu," May complimented the little mouse.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu answered joyfully.
"I knew your senses wouldn't let us down pal, now let's hurry," Ash told him as he stepped forward.
Unfortunately, the first step they took triggered an alarm and made their eyes widen. "What now?" Ash said in annoyance.
"We should have seen this one coming," May sighed.
"Looks like we're about to battle some guards guys, get ready," Ash and the Pokémon braced themselves along with May.
What they also didn't expect as well was the fact that a green gas got shot out of the walls. "Is that what I think it is?" Ash spoke with a surprised tone.
"Run fo-!" May shouted, but it was too late.
The gas had already covered the entire room and its effects kicked in as fast as it got released. "Darn iiiiit…" Ash cursed his luck one more time before dropping on the floor.
May and the others also succumbed to the gas and dropped on the floor. The Pokémon also cursed their luck and incompetence for failing to sense this. They had been so eager to rescue their friends they let their guard down minutes before successfully completing the mission.
Now they all lied asleep on the black and white checkered floor.
Meanwhile, Iris and Cilan also heard the alarm. As Iris and Cilan walked out of their prison cell with relief, she stopped and spoke, "I wonder what that is."
"Do you think it could be Ash and May?" Cilan inquired.
"We'll have to go and see," Iris responded and prepared to dash off with Axew, but before any of them could get moving. A green gas got released into the room, much to the pair's dismay.
"Just our luuuuuck…" Iris complained before dropping to take a snooze.
"At least we got oooouuuut…" Cilan yawned and let himself submit to the gas.
Ash slowly lifted his head and opened his eyes, carefully examining his location. The place was completely made of wood and saw Cilan, Iris, May, Pikachu, Axew and Victini around him, all of them suddenly waking up.
"What's going on?" he heard May speak softly.
"Well some you did better than last time and some didn't," everyone heard Auro's voice, immediately waking up once they heard it. They quickly noticed the three powerful teenagers and the Lake Guardians gazing at them with interest.
They all raised their heads in surprise and looked around. "Are we in the cabin?" Iris questioned, realizing they were sitting in a circle in the familiar home.
"That's right," Nate confirmed Iris's question.
"Does this mean the mission is over?" May asked, still recovering from the nap she had taken.
"I'm afraid so," Rosa sighed.
"I guess we didn't do so well huh?" Ash could tell from Rosa's sigh.
"Unfortunately," Auro confirmed it.
"Well that's a bummer," Cilan said in disappointment.
Auro turned to Cilan and Iris and smiled, "Actually, you two were doing well. You discovered your escape method and managed to free yourself from the prison cell. You may have failed last time, but you accomplished this part successfully."
"Really, that's awesome!" Iris cheered happily.
"That's great news," Cilan smiled with joy.
Auro grinned at them, but when he turned to Ash and May; his face became stern, "As for you two. You were phenomenally well up until you reached the room before the cell chamber. You managed to stealthily pass through multiple squads and sneak attack dozens of them, you even brought down the giant Golurk we had created just to see what you would do in an unexpected twist. However, your eagerness and desire to get the mission over with got the best of you and you weren't cautious. You tried to walk past that room like if it were your home, never ever make that mistake, it's a foolish and obvious one."
"We're sorry for letting you guys down," Ash sighed and lowered his head.
"It was pretty stupid of us to think we could just walk through that room," May sighed with her boyfriend.
Pikachu and Victini also lowered their ears in disappointment, wishing they could've done something to avoid the grave error. Auro sighed and began to speak again, "We did think you were exceptionally well regarding your stealth though. The amount of approaches you took to dealing with every guard was something we did not expect and you didn't even have to use Victini once throughout those sneak attacks. The Golurk escapade was a bit different though, there could have been various approaches to dealing with it, but you took one of the more difficult roads. Nonetheless, you managed to defeat it and got away with it, even if you alarmed the entire facility about your location."
"Auro is right guys. All of you did amazingly well, whether you passed or not. It's obvious that you're making progress in every field we've focused on so far. As you go through more missions you'll realize just how tremendous your progress no matter how difficult they get. Soon enough you'll be able to battle members of the Majestic 12," Nate was a bit kinder about the results.
"Thanks you guys," Ash smiled sheepishly.
"We really appreciate it," May grinned sheepishly with him.
"So in order to celebrate your progress so far, we cooked up some food for you," Rosa said with a happy tone.
The moment they heard food, Ash, May, Cilan, Iris, Pikachu, Axew, and Victini's stomachs grumbled loudly. The unison of the stomach grumbling caused everyone to laugh, but neither of the seven could deny it, they were absolutely hungry.
At the dinner table, everyone politely ate a mouthful, everyone except Ash and May, who were still taking chunks of bread and chicken. Even the Lake Guardians got astonished by the amount they ate and wondered why these humans ate so much than the others.
"So I'm guessing after eating so much, you'll be charged for you next segment of training?" Auro chuckled.
Auro's comment immediately stopped Ash and May from eating and the pair looked at Auro with surprise. "More training?" Ash asked with surprise.
"Didn't we just train?" May added.
"You did, but just because you only had one training session yesterday doesn't mean you're limited to just one training session per day. We're going to try to fit in as much training as possible every day before it gets dark. If we could we'd make you go through a hundred missions per day," Rosa joked and giggled.
"Wow, that sounds like a lot of work," Iris stated.
Nate chuckled when he saw the unsure faces on Ash and May, "What's the matter you two? You think you're too weak for the training on this island?" Nate questioned.
"What? No way!" Ash and May frowned at Nate.
"Then how's about we get the next training session underway?"Auro inquired.
"You name it," Ash got up and spoke with a confident tone.
"Yeah, we're ready and able," May followed his lead.
"It's one you're both very familiar with. The next training session is merely a Pokémon Tag Battle," Auro smirked at them and crossed his arms.
"That sounds much simpler than the previous missions Ash and May had to do," Cilan commented.
"Pika," Pikachu wondered what the catch for this battle was though.
"Victini v," Victini thought about who they would battle.
"Who are we battling?" Ash asked with a confident grin.
"Me," Auro said with a confident tone.
May raised an eyebrow and looked at Nate and Rosa, "Wait really? I thought we'd be battling Nate and Rosa."
"No, this time I want to test you personally and there are three things you have to keep in mind before deciding the Pokémon you'll battle me with," Auro informed them.
"Which is?" May questioned.
"You are not allowed to use Victini, Pikachu, or Blaziken," Auro stated and received widened eyes from Iris and Cilan while Ash and May continued grinning confidently.
"Alright," May said with a sly grin.
"No problem," Ash did the same gesture as May.
"But Pikachu and Blaziken are the only Pokémon that can possibly compete with Auro's Pokémon," Iris pointed out.
"That's true, but I don't think we should be concerned if Ash and May are acting so confident about it," Cilan stated.
"But they're kids, they might just be accepting just to avoid looking weak," Iris sighed.
"So when do we start?" Ash asked his opponent.
"Now," Auro smirked at them.
Out in the forest, Auro picked the perfect spot for a battle and now the trio stood on opposite ends, with Ash and May on one end and Auro on the other. Nate would be the referee for this battle while Nate, Iris, Cilan, Axew, Pikachu, and Victini would watch from the sidelines.
"I'll pummel the two of you within a minute," Auro chuckled.
"That's what you think," Ash and May said with frowning faces.
From the sidelines Pikachu, Victini, and Iris seemed concerned about how their friends would do against such a formidable opponent. The trio received assurance though when Ash and May caught their worried expressions and winked. Cilan and Rosa remained calm though and knew even if Ash and May had a disadvantage, this could still turn out to be an interesting battle.
"Since this your first time battling me, I'll make it a bit easier and use Pokémon on Pikachu and Blaziken's level," Auro smirked.
"Pokémon on par with Pikachu and Blaziken that already sounds pretty strong," Iris said with a worried tone.
"Don't worry Iris, I know they'll be able to hold their own, just trust in them," Cilan told the girl and placed his hand on her shoulder. Iris looked at him and then at his hand and blushed a little before nodding and turning away quickly.
"Aggron, Ninjask, prepare for battle!" Auro called out the two Pokémon.
"Oshawott, you're up!" Ash released his Water-type Pokémon without having to think about how to approach this battle.
May wasted no moment in thinking as well and called out her Pokémon, "Pignite hit the stage!"
"Osha!" Oshawott stood proudly in front of his two opponents, not intimidated in the slightest bit.
"Nite!" Pignite pounded his chest confidently.
"Ninjask," Ninjask just flew over them with a sneaky appearance.
"Agg," Aggron smirked at his tiny opponents.
"Interesting how Ash and May didn't think about which Pokémon to choose, they just sent out their Pokémon the moment Auro called out his own," Rosa commented.
"There should be some reason behind it or else it'd be completely reckless. Plus, I'm sure their choices will have some serious effects on how this battle goes, but it is also intriguing how they picked a Fire and Water-type," Cilan explained and wondered what Ash and May had up their sleeves.
"Let the battle begin!" Nate announced.
"Ninjask, use Aerial Ace on Oshawott!" Auro instructed.
"Pignite, give Oshawott cover with Defense Curl," May commanded.
"Oshawott, give Aggron a taste of your Water Gun!" Ash demanded.
"Aggron, trap them with Rock Tomb," Auro ordered calmly.
"Aaaaggg!" Aggron stomped its foot and giant stones burst out of the ground like towers and trapped the Unova duo. Aggron's Rock Tomb also canceled out Oshawott's Water Gun successfully.
"Ninjask, change your attack to Shadow Ball," Auro commanded.
"Nin!" Ninjask stopped midway and quickly fired a Shadow Ball.
"Oshawott break your way out of there with Razor Shell!" Ash extended his arm to the right.
"Pignite use Tackle to break out of their too!" May commanded.
Unfortunately, Shadow Ball fired too fast and instantly blasted the pair away with the powerful Ghost-type attack. "No!" Iris yelled in frustration when she saw Oshawott and Pignite crashing against the ground after being blasted.
"Clever, Auro trapped them with Rock Tomb and used that moment to attack with a rapid Shadow Ball," Cilan complimented Auro's strategy.
Oshawott and Pignite recovered from the attack, but groaned in pain as they stood up. "Aggron, go for a Headbutt against Pignite. Ninjask, use Double Team and prepare to use Scratch on Oshawott," Auro crossed his arms as Aggron bent down and began to charge while multiple Ninjask appeared and charged behind Aggron.
"Alright, so Aggron is weak against fire. I know just what to do," May grinned confidently. "Pignite, use Take Down and use Flamethrower to surround yourself in fire as you charge!" the brunette commanded.
"Oshawott, take out all those Ninjask with Aqua Jet!" Ash instructed.
"Oshaaaawoooooott!" Oshawott became enveloped in dark blue water and blasted off.
"Piiiiiigniiiiite!" Pignite began to charge at its larger opponent and fired a Flamethrower that began to envelope the pig.
"Fools, Aggron use Mud-Slap and NInjask use Shadow Sneak," Auro commanded.
Ash and May's eyes widened when they heard the commands. "Pignite, stop and back flip!" May countered.
"Oshawott, use Aqua Jet in a spiral motion and use Water Gun!" Ash countered.
Just as Aggron prepared to slap Pignite with dirt, the moderately fast Fire-type managed to flip backwards and avoid the Ground-type move. Sorry to say, Auro already had his backup move, "Aggron, use Rock Tomb."
While Pignite was still in midair, Aggron slammed its fist into the ground and stone towers trapped Pignite once again, preventing him from moving. "Now, Double-Edge," Auro commanded.
"Aggron!" Aggron tackled its own Rock Tomb and destroyed it, at the same time using the power of Double-Edge to send Pignite crashing against the ground.
"Pig!" Pignite squealed and hit the ground harshly.
"Aggron, finish this with Hyper Beam," Auro instructed his Steel-type.
While May struggled against Aggron, Oshawott began to spin in a spiral fashion as the multiple Ninjask shadows attempted to strike it down. Much to Auro's amazement though, as Oshawott motioned like a spiral and used Water Gun, it developed what resembled a watery tornado and suddenly Ninjask's shadows struggled to get through.
Luckily, Ash had also saw May's need of assistance and came up with clever move, "Oshawott release the combo at Ninjask and Aggron!" Ash commanded.
"Ooooossssshaaaawoooooott!" Oshawott shouted through the roar of the water and aimed it at the swarm of Ninjask and Aggron.
With the force Oshawott fired the water move, the speed of the tornado left Ninjask unable to react as well as Aggron. Auro's jaw dropped as his NInjask got exterminated and washed away with Aggron.
"Aaaaaagg!" Aggron roared in pain as the water soaked him.
"Niiinjaaask!" Ninjask choked in the water as the tornado motioned more furiously until it burst and sent Auro's two pair of Pokémon flying into the air.
"Thanks Ash," May said to him with a sheepish tone.
"No problem May, it's ok if you couldn't handle Aggron, I've got your back," Ash told the girl with a smile.
May smiled at him sweetly and nodded. "Now how's about we use that combination attack we practiced after you won the tournament?" Ash questioned.
"Sure!" May said happily.
Ash nodded and the two smiled confidently at Auro, who raised an eyebrow.
"Oshawott let your Razor Shell fly like a boomerang at Aggron and Ninjask!" Ash extended his arm forward.
"Oshaaawoooott!" Oshawott leaped into the air and took out his shell. The scalchop took the form of a sword and threw it into the air like a boomerang.
"Pignite, use Flamethrower on Razor Shell!" May pointed at the blue-colored attack.
"Piiiigniiiiite!" Pignite fired at the move and much to the wonder of everyone else the fire circle around Razor Shell.
The combination attack now resembled a fiery disk with a blue center, creating water and fire combination. Auro gritted his teeth and knew his Pokémon were hopeless from midair, especially after they were just attacked and watched in frustration as the combination attack shot them down.
The combination attack bashed at Ninjask and Aggron with tremendous power, which had serious consequences for Aggron especially. "Like taking down two birds with one stone," Cilan smiled.
As Auro's two Pokémon began to fall while squealing pain, Oshawott's scalchop returned to it and the fire faded by the time he placed it back own while Pignite huffed smoke out confidently.
"Now," Ash and May said in unison.
"Pignite, use our Take Down and Flamethrower combination one last time like before," May said with a sly grin.
"And Oshawott, use Aqua Jet on Ninjask one more time," Ash grinned.
Auro clenched his fists and spoke, "Aggron when you reach ground use Rock Tomb. Ninjask get it together and use Shadow Sneak!"
"Pigniiiiiite!" Pignite roared triumphantly and charged at Aggron like before, with a bright flame beginning to envelope it.
"Oshaaaawoooooott!" Oshawott took off like a jet once more.
Luckily for Auro, both his Pokémon had recovered just in time and the moment Aggron touched floor, it slammed its fist into the ground. Unfortunately for Auro, the Rock Tomb had been slow. "Dodge!" May ordered and Pignite sensed where the rocks would emerge just in time. The Fire-type then successfully flipped over the protruding stones and kept charging, much to Auro's astonishment.
"Impossible!" Nate and Rosa yelled.
"Ninjask!" Ninjask cried out and summoned its shadow to charge after Oshawott.
Much to Ash's dismay, Ninjask's shadow seemed as fast as Ninjask and Oshawott grinded its teeth as it saw the incoming attack. "Try to dodge it as best as you can Oshawott!" Ash ordered.
"Osh!" Oshawott made a sharp left as the Shadow Sneak tried to dig its claw into Oshawott.
"Wott!" Oshawott narrowly avoided Ninjask once again.
"Shed!" Ninjask cried out and used both its claws to attack Oshawott.
"Osha!" Oshawott could barely dodge the double attack as it swerved left and right.
"Osha osha osh," Oshawott panted as Ninjask's relentless shadow tried to beat it until the otter felt something snap inside it.
All of a sudden, its body became a blue color and as it used Aqua Jet; its entire figure began to change. This event instantly alerted everyone watching, "What's going on?" Iris questioned with surprise.
Victini and Pikachu watched with surprise while Nate and Rosa had jaws dropped. Cilan chuckled and Auro gasped, "It's evolving," the blue-haired opponent could not believe it.
"Talk about great timing Oshawott," Ash smiled proudly.
"That's awesome," May watched with admiration.
As Oshawott's form changed, it became noticeably taller and leaner until the blue light finally faded and revealed a much stronger and faster Pokémon in its place. "Dewott," the newly-evolved Dewott said with a sly grin and began to easily dodge Ninjask's shadow.
"Dewott!" Ash cheered with delight.
"Pikapi!" Pikachu cheered at the result.
"Tini vi!" Victini clapped cheerfully.
Dewott smirked and turned its eyes to the shadow targeting it and without any fear in its eyes, fired a Water Gun right at it, exterminating the shadow once and for all. As Pignite charged at Aggron, it watched at Dewott and took great pride in the evolution of its friend, now feeling even more confident about their victory.
"Awesome Dewott now let Ninjask have it!" Ash fist pumped at the air.
"Dewott!" Dewott charged at full speed at Ninjask.
Auro gritted his teeth and spoke, "Ninjask, Double Team and then Shadow Sneak!"
Ninjask multiplied once more and had its gang of shadows charge at Dewott, but this time it was completely ineffective. The Water-type easily water gunned away the shadows. "Deeeeewoooooott!" Dewott enhanced its speed and charged right through the Ninjask copies until Auro had realized that Dewott also identified the real Ninjask.
"Ninjask, dodge!" Auro commanded.
"I don't think so," Ash said confidently.
Dewott grinned slyly and without wasting anytime, bashed right through the escaping Ninjask, sending it crashing towards the ground. Auro glared at Ash and turned to Aggron, "Aggron, stop Pignite and Dewott's actions with Metal Sound now!"
"Not letting that happen, Pignite, fire Flamethrower!" May demanded.
"Pigniiiiite!" Pignite released the blazing attack at Aggron and due to the high fire rate of Flamethrower and Aggron's weakened state; Aggron was unable to react in time, instead roaring in pain because of the unbearable fire.
"Dewott, help out Pignite with Aqua Jet!" Ash grinned confidently.
Dewott smiled and made a U-turn, its target becoming Aggron. As the Steel-type helplessly endured the flames, Dewott came into the scene and like a bullet; the otter bashed Aggron's face.
"Give it a bit more power!" May commanded.
"Dewott, use Water Gun to assist!" Ash extended his arm to the right.
While in midair, Dewott canceled out its Aqua Jet and prepared to fire a Water Gun. Pignite glared at Aggron and enhanced the power of Flamethrower, making the Steel-type squeal in pain. Dewott smirked and came to his friend's aid one more time; "Dewooooott!" the Water-type fired Water Gun.
"Awesome, fire and water always effective together!" Iris cheered.
"And against a Steel-type, it's remarkably brilliant. Ash and May know their stuff," Cilan showed admiration for his friends.
Nate and Rosa were in disbelief as they saw their friend lose control of the fight. The unified power of Water Gun and Flamethrower eventually became too much for Aggron and the Steel-type got fired against a tree, breaking it in the process.
The moment they saw Aggron lie down against the tree because of the two attacks, Dewott and Pignite halted their attacks and stood together proudly. Ash and May also stood behind them and watched with joy.
There lied Aggron with swirl eyes, soaking and covered in black spots because of the water and fire. Nate raised an eyebrow and lifted his arm, "Aggron is unable to battle!"
Auro was in disbelief as he returned his Steel-type and wondered where Ash and May had found the ability to outwit him. His eyes turned to Ninjask, who kept trying to fly back up, but it was too weak after dealing with Dewott and the trainer looked at Ash and May with surprise. He sighed and chuckled, "I forfeit."
Rosa, Nate, Pikachu, Victini, May, Ash, Iris, and Cilan all became shocked at the result, but before they could say anything, Auro interrupted them, "Aggron is out for the count and Ninjask cannot even get its wings working, so I think there is no use in continuing this battle and making my Ninjask endure more pain. You win, Ash and May, not because you were stronger, but because you two had one thing I didn't…and that's each other."
Ash and May could not believe their victory over Auro at the moment and when Auro explained that the reason for their victory had been each other, the two looked at each other and smiled sweetly at each other while May grabbed his hand.
"Don't let this victory think you're ready to face the world, you're merely a step closer, but congrats," Auro smiled at them as he returned Ninjask.
"Thanks Auro," Ash grinned at him, still trying to process the sudden victory.
"We don't know what to say," May giggled and expressed the feeling of surprise they were currently feeling.
Even Victini and Pikachu were in complete surprise at the sudden victory, the next thing heard from Auro was, "Ready for the next training segment?" asking it with a satisfied grin.