Chapter 45: Ghosts
"Gengar," Ash gritted his teeth at the sight of the ghosts.
"This is going to be tricky," May frowned when she saw the group of 10 evil-looking Pokémon.
"Victini take them out with a barrage of Flamethrower!" Ash commanded with his right arm spread out.
"That won't work this time," Auro sighed.
"Victini!" Victini cried out and released several streams of Flamethrower at the Gengar.
"Genga!" the Gengar snickered and suddenly disappeared.
The Flamethrower were fast, but invisibility had an advantage over speed. Ash clenched his fists when he saw the burned patches of grass while May glared at the burned plains. "They used invisibility to get away," May said in frustration.
"Looks they're using our own trick to win this time," Ash searched the area for the Gengar.
"How are we going to battle an invisible opponent?" May said with annoyance, wondering how they could defeat the sneaky Gengar.
Victini scanned the area frantically for its invisible opponents, but it was useless. Unfortunately for Victini, the Gengar were even sneakier than it had expected and from behind it a purple-shaped fist formed and punched Victini. "Tiiiiiiii!" Victini squealed in pain as it shot downward like a comet.
"Victini no!" Ash and May yelled simultaneously in shock.
As Victini continued wincing in pain while downwards another purple fist began to glow from out of nowhere. When Victini tried to stop itself from going head to head with the attack it proved futile and it received a hard sucker punch in the stomach sending it flying backwards in a horizontal position.
"The Gengar are using Sucker Punch!" Ash identified the Gengar's tricks.
"Victini please pull yourself together, you can't lose!" May encouraged Victini to fight back.
Victini could hear the couple as it flew backwards, but the power from the Sucker Punch left the Psychic-type stunned and after a few seconds it felt another Sucker Punch jab him upward. "Viiiiiiiiiii!" Victini cried out in pain once again.
"Gengaaaaar!" a group of 7 Gengar revealed itself just a few feet away from Victini, hovering in the air.
"Ash, what are they going to do?" May's eyes widened.
"Victini, watch out!" Ash shouted.
"Gen!" three of the Gengar prepared a Shadow Punch, three prepared Shadow Ball and the middle one charged a Dark Pulse.
"Victini!" Ash screamed while May gasped.
"Gar!" all of the Gengar shouted at once and released the combination of Ghost and Dark-type attacks.
"Ti?" Victini's eyes widened when it saw the Shadow Punch and felt its entire body spin 360 degrees as the Shadow Punch bashed it. Before it could recover the trio of Shadow Ball exploded on contact with the little one and shot him down like a bird. Failing to regain its composure, Victini had no defense against Dark Pulse and the move caused a midair explosion when it hit Victini, shooting it down faster towards the ground.
"Is that it?" Cilan watched with widened eyes and looked at Iris who had her hands over her mouth.
"V…" Victini said weakly as it tried to get up.
Ash and May watched with frustration as their little Pokémon got up covered in dirt, bruises, and even some blood. "Victini, don't give up you can still win!" Ash tried to motivate the Fire-type.
"We believe in you, you've already shown us how powerful you are. I know you can do it again!" May added to what Ash said.
"Ti?" Victini looked at the pair with a tired gaze. The Fire-type read the gazes in their eyes and knew that they were telling the truth, they were certain it could really overcome the odds.
It turned to the Gengar hovering above and saw them smirking evilly. Victini turned back to Ash and May with an expression of uncertainty. May and Ash nodded with kind smiles at it and Victini gazed back at the Gengar.
"Ash, I think I know how we might win this," May told the raven-haired boy.
"How?" Ash questioned.
"We're going to teach Victini an alternative to one its attacks," May said with a confident grin.
"Like a combination attack?" Ash raised an eyebrow.
"Something like that," May answered with confidence glowing in her sapphire eyes.
Ash liked the expression on May's face and smirked, "I'm ready whenever you are," he said confidently.
"Victini charge up a Searing Shot, but not a speedy one," May commanded the Victory Pokémon calmly.
"Victini," Victini nodded and became surrounded in a teardrop-shape red flame as well as a round yellow fire.
"What are those two planning; don't they know that charging up a projectile move for so long like that will only slow them down?" Rosa inquired with a raised eyebrow.
"Especially against a quick Ghost-type like Gengar," Nate included to Rosa's statement.
Auro raised an eyebrow, "I don't think they're planning what we have in mind."
"Then what are they doing?" Iris asked with a concerned tone.
Cilan and Pikachu were the only ones who caught on as they observed the flames surrounding Victini. "Of course!" Cilan snapped his fingers.
"Keep charging!" May ordered as Victini exerted more power into the flame surrounding it.
As Ash observed the thicker and higher flames surrounding Victini it recalled a similar charge up done by one of his Pokémon before. That's when he realized what May had in mind, he had done something similar with his Infernape, and now Victini was about to do the same. As the flames gained a 50 yard diameter, the grass slowly burned and the environment became hotter.
The Gengar became alarmed and that's when they prepared to charge at Victini, before it could release Searing Shot. "Genga!" five of the Gengar charged forward at Victini with sneaky smiles and then became invisible.
"Now Victini, don't release it!" May ordered and Victini's eyes opened once it had charged up enough power.
Through the flames it could see only five of the Gengar hovering from five different sides but got confused as to why May had not let him release Searing Shot, unless she had made him charge up so much fire for another purpose…
A few seconds before the Gengar could close in on the flames, May yelled the next step of counterattack, "Trap the Gengar in your flames Victini!"
"Victini!" Victini shouted and its eyes began to glow blue. A blue aura enveloped the entire fire dome it formed as well.
"Gar?" the Gengar became visible and their faces became frightened and stopped a few feet away from the dome. Their shock and fear came from the fact that Victini's Searing Shot gotten charged for another purpose and unfortunately for them the flames reached out for them like jaws.
"Gen!" the Gengar shouted as the fire reached like arms for them thanks to Victini's psychic powers and the Ghost-type Pokémon got vaporized out of existence. Five of the illusions had already been destroyed by the colossal fire dome Victini formed.
"Geeeeengaaaaaaar!" the other Gengar exclaimed angrily and fired Dark Pulse at Victini's dome.
May turned to Ash and smiled, "You can handle the rest Ash."
"Gotcha May," Ash smiled back and turned to Victini. "Victini, use Counter Shield to counter the Dark Pulse!"
"Tini!" Victini nodded and began to spin its body in a circular motion as the flames from the dome began to extend out like arms. The flames easily destroyed the Dark Pulse and as the Gengar prepared to turn invisible, Victini enhanced the power of its attack with its ability, Victory Star. With the combined power of Victory Star, Confusion, and Searing Shot, Victini's combination was a guaranteed hit. The fire reached out for the Gengar like claws and destroyed them at last. The last thing heard from the Gengar was the loud shouts of pain resulting from the scorching flames.
When the Gengar had finally been destroyed, Victini stopped its motion and the tremendous fire dome dispersed into small embers dropping on the grass like rain. "Vi," Victini let out a sigh of relief.
"The power of a legendary Pokémon," Auro nodded in approval.
"Amazing," Nate and Rosa said at the same time.
"That was fantastic!" Iris jumped into the air with a gleeful cheer.
"Pikapi!" Pikachu joined Iris in her cheering.
"A spicy and tasty finish," Cilan expressed his thoughts on the final move.
"That's that!" Ash and May said at a simultaneous moment and high fived each other joyfully.
"Victini!" the couple heard Victini's gleeful cheer and saw it flying over to them.
Ash and May laughed happily as they opened their arms wide to embrace the little one. "Way to go pal," Ash received the Victory Pokémon with one arm.
"We were great out there Victini, I'm so happy!" May received Victini with one arm as well and they just held the tiny Pokémon tightly against them.
"Tini," Victini nuzzled against their chests happily.
Their celebration was cut short when they saw Auro walking over with the others and the trio smiled at them. "How did you like that Auro?" Ash smirked at the blue-haired trainer.
"That was quite impressive," Auro chuckled.
"There's no challenge Victini and us can't overcome and I think we've proving it by taking down all those Pokémon," May gave the trainer a sly grin.
"Although you've shown just how strong the three of you really are. There are still plenty of more trials for Victini involving endurance, defense, etc, but we have time to do that another day. I think we're all satisfied one how Victini's training went today," Auro smiled at them.
Ash, May, and Victini nodded at Auro as their environment changed back to the wooded area with the cabin.
"Does that mean we're done for the day?" May inquired.
"Not quite, we're done with Victini for the day, but there is still more training to do," Auro told them.
"Which is?" Ash raised an eyebrow.
Auro's eyes turned to Victini who looked at him in confusion. "Victini you may rest here at the cabin with the other Pokémon, you've had enough for one day."
"Ti," Victini nodded and Auro turned his eyes back to Ash and May.
"As for you two, we're going to do some old-fashioned exercise," Auro smirked.
"Old-fashioned exercise?" May didn't know what he meant by that.
"You know, stuff like pushups, sit-ups, swimming, running, squats, etc." Rosa explained to the pair.
"You mean we're going to really exercise our bodies?" Ash raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"Of course, you guys need to get into shape. Being physically fit is always good for any task, especially if it means saving the world," Nate chuckled as he informed them.
Ash scratched his cheek and simply said, "Ummmm ok."
"Didn't see that one coming," May was more open with her response while her eyes displayed her surprise.
"Nate, Rosa, Cilan, Iris, and I will also be joining you so it doesn't get too lonely and we'll motivate you," Auro commented.
"Wait we have to exercise too?" Iris pointed at herself with surprise in her eyes.
"Do we have to?" Cilan said with uncertainty.
"Of course, you guys also have to play some role in saving the world," Rosa giggled as she answered back.
Ash, May, Iris, and Cilan looked at each other with uncertain expressions while Victini and Pikachu became relieved that they weren't involved in this one. Auro's eyes however, caught sight of Pikachu's relief and chuckled, "By the way Ash and May, you should bring Pikachu and Blaziken as well. Being your strongest Pokémon I believe they should get the exercise as well."
"Pika!" Pikachu gasped with horror.
"Right," May nodded and ran to get her Blaziken from inside the cabin.
Auro smiled at Ash, Pikachu, Iris, and Cilan who were still unsure of what to say. The blue-haired trainer and his friends laughed at their expressions, the simple task would be just as strenuous as any other.
"Boy I hate this," May panted as they ran up the dirt path.
"How far are we from the cabin?" Iris whined.
While taking deep breaths Cilan turned his head back and the cabin was still clearly visible. The green-haired teen sighed, "We're not even that far yet."
"You've got to be kidding me," Ash panted as he tried to push back his laziness.
"Pikachu pi," Pikachu sighed as it ran. Unlike the humans it had no issue physically, Pikachu just preferred not to exercise outside of battling.
May turned her head to Blaziken who was running with them and became amazed by how simple the Fighting-type made the exercise look. "Blaz blaz blaziken," Blaziken said as it ran on the dirt path.
"Man I wish I was you right now Blaziken," May took a deep breath.
"Look at Auro, Nate, and Rosa, they're treating this like a walk in the park," Iris pointed out at the trio who were some feet away from them.
As if they knew they were staring, all three turned back and Nate spoke, "C'mon guys don't fall behind!"
"Don't tell us you're already tired? We still have a long way to go!" Rosa let them know.
"We've been doing this kind of exercise since kids, there's no excuse as to why you can't do it!" Auro said to them as he kept the lead.
"I hate you guys!" May complained as she could feel sweat begin to slip out of her bandana.
"This is an abuse of human rights!" Iris whined further.
Auro, Nate, and Rosa laughed simultaneously. "You should start hating us when we start doing the other stuff," Rosa laughed as she spoke back to them.
"Oh great," Ash sighed as he felt the sweat drop from his face.
"I wish I had eaten some nutrients before all this," Cilan regretted not eating any energy snack before the exercise.
"Pi," Pikachu looked back to see how far they were from the cabin and was glad to see that they were at least a significant distance away now.
Blaziken merely admired the sky and trees as it ran. Exercise was always the most tranquil activity for the Fire-type, it would've been perfect if May had not been complaining near his ear, but a human is a human.
"When do you think we'll start doing the other stuff?" Ash asked his friends.
Before anyone could answer they heard Auro yell from ahead, "Pushups!" Everyone instantly dropped to pushup position and Ash caught eye of May's glare.
"Way to go my beloved boyfriend," May frowned at him as she prepared to lower her body."I ha-ha-hate life," May felt her muscles begin to ache as she tried to lift her body.
"My body is going to be sore tomorrow," Iris complained after she successfully did her first pushup.
"You're telling me," Ash panted as he did the pushups. He became amazed by how Auro, Nate, and Rosa were able to do them so easily. He had been watching them since they started and they had already done 20. The more I hang around these guys the more I believe they're superhuman, Ash's arms shook as he tried to push up his body.
Cilan gritted his teeth as he lowered his body, "This is an extremely bitter exercise."
"Pikaaaaaa," Pikachu whined as it struggled to lift its body after the tenth pushup.
"Ken blaz ken blaz," Blaziken was doing the pushups like if they were nothing. It left everyone astonished as Blaziken didn't appear to break a sweat as he did each one.
"Run!" the gang heard Nate yell from ahead.
"Thank god!" May lifted her body in a jolt and everyone soon followed.
"What I wouldn't give to be superhuman at this moment," Iris sighed as they all started to run.
"Hey what's that up ahead?" Cilan noticed something blue up ahead.
"Is that…" Iris focused her vision.
"A river!" Ash's eyes widened.
"Are they going to make us swim across?!" May's eyes grew as big as Pokéballs.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu basically said "you can't be serious", as it let out a sigh.
"Swim!" Rosa shouted and the trio jumped into the air and surfaced within 3 seconds.
"There they go," Iris commented as the trio swam like fish in the water and they were pretty fast at it.
"And here we go!" Ash prepared himself and jumped into the water.
Everyone else soon followed, but May quickly realized something. Her sapphire eyes turned to Blaziken, but before she could remind him that he was a Fire-type, the Blaze Pokémon made such a powerful jump that it got it across the 50 yard wide river.
Everyone got amazed and jealous by Blaziken's simple feat. May merely sighed as she was the last one to get in the water, "Lucky you," she murmured, hoping Blaziken heard her as it landed coolly on the other side of the river.
As they all swam across the river they were quickly becoming tired but knew they couldn't stop, it was sink or swim in this case. They saw that the superhuman trio was near by the time they reached the middle of the river and they didn't even look tired.
"This…is…going…to…be…a…long…session," May tried to swiftly move her arms and legs, she was only thankful that the river wasn't strong.
Everyone agreed with May's comment though, despite the simplicity of the training session it would not be any easier. For almost an hour, the gang would find themselves being challenged bu Auro, Nate, and Rosa. They would have to keep running and suddenly stop for sit-ups, squats, lunges. There were also plenty of rivers and lakes to swim through which didn't make the session any easier.
Halfway through the run their clothes were almost drenched in sweat and their bodies became exhausted, but Auro refused to let them rest and fall behind. Nate and Rosa managed to motivate them by telling them that the whole purpose behind this training was to save the world, to stop Pokémon and people from suffering because of the Plasmas, Rockets, and the Majestic 12. As Ash and May got reminded of all the crimes committed by those organizations against humanity, they were easily motivated to keep going and that managed to keep them going for the rest of the training.
Saving the world, that was the motivation behind the whole training. By repeating that to themselves, the gang finally reached the end of the training session at the top of a lonely hill. "That was...I don't know…what that was," May panted for air as she placed her hands on her knees.
"My entire body is tired," Ash's face got red from so much exercise and was sweating a pond.
"I'm with you guys," Iris took deep breaths.
"At least it's over," Cilan was on his knees gasping.
"Pichuuu," Pikachu dropped to the floor while panting.
"Blaz," Blaziken wiped away the sweat from its head and even though it was tired, he was nowhere near as tired as his friends.
When Ash finished panted and recovered enough strength he looked up and noticed that around the island, in the horizon there was thick mist that surrounded the blue sky over them May, Iris, and Cilan noticed it as well and wondered why.
"Hey why is the sky clear over us, but just some miles away it's all covered in mist?" May raised an eyebrow.
"It's almost as if the mist were encircling this entire island," Cilan added.
"That's pretty easy to explain. The mist caused is by the Lake Guardians. Since this is their Unova home they always have it cloaked in mist to prevent anyone from coming and trying to catch them," Auro answered.
"So it's basically to keep away trespassers," Iris summarized and Auro nodded.
"Speaking of mist, where are Nate and Rosa?"Ash noticed that they were absent.
Auro's eyes widened and he quickly observed the area, "I thought they had fallen behind with you guys."
"We thought they had gone ahead of you," May responded.
"Great, now I'll have to go look for those two," Auro sighed.
"Do you want us to help you?" Cilan asked.
Auro motioned his head sideways, "No it's alright. All of you can stay here and rest, I shouldn't take long."
"Right," the gang answered simultaneously and with that Auro ran in search of his friends.
"Well at least now we get to have a rest," Ash said with relief.
"Yeah Auro can take an hour if he wants to, I just want to lie down," Iris smiled with content.
"I wonder where they could've gone though," Cilan wondered over the siblings' whereabouts.
"It's like them to mess up like that," Ash thought about their strange disappearance. The boy sat down on a rock and began to wonder how two elite trainers who have so much experience could wind up getting lost in the forest.
"It is something to think about," May placed her finger on her chin and begun to wonder. Soon Pikachu and Blaziken also thought of where they could have gone or when was the last time they saw them.
All of a sudden, a strong wind began to build up and within seconds Ash, May, and Iris's hair began to wave in all directions while Cilan quickly took a stance against the sudden wind. "What's going on, where did this wind come from?" May tried to cover her face from the gust.
"Beats me," Ash also covered his face from the violent wind.
Pikachu and Blaziken immediately took offensive positions and sensed something odd from the energy of this wind. Abruptly, the wind gathered at one center and spun around rapidly until it almost resembled a twister. Then at that abrupt moment it burst and an intimidating foe appeared who was very familiar to all of them.
Ash, May, and the others were stunned by its presence and were not sure what to expect this time. The creature's eyes were filled with anger and they could tell it would not hesitate to blow them away this time.
At least I have found you; Tornadus chuckled at the sight of his prey.
"Tornadus, what do you want!" Ash grinded his teeth and shouted at the Legendary Pokémon.
I believe you have something that is mine, Tornadus extended his arm out.
"We don't have the Reveal Glass anymore, so why don't you just go away!" May yelled at the Flying-type.
What, Tornadus's eyes widened and the Pokémon pulled his arm back. He clenched his fists and glared at them, I searched desperately to find you miserable humans only to reach a dead end. I vow that you will pay with your lives.
Blaziken and Pikachu quickly got in front of the gang and prepared to battle if necessary. Prepare to die! Tornadus shouted and fired a Dark Pulse.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu quickly released a Thunderbolt.
"Blaziken!" Blaziken also fired a Flamethrower in an instant.
Luckily the combined attacks were enough to take out Dark Pulse, but Ash and the others knew it was simply luck. Ash gritted his teeth and spoke as he took advantage of the cloud of dust hiding their position, "We're not strong to defeat Tornadus without Virizion's help. We have to make a run for it."
"How are we going to outrun Tornadus?!" Iris exclaimed
"We have no other choice," Ash told her and when they saw Tornadus appear through the cloud they all nodded in agreement.
As the cloud of dust and smoke vanished the gang made a break for it. Tornadus quickly noticed their planned and yelled, there's no use in running this time! With that Tornadus took off after them and released Air Cutter.
"Pikachu, counter the Air Cutter with Electro Ball!" Ash ordered.
"Blaziken, use Flamethrower!" May instructed.
As the Air Cutter moved in for the kill, Pikachu and Blaziken instantly prepared for their attacks. "Piiikaaachuuuu!" Pikachu swung its tail and released an Electro Ball and repeated the motion several times.
"Blaaaaz!" Blaziken unleashed the stream of fire and canceled out the remaining Air Cutter as moderate explosions and clouds of dust and smoke were produced throughout the dirt path.
Fighting back will not save you, you are doomed! Tornadus declared and released Air Slash. "Pikachu, one more time!" Ash shouted.
"Blaziken, you too!" May commanded.
Pikachu and Blaziken quickly leaped back into the air and canceled out Tornadus's powerful Air Slash, this time destroying several trees in the process. Don't run! Tornadus exclaimed and released a powerful Hurricane that sent the entire gang flying.
"Help!" May shouted in fear until she felt someone grab her and became slightly relieved to see that it was Ash. She noticed the smile on his face and felt some sense of security.
"This is crazy!" Iris screamed.
"What are we going to do?!" Iris yelled.
"Hold on!" Ash ordered everyone as they were sent flying and then hit the ground harshly.
"Keeen," Blaziken groaned as it got up.
"Piiiii," Pikachu also struggled to get up.
"We have to find Auro, Nate, and Rosa. They are the only ones who can handle this," Ash got on his knees.
"But we don't know where they are," May slowly got up after suffering a hurtful fall.
"We could split up," Cilan suggested as he grinded his teeth in pain.
"I agree, and we also need to save our Pokémon. I don't think this island is safe anymore," Iris winced in pain as she got up.
"Then May and I will go for the Pokémon at the cabin. Iris, Cilan, go find the others," Ash commanded and the other two nodded weakly.
"Tornadus can't chase us both at the same time. We'll distract it for a bit and give you guys the moment to run ok?" May informed them and received nods.
Is that all? You had more fight in you last time! Tornadus caught up with them and as sudden as his appearance was, he also abruptly released a Dark Pulse.
"Now!" Ash and May said at the same time and their Pokémon released their attacks to counter Dark Pulse.
Like before a cloud of smoke and dust got produced, which was the chance for Iris and Cilan to escape. Ash and May gave them the nod and the Unova pair dashed off into the forest while Ash and May also made a break for it.
"Blaz!" Blaziken quickly began to dash.
"Chu!" Pikachu also turned and followed close behind.
You can run, but you can't hide! Tornadus declared and blew away the cloud of smoke and dust. The Flying-type quickly caught eye of Ash and May and chuckled. As it raced to catch up with them it realized Iris and Cilan were gone, but at this moment it cared much more about annihilating the bigger thorns on its side.
You're going to die humans! Tornadus warned them and released another Air Slash.
"Pikachu, Blaziken deliver an attack that will hold back Tornadus for a fair amount of time!" Ash instructed as he held onto May's hand.
The girl looked back as Pikachu and Blaziken stopped for their next attack. She held on tight to Ash's hand and thought if she was going to die right now then she wanted it to happen while she held onto Ash.
Pikachu and Blaziken smirked at each other and nodded. They had just the move to keep Tornadus at bay. "Blaaaziiikeeeeen!" Blaziken fired a Fire Spin that had extremely thick flames.
"Piiiiiiikaaaaaachuuuuuu!" Pikachu swung its tall violently and released a larger than average Electro Ball that went right through the spiral tunnel created by Fire Spin.
Resistance is futile, Tornadus chuckled, but much to its surprise the Air Slash was easily canceled out by the Electro Spin. Tornadus had gotten so caught off guard by the amount of power and speed the combination displayed; it took the blast head on and roared in pain. The fire burned its skin and the electricity coursed through its body with a shocking pain.
"Pika!" Pikachu complimented Blaziken's power.
"Ken," Blaziken did the same and the two then ran off to catch up with their trainers.
Tornadus groaned in pain as the fire and electricity continued to spiral around its body and became extremely angered to discover its body had been burned. What was even more unfortunate for the Legendary Pokémon was the fact that it had been paralyzed, which slowed it down even more.
From a distance Ash looked back and saw Tornadus's weakened state and smiled, his plan had worked. May also gazed back and grinned, "Looks like we're going to make it Ash," the brunette said happily.
"And I can see the cabin just ahead!" Ash said with a gleeful tone.
May's eyes widened with surprise and spoke, "Fear really speeds things up doesn't it?"
"I'll say," Ash chuckled as they continued running while noticing that Pikachu and Blaziken were catching up.
With the distance between them and Tornadus widening, the Flying-type tried to catch up but in its paralyzed state it was hopeless. Come back weaklings, I must get the glass, Tornadus groaned in pain as it began to descend.
"Where they could they possibly be Cilan, this island is not that big," Iris became frustrated regarding their search for Auro, Nate, and Rosa.
"May be it is, but we have to keep looking. They are our only chance on defeating Tornadus," Cilan looked behind every tree and bush.
"Why did they even have to go off like that at the worst timing," Iris sighed.
"I'm more worried about how Ash and May might be doing against Tornadus," Cilan thought about his friends.
"Well yeah me to-," but before Iris could finish her response someone covered her mouth and pulled her back instantly. Her last reaction was eyes widening and wondering the heck was going on.
"Iris?" Cilan sensed the disturbance and turned around, but before he could even say anything someone covered his mouth and pulled him back.
Ash and May quickly dashed out of the cabin with concerned expressions. "Victini victini where are you?!" Ash yelled at his highest tone level.
"Victini where did you?!" May shouted frantically hoping that her screams would echo throughout the island.
"We'll have to go back into the forest and search for him, there's no use in searching here," Ash said with clenched fists and May tried to fight back tears as she feared the worst.
Unfortunately for them, searching for Victini would have to wait because suddenly, giant chunks of the wooden cabin flew off along with the balcony and flew high into the air. As Ash and May's eyes widened while Blaziken and Pikachu prepared to battle once again, they became horrified by how the cabin got torn out of the earth,
You reeeeaaally thought you could escape my reach! Tornadus revealed himself in a very injured state as scorch marks covered his body and static covered his body.
"Darn not now," Ash cursed their luck.
Tornadus chuckled and spoke, I can assure you this time you won't survive.
"Pikachu, Blaziken, take down Tornadus!" May commanded as Tornadus prepared to strike. The brunette had no time to deal with the troublesome Pokémon, at the moment she was more concerned with finding her little Victini.
I don't think so! Tornadus shouted and unleashed a Hurricane. Blaziken and Pikachu also unleashed their attacks, but it was pointless because Thunderbolt and Flamethrower were easily dispersed by the powerful wind.
Once again the group got blown away by the Flying-type attack and hit the ground harshly. Tornadus laughed once again and its arm began to glow. As the gang tried to get up and recover from the hit Tornadus moved in for the kill with Hammer Arm, I will destroy you!
"Blaziken!" May shouted as she shook off the pain from Hurricane.
"Pikachu!" Ash screamed as he ignored the injuries he was feeling.
On instinct the couple happened to make the same command, "Volt Blitz!" the pair shouted at the same time.
At the very moment, Pikachu and Blaziken forgot the entire ache coursing through their bodies and pulled themselves together. Pikachu braced itself and in a second began to charge at the charging Tornadus.
Blaziken also braced itself and took off with a speed on par with that of Pikachu's. The intensity of their speeds caused electricity to envelope Pikachu and fire to surround Blaziken. "Pika pika pikachuuuuuuuu!" Pikachu cried out as it lunged at Tornadus.
"Blaaaaaaziiiiiiiiikeeeeeeen!" Blaziken roared and threw itself at the same time as Pikachu and the two starts collided with Tornadus. The impact of three devastating attacks caused a shock wave that sent trees flying, dust blowing, and Ash's hat nearly flew off if he had not held on to it. The power of the impact had been so strong it also produced something like in mushroom cloud where the clash had been.
After a few seconds Pikachu and Blaziken flew backwards out of the cloud while Tornadus flew out in the opposite direction. Pikachu and Blaziken were covered in dust and wounds, but somehow they found the strength to remain on their feet even though it was barely.
"Pi…" Pikachu's legs shook as it prepared for Tornadus's comeback.
"Ken…" Blaziken's fists trembled as it ignored the pain it currently experienced.
Tornadus on the other was still struggling to get up and its arms were trembling. The Flying-type could only glare at its opponents with anger, when did you get so strong, clever, and persistent?
Ash and May slowly got up from the floor with May wrapped around Ash's arm. "Foes like you who only seem to cause harm and do nothing good for others are the reason why we decided to get stronger," Ash clenched his fist and glared at Tornadus.
May also took a brave stance against Tornadus and spoke, "When enemies like you choose to do more bad than good and bring chaos upon others it's up to certain people to take on the task of the defending those who can't defend themselves. We decided it's time to make the sacrifice and become stronger not only for us but for the sake of others!'
Tornadus's eyes widened and all of a sudden its body began to fade away. Ash, May, and their Pokémon immediately became surprised by the result. "What's going?" Ash said with confusion as Tornadus's body disappeared and the destroyed cabin reappeared in its place.
Abruptly, they heard the sounds of clapping and they all turned around to find Auro, Nate, and Rosa clapping while Victini burst out with a cheerful expression. They were even more surprised to find Iris and Cilan pop out as well who were smiling.
"V!" Victini cheered and flew over to them and embraced them, but Ash and May were so confused they didn't know how to react.
"Well done you two," Auro said as he clapped.
"You managed to take down a Legendary Pokémon and you even recognized the reason why you are participating in these training sessions," Rosa smiled at them.
"I think this is the proudest I've ever been. I might as well start crying," Nate faked cried and made his friends laugh as well as Iris and Cilan.
A confused May and Ash tried to understand what they said and Ash began to speak, "You mean Tornadus wasn't real?"
"Nope," Nate answered.
"So this was a training session?" May raised an eyebrow.
"Right," Rosa nodded.
"And turns out the reason all three of them disappeared was because of that, they had been planning a secret training session," Cilan explained to them.
"When we went to search for them, they actually found us and explained the whole thing and you guys passed. All of us are incredibly happy!" Iris clasped her hands together.
"Victini vi tini!" Victini also explained the situation to Ash, May, Pikachu, and Charizard.
"The fact that you were able to take down a Legendary Pokémon on your own shows just how much you're progressing. Teamwork and the bond between the four of you became the key to your victory in this battle and we were honestly surprised by how you handled it. Good job, Ash and May," Auro smiled and nodded at them in approval.
Once they finally collected everything their friends had said, Ash, May, Pikachu, and Blaziken cheered over their victory. "Ash, we did it, we won!" May laughed happily and hugged her boyfriend affectionately.
"We did it May, together," Ash smiled joyfully and embraced her.
"Blaziken," Blaziken grinned at Pikachu.
"Pika!" Pikachu returned the grin.
"Victini!" Victini continued cheering for them happily.
Ash and May looked at their friends and Pokémon; they were all smiling at each other. The couple thanked all of them for the support and strength they had given them; they couldn't have made it this far without them.
Well done, a sapphire-eyed and raven-haired boy thought as he watched the whole thing from a cliff and a single tear dropped from his cheek, but he was smiling.
This is the end of the training arc. I hope you guys liked it, the next chapter will feature a time skip and some of it will cover a bit more training but it's only brief and there are a few surprises. I enjoyed this chapter because I just felt like it reflected a bit of the strength Ash, May, and their Pokémon have developed and more and more they are beginning to recognize the role they will eventually have to play as heroes. By the way, please comment if you knew who the guy in the last sentence was, I'm just curious to see if anyone remembers him since it's been a while since he's even been mentioned. Like always please REVIEW, PM, ETC, FEEDBACK IS ALWAYS WELCOMED GUYS. I'll try to update ASAP and if anyone hasn't seen my Advanceshipping video yet, if you're curious check it out and let me know what you thought, the link is on my profile. So my friends, THANK YOU FOR THE SUPPORT YOU'VE SHOWN THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, THIS STORY COULD NOT HAVE GOTTEN SO FAR WITHOUT YOU REMEMBER THAT! I LOVE YOU ALL AND APPRECIATE EVERYTHING YOU'VE GIVEN ME; I WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR! CATCH YA SOON GUYS, HAPPY HOLIDAYS