Chapter 46: Falling in Love Again
"Where are the stones?!" a troop interrogated Iris angrily.
"What are you talking about; we don't know anything about any stones!" Iris shouted back.
"Liars!" the other troop yelled back with the same furious tone.
"Please do not get troubled, we really don't know what you're talking about," Cilan said and laughed nervously.
The two troops glared at the Unova pair and turned around. They walked a few feet away from Iris and Cilan and they remained silent until one of them spoke, "If you know nothing, then you are better off dead."
"What?!" Iris screamed with widened eyes.
"Axew ew ax!" Axew also began to panic when it heard his captors.
"This can't be good," Cilan sighed.
Their fears were suddenly halted by an odd noise though and the troops also became alarmed and looked around frantically. "What is that?" one of the troops panicked as he questioned.
Abruptly, a boy dropped from a vent right above Iris and Cilan. The auburn-eyed teen smiled at his friends when he saw them. "You!" the troops yelled and prepared to take out their Pokéballs.
"Leaf Storm," Ash commanded while not even turning around to see the two troops. All of a sudden Snivy dropped down and stood back to back with Ash.
The Grass-type smirked at the soldiers and without wasting a second released Leaf Storm, "Sniiiiivvyyyy!" the Pokémon shouted as the powerful attack sent the troops flying against the metallic wall.
The sharp energy leaves hit them like bullets and Leaf Storm had even cut through the troops' armor. Ash flashed a smile at Snivy and nodded, thanking it for its good job, but things weren't over just yet.
Suddenly two more troops entered the room, "What's all the commotion?" one of the troops inquired, but when it saw Ash along with the other, troop their eyes widened.
Before they could even react though a purple blur and a brunette came down from behind the two troops and the only thing Ash saw was a glowing claw that knocked the two troops out. As they dropped like dolls on the floor, May winked at Ash, "Mission accomplished," the sapphire-eyed girl said while Iris, Cilan, and Axew were stunned by their impeccable performance.
"Accelgor, use Double Team to counter the Razor Shell and Horn Leech!" Nate commanded as he began to lose hope of winning. Accelgor mustered the remnants of its power and made many copies of itself that eventually formed a circle around Dewott and Sawsbuck.
"No you don't, Sawsbuck change your offense to Leech Seed and target all the Accelgor!" May extended her arm out with excitement.
Nate's eyes grew in shock as his Accelgor multiplied, yet it proved useless because Sawsbuck had fired Leech Seed like missiles and trapped all of his Acceglor including the real one.
"You're done Nate, with your Escavalier gone there's no use in trying to counter," Ash smirked.
Nate grinded his teeth and knew Ash was right, his Accelgor could not move an inch with all of those thorns trapping it like a net. He had fought with skill against the couple and even though it wasn't at his highest potential it was still a tough battle. In the end however, seeing Ash and May defeat him like this made him smile.
"Alright Ash, let's end this," May grinned at him.
"After you," Ash grinned back.
"Sawsbuck, finish this with Solarbeam!" May pointed at the battlefield.
"Dewott, wrap it up with Hydro Pump!" Ash yelled out as he extended his arm.
Sawsbuck and Dewott got back to back and thanks to Sawsbuck's Sunny Day, Solarbeam did not have to charge at all. The two Pokémon smirked at each other and without wasting another moment; they fired Hydro Pump and Solarbeam in opposite directions and motioned their attacks in a circular fashion.
As Hydro Pump and Solarbeam kept turning and exterminating each Accelgor, Iris, Cilan, Rosa, Pikachu, Victini, and Axew were in awe. The only one not shocked was Auro and smiled with amusement. Finally, it was Sawsbuck that had shot out the real Accelgor and with the final blow from Solarbeam; the Bug-type got sent flying into a bush.
"That's a wrap," Ash made a fist of joy and smiled confidently as he and May got declared the winners.
"Leavanny, draw out any sneaky Pokémon with Leaf Storm!" Ash ordered as he pointed at the trees and bushes surrounding him and May.
"Leeeaaavannyyyyy!" Leavanny nodded and jumped into the air, unleashing a powerful storm of energy leaves that cut through every leaf and twig in the area.
Like Ash had suspected, a horde of Beedrill quickly fled the scene as its territory got invaded by the couple. With the resistance wiped out, May told Ash to finish it. "Right, Tranquil now use Gust!" Ash instructed.
Tranquil descended like a hawk to the scene and with its powerful wings made trees shake. The leaves rustled and some other weaker Pokémon got forced to flee from the area, but what Ash and May had been looking for had also been discovered. From the tree above the pair, a small and hard object fell into May's hand like if the girl had expected something to fall in the beginning.
When Tranquil stopped Ash and May smiled at the item in the girl's hand, it was the Leaf Stone. Now the couple only had one more stone to find and they would be out of the illusion.
"Inferno, Victini!" Ash pointed at Azelf while he made the command.
"Tiiiiiiiii!" Victini fired the blue stream of fire at Azelf, but Psychic-type easily avoided the attack.
Unfortunately for Azelf, it had not noticed that Victini moved its position and scanned the area frantically for it. "Az?" Azelf searched with unease.
"Double-Edge it!" May instructed and Azelf's eyes grew from fear when it had found Victini's hiding spot.
From what remained of Inferno, Victini dashed out of the blue fiery beam and tackled Azelf while covered in a bright energy. The Fire-type exerted all of its power into the attack and successfully sent Azelf crashing into a tree branch, knocking it out for good this time.
"Vi," Victini let out a sigh of relief as he heard Ash and May slap their hands over the victory.
"So that was a job well done," Auro smiled as he complimented Ash, May, Victini, Pikachu, Iris, Cilan, and Axew for all their hard work over the last 3 weeks.
"Thank you," Ash, May, Iris, Cilan, and the Pokémon said simultaneously.
"You trained hard and now your skills have dramatically improved. You overcame every one of our challenges exceptionally well, we're all very happy," Nate said as they all sat around the campfire.
"I can honestly feel like all the training we've done is enveloping my body like an aura. I'm feeling great," Ash stated with a very confident tone.
"That's really good to hear, but I hope you don't believe we've made you invincible and guarantee every battle you have," Rosa chuckled as she tried to remind Ash that they aren't exactly unstoppable.
"That's right, your training may have made you substantially stronger, but there is still room for improvement and there are still much stronger opponents out there in the world," Auro stated and received nods from everyone, showing that they understood what he said.
"We are impressed overall though by how far you've come. You no doubt surprised every moment throughout your training, from defeating the Tornadus illusion to subduing my Pokémon," Nate chuckled as he recalled his loss.
"Plus, you even got some of your Pokémon to evolve and they even learned new skills," Rosa recollected breakthroughs in Ash, May, and even Iris and Cilan's training.
"The important question now is if you're ready to return to the world and face your journey?" Auro became serious when he asked the question.
Ash, May, Iris, and Cilan smiled confidently and simultaneously responded, "We are."
"I have to warn you that the world has become darker since you first arrived on this island. The Lake Guardians have been watching over the events unfolding in Unova and the power of our enemies has gotten stronger and the disturbances across the land have gotten much higher," Auro warned them as he spoke of the numerous disasters occurring through Unova.
Ash continued smiling confident and answered proudly, "Don't worry Auro, no matter how great the challenge is I know we can overcome it one way or another."
"That's right and even though we may not be enough to stop all the trouble going on. We feel strong enough to make the difference that can undo all the damage the Majestic 12, Ghetsis, and Giovanni have caused," May made a fist of confidence.
Iris, Cilan, Pikachu, Axew, and Victini also joined in Ash and May's speech and the group of seven was grinning confidently at the trio. Auro, Nate, and Rosa smiled and shook their heads.
"We know you won't let us down," Rosa said with full confidence.
"One other thing I have to remind you is to deliver the drives to Cheren, Alder did not send you four on a tourist trip to Aspertia City," Auro reminded them.
"We've got it covered," Ash gave Auro a thumbs up.
"But what exactly are those drives for?" May had finally asked the question that had long been lurking in her mind.
"I thought you'd never ask," Nate replied and chuckled, receiving confusion from the brunette and her friends.
Auro rolled his eyes and spoke, "What Nate is trying to say is that the drives are much more than you think, but unfortunately we are not allowed to reveal all the details to you for security reasons. Information about the drives will be given to you depending on how Cheren sees you as trainers, but what we can tell you is that those drives are associated with a Legendary Pokémon possibly even stronger than Victini."
The gang raised their eyebrows in surprise when they heard this. "A Legendary Pokémon stronger than Victini?" May asked with astonishment.
"That's right, we don't know the extent of its power, but our informants have stated that this Legendary Pokémon could be Team Neo Plasma and the Majestic 12's next target. Since we don't know much about this plot or how strong this strange Pokémon is, it's been if we just remain alert. I need all of you to be very careful once you leave this island, remember all that you've been taught. Whatever your next challenge will be it will reflect on just how strong you've truly gotten," Auro informed of the new possible threats waiting in the future.
"Whatever it takes," Ash answered sternly as he understood the seriousness of the problems ahead.
"We will stop all of them," May responded with the same serious attitude.
"We won't let our guards down one second!" Iris assured the trio.
"We'll never ease up at any point," Cilan said with a mature voice.
"Good," Auro grinned until his eyes caught a sleeping Victini, Pikachu, and Axew.
"Looks like its bedtime," Nate laughed when he and the others also noticed the sleeping Pokémon.
"I agree you guys should rest up for your walk to Aspertia City tomorrow. Plus, once you drop off those drives at Cheren's you'll need to take the ferry back to the mainland at Castelia City," Rosa told them.
"Come to think of it, once we get back on the mainland we'll be collecting ribbons and badges again," May realized.
"Those new skills will definitely come in handy with collecting badges and ribbons," Cilan told them.
"Cilan's right, we do wish you guys the best of luck accomplishing all of that, although with all that training we doubt you need it," Rosa winked at them and laughed.
"Thanks Rosa," Ash said with a grin.
"We really appreciate it," May winked back at Rosa and laughed.
"Night you two," Iris said to the couple.
"Aren't you coming Iris?" Ash questioned with confusion.
"Actually, Iris and I decided to clean up the campfire with Auro and the siblings," Cilan told the pair.
"Hey then we should stay and help too!" May suggested.
"No it's ok you two, you guys really should get rest after doing all of today's training," Rosa recommended.
Ash and May weren't going to insist even though they wanted to help, but they were visibly tired compared to their other friends. "If you say so," Ash let out a deep breath as they began to walk to the cabin.
"Night guys," May said as she and Ash waved goodbye to their friends while carrying Pikachu and Victini in their arms.
At the cabin entrance May spoke to Ash, "I'm gonna go to the bathroom, mind taking Victini upstairs?"
"Not at all," Ash smiled at her and happily received Victini with his other arm.
"Thanks see you upstairs," May winked and rushed off to the bathroom while Ash walked upstairs.
As he entered the room Ash could not remove the wide grin across his face and like May, the raven-haired was clearly in a joyous mood. Not only was their training finally over, but they were going to back on track with their adventures and were stronger than ever.
He slowly walked over to May's bed and placed the sleeping Pokémon there, choosing to let Pikachu with Victini for the night. "Great job guys, our hard work has paid off," Ash whispered as he petted the snoozing Victini and Pikachu.
His hands moved up and down as he continued gazing at them, "Tomorrow we will take on the entire world and work even harder now to reach our dreams. We've come so far it's almost unbelievable."
"Pika," Pikachu grabbed Ash's hand while still sleeping as if he knew Ash was looking after him.
"Vi," Victini licked Ash's other hand in his sleep like if the little one also knew Ash was the one touching him.
"Good night Pikachu and Victini," Ash smiled and walked away from the bed to change into his nightwear. As soon as he changed into his sleeping clothes Ash slipped into his bed like if it were the most enjoyable thing in the world, perhaps it was because he felt that after so much effort he would at last get the rest he wanted.
As soon as Ash prepared to call it a day and shut his eyes he felt someone get on his bed. He instantly opened his eyes and through the darkness identified the person as May, sitting on his bed with a smile on her face. "You ready for anything Ash?" May asked excitedly.
"I am right now," Ash smiled at her as he remained lied down.
"Same here," May answered joyfully. "I'm excited to put all of my abilities to the test in contests, I can't wait to have Sawsbuck compete or use all of my other Pokémon's new combinations. The emotion is so thrilling I feel like I can take on any challenge," May described her increasing excitement over what waited in the future.
"That's exactly how I feel. It just feels good knowing we'll go back to the doing the things we like and the most thrilling part of all of it will be applying everything we've learned here during those battles," Ash responded as he felt excitement over having Dewott or Leavanny participate in their next gym battle.
"And what will we do about all those threats and dangers Auro has told us about? What will we do then Ash?" May's tone became concerned when she entered the topic.
"What do you mean?" Ash tilted his head in confusion.
"I felt fearless outside when we were talking to everyone about taking on super villains and stuff, but when I reflected in the mirror just earlier I realized that I'm afraid too. I'm worried about what might happen to our Pokémon, to our friends, to US," May emphasized on the "us" as she expressed her concerns.
"With the training we've been doing May, we'll do everything we can to make sure we never let our friends or Pokémon get hurt. Auro, Nate, and Rosa have trained us as best as they were able to and I feel like we can handle any situation at this point with the skill we've gained. What is even more guaranteed than anything though is that nothing will ever get between us or hurt us, during all that difficult training we stuck together May and overcame everything, we'll do the same now and beyond," Ash squeezed May's hand as he reassured her that everything would be fine.
Suddenly, he got an unexpected response when May got on top him in a very awkward position. His waist was between May's legs and she placed her hands right on top of Ash's like if she were trying to make him stay put.
Luckily for Ash, the darkness was able to hide his blush. Yet the oddest thing about the scene was May seemed oblivious to her current position like if it was the most normal thing in the world to be positioned like this with a boy.
"You know Ash, being with you has always helped me grow but now that we trained together to our greatest potential I feel like I've grown even faster. I feel like we've shared all the wisdom, strength, and confidence. With you my perspective has widened more than ever. I've always valued you and having you by my side, but now after doing this training and sharing the same experiences, the same sweat, frustrations, pain, and joy with you it feels like you're a part of me and if something bad ever happened to you, a part of me would die," May gave Ash a speech of how their relationship has matured over the course of their training.
"Sharing the same pain and happiness, going through the most difficult things and triumphing over them have helped us both, May. I feel like my heart is emotionally connected to yours because of that, it's like sharing a life among two different people," Ash expressed his view of their relationship.
May smiled at him and giggled, "It's almost like our destinies are actually intertwined for eternity."
Before Ash could say anything though, May leaned in to kiss him and she placed her hands on his cheeks. As their tongues became tangled with each other and their lips kept together Ash's eyes widened when he felt May's hands begin to wander.
The sapphire-eyed girl began to move her hands towards on the knot on his pajama pants, but the boy wasn't sure if he should stop her or not. As May kept untying the knot the two kept returning kisses by the millisecond and Ash easily found himself submitting to a very bizarre emotion.
All of a sudden he felt the need to move his hands up May's legs and as he rubbed them slowly while moving upward. May had also managed to untie Ash's knot and now placed her hand under Ash's shirt as his body absorbed the heat from her hand.
Ash felt an incredibly intense yet beautiful feeling course through his body as he felt many things in many different places and continued to enjoy the moment as his hands moved to May's thighs. May also began to rub his warm chest and the two would exchange glances as their lips never moved away more than an inch, but Ash's focus suddenly came to a halt when his hands came into contact with May's panties. At that moment the boy froze, not only did he realize that May was only wearing a shirt, but he wasn't sure if May was ok with him touching her panties.
"Don't be…afraid," May spoke in a seductive tone as she whispered into his ear. Abruptly, May began to lower Ash's pajama pants and he found himself lowering May's clothing.
Just as May prepared to remove her bra, shirt, and finish lowering Ash's pajama pants, the boy felt a sudden rush hit in the head. His auburn eyes grew in size and the boy pulled May down to the side so that she was no longer on top of him.
"What was that Ash?" May asked with a frown as she recovered from the pull and brushed away any hair on her face.
Ash looked at May with apologetic eyes and spoke, "I'm sorry, but right now still isn't the time for that."
"What?" May gave him a confused look.
"It's just; I don't really understand half of what we doing. I just don't really feel prepared for that May, we're in the middle of our journey and we still have more to learn before we hit that point, don't you agree?" Ash explained to the girl.
After May pulled up her panties and sighed, she smiled sheepishly at Ash, "Yeah…I understand what you're trying to say Ash. I'm sorry for trying to do something like that. Deep down I feel like I guess I'm ready for it either," the girl said as she blushed.
"Thank you for understanding May," Ash smiled and pecked her on the cheek.
"Is it ok if I sleep with you?" May asked with a timid tone, still feeling rather guilty.
"I don't mind, you're my girlfriend," Ash smiled sweetly and both his arms around her while placing her close to his chest.
"I love you," May said while grinning and placed her head on Ash's chest while placing her arms around him.
"I love you," Ash told her and kissed her head before they went to sleep in each other's arms.
"This road leads to Aspertia City. You should arrive there by noon," Auro pointed in the direction to Aspertia City as they stood on a crossroad.
"Here's some supplies for the road," Rosa gave them an extra bag of supplies.
"You guys be careful now, Unova is going to be a war zone the next time we meet," Nate smiled at them.
"Thanks so much guys," Ash grinned cheerfully.
"You've helped us in so many ways," May said with a cheery tone.
"We owe you so much!" Iris clasped her hands together.
"How could we ever repay you?" Cilan felt they owed them a great deal.
"Pikachu pi!" Pikachu expressed his gratitude.
"Victini vi vi!" Victini did the same.
"Ax ew axew!" Axew did the same as his fellow friends.
"We'll miss you guys," Rosa said with a soft beam.
"Us too," May returned the gesture.
"Goodbye guys, we'll see each other again soon," Ash said to them.
"So long," Auro extended his hand out and Ash shook it as the two different groups exchanged bright faces.
With their final farewell made, Ash's gang moved down south as Auro, Rosa, and Nate watched them from the crossroad. They continued waving to them until they were no longer in sight.
"I'm going to miss them," Nate said with a sheepish grin.
"So am I," Rosa lowered her head and motioned her foot awkwardly on the dirt.
Auro nodded and Rosa punched him softly on the shoulder, "Oh c'mon Auro, you don't have to suck up your feelings all the time. Your mom always told me your dad was a softie to when it came to goodbyes."
Auro chuckled and answered, "Yes, I'll miss them too."
"It's a shame they couldn't unlock the rest of their potential," Nate placed his hands behind his head.
"Those aura abilities they displayed will remain dormant," Rosa concluded.
"Only until they both fully develop and mature to the point where they realize they are the only ones who can save this earth, they have the heart and mind to unleash their aura. I saw it throughout their training, but it will never be fully unlocked until their heart and mind get hardened to their fullest. You three should understand that almost better than anyone," a familiar voice alerted Auro, Nate, and Rosa.
They quickly turned around to see their old friend and their eyes brightened. "Roxas!" Rosa cheered.
"When do you think that day will come?" Auro asked about Ash and May's abilities, not at all surprised by Roxas's sudden presence.
"I don't know, perhaps it may not be necessary at all. Only time will tell us where things go from here, this timeline has already been drastically altered. At this point though, I will be taking charge of Ash and May's activities. Thank you for everything that you've done for them…my friends," Roxas's stern expression became a bright one with a large beaming grin.
"I wish we could have asked Alder or someone where Cheren lives in this city," May looked around aimlessly.
"How could we have forgotten something as important as that?" Iris sighed.
"Well I guess we'll just have to keep exploring," Cilan also let out a deep breath.
"Pikapi," Pikachu sighed with the humans while Victini and Axew also lowered their heads in disappointment.
"Excuse me, are you looking for something?" someone suddenly spoke to the gang, which immediately caused them to turn around.
In front of them saw a teenager in a white-collared shirt, an orange tie, and blue pants. He had almost shoulder length hair with a ponytail and blue eyes. He seemed to be a laidback person and was smiling at them.
"You guys seem pretty lost and I was hoping to help you out, if you don't mind that is?" the teenager raised an eyebrow; he appeared to be around Cilan's age.
"We aren't lost, but we are looking for something or more accurate…someone," Iris informed the stranger.
"Do you know their name? I might know them," the teenager asked.
"Yeah, his name is Cheren," May told the male.
The teenage boy raised an eyebrow and spoke, "It's that so?"
"Do you know him?" Ash questioned.
"I do, I'll be happy to take you there," the stranger smiled.
"That would be greatly appreciated," Cilan stated.
"My pleasure," the boy said.
"Thank you," the gang replied and the Pokémon thanked the stranger as well.
"We're here," the teenager declared as they stood in front of a Pokémon Gym.
"Is this a Pokémon Gym?" Ash immediately asked when he saw the logo.
"That's right!" the stranger nodded.
"Wait does that mean?" Iris placed a finger on her chin.
"Cheren is a gym leader!" May exclaimed with surprise.
"Correct," the stranger nodded.
"Wait a minute, how come I was never even told Aspertia City had a gym!" Ash shouted with shock and looked at Cilan.
"To be honest Ash, I didn't even know Unova was going to add another gym," Cilan chuckled nervously.
"Oh," Ash blinked several times and returned his gaze to the Aspertia Gym. "So Aspertia Gym huh?" Ash mumbled to himself.
"Please come inside," the stranger led them into the building and discovered that it was also a Trainer's School.
"The Aspertia Gym is also a Trainer's School just so you know, the battlefield is outside," the person informed them as they walked through a hall full of furniture filled with books.
"Do you think Cheren will mind battling me?" Ash was quick to ask as they walked through the building.
"Actually, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but the gym hasn't officially opened yet so even if you were to battle Cheren, you still wouldn't receive a badge," the stranger sighed.
"Who cares, just battling a Gym Leader is still worth the time!" Ash said excitedly.
"That's an interesting comment, I'll see if Cheren is interested," the stranger chuckled.
"How do you know Cheren anyway, do you work with him or something?" May questioned.
"You could say that," the person responded as they exited the building and found themselves on a battlefield.
"So this is the battlefield," Iris examined the area.
All of a sudden, the stranger stopped in the middle of the field causing the others to stop as well. "Can I ask why you came to look for Cheren if you did not know he was even a gym leader?" the stranger abruptly asked.
The gang raised eyebrows at the sudden stop, but wasn't hesitant to answer. "We had to deliver something for him, why?" May answered with suspicion in her tone.
"What are your names?" the stranger asked.
"My name is Ash, this May, Iris, Cilan, Pikachu, and Axew," Ash stated, excluding Victini since the Pokémon was invisible.
"Where's Victini?" the person asked, causing the gang to immediately frown and prepare for battle.
"How do you know we have a Victini with us?" May inquired with a glare.
"Because I'm Cheren and I got informed by Alder that a group of teens would arrive in this city within a month or so with a Pikachu, Axew, and Victini," Cheren turned around with a sly grin.
The revelation easily surprised the gang, but before they could say anything Cheren asked another question, "Do you have the drives with you?"
Meanwhile from a distance on top of a hill a group was watching them though. Their scopes zoomed in on the items May took out of her fanny pack. "We have sight of the target sir," one of the men informed.
"Good, prepare to mobilize the squads. Today Team Plasma and the opposition will be severely weakened," a man who wore a red helmet commanded and within a second, the Team Neo Plasma members spread out.
So this is the last short chapter guys, so I hope you were patient with these chapters. You can probably tell from the end of the chapter that serious things are about to go down. There's also that part where Ash and May got really intimate, I hope you guys didn't find it ummm…Rated M…I really tried to keep it at T since I try to abstain from the more graphic details. I hope that scene also explained why Ash and May or at least Ash seems to go reluctant to go to that level…yet. Anyways, thanks for reading, I hope you liked the chapter guys, REMEMBER TO REVIEW, PM, ETC FEEDBACK IS ALWAYS GREAT. One other thing though, it's a big favor but I hope you guys are okay with. For those reading Man in the Mirror, I'm asking you to please review that story if you read; I want to see what you guys think. Man in the Mirror takes a different direction than AW, but I hope you guys still like it. So please guys PLEASE check out that story and review it, I'll be very grateful and even reward you, I promise. Hopefully, I didn't sound too pushy with that, but that's it for now guys. Thanks again, I'll catch you guys next time!