Episode 22: Braving Mount Silver! Ashton's Fierce Noble Battle!

Dylan awoke when something wet hit his face. Opening his eyes, the boy looked to see a Rockruff happily licking him in consciousness. "Hey there, little guy. Where'd you come from?" he asked.

"It hatched from the egg you brought us last night," one of the shrine maidens explained. "But there is no time for that: your friend has gone missing."

"What!?" Dylan shouted, jumping out of his sleeping bag in alarm. Kris and Rei were already awake, looks of worry on their faces. "Ashton went up to the mountain on her own, didn't she?"

"It looks that way," Kris nodded. "We have to get going to find her, but there's a blizzard raging outside. We'd be more likely to die in the cold at this point."

"But we must go after her anyway," Rei affirmed. "Shrine maidens, is there anything you can give us to survive the storm?"

"The Rockruff has a particular affinity for ice," the maiden noted. "She should be able to sniff out your friend even in the blizzard."

The Madamefetch'd from the other day came up to Kris, holding out their leek to the blue-haired girl and nodding. "I think the Madamefetch'd wants to help us too," she said.

The maiden nodded. "Yes, that Madamefetch'd is one of the younger members of our shrine. You may take her with you, just be sure that she keeps up her spiritual training of shrine keeping."

"I'll do my best," Kris nodded. She took out a Poké Ball and captured the Madamefetch'd before bringing it out again. "Welcome to the team, Chi!"

Rei called out one of his other Pokémon, an Infernape, to help keep the party warm, while Dylan commanded the Rockruff and Kris stayed close to Chi. Leaving the Sylveon Shrine, the trio shivered as the cold air blasted them, but they had to press on into the snow, guided by Rockruff's nose. Ashton had to be out there on Mount Silver, and whenever Ashton as was left alone, trouble wasn't too far behind.

[***]

Up on Mount Silver, Ashton ducked into a cave, her breath cold as she managed to escape the blizzard. Vulcan stayed by his trainer's side, concerned as she stood back up and walked further into the cave. "I heard the Hydreigon's cry coming from in here," Ashton said. "It won't be long now until we battle and tame it."

"Typhlosion? Typhlosion!" Vulcan said, pulling at Ashton's arm.

She looked at her Pokémon and shook her head. "No, I have to do this on my own. It's a rite of passage, and no matter how much Dylan and Kris and Rei want to help, they don't have a part in this." A fierce cry was heard from deep in the cave, making Ashton grin. "It's nearby. Let's go, Vulcan."

The Typhlosion sighed, following Ashton as they ventured into the depths of Mount Silver. The roars got louder as they progressed, eventually leading to another opening in the cave, high above near the top of the mountain. The blizzard calmed up this high, the sun peeking out with rays of light the made the soft snow glitter under grey clouds. Sleeping in a snowdrift were the three heads of the Hydreigon, its size larger than a normal one of its species. Ashton took a deep breath, then a battle stance as she pointed forward.

"Vulcan, Eruption!"

The snowdrift exploded in a fiery attack, waking the Hydreigon up, eye glinting red with malice. The three heads roared to the sky as the space-time rift Ashton had been warned about appeared, shooting down a bolt of eerie energy. Ashton covered her eyes from the blinding light, only looking once the spots disappeared from her vision. The Hydreigon now glowed golden, its aura even more intimidating as even Vulcan shivered under its gaze.

"My whole life has been training for this moment," Ashton said. She threw off her jacket and tightened her gloves, recalling Vulcan and bringing out Halley. "Hydreigon, as a member of the Village of Black Thorns and the sole heir to the Kage Clan, I challenge you a battle!"

The Hydreigon roared, its voice echoing down the mountain as the battle began.

[***]

"That was a Hydreigon call!" Kris said, shouting over the blizzard.

"And there was the weird flash of light from the top of the mountain," Rei pointed out. "That's the same phenomena that happened whenever one of the Noble Pokémon of Hisui went bezerk! They're so powerful that regular Pokémon attacks have no effect on them!"

"The we need to hurry," Dylan said. "Rockruff, find us a cave we can use to get out of this blizzard!"

"Rockruff!" the dog Pokémon replied, moving through the snow as the trio followed. They eventually came to an opening in the mountain, with Rei pulling out some wood from his pack so Infernape could light a fire for them.

"I don't want to wait this storm out, but it might be our only option now," Rei said.

"And I don't want Ashton to die to a Hydreigon on top a mountain in the ancient past!" Dylan snapped. He leaned against the cave and slumped into a sitting position. "Sorry, I just… Ashton is my oldest friend, and I don't want to lose her."

"We both know you're worried about her, it's fine," Kris said. She sat next to Dylan and put a hand on his shoulder. "She'll make it through, and we'll be there to save her. Trust me."

"Madame!" Chi said, whipping out her leek and pointing towards the darkness of the cave. A growling voice was heard as the ground shook from heavy steps. Out of the darkness came an Abomasnow, which raised its arms high in anger at its den being disturbed. Before anyone else could react, an orb of blue energy came surging out from behind them, pegging the Abomasnow in the chest.

Stay away from my friends! Aurora shouted, jumping at the Abomasnow and using two more Aura Spheres point-blank into its chest. The Forest Tree Pokémon fell over unconscious, with the humans looking in awe at their savior.

"Aurora!" Dylan shouted, pulling the Lucario in for a hug. "I missed you! I'm so glad you're safe!"

I was tracking your aura here, Aurora explained, returning the hug. Luckily I got here just in time. Inari, you can come in now, it's safe!

Dylan turned and saw the white Zorua enter, looking nervous as the humans looked at it. "That's a Zorura, isn't it?" Dylan asked.

"It looks like the ones we have in Hisui," Rei noted.

Kris scanned the Zorua with her Pokégear. "According to my readings, it's a Normal and Ghost type."

I met Inari when I awoke after falling through the portal, Aurora explained. He's agreed to come with us on our journey as I teach him the ways of being a defender of the innocent.

"Zorua," Inari said, jumping up to sit on Aurora's shoulder.

"Welcome to the team, Inari," Dylan said. He reached into his bag and pulled out a Dark Ball. "You might not know this, but humans use these things called Poké Balls to hold their Pokémon. It keeps you safe when you fall unconscious, and acts as a little living space for you when we travel. If you want to come with us, you have to be registered to one so bad people don't try to steal you."

Inari looked at Dylan, then tapped the button on the Dark Ball, being sucked in as the device registered a successful capture. Giving a nod, Dylan turned to Aurora and called out Vex. "Aurora, I need you to help me use my Synergy Stone so Vex can use his Synergy Evolution and fly us up the mountain. Ashton is at the top battling a Noble Hydreigon, so time is of the essence."

I see, without the heat of battle it's next to impossible for you to achieve Synergy Evolution, Aurora said. She held out her paws, one to Dylan and one to Vex, the three of them forming a circle between them. Let us share out aura, feeling it into the Synergy Stone.

"Are you guys going to explain how that Lucario is using telepathy, and what's a Synergy Evolution?" Rei asked.

"Just stand back and watch," Kris said with a smirk.

The aura in the air shifted, flaring around Dylan, Vex, and Aurora as they shared energy with each other. The Synergy Stone shone brightly, and soon Vex absorbed the energy and evolved into a Noivern. Rei was in shock at the action, but Dylan just smiled, hopping on Vex's back with Aurora.

"I'm going to go help Ashton now. Vex is fast enough to get us up the mountain," Dylan said. "You two can find another way up with Rockruff, right?"

"You got it!" Kris gave a thumb's up.

"You guys are just like Akari: jumping into things like you know what's going on without telling me," Rei said, chuckling nervously.

Dylan nodded, then flew out of the cave on Vex, soaring high above the blizzard to reach his friend.

[***]

Ashton's battle wasn't going the way she planned. Halley was supposed to make this battle easy, but Hydreigon brought out a Strong Style Flash Cannon to one-shot the Clefable. The Hydreigon didn't seem to want to focus on her Pokémon either, sending out energy beams at Ashton or rushing her down to attempt to bite her head off.

"You know, I'm just now remembering that Pokémon were way more dangerous in this era than the present," Ashton said to herself, dodging out of the way of another Hyper Beam.

Her other Pokémon weren't doing well either. Phantasm, Vulcan, and Azrael didn't have moves that could hit the Hydreigon for much damage due to resistances, and even tossing down Spikes didn't work thanks to the Brutal Pokémon's Levitate ability. Phantasm tossed a Shadow Ball at the Hydreigon, getting its attention only for a moment as it used Bite to knock out the Gengar.

"And now I'm down to two Pokémon that are already injured… great, go me…" Ashton said, her confidence starting to be shaken.

Just as Hydreigon was about to use another Hyper Beam, a pulse of pure sound blasted the snow away, putting a gap between Ashton and the Brutal Pokémon. Vex landed near Ashton, with Dylan and Aurora jumping down to help their friend up. Their reunion was then cut off by Dylan punching Ashton in the shoulder hard.

"That's what you get for running off into a snowstorm to fight a Dragon type Pokémon, you idiot!" Dylan shouted. "And you better not say it was for some stupid honor thing!"

"Okay, I won't say it was for some stupid honor thing," Ashton shrugged, getting a groan out of her friend.

The Hydreigon is going to attack us again soon, Aurora noted.

"Ashton, Rei told us that the energy surrounding the Hydreigon makes it impervious to Pokémon attacks," Dylan explained. "We should fall back and think of another way to defeat it."

Ashton shook her head. "No, I need to complete this challenge. Just cheer me on and have some healing items ready, okay? I have a idea of what I need to do." She looked to Vulcan and Azrael. "You two, surround the battlefield so Hydreigon can't escape, and leave the fighting to me."

Wait, is she really going to…? Aurora questioned, before Ashton ran forward and socked the Hydreigon in one of its arms.

"Oh my Arceus, she really is going to punch it in the face," Dylan muttered, covering his face with his hands.

The Hydreigon tried to Bite Ashton, but she dodged and delivered another punch to its other arm. She continued to dodge around the Brutal Pokémon, delivering punches and kicks like it was a boxing match. Whenever Hydreigon used Hyper Beam, Azrael would swoop in and pull Ashton back. As she ran back in to the fight, she swiftly dodged a Flash Cannon before going into a slide right under a Dragon Rush, the Hydreigon hitting a snowbank and becoming temporarily dazed, its aura fading.

"Vulcan, give it everything you've got!" Ashton called.

The Typhlosion gave a battle cry, jumping onto the Hydreigon's back and attacking with Eruption and Rollout. Eventually the aura returned to the Hydreigon, knocking Vulcan off of its back and focusing on Ashton ones more. Their battle continued, with Ashton using her size to weave around the Hydreigon and counter any Bite attacks with her punches and kicks.

I just realized something, Aurora said, getting Dylan's attention. Ashton's aura… it's syncing up to the Hydreigon's.

"You mean they're getting on the same wavelength?" Dylan asked.

Aurora nodded. Whatever kind of fighting style she's using, the Hydreigon is starting to recognize it. Notice how their movements are turning less into a battle of life and death and more into a test of skill.

'So Aurora noticed my fighting style,' Ashton thought, smirking as she ducked backwards to avoid getting a Hyper Beam to the face. 'It's the fighting style of the Kage Clan, passed down on the scrolls that I took from my home before leaving the Village of Black Thorns. Each clan in the village based their moves off of a Dragon Pokémon, and for my family, it was that of the Hydreigon.'

"Okay Hydreigon, let's finish this," Ashton said, stepping back as her own aura was starting to be visible. Steeling herself, Ashton ran forward, jumping into the air right as Hydreigon opened its mouth. She delivered a flip kick to knock the main head backwards, before shifting her momentum into a front flip. Grabbing the Hydreigon's head, Ashton's eyes gleamed in the rays of the light from above as she delivered a mighty headbutt to the Brutal Pokémon. "Hydreigon Style: Dragon Rush Headbutt!"

Landing on the ground, Ashton took a stance mimicking Hydreigon as the mighty beast fell to the ground, its aura completely faded as it surrendered to Ashton. Dylan and Aurora looked at their friend in awe just as Kris and Rei appeared out of the cave, Rockruff providing them a safe path up the mountain.

"What did we miss?" Kris asked.

"It looks like Ashton managed to win the fight at least," Rei noted.

"She headbutted it," Dylan said numbly.

Kris looked at her friend funny. "Say what now?"

"Ashton grabbed the Hydreigon, and delivered a headbutt to it for her final blow," Dylan said.

"Your friend really is crazy," Rei shook his head. "The people of Johto are on another level when it comes to battling Pokémon, it seems."

"Yeah, I did it!" Ashton cheered. She pulled out an Ultra Ball and chucked it at the Hydreigon, the now Alpha Pokémon simply giving a nod to its superior in combat as it was caught. "Who says you can't catch a Pokémon after you win the battle?" She then gave a wave to Kris and Rei. "Oh, hey guys. You just missed me totally kicking this Hydreigon's butt with my bare hands. Now then, I think I'm going to take a nap because that headbutt made me dizzy…" Ashton proceeded to pass out in the snow right then and there.

At least she's safe now, Aurora mused.

"But we're going to have to drag her dumb butt down the mountain," Kris sighed.

Rei looked above the battlefield at the space-time rift. "Huh, I figured the portal would have closed since the Noble Pokémon was defeated. Akari tamed Giratina so that can't be the problem here."

Suddenly, the space-time rift opened wider as a large lion-like creature leapt out from it. Kris and Dylan recognized the beast as Solgaleo, one of the legendary Pokémon from Hawaii. On Solgaleo's back here were two people in strange white armor, along with a particular Delphox wearing a Mismagius hat.

"Hello darlings!" Delphi called, waving to the group as she laid on Solgaleo's back. "Your rescue party has arrived!"

Author's Note

The battlefield where Ashton fights the Noble Hydreigon is supposed to be where the Gold/Silver protagonist fights Red on Mount Silver.