A/N: Hello and hiya my lovely readers! I ended up submitting this much earlier than anticipated, but that's alright! More for you guys to read! Please enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, but I do own this idea! Happy reading!

"The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them."- Ernest Hemingway

Chapter 3: Prove Your Worth

Lucario immediately formed a bone-like shape in her paws and twirled it around in preparation. She was watching the two closely. Pikachu got on all fours and sparks started to form on his cheeks. He looked to his trainer for some sort of command. Ash looked pumped.

"Pikachu, use Quick Attack!" Ash commanded.

Pikachu surrounded himself in a white light as he burst into a fast pace, determined to slam his body into the jackal. Much to Ash's surprise, he noticed Lucario was following Pikachu's movement perfectly with her eyes. Then, he saw Lucario burst into a white light and approach the electric mouse with the same vigor. Pikachu wasn't expecting Lucario to match his speed so easily. The two jumped and clashed almost instantly. Pikachu hit his head against Lucario's Bone Rush.

Before Lucario could punish Pikachu's approach with a proper swing at him. Pikachu forced himself to jump away. Lucario smirked slightly at Pikachu's reflexes. She kept having her Bone Rush attack out, though, using it as a weapon against the electric mouse.

Upon landing on the ground, Pikachu slid slightly while Lucario softly landed. Lucario's Extremespeed had a bit more power behind it and this pleased Ash.

"Thunderbolt!" Ash ordered.

With his cheeks brimming with electrical charge, Pikachu shot out a blast of electrical energy at the fighting type. Lucario hid a smile as she began to twirl her Bone Rush attack around as an act of defense. The Thunderbolt electrified the Bone Rush. Ash and Pikachu gasped in surprise. Sensei smirked and looked proud of his student.

Then, Lucario threw her attack at Pikachu. The electrified Bone Rush scored a direct hit. Pikachu grunted in slight pain and bushed it off. He formed electrical sparks from his cheeks in determination. Lucario gestured with her paws to come at her. She looked at the mouse both in challenge and amusement. She didn't look too impressed yet.

Ash found himself getting even more excited. It looked like Lucario developed some tricks while being in the kingdom and he hoped to tap into that once he caught her. Still, he knew that he needed to up his game more. He brought out his hand and said, "Pikachu, use Quick Attack again!"

Pikachu nodded and knew to trust in Ash. He figured he had a plan up his sleeve this time. Lucario got herself into an attentive stance. She once again paid attention to Pikachu's movements. Ash continued. "Hit yourself with Thunderbolt and jump from the wall!"

While running, the white streak of light turned yellow. Pikachu immediately ran toward the wall and jumped up from it. Pikachu was now above Lucario. Lucario's guard rose as she formed another Bone Rush attack and steeled herself for a collision. Ash smirked upon seeing that. Aurora looked at her son, somewhat intrigued. Just what was he planning?

When Lucario rose up her Bone Rush as a way to defend herself, Ash called out, "Pikachu! Transfer the energy you built up to your tail! Use Iron Tail to knock Lucario's Bone Rush from her hands and then hit her head!"

Pikachu began to flip his body to gain enough momentum to carry out Ash's idea. His tail began to glow a steely gray. Then, it became charged with electrical energy. Pikachu looked like a yellow and gray ball with a streak of bright yellow going through it. Lucario barely had time to react when Pikachu's tail hit Lucario's Bone Rush attack. Startled, Lucario made her attack disappear. Then, before Lucario could retaliate Pikachu smacked his tail against her head. Lucario grunted in agony.

Pikachu moved away after landing the successful hit and noticed that Lucario was paralyzed. Small yellow static formed from all over her body. Ash saw this as his chance to capture her. Ash threw out a Poke Ball. The ball bounced off of Lucario's head and forced her to turn into a red light. The capsule shut itself once all the red light went inside. The ball fell on the ground and began to shake. Ash watched in anticipation.

Ash gasped when Lucario broke free from the ball. She looked determined to keep fighting. Ash noticed she had a bit of a fearful expression, but hid it under the intensity of her red eyes. For a split second, Ash saw nothing else but Lucario. He sensed her aura. The boy felt her fear at being caught despite wanting to travel with him. He realized he needed to not only prove his worth, but to gain her trust. Ash grew determined to do that.

Sensei looked at his student, impressed at her willpower. He knew she was never one to yield easily and was glad to see it manifest in battle. Aurora smiled and crossed her arms. She wanted to see what else this Lucario could do. Aurora's Lucario, Rio, seemed to have the same thoughts as his trainer.

Despite being paralyzed, Lucario gathered enough strength formed two aura spheres from her paws and shot them at Pikachu. Pikachu gasped when he got hit. The attacks came out so fast, he barely had time to react. He knew that this Lucario was special in that she was able to use Aura Sphere as a Riolu, but he noted how much progress she had made to mastering the technique. It looked like she not only perfected it, but used it as a tool to enhance herself further.

Lucario formed two spheres in her paws and absorbed them. She looked like her strength and speed increased. Lucario grunted as she fired an onslaught of aura sphere at Pikachu. Pikachu struggled to take each one. Ash noticed and responded with, "Dodge them and use Thunderbolt to retaliate!"

Pikachu tried to dodge her attacks, but Lucario made it difficult to hit her back with how she was launching her aura spheres. She kept shooting them at an angle and directing it after she shot it. Pikachu wasn't used to such control from an Aura Sphere user. However, he was determined to carry out Ash's order and he would not disappoint. He began to pay attention to how Lucario kept shooting her attacks and noticed a pattern in how she was aiming. He decided to use that to his advantage.

Pikachu began to approach Lucario in a zigzag, dodging any aura sphere that came his way. Once he found an opening, he used Thunderbolt to strike Lucario down. Lucario hissed in pain as the electric attack scored a direct hit.

Lucario looked like she was struggling to take the attack, but she looked like she wouldn't yield in defeat. Seeing how he bypassed Lucario's offensive pressure, Ash felt like this attempt would be the one. Ash once again threw a Poke Ball, but this time, he threw it with more vigor. Once again, Lucario was forced to be a red light and was sucked into the capsule. The ball gently floated to the ground as it began to shake.

Everyone looked at the ball in suspense. Ash curled his fists and stared at the ball with a determined expression. He said aloud to the moving ball, "Come on, Lucario. Come with me. I will help you resolve any feeling you have about being captured by a human. Let's go on many adventures together and learn from each other."

A few moments after Ash said this, the ball stopped moving and made a 'ding' sound. Lucario was caught. Ash looked at the ball in slight disbelief. Then, his disbelief turned into elation. Ash and Pikachu celebrated having a new member to their party, with Pikachu jumping into the air excitedly. Ash hurried to the Poke Ball and grabbed it. Once he did, he heard Lucario's voice say, "(I will learn to lean my trust on you, Ash. Thank you for feeling my plight.)"

Ash stepped back in slight surprise. He saw Sensei and Aurora approaching him, oblivious to what Lucario just said. Then, his eyes softened up. He suddenly kissed the Poke Ball and placed his forehead ahead it. His 'z' like marks began to glow and the Poke Ball responded in kind. Aurora looked at the boy in surprise. She observed his demeanor change, but wasn't sure why. In any case, she was happy to witness Ash catch his fifth guardian partner.

Ash immediately threw back out Lucario. Lucario came out eager, but still had signs of paralysis. Aurora saw her predicament and threw out a Poke Ball of her own. Out came out a four-legged cream and pink colored pixie eyed Pokémon. She had long feelers, bow-like sensors and a jovial expression.

"Happy, can you be a dear and use Heal Bell on Ash's newly caught guardian partner?" Aurora worded that in a way that she knew Happy react to it. Happy widened her eyes, gasped and began to wag her tail crazily. She started to inspect the Lucario further.

Happy squeaked with excitement. She had sparkles in her eyes, "Newly caught guardian partner?! Oh my Mew, that's so exciting! I'll heal her right away!"

Happy forced herself to calm down. Shaking her tail rhythmically, her body made a bell like noise. Lucario's body began to glow white as she felt a soothing effect through her. The static began to disappear until it was no more. Lucario looked at the Sylveon in appreciation. Happy stepped back when she was done.

"(Thank you, Sylveon.)" Lucario bowed in respect.

"It's not a problem, but I prefer to be called Happy. I've been called that all my life." Happy told her.

"(All your life?)" Lucario found that hard to believe. Aurora decided to jump in the conversation for clarity.

"I found Happy as an Eevee in a hidden grotto in Viridian Forest. I noticed an egg in the middle of the clearing and tried finding her parents, but never did. Once the egg hatched, I noticed how much energy she had and how happy she was… it was almost infectious. So, I nicknamed her Happy. Twenty-five years later and we're still going strong." Aurora remembered fondly.

"Yep. I'm happy she found my egg… just like I'm happy Ash has found you!" Happy smiled warmly at the Lucario. Lucario couldn't help but make a bashful smile back.

"(I'm… happy my master found me, too.)" Lucario said while rubbing behind her head. Ash groaned at being called her 'master' again.

Aurora turned her attention to Ash. She said, "Watching how you battle from the sidelines really made me want to see more from you. I love how quickly you adapted to Lucario's defense and her aura spheres. That makes when we battle for my title even more exciting. I can't wait to see what you come up with against me. I'll make sure to keep winning so you can have the chance to take me down."

"I will take you down one day, Mom." Ash curled up his fist competitively.

"I won't make it easy for you, young one." Aurora winked at him.

"I know, but when I get all of my partners, I'm gonna train every day until I'm strong enough to take on the Hokori League. Our next battle won't be so one-sided again." Ash said with a determined expression.

"The next time I battle you, I would use Pokémon I got in my travels to other regions. Things would become a lot fairer to you instead of me using six master guardian partner Pokémon against you. That will be saved for your challenger match. I do want to track your progress with your partners once I come back from Hokori." Aurora said.

"Are you going to go now?" Ash asked.

"I'm afraid so. You can get to Johto on your own, right?" Aurora confirmed and asked.

"Yeah. I'm heading to Mt. Silver since that's where I last saw Larvitar." Ash told her.

"Mt… Silver…" Aurora suddenly grew sad. Ash wondered why that was, but then remembered that his dad used to train in the mountain. His father practically lived on the mountain and he knew Aurora was often there with him. Ever since his father was taken by the Zurui, she always grew somber when thinking about anything in relation to her husband. Aurora shook her head and said, "I know of an aura hotspot you can use to get there straightaway. It's relatively close, too. Would you rather that or would you rather fly there yourself?"

"As much as I want to fly through the skies with Charizard, I also want to head back to the Tree of Beginning as soon as I can. I'm a little worried about Serena. Grandma and Grandpa aren't exactly the nicest people." Ash admitted.

"Understood. Follow me, then. Make sure you're ready before you depart." Aurora returned her Lucario and Sylveon and gestured Ash to follow her out of the castle. She left them alone with Sensei.

Sensei suddenly stood in front of Lucario and Ash. Then, he made a small cheeky smile. He bowed in respect to Lucario. Lucario gasped in surprise. Sensei's eyes suddenly looked more vulnerable as he said, "(Save travels, my student. Be sure to come and visit us sometimes. I always feel sad when I have to let one of you go…)"

"(Sensei…)" Lucario didn't know what to say.

"(Go on and become better than even better than I am. You are partnered with the highest potential aura guardian, so I expect great things from you both!)" Sensei said with a grin.

"(I'll try my hardest to visit you permitted Master Ash allows it.") Lucario said.

"Ugh… I'm not your master. I'm your friend. Sensei, why did you have to make all of your students like this?" Ash questioned the old Lucario. Sensei cackled mischievously, but didn't reply. Something told Ash that the old Lucario did it as a way to force a more informal bond so a trainer and their Lucario could get closer. Ash sighed and said this instead, "I'll make sure I'll become the trainer that Lucario deserves and more. You can count on us."

"(That's all I ask. Now, I'd say it's time for you to rejoin your mother on your quest to finding your remaining partner.)" Sensei directed the two toward the exit. Ash and Lucario looked at each other. Then, they nodded to themselves. Waving the elder Lucario goodbye, they two quickly headed toward the entrance. Sensei stood there, sad, but fulfilled. He then went on to his own devices.

Ash and Lucario managed to meet Aurora back outside. She was simply standing there, looking at the sky and sighing. She seemed to still be sad from earlier and was thinking about things more heavily. When she sensed Ash back outside, she gave him her undivided attention and made an inviting smile. Ash frowned inwardly. He decided to wait until she had more time to discuss more about his father. He decided not to make her feel any sadder than she was and kept an oblivious façade.

"Are you ready to go, young one?" Aurora inquired.

"Yeah. Lucario and I said goodbye to Sensei and I think I have enough supplies. My bag is full of berries!" Ash told her.

"That's true, but I think we should have lunch before you go. At the very least, eat some snacks. A growing boy needs some food, you know." Aurora went into her pouch and took out Ash's favorite snack: a balanced favored Pokémon granola bar. She gave him a few of them to eat now and to take on the road. Ash's eyes lit up with happiness. Aurora smiled at seeing this.

"Thank you so much, Mom!" Ash said as she gobbled down a few of the Poke Bars. Aurora laughed.

"No problem. When you head back to Kanto, use this to let me know that you're safe and with your partners." Aurora went into her pouch and took out some peculiar blue beads. They looked like they were filled up with aura. Aurora continued, "These aura beads will let me detect a change in your aura for a few seconds. Normally, this is given to young guardian children learning how to sense things. However, I'm using it to make sure you're alright. I'll read into what's happening around you and your aura. Crush that bead when you get home and I'll call the house as soon as I can."

"Got it." Ash said.

Aurora suddenly gave Ash the largest hug she could muster. Ash stood there, somewhat shocked, but accepted it. As she hugged him, she said in his ear, "I'm… I'm sorry. I guess I just realized that this is the first time I'm letting you go out on your own. It took sixteen years, but the thought of letting you go out on your own is so… strange."

"Mom?" Ash broke off their embrace. He could see that tears were beginning to form in her eyes.

"To you, I look the same. Maybe I look more stressed from when you were seven. For me, I saw you jump from seven to sixteen. I didn't get to hear your voice change from puberty… or raise you as much as I could. I never got to see you physically grow up. I lost… so much time and I know I'll never be able to reclaim it. I had to look through Team Rocket's aura to witness how you grew." Aurora admitted.

"Whatever happened to Team Rocket? I haven't seen them try to take Pikachu recently." Ash noted. Aurora's blinked away her tears and sighed. She figured she should tell him this now that it didn't matter.

"During our Kalos League match, I wiped their memories of you and Pikachu. I have no idea where they are now, but I hope they're okay. They seemed a little obnoxious, but misguided when I interacted with them." Aurora said. Ash stepped back from her in shock.

"You took their memory of me?!" Ash exclaimed in surprise. He gave her a stinky look. Aurora had an urge to defend herself.

"I felt that was the best way to protect you from them. They looked like they would have continued to stalk you even as an adult. I couldn't allow that, so I acted. I'm sorry if my method of dealing with them wasn't the best. I was only thinking in your interest." Aurora looked away from Ash, now guilty. Ash made a wistful sigh.

"I understand. This was before you really got to know me and people from my previous life. I may not agree with your method, I know your heart was in the right place. Who knows? Maybe I'll see Team Rocket again someday." Ash said.

"I fabricated a vision that would encourage them to leave Team Rocket. Maybe you may see them again if they've improved their lives. They seemed to have an affinity with disguises and noodles, so…" Aurora shrugged. Aurora said, "In any case, there isn't anything you can do at this point. I feel like Team Rocket would have improved their lives by the time you might see them again."

"If you say so." Ash said.

"Despite what I did, I meant what I said. I want you to flourish, but I also want to keep my baby boy close to me. My heart would be crushed should anything happen to you. I lost Red… and I lost you once before. I want to see you grow into a wonderful man. I don't want to miss much else…" Aurora couldn't control the tears forming on her face this time. A few drops fell on the ground. She covered her face with her hand, slightly ashamed for being like this in front of Ash. Lucario and Pikachu looked at her with saddened eyes.

"Mom, I'm not going anywhere." Ash said in a strong voice and put a hand on her shoulder. He wanted to see her cheer up. He grinned, "You can count on that."

Aurora smiled at the attempt, but still looked dismayed. She thought about how naïve youth could be and wished she still had that mindset. She wiped away any lingering tears and made a slow, but bitter laugh. Aurora said while looking into his eyes, "I wish I could let my guard down completely, but too many times, I've been burned. Just… break that bead when you're safe, alright?"

"Okay." Ash said.

"The aura hotspot you want to go through is through the house with two wooden poles and an 'x' between them. All of these houses are actually aura hotspots since all the Riolu and Lucario here live in the castle. The hotspot should you leave on the foot of the mountain. It would be up to you to find your last partner." Aurora explained.

"Okay. Thank you so much, Mom." Ash thanked.

"Always and forever. I'll talk to you soon, but I'm running late now." Aurora threw out a Poke Ball and summoned her Charizard. She immediately mounted Chari. Chari began to hover with Aurora on her back. They smiled warmly at Ash, Pikachu and Lucario. Aurora said, "Take care. Come on, Chari. Let's go!"

With that, Aurora and Chari flew off into the sky at a breakneck pace. Ash noticed how much faster Aurora was going without him and wondered how fast she would reach Hokori. Ash stayed there until he couldn't see her in the sky. Pikachu jumped on Ash's shoulder while Lucario put her paw on his shoulder. She looked at the boy confidently.

Lucario commented, "(Your mother seems to have went through a lot to see you again, Master. What was all that stuff she was talking about?)"

"It's… a bit of a long story. I'll tell you on the way to Mt. Silver. Lucario, I'll keep saying this until you get it, but… stop calling me Master!" Ash said, exasperated. Lucario put her ears down timidly, but nodded. She wanted to please Ash, but it was hard to break out of something she was taught to do her entire life. She grew determined to change.

As they walked, Ash began to talk about everything that had happened to him this past month. He talked about how he first encountered Aurora training and how he later battled and lost to her convincingly. He talked about the guardian conflict he had with his counterbalance and Mew's involvement. He talked about the survival trial in his dreams and his confrontation with his fake mother, Delia. Ash sighed and shook his head thinking about everything that happened. Lucario said nothing, but listened intently. Ash started to sense Lucario's distress listening to this and stopped.

"Lucario?"

"(I'm… so… angry you had to go through that. You and your mother both. I'm glad I got to see you during your survival trial, but… I just feel so upset for you. I'm happy you're alright now.)" Lucario said with a curled fist.

"Hahaha… that doesn't surprise me." Ash said with a smile.

"(Huh?)" Lucario blinked her eyes.

"You're my Aspect of Emotion. So, it makes sense that you have a lot of empathy." Ash started to speak in a deeper voice. His eyes turned red. Ash's counterbalance continued, "I appreciate it."

"(No problem, Master Ashton… er… Ashton.)" Lucario shook her head and corrected herself.

"Good. We're getting there. Eventually, you won't hesitate to just call me Ash or Ashton." Ashton's eyes turned back to brown as he noticed a peculiar house near them. He looked at the house and noticed the wooden poles. Ash said, "I think we're at the house Mom was talking about. I see the 'x' between the wooden poles. Do I just… walk through the door or the house itself?"

"(I think you can go through the house itself. Watch this.)" Lucario immediately walked through the house as if she was a ghost. Ash looked a little spooked at first, but then realized the house was kind of like a portal. Though he thought that was strange, he decided not to question it. With Pikachu on his shoulder, he walked through the house and made his way to Mt. Silver.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I had a lot of fun writing it!

Unfortunately, the next chapter will be released on Sunday, January 13th. I need to decide how often I submit these chapters. I'll likely decide by then. I hope you all will have a lovely day! Happy reading as always!

Next Chapter: Thunderous Encounter

~SPG123~