AAML: Diamond and Pearl version

by EchidnaPower

Follow me as I remake the DP episodes in order and in sequence, all so I can add the biggest star besides Ash himself. Misty! Watch her and Ash's love grow as they go on their journey. A Pokeshipping series. Also includes Penguinshipping, Handymanshipping, slight mentions of Contestshipping, and a Brock shipping to be named later. Oh yeah, there's PikachuXBuneary here too.

43. Iron Willed Auras

Well everyone, this is the chapter you've all been waiting for! Ash's eighth Pokémon is about to be revealed! Now, most of you have probably figured out exactly who the Pokémon is by now, and I have gotten a few complaints about the teasing I've done and I apologize to anyone I may have offended by doing so. It was just my way of building up suspense. Well at any rate, I remembered to send everyone the messages this time, but if I forgot anyone, please let me know for next time. Anyways, I believe I have a few anonymous reviews to reply to.

- charizardlover: Thanks!

- lightningblade49: lol, well I had to do something and it seemed like the logical thing to do, if he did have his Pokédex, they wouldn't be able to arrest them. We all know how Ash has lapses in his thinking sometimes, even more so thanks to Misty. xD

- darky/Darkness Shadow/D. Shad: Read it and you'll see.

- Polly: I probably won't bring Butterfree back unfortunately, but to be totally honest, I liked Butterfree. As for Pidgeot, I dunno, maybe. But Sinnoh and Kanto are a long way off.

- Anna: Thanks!

- tray125: Well it wasn't my idea, but I'm glad he gave it to me. xD

- Airoh: Nah, that was just the excuse for coming since Darkrai had been taken care of already. As for the writing, I'm really not that great, and I bet if you put your mind to it, you could be just as great as you think I am.

- pidgeotexpress: Well if the police were smart they wouldn't have been able to escape either. xD As fo the sequel, it's a we'll see on that one. Life's starting to catch up with me and I have to speed up a little.

- Aditya Shukla: You'll see who it is now! Oh, and Togetic is unlikely, but there will be a certain episode sometime in the future that's closely related to that.

- sallindrtioap: Uh, what's your point?

Well that's that, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and the big twist that everyone's been waiting for! Ash's eighth Pokemon!
_

Chap 43

Misty's POV

Wow…just wow…that's the only word that could describe what happened yesterday. Ash and I actually got ARRESTED. As it turns out, there were two criminals that got hired by Team Rocket of all people to rob a bank and frame us! And apparently these two knew what they were doing because no matter what we said, the police were convinced that we were guilty. And it also proved just how stupid the Canalave Gym Leader really was. Ash's mom had finally given us our new outfits, and I REALLY loved mine. But because of my costume change, Byron said that it wasn't really me and that I was the criminal that had stolen from the bank. So they arrested us and threw us in jail. Luckily Brad and D. Shad were there thanks to Dawn having called them a few days earlier because of the Darkrai issue. So after we spent the whole day sitting in jail, not eating ANYTHING by the way, Brad came and broke us out by sneaking into the police station and putting on a uniform. The actual escape was pretty close though. And then we broke into the bad guy's lair which happened to be in an abandoned warehouse, but you wouldn't know it by the equipment that they used.

We managed to catch my half of the frame, but the man who role-played as Ash managed to escape, and didn't even bother to try and save his girl. After things calmed down a little bit, we headed back to the Pokémon Center and got a good dinner and a good night's sleep. One thing was for sure, after all that excitement we needed one. Brock especially. But luckily, Brock didn't have any issues since Ash's mom had eventually let him off the hook and put the people who should've been in charge of our relationship all along in charge: Me and Ash. And now we were waiting for the boat that would transport us from Canalave to Chocovine Town, where Dawn would compete in her next contest.

Normal POV

"Hey I've got an idea! Why don't we go down to the pier?" Dawn suggested. "Come on Dawn, give it a rest already, you've been saying that for a while now, the boat will get here in a couple of hours." Misty replied exasperatedly. "There's always the chance it could get here early." Dawn said.

"Lemme explain something to you Dawn, it's a little philosophy of mine. If you get your hopes up and something DOESN'T happen, you're just setting yourself up for a fall. But if you keep your hopes down and something DOES happen, it's a pleasant surprise. Brad said. "Sounds good in theory." Brock said. "Yeah, if you're a cynical stick in the mud." Misty added.

"I'll have you know I'm FAR from cynical ok? I happen to be one of the funniest guys on this Earth, but you didn't hear it from me." Brad joked. "So Ash, which gym are you gonna challenge next?" Misty asked, changing the subject. "I think I'm gonna take on the Snowpoint Gym. Check it out, Snowpoint City's near Chocovine Town where Dawn's contest will be." Ash said, pointing on a map.

"Dress warm guys, it isn't called Snowpoint City for nothing." D. Shad said. "Thanks for the heads up, I've never been to Snowpoint City before." Dawn said. "Guess that means I'll have to make another call to Mom." Ash said.

"Don't worry about Ash! It's time for MY mom to step up to the plate! I'll give her a call and let her know that we're going to be heading to Snowpoint City and she'll go and get us some warm clothes." Dawn said. "Dawn, um…your mom she…would it be ok if you asked for something…" Misty looked at the four men watching her stammer and slightly blushed from embarrassment. "Excuse me gentlemen, we need to have a girl chat." Misty pulled Dawn aside, leaving the four boys to wonder what was going on. "What's up with Misty?" Ash asked.

"If I had my guess, I'd say it had something to do with…" Brad was cut off by D. Shad's hand covering his mouth. "Cool it Brad, they're too young for images like that." Brad rolled his eyes and grumbled in response. Just then, Nurse Joy walked over from the front desk over to Ash. "Excuse me Ash, but you have a phone call."

"Oh, thanks Nurse Joy! Is it my mom?" Ash asked. "No it's a young man with blonde hair, he seemed to want to talk to you about something important by the way he was talking." Nurse Joy replied. "That sounds like it could be Barry!" Dawn exclaimed from the other side of the room. All of a sudden the topic between Misty and Dawn changed. "I thought you told me you were over him!" Misty said. "I said I THOUGHT I might be over him. I have to know for sure first." Dawn replied. Dawn walked away from Misty, who was slouched over in exasperation. "That girl's fickle, that's for sure."

The group headed over to the videophones, and sure enough, there was Barry on the screen. "Hi Barry!" Dawn exclaimed. "Oh hey…what's your name again?" Barry asked. Dawn sweat-dropped, "Dawn, remember?"

"Oh yeah, the coordinator girl, hi. Where's Ash?" Barry asked. Misty yanked Dawn by the back of her top and pulled her away from the screen so Ash could talk. "Hey Barry, what's up?" Ash asked. "Nothing much, I just wanted to know if you managed to win at the Canalave Gym." Barry replied smugly.

"You bet I won! See this? Cool huh?" Ash held out his newly acquired Mine Badge for the blonde trainer to see. "Alright, guess I'll have to treat you like a true rival. You should feel honored." Barry said. "Boy this guy's pretty full of himself ain't he?" Brad asked. "I heard that! Who are you supposed to be?" Barry shouted through the phone. "Brad's the name, comedy's my game, and my best stuff is derived from people who state the obvious, don't take responsibility for their actions, or people who contradict themselves in any way, and I'm just spitballing here, but did Ash beat you in a battle?" Brad asked.

"He sure did, he swept Barry. As a matter of fact, so did I!" Misty exclaimed. "Don't change the subject! This isn't about Ash beating me!" Barry whined. "Oh don't be such a whiner, live and learn kid, that's the best way to go through life." Brad replied. "Ok Brad, leave the kid alone, am I gonna have to get a leash for your tongue?" D. Shad said.

"Sorry D, force of habit." Brad snickered. "Anyway Barry, how's your training coming along?" Dawn asked. Barry's face drooped suddenly, and he dipped his head in sadness. "Not so…good."

"Did something go wrong?" Dawn asked with concern. "Actually something's really wrong with Empoleon…all of a sudden Empoleon doesn't recognize me and started attacking everything in sight…Nurse Joy's taking care of Empoleon now but…Empoleon isn't the only one acting strange. Bunches of other Pokémon have gone crazy! I saw a Steelix and a Skarmory running around attacking everything, and I almost got run over by an Aggron on my way here!" Barry explained.

"Barry, where are you exactly?" D. Shad asked. "Um, near Iron Island, who are you anyway?" Barry replied. "D. Shad, another friend of Ash's. All of those Pokémon you named have one thing in common: They're part steel-type, which explains why Empoleon was being affected too." D. Shad said.

"Wow, are you some kind of detective?" Barry asked. "Sure let's go with that. I better give Cynthia a call and let her know something's going on." D. Shad activated his wrist communicator and dialed a number. "You should've heard him last night with her, he called her Cindy! Can you believe that?" Brad snickered. "Oh that's so sweet; he has a petname for her." Misty gushed. "Guys! We have a situation here!" Barry exclaimed.

"Right, sorry Barry." Dawn said. "Are you guys all doing ok?" Barry asked. "Yeah, everything's fine on our end." Ash replied. "I wonder if it's only on Iron Island…Nurse Joy can't seem to figure out why Empoleon's acting so strange either." Barry said sadly. "Oh don't be sad Barry, please?" Dawn asked.

"Who me? I'm not sad! I'm determined! I'm gonna find out what's wrong by myself!" Barry exclaimed. "We'll come and help you! Right everyone?" Dawn asked. "Sure thing, I wanna get over there and help out the Pokémon on Iron Island!" Ash exclaimed. "It's always the same with you Ash; you can't resist helping a Pokémon in need." Misty sighed.

"Are you trying to say I'm not smart enough to figure this thing out by myself?" Barry asked angrily. Ash, Misty, Dawn, and Brock sweat-dropped, but Brad snickered mischievously. "No we weren't saying that, but now that we know you were dumb enough to incriminate yourself without due reason we have a few suspicions."

Barry face-faulted in response. "Don't listen to Brad, Barry, we just wanna go over there and help you figure it out! You know, for Empoleon's sake." Dawn said. "Alright, Cynthia wants us to go check out the situation, when's the next ferry to Iron Island?" D. Shad asked. Brock pulled out his Canalave guidebook and looked up the times, "Fifteen minutes D. Shad." Brock replied.

"Great! Alright Barry, we'll be there before you know it, in the meantime, take care of yourself!" Dawn exclaimed. The group hung up and rushed to the dock to get to the Iron Island ferry before it departed, "Hold that ferry!" D. Shad yelled. "You're lucky mister, we were just about done boarding." the captain said. "Come on, let's hurry!" Ash exclaimed, the trainer ran up the gangplank, almost accidently flinging Pikachu off his shoulder in the process. "What's up with Ash?" Dawn asked. "He's probably just anxious to get there and help those Pokémon." Misty replied.

The group followed the black-haired trainer up the gangplank, and a few minutes later, they departed. Another few minutes later, Ash was getting severely restless. "Ash, if you need to go to the bathroom, why don't you go?" Misty asked. "What makes you think I need to go to the bathroom? Ash replied. "The fact that you're doing the potty dance." Misty said.

Ash looked down and saw that he was stepping in place, and forced himself to stop. "Very funny Mist. I don't have to go to the bathroom; I just wish this thing could go faster!" Ash grumbled restlessly. "Patience is a virtue kid." Brad commented. "I just wish you'd calm down already, you sound like Barry." Dawn said. Misty's head suddenly perked up, "Oh he does, does he? Are you saying there's something wrong with sounding like Barry?" Misty asked cheekily.

Dawn made a guilty face, Misty had caught her. "W-Well, I never said Barry was PERFECT you know." she stammered. "I'm not kidding! I just have this feeling…it's a familiar one…but it's telling me I need to get over there now! Forget this dumb boat!" Ash reached for Charizard's Pokéball, but then Misty reached for his hand. "Not now Misty, please." Ash grumbled.

Misty didn't back down, and simply entwined her fingers with his. "Ash, relax, that feeling is just you wanting to help them and I admire that, but if you fly off the handle you won't be much help to them." Misty said soothingly. "No Mist, it's not in my head…it's almost…physical, like something's calling me." Ash replied. Misty was about to question further, when Brock spoke up, "Look up ahead! That's Iron Island!"

"There you see? No worries Ash." Misty said. "Thanks Mist." Ash planted a soft kiss on her forehead and gave her a squeeze in thanks. A few minutes later, the ferry docked and the first one off was Ash, who immediately took off for the Pokémon Center. "Ash, wait for us!" Misty shouted. Ash listened…for a few moments. Once they got off the gangplank, Ash took off running again. "Geez, he's out of control!" Dawn exclaimed. "Just like Barry." Misty added with a smirk. Dawn frowned and took off after them.

By the time that they got to the Pokémon Center however, they were too late. "What? I don't believe it! Barry left already!" Ash said angrily. "Well…it is Barry, we should've known." Dawn replied, "And don't make a comment on that Misty."

Misty put her hands up defensively and walked over to stand next to Ash, who was standing in between her and Dawn. "I'm sorry. He insisted he had to leave and wouldn't listen." Nurse Joy said. Brock quickly went into girl-crazy mode and grabbed Nurse Joy's hands and held them. "Fret not! Hearing you apologize causes me such great pain in my…backside…" Brock had been 'Poison Jabbed' by Croagunk once again, and the breeder fell to the ground in pain. "Hey Croagunk, give this to Brock when he snaps out of it with my compliments." Brad snickered. Brad handed Croagunk a little toy helmet, positive that Brock would understand what it meant.

"He'll just never learn will he?" Misty sighed. "Nurse Joy, I'm D. Shad, Cynthia sent me to check out the situation." D. Shad said. "You actually know the Champion?" Nurse Joy asked. D. Shad shrugged, "Better than some people I suppose, now what's the current status?"

"Follow me and I'll show you." Nurse Joy left the front desk and led the group to the treatment rooms. "Oh yeah that reminds me! Nurse Joy, how's Barry's Empoleon?" Ash asked. Nurse Joy led the group to a window, where they saw Empoleon and numerous other steel-types cringing in pain. "It's still undergoing treatment…the thing I haven't been able to figure out yet is why only the steel-types are being affected."

"Something weird must be going on at Iron Island." Misty figured. "They're all in so much pain…the poor things." Dawn said sadly. Ash growled and clenched his teeth and fists in anger, which Misty noted. "Come on Ash, let's go." Misty unballed one of Ash's fists and entwined her fingers into his, leading the angered trainer away from the pained Pokémon. She sat him and herself down on a bench and gave his hand a soft squeeze to try and take his mind off of the Pokémon. "I can't stand it Mist, I've gotta do something!"

"We will Ash, we will. But try to stay cool ok? Please? You're not doing yourself any favors by getting all worked up." Misty said, now rubbing his back soothingly. "I don't know what it is Misty, but it feels like…kinda like when we met up with Maylene's Lucario, I could feel its aura." Ash said. "You think there's a Lucario on Iron Island?" Misty asked. "Maybe…but if there is, then it might be in trouble too!" Ash said. "Maybe it's D. Shad's Lucario." Misty suggested. "D. Shad's Lucario isn't very well trained in aura, I doubt it's his." Ash sighed.

Misty sighed and gave him a soft kiss on his cheek, stroking his hair affectionately, "Don't worry Ash, we'll be on our way in no time." Ash smiled and embraced his girlfriend in a tight and loving hug, earning him a content sigh from Misty. "Boy Ash, I sure am glad your mom let me off the hook." Brock laughed. Ash and Misty broke away and blushed, "I thought you said you wouldn't tease us." Ash said.

"I said I wouldn't do it, but that was a while ago, now is different." Brock laughed again. "Alright alright, guys we're heading out, who's with us?" D. Shad asked. All four teens raised their hands and followed Brad and D. Shad out of the Pokémon Center.
"Good luck everyone!" Nurse Joy exclaimed.

Once the group left the Pokémon Center area, the terrain quickly became steep and rocky. "Man, what's up with Iron Island?" Ash wondered. "I sure hope Barry's ok." Dawn added. "I'm sure he is, you can hug him later." Misty rolled her eyes at the wishy-washy coordinator, who merely ignored the jab.

Just then, scared Diglett began popping out of the ground all over the place. "Whoa, stampede!" Misty exclaimed. "What's got these Diglett so scared?" Brock wondered. The group quickly got their answer when a Lairon burst out of the ground and roared. "It's a Lairon!" Ash exclaimed. "All the Diglett must be trying to get away from it!" Dawn added.

The Lairon started smashing through rocks and boulders, sending rubble towards them. "Get down!" D. Shad yelled. The group ducked down behind a rock to avoid the rubble, and noticed that was something was amiss. "Hey, Lairon doesn't look like he's after the Diglett." Ash said. "If you ask me, that Lairon looks like it's in pain too, remember Barry said Empoleon lost control and started attacking everything in sight." Misty added.

"Any idea as to why?" Dawn asked. "I may have a theory…it seems to me that Lairon's trying to block out all of its intense pain by running rampant." Brock said. "We've gotta try and do something to help…Pikachu, let's go!" Ash jumped out from behind the rock to confront Lairon. "Ash, get back here!" Misty shouted.

Ash ignored Misty's outburst and ordered an attack. "Ok Pikachu, let's stop Lairon by using 'Thunderbolt' and aiming for its legs!" Pikachu complied and launched a furious blast of electricity in front of the stampeding Lairon, but it continued on its course. "Gah, no good!" Ash grumbled, "Use 'Thunderbolt' once more!" Pikachu complied and launched another blast, but the Lairon still refused to change course. "Be careful you guys!" Dawn exclaimed. "Ash, get out of there!" Misty shouted.

"One more time Pikachu! This time, head on!" Pikachu fired one last blast, and this time the electricity struck Lairon directly, but even then Lairon ignored it. "No way!" Ash gasped in shock. "It didn't do a thing!" Dawn exclaimed. "No, Lairon's hurt but for some reason it seems unfazed by the pain." Brock said. Ash growled and raised his arms to act as a blockade. "Stop Lairon, we're not your enemies!"

"Ash, it's useless, get out of there!" D. Shad roared. Misty finally couldn't wait any longer and leaped out of the hiding spot as well. "Misty get back here!" D. Shad yelled. "Ash, move!" Misty dove and tackled Ash to get him out of the way, just before Lairon rammed its head into a nearby rock and passed out. "Ash! Misty!" the group ran out from behind the rock to check on their friends. "I should've let you get run over, next time listen to us ok?" Misty hissed angrily as she brushed herself off.

"Everyone ok?" Brad asked. "Yeah, we're fine, thanks Mist." Ash said. Misty glared at the boy, but her gaze eventually softened and she sighed, "You're welcome." But the group barely got a moment to breathe as the sound of another rampant Pokémon was heard, and a bunch of Geodude and Graveler began running in terror. "It's a Metang!" Brock exclaimed. The crazed steel/psychic-type started banging its head against a rock, desperately trying to block out the pain. "It's like Metang's trying to hurt itself!" Dawn cried.

"No Metang, stop!" Ash yelled. Just then, another Pokémon was heard from above, the group looked up and saw a Skarmory firing gusts of air down below, causing more terror on the ground. And before they could even react, a Steelix burst through the rock that the Metang was banging its head against and fired 'Hyper Beam' all across the ground. "Just awful, I can't believe this!" Dawn whimpered. "It's like Armageddon on Iron Island!" Brad added. "If we don't figure this out soon, I'm starting to think there won't be any island to try and save." D. Shad added.

Ash growled and confronted Steelix this time. "Stop! Why are you trying to destroy the island?" he shouted. "Ash, get back here!" D. Shad yelled. "You've gotta stop all this right now!" Ash yelled. Ash gasped as he suddenly felt the ground underneath him begin to rumble, and the Steelix that was about to attack him was replaced by a crazed Aggron. "An Aggron!" Misty cried. The Aggron fired a 'Flash Cannon' right for Ash, and just when D. Shad was about to dive in and save him, an unknown stranger beat him to it.

"Who's that?" D. Shad asked. The stranger landed gracefully with Ash underneath him, "Lucario, 'Close Combat'!" A Lucario appeared and obeyed the orders of the costumed stranger. With incredible speed and power, the Lucario punched and kicked the rampaging Aggron in the face. Then with one swift swing of its tail, Lucario knocked Aggron out. "That feeling…it WAS a Lucario." Ash thought.

Finally, the man helped Ash back to his feet, "Phew, ok. You alright?" he asked. "I'm fine, that was sure something though." Ash replied. "Close call for sure." the man said, "Although it wouldn't be wise to stick around here, follow me!" the man took off running, and the group instinctively followed him. After sprinting for a few yards, the man's Lucario leaped onto a high rock and placed its hand on the ground. It closed its eyes and a soft pinging noise was heard through the air. "What's Lucario doing?" Dawn asked. "Scanning the area with its aura." the man replied.

After a few moments, Lucario stood up and nodded at its master. "Good, thanks Lucario. Apparently the area is safe so how about a break?" the man said. The four teens sat down on rocks and sighed with relief. "Thanks a whole lot for saving me before. Nice to meet ya, I'm Ash."

"Hi, my name is Riley and I specialize in steel-types. Lots of steel-type Pokémon live on the island so this is where I live and train." Riley said. "So you've been here for a long time then." Misty said. "Yes. As you can see this island is mostly made of rocky terrain. That's exactly why this island is best suited for us. To condition our hearts and bodies…just like a steel-type. Iron Island has always felt like a kind of a homeland for my soul, so now that my homeland is in danger, for the sake of all steel-types, we're investigating the cause of these strange occurrences." Riley explained.

"Is that so? Good, you might be able to help us since we're here to investigate too." D. Shad said. "Actually, I think it might be a better idea if I led you all back to the path towards town." Riley said. "What? No way! We're going with you!" Ash exclaimed suddenly.

"Too dangerous, sorry." Riley said. "Those Pokémon are the ones in danger!" Ash replied determinedly. This outburst caught Riley off guard. "Listen, these kids are some of the best trainers you'll ever run into, they care about Pokémon and they'd do anything to help them. And I can tell you from personal experience with these guys that they've faced tougher challenges than this one. So you either get our help, or we go on our own." D. Shad said firmly.

"Very well…but will you hesitate to attack a Pokémon that's gone berserk?" Riley asked suddenly. The four teens cringed at the aspect. "It's not going to be easy to do that." Dawn said. "Perhaps, but if you hesitate and get defeated, you won't be able to save those truly in need, am I wrong?" Riley asked.

"No, you're right. We'll do it!" Ash said determinedly. "Alright then." Riley nodded. "Riley I have a question, isn't Lucario a steel-type?" Misty asked. "Yes, Lucario's a steel-type and a fighting-type." Riley replied. "So why isn't Lucario acting crazy like everyone else?" Misty asked.

"Yeah, I can feel my Lucario having problems in its Pokéball, but yours doesn't even seem to be bothered by whatever's happening here." D. Shad added. "I think I know…" Ash said. "You do?" Riley asked.

"Lucario's using its aura to protect itself, isn't it?" Ash asked knowingly. "How did you know that?" Riley asked in shock. "It's kind of a long story, but I can feel its aura surrounding it." Ash replied. "You see, Ash has been able to sense when a Riolu or a Lucario is nearby with his aura, although we're not really sure how that works." Brock said. "Some people's aura frequencies match those of all kinds of Lucario; apparently Ash has that special frequency." Riley said. "Yeah, it's also a little nerve wracking at times." Misty sweat-dropped.

"Hey Riley, you didn't happen to see anyone else around here did you?" Ash asked. "Oh yeah! He's a young trainer named Barry! Have you seen him anywhere around here?" Dawn added. "Barry? Haven't seen him." Riley replied thoughtfully. "WE just gotta find him you guys! Who knows what kind of trouble he could be in?" Dawn said worriedly.

"Knowing Barry, probably a lot." Misty joked. Dawn huffed and got up to go look for the blonde-trainer. "Wait up Dawn!" Brock exclaimed. The teens plus Brad and D. Shad took off after Dawn, while Riley hung back for a moment. "He can sense aura…what do you think Lucario, could he be the one?"

Lucario grunted out a response. (We'll see.) "Well there's only one way to find out!" Riley and Lucario ran to catch up to the group, and in a few moments they were all together again. "Lucario, scan the area for danger please." Riley said. Lucario nodded and placed its hand on the ground once more, scanning the surrounding area with its aura. After no danger was sensed, the group pushed on. "So Riley, what can you tell us about what's going on?" D. Shad asked.

"According to our research, Lucario and I have discovered that there's a special low frequency sound wave covering the island that only affects steel-type Pokémon, and it's having an adverse effect on the bodies of every steel-type here, which we figure is why their senses and demeanor have been altered." Riley explained. "Maybe that's why that Lairon didn't feel anything from Pikachu's 'Thunderbolt', its sense of pain is gone." Misty figured.

"But the way they're slamming their bodies into rocks and hurting themselves, they must be taking damage…I really wanna help all of 'em." Ash said determinedly. "We will Ash, just stay cool." Misty grabbed Ash's hand and held it as they walked, and the black-haired trainer's muscles relaxed a bit at her touch. Riley had looked back to see Ash's determination, and he smiled at the tender moment. "Riley, do you know the source of the wave?" Brock asked. "That's what we're working on now." Riley replied.

"Another question, what'll we do when we find the source?" Misty asked. "We stop it, no matter what it takes." Riley replied. Just then, a loud crash was heard in the distance. "Did you hear that?" Ash asked. "Sounds like something's going on!" Brock replied. "Come on!" Riley took off with the group following closely behind him and his Lucario. "Lucario, scan the area and find out what's going on!" Riley said. Lucario focused its aura and scanned as it ran, after a few moments; Lucario roared a battle-cry and picked up the pace. "The low frequency sound waves must be coming from up ahead!" Riley yelled.

Lucario grunted a few more times, trying to relay its message to Riley. "You're saying that someone's up there too? Quite a few of them as well!" Riley said. "I'm getting a bad feeling about this!" Ash said. "Ash, you don't think it could be Team Galactic again do you?" Misty asked. "I dunno Mist, but if it is we need to be ready to take them down!" Ash replied determinedly. "How are you holding up Lucario?" Riley asked. Lucario nodded at its master to reassure Riley that its aura was still effective against the sound waves.

The group eventually made their way to the edge of a canyon, and upon looking down, they saw a huge ruins. "What's that?" Ash asked. "Looks like some sort of ruins." Brock replied. "Look down there, it's those losers again!" D. Shad growled. "You were right Mist, it's Team Galactic!" Ash said. "That means this place must have something to do with the time-space legend." Brock said. "When Lucario was sensing a lot of people it must've been sensing Team Galactic!" Ash added.

"Who are Team Galactic?" Riley asked. "They're trying to uncover the legend of Sinnoh time-space, and they're apparently going after Dialga and Palkia." Brock replied. "Incredible…so this must be the source! The low frequency sound waves causing all the trouble! They have to be coming from these ruins!" Riley said. "Did you know these were here?" Misty asked.

"No, I had no idea that ruins made out of a metal-like substance even EXISTED on Iron Island!" Riley replied. "I'll bet Team Galactic discovered them and dug them up!" Dawn said. "No doubt about it." Riley replied. "Those freaks are gonna pay for this, just wait until I…" D. Shad was quickly cut off when Lucario pointed towards a strange object.

"What? You must be sensing great power! Focus your aura and find out as much as you can!" Riley said. Lucario channeled all of its aura towards the object, so much so that its aura became visible for the entire group to see. "Whatever that thing is, they're about to do something with it!" D. Shad said.

Commander Mars, who had apparently been put in charge of the current situation by the Team Galactic leader, picked up the strange artifact and held it up to a huge pillar. The artifact glowed and mystically rose out of the Commander's hands and placed itself into the pillar. Then suddenly, the pillar began to glow in a bright blue light, and then the two statues of Dialga and Palkia followed suit, eerily glowing and making strange sounds as the artifact did its work. And then things got even worse, as the tip of the pillar blasted a huge beam of light into the sky and landed at an unknown location. "Don't look at it!" Misty shouted.

"It's blinding! What is it?" Dawn cried. "It's gotta be the work of that thing whatever it is!" Brad shouted. Just then, Lucario got knocked backwards by an unseen force and fell on its back with a pained grunt. "Lucario! You alright?" Riley shouted worriedly. Slowly Lucario got back to its feet, but now Ash was cringing in pain. "Ash what's wrong?" Misty asked. "I dunno…but it's coming from Lucario!" Ash replied through grunts. The group looked at Lucario, and just for a brief moment its aura flashed. But instead of the gentle light blue, it was a viciously dark purple, bordering on black. The aura eventually dissipated, as did Ash's pain, but it was obvious that Lucario was far from alright. "No, not Lucario too!" Dawn said fearfully.

Finally, Lucario totally snapped. It charged up an 'Aura Sphere' and aimed it at the group. "Lucario stop!" Ash yelled. "LUCARIO!" Riley charged to get in front of the group, just as Lucario fired. An explosion took place when the sphere made contact, but for some reason the group was left unharmed. "What happened?" Misty asked. "It's an aura." Ash said, referring to the blue shield that had just enveloped them. "But how?" Dawn asked.

"You can work with auras too Riley?" Brock asked. "The truth is I've been training as an aura guardian with Lucario." Riley replied. "But why is Lucario acting that way? Lucario's been protecting itself with its aura right?" Dawn asked, as the group watched the steel/fighting-type hold its head, growling and grunting in pain and anguish. "Something far more powerful than Lucario's aura is coming from the ruins…TOO powerful for Lucario to protect itself against!" Riley said. "Something sure is, you think that giant blast of light could be the culprit?" Brad asked knowingly.

"Maybe not the light itself, but the energy FROM the light could be it!" Riley said. Just then, D. Shad's communicator started beeping. "D. Shad here!"

"David, can you hear me?" a faint voice crackled. "Cynthia is that you? What's wrong?" D. Shad asked. "I'm at the research center with grandmother and we've picked up extreme power emanating from your area! What's going on over there?" Cynthia asked. Before D. Shad could answer, the crazed Lucario charged forward with 'Bone Rush', slamming D. Shad's communicator off his wrist. "David, is everything alri…" Cynthia was abruptly cut off when Lucario destroyed the communicator and then moved in to attack the rest of the group. "Out of the way!" Riley yelled.

The group all dived in opposite directions as Lucario swung its bone around dangerously. "D, your gauntlet! Use it quick!" Brad shouted. "I can't! If I miss, Lucario will bust that up too!" D. Shad replied. "Lucario, return!" Riley attempted to return the Aura Pokémon to its Pokéball, but the beam narrowly missed its target, and Lucario swung its bone and sliced its Pokéball in two. Then he moved in on Riley and scored a direct hit on the aura guardian in training and knocked him onto his back. Then Lucario went in for the kill, totally unaware of what it was about to do. "Riley no!" Ash sprang into action and blocked the attack with his bare wrist, invoking a grunt of pain from the trainer. "Lucario, stop it!" Ash shouted.

Lucario stepped back and grunted, and the energy bone disappeared from sight, but now Lucario was putting itself under extreme pressure once more by trying to regain its senses. "Lucario, snap out of it!" Ash ran to grab the Aura Pokémon by the arm, while Brock stepped in and held its other arm. "You've gotta try and calm down!"

Misty and Dawn went to tend to Riley while Brad and D. Shad waited on standby in case Lucario broke free. "Riley are you alright?" Dawn asked. "Yeah…I'm fine." Riley groaned. "What'll we do? Lucario isn't strong enough to fight the energy!" Misty asked. "(Groan) Ash, Brock! Tell Pikachu to use 'Thunderbolt'!" Riley yelled. "Thunderbolt'? But Riley, Lucario's in pain!" Ash replied. "Do it for Lucario!" Riley shouted back. Ash groaned as his trainer instincts battled with what he knew had to be done. On the one hand, using 'Thunderbolt' on Lucario would probably ease Lucario's pain by knocking it out, but on the other hand, it might also further Lucario's pain on an extreme level. "Tell Pikachu to use 'Thunderbolt' while you can, hurry!" Riley shouted. "What are you waiting for Ash? Do it!" Misty added.

"But Misty…" Ash was cut off by Brock. "You gotta do it Ash!" he said. "Brock, you too?" Ash asked. "I know how you feel, but you've got no choice!" Brock replied. Ash hesitated, and then came up with an idea. "Yes I do! Maybe I can use my aura to calm Lucario down!"

"No Ash, don't do it!" Riley shouted. It was too late, Ash tensed his body to try and exert aura, similarly to how he had done it when he assisted Sir Aaron's Lucario in saving Mew and the Tree of Life. But as Ash's aura reached Lucario's, Ash roared in pain and released Lucario, rolling on the floor in searing pain. D. Shad took over in grabbing Lucario's arm, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from Ash screaming in pain. "Ash, snap out of it!" Misty cried. "That's what I tried to warn him about! If I could use MY aura to calm Lucario down I would, but I knew that if my aura were to connect with Lucario's, I'd start to feel the same pain it's going through!" Riley explained. "Isn't there any way to snap him out of it?" Brock asked. "We've gotta try and cutoff the connection somehow!" Riley replied.

Now it was Misty's turn to step up, she rushed over to her boyfriend and lifted him off of the floor and onto his feet, shaking him desperately. "Ash, come on! Come out of it!" she cried. Ash couldn't even hear her cries, the pain he was feeling was far too intense, the trainer ripped Misty off of him and knocked her to the ground, then reached for his head in anguish. Misty looked down at her elbow and saw the cut the fall had left her, but she wasn't ready to give up just yet. Her best friend, her boyfriend, was in pain and nothing was gonna stop her from helping. "Misty be careful! There's no telling what Ash will do like this!" Brock shouted. "Should we have Pikachu use 'Thunderbolt' on him?" Brad asked. "No! A 'Thunderbolt' would be too much for him to handle! He's not a Pokémon!" Riley exclaimed.

"I just know I'm gonna regret this." Misty ran up to Ash, held him still for just a moment, and gave him a sharp slap against the cheek with all her might, leaving a large red, hand-shaped mark on the trainer's cheek. Ash immediately stopped groaning and fell onto his knees, crying from the horrible and blindingly searing pain he had just been put through via aura connection. "Ash, it's ok, you're ok now." Misty said soothingly, holding the sobbing trainer close to her body. "Misty…oh Misty it was horrible! It felt like I had been thrown in a furnace and it just kept getting hotter and hotter!" Ash hiccupped. "Shh, it's ok now." Misty cooed.

"Is that what Lucario's going through?" Dawn asked, as the group's attention was diverted back to the roaring Aura Pokémon who now had Brad holding it as well. "Hey we can't hold this guy here much longer, if someone's gonna do something do it quick!" Brad shouted. "Pikapi!" (Ash!)

"You too Pikachu?" Ash asked. "Ash, I know you're hurting, and I know you don't wanna hurt Lucario, but if you don't do something now we'll all be hurting!" Misty said. Ash looked Misty dead in the eyes and nodded. Wiping his eyes and forcing himself to his feet, Ash shouted out his orders, "Alright Pikachu, use 'Thunderbolt' on Lucario!"

Pikachu fired, and the Aura Pokémon took the full brunt of the shock, along with Brock, Brad, and D. Shad who got slammed onto the ground along with Lucario. "That's gonna leave a mark." Brad groaned. But the Aura Pokémon barely felt the attack and quickly got up and charged towards the canyon. "After Lucario!" Sucking up the pain in his legs and pretty much his whole body, Ash took off running after the Aura Pokémon who was sliding down the cliff to attack Team Galactic. The others quickly followed. The Aura Pokémon jumped onto a lower ledge and then slid down further. "Those steel-types are so annoying. Purugly, chase it away!" Mars ordered. Purugly and an army of Golbat confronted the Aura Pokémon, who in its insane state of mind was unfazed by the sheer numbers against it. Lucario jumped up and fired an 'Aura Sphere', but the Golbat easily dodged and launched a barrage of 'Shadow Balls' at the Aura Pokémon, then Purugly met Lucario in midair and slashed with a powerful 'Fury Swipe', slamming the Aura Pokémon against a crane.

"Lucario!" the group had seen what had happened and were extremely concerned for the safety of the Aura Pokémon, who despite being in intense pain and in a state of totally insanity, still managed to inadvertently point out to the humans the source of the trouble by desperately reaching a vengeful paw out towards the machine before fainting. "Riley, we gotta do something!" Ash was about to start a one man assault on Team Galactic when Riley held him back. "Not so fast! Let's destroy that machine first!"

"Do you think that machine is the reason the steel-types are in such agony?" Brock asked. "Not sure, but if Lucario went after it with such a vengeance, it's got to be worth a try!" Riley replied. "Sounds good, let's give those knuckleheads a beating they won't forget!" D. Shad said determinedly. The group took off, leaping over a small hole in the ground on the way, but they stopped in their tracks when they heard Dawn cry out. "Oh no, Piplup!"

The small blue penguin fell down the hole expecting to feel the sharp pain of the ground below, but was surprised to find that he fell into someone's arms. "Whoa, Piplup?"

"Barry?" Dawn exclaimed. "What do you know? Hey Dawn!" Barry replied from below. "He remembered my name!" Dawn thought excitedly. "New twoipette?" that voice belonged to the Team Rocket trio who had apparently been trapped the same way as Barry. "What's Team Rocket doing down there?" Dawn wondered. "It's a long story, get us out of here!" Barry exclaimed. "Right! Hey guys, I found Barry!" Dawn said.

"Is that who you're looking for?" Riley asked. "That's him. Is he ok?" Ash asked. "Of course I'm not ok! I've been trapped in a pit for the past hour!" Barry shouted from the hole. The group sweat-dropped at Barry's outburst. "Don't worry Barry, I'll get you out!" Dawn exclaimed. "You want some help?" Misty asked.

Dawn shook her head, "Don't worry, we'll be fine, you just go on ahead!" she said. "Right, then you take care of Barry!" Ash took off running again. "But not too good." Misty joked. Dawn made a face at the water-trainer and pulled out a rope and tied to a rock before throwing it down. "What a gal!" Jessie said happily. "Quick, grab on!" Dawn exclaimed.

Barry grabbed onto the rope at exactly the same time Team Rocket did. "What are you doing?" Barry asked them. "What you're NOT doing!" Team Rocket replied. Dawn sighed exasperatedly, "Look it really doesn't matter who goes first so SOMEBODY just…huh?" the ground Dawn was kneeling on began to rumble violently, the coordinator turned around just as the ground behind her burst open thanks to a surfacing Steelix. The rock the rope was tied on shattered and the coordinator fell backwards and into the hole, screaming as she fell. The group quickly turned around when they heard Dawn's cry. "Oh no!" the group rushed over to the hole as fast as they could, while Dawn made a rather painful land, but the one in pain wasn't Dawn.

"I'm gonna fine you for falling on me!" Barry said angrily. Once she realized who she was sitting on top of, the coordinator blushed and quickly got up. "Sorry Barry." she said bashfully. "You're lucky I'm such a nice guy, I'm letting you off the hook just this once." Barry replied. But before Dawn could even speak up, the rampaging Steelix began wiggling its way down into the hole to attack. "It's a Steelix!" Barry exclaimed nervously. "Straight at us!" Dawn added.

"No matter what happens old chums we're all in this together!" James huddled together with his two Pokémon in the corner. The group ducked when the Steelix made its strike, but when they opened their eyes they saw themselves being covered by an aura shield once again, and the Steelix fighting to get through it. "Riley, great!" Dawn said with relief. "I give. Who's Riley?" Barry asked. "Who cares who he is? He just saved our necks!" Jessie exclaimed.

"Riley, you need help?" Ash asked. "I'll take care of this but meanwhile you guys go take care of that machine!" Riley replied. "I'll stay here just in case, good luck guys!" Brad added. "Alright Riley, you got it!" Ash exclaimed.

"Staravia, I choose you!"

"Misty calls Staryu!"

"Sudowoodo, let's go!"

"Luxray, let's get the fun started!"

"We'll distract Team Galactic; you go and blow that machine to bits!" Brock exclaimed. "Sounds like a plan to me, let's show them our ultimate power!" D. Shad added. "Right, good luck you guys!" Ash said. Brock and D. Shad took off immediately, but Misty waited a moment in order to plant a quick peck on Ash's cheek. "Good luck to you too."

Ash held up a determined fist and nodded at his girlfriend, and then Misty nodded back and took off after Brock and D. Shad with Ash not far behind. The group slid down the canyon, and of course Mars quickly spotted them. "Not them! What do they want? Don't let them get any closer!" Mars sent out her Pokémon army to attack the group, and the battle for Iron Island began.

On his way towards the machine, Ash caught the unconscious Lucario in the corner of his eye. "Just hang in there Lucario…Staravia, take Pikachu and get going!" Staravia swooped low to the ground and the electric mouse jumped onto the bird's back and started flying, but they were quickly swarmed by a mob of Golbat.

"Alright Sudowoodo, knock down those Golbat with 'Double-Edge'!"

"Staryu, help out with 'Swift'!"

The two Pokémon leaped up and attacked, Sudowoodo slammed its rocky body into a swarm of Golbat, while Staryu launched a flurry of stars at the flying/poison-types. "Alright Luxray, 'Discharge'!" D. Shad's Luxray launched a blast of blue electricity that shocked numerous Golbat all at once, "Alright Luxray, time to take down that ugly Purugly!"

While the Pokémon battled it out, Staravia and Pikachu closed in on their target. "What are they doing…now I know what they want! Headquarters this is G2, there's a problem!" Mars shouted into her mini two-way. Somewhere in the Sinnoh Region, the message was picked up by Commander Saturn. "Roger…I regret to inform you that Mars has reported level E as having trouble."

"Grr…it's HIM." the leader growled. Back at Iron Island, Staravia and Pikachu were mere feet away from reaching their target. "Now Pikachu, 'Thunderbolt'!" Pikachu leaped off of the bird's back and fired a furious bolt of electricity at the glowing machine, but the attack never reached its target as three Golbat got in the way and sacrificed their consciousness for the sake of the machine. "Stop them Purugly!" Mars ordered. Responding to its master's orders, Purugly stopped battling with Luxray and leaped up towards Staravia and Pikachu with its claws extended for 'Fury Swipes'.

But the cat missed as Staravia gracefully swooped out of the way and headed for the machine again, but they were quickly swarmed by Golbat once again. "Staravia, take 'em down with 'Brave Bird'!" Ash ordered. Pikachu leaped off so Staravia could go through with the attack, and the super-powerful flying-type move barreled through all of the Golbat at once. "What? No way!" Mars looked up and saw Pikachu bearing down on the machine from above. "Not on your life! Purugly, 'Iron Tail'!" Mars ordered.

Purugly leaped up to attack Pikachu, but was quickly knocked back down by Sudowoodo and Luxray. "Thanks guys!" Ash shouted. "Alright Ash, let's blow that machine to smithereens!" Misty exclaimed.

"Staryu, use 'Water Gun'!"

"Pikachu, use 'Thunderbolt' on the 'Water Gun'!"

The two Pokémon fired their attacks, and the electricity conducting water struck the machine dead-on. "No!" Mars shouted. The machine's destruction triggered a chain reaction that knocked down one of the metal pillars and sent the strange key flying into the air. "Grab it quick!" Brock yelled. D. Shad jumped for the artifact, but one of the stray Golbat swiftly snagged it and flew back over to Mars and dropped it in her arms. "As long as we have this, we'll be fine." Right after she said that, the pillar fell completely, and the strange glow that had been shining all over the island immediately dimmed, finally ending the steel-types' agony and pain.

"T-They stopped glowing." Barry said. Not only did the carvings stop glowing, but the Steelix that had been attacking them slowly backed off and looked around with confusion, along with Lucario and every other steel-type on the island. "Looks like that machine really was the cause!" Ash said. "We did it!" Brock said. "Thank goodness." Misty sighed.

The group in the pit breathed a sigh of relief when the Steelix left peacefully. "Looks like Ash, Misty, and Brock did it!" Dawn said. "They did what? What are you talking about?" Barry asked. "Let's just say that everything's alright with Empoleon now." Dawn replied. "Well, that's a relief." Barry said.

"Alright that's one crisis over with; now let's take care of Team Galactic!" D. Shad exclaimed. Just as he said that, Riley came running up with Lucario. "Lucario, you're alright!" Ash said. Lucario nodded affirmatively, "You found the source and destroyed it; all the steel-types are back to normal." Riley said.

"Retreat at once!" Mars ordered. The Team Galactic grunts saluted their commander and ran off down into the ruins, coming up again minutes later. "We're not letting them get away this time!" Ash growled. "Right!" the group followed Ash towards the Team Galactic helicopters that had just landed, and they reached them just as Mars boarded the last one. "Stop Team Galactic!" Ash yelled. "What are you doing here, what do you want?" Riley demanded. Mars hesitated for a moment, but when she did turn around she held a handheld trigger in her hand. "Alright, come any closer and I'll blow up the entire island."

"Blow it up?" Ash yelled. "You wired everything with bombs?" Brock asked. "That's crazy! You've gotta be bluffing!" Misty added. "Lucario, find them all!" Riley whispered. Lucario focused its aura to scan for the bombs, while Mars gave her monologue. "I'm not bluffing, I don't bluff. We don't NEED your world so we're simply gonna destroy it, understand?"

"What do you mean OUR world? There is no other world!" D. Shad shouted. "Maybe not yet, but very soon. Meantime, I'll press this when I feel like it. I hope you enjoy running." Mars backed into the helicopter and closed the doors, and the chopper started up and flew into the sky. "Those jerks…I'm going after them!" Ash reached for Charizard's Pokéball, but Misty quickly stopped him. "Don't even think about it Ash, if you chase her down you'll come back and find us extra crispy!"

"Well we've gotta do something!" Ash growled. "We will!" Riley said. "Riley, you found the bombs?" Brock asked. "No, Lucario did! The explosives are all located directly below the ruins, but since you all saved Lucario and all the other Pokémon, I would say it's OUR turn now!" Lucario nodded to agree with his master.

"Lucario and I will find a way to take care of those bombs, so you guys go and help your friends!" Riley said. "Right! Good luck Riley!" Ash said. The group split ways with Riley and Lucario running underneath the ruins, and Ash, Misty, Brock, and D. Shad running towards the pit. "Lucario, how many explosives are there?" Riley asked. Lucario scanned the area, and groaned nervously. "Oh man…I can't even count them all! Mars said she'd destroy the island and she was serious!"

"You guys done shaking the island around?" Brad asked jokingly, as he saw his friends run up. "Actually the shaking's just getting started!" D. Shad replied. "What's that supposed to mean? You gonna have Golem use 'Earthquake' or something?" Brad asked. "We're not kidding Brad! The whole island's been wired with bombs!" Misty exclaimed.

"What? Dealing with a bomb's the last thing we need!" the group in the pit shouted. "Are they crazy? B-Bombs? Well what're we gonna do? We gotta do something!" Brad panicked. "Get ahold of yourself Brad, Riley and Lucario are on it, let's just worry about getting them out of the hole!" D. Shad said.

"I've got an idea! Chimchar, come out!" Ash called out his adopted fire monkey who excitedly awaited command. "Can you use 'Dig' to make a tunnel?" Chimchar acknowledged and began digging down into the ground to make an underground path for the group to crawl out of. "Great idea!" Dawn exclaimed. "Good tinkin' twoip!" Meowth added. But the tunnel idea would prove to be ineffective as Chimchar quickly came back up moaning in pain with its hands swollen from digging. "Chimchar, are you ok?" Ash asked worriedly.

"The ground must be too hard to dig through." Misty said. "Digging our way out's not gonna work." Brock added. "Sorry Chimchar. Return." Ash returned the small fire-type to its Pokéball for some much needed healing. "Aww, it was a good idea too." Dawn moaned. "Maybe Charizard can fly down and pick them up like an elevator." Misty suggested. "That won't work either, Charizard's wingspan is too wide and they won't be able to get out of the hole." Brock replied.

"Gah, my kingdom for a rope." Brad grumbled. But just then, two green rope-like vines popped out of the hole. "Hey, that's 'Vine Whip'!" Barry said. "Wow! You learned how to use 'Vine Whip'! Crafty Carnivine!" James exclaimed happily. "Funny, that normally doesn't work that way." Brad chuckled. Carnivine had heard its master's distress and stepped up to the plate by learning 'Vine Whip' to get them out.

"Whatever, we'll take it! Charizard, Grotle, pull up Carnivine now!" Ash called out his two strongest Pokémon, Charizard grabbed onto the vines with his claws while Grotle bit down on the ends and jerked back, pulling Carnivine up and out of the hole. "Yeah, good job!" Ash exclaimed. "Alright, now let's get everyone out of there!" Brock said. Carnivine turned towards the hole and started pulling people and Pokémon out, starting with Meowth and James. "Anyone hurt?" Brock asked. "Just a cat-scratch on da arm, no big deal." Meowth replied.

"Here, lemme help you." Brock sat Meowth down and sprayed his arm with a Super Potion antiseptic. "There, that'll do it." Brock said. "It pains me more ta say thanks." Meowth moaned. "You're doing great Carnivine, keep it up!" Ash said. Carnivine continued using its newly grown vines to pull out Piplup, Mime Jr., Dawn, Barry, and finally Jessie. "What's the big idea pulling ME up last?" Jessie hissed. "We're nicer than you are." Barry stuck his tongue out at the female Team Rocket member, who just face-faulted in response to that comment.

Meanwhile, Riley and Lucario were down below in the ruins, trying with all their might to pull the explosives out of the walls. Unfortunately, the members of Team Galactic were thorough professionals, and they had placed them far too tightly for them to be pulled out. "It's on too tight…we've got one chance to pull this off…prepare yourself Lucario." Riley went into a sort of meditative state, and Lucario followed suit, channeling and strengthening their aura for the task they would soon be forced to take on. Within seconds, the bombs' fuses glowed red, signaling the explosions were about to take place. "Now Lucario!"

"It's blowing!" Ash yelled, as the whole island suddenly started shaking. "What about Riley?" Brock asked. "Everybody get down!" D. Shad roared. The rumbling increased in intensity, and for a moment it seemed that Riley and Lucario had failed to destroy the bombs and were already dead, but then mysteriously, the island stopped shaking, leaving the group to wonder in shock. "What happened?" Dawn asked. "Did…did Riley manage to stop it?" Misty added. "But how is it possible?" Brock asked.

Just then, Ash felt a twinge in his head. "It's aura…" he said. "What did you say?" Misty asked. "They're using their aura to stop it somehow!" Ash replied.

Ash was right. Down below in the ruins, Riley and Lucario had formed a huge aura shield around the increasing destructive power of the explosives, "Come on, keep it up Lucario!" Riley strained. Lucario growled with determination as it tried to keep its aura focused, but the increasing power of the explosions were beginning to take a toll on the aura guardian in-training and his Pokémon. "We can't give up Lucario; the whole island is depending on us!" Riley grunted.

"What's happening down there?" Misty asked. The group heard a muffled explosion, which gave the group a fright. Then Ash felt another twinge, and he suddenly felt a surge of adrenaline flow through him. "I can help them…I can help them!" Ash slid down the canyon and ran for the ruins. "Ash, come back! Are you out of your mind?" Misty cried. The whole group, excluding Team Rocket continued to call out to Ash to try and bring him back, but Ash ignored each and every voice in his head, even Misty's desperate cries were faint at this point. "There's no turning back now!"

"It's getting hard to hold this thing!" Riley grunted, as his feet slid against the dirt from the outward force the explosions were putting on the aura shield. Just then, Ash appeared and saw the huge ball of aura with what seemed like a hundred different explosions inside, all detonating inside. "Riley!" Ash ran up to the shield and stared in awe.

"Ash what are you doing here? Get out of here NOW!" Riley ordered. "No way Riley! I sensed Lucario's aura and you guys need help, so I'm gonna help!" Before Riley could retaliate, Ash held out his hands and tried to recall what he had done back when he saved the Tree of Beginning. "Alright, here goes!" Ash tensed every muscle in his body at once, and tried to focus extremely hard on exerting his aura in an attempt to assist Riley and Lucario. Slowly but surely, Riley felt slight relief in the aura shield, and he looked at the young trainer who was now grunting and groaning just to exert his aura, let alone hold back the explosions. "He must be the one."

Riley grunted as he felt one last detonation inside the shield. "Alright that's the last of them!" he roared. "So now what?" Ash asked, his muscles beginning to weaken from the strain. "There's only one thing left to do…we have to get this away from the island now!" Riley replied.

"What? But this thing is huge! How are we gonna do that?" Ash asked. Ash was beginning to feel more than intimidated by the task at hand. He knew that if he were to falter now, Riley and Lucario wouldn't be able to hold the shield for much longer than a few seconds since all three of them together were just barely able to keep the sphere formed around the explosions. But Ash also felt his strength leaving him, he was already down to his last bit of energy and it was fading fast, he wouldn't be able to hold out for much longer.

"Ok here we go guys! Throw it straight up!" Riley roared. Ash sucked up all his fatigue and weariness, and remembered that if he succeeded his friends would live, and he simply couldn't fail them, especially Misty. With a determined and almost desperate roar, Ash, Riley, and Lucario threw the aura shield through the roof of the ruins, and sent it flying up into the sky. "Don't give up Ash! We're almost home free!" Riley shouted. "I won't!" Ash's muscles felt like they were on fire now, and the pain was enough to make a grown man cry, but the lives of his friends kept him from giving up or even letting up the slightest bit.

"Look at that!" Barry shouted. The group gasped in shock as they watched the huge sphere of aura fly up past them and into the sky. "Were those the explosions?" Misty asked in disbelief. "How is that even physically possible?" Brock added. The sphere went up into the sky, shining in the setting sun as it went further and further up. "Riley…I can't anymore!" Ash cried, as tears began to flow from his eyes. "You can't give up now Ash, just a little more!" Riley encouraged. Even Lucario was grunting in agreement, trying to keep Ash from giving up.

With one final roar of anguish, Ash pushed his body to the limit for one last push of aura. Alright, let it go!" Riley shouted. Ash fell to the ground and panted with utter exhaustion and looked through the roof on his back, and saw the explosion take place with no one injured. Ash closed his eyes and pasted a small but exhausted smile on his face. "I did it…I did it."

"(Sigh) Location location." Team Rocket sighed with relief. "But where's Riley and Lucario?" Barry asked. "And where's Ash?" Misty asked worriedly. Dawn looked through the smoke and saw three figures, one was being held in Riley's arms. "Look, over there!" Dawn pointed out the trio from the smoke, and watched in awe as Riley grunted and groaned on his way to the spot they were. When Riley finally reached them, he dropped Ash to the ground and almost went down himself, but Brock and Brad managed to keep him on his feet. "Riley are you ok?" Brock asked. "Yeah…I'm ok, check on Ash." Riley said, his voice barely a whisper.

Riley was too tired to notice that Misty was already doing that, as she held her boyfriend's head in her arms, but she looked up at Riley when Riley started talking again, "He came and used his aura to help us, but he totally exhausted himself in the process. One thing's for sure, that kid's got a lot of determination in his heart to pull off what he did." Riley said. Misty looked down at Ash again, and felt him start to stir in her arms. "Ash?"

Ash slowly opened his eyes and looked up at the redhead leaning over him and smiled. "Déjà vu at the Lavender Tower." he laughed lightly. Misty smiled and embraced Ash lightly so as not to hurt him, and Ash wearily wrapped his arms around her waist and used her support to sit up. "You crazy idiot, next time you wanna go and play hero, give us a little warning." Misty laughed with relief. "Riley, you guys used your aura to do that?" Dawn asked. "That's right. You know, those bombs were powerful. We probably wouldn't have been able to pull it off if Ash hadn't come to help us." Riley said.

"That's my Ash." Misty flipped Ash's hat off and mussed his hair, getting a playful laugh from him. "Well all's well that ends well." Brock said. Just then, the group heard a Skarmory flying by, and when they looked around, they saw a whole bunch of steel-types of all shapes and sizes thanking them for helping them and saving their island. "Well there you go Ash, you did it." Misty said. "(Sigh) Thank goodness." Ash replied.

"Hey, anybody seen Team Rocket?" Dawn asked. The group looked around and saw a Magikarp submarine submerging into the ocean. "They're getting away!" Barry shouted. "Don't worry about it kid, they're just setting themselves up to fail again, and again, and again." Brad joked. The group laughed at Brad's joke, but then they saw a white helicopter landing over by where they were. "Who's that?" Barry asked. The group saw two familiar figures step out of the helicopter. "It's Cynthia and Carolina!" Ash exclaimed.

"Upon seeing them, the group ran over to them. "If it isn't the upstarts." Carolina joked. "Grandmother, please don't start." Cynthia replied. "Hey Cindy, what are you doing here?" D. Shad asked. "Well when we lost contact with you, we waited until the energy levels dissipated and came over here in the helicopter to see if you all were alright." Cynthia replied. "Not to mention we're interested in studying those ruins." Carolina replied.

"Y-You actually know the Champion of Sinnoh?" Barry asked in shock. "Yeah, we've run into her a whole bunch of times." Ash replied. "You…you…" Barry swooned and passed out, which brought sweat-drops from everyone. "Is he alright?" Cynthia asked. "He and Ash kinda have a little rivalry; he can't handle the fact that we know you personally." Misty laughed.

"Whoa, I had the strangest dream; I dreamt that the Champion came and that she knew you guys." Barry said, getting up again. "She does, see?" Misty pointed out. Barry looked at Cynthia and fell to the floor again. "Hey kid! It doesn't matter how many times you do that, reality isn't gonna change!" Brad shouted. "It was worth a try." Barry mumbled.

"So is everyone alright?" Cynthia asked. "Just a few bumps and bruises mostly, but we're ok now." Ash replied. "Thanks to Riley that is!" Dawn said. "Well, I definitely needed a LOT of help to do it." Riley chuckled. "So this is it is it?" Carolina asked. "Yep, it sure is." Ash replied.

"The Iron Ruins…they really exist…" Carolina signaled for more helicopters to land, and some of her assistants came out of the helicopters with equipment to study the ruins. "Please, come with us." Carolina requested. The group nodded and followed Carolina and Cynthia down into the ruins. "So this is what the inside looks like." Misty said in awe. "Kinda weird if you ask me." Barry replied. "She WASN'T asking you." Brad snickered. Barry growled quietly at the comedian in response.

Carolina activated her laptop and begin examining the destroyed Team Galactic machine, and the sensors plugged into the computer began inputting data into the computer's hard drive. "Fascinating! This machine is made up of the exact same substance as the meteors from Veilstone City!" Carolina said. "Does that mean they made it from the meteors they stole out of the park?" Dawn asked.

"Almost certainly…it's been said that Iron Island was originally an ancient meteor, long ago." Carolina said. "Meteor? Does that mean the Iron Ruins were made from a meteor too?" Riley asked. "I'd say so. Both the Iron Island Ruins and this machine are giving off a special frequency; these two frequencies must have resonated, creating a sound wave causing the steel-types to go crazy!" Carolina explained.

"So that's it! It's like when a Pokémon hears some things that humans can't, except this only affected the steel-types." Misty said. "You're a smart kid." Carolina said. "Thanks." Misty replied bashfully. "So you're saying that the entire island is made up of the same compound as the Veilstone City meteors?" Riley asked.

"Yes, that's right. Most likely Team Galactic was able to pinpoint the location of the Iron Ruins by using this…this machine as a radar…not only that…but it is also rumored to reveal the location of Spear Pillar, which is necessary to summon Dialga and Palkia into this world." Carolina explained.

"Spear Pillar?" the group asked. "Supposedly it's located somewhere in the Sinnoh Region." Carolina replied. "So that means we'll have to keep on our toes, right Cynthia?" D. Shad asked. "Right." Cynthia replied. "The name's Riley, isn't it? You seem like someone who's been on the island for a while. Would you able to give us a little assistance while we survey the nearby areas?" Carolina asked.

"Sure! I'm always interested in learning more about this island." Riley said. "Well as long as we're going to be working, Cynthia, why don't you take these kids back to Canalave for what I'm sure would be a much-needed rest." Carolina suggested. "Yeah, a rest sounds like a good idea to me." Ash chuckled. "Oh Ash, before you go, I wanted to give you something." Riley said. "Sure Riley, what's up?" Ash asked.

"Come with me everyone." Riley and his Lucario climbed out of the ruins, with the group, including Cynthia following. "So what is it Riley?" Ash asked. "You impressed me today Ash. You showed me great courage, you showed me great love for Pokémon and their world, and you even showed a proficiency in aura that I've never seen in someone so young. Most kids your age can't handle aura at all, and here you managed to control it under extreme pressure." Riley said.

"Well, I just wanted to help, ya know?" Ash said with his hands behind his head. "And you were one. Without you, and your friends of course, Iron Island wouldn't even be here right now. And so, in gratitude for helping Lucario and I save Iron Island…what do you think Lucario, is he the one?" Riley asked. Lucario looked at Ash and focused its aura, and it felt that Ash could feel its aura touching his. Lucario opened its eyes and nodded at Riley with a smile, confirming it. "It's official then. Ash, I would like you to have this." Riley handed Ash a Pokémon Egg, which Ash gladly accepted. "Gee, thanks Riley! What kind of egg is it?" Ash asked.

"Use your aura on it Ash." Riley said. Ash's smile suddenly vanished and was replaced with a surprised look. But he obliged and tried to exert his aura once again, and the egg slowly began glowing white. "It worked!" Dawn exclaimed. Ash put the egg down and watched in awe as the Pokémon entered the world. "Ash, look." Misty said in awe. The baby Pokémon yawned and stretched, as if it had just woken up from a long sleep. "It's a…Riolu." Ash gasped.

"That's right Ash, we've been on the lookout for someone who could be the owner of Lucario's offspring, I'm sure his mate will be glad to know that we finally found just the right person." Riley said. Ash smiled widely and knelt down in front of the brand new Pokémon. "Hey there little guy." he said gently. Riolu looked at Ash and cringed in fear, which surprised Ash. "It's scared of you." Barry snickered. "Should I use my aura to talk to it?" Ash asked. "My thoughts exactly." Riley replied.

Ash gently grabbed Riolu's paw and began focusing his aura. When the baby Pokémon felt Ash's aura, it instinctively closed its eyes and started focusing its own aura. "Wow look at that! It knows how to use aura even from birth!" Dawn said.

"You see Riolu? I'm your friend, and so are all these other guys. I'm glad to have you as my new Pokémon and I know that we'll be the best of friends."

Ash and Riolu simultaneously opened their eyes, and the baby Pokémon immediately cried out happily and embraced its new master and friend. "Nice to meet you too Riolu." Ash said happily. "Well Ash, it looks like you have yet another life that's been born by meeting you." Cynthia said. "Yeah Cynthia, and I'm gonna make sure to take great care of Riolu, thanks a lot Riley!" Ash said as he hugged his newest Pokémon. "Don't thank me; it was you who earned Lucario's trust." Riley said. "Hey I've got an idea! Let's introduce Riolu to some of its new friends!" Misty suggested.

"Great idea Mist!" Ash said. Misty and Brock both reached for Pokéballs, and Azurill and Happiny emerged soon after. "Meet some of your friends Riolu!" Ash said. Riolu hopped out of Ash's embrace and said hello to the two Pokémon, who happily said hello back. "Hey I wonder what moves it knows." Ash pulled out his Pokédex and scanned Riolu. "This Riolu can use 'Quick Attack', 'Foresight', and 'Endure'." the Pokédex chirped. "Hey that's great!" Ash exclaimed. "And he's so cute too!" Dawn squealed. "Cute's an understatement, he's adorable!" Misty added. Riolu squealed happily at the affection from the two females.

"Hey! Don't I get a Riolu too? Having a super strong Lucario would really help in gym battles!" Barry exclaimed. "Sorry, but Lucario's mate only had one egg, maybe next mating season." Riley replied. Barry hunched over and sighed. "This just isn't my day."

The group laughed at Barry's misfortune, and together they headed back to Canalave via helicopter for a good night's sleep. The next morning, Brad, D. Shad, Barry, and Cynthia all came out to the dock to say goodbye to their friends once again. "So where are you off to now?" Cynthia asked. "We're headed to Chocovine Town for my next contest!" Dawn replied. "And what about you Ash?" Barry asked. "Me? I'm thinking Snowpoint City would be my best bet." Ash replied.

"Hey sorry we never threw you that party, but things got hectic." D. Shad said. "No worries D. Shad, getting to have Riolu is way better than any party." Ash said. Riolu, who was on Ash's opposite shoulder, squealed happily in response to that answer. "So I guess you're staying here?" Brock asked.

"Yep, I'm gonna stay here and work with Cynthia a little while on how to take down Team Galactic before they get too far." D. Shad said. "And I'm staying because I'm stuck here until D gets his mind off of Cynthi – I mean his work and takes me home." Brad added jokingly.

"Hey Brad, why don't you let that cut under your nose heal?" D. Shad said. Brad snickered mischievously at that comment. "Well, it sure seems like you guys got caught up in something really complicated." Barry said. "Yeah Barry, I guess we did, but my goal is to win the Sinnoh League get it? So getting my next badge and starting some training with Riolu is all I'm thinking about!" Ash replied.

"You sound like me, but I'm doing lots of training, you just make sure you're in the Sinnoh League!" Barry exclaimed. "No problem! Just make sure you make it too!" Ash replied. Just then, the ferry to Chocovine blew its whistle. "Well that's the last call for passengers." Brock said.

"Well I guess this is so long, good luck Barry!" Dawn said. "You take good care." Brock added. "And you guys take care of yourselves too." Misty said. "No worries, we'll be a'ok, and if you need us, we're just a phone call away…but try not to call too soon ok?" Brad joked. The group got one last laugh before Brad walked back to the Pokémon Center.

"Well Cynthia and I have some research to do, see you around." D. Shad said. "Don't you mean you and CINDY?" Brad shouted. "Brad I hope you like donating blood through your nose!" D. Shad yelled threateningly. "Don't worry David, I trust them, you won't tell anyone right?" Cynthia asked. "Cross our hearts!" Misty replied.

"Hey Ash, if you happen to run into Paul, tell him that there's a powerful opponent waiting for him! And if you don't I'll have to fine you." Barry said. Ash sweat-dropped, "Yeah, right." He said. "Seeya, and take good care of that Riolu so I can battle it one day." Barry extended a hand to the black-haired trainer, who gladly accepted the friendly gesture.

The group boarded the ferry and they were soon on their way, as they waved goodbye to their friends and headed to Chocovine Town. And now with a brand new Pokemon under Ash's belt, the excitement is sure to build for them. But in the back of their minds they know that Team Galactic is out there somewhere, getting ready to rock the Sinnoh Region to its core. What happens next? Only one way to find out.
_

A/N: And there you have it! I would like to personally thank all those lucky guessers who figured it out ahead of time for keeping it quiet. The winning Pokémon is Riolu! Which means only one thing, things are gonna get exciting with an aura Pokemon in the team! Also, I lol at Brad's sense of humor. xD Not one of his real skits mind you, but I figured a comedian wouldn't be able to resist lol. Well guys, hopefully I'll be able to update quickly again, but things are beginning to get hectic and finding time to write is getting hard. Don't worry, I'm not giving up on this by any means, but I'm just saying don't be surprised if a few updates come a lot later than usual. Also, I would like to say this, for those of you who review anonymously, I do appreciate the reviews you give me, but I would love to see you guys get actual accounts so I can send you messages saying when the next updates are. I think I got everyone, but if I missed someone please let me know. Hey, the eighth Pokémon has been revealed! If you guys read this chapter, please let me know what you thought of the choice and what you thought of the chapter! In other words, REVIEW! See you guys next time!