Long one today, hope you enjoy.
Chapter 27
Ash sat on a small hill close to where the Battle Tower was built. He needed some fresh air, so he snuck out.
As soon as they were outside Ash had to inform Pikachu of what his mother had told him.
Before he did though, he collected Pikachu from the Pokémon infirmary. His loyal best friend was sitting right beside him looking up at Ash with concern.
He wished Ash could understand when he spoke so he could say some words to make him feel better but instead he settled on snuggling into his arm.
"Thanks Pikachu." Ash forced a smile as he petted him.
Ash stared straight forward at the landscape. The side of hill he chose to sit on faced the forest. He could see the damage from Team Rockets attack from here.
It seemed like everything was just slowly piling on Ash and now that he learned about his father it felt like he was about to collapse under the weight.
He lost friends and now he learned that he will never get to sit face to face with his father. He would never have those conversations he wished he could have.
For his whole life, Ash never had a malicious bone in his body. He wanted to be a nice person that people could get along with and depend on.
But in the past couple days, Ash has found his line.
He felt true hate for Drew in that forest for what he did to May, he could never respect Kenny for how he treated Dawn and Ritchie showed his true colours trying to kill him out of basic jealousy.
Now if he saw Red in front of him right now, he wouldn't know how he would be able to keep from snapping.
"Ash?" A voice called in surprise from behind him.
He turned around to see Dawn stood behind him.
"Dawn, what are you doing here?" Ash asked, trying to hide his facial expression from his friend.
"What's wrong?" Dawn asked as Ash cursed in his head realising that he failed.
Dawn sat down next to Ash, she couldn't really see his face as it was covered by the brim of his hat, but she could sense hurt in his voice.
"Come on, talk to me." Dawn encouraged with a friendly smile.
"You know how my mother called?" Ash started with a shaky voice as Dawn nodded. "Turns out she had some bad news."
"What was it?" Dawn asked, her smile fading slightly.
"Well, to put it bluntly," Ash spoke in a monotone voice. "My Dad is dead and Red was the one who killed him."
Dawn's heart broke for her friend. She has known Ash for years and she could always tell that he wanted to meet his father one day, even though he knew it wasn't likely. Now that dream was taken away from him.
"I'm so sorry Ash." She whispered, putting her arm around him. Ash was always there for her when she was starting her journey and now it was her turn to help him in his time of need.
"Ash, I know things look bleak right now and you have every right to be sad and angry, but I want you to know that as long as we are here with you we will help you get through this."
"I appreciate that Dawn." Ash choked. "But I'm not sure how much that can help me."
Dawn recognised the pain Ash was going through all too well. It wasn't long ago that she was in his shoes.
"Ash I was 9 years old when I lost my father. I was devastated, me and Mom barely left the house. I was due to start my Pokémon journey soon afterwards but I just couldn't. How could I go out into a world that was cruel enough to take a father from his little girl?"
At this stage Dawn was failing to hold back tears. They flowed freely down her face and caused little droplets to dampen her skirt.
"I thought I wasn't going to be able to get past it. Even when Mom made me go collect a Pokémon I had no plans on travelling. But then I met you and Brock and everything changed. You gave me the strength to continue in a world that I never saw myself in. You're like my big brother Ash, and you have all of us around you to help you like you helped me."
Dawn took a deep breath, she let out a lot of emotion just there in the hopes that Ash would trust them like they did him.
Ash lifted his hat slightly, Dawn could finally see his face and she saw the extremely rare sight of Ash crying.
"I don't know if I'm strong enough to keep going Dawn." He admitted.
"Ash Ketchum if there's one thing I never doubted about you it's your strength. I know you have the fortitude to continue. And even if you fall, we are all right behind to pick you up." Dawn emphasised.
Pikachu was nodding furiously from his trainers lap, hoping he would understand that what Dawn was saying was true.
"Thank you." Ash told them. Dawn and Pikachu could see a shadow of a smile from under his hat. "I still don't know if I can but you two have helped me enough to make me think it's possible."
A smile then broke through Dawns tears. She didn't receive the grand breakthrough she wanted but she was happy Ash at least could see a way forward through the pain.
Dawn gave Ash a quick hug and Ash returned it.
"Happy birthday by the way." She told him.
"Oh yeah, I forgot again after everything that's happened." Ash laughed. "I actually think nearly everyone else did too, you and May are the only two to wish me a happy birthday."
"Don't worry I'm sure nobody forgot about it really." Dawn said smugly.
"What do you mean?" Ash asked suspiciously.
Dawn became paranoid that Ash was beginning to figure it out. Did she say too much?
"Nope never mind. Everyone must have forgot." She shook her head vigorously. "Just definitely don't go to the cafeteria."
"Why? Ash asked curiously.
"Eep. Don't ask why." Dawn panicked. "Anyway, completely unrelated I have to go now. Meet us at the front door at 8! No reason."
Dawn then ran off at a surprising speed leaving Ash and Pikachu to look dumbfounded at each other.
"Come on buddy, let's head back." Pikachu hopped up onto Ash's shoulder and he ran after Dawn.
May was fidgeting with her hair for the past twenty minutes. She wanted to look as best as she possibly could for tonight. This was their first full night as a couple and she wanted it to be perfect.
"I wonder if Serena is around to give me a hand." May stood up and stretched. She made her way towards the door and was just about to open it when she heard a rap from the other side.
"Please be Serena." May said aloud as she swung the door ajar.
"Not quite, but I'm a close second I hope." Gaz smiled from the other side.
"Oh, hey Gaz. What's up?" May greeted. "Are you any good at styling women's hair?"
"Unfortunately no, I'm a man of few talents." Gaz told her.
"Useless." May joked.
"Shut up." Gaz laughed.
"What brings you here?" May asked.
Gaz pulled his X-Tranceiver from out of his pocket.
"I got a call from Professor Sycamore, he asked me to find you then call him back." Gaz explained.
"Professor Sycamore." May asked in confusion. "How does he know me?"
"Let's find out." Gaz replied as he dialled up the Kalos Professor. After a couple of rings he answered and Sycamores holographic face appeared.
"Ah Gaz, thank you for calling me back so soon." Sycamore smiled. "Were you able to find May?"
"Yep, she's right here." Gaz told him as he tilted the device so the professor could see May.
"Hello Professor, it's so nice to finally meet you." May waved. "I've heard so much about you."
"Pleasure is all mine May." Sycamore insisted. "I'm sure you're wondering why I wish to speak to you this evening."
"I have no idea if I'm honest." May admitted.
"Don't worry it's good news at least." Sycamore assured.
"We could use some of that." Gaz muttered.
"I had a call from my good friends Professor Oak and Professor Birch. Oak advised me that you recently found a Mega Stone for your Blaziken." Sycamore continued.
"I did." May confirmed. "I can't use it yet though."
"Because you don't have a Mega Ring correct?" Sycamore asked and May nodded to confirm. "Well today is your lucky day."
"What do you mean?" May asked.
"Well in order to get a Mega Ring to achieve Mega Evolution a regional professor has to sign off on it." Sycamore enlightened them. "That way those with nefarious means don't get their hands on them. Of course there is the odd amount that fall through those cracks, but I digress."
Sycamore then began to smile widely.
"Luckily for you May, both Professor Oak and Professor Birch were full of praise for you and I am happy to grant you a Mega Ring."
"Oh my Arceus." May gasped. "Are you sure?"
"Very sure." Professor Sycamore replied. "They both told me that your bond with your Pokémon was superb and you would not use this ability for any dubious reasons."
"I won't Professor, and that's a promise." May said emphatically.
"I believe that 100 percent." Sycamore grinned. "Now May, we are big fans of contests here in Kalos, despite not having a circuit of our own, so you do have a small bit of a reputation over here."
"Is it good?" May asked tentatively.
"It is." Sycamore laughed. "A lot of people have different ways to wear their Keystone for Mega Evolutions. We just always call them Mega Rings as they were the original. As you see with Gaz's, people have them in all different parts of accessories."
May instinctively glanced at Gaz's sleeve on his arm, which she knew held his Keystone. As May looked at his arm, Gaz shifted uncomfortably.
"A lot of my assistants in the lab are big contest fans and they advised me on how to design according to your style. I hope you'll like it."
"I'm sure it's perfect." May beamed.
"I'll send it through the Battle Towers transfer system. Just scan your Pokédex there and it will come right through." Sycamore explained.
"Thank you so much professor, I don't know how to thank you." May said gratefully.
"Don't worry about it." Sycamore waved out. "Gaz can you take it from here and teach May about how to use it."
"Sure thing." Gaz nodded.
"Alright, I shall say my goodbyes then." Sycamore continued. "Au revoir, stay safe."
With that Sycamore's holographic face disappeared from in front of the pair of teenagers.
"I can't believe I get to use Mega Evolution." May cheered happily. "Come Gaz, let's go. I can't wait any longer."
She sprinted out of the room at a speed Gaz could barely comprehend.
He finally caught up to May at the transfer machine located just outside the Battle Tower training area.
"What took you so long?" May asked annoyed.
"I took the scenic route." Gaz said sarcastically. "Go on, scan your Pokédex and let's see."
May took a deep breath. She withdrew her Pokédex and placed it on the scanner. Almost immediately a mass of white aura began to form in the machine.
The energy began to form and soon it manifested into a black hairband with a jewel in the centre.
"It's beautiful!" May gushed, her eyes sparkling with joy.
"I think we found the solution to your hair issue you were talking about earlier." Gaz laughed.
"Yeah, it doesn't really go with my outfit though." May then looked as if she was hit with a moment of inspiration. "I have an idea! I'll be back in a second."
Again May disappeared with almost inhuman speed.
"How the hell does she do that?" Gaz wondered aloud.
He was waiting ten minutes before May returned. He was surprised to see that May had completely changed from her usual red attire.
May was no longer wearing her red blouse ensemble and instead swapped it out with an almost identical black one. She also chose to wear a pair of white shorts instead of her usual black pair. Sitting on her head was the new hairband containing the Mega Keystone.
"Now I feel like I'm ready to go." May pumped her fist.
"Good to hear." Gaz smiled. "So, are you ready for a practice battle to test out Blaziken's new power?"
"You're on." May accepted, they still had some time before Ash's party was set to begin.
"Let's head to the training field out the back, someone is using the indoor one." Gaz's statement was confirmed by the sound of an explosion from the indoor grounds.
After a short walk Gaz and May stood in the middle of the outdoor practice field.
"I wish we could've battled on the official field where Ash won his badge." May said wishfully.
"Me too but I think they're just for official battles." Gaz enlightened. "We're just going to have a short spar between your Blaziken and my Absol to ease you both into Mega Evolution. Is that okay?"
"It is." May confirmed. "Shall we get started?"
"Let's go." Gaz smiled as he and May took opposite sides of the field. Gaz picked a pokéball and tossed it through the air. As the ball was mid-air it opened and his Absol appeared.
"This is just going to be a sparring session for you Absol, but still be on your toes." Gaz warned as his Pokémon nodded in return. "Alright May, send out your Blaziken."
"Okay, Blaziken I choose you." May theatrically threw one of her pokéballs and Blaziken emerged, growling his own name.
"Blaziken, are you ready to try out your new power of Mega Evolution?" May asked, her first Pokémon looked back and gave her a firm nod.
"Okay, Mega Evolution is easy in theory but hard to actually pull off the first time." Gaz began explaining. "Don't worry though, it gets easier with time."
"Okay, so how do I do it?" May asked.
"You have be touching the Keystone and appreciate within yourself the bond you have with your Pokémon." Gaz told her.
"What the hell does that mean?" May asked bewildered.
"Honestly I don't know either. That's just what was told to me." Gaz admitted. "What worked for me is I tried to remember how important my bond with my Pokémon is to me."
"Oh okay." May realised. "I'll try that."
May touched the Keystone on her hairband and concentrated hard.
"Okay, Blaziken. Mega Evolve!"
Gaz and Absol waited with bated breath. Blaziken was also waiting in suspense on the change that was expected in him.
After about half a minute there was no change.
"Okay let's try something else." Gaz suggested.
May stopped her concentration and let out a big breath.
"It's been a while since I had to concentrate that hard." She admitted.
"I have a different idea." Gaz exclaimed. "How about you think about a memory. Was there a day where you realised just how important your Pokémon were to you? Or you realised how much you love all Pokémon in general?"
May thought hard and eventually discovered something within herself that might just work.
"Okay, I got one." She shouted to Gaz.
"Great, give it a try." He encouraged.
May closed her eyes and began to concentrate again. She remembered just after she chose her first Pokémon and she didn't really know what to do. She didn't even want a Pokémon, she just wanted to travel.
But soon after Ash taught her just how great Pokémon can be. He helped her realise the beauty, power and grace of Pokémon and helped her to build an everlasting bond she couldn't live without.
Gaz was waiting in suspense. He gave it 20 seconds in his head and was about to call it when the Blaziken in front of him started to glow brightly and change.
"Whoa." Gaz gasped at the new form of Blaziken.
The parts of Blaziken's body that were red were now black and the formerly yellow parts were now an orange that resembled the dusk sky. The cream mane that used to flow behind him was now split and stuck up behind his ears. Instead of two antennas, Blaziken now had one in the middle of its head. He stood with one leg raised in the air and a trail of fire flowed behind him.
"We did it." May shouted in awe of her first Pokémon's new form. "Blaziken you look so cool! Our contests are going to be even better now."
Blaziken looked back at May gave her a powerful growl.
"Well done May, great job." Gaz praised.
"Thank you." May replied, taking deep breaths. "I can't lie though, this is tiring."
"That's normal for the first time don't worry." Gaz assured. "As you Mega Evolve more often things will get easier, it will become natural to you."
Gaz closed his eyes and pressed his fingers to his Keystone. Right in front of May and Blaziken Absol began to transform.
"Wow, a Mega Absol." May stared in wonder.
Absol's tuft of hair on his head grew and flowed in front of his face. The scythe on his head grew wider and he grew more hair on each of his legs. He also gained two wings that emerged from his midsection.
"It'll become as simple as that soon." Gaz informed her.
"You could almost sense how much more powerful both Pokémon have gotten." May noticed.
"You're right." Gaz nodded. "Just so you know since you're both just starting to Mega Evolve, you can't do this every battle just yet. It will drain the two of you too much."
May took a mental note of all the information that Gaz was throwing at her.
"Okay are you ready for a short spar?" Gaz asked.
"I was born ready." May replied determined.
"We can't afford our Pokémon getting hurt with this Team Rocket raid coming up, so this is just for you to gauge Blaziken's power." Gaz explained. "So when I'm attacking just ask Blaziken to dodge and me and Absol will do the same."
"Will do." May assured. "Okay Blaziken, start with a Blaze Kick."
Blaziken rushed forward at a tremendous speed that completely shocked May. Before she knew it he first Pokémon was about to bring down his flaming knee on Absol.
"Dodge it." Gaz commanded and immediately his Absol gracefully rolled away at an impressive speed itself.
"Okay Absol, try a Shadow Ball." Gaz suggested. Absol charged a a ball of dark purple energy and shot it at Blaziken.
"Move out of the way." May shouted and Blaziken dodged with incredible speed.
"Okay Blaziken, come back here and try a flamethrower."
Her first Pokémon followed her command and appeared right in front of her seemingly faster than before.
"Whoa, you're so fast." May admired.
"That's Mega-Blaziken's ability." Gaz shouted from across the clearing. "It's called Speed Boost. His speed increases after every turn."
"That's so cool." May cheered, with sparkles in her eyes. "Okay, try that Flamethrower."
Blaziken took a second and then released a Flamethrower attack. This wasn't an ordinary Flamethrower though as the flames released were higher and hotter than anyone predicted. Even Blaziken was surprised, not used to his own new strength.
Gaz was in complete awe at the power of the attack, he panicked seeing the attack coming straight at Absol.
"Dodge it." Gaz shouted quickly.
Absol barely moved out of the way of the attack. Behind where Absol stood was a lone tree. The Flamethrower hit it and set the tree ablaze.
Gaz was close enough to feel the heat and impact of the trees combustion. It knocked him ground and he looked up at the inferno in fear.
"Gaz are you okay?" May asked, but the Unova native seemed frozen in fear. There was no chance of the fire spreading so he was safe so May found it odd that Gaz was as scared as he was.
Even odder Gaz's Absol jumped between him and the tree as if to protect him.
"Wartortle, help me out." May yelled as she brought out the water type. "Can you put out that fire with a Hydro Pump?"
Wartortle nodded and shot a thick jet of water at the blazing foliage. After about a minute of the steady stream the fire was completely extinguished.
"Good job Wartortle." May praised as she returned her Pokémon into his ball.
Once the flames were out Gaz seemed to come to his senses. He pushed himself to his feet and dusted himself off.
"Thanks for putting that out May." Gaz said, not looking at her. "Sorry I don't know what happened to me there, I panicked."
"It's okay, no problem." May said sincerely. "Are you sure you're alright?"
"I'm fine don't worry." Gaz failed to assure. He finally looked up and May could tell by his eyes that he was shook up. He was also fidgeting with his sleeve a lot.
"We should probably call it a session there." Gaz interrupted her thoughts. "Don't want to cause any further damage."
"Good idea." May agreed, still worried about Gaz. "Thank you so much for helping me with Blaziken."
She glanced back to see her Pokémon had reverted to his regular form.
"Hey, Blaziken changed back." May noticed.
"Probably reverted once the battle was over, Mega Evolution isn't permanent. It only lasts as long as the battle." Gaz informed.
"Oh okay." May noted all the information Gaz told her today in her mind. "We should get back and make sure everything is okay for Ash's party. Plus, I'm meant to meet him at the front door and lead him in."
She thanked her Blaziken and returned him as Gaz done the same with his Absol.
"Sounds good." Gaz replied. "Shall we head back?"
"Sure thing." May nodded as she led the way back to the door to the Battle Tower.
Gaz took one last glance at the scorched tree behind him. The acrid smell of smoke violated his nose just as unpleasantly as that day years ago.
He adjusted his sleeve one more time before following May back.
