Chapter 11: Lord of the Woods

Wyrdeer galloped through the woods towards Lord Kleavor's dwelling place. Ash and May rode on his back, their mind focused on the task at hand.

"Do you think we can calm him down?" May asked.

"I hope so," Ash said.

"Pi," Pikachu piped up from his shoulder. May could only nod in agreement.

"I wonder if Kleavor's behavior is related to why Arceus asked to come here," she said, but before her husband could respond she felt a wave of nausea come over her. Ash, sensing her discomfort, gestured for Wydreer to stop. The minute he did, May climbed down and began retching into a bush, Ash climbing down to comfort her. After a minute, she stopped.

"You alright?"

"As well as I can be."

Ash nodded in understanding.

"May, I know nothing I can say will convince you to go back to the village, and frankly I feel safer with you here. But we don't know what awaits us when we get there. So please be careful."

May smiled, and gave him a hug.

"Don't worry, you can't get rid of me that easily, Ketchum!"

Ash chuckled, and gave her a big kiss.

"I wouldn't dream of it. Now come on, let's show this Noble Pokemon how we do it in Hoenn!"

With that, the loving couple climbed back on to Wyrdeer and set off once more.


Half an hour later, they reached the Grandtree Arena, where they found Akari and Kenny already waiting for them.

"How did we beat you guys here?" Kenny asked, bewildered.

"Morning sickness," May groaned, and no further questions were needed, and Lian began his explanation.

"Lord Kleavor is far too powerful for any Pokemon to fight at full strength. If you want to calm him, you'll need to distract him with those balms before you dare to send any Pokemon against him."

"Be careful you four," Irida said. "I don't know what's gotten into him, but Lord Kleavor is as powerful as he is kind. Good luck, and thank you."

The four of them nodded, and cautiously entered the arena.


The forest was quiet, not a single Pokemon in sight.

"Well, this is ominous."

"Kleavor! Are you there? We've come to help!"

For a minute, all was silent. Then, they heard a loud screech coming from deeper in the woods, followed by rustling. Before long, a large, golden Bug type with sharp axes for arms appeared, letting out a tremendous roar.

"I take it that's him."

"Alright guys, get ready."

Kleavor charged,arm blades swinging wildly. The four of them barely had enough time to jump out of the way before he crashed through.

"Damn, Irida wasn't kidding."

"Alright then, let's hope this works!"

Each of them took out a balm and threw it, the balls striking Lord Kleavor and enveloping him with the aromas of his favorite foods. This calmed him down momentarily, but he was soon right back to charging blindly at them.

"It's working!"

"Keep it up!"

Kleavor, too frenzied to understand they were trying to help, swung his arms about wildly as they pelted him with balms. In his frenzy, he crashed right into a tree, disorienting him for a minute.

"Alright guys, now's our chance! Pikachu, Iron Tail! Oshawott, Aqua Jet!"

"Rowlett, Leafage!"

"Bidoof, Water Gun!"

"Iron Tail, Pikachu!"

While Kleavor was distracted, their Pokemon swooped in to smack some sense into him. Oshawott rammed into him with a burst of water, Bidoof backed him up with Water Gun, Rowlett flew up above and pelted him with Leaves, while Ash and Kenny's Pikachu's pounced on him and struck him with their tails. These attacks proved effective, but only temporarily, as Kleavor soon got back up and slapped them all away with Air Slash, nearly knocking them all out at once.

"Fall back, everyone!"

All of their Pokemon leapt back just in time to avoid Kleavor's wild swings, his sharp blades slicing a tree clean in half.

"Alright then, looks like its back to Plan A!"

While Kleavor continued his rampage, the quartet continued to pelt him with balms. Kleavor hissed, swinging his arms around wildly in an attempt to swat them away. One hit him right in the eyes, blinding him. Unfortunately,it also served to only fuel his fury, his sharp blades now swiping blindly at the air.

"Uh, guys?"

"Everyone stand back!"

Kleavor roared, lashing about wildly as everyone ducked for cover. Everyone except for Dawn, who was frozen in fear. And unfortunately for her, Kleavor was headed right for her.

"Akari, look out!"

Kenny rushed forward, pushing Akari out of the way. Unfortunately, his arm got badly slashed in the process, causing him to drop to the ground.

"Kenny!"

"Pika!"

Before Kenny could get hurt further, his Pikachu ran launched an Electro Web at Kleavor, ensnaring Kleavor and giving Dawn a chance to pull him away.

"Guys, that web isn't going to last forever!"

"Then we need to make this count!"

As Kleavor struggled to break free, they began pelting him with even more balms, causing Kleavor to snort and grunt in confusion, though he did seem to be calming down."

"I think it's working, guys!"

Ash took the last one, and took a deep breath.

"Let's hope this works."

With one last mighty heave, he threw it into Kleavor's mouth just as the noble broke apart the web, covering him in a purple mist. Once the mist had died down, the golden glow around Kleavor faded away, and the noble slumped over in defeat.

Everyone waited with baited breath, unsure of what Kleavor would do nex. At last, he opened his eyes, glanced around, before sighing and retreating back into the woods.

"Is it over?"

"I think so."

Just then, Kenny gasped in pain as he stumbled, making everyone rush over to him.

"Aagh, my arm!"

"It's pretty scratched up, we need to get him back to the village!"

"Right!"


Wyrdeer was able to get them there in record time, and Kenny was rushed to the medical corps tent. Luckily, the nurse was able to save his arm, though Kenny didn't much like the process of stitching it up.

"Ow. Ow. Ow."

"Hold still, will you! There, that should do it."

Kenny breathed a sigh of relief, allowing his arm to relax.

"Thanks, Pesselle."

"You're welcome. Just try to take it easy, and we'll remove them in a month."

Ash, May, Dawn, and Irida came into the tent.

"How're you feeling?"

"Arm's a little sore, but other than that I'll be fine."

Before anything else could be said, Akari flew over to his side and punched him.

"Ow! What was that for!"

"You idiot, you could've been killed!"

"I did it to save you!"

Akari sighed, and gave him a big hug.

"I know, I just…I feel awful. If I hadn't froze, you wouldn't be in this mess."

Kenny sighed, and returned it.

"Don't. I did that because you're my fried, and friends look out for eachother."

"I know, just… just be careful."

"I will."

"You'll be happy to know that Lian has informed me Kleavor has returned to normal," Irida informed him. "The four of you have done a great service for Hisui, and I am in your debt."

"All in a day's work, Ma'am."

Irida bowed and left, leaving the four friends to their thoughts.

"So what happens next?" May asked.

"I don't know," Akari said, "But hopefully we'll get a normal mission."

But none of them had very high hopes.