Chapter 109: Trials of the Soul

"Snowy, Hakamo-o, Cubone, Sobble, Cyndaquil, I choose you!"

"Glaceon, Flareon, Espeon, go!"

Lillie's Pokemon were surprised to be facing Ash's, but Lillie remained steadfast. Pikachu leapt from her shoulder, ready to fight to bring back his best friend.

"Alright guys, I know this looks bad, but it's the only way to save Ash! Cyndaquil, Ember on Decidueye!"

"Flamethrower, Flareon!"

The two fire types launched their attacks, only for Dragonite to get in the way and take the attack for him, the flames barely eliciting a reaction from her.

"Dragonite, Dragon Pulse!"

Dragonite launched a blast of draconic energy at them, their Pokemon just barely able to jump out of the way.

"Hakamo-o, use Brick Break on Zoroark!"

"Lillie, don't!"

But Hakamo-o had already crossed the gap and tried to hit Zoroark, only for it to phase right through him, surprising Lillie.

"Zoroark, use Shadow Claw!"

Unimpressed, Zoroark swiped his claw across Hakamo-o's chest, sending him flying into a wall and knocking him out.

"I don't get it, that should've been super effective! I thought Zoroark was a Dark Type?"

"Maybe in your time, but in Hisui they're Normal and Ghost types, meaning FIghting type moves are useless!"

"Give up, you two! You'll never win!"

"Go, Mismagius!"

"Typhlosion, I choose you!"

Dawn's Typhlosion was different from most Typhlosion Zoey had seen. Instead of a ring of red fire around his neck, the flames were purple. And instead of a ferocious smirk on his face, a look of total indifference was sported.

"Zoey, be careful! Typhlosion in Hisui aren't just Fire Types, but Ghost types as well!"

Zoey narrowed her eyes in concentration, taking the new information in.

"So that means they're on even ground? Alright then, use Shadow Ball!"

"Infernal Parade."

Mismagius's Shadow Ball hit Typhlosion, but the attack barely seemed to faze him in the slightest. Once the attack was finished, Typhlosion roared, sending out several ghostly fireballs that hit Mismagius head on, knocking her out in one hit, much to Zoey's shock.

"Incredible…one hit was all it took?"

"Now do you regret accepting my challenge?"

"Never! Go, Gastrodon! Use Water Pulse!"

"Overheat."

Typhlosion roared, sending out a ring of fire that evaporated the Water before it could hit him before hitting Gastrodon, dealing a lot of damage even though it was resisted.

"Aw man, this isn't good. I hope the others are doing better than me."

They weren't.

"Vaporeon, Water Gun!"

"Bubble, Oshawott!"

"Pyro Ball, Cinderace!"

"Earthquake, Steelix!"

All of the attacks connected, but Heatran just shook it off, charging forward with Flame Charge.

"Steelix, protect the others!"

Steelix wrapped around his teammates, providing a wall to shield the others from Heatran's charge before bouncing him back. Unfortunately, even in his Mega Evolved state he still took a big amount of damage, while Heatran still remained at large.

"It's not stopping! It's like a machine!"

"What's it doing here, anyway? I thought this was Uxie's place?"

"I don't know, but if we don't do something fast we're toast!"

"Espeon, use Psybeam on Decidueye! Glaceon, use Ice Beam!"

"Snowy, use Powder Snow!"

Once more, the two launched their attacks at Decidueye. This time they managed to get through, but Deciduye barely reacted.

"Triple Arrows!"

Decidueye took to the skies and flapped his wings, sending out a barrage of arrows to strike Snowy and Glaceon, throwing them back into a wall.

"Snowy!"

Lillie quickly ran over to her starter to make sure she was alright. She was awake, but could barely stand.

"No more fighting for you, get some rest."

"Vul."

"This is bad," Irida said. "We can't even hit them, how can we win?"

"You can't!" The Azelf-controlled Ash sneered. "You're too weak, just leave."

"Never!" Lillie said. "Not without Ash!"

"Oh? And why would he want to be with a useless damsel like you?"

"What did you say?"

"You heard me! I've looked into this boy's memories, and I've seen everything that's happened since he met you. All the times he had to save you, all the times you came running to him. The first time you met, he had to save Nebby because you're too much of a coward! Why would he want to remember you when you've done nothing but cause him pain? Wouldn't it be better to leave him here so that he can find someone who can take care of themselves?"

Pikachu growled, ready to pounce on Ash for saying such things, but Lillie interjected.

"It's true that Ash is always saving me…and maybe I'm not as strong as him…"

"Yes?"

"But even if he didn't love me, I can't leave him here! Too many people are counting on me to bring him home! His mom, his Pokemon, Brock, Everyone back home depends on me! Even if he never remembers me, even if he doesn't want to remember me, I have to do it for them! So if I have to fight all of your Pokemon myself, then bring it on!"

For a moment, no one said anything, Azelf considering Lillie's words. At last, his eyes glowed, as did Ash's, before the teen slumped over.

"Ash!"

Meanwhile, Zoey was having her own issues. She had finally managed to knock out Typhlosion, but at the cost of Gastrodon. Now her Gallade was fighting a Hisuian Lilligant, which she knew was part Fighting type thanks to Professor Laventon, and losing. Despite his type advantage, Lilligant was too fast to be hit, and hit even harder.

"How does it feel to be utterly crushed? To have no chance of victory? Now you know how Dawn feels!"

"What're you talking about?"

"You never noticed? Every time you beat her, she felt devastated! All of her ribbons, her accomplishments, her titles, and she could never beat you. No matter how hard she tried, she always felt second place. Now you know how it feels to be in her shoes!"

"You're lying! She-"

"How dense can you be? She hid it as best she could, but it eats her up inside day in and day out! Maybe she's better off without you, because some friend you turned out to be!"

Zoey stood still for a moment, contemplating her next words.

"Gallade…stand down."

Gallade was confused, but obliged, Lilligant ceasing her attacks as well. Bravely, Zoey began to approach Dawn, to the confusion of her friends.
"What's she doing? Zoey, are you mad?"

"Let her go, Rei. Something tells me she has a plan."

"Dawn, if you can hear me, then please listen. I'm sorry I never noticed how you felt. I never thought of you as beneath me. In fact, I'm jealous of you. I'm jealous of your ability to come back, to think quickly on your feet. I could never come up with some of the performances you think of! You're amazing Dawn, and…I love you. And if this doesn't snap you out of it, then may Mespirit strike me down!"

And before Mespirit could react, Zoey kissed Dawn right on the lips, to everyone's amazement.

Brock cringed as his Steelix was knocked out, the constant barrage of attacks finally too much for him to handle. Meanwhile, Heatran still wasn't fazed by their attacks.

"I don't get it, how can none of our attacks work?"

"It's like Heatran isn't even in the same room as us!"

It was then that Goh noticed that despite the room being completely lit, Heatran didn't have a shadow.

"Guys, look! Heatran's shadow is missing!"

"Hey, he's right!"

"I don't get it, how can that be?"

"Maybe he's not real," Adaman offered.

"It's real enough for our Pokemon," Chloe countered, her poor Oshawott being the next to suffer Heatran's wrath.

"Maybe he's on to something," Brock mused. "I bet if we take out all of the torches, he won't be able to attack us anymore!"

"Do you think it'll work?"

"I don't know, but we're out of options. Go, Swampert! Use Hydro Pump on the torches, take out as many as you can!"

"Vaporeon, Water Gun!"

"Mud Slap, Eevee!"

"Mud Shot, Cinderace!"

Quickly, the four Pokemon got to work, hitting as many of the torches as they could. Heatran tried to stop them, but with every torch that went out he seemed to grow weaker.

"It's working!"

"Keep it up!"

Faster and faster they went, easily knocking out the torches while Heatran grew too weak to stop them. Finally, the last torch went out, plunging the room into darkness.

Then, all was silent.