First I'd like to say thank you again to everyone who has reviewed, following and favourited my story. I means a lot to me.
I've got a slight adjustment to make from the note on my first chapter, I've got Misty as being two years older than Ash when she's the same age. So even though she hasn't appeared yet when she does she will be 21 like Ash. The reason i had Misty older than Ash is because I thought she was older than Ash.
I finished this chapter a lot faster than I thought I would, I'm going to let you in on a little secret as too why. I've been writing while I've been in work, please don't tell anyone, I spend quite a bit of time waiting for stuff to come to me so I spent the time writing.
I'm going to answer a few question that I've gotten in reviews, I've meant to do it before but my memory is a bit scattered. At the moment I won't be introducing any Gen 6 pokemon I might do when I know more about them, I've decided which electric types Ash is going to have but you'll have to wait and see what they are, I know that Ash's shoulder is injured but that will be dealt with in the chapter and finally I know that my chapter are long I'll try to shorten them a bit but I can't promise anything I know what I want in each chapter and they will be as long as they need to be.
I'd like to say Thank You to Rose Duchess to the advise as well.
One more thing before we get to the chapter. I thank everyone for the praise they have given me but I have to say that to kalel201125 that I am not the best fan fic writer on this site.
Now enough from me, lets get on with the story.
Chapter 6
Graduation Day
While Riley was talking to Ash, Queen Ilene had been wondering who the guest that came with Ash could be. She then noticed that there was a girl and a Meowth stood next to her advisor Henry, she beckoned them both over and as the girl got closer the Queen recognised her face but couldn't remember where from. As May walked towards the Queen, Meowth walking alongside her, they stopped in front of the throne May curtsied and Meowth bowed slightly. Henry bowed to the Queen as well, he was about to introduce May when the Queen interrupted by asking May a question.
"We have met before have we not?" May was shocked that the Queen seemed to recognise her.
"We have met before your Majesty. It was a few years ago during the Hero of the Year Festival. It was the same year that Ash won." May said. "My name is May Maple, I'm a Co-Ordinator."
"Ah yes I remember you now. You helped heal the Tree of Beginning."
"Not really, Ash did the hard work I just went along to help in any way I could." May said sheepishly, blushing slightly as she rubbed the back of her head. The Queen saw this and giggled slightly.
"I see that you have taken after my Guardian. You must have been travelling with him for a long time." May looked confused and asked what the Queen meant. "The way you are rubbing the back of your head. Ash does the same thing when he feels embarrassed." May blushed even more than before as she hadn't realised that she was doing it and at how much of an impact Ash had on her life.
"I did travel with him for two years around Hoenn and then Kanto Battle Frontier. Ash was the one who helped me become a Co-Ordinator, even though he didn't know what a Co-Ordinator did at the time. We only started travelling again about a week ago, I'm going to compete in the Grand Festival and Ash is going to compete in the Indigo League and this time we're both going to win." May said as she rambled embarrassingly.
"I trust that you are here for Rota's Contest then." The Queen said. May nodded.
"I wanted to come with as well but Henry said that you had only asked for Ash. When Ash said that I was coming with him, Henry protested then Ash said something about using his position in your court and ordered Henry to let me come." May said, the Queen looked shocked and turned to her advisor.
"Is this true Henry?" She asked. Henry nodded and told the Queen everything that happened, the Queen then looked back at May.
"You must be very special to Ash. He has never before used his title or position, in anyway, to have someone agree to his wishes." May turned to look at Ash who was still talking to Riley before turning back to the Queen. Why would he do something like that for me? She wondered. Feeling slightly awkward May decided to change the subject and asked about the Contest.
"It's the first Contest that we have held in Rota and the winner gets the Aura Ribbon, unfortunately I cannot show it to you now it is being held safely in the Royal Vault. The Contest will be held in a few days and will have a slightly different format to normal Contests. There will be a double appeal round where you need to use two Pokémon, then the battle round will only use one Pokémon. We also have asked a well-known exCo-Ordinator to come and be a judge." The Queen explained but before she could go further she was interrupted by a cry of pain.
A few minutes earlier
Riley was telling Ash what would happen for his graduation
"You have two days to prepare yourself in whatever way you wish, be it meditating, training or simply relaxing. As I said earlier you can't use your Pokémon or any offensive Aura, however you can use your Aura to defend yourself and to speed up your movement, for example you can use your Aura to move quicker so you are able to block or dodge an attack but you can't use it to speed up your attacks or use Aura Spheres. Myself and Lucario are able to do this though, by tradition the graduation will have to be conducted bare-chested to show that we have no weapons, armour or Aura Crystals with us. You have to fight both your teacher and their Aura partner at the same time, you can't fight us at different times, the idea of the battle is to either knock your opponents out or remove them from the fighting area. The fighting area will be a twenty foot by twenty foot square, there will be posts stationed at the corners to show the borders and the student's Aura partner cannot take part. They are the traditions that have been around since the first Guardians and to graduate you have to abide by them. Come with me, we have some preparations to take care of. Where is your Lucario? I thought he would have walked in with you." Before Ash could answer, Riley clapped him on the shoulder causing Ash to cry out in pain and drop to his knees, torturous agony surging round his body.
"Pikapi!"
"Ash!" May ran to Ash's side and shot Riley a deadly cold glare. "What did you do to him?" She asked. Riley was in shock at the way May was looking at him and at how Ash had collapsed to the floor from a simple pat on the shoulder.
"I only clapped him on the shoulder, why is he in so much pain?" Asked the Aura Guardian. May then quickly told them how Team Rocket had kidnapped her, how Ash had come to her rescue nearly dying in the process from using too much Aura and how he had been bitten by both Arbok and Seviper. Riley knelt down beside her, while the Queen turned on her advisor, with fury burning in her eyes demanding an explanation from Henry as to why he had brought Ash here so soon after such an experience. Henry replied that he was unaware of how serious the injuries were and that he was following the her wishes of bringing Ash to Rota as soon as possible, while begging for forgiveness. None of this registered with May as she was only focussed on Ash, worry etched into her face as she talked in soothing tones, telling him he would be okay and that she was there for him, to try and help him through the pain but her words fell on deaf ears as Ash was fully consumed by the throbbing of his shoulder, his eyes not seeing May's face close to his as they were tightly closed in a useless attempt to shut out the pain. Riley tapped May on the shoulder.
"I can heal his shoulder but I need you to move back while I do it." He said not looking at May as he simply stared at the amount of anguish on Ash's face.
"Nurse Joy said that it would take the bite from Arbok a few days to fully heal but the one from Seviper would take longer because of the difference in the size of their fangs. How can you heal him?" May asked, Riley just gave a small smile.
"Nurse Joy doesn't know how to use Aura." He said cryptically moving forward slightly. Since the only people in the Throne room where himself, Queen Ilene, Ash, May, Henry and their Pokémon, Riley decided to stay where they were and conduct the healing process there. Most Aura arts were secret only Aura Spheres and Shields were known to be used by Aura Guardians but there were much more that Aura could do. "Ash, I need to remove your shirt so I can to heal your shoulders." Ash nodded slightly as Riley had spoken through his Aura so Ash could hear him while the trainer was trying to deal with the pain that pounded through his body. Riley quickly removed Ash's shirt and the bandages from the wounds. Riley lower Ash back down to the floor carefully trying not to cause any more pain before moving and kneeling by the top of his head. The Queen gasped and Henry went pale upon seeing the condition of the wounds on Ash's shoulders, Riley was taken aback by them as well but ignored the feeling of horror that sat on his mind and prepared himself for what the process of healing. He was about to tell May to step back again but when he looked at her he could see in her eyes that she wouldn't be going anywhere, she held Ash's hand and Pikachu who sat at Ash's side not taking his eyes from his best friend neither had any intention of moving. Riley closed his eyes and Aura started to glow around his hands, Riley's Lucario stood behind the Aura Guardian and placed his paws onto Riley's shoulders channelling his Aura into the healing process as well. Riley lowered his hands gingerly on to Ash's shoulders trying not to cause him any more pain, Ash flinched slightly but didn't cry out, Riley slowly released the breath he had unconsciously been holding and let his Aura flow onto Ash's wounds. Everyone watched as Riley's Aura drifted over Ash's shoulders passing over the injuries and causing the swelling around the bite marks to decrease and the punctures to slowly repair themselves. The process took a few minutes, the shoulder bitten by Seviper taking a little longer to heal then the other and when the process he finished Ash's shoulders showed no trace of the bite marks, as if they were never there. Riley slowly stood up feeling a bit unsteady, sweating slightly from the amount of energy he had used, he then helped Ash get up from the floor. When Ash was steady on his feet Pikachu jumped into Ash's arms squeaking happily.
"Don't move your shoulders too much for the next hour or so. You need to let the Aura settle otherwise you won't heal properly." Ash nodded and thanked his teacher and Lucario for their help. May was about to hug Ash but stopped herself when she realised that once again Ash had his shirt off so she looked away with a deep blush covering her face trying not to stare at him muscles.
"I am glad to see you are well once again My Guardian." Said the Queen. "Go to your chambers and rest until you feel your strength has returned." Ash nodded, bowed slightly and turned to leave before stopping and turning back.
"Henry said that you needed me to come back because there were problems that you would only discuss with me. What are they?" He asked.
"In due time My Guardian, in due time but for now recover your strength and prepare for your graduation, the reasons I called are not as urgent as Henry made you believe. I will have someone prepare chambers for your friend."
"There's no need for you to do that. I have plenty of room, May can stay with me." Ash said, the Queen smiled at him and saw a slightly flustered look on May's face.
"If that is what you wish My Guardian." The Queen replied.
Ash bowed to the Queen and started to leave with May and Meowth following behind him "One more thing My Guardian" the Queen started, waiting for Ash to turn back, an amused smile on her face "I would prefer it if you put your shirt back on, you would not want to become sick before your graduation would you and you know what happened last time you walked around the palace without wearing your shirt. You don't want a repeat of that do you?" Ash's face turned red and he handed Pikachu over to May so he could put his shirt back on. May made a mental note to ask Ash what had happened before once again curtsying to the Queen. "I will see you at dinner tonight and May is invited too." The Queen said, Ash nodded and left the Throne Room.
After Ash and May had left Riley turned to Queen Ilene.
"Your Majesty, is it wise for us to wait? With everything that has happened would it not be better to deal with the situation now?" Riley said causing the Queen to sigh.
"Guardian Riley, you know as well as I do that Ash possesses an extremely powerful Aura just as Sir Aaron did. To be able to deal with the situation Ash need to become a fully-fledged Aura Guardian with all of the privileges and abilities that come with the position and hope that he is the one that can solve this mystery." The Queen returned to her throne and sat down, "We can only hope that nothing happens before he graduates." She said solemnly. Riley nodded and bowed to the Queen, his Lucario doing the same as they retired to his chambers to rest and recover their strength.
As Ash and May exited the Throne Room Pikachu leapt out of May's arms and back on to his usual place on Ash's shoulder. Ash took his bag back from May, opening it to look for something, he put his hand inside and rummaged around before finding what he was after. "It's great that have you back were you belong Pikachu." Ash said looking at the electric type, "I didn't feel right without you on my shoulder." Pikachu responded by rubbing his cheek on Ash's and cooing happily, Ash then brought his hand out of his bag and showed Pikachu a small packet of Ketchup. Pikachu grabbed it, tore it open and started to suck the sauce out hungrily. May watched the scene and smiled warmly then she remembered what the Queen had said earlier.
"Ash, Can I ask you question?" She said playfully.
"Sure May, what is it?"
"What did the Queen mean when she said you don't want a repeat of what happened the last time you walked around the palace without your shirt on?" Ash thought for a few seconds, trying to hold back the blush that was creeping across his face, before answering her question as they made their way down a corridor to his chambers.
"Well, it was a little over a year ago I'd just finished some training alone at the edge of the palace grounds and my shirt was covered in dust and I was all sweaty so I decided to leave it off and walk back to my room for a shower." May watched Ash's face while he told his story and could see a look of confusion creeping into his features, "On the way I kept seeing women staring at me, I still don't know why, I must have had something on my face." May face palmed, at how dense Ash could be even now he was older. "Anyway I got back to the palace and saw the maids were doing the same thing, I got back to my room and tried to take my shower but the maids kept knocking on the door asking if I needed anything, it took me a couple of hours to take my shower because of them knocking on the door. Eventually I managed to finish getting clean and had to run to the dining room because whenever I'm here the Queen want me to have dinner with her and Riley. I was late and when I got there I told them what had happened, for some reason Riley started laughing when I said I didn't know why everyone was staring at me and why the maids kept asking if I needed anything. The Queen just smiled and said that she would tell the maids to let me rest after I've been training, after dinner I was walking back to my room and the maids were still staring at me." Ash laughed as he remembered something, "Some of them are a bit clumsy because they keep tripping over when they walk towards me and land on me, it still happens sometimes now. It has to be them because I've never tripped on the carpets. The next day the Queen told me she had talked to them and since then I've been able to take my showers in peace, though they still stare at me every now and then, some even ask if they can come and watch me train but it's not allowed, Aura Training is supposed to be a secret that only Aura Students and Aura Guardians know." May could feel a boiling pit of jealous in her stomach after hearing how the maids were acting and made a promise to make sure they didn't 'trip' by Ash again. May linked her arm around Ash's and leaned on him, carefully so she didn't put too much stress on his shoulder, when he looked at her she smiled and said.
"There's a Contest here so we need to be a couple again, in case we meet any other Co-Ordinators." Ash nodded and kept walking to his room arm in arm with May but in the back of his mind he wondered why he felt happier now he had linked arms with May then he was before. Pikachu jumped off Ash's shoulder and ran ahead to the room knowing that Ash and May needed some time together. Ash wondered why Pikachu had run ahead but decided to let Lucario out of his Pokéball, Ash asked him to keep an eye on Pikachu, Lucario nodded and followed the electric mouse. Meowth walked after them as well, wanting to see more of the palace and knowing why Pikachu ran run ahead.
"Oh May sweetie" said an annoyingly familiar voice. Please no, not now, not…May thought as she turned to the voice and saw one of the few people that she hated more than anything else.
"Harley, what are you doing here?" She asked trying to sound pleasant as he walked towards her, he looked exactly the same as he did the first time they met except for the fact he was a few years older, there was a girl alongside him she had peach coloured hair which was tied up in to two side spirals with lilac ribbons and her eyes were brown, she wore a light blue knee length dress and a white cardigan over the top, she was also wearing white heels. May recognised her but wasn't sure where from.
"Why, I'm here to win the Contest ribbon of course silly and she's here to watch me win." Harley pointing to the girl next to him
"In your dreams Harley, that ribbon is mine." Said the girl, Harley simply shook his head then he looked at Ash, before turning back to May seeing that their arms were linked.
"Ooh who's your boyfriend? Does he know it's not Halloween?" He said, the girl alongside Harley laughed. That's good coming from you Harley May thought but before she could say anything Ash started talking, wanting to see if they would recognise him, Ash pulled the brim of his hat down slightly to hide his face.
"Hi Harley, it's been a while." He said before turning to the girl, "It's good to see you again Ursula, how have you been?" Both Co-Ordinators stared at this strange person who seemed to know them from their past but they couldn't figure out who it was. May quickly worked out what Ash was doing and wanted to see how long it would take them to realise who Ash was as well.
"Do I know you?" asked Ursula as she tried to look at Ash's face but Ash moved slightly making his face more obscured, May also rested her head on Ash's shoulder to stop Harley or Ursula trying to see his face from the side.
"We met a few times in Sinnoh a few years ago, I was travelling with some friends one of them was a Co-Ordinator like you…only better. Her name's Dawn." Ash answered with a smile unable to stop himself supporting Dawn, though his smile couldn't be seen it could be heard in the tone of his voice. Ash knew that saying Dawn's name would basically tell Ursula who he was. Ursula's face turned red with anger hearing Dawn's name and how this stranger supported her, while May and Harley put a hand over their mouths to try to stop themselves laughing. Ursula ignored the clue that Ash had said, instead she flew into a violent rage.
"HOW DARE YOU!" Ursula screamed as she swung her hand to slap Ash's face. Ash dodged the attack by leaning back slightly and moved May out of the way just in case she was hit. Ash straightened up and looked at Harley still smiling.
"Just so you know Dawn's a better Co-Ordinator then you as well," Ash quickly looked at May then back to Harley "and May's better than both of you put together." Ash then gave a high pitched whistle before dodging a slap from Harley, May blushed heavily and tried to hide her face so no-one would see the crimson colour of her cheeks, she made a mental note to thank Ash for the compliment later. A yellow blur flew down the corridor and stopped on Ash's shoulder followed soon after by Lucario who stood at Ash's side and Meowth stopped next to May. Seeing a Pikachu appear on the stranger's shoulder was the biggest piece of the puzzle, realisation could be seen on both Harley's and Ursula's faces as Ash lifted the brim of his hat so they could see his face. Pikachu's cheeks let out small arcs of electricity, Lucario dropped into a fighting stance and Meowth extended his claws ready to defend Ash if they needed to but Ash raised a hand telling them to calm down, which they did reluctantly.
"I do know that it's not Halloween Harley but by order of the royal proclamations for the kingdom of Rota as a student of Aura I must wear the clothes of my station." Ash said as he tried desperately to remember how Henry had lectured him on the rules of Rota when he first arrived to take up Aura Training. Ash had spent hours trying to remember all of the different laws and regulations that he would need to know as a student and eventually Aura Guardian, there were still a lot that he couldn't remember.
"What does that even mean?" Harley asked angrily while still trying to come to terms with the fact that the man in front of him was Ash Ketchum. May chose this point to speak up and let Harley and Ursula know what Ash meant.
"It means that as a member of the Queen's court and an Aura Guardian in-training he has to dress like an Aura Guardian, he's going to graduate and become a full Aura Guardian in two days, isn't that right Ash." She said before lightly kissing Ash on the cheek.
"That's right." Ash said brightly as he and May turned to leave, Pikachu, Lucario and Meowth following them to Ash's room. They left Harley and Ursula in shock how the kid they had met on their journeys had changed, both of them stood in stunned silence until they heard Ash's voice echoed down the corridor.
"May's going to win the Contest, just you wait and see." Hearing that caused them to storm off plotting revenge.
Harley fumed at how Ash had mocked his skills as a Co-Ordinator and Ursula was still in shock at how different Ash looked now, no longer was he a slim, average looking boy he was now a well built, extremely handsome man, she could also feel jealousy creeping into her mind over the fact that Ash seemed to be in a relationship with May. A plan started to take form in her mind, We'll see who Ash likes most and you won't like the answer May, she thought menacingly as her eyes bore into May's retreating figure.
"Here we are," Ash said opening the door to his room, "Make yourself at home." May nodded and followed Ash into the room, when she saw it she gasped. A large sitting area greeted her, there was a couch and two arm chairs situated around three sides of a medium sized coffee table, a large flat screen TV hung from the wall and there was a Blu-ray player sat on a cabinet underneath the TV, various Blu-rays and magazines covered the coffee table and by a window was a desk with a small pile of books, May could see one of the titles The Art of Aura May was a little surprised to see them, as Ash wasn't much of a reader when she had been travelling with him but she put it down to his training. May walked further into the room and looked around on the walls were posters of different kinds of Pokémon, some of them she didn't recognise, and photographs from Ash's journeys, taking a closer look at the photos May saw that they showed Ash's Pokémon and the people he'd travelled with. She saw one that must've been taken not long after Ash began his journey in Kanto, he was younger than when she met him and stood with Misty and Brock with Pikachu perched on his head, they were all smiling happily. Another photo showed Ash, Brock and Dawn, another showed Ash, Iris and Cilan, one taken while they travelled through Hoenn and many more, May kept looking at all of the photos till the one that hung in the middle caught her eye it showed her and Ash stood side by side each holding their half of the Terracotta Ribbon out so that it looked whole. May remembered when this picture was taken and smiled at the memory, a warm feeling filling her. Looking around the room again May saw that there was a small kitchen filled with the basic appliances and a set of glass doors that lead out to a balcony. It was then that she started to wonder where Ash was, turning back to the entrance she saw him taking his hat and cloak off, hanging them on a hook by the door.
"So? What do you think?" Ash asked turning to her, as Meowth, Pikachu and Lucario made themselves comfortable. Meowth sat on the couch, grabbed the TV remote and started flicking through the channels, Pikachu went and sat by Meowth, while Lucario walked out on to the balcony to meditate.
"Ash, this room is amazing." May replied. Ash then gave May a quick tour of his room showing her where the bathroom was, which cupboards held things like spare pillows, blankets etc and the last room he showed her was the bedroom. Once again May gasped when she saw the room positioned against one wall was a large four posted bed complete with canopy and curtains, the bed was a deep royal blue. There was another desk against the opposite wall, a large wardrobe and cabinet sat by another wall the final wall held a window and a large framed photograph. May recognised the photo it had been taken after Ash had come home from Unova with Iris and Cilan. Ash's mother had gathered everyone together to celebrate his near victory in the Unova league, the photo showed Ash, Brock, Misty, May, Max, Dawn, Iris, Cilan and Tracey kneeling in front of all of their Pokémon. All of Ash's Pokémon were there except for Lapras and Butterfree, as they couldn't be found. Brock had tracked down Primeape and Larvitar, Misty had called Liza to ask for Charizard, Professor Oak had contacted the Officer Jenny in charge of the Squirtle Squad to get Ash's brought to Pallet Town, Dawn had gone to collect Gliscor, Tracey even went in search of Pidgeot. May and Max had gone to Saffron City to ask Sabrina if Haunter could come, everyone then helped Mrs Ketchum set up the party and do whatever they could to make it the greatest party ever. Ash had been ecstatic seeing all of his Pokémon and friends again, he also apologised to Pidgeot and Primeape for taking so long to come back for them. (AN I know that Haunter and Larvitar aren't officially Ash's Pokémon but it only seemed right to have them there)
May was brought out of her memories when she heard Ash speaking.
"May, you can sleep in here. I'll sleep on the couch."
"No Ash I can't do that it's your room you sleep here. I'll sleep on the couch." May said, Ash just looked at her before shaking his head.
"May, you are my guest you sleep here and I'll sleep outside, besides if my mom found out that I let you sleep on the couch then she'd kill me." Ash replied laughing slightly, May wondered when Ash had become such a gentleman.
"Okay I'll sleep here but only on one condition."
"What's that?" He asked.
"We take turns I'll sleep here one night, you sleep here the next and so on until we're ready to leave. Deal?" May asked although her eyes said this was the only compromise she would give, Ash say the look in her eyes and did the smart thing by agreeing. May then walked up to Ash and kissed him on the cheek.
"May, what was that for?" he asked.
"It's to say thank you for shutting Harley and Ursula up and for saying that I'm a better Co-Ordinator then both of them." she replied.
"It's true, you are a better Co-Ordinator than they are." May kissed his cheek again before leaving the room.
"Thank you, Ash it means a lot that you think that." She said over her shoulder, leaving a stunned Ash standing in the middle of the bedroom. They spent the rest of the day watching films and getting themselves settled until a maid knocked on the door letting them know that their dinner with the Queen would be ready in an hour, May spent the time getting ready even though Ash told her she didn't need to. Once she was ready they made their way to the dining room, with Ash still wearing his Aura Guardian attire while May wore a white blouse and knee length black skirt.
The conversations during dinner changed constantly until at one point Ash asked Riley if May could attend the graduation, the Queen and May stopped talking and looked at Riley.
"The traditions dictate that it is the student's choice whether to have other observe but it can't be specific people, it has to be everybody in the kingdom who wishes to attend or only the student, teacher and monarch present." Riley replied. Ash thought about this while the conversation was changed to other subjects eventually he decided.
"I'd like to have everyone watch." He said leaving Riley with his mouth hanging open, the Queen nodded and May smiled at the fact that she would be able to watch Ash graduate and become an Aura Guardian.
"Ash, this has never been done before, in the history of Aura Graduations the student has never chosen to have everyone watch. It has always been the student, teacher and monarch present, are you sure you want to do this?" Riley said after recovering from his shock. Ash stole a quick glance at May, who was looking at him with a waiting look wanting to know what his answer would be.
"Yes I'm sure." He said immediately without needing to think about it I don't know if I'll be able to do it if May isn't there to cheer me on, he thought, though he wasn't sure why. Riley nodded at Ash's answer and the conversation moved on to other topics.
The next day it was announced that the graduation ceremony was to take place in two days and anyone who wished to attend could do so, as long as they didn't interfere in anyway or be found to be gambling on the outcome, as it was a sacred rite all Aura Guardians under took and should be treated with the greatest of respect.
The next two days passed quickly, Ash trained by sparring with his Pokémon and running with his new Ponyta, to strengthen her legs so she would be as fast as possible. Even though May protested he insisted on helping her train for the Contest, teaching her Pokémon some of the combinations he had created plus some others May could use in case of emergency such as Harley using his usual dirty tricks. Some of May's Pokémon returned the favour by sparring with Ash as well, Blaziken managed to land a kick on him which worried both Blaziken and May but Ash just got back on his feet praising Blaziken's abilities. Harley had tried to mess with May's confidence and sabotage her training but Lucario would always sense Harley's approach and warn Ash, who would `accidentally` have his Pokémon send an attack in Harley's direction. Each evening Ash and May were invited to have dinner with the Queen and Riley, during dinner the Queen would ask them to tell her about their journeys together and how they felt now they were together again after so long apart, this made both Ash and May feel awkward so Riley would change the subject. The Queen was surprised to see that May matched Ash's appetite yet somehow still managed to maintain her slim figure. The conversations during dinner allowed May to find out more of what Ash had been doing during his three year absence, Ash told them about how he'd struggled to find the perfect place to train in the harsh conditions of Mt Silver, Mt Coronet and the other places he went to, he also told them how his Pokémon had saved his life when he'd slipped on ice or stood to close to the edge of a cliff amongst other situations. He recounted how his Pokémon evolved and how he caught new ones, surprising May at the number of new Pokémon he now possessed. Ash and May also met a Co-Ordinator called Sian who had straight ginger hair, pale skin and an infectious smile coupled with a sunny personality, May and Sian became good friends and promised to see each other in the final battle for the Contest.
Eventually it was time for Ash's graduation, the palace ballroom was prepared with four posts placed on the floor to make a fifteen square foot ring (AN like a boxing ring without the ropes or raised platform) in the middle of the room, with the people who had come to watch positioned around it at a safe distance. Riley and his Lucario stood by the Queen a cloak hanging over Riley's chest, a bell rang once and the doors to the ballroom opened and Ash walked in, wearing a cloak like Riley, with Lucario walking beside him. As Ash watched up to the throne he saw Meowth standing by May, Pikachu sat on her shoulder and Sian also stood by May. They gave Ash a reassuring smile and a small wave but he couldn't respond Riley had told him that he needed to follow the graduation traditions precisely or he would fail, during the graduation he was only allowed to speak to the Queen and Riley. He also saw that Harley and Ursula were amongst the people gathered to watch but ignored the glares they gave him. Ash stopped in front of the throne and knelt before the Queen, Lucario following him movements.
"Aura Student Ketchum, do you wish to become an Aura Guardian?" the Queen asked.
"I do." Ash replied.
"Are you willing to complete the challenge set against you?"
"I am."
"Then rise and take your place." Ash stood up, bowed to the Queen then to Riley and Lucario before turning and walking into the ring, Lucario walked to the crowd and stood by May. Riley and his Lucario stepped forward kneeling in front of the Queen.
"Aura Guardian Gen, are you and your Aura Partner prepared to undertake the challenge you have put to Aura Student Ketchum?"
"We are." Riley replied as his Lucario nodded in agreement.
"Do you swear, on your honour, to battle to the best of your abilities and not restrain yourselves in any way?"
"We do." Lucario nodded again.
"Very well, take your places." Riley and Lucario stood bowing to the Queen and then walking to the ring and standing in front of Ash. Both Ash and Riley then took off their cloaks drawing the attention of all the women present to the fact they were bare-chested, May felt a stab of jealousy because of the gazes that Ash was receiving. Henry walked between Ash and Riley collecting their cloaks and hats then retreated out of the ring. The Queen stood from her throne and spoke to Ash, Riley and Lucario.
"The rules of the graduation are simple," announced the Queen, "to win and graduate to an Aura Guardian, Aura Student Ketchum must either knockout his opponents or remove them from the ring. Aura Guardian Gen and his Lucario must do the same to Aura Student Ketchum. Aura Student Ketchum cannot use any offensive Aura during this battle, he can however use Aura to defend himself. Are these rules understood?"
"They are." Ash and Riley responded while staring at each other. The Queen turned her attention to the crowd, "Any person found to be interfering in any way will be severely punished and no warnings are allowed to be given to the participants of the graduation. If a warning is given then the person who gave the warning will be escorted to the palace dungeons. This is graduation is a sacred and honoured rite of passage for Aura Guardians, treat it with the respect that it deserves. Is this understood?" The crowd of spectators voiced their agreement.
"Then let the graduation begin," The Queen declared. Ash, Riley and Lucario bowed to each other then settled into fighting stances, arm raised ready to block or attack at a moment's notice. "Let battle commence!"
They stood still for a full minute until Ash charged forward, Riley jumped high into the air by funnelling his Aura into his legs and launched an Aura Sphere. Lucario ran to meet Ash forming a Bone Rush between his paws, Ash slide under the Aura Sphere and move his Aura into his arm to push himself back to his feet quickly but Lucario used his Bone Rush to sweep Ash's legs out from under him. Ash landed on his back but quickly did a handspring to get to his feet, he then moved in on Lucario throwing a flurry of punches which Lucario dodged before grabbing Ash's wrist and flipping him over. Ash jumped with the throw and landed on his feet only to be met with Riley standing in front of him, Riley infused his fists with Aura an landed multiple heavy blows to Ash's chest the final punch throwing Ash off his feet and causing him to land on the ground again only harder than before.
"Give up?" Riley taunted. Ash got to his feet holding his hand to his chest panting heavily, his eyes flicked to May and he saw a worried look on her face, Ash took his hand from his chest and stood tall trying not to show the pain he felt. The crowd of people watching were cheering both Riley and Ash's names but Ash ignored them focusing on Riley and Lucario, extending his Aura searching for any sign of their next move. He could just about sense them channelling their Auras into their palms. Both Riley and Lucario fired Aura Spheres and Ash, Lucario's came slightly ahead of Riley's, Ash smiled Now to see if this works he thought as he started to turn. Ash started to turn while moving some of his Aura into his hand and caught Lucario's Aura Sphere continuing to turn Ash manipulated the Aura Sphere slightly so that it wasn't as solid as it should be. When Riley's Aura Sphere came into contact with Lucario's Aura Sphere, it was absorbed into it, a look of complete shock formed on both Riley's and Lucario's faces. As Ash finished turning a full 360 he threw the Aura Sphere back at Riley and Lucario, who were in so much shock they couldn't dodge it in time getting thrown backwards and hitting the ground, Ash knew that he had been told he couldn't use offensive Aura but the rules didn't say anything about using his opponents Aura against them. The Queen looked at Riley for his reaction, not sure if this was allowed. Riley ad Lucario slowly got to their feet when they heard Ash's voice.
"Give up?" Riley smiled and looked to the Queen and saw the question in her features.
"What Aura Student Ketchum just did is allowed he did not use offensive Aura but used our own against us." Riley then looked at Lucario and nodded, both of them charged at Ash taking the battle to close quarters, the battle then rose to a new level of skill and speed. Blows were exchanged in the blink of an eye, deflected and counter, locks and counter locks flowed quicker than the eye could follow. After a few minutes Ash managed to land a solid punch to Riley's solar plexus knocking him back, Lucario then launched a new array of attacks at Ash while Riley got his breath back. Riley then circled around behind Ash and formed an Aura Sphere throwing it quickly, Ash sensed it's approach and waited until the last second before dropping to one knee and ducking his head, the Aura Sphere barely missed him and connected with Lucario's stomach knocking the wind from the Aura Pokémon and sending him close to the borders of the ring. Ash knew he mightn't get another opportunity like this so he sprang forward and delivered a spinning sidekick to Lucario's chest knocking him out of the ring. Lucario landed hard but quickly go to his feet and was about to enter the battle when Ash's Lucario stopped him and pointed to the posts, Riley's Lucario nodded and moved around the ring so he was stood by the Queen once more. Ash and Riley squared up to each other and started to trade blows again. May cringed every time that Ash was hit and near tears when he would hit the ground, she wanted to run to his side and help him or to shout a warning but she knew that she couldn't, she believed in Ash and knew that he would find a way to win. Ash's attacks and blocks were slowing down, he was tired and Riley had backed him against one of the post, Ash knew that if he didn't think of something fast then he would lose, he thought of this fight like a Pokémon battle to try and thin up one of his usual insane strategies. He risked a glance at May who saw him do so and gave him a bright smile of encouragement, that's when an idea struck him. Ash smiled and flared his Aura making it as bright as he could, everyone covered their eyes and Riley stumbled back temporarily blinded. Ash pressed his advantage hammering Riley with multiple body blows as fast as he could throw them before kicking him away, Riley swung his hands wildly releasing a barrage of small Aura Spheres. Ash quickly formed an Aura Shield, charging forward and deflected the Aura Spheres away, unfortunately they flew towards the crowd of people, Pikachu jumped from May's shoulder and used Iron Tail to stop an Aura Sphere hitting her while both Ash's and Riley's Lucario used Extremespeed to stop the Aura Spheres from hitting anyone else.
"Sorry." Ash shouted as he continued running towards Riley. Riley's vision started to clear and he saw Ash coming straight at him, he pooled his Aura into his fist and threw a punch at Ash's face. Ash dropped his Aura Shield and parried Riley's punch as he brought his own punch under Riley's guard and hitting him with a strong uppercut, having put the last of his strength into the attack. Riley was lifted off the floor by a couple of inches and then landed on his back. Silence filled the ballroom as everyone waited for Riley to get up but he didn't Henry walked into the ring and knelt by Riley before standing with a stunned look on his face.
"Aura Guardian Gen has been knocked out." He announced, "Aura Student Ketchum is the winner." The crowd exploded in cheers. May ran into the ring and hugged Ash smiling, she knew he wasn't wearing a shirt and was covered in sweat but she didn't care she only wanted to congratulate him on his victory. Ash was still in shock, he'd knocked out Riley I did it. I've graduated, a smile formed on Ash's face I'm an Aura Guardian. Riley's Lucario walked up to his trainer and channelled some Aura into him, Riley's eyes opened and he sat up when he saw May hugging Ash he knew what had happened.
"Alright!" Ash shouted hugging May in return, lifting her into the air and spinning round. Pikachu, Lucario and Meowth stood close by watching and shared a knowing look. They hugged for a minute before May remembered that Ash didn't have a shirt on, she quickly jumped back blushing and looking at the floor.
After everyone had calmed down and Ash was sent back to his chamber to clean himself up, he walked into the Throne room down the central aisle, bowed and knelt in front of the Queen again with his Lucario doing the same. Everyone who was present at the graduation was now seated in the Throne room. May was sat in the front row of chairs with Meowth next to her and Pikachu sat on her lap. Riley was stood next to the Throne with a smile on his face, his Lucario beside him. The Queen stood and called everyone's attention.
"I, Queen Ilene, Monarch for the Kingdom of Rota recognise Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town, Kanto to have completed his Aura Training and passed his graduation. He has proved himself to be capable of fully utilizing Aura to protect both himself, Rota and those he holds dear," The Queen looked at May and smiled before turning back to the audience and continuing, "I hereby strip him of the title Aura Student and raise him to the level and title of Aura Guardian with all the powers and privileges that come with that station, he will remain a member of my court and a trusted friend." She turned to Riley, "Aura Guardian Gen to you have anything to add?"
"I do, Your Majesty," Riley bowed to the Queen then turned to Ash, "I am proud to have called you my student Ash and now to call you my equal. You have accomplished something only one Aura Student has done in the past, you won the battle," seeing the confused look on everyone's faces Riley continued, "The true purpose of the Aura Graduation is for the student to show proficiency in the use of Aura, which Ash not only did but also used it to defeat both myself and Lucario, the only other person who managed to defeat both his teacher and their Aura Partner was Sir Aaron." Ash's eyes were drawn to the tapestry that hung in the Throne room depicting Sir Aaron and his Lucario. "We shall now conclude the graduation ceremony by asking one other for their approval," Riley formed an Aura Sphere and said, "Great and powerful guardian of the Tree of Beginning, appear to us." Riley then dispersed the Aura Sphere creating a pulse of Aura that spread throughout the room, a few seconds later, in a flash of pink light a small cat like Pokémon appeared. Riley and his Lucario knelt before Mew and the Queen bowed her head as a sign of respect.
"Mew, do you oppose this new Guardian of Aura? Or do you bestow your blessing upon them?" Riley asked. Mew flew around the room before hovering in front of Ash, Mew lifted Ash's hat up and recognised him. She landed in his arms and cooed happily, everyone except for Ash, May, Riley and the Queen looked on in shock.
"Guess you remember me then." Ash said quietly, even though Ash had been to the Tree of Beginning during his training he hadn't seen Mew since the first time with Sir Aaron's Lucario. Mew flew out of his arms and started to glow, she touched Ash's forehead and Ash's aura glowed brightly then it died down and Mew disappeared in another flash of pink light.
"Mew approves of our new Aura Guardian." The Queen said before touching Ash's shoulders with a sword, "Now rise Aura Guardian Ketchum and May Aura Be With You." Ash stood up and bowed to the Queen and then to Riley.
"May Aura Be With You also my Queen." Ash replied, Riley stepped forward and turned Ash to face the audience and grabbed his wrist held his arm above his head.
"I give you Rota's newest Aura Guardian, Ash Ketchum!" Riley shouted causing the audience to cheered and applauded Ash's accomplishment, even Harley and Ursula. The Queen silenced everyone with a raised hand.
"In celebration of Aura Guardian Ketchum's achievement there shall be a feast held in his honour tonight." The crowd cheered again and made their way out of the Throne room, Ash waited until most people had left. He walked up to May and Pikachu jumped on to his shoulder.
"Congratulations Ash." May said.
"Thanks May." Ash replied, "I was wondering if you'd….er...ifyou'dcometothefeastwithme." He finished quickly.
"What did you say Ash I couldn't understand you." May asked hiding a smile, she had heard what Ash said but wanted to hear it again. Ash took a deep breath, letting it out slowly to calm his nerves, he then looked into May's eyes sending a shiver through her body as her sapphire eyes met his warm, brown eyes.
"May, I still owe you that…date… from Pewter City, so would you be my date to the feast later tonight?" Ash asked again before dropping his gaze and looking at the floor with a crimson blush across his cheeks. May giggled.
"Of course I will Ash, now come on we need to get ready." May said before grabbing his wrist and dragging him back to his room. May was busy trying on dresses that the Queen had sent to the room, so Ash was sat watching a repeat of last year's Johto League Silver Conference, Ash didn't need to find something to wear for the feast as he was required to wear his formal Aura Guardian attire. Lucario, Meowth and Pikachu were taking a nap on the balcony. Ash was watching a trainer's Machamp deliver a Focus Punch to his opponent's Luxray when there was a knock at the door, Ash paused the match and opened the door. Riley stood there with a smile on his face, his Lucario stood behind him, Ash let them in and closed the door, Riley stayed by the door and his Lucario stood by him.
"Ash, how did you use the Aura Sphere against us? I've been trying to work it out but I can't." Riley asked. Ash then explained that he had been training with his Lucario and while blocking an Aura Sphere he had managed to move it slightly and then wanted to try moving around completely and sending it back.
"It took a while to do it but we got there in the end." Ash finished.
"I understand that but how did you combine the Aura Spheres into one?" Riley asked again.
"I used the lessons that you taught me," Ash saw the look on Riley's face and continued,
"You taught me how to manipulate Aura so that's what I did, because the Aura wasn't mine I couldn't do much but I could do just enough to get it to absorb more Aura."
"That's ingenious," Riley exclaimed, "how did you even think of that? I've never heard of any Aura Guardian doing that ever." Ash just shrugged his shoulders.
"I just thought of it, I don't know how but the idea just popped into my head so I tried it." Ash explained, Riley shook his head in amazement before returning to the true reason why he had come to talk with Ash.
"Ash, there is more to the graduation then being named as an Aura Guardian. There something that you need to try. You need to…." Riley stopped talking as the bedroom door opened, both Aura Guardians turned and saw May walk out of the room. May stood there wearing a red dress which fell to just above the red heels she had on. The dress was slim at the top, to show her curvy body and the neckline fell to show a small amount of cleavage, the dress fell in all the right places and flared out from the waist to the floor allowing her to move about freely, with capped sleeves holding the dress up and a red ribbon attached to a headband sat on May's head. Her hair was lying straight down her back and looks silky smooth, she was a vision of elegance and loveliness.
"So Ash, what do you think?" She asked then notice Riley stood next to him, "Oh, hello Guardian Riley."
"Hello May and please call me Riley, there's no need to be formal. That dress suits you," He replied nodding his head. "Doesn't it Ash?" Ash's mouth hung open slightly and Riley had to nudge him to snap him out of the daze he was in.
"May, you look amazing." Ash said unable to take his eyes from the vision of beauty before him. May blushed and looked at the floor.
"Thank you Ash. You too Riley." May then turned and disappeared back it into the bedroom.
"You are a very lucky person Ash." Riley said once the door closed.
"What do you mean?" Ash asked, Riley just shook his head.
"You'll understand eventually," Riley saw the time on the clock, "Now if you'll excuse me I need to go prepare something for after the feast." Riley stood up and walked towards the door.
"Wait," Ash said, "What was is you were going to tell me?" Riley looked over his shoulder.
"It can wait for now. I'll tell you after the feast." Riley said then he left leaving a confused Ash staring at the door.
The feast took place in the ballroom with three long tables along three of the walls, Ash sat on one side of the Queen and Riley on the other, May was sat next to Ash. They were all sat at the head table along with various dignitaries and members of the Queen's court. The co-Ordinators and other people invited were sat on the other two tables. The Queen toasted Ash's accomplishments, thanked him for the services he had given to Rota in the past and had Ash retell some of the services he had done. Ash reluctantly told the story of how he had saved the Queen from an attack, leaving out the part that she now referred to him as her guardian, after Riley asked him to tell it when he hesitated. Trays of food constantly circulated around the room and although Ash and May piled their plates high with food they restrained themselves to eating at a slower pace than usual. A string quartet sat in the corner of the room playing a pleasant melody, once everyone's plates had been cleared away people started to move on to the dance floor between the tables. Ash and May had been making small talk during the feast but both felt a bit awkward because of it being a `date`. Ash saw May looking at everyone dancing and knew what he had to do, remembering the etiquette lessons he had been given at the start of his training he stood up bowed slightly to May and offered her his hand.
"Would you like to dance?" He asked, May was shocked that Ash had asked her but she took his hand and allowed him to guide her to the dance floor. Ash took one of May's hands in his own and placed the other on her hip while May put her other hand on Ash's shoulder, they then began to slowly waltz around the floor.
"Ash, when did you learn to dance?" she asked.
"When the Queen made me a part of her court, I had to take lessons on how to behave like one. A few of those lessons were on how to dance. What about you? When did you learn to dance?"
"I had some lessons when I was little and I can still remember them." May answered and for the rest of the song they danced in silence just enjoying each other's company. The song ended and they were going to make their way back to their seats when the Queen and Riley walked up to them. Riley asked if May would dance with him and the Queen asked if Ash would dance with her, they both agreed and danced with their new partners for another song before sitting down again to have a drink. After resting and declining offer to dance with other people, including a now angry Ursula, Ash and May walked back on to the dance floor and started to waltz again slowly making their way around the dance floor for the remainder of the night. It was only when the quartet finished playing and they heard everyone clapping that they realised they were in the middle of the dance floor and everyone else was stood at the side watching them. They both blushed heavily and gave a small bow before returning to their seats. The Queen called everyone's attention.
"I have an announcement to make, the Contest will be held in three days, and as all the Co-Ordinators taking part are female," Ash could see an enraged Harley towards the back of the room and suppressed a smile, "I will add another prize for the winner of the Contest. There will be a banquet in honour of the victor and they will also be accompanied to the banquet by Rota's newest Aura Guardian, Ash Ketchum." The Queen gestured to Ash and all eyes stared at him. Ash was about to challenge the Queen decision but stopped when he saw Riley shake his head, all the women in the room wore a glazed look as they remembered seeing Ash's bare chest earlier that day. After the Queen's announcement people started to leave the ballroom after realising how late it was, Ash tried to convince the Queen to change her mind but she wouldn't. May saw the Queen give her a look that seemed to say `you know what you need to do`, after failing to get out of the Queen's choice of `prize` Ash and May excused themselves and went back to Ash's chambers, they got changed into their sleeping clothes and said good night to each other. May went into the bedroom while Ash dropped on to the couch, he fell asleep straight away because of the exhaustion from the events of the day. May however lay awake wondering if Ash had felt the same way she did while they danced and how safe she felt in his arms. She eventually fell asleep making a silent vow that she was going to win the Contest no matter what, Ash is going to dance with me again, nothing and no-one will stop me.
The days leading up to the Contest were spend training, Ash help May's Pokémon perfect their combo's and showed them some new ones, Harley once again tried to sabotage May's efforts but was stopped by Ash's Pokémon. Each night they would eat with the Queen and Riley telling them about the types of training they did that day and what they planned for the next. Finally the day of the Contest arrived and was taking place in a hall, specially built for the Contest, there was a private box for the Queen and a few others to watch from. Ash stood outside the Co-Ordinator's locker room with May.
"Good luck May, I'll be cheering you on." Ash said
"Me too, go and win dis." Meowth said.
"Pika Pikachu."
"Thanks guys, now go and sit down or you'll miss the start." May said Ash, Pikachu and Meowth nodded then went to the Queen's box, they were sitting there with the Queen and Riley. May took a deep breath and walked into the locker room, I'm going to win and that's final, she thought. May quickly changed into her Arabian Princess costume and waited for the Contest to start.
"Hello and welcome to the first ever Rota Contest, I'm your announcer Julia. First of all I would like to that Queen Ilene for allowing this Contest to take place and supplying this beautiful Aura Ribbon," Julia held up a sky blue ribbon with a white border and a small blue crystal in the centre. Ash's eyes opened wide in shock, the crystal in the centre of the ribbon was an Aura Crystal.
"It's okay Ash," said Riley, "an Aura Crystal can only be used by an Aura Practitioner and cannot be broken." Ash nodded in understanding and turn his attention back to Julia, who was announcing who the judges were as they walked onto the stage.
"Now it's time to introduce our judges, first we have Mr Contesta, next is Rota's very own Nurse Joy and last but certainly not least we have an exCo-Ordinator all the way from Sinnoh please welcome Fantina." From the side of the stage a woman wearing a purple ball gown walked onto the stage, waving and took her seat next to Nurse Joy.
"I am pleased to be here for Rota's first Contest." Mr Contesta said.
"I want to wish everybody good luck." Said Nurse Joy.
"I cannot wait to see what we have in store for us today." Said Fantina (AN please supply French accent as I don't know how to type one).
"Now we have heard from our judges and we all know what the prize is," a spot light shone on Ash, "does her Majesty have anything she would like to say?" Julia asked, Queen Ilene stood from her chair.
"I wish all the participants of this Contest good luck and hope they all do their best to the beauty of their Pokémon." She said.
"Well then," Julia said, "Let's meet our Co-Ordinators." The co-ordinators walked single file onto the stage and bowed or curtsied to the Queen. "Okay we've met our judges and our Co-Ordinators so let the contest begin!" Julia cried.
So what do you think? The new Co-Ordinator is based on a friend of mine, if you're not sure about her name it is pronounced Sharn.
That's all for now.
Until Next Time
Basic Trainer