I've hit my first milestone over 100 favs, thank you all. I know that I said that I'd try and make the chapters shorter but I couldn't stop writing this one so it's quite long. Sorry.
Before the chapter I'm going to answer some questions I've had from the reviews.
Guest: The point of Ash bringing out his A-Team against Team Rocket was because he was angry at Team Rocket, he wanted to rescue May quickly and after 3 years of not seeing them he didn't know if Team Rocket had gotten stronger so he brought out his strongest Pokémon to be certain of saving May.
Guest: Only time will tell if Zorua will make an appearance
Mewtworeborn: At the minute until I know more I'm not putting 'newtwo' or any Gen 6 Pokémon into the story.
Now on with the story.
Chapter 7
Contest and Answers
"Let the Contest begin!" said Julia, "Our first Co-Ordinator is Ursula from Sinnoh like one of our Judges." Julia pointed to the tunnel at the side of the stage and Ursula walked out, wearing a black dress with a red ribbon around the waist, waving to the audience. She stopped in the middle of the stage curtsied to the Queen and then released her Pokémon. Both materialised in a burst of confetti and bubbles, one was a small cream coloured mouse with red ears, cheeks, forepaws and tail, its tail was shaped like a plus sign and there were cream coloured voids in the shape of plus signs on its cheeks. The other was an aqua blue Pokémon with a white ruff around its neck, blue ridges running down its back and a fin-like tail. Various fin-like traits were evident over all of its body including the ruff and its ears.
"Vaporeon, Use Iron Tail to throw Plusle into the air." Ursula told her Pokémon. Plusle jumped onto Vaporeon's tail as it took on a metallic sheen and was launched high above the Contest stage. "Now Vaporeon use Shadow Ball." Vaporeon formed a sphere of black energy and launched it into the air after Plusle, "Plusle use Swift." Plusle spun in the air to face the Shadow Ball and released a shower of stars, the two attacks merged together creating a shower of black stars, "Now Plusle Quick Attack." Plusle shot towards the ground leaving a silver trail of light behind it, landing on Vaporeon's back. "Now let's end with Flash and Acid Armour." Plusle shone with a bright white light and Vaporeon's body took on a watery effect, both of these combined created an effect which caused the shower of black stars to shimmer and sparkle, dissolving into a small fireworks display as they hit the stage. Ursula curtsied again and her Pokémon bowed, the audience clapped loudly until Julia started speaking.
"That was a wonderful appeal, now let's hear what our Judges have to say."
Mr Contesta spoke first. "That was a very good use of both Pokémon's abilities."
"Both Pokémon are very cute and their moves showed that beautifully." Said Nurse Joy
"Ce magnefic, ze use of both normal and ghost type moves shows zat even opposites can create a display of great elegance and beauty." Fantina said. (AN This is an attempt at writing with a French accent. I don't think it's gone to well so from this point I'm going to write normally and ask you to provide your own accent.) Ursula recalled her Pokémon, curtsied and left the stage while Harley started to walk on from the other side.
"We now have our second Co-Ordinator from Hoenn, Harley" Harley walked to the centre of the stage, wearing his usual Cacturne inspired clothes, bowed to the Queen and threw his Pokéballs into the air. His Pokémon appeared in a cloud of grey mist, one looked like a doll with three spikes on its head and a long ribbon hanging from its head as well. It had a zipper-like mouth and a yellow brush-like tail. The other looked like a spider, it had a red body with black stripes, there was a pattern which looked like an unhappy face on its abdomen. It had four yellow legs with purple stripes, two more legs on its back and white horns and mandibles.
"Ariados use Spider Web then climb onto it." Harley said, Ariados raised its head and shot blasts of webbing around the stage to create a giant web which stretched from one wall to the other then Ariados fired a single string up to the web and started to climb up it. "Banette use Shadow Ball and Will-O-Wisp." The ghost type nodded and summoned a number of small blue flames around its body before forming a Shadow Ball between its hands, the small flames passed through the Shadow Ball and changed from blue to black. Banette then spread the flames out around the stage and had them keep circling. "Ariados use String Shot on Banette." Ariados fired four strings of webbing onto Banette, one on each arm and leg. "Now Ariados make Banette dance." Ariados then started to pull and push on the strings making Banette move around the stage in a slow, creepy dance after a minute Harley spoke again, "Now Banette use Shadow Sneak," Banette nodded and melted into its own shadow reappearing behind Ariados with the webbing still on its arms and legs, "Now make Ariados dance." lowering Ariados to the stage Banette repeated Ariados' earlier movements, making the spider dance around the stage. "Finish with Electroweb and Thunder." Ariados launched an electrified web onto the giant web above the stage Electroweb's electricity flowed through the giant web and Banette released a Thunder into the web. The combined electric attacks caused the giant web to dissolve in yellow sparkles and slowly drift to the ground as the combined Shadow Ball and Will-O-Wisp fires extinguished themselves. The audience applauded, while looking slightly unnerved by the quite spooky appeal they had just seen, as Banette and Ariados stood by Harley.
"That was a…..unique appeal from Harley, now let's hear from out Judges." Julia said gesturing towards where the Judges sat.
"This appeal showed the sides of these Pokémon that they are known for. A good use of their moves also." Mr Contesta said.
"I agree, the puppeteer routine is something I've never seen before." Nurse Joy said.
"This appeal certainly was unique, I have to say that it was quite an eerie experience." Said Fantina.
Meanwhile in the Royal Box.
Ash was trying to show an interest in the Contest but his mind kept drifting to what Riley had told him and what occurred after the feast.
Flashback
After Ash had failed to convince the Queen to change her mind about him being a prize for whoever won the Contest, Riley pulled Ash to one side taking him into the Royal Vault, they walked past all sort of treasures until they stopped in front of a normal wooden door.
"Ash, there are things that you need to know now you are an Aura Guardian.", Riley started, "When Sir Aaron died at the Tree of Beginning, Mew brought a Time Flower to the palace, from what we can understand it contains Sir Aaron's last words but no-one was able to open it. Since then every time a student has graduated to become an Aura Guardian they have been brought to the Royal Vault, led to this room which holds all of Sir Aaron's possessions and asked to open the Time Flower, all have failed. Now it is your turn to try." Riley took a key from his pocket and placed it in the lock, he then channelled his Aura into the key and turned it, a blue light shone around the door and as it died away the door slowly swung open. Seeing the confusion on Ash's face Riley explained "This door can only be opened by using both the key and Aura." Ash walked into the room then turned to see Riley staying outside. "Ash, you must do this by yourself, it is tradition that only the new Aura Guardian is allowed in the room, their teacher must lock them in and remain outside the room until they are asked to open the door again." Riley then closed the door and locked it Aura glowing around the door once more, leaving Ash alone in the dark.
Ash summoned an Aura Sphere to give some light to the room, he saw Sir Aaron's staff and other belongings hanging from the walls and in the middle of the room was a small pedestal with a Time Flower sitting on a red velvet cushion under a glass dome. Ash carefully lifted the dome and placed it on a nearby table which was covered in old books, he gently picked up the Time Flower and channelled some Aura into it. He waited and nothing happened, Ash placed the Time Flower back on the cushion and turned to leave the room when a light started to shine behind him. Turning back Ash saw the Time Flower starting to open, an image began to form, it slowly came into being and Ash recognised the image, it was Sir Aaron. The image of the famous Aura Guardian then started to speak.
'Greetings fellow Guardian, if you are seeing this then I am dead. This message is my last will and testament. Hopefully I fulfilled my task of healing the Tree of Beginning and served my Kingdom well, I consider it an honour to have died protecting both the Kingdom and its people. However there are other matters to attend to. You have succeeded in opening this Time Flower which means that you possess the same Aura that I do, as this Time Flower is special it will only open to my Aura.'
'There are parts of this message that must be shown to the current monarch and others only to be known by you. Once this message is finished you must show the following part to the current monarch, to show them this section just visualise it while opening the Time Flower,' there was a brief pause, 'Your Highness, I am Sir Aaron,' Sir Aaron bowed, 'May Aura Be With You, I have asked this Guardian to show you this message, they share my Aura and have the potential to be a great asset not only to Rota but to the entire world, this is why I am about to perform this rite. Guardian kneel before me,' Ash knelt in front of Sir Aaron out of instinct from the authoritative tone is his voice, 'I, Sir Aaron, True Guardian of Aura and servant of Rota being unable to aid this world further, hereby pass all of my possessions to this Guardian along with my title of True Guardian of Aura.' Sir Aaron moved his staff on to Ash's shoulders (AN don't ask me how he knows where Ash's shoulders are, must be an Aura thing) 'Now rise Guardian and if it has survived, claim my staff as your own. Your Majesty I humbly request that you approve of my decision and support this Guardian in all that they may do. I bid you farewell.' Sir Aaron bows again then pauses, 'Guardian that is the only part of this for the current monarch to see, the rest of this message is for you and you only, unless I say otherwise. I am about to tell you the story of how I became who I am, I have never told anyone the story of my life except for Lucario.' Sir Aaron paused again, 'When you claim my staff channel some of your Aura into the crystal and release Lucario from it, show him this entire message as he deserves to know.' Sir Aaron's voice changed to a softer tone, 'Lucario, I am sorry for trapping you in the crystal, I am sorry for what I did to you, I know you think that I betrayed you but I only did it to keep you alive, if you had followed me to the Tree of Beginning then you would have died as well and I could not allow that, I cannot allow my partner die. I am truly sorry for what has happened and hope that you can find it in your heart to forgive me but know this, to me you we were never master and Pokémon, we were friends, no we were more than friends, we were brothers. So I say this goodbye brother, hopefully we will meet again in the next life.' Sir Aaron wiped away a tear and his tone changing back to being serious.
'Guardian if you swear to keep what I am about to tell you a secret channel more of your Aura in to the Time flower' Ash did so and Sir Aaron started speaking again 'Guardian, my story begins in a small town far from Rota, I was born a peasant and orphan, my father had died in a war and my mother died giving birth to me. I was given to an orphanage and once I turned the age of four, I was put to work whether it was collecting lint from looms or carrying fire wood. When I turned six I ran from the orphanage living on the streets, stealing whatever I needed and selling some of it so I was able to buy food, I spent the next three years on the streets until I tried to steal a coin purse from an Aura Guardian, his name was Caleb, he caught me and was about to take me to be punished when he sensed the Aura within me. He brought me to Rota, took me in to his home he treated me like his son and he taught me how to read and write, then he taught me about Aura and how to use it. I learnt from him for five years and became the only Aura Student to defeat their teacher and Aura Partner during a graduation, After that I travelled the world and met many people with whom I became close friends, Kasumi was the first friend I made, she was a fiery woman with an affinity for water, Takeshi was next and wise beyond his years he taught me much about the world, Haruka a beautiful brunette who just wanted to travel along with her brother Masato, who had a knowledge beyond that of children his age, there was Hikari a woman with the bluest hair and a happy attitude which could not be suppressed, Iris the wild child with a love of dragons and finally Dent a man with a unique outlook on life and a great passion for everything. I travelled with each of them over eight years, sometimes parting ways and reuniting again later. Then during a period of time when I was travelling alone, I found Lucario and returned to Rota. After spending a few more years training with Lucario in Rota, I found something that had up until then been missing from my life, I found love. I found the most precious gift that Arceus had put on this world, I found my Sofia. We fell in love the moment we laid eyes on each other and were wed in secret, to protect her from various enemies I had made during my journey, within two months, we were happy together and now a year later we are soon to be joined by a son. I know it will be a son as I could sense the Aura within him and it was strong. However the war has come to Rota and I have to do my duty. Lucario is the only one who knows about my family until now. This leads me to this moment, I am about to attempt to heal the Tree of Beginning and I am not going to survive the process. I know this for certain and accept the outcome, it is what I must do to protect all I hold dear, my friends, my family and Rota.'
'Guardian, as you were able to open this Time Flower it can mean only one thing, that you are a descendent of my bloodline, if you are my son then know that I love you and your mother more than anything. I do this to protect you both and Rota and know that I will wait for you in the next life. If you are not my son and my family still lives then find them and show them this message. Guardian, the thought that you are watching this instils in me the belief that my family has survived the war and the ravages of time. One final message before I do my duty to the kingdom and the world, you are of my bloodline you possess a powerful Aura meaning that there may be a great destiny before you, if so face it with honour and courage and know that I stand by your side even during your darkest hour. Aura will be with you always.'
The image of Sir Aaron faded leaving Ash in the darkened room trying to process all the information he had just been given, after a few minutes he banged on the door telling Riley to get the Queen. Later when Ash had shown the Queen the message meant for her, she agreed to support Sir Aaron's decision and said that first thing in the morning Sir Aaron's belongings would be taken to Ash's chambers, she used Sir Aaron's staff to officially dub Ash the True Guardian of Aura and agreed to keep it a secret as it would lead to too many questions that they couldn't answer. When asked if there was any more to the message Ash said he had sworn not to reveal anything he had been told. While Riley and the Queen both supported Ash's silence, they couldn't help but yearn for answers.
Flashback pauses
Sir Aaron's words had been repeating in Ash's head since that night. After opening the Time Flower and showing the message to the Queen Ash returned to the feast, May had asked Ash where he went. Ash didn't want to lie to her but he had sworn not to reveal anything so he told May that Riley wanted him to explain how he was able to send the Aura Sphere back during the graduation battle. The feast ended soon after and Ash had said to May that he would dance with her again when she won the Contest. He didn't say it but he was looking forward to dancing with May again but wasn't sure why.
Ash tried to focus on the appeal on the stage where another Co-Ordinator was using a Cherrim but his mind wandered again, this time to the reason that he had been called to Rota.
Flashback resumes
The day after opening the Time Flower Ash was called to the Throne Room, May was out training because the Queen's orders were that only Ash was allowed, as the information was sensitive to Rota's security. Ash entered the Throne Room to find the Queen and Riley waiting for him, he knelt before both of them then rose to his feet asking why he had been called and why May wasn't allowed, as she wouldn't do anything to harm Rota.
"The reason for being called to Rota was not only for your Aura Graduation but also for your expertise with a certain type of Pokémon," the Queen said, "and while May can be trusted, the fewer people who know of this the better. Recently Rota has some…incidents with Pokémon attacking the area around us."
"So you want me to stop them? Riley would be able to do that without my help and it doesn't sound like much of a secret." Ash said, Riley shook his head and sighed.
"Ash," he said, "the type of Pokémon attacking, they're Legendaries," realisation dawned on Ash's face, this is why it was being kept secret, "so far a Ho-Oh, Entei and Zapdos have been seen at different times, others have been rumoured but only those three have had confirmed sightings. They appear from out of nowhere, attack then disappear, we are hoping that with the amount of Legendary Pokémon you have encountered on your journeys that you would be able to stop them or at least figure out why they are attacking. We asked Mew for help but the Legendaries always disappear before she can appear."
"I'll do what I can." Ash said nodding as Riley started to explain when it began and where they had been sighted, during the attacks a few barns were knocked down, some fires and a few slight injuries but nothing too serious. After they had finished talking Ash bowed and left the Throne Room to find May and help her train for the contest. The days leading up to the contest passed quickly and without any appearances from Legendary Pokémon.
Flashback ends
Ash was lost in his memories until he felt someone nudge him in the ribs, turning he saw Riley smiling and clapping while looking at the stage.
"Wake up Ash, your girlfriend is on next. You don't to miss her appeal do you?" He said to his former student. Ash sat up and focussed his attention to the stage, Riley noticed that Ash didn't say anything about the girlfriend remark but did notice a slight reddening on Ash's cheeks.
"Okay," announced Julia, "our next Co-Ordinator is known as the Princess of Hoenn, the question is will this Princess find her knight in shining Aura, please put your hands together for May Maple!" May walked onto the stage wearing her Arabian Princess costume, smiling and waving to the crowd. Ash was mesmerised by her, she looked absolutely stunning. As she walked to the centre of the stage and bowed May saw Ash looking at her and winked at him. Ash turned red with embarrassment, he could hear the men in the audience whistling at May, his embarrassment soon turned to anger They're treating her like an object he thought I have to put a stop to that, May's my friend and I won't let them treat her like that. Ash started to stand forming an Aura Sphere when Riley put a hand on his arm, looking at his former teacher he heard Riley say.
"Ash, don't be stupid. From what you've told us May's been doing contests for years, she's learned to deal with this so sit down and show her your support."
Ash nodded agreeing with Riley's words, thinking for a second Ash released a small cluster of Aura Spheres towards the stage. The Spheres floated towards May and dissolved in a small flurry of light blue sparkles.
"Well," Julia said, "looks like we know who Rota's newest Aura Guardian wants to win." The audience laughed as Ash wave sheepishly when a spotlight shone on him. When the light turned away the Queen tapped Ash on the shoulder.
"We are not meant to show favouritism," she said, Ash looked to the ground feeling slightly ashamed, "however," she continued, "I too want to see May win the Contest." Ash looked at the Queen to see a warm smile on her face, he returned the smile and focussed on the stage once more as May was starting her appeal.
"Take the stage!" she cried throwing two Pokéballs in the air, her two Pokémon appeared in a flurry of light blue and pink ribbons. The first one was a small fox-like Pokémon with light blue fur covering her body. On the tips of her tail, ears, two rhombus shaped spots on her back and on her paws were patches of dark blue fur, the fur on her paws gave the impression she wore boots. On her head she appeared to be wearing a tuque which was an even darker blue. The second Pokémon was mostly pink in colour with white wool on his head and around his collar. He stood on two legs each with a single clawed toe, he had short stubby arms, black and pink spiral patterned horns on either side of his head and a blue sphere on the end of his tail.
"Glaceon, use Icy Wind." May said, Glaceon opened her mouth and blew out a frosty gale. "Flaffy use Thunder Wave on Icy Wind." Flaffy became shrouded in blue electricity and released a weak pulse, the electricity leapt from one flake to another freezing them in place creating a paralyzed snow storm. "Now both of you Ice Bolt!" everyone except for Ash and Pikachu looked confused they had never heard of an attack called Ice Bolt before. Flaffy stopped using Thunder Wave and switched to Thunderbolt, launching the attack into the air. Glaceon had charge an Ice Beam, the icy blue energy waiting to be released, the Icy Wind attack slowly drifted to the ground and created a wintery backdrop as Flaffy's Thunderbolt fell to the stage. "Glaceon now!" May shouted, hoping her timing was right, Glaceon fired the Ice Beam at the ground just before Thunderbolt hit, as the ice grew it trapped the electric attack inside. When Glaceon stopped the Ice Beam Flaffy's Thunderbolt was encased in the ice creating a beautiful light show, the audience were astounded by the spectacle before them (AN, it looks a bit like a Thunderstone). "Now both of you finish with Iron Tail." Both Pokémon's tails took on a metallic sheen as the jumped and smashed the ice/electric structure to create a shower of light blue sparkles with small sparks jumping between them. May bowed and so did her Pokémon, she waved to the audience, bowed to the Royal Box then turned to the Judges.
"Absolutely stunning, a marvellous combination of ice and electricity." Mr Contesta said.
"I agree the way your Glaceon was able to encase the Thunderbolt was amazing." Nurse Joy said.
"I have never seen anything quite like that before, the best appeal we have seen today." Fantina finished.
"Well, that certainly is high praise from our Judges. We now have our last Co-Ordinator please welcome to the stage Sian." Julia announced as Sian walked onto the stage.
Sian was twenty one, she wore a plain black dress which stopped just below her knees and showed a small amount of cleavage, her red hair was curled slightly to give it a wavy appearance as it fell just past her shoulders. She smiled and curtsied to the Royal Box as she reached for her Pokéballs, throwing them into the air her Pokémon appeared in a cluster of hearts. The first was a grey chinchilla-like Pokémon which sported scruffs of fur on her head, ears and neck. Her ears were large with white tips, she had big brown eyes, small rounded limbs and a long furry tail which also had white fur on the tip. The second Pokémon had a large head with blonde hair, pink skin, big eyes and a large pair of lips. Her chest, arms and feet were cream in colour and her abdomen was purple.
"Smoochum use Fake Tears." Smoochum's eyes started to water before she started crying loudly. "Minccino cheer her up please." Minccino nodded, ran over to Smoochum and used Tickle, Smoochum was soon laughing and then the two Pokémon started to play a game of chase. "Smoochum use Powder Snow and Psyshock," Sian said pointing to the ceiling, Smoochum fired a ball of snow into the air followed quickly by a sphere of psychic energy, "Now Minccino use Swift on Powder Snow." Minccino's tail glowed white as she spun around releasing a multitude of stars towards the ice type attack. When the two attacks collided then fused together creating a shower of white stars which fell into the Psyshock, this caused the stars to combine into one large white sparkling star which now had the energy of Psyshock glowing round its edges. "Okay time to finish this, use Echoed Voice." Minccino curled up her ears and together with Smoochum released a blast of sound, causing the large star to shatter into a cascading shower of multicoloured sparkles. Sian curtsied again as Minccino jumped onto her shoulder and Smoochum jumped into her arms.
"A marvellous appeal, well done." said Mr Contesta
"You showed the cuteness and playfulness of your Pokémon beautifully." Nurse Joy agreed.
"I am very happy to have seen such an amazing appeal." Fantina finished.
Sian curtsied to the Royal Box again then left the stage. There was a fifteen minute break for the Judges to decide who moved onto the next round. Ash took this time to excuse himself from the Royal Box and went to see May. He left Pikachu, Lucario and Meowth in the Royal Box as Pikachu was sitting in the Queen's lap being stroked, Lucario was getting advice from Riley's Lucario and Meowth had fallen asleep.
Ash knocked on the door to the Co-Ordinators room and it was answered by Sian.
"Hi Ash, come on in." she said, Sian knew that Ash and May were only pretending to be a couple but she could tell that they actually had feelings for each other, though Ash didn't realise it yet and May had confided in her.
"Thanks, you did great out there Sian." He said walking into the room.
"Thanks Ash but we all know who you want to win, your little light show said a lot." She replied, "May's by the TV. She was wondering if you would be able to come down here." Ash thanked Sian again and walked over to May, just before he got to her he felt someone hug him from behind.
"Hello, Mr Guardian," said a seductive voice, "Looking forward to our dance later?" Ash turned around finding himself face to face with Ursula. "Care for a kiss?" she asked raising an eyebrow before leaning in. Ash quickly broke out of her embrace and backed away, shocked at her actions. He saw Sian with a similarly shocked expression followed by a terrified one, confused as to why Sian looked scared Ash turned around and saw May standing there with an aura of fire surrounding her. May walked right past Ash and stopped in front of Ursula. Ash could feel the rage radiating from her through his Aura, though he wasn't sure why she felt so angry, it took all of his willpower not to back away from her in fear.
"What do you think you are doing with MY boyfriend?" May asked, her voice dripping with venom as she was barely able to her contain her anger, Ursula seemed unaffected by May's rage. Ash was shocked at the tone of May's voice he'd never heard her talk to anyone that way before, not even Harley or Drew.
"I'm showing him what he's missing being with you!" Ursula replied her voice matching May's. Ash could see May's hands were clenched tight and starting to rise, he quickly stood in front of May ignoring the glare he got from Ursula for rejecting her and focussing on May.
"May, calm down she's not worth it. If you hit her you could be knocked out of the Contest." Ash told her as he put his hands on her shoulders, channelling some of his Aura to try and get her to relax. It worked as the fire that burned in her eyes and around her died down, her hands slowly opened as well, she looked at Ash and hugged him, Ash returned the hug. As they were hugging May pulled a tongue at Ursula, who was struggling against the Psychic attack being used by Sian's Smoochum.
"May, let's go outside and get some air." Ash suggested, May broke the hug nodding and kissed Ash on the cheek before grabbing his hand and leading him out of the room, glaring at Ursula as she went. Ursula glared back silently swearing to humiliate May during the contest and have the dance with Ash.
"You two have fun and don't do anything I wouldn't do." Sian called after them teasingly. May smiled at her new friend, blushing slightly and left the room. Ash closed the door behind him as he followed her and walked down the corridor with May before stopping and turning her round.
"You were amazing out there May. Ice Bolt looked so cool. I wouldn't be able to do that." He said, May blush slightly.
"We wouldn't have been able to do it without your help Ash. Thank you but you don't need to be modest, I know that if you tried you'd be able to use Ice Bolt like that too." May replied. "I hope I got through to the next round cause I can't wait to use those combinations you taught Blaziken."
"May, didn't you hear what the Judges said? They said that it was amazing and they hadn't seen anything like it before, of course you've gotten through to the next round and I know that you'll get through that as well. After that you'll win the whole Contest, just wait and see. I believe in you and, you'll win this easily." Ash said, May looked at him with tear-filled eyes and Ash thought he had said something wrong but before he could open his mouth May launched herself at his tackling him to the ground, hugging him tightly and burying her face in his chest.
"Ash, thank you for saying that and thank you for showing me your support with the Aura Spheres, it meant a lot that you would do that in front of so many people." She said, though her voice was slightly muffled because her face was still on Ash's chest, Ash held May as they lay on the floor hugging and enjoying each other company. After a minute they both stood up with their faces glowing red when they realised what they had been doing. Ash brushed some dust off his cape and he caught May looking at him.
"What?" he asked.
"Nothing," May replied, "It's just…you look very dashing in the cape, you should wear it more often."
"Really?" Ash asked, May started to nod and giggled as she picture Ash winning a Gym Badge and posing with the cape flapping in the breeze. The image was too much for her to take and she burst out laughing, confusing Ash. When May had gotten control of herself she explained why she was laughing and Ash chuckled.
"So that's a no to the cape then?" he asked. May nodded again.
"No cape, though you do look dashing in it." She answered.
"I'm not interrupting anything am I?" Sian asked as she opened the door to the Co-Ordinators room "May, the Judges will be back on stage in a minute you need to get back in here."
"Okay, I'll be back in now." May replied. Ash and May said goodbye to each other, May kissed him on the cheek "Thank you for what you've said and done for me today Ash." She said before going back to the Co-Ordinators room and Ash ran back to the Royal Box holding his cheek, trying to work out why there was a warm feeling filling his chest.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, our Judges have chosen the Co-Ordinators who will go on to the next round. Here they are!" Julia announced pointing to the screen. The first picture was May, then Sian, Ursula, Harley and four others. "Our computer will now match up our contestants for the first battle round." The pictures turned around showing a blue rectangle on each and started shuffling around the screen, when the rectangles were paired up they turned back to show the pictures. May, Sian, Ursula and Harley were each facing one of the other four Co-Ordinators. The battles went quickly, May was facing a beginning Co-Ordinator and didn't need to use any of the combinations that Ash had taught her, after her battle May congratulated her opponent for battling well and gave her some advice on how to get stronger. Sian battled an experienced Co-Ordinator and won by a few points, the same went for Ursula, who after her battle blew kisses to Ash causing Sian to hold May back from trying to strangle Ursula. The last battle was Harley's who, like May, faced a Co-Ordinator with only a little experience but during the battle Harley shattered the young boy's confidence by belittled his every move. The crowd booed Harley after the battle causing him to storm off the stage, May told Sian that Harley always did things like that and if she battled him to be on guard as if he thought he was losing he would do whatever he had to do to win.
"Now we have the semi-finals let's see which Co-Ordinators are battling first." Julia said pointing to the screen again as two pictures appeared, "It's Sian and Harley." Both Co-Ordinators made their way to the stage, May went with Sian knowing that she would be facing Ursula right after this battle. I hope Sian wins this May thought as she waited in the tunnel that led to the stage, she saw Ursula was waiting in the opposite tunnel glaring at her, You're not winning this contest Ursula, May thought, I am. Ash is mine. May then turned her attention to the stage to watch the battle. Sian and Harley both bowed to the Royal Box as they walked on to the stage, then took their places for the battle.
"Come on out hun." Sian said throwing her Pokéball to the stage. Her Pokémon appeared in a shower of hearts, she was a small, round pink ball-like Pokémon with cat-like ears and large eyes. She also had small stubby arms and a curl on her head. In one hand she held a marker pen.
Seeing this Pokémon Ash felt his blood run cold as his face went pale and saw Pikachu tense in the Queen's lap, both Riley and the Queen noticed the change in Pikachu and Ash. Meowth didn't notice Jigglypuff as he was still asleep.
"Ash, what's wrong?" Riley asked.
"That Jigglypuff stalked me and my friends for about three years, she would sing and when we fell asleep she would use that pen to draw on our faces. It took hours to get rid of the ink and our faces would be raw afterwards. Riley stop laughing or I swear I'll throw you to Unova." Ash said glaring daggers at his fellow Aura Guardian who held a hand over his mouth to hold back his laughter, the Queen just smiled and continued to stroke Pikachu to try and calm the electric type who seemed to be suffering from flashbacks.
May recognised Jigglypuff as well and felt the same way Ash did, she wanted Sian to win this battle even more now so that she could have a chance at vengeance against Jigglypuff. (AN isn't it amazing how much one little Pokémon can affect people).
Harley released his signature Pokémon. Standing on the stage was a green Pokémon which possessed a scarecrow-like body, he had menacing facial features such as yellow eyes and a mouth composed of multiple holes in it face. A number of spikes erupted along his arms, legs and neck, a pattern of diamond shapes extended down the front of his body and finally on his head was a triangular spiky-tipped feature which looked like a hat. The hat-like feature, spikes and diamond shapes were a darker green than the rest of his body. Harley's Cacturne had taken to the stage, towering over Sian's Jigglypuff.
"Five minutes are on the clock. Begin the battle!" Julia shouted.
"Jigglypuff use Sing." Sian called to the Balloon Pokémon, Jigglypuff took a deep breath and started to sing into the marker pen. Ash and May's hand shot to cover their ears, while Pikachu flattened his ears down under the Queen's hand to block out the singing.
"Jigglypuff – Jiggly –y-y-ypuff – Jigglypuff – Jiggly-y-y." sang the small Pokémon, Cacturne started to sway side to side and his eyes were closing.
"Cacturne use Faint Attack." Harley shouted. Cacturne slowly faded from sight and Jigglypuff stopped singing, looking for her opponent. Cacturne reappeared behind Jigglypuff and delivered a vicious punch, sending the normal type across the battlefield. Sian's points dropped slightly.
"Jigglypuff, Ice Beam." A ball of light blue energy formed in front of Jigglypuff's mouth and a beam of the energy shot towards Cacturne.
"Cacturne dodge it." Cacturne spun to the side evading the Ice Beam.
"Jigglypuff use Psychic on the Ice Beam." Jigglypuff's eyes shone blue as the Ice Beam curved in the air and hit Cacturne in the back, causing Harley's points to drop by a quarter because of the super effective attack.
"How dare you, Cacturne use Needle Arm." Harley shouted. Cacturne's arm glowed white as he charged forward.
"Dodge with Gyro Ball." Sian called to her Pokémon, who spun around dodging the attack. "Now use Shadow Ball." Jigglypuff stopped spinning and fired a sphere of black energy hitting Cacturne in the side. Cacturne was knocked off balance and fell when a second Shadow Ball collided with him, Harley's points dropped further.
"Cacturne get up now and use Poison Sting." Harley roared in angry unable to comprehend how he was losing to a Jigglypuff. Slowly Cacturne rose to his feet and spat a barrage of purple darts at Jigglypuff.
"Use Psychic to send them back." Sian called to her Pokémon, once more Jigglypuff's eyes glowed blue as she turned poison type attack against Cacturne.
"Cacturne stop it with Energy Ball." Cacturne formed a sphere of green energy between his arms and threw it at the Psychic controlled Poison Sting, the attacks collided creating a burst of colour causing Sian's points to drop to half. Both of their points were roughly even, Sian's only a point or two above Harley's. "Cacturne end this battle use Drain Punch." Harley cried, his Pokémon ran forward with green energy spiralling around his arm. Cacturne drew closer and closer to Jigglypuff but Sian made no move to counter or dodge, just before Cacturne's attack hit she shouted.
"Jigglypuff, Flamethrower!" The small Pokémon opened her mouth and blew out a torrent of fire which cancelled Cacturne's attack and threw him back. When the fire cleared Cacturne fell to the ground with swirls in his eyes.
"Cacturne is unable to battle, the winner and progressing onto the final is Sian." Julia shouted above the cheers of the crowd. The Judges praised Sian's performance as Harley left the stage before they could say anything to him. Sian thanked them for their words and bowed to the Royal Box as she left the stage. "We now welcome to the stage our second semi-final battle May and Ursula."
As they passed each other in the tunnel Sian wished May good luck. Both May and Ursula took their places at either end of the battlefield, they both turned to the Royal box and Ursula curtsied while May bowed. Ursula blew a kiss to Ash causing May to struggle controlling her anger, Ash ignored the kiss and smiled at May, seeing her friend do this the Princess of Hoenn calmed down and sent a satisfied smirk to Ursula who scowled back. Both Co-Ordinators released their Pokémon, May's Blaziken somersaulted onto the stage with fire flaring around her wrists, she stood tall and proud, stretching her leg with a few practice kicks. Ursula's Pokémon appeared on the stage next she stood on two legs and was dark blue with a red underbelly, under the red was a gold diamond as well as a gold cross on her snout. On each arm was a wing-like appendage, a dorsal fin sat on her back and another fin was on her tail. There were two horns on her head which resembled jet engines, spiked adorned her hind legs and arms as well as sharp claws. She roared trying to intimidate Blaziken but failed. Garchomp was ready for battle.
"We have put five minutes on the clock, our Co-Ordinators are ready so let the battle begin." Julia said retreating to a safe distance from the two powerful Pokémon on the battlefield.
"Blaziken, use Sunny Day." May said, Blaziken formed a ball of energy between her hands and threw it to the ceiling, it hovered there looking like the sun. "Now use Flamethrower." Opening her beak Blaziken released a horizontal pillar of fire at Garchomp.
"You use Flamethrower too Garchomp." Ursula told her own Pokémon, who obeyed. The two fire type moves clashed in the middle of the field causing an explosion, a cloud of smoke covered the field.
"Blaziken, jump out of the smoke." Blaziken appeared above the black cloud seconds later thank to her powerful legs.
"Garchomp, Aerial Ace." Ursula called, her Pokémon flew out of the cloud leaving a silvery trail behind her, aiming for Blaziken.
"Dodge with Acrobatics and use Blaze Kick." Blaziken somersaulted out of the way at the last second, spinning over Garchomp and delivered a flaming kick to Garchomp's back, sending the Mach Pokémon crashing to the ground. Blaziken then landed safely on the stage quickly settling into a fighting stance.
"That's impossible, Aerial Ace is always supposed to hit. How did you do that? Tell me!" Ursula demanded.
"It's all in the timing," May replied coolly, "plus I had a great teacher." May turned and winked at Ash. "Now Blaziken use Shadow Claw, with both hands." Blaziken's hands became shrouded in a ghostly energy which formed into the shape of large claws.
"Garchomp, counter both with Dragon Claw." Ursula said. Garchomp's claws turned light blue and as the two Pokémon clashed the energies of their attacks caused sparks to fly. May smiled this is what she had planned, both Pokémon were struggling to get the upper hand and couldn't back down or they would get hit. Garchomp was slowly gaining the upper hand so May put her plan into action.
"Blaziken, Solarbeam!" May shouted, shocking Ursula. Blaziken charged a ball of pale yellow energy in her beak and thanks to Sunny Day it was charged in a matter of seconds. Blaziken fired the powerful attack hitting Garchomp point blank in the face, sending the Mach Pokémon across the field. Garchomp had taken heavy damage from the attack but was still able to battle. Ursula was now extremely angry.
"Garchomp, use Dragon Pulse followed by Dragon Rage." Garchomp fired a pale green orb, swiftly followed by a dark blue dragon shaped attack. The two dragon type attacks combined into a large stream of energy heading directly for Blaziken. May knew that Blaziken's attacks wouldn't be able to stop or destroy the attack and if Blaziken was hit then that was the end of the battle.
"Blaziken dodge it." Blaziken jumped into the air again evading the attack, however the attack was now heading for May. May was frozen to the spot in fear, she closed her eyes and waited for it to hit. A breeze ruffled her hair and she heard the explosion from the attack but didn't feel it, slowly opening her eyes she could see that she was surrounded by a barrier of green energy. Standing in front of May was a jackal-like Pokémon with blue fur and metal spikes on the backs of his paws, it was Ash's Lucario. Lucario stood side on in front of May with one arm outstretched to form the barrier protecting May from the attack, when the attack died down Lucario let the barrier fade away. A clap echoed throughout the silence of the Contest hall followed by another and another, May looked where the clapping was coming from and saw it was the Queen. The Queen stood in the Royal Box applauding Lucario's actions, she subtly indicated to May that Ash was the one who sent Lucario to protect her by inclining her head in Ash's direction. Everyone else in the hall started to applaud Lucario, who bowed and then used Extremespeed to return to the Royal Box, May looked at Ash and mouthed `thank you`, Ash smiled back and nodded his head slightly.
Blaziken move in front of May looking back to see if she was okay and wanted to continue, May nodded firmly to her Pokémon and was ready to finish this battle, a confident fire burned in her eyes.
"Blaziken, Quick Attack." She said, Blaziken nodded and ran at high speed towards Garchomp leaving a trail of white light behind her.
"Garchomp use Dig to dodge." Ursula commanded. Garchomp dove at the ground but May was ready to counter, her training with Ash had prepared her for this situation.
"Blaziken send Garchomp into the air with Sky Uppercut." Blaziken's hand glowed light blue and slammed into Garchomp's jaw sending the Ground-Dragon type into the air. "Now Blaziken use Flare Combat." Blaziken jumped into the air after Garchomp while enveloping herself in fire, she then proceeded to deliver a flurry of Fire Punches and Blaze Kicks to Garchomp sending her crashing to the stage again. A cloud of dust blocked Garchomp from sight and Blaziken landed on the stage, Ursula's points had dropped to nearly zero and there were only seconds left on the clock.
"Garchomp if you can still move use Dragon Rush." She called to her Pokémon, there was silence in the hall everyone waiting to see if Garchomp was still able to battle when a blue light was seen in the cloud and Garchomp came storming out hitting Blaziken in the chest, sending her crashing to the ground in front of May. "Now Garchomp use Aqua Tail." Water swirled around Garchomp's tail and came crashing towards Blaziken. May saw that the Sunny Day from earlier in the battle was still in effect but fading quickly, she knew that to win this battle she needed to use one of the combinations Ash had taught Blaziken. It's not perfect yet but it will be enough to end this battle. May thought.
"Blaziken let's end this with Solar Spin." May shouted once more confusing everyone in the Hall as to what the move could be. Blaziken quickly formed another pale yellow ball of energy in her beak and fired another Solarbeam, this one was different than the first one as Blaziken also launched a Fire Spin around it. The pale yellow energy of the Solar Beam fused with the fire type attack creating a spiralling beam of orange energy, the combined power of the two attacks slammed into Garchomp. Garchomp was sent across the battlefield and crashed in to the surrounding wall, creating a large crater and another cloud of dust, the buzzer went, time was up and Garchomp fell from the wall with swirls in her eyes. The beauty of Solar Spin had cost Ursula the last of her points as well.
"Garchomp is unable to battle and Ursula has all of her points. So going through to face Sian in the final is May!" Julia shouted as the audience cheered. May ran onto the field and hugged Blaziken, thanking her for battling so hard and winning. May returned Blaziken to her Pokéball bowed to the Royal Box and left the stage to get Blaziken healed and ready for the final.
May was sitting in the Co-Ordinators room talking with Sian, May didn't want to battle Sian she was a friend and May didn't want to see her loose but at the same time didn't want her to win as she would get to dance with Ash. Sian noticed that May was quieter than usual and decided to change the subject from the upcoming battle to something else.
"You know May, Ash is handsome isn't he?" Sian said, earning a questioning look from her new friend.
"Yeah he is, why are you asking?" May replied.
"No reason," Sian was quiet for a few seconds, "Do you think he likes red heads?"
"Sian, why are you asking me these things?," May asked as a feeling of uncertainty and anger started to form inside her, "Do you like Ash?" Sian looked at the floor.
"Maybe a little," she said. May's mouth fell open, her friend liked Ash and had just admitted it to her when she knew that May liked Ash as well, "It's just that he's so caring and good looking and from what you've told me he's very heroic as well. Hearing all those things gets a girl's attention you know. Plus he's in shape I saw that during his Graduation." Sian continued, "Besides when I win this Contest I'll get to dance with him, I can't wait." Sian finished squealing at the end. May shot out of her seat, rounded on Sian and spoke in a calm but still quite threatening voice, all thought of not wanting to battle Sian gone from her mind.
"Ash is mine, I'm going to win the Contest and dance with him. Not you or Ursula or even the Queen are going to stop me understand."
"I understand but we'll just have to see what happens won't we." Sian replied coolly before standing up and walking to the stage. May stood there fuming before making her way to the stage as well.
"Here we are, this is the final of the Rota Contest. Our Co-Ordinators have shown us what they can do but now they have to do it one more time. Please welcome onto the stage our finalists May and Sian!" Julia shouted. The audience roared in excitement as the two Co-Ordinators walked on to the stage taking their positions on the battlefield. "We have our finalists, we have five minutes on the clock, let the battle begin."
"Come on out hun." Sian said releasing her Jigglypuff.
"Blaziken, take the stage." May cried, letting Blaziken out of her Pokéball. "Blaziken, use Blaze Kick." Blaziken's foot erupted in flames as she ran towards Jigglypuff.
"Jigglypuff, use Sing." Jigglypuff opened her mouth to sing a lullaby.
"Blaziken, use Quick Attack to get in close before Jigglypuff can start singing." Blaziken shot across the battlefield leaving a silvery trail behind her and delivered a powerful Blaze Kick to the Balloon Pokémon, Jigglypuff was sent skidding across the stage.
"Jigglypuff try Sing again." Jigglypuff took a breath and opened her mouth to sing but May had Blaziken get in close and hit the Normal type before she could start singing.
"Use Psychic." Sian called to her Pokémon, Jigglypuff's eyes glowed blue as Blaziken was thrown across the battlefield, "Now use Thunderbolt." Jigglypuff's body started to spark with electricity and a bolt flew towards Blaziken.
"Blaziken use Thunder Punch to catch it." Blaziken's fist crackled with electrical energy and the Thunderbolt was drawn to it, covering Blaziken's fist with even more power. "Now use Thunder Punch on Jiggypuff."
"Counter it with Rollout." Sian cried, Jigglypuff curled into a ball and rolled towards Blaziken as the fire type charged at the normal type, Sian was confident until she saw the smile on May's face. Blaziken threw the Thunder Punch and broke Jigglypuff's Rollout sending the small Pokémon across the battlefield and crashing into the surrounding wall.
"JIGGLYPUFF!" Sian shouted in fear but as the dust cleared Jigglypuff was seen slowly climbing out of the wall. She gave her trainer a look to say that she could still battle, Sian nodded to her Pokémon and let her return to the battlefield. Sian looked over to May and saw the worried look on her face.
"Jigglypuff's okay May, there's no need to worry about her." Sian called across the stage, May nodded and waited for Sian to make her move. Both Co-Ordinators had forgotten about their points, the only thing on their minds was winning the battle.
"Jiggypuff, Flamethrower." Jigglypuff let a torrent of fire fly from her mouth.
"Blaziken dodge with Acrobatics." Blaziken somersaulted over the fire attack.
"Now Jigglypuff, Hidden Power." Shining white orbs circles Jigglypuff's body before being sent towards Blaziken.
"Blaziken, Counter Shield!" May shouted, Blaziken started to spin in the air and used Flamethrower. Fantina's eyes widened when she heard May call of a Counter Shield. Hidden Power hit the flaming shield and ricocheted back at Jigglypuff, who dodged it gracefully. Before May or Sian could call their next attack the buzzer went.
"Time is up, let's look at the scores and see who our winner is." Julia announced because of the action packed battle no-one had been looking at the scoreboard. "The winner of Rota's first Contest and the person who will be dancing the night away with the new Aura Guardian is…..May Maple!" The audience exploded in cheers and applause.
"YES!" May cried happily, knowing that she would get to dance with Ash again and she that had taken her first step on the way to the Grand Festival.
May walked onto the stage and thanked Blaziken for her hard work, Sian walked over to Jigglypuff and thanked her for her hard work before returning her to her Pokéball.
"Congratulations May." Sian said holding her hand out, May shook it but was confused by the giant smile on Sian's face. "May, I just want to tell you that everything is said before I only said because I could tell you were conflicted about battling me. I said I liked Ash to get you angry so that you would go all out in the battle. I'd never come between a friend and the person she's in love with." May looked at Sian in shock.
"I'm not in love with Ash, sure I like him but it's not love." May said while sounding slightly panicked.
"May, the way you told me and Ursula that Ash was yours, the tone of voice you used says otherwise you love him just accept it. Now do you forgive me for doing what I did?"
"Yes, I forgive you," May said hugging Sian, "So you don't like Ash, right?"
"He is everything you said he was but I only like him as a friend. Nothing more." Sian turned to leave then looked over her shoulder, "By the way, Ash likes you too, he's just too dense to realise it so you might need to point him in the right direction. Bye." Sian walked off leaving May standing on the stage thinking about what Sian had said. May quickly pushed her thought away and made a mental note to sort them out later.
Ash, Riley and the Queen walked onto the stage. The Queen approached May holding a small wooden box.
"May Maple, congratulations on winning this Contest. I hereby award you with the Aura Ribbon." The Queen said opening the box and handing May the ribbon.
"I won the Aura Ribbon!" May said posing.
"I believe that Guardian Ketchum has something to ask you Miss Maple." Said Riley smiling as he dug his elbow into Ash's ribs.
"Congratulations May, I knew you could do it." Ash said, Riley nudged Ash again telling him to get on with it, "Would you do me the honour of allowing me to escort you the banquet tonight?" Ash asked bowing slightly, as he remembered the phrase that Riley told him he needed to use.
"I would love to go to the banquet with you Guardian Ketchum." May replied teasingly as she felt a surge of happiness and excitement course through her body.
Once the award ceremony was complete everyone left the Contest hall to get ready for the banquet later that night. Ash would be wearing his formal Aura Guardian Uniform again and the Queen had sent more dresses for May to choose from. A few hours later Ash heard May say that she would meet him at the banquet hall as she still needed a few minutes to finish getting ready, Ash said okay and left his room carrying Sir Aaron's staff, Pikachu sat on his shoulder while Lucario and Meowth walked alongside him. While she was alone, May tried to understand what she was feeling and realised that she might actually be in love with Ash. She then tried to decide whether to tell Ash or wait and see if he showed how he felt about her.
On his way to the banquet hall he meet Sian who was wearing a similar dress to what she wore for the contest except this one was longer stopping just above her feet, she had a gold ribbon wrapped around her waist like a belt and a pair of small heels with gold buckles on the toes. He walked with her to the banquet hall, when they got there he held the door open for her and said that he would see her later as he was waiting for May. Sian thanked him and went inside, Ash closed the door behind her and after a few minutes waiting and creating funny shapes with his Aura he heard footsteps coming down the corridor, looking in the direction of the footsteps Ash's breath caught in his throat. May was wearing a strapless blue dress that went to the floor, there was a slit that went three quarters of the way the dress that showed May's leg when she walked, the dress showed some cleavage but not enough for it to but vulgar, a white ribbon was tied round her waist and a pair of light blue heels. The dress showed off May's curves and matched her eyes perfectly, a shawl the same colour of the dress was draped over her bare shoulders, a silver chain hung around her neck with a small teardrop shaped sapphire hanging from it and her hair was tied in a bun with a curled lock of hair hanging by her face. Glaceon was walking alongside May with a small light blue ribbon on her head.
"Hi Ash, ready to go in?" May asked, Ash just stood in silence stunned by the vision in front of him. He tried to speak but nothing came out of his mouth. May turned to Lucario and thanked him for saving her during the contest.
"Ash? What's wrong?" she asked.
"May, you look beautiful." He eventually managed to say. May blushed and turned away.
"Thank you Ash, and thank you for asking Lucario to protect me from the attack during my battle with Ursula. Can we go in to the hall now?" she replied shyly, Ash nodded and held his arm out. May put her arm around his but before Ash could open the doors they were opened from the inside and trumpets started playing. Both Ash and May were confused by what was happening until they heard Riley's voice over the trumpeting fanfare.
"Presenting Rota's newest Aura Guardian and his date for this evening, the winning Co-Ordinator of Rota's first Contest, Ash Ketchum and May Maple." Riley was smiling at the discomfort on their faces from the attention they were getting as everyone in the banquet hall stood and applauded, well nearly everyone Harley and Ursula stayed in their seats and scowled at Ash and May. Ash could feel the eyes of the men in the room roaming over May's body and wanted to stop them, while May felt the same way about the women in the room staring at Ash. The feeling of so many people watching them made the pair unconsciously hold onto each other tighter. The embarrassed pair walked through hall, followed by Meowth, Lucario, Glaceon and Pikachu who had jumped off of Ash's shoulder when the doors opened, they walked up to the Queen and bowed/curtsied to her before turning to find somewhere to sit.
"Guardian Ketchum, Miss Maple your seats for this evening are here." Said the Queen gesturing to a pair of seats next to her. Ash and May sat down while Pikachu, Glaceon, Lucario and Meowth went to stand by Riley's Lucario giving their trainers some time with May, the meal was then served and while everyone was eating the Queen turned to Ash.
"My Guardian," she said, "Will you be singing for us tonight?" Ash started to choke on his food, May patted his back until he'd stopped.
"Do I have to?" he asked whining slightly, he'd had enough attention already tonight and still needed to dance with May, though he was strangely looking forward to it.
"Only if you wish to but I am wondering if your date for this evening would like to hear you sing." The Queen moved her gaze to May, urging her to agree.
"I didn't know that Ash could sing." May said, "Ash, will you sing for me please." May asked pleadingly while giving Ash the biggest puppy dog eyes he'd ever seen.
"Okay," he sighed, "I'll sing but I'm not that good."
"He is just being modest, he has a wonderful voice." Said the Queen, "He didn't tell anyone he could sing when he came here. I only found out because I was walking in the palace gardens one day, not long after he came here to start his Aura training and I heard someone singing so I followed the voice and found My Guardian sitting under a tree surrounded by wild Pokémon singing a beautiful song. Since then whenever he is here I ask him to sing for me." The Queen explained. May felt a pang of jealousy hearing the Queen refer to Ash as her guardian, With the amount of times that Ash has helped me, I should call him MY Guardian May thought with a giggle.
"What would you like me to sing?" Ash asked the Queen.
"Would you sing my favourite song for me?" the Queen replied.
"Of course my Queen." Ash said bowing his head slightly and was about to returned to his meal when the Queen said something else to him so only he could hear.
"Would you sing while you dance with May?" The Queen's tone was a questioning one but also had the undertone of it being an order. Ash sighed in defeat.
"Yes, my Queen." Ash replied before eating his meal again, May was about to what the Queen had just said to Ash but the Queen stopped her by asking where she would go for her next ribbon. The conversation about future contests carried on for the rest of the meal until the Queen nodded to the band in the corner of the room and then looked at Ash. Ash nodded and stood up, he turned to May and offered her his hand.
"Miss Maple, may I have this dance?" he asked, May took his hand and stood up.
"Yes you may, Guardian Ketchum." She replied with a giggle. The pair made their way to the dance floor. The Queen stood up and spoke to everyone in the hall.
"It is time for Miss Maple, our Contest winner to dance with Guardian Ketchum and tonight we have a special treat for you all. Aura Guardian Ketchum will be singing for us." The Queen then sat back down and nodded to Ash. Ash bowed to her then turned to the band telling them the song they needed to play. Ash then held his hand out to May, who took it and he twirled her before pulling her in close to start dancing.
"This might get a bit awkward May, the Queen asked me to dance with you while I sing." He said closing his eyes but before May could ask why it would get awkward the music started playing and Ash started to sing softly in a velvety smooth voice. Ash let the music wash over him, letting it carry away the nervousness and awkwardness of having to sing while dancing with the beautiful woman in his arms. May was stunned by how wonderful Ash's singing was and let it surround her so it seemed that it was only her and Ash in the entire room.
Look at the sky, tell me what do you see
Just close your eyes and describe it to me
The heavens are sparkling with starlight tonight
That's what is see through your eyes
Ash was about to sing the next verse when he heard a woman's voice start singing. He opened his eyes and saw it was May singing with him. Her voice was beautiful and worked with his perfectly.
I see the heavens each time that you smile
I hear your heartbeat just go on for miles
Suddenly I know why life is worth while
That's what I see through your eyes
Ash and May then started singing together their voices getting louder, ignoring the astonished looks from everyone else in the banquet hall, while slowly dancing around the floor. Warm chocolate brown eyes met sparkling sapphire eyes both Ash and May felt compelled to stare into each other's eyes and sing with all their soul.
That's what I see through your eyes
They became lost in the music and held each other close as they continued to move around the dance floor in synch with each other.
Here in the night, I see the sun
Here in the dark, our two hearts are one
It's out of our hands
We can't stop what we have begun
And love just took me by surprise
Looking through your eyes
While singing Ash and May glided around the dance floor, their faces only an inch apart and their eyes locked the whole time, speeding up or slowing down dependent on the tempo of the song.
I see a night I wish could last forever
I see a world we're meant to see together
And it's so much more than I remember
More than I remember
More than I have known
Ash and May were totally lost in the moment and oblivious to the people around them and the looks on their Pokémon's faces. Meowth and Lucario were smirking, Pikachu looked slightly confused and Glaceon had a small smile on her face as she stood close to Pikachu.
Here in the night, I see the sun
Here in the dark, our two hearts are one
It's out of our hands
We can't stop what we have begun
And love just took me by surprise
Looking through your eyes
The song was ending so Ash and May were stopped moving round the dance floor and stood swaying gently side to side while still looking into each other's eyes.
Looking through your eyes
As the song finished Ash dipped May on the last note. Everyone rose from their seats and applauded both their singing and dancing, Ash and May then realised that they weren't alone and they bowed/curtsied while they blushed a bright red from embarrassment, until the band started to play another song and more people came to the dance floor, praising their performance.
"May, you've got a great singing voice. How long have you been able to sing like that?" Ash asked.
"I've been singing since I was little, I usually sing when I'm alone but when you started singing I just felt the need to sing with you. I don't know why." May replied.
Ash and May danced together for most of the night except for two times, one when the Queen cut in and another when May needed to rest her feet and Sian wanted to dance. Sian promised May that she would make sure Ursula didn't come anywhere near Ash while May was gone. A few hours later May and Ash and stopped dancing and were sat down having a drink.
"Ash, I need to get some air." May said standing up.
"Okay May I'll come with you. I need to get out of here for a bit, I don't like the way Ursula is looking at me." Ash replied standing as well picking up his new staff, May looked in Ursula's direction and saw the look of desire and anger on her face as she stared at Ash and May. May positioned herself between them and kissed Ash on the cheek.
"Thank you for the dance and you have an amazing voice. Now let's go and get some air." May said taking Ash's arm and holding his hand, she then walked with him to the doors that lead out to the palace gardens. They walked around the gardens in silence for a few minutes, Ash noticed that May was shivering. Ash let go of May's hand, causing her to look at him questioningly, he then took off his cape, stood in front of May and draped it over her shoulders.
"I saw that you were cold." He explained before taking May's hand again, May took a step closer to Ash leaving only a small space between them. Feeling that this had been a perfect and quite romantic evening, May decided to tell Ash how she felt but she was scared.
"Ash, there's something I need to tell you but I scared about how you'll react to it." May said softly.
"May, you can tell me anything you know that." Ash said as he moved the loose lock of hair behind May's ear, his fingertips brushing against her skin. May leaned in closer to Ash and he, unconsciously leaned closer to her, their lips nearly touching.
"I wanted to say that I really enjoyed tonight and that you have a wonderful singing voice. Ash, I think I lo…." May said as her face slowly edged towards Ash's their lips were millimetres apart when they heard a scream coming from the banquet hall. They both jerked back and wondered what had just happened to them, they heard another scream and ran back to the hall. Entering through the doors they saw in the middle of the dance floor, standing over an unconscious Riley, was an Entei.
Disclaimer I don't own Pokémon or the Song I've included.
The song is called Looking through your eyes and is from the film Magic Sword Quest for Camelot.
Please review and tell me what you think.
Thanks for reading
Later guys and girls
Basic Trainer