Time for the next chapter but first there's something I need to do and that's thank SuperGV88. I had an idea but I wasn't sure how it would be received by you the readers so I asked for his advice. He gave some great advice and also gave me a few ideas for how to bring the idea into the story along with something I hadn't thought of. So I am incredibly grateful to him for that.
There's one other thing I need to address, a review I got from someone calling themselves Nemo. I don't usually do things like this but I have a problem with what Nemo's said, I've put the actual review below.
Well this was a great story until you ruined it with Dawn and Zoey. Absolutely disgusting.
Okay fair enough you mightn't approve of gay relationships but there's no need to write it in a review for the world to see. If there's a problem with the way I write a character or even if I've written a particularly inappropriate section of the story then I haven't got a problem with that. The thing is though I haven't gotten any other reviews or PM's about Dawn and Zoey and I know the section of the story I've included them in isn't inappropriate in anyway. The only thing they do is talk about their first kisses, they only kiss on the cheek once (I think), hug and hold hands that's it. So other then the small mindedness of Nemo I can't see anything that would make it disgusting, on the off chance I've missed the 'Absolutely disgusting' part could someone let me know and I'll try to rectify the problem.
Okay I've got my little rant out of the way so now it's time to the story.
Hope you enjoy it.
Current Teams
Ash - Pikachu, Lucario, Gardevoir, Meowth, Ponyta, Butterfree, Bagon, Talonflame
May - Flaffy, Froslass, Cubone, Glaceon, Vulpix, Blaziken, Mawile, Spoink
Chapter 24
Straight(ish) to Saffron
Ash and May had been travelling for a little over a week when they came to a small town, one that Ash had visited before. They had arrived in Maiden's Peak, during their travels they had encountered a few other trainers and battled them. Ash had used the opportunity to train Bagon, Meowth and Ponyta along with refreshing his memory of how Butterfree moved during a battle so they would be ready for their upcoming battle against Sabrina.
For the previous couple of nights before they reached Maiden's Peak Ash had been having dreams of the Maiden's spirit and her love. He knew that his Aura was reacting to the Maiden's emotions and that she was asking for his help. He had kept this knowledge to himself and not mentioned it to May, he would when they'd settled into the Pokémon Centre but first he wanted find a way of telling her. It wasn't like he could just jump in and say 'Hey May, I'm off to help a ghost. Want to come?'
As they crossed the threshold of the town Ash could feel a dull throb at the back of his mind, he knew it was the Maiden reaching out to him, begging for his help, he focused on things other than the pain that rang in his head and kept walking. He and May made their way to the Pokémon Centre, to reserve a room and get Nurse Joy to check out their Pokémon but as they got further and further into the town, Ash's head began to ache more and more. They made it to the Pokémon Centre and did what they needed to do, Ash still hadn't thought of a way to tell May about the Maiden so they went for a walk around the town, the Maiden's influence on Ash's Aura steadily getting stronger and more unbearable. Eventually Ash wasn't able to hide it and took his hand out of May's as he staggered to the side, leaning against a building and holding his head. His hands were gripping his hair tightly nearly pulling it out and his eyes were clenched shut as he struggled against the pain.
"Ash, what's wrong?" May asked concerned about him.
"May, there's something I need to tell you." Ash started but had to stop as a groan of pain crept up his throat and out of his mouth. May quickly moved to Ash's side with the assembled Pokémon gathering around them as Pikachu remained on Ash's shoulder looking concerned.
"Ash, what's wrong?" May asked. Lucario and Gardevoir could sense that something was affecting Ash's mind but didn't know how to help him alleviate his pain.
"I can't help you if I can't think straight!" Ash shouted, causing May to jump back startled and the people passing to turn and stare at him. The ache in his head started to fade until after a couple of minutes it had turned into a slight tingle. Ash sighed in relief before turning to May. "Sorry about that, I'll explain everything on the way."
"The way where?"
"The Maiden's shrine." Ash took May's hand in his and together they walked through the town towards a shrine that sat on a cliff. "There's a legend that says around 2000 years ago there was a young woman, a maiden, whose love was sent off to war and because of her devotion to him the Maiden stood on the cliff overlooking the ocean waiting for him to return like he'd promised to. The Maiden waited for years but she didn't give up hope that he'd come back, it's said that when she died her body turned to stone and bonded her to the peak so she could always keep watch for her love's return. The town holds a festival every year to honor the Maiden and at the end they release small boats with lanterns into the water to help spirits find their way home, hoping that the Maiden's love will return to her." Ash said as he led May up to the shrine.
When they got there they found a little old woman in the shadow of the shrine brushing the ground in front of it. The old woman was wearing a deep purple robe and had long shaggy white hair that nearly touched the ground, a short wooden stick was leaning on the wall of the shrine. As Ash and May got closer to the shrine they could hear the old woman muttering to herself.
"Need to make sure everything's ready for the festival, can't let the legend die." The old woman kept sweeping. Ash and May stopped a few feet away from her and just as May was going to say something to get the old woman's attention she spun around. "Beware young beautiful wome…" The old woman stopped when she saw Ash and smirked slightly. "Oh, it's you. I didn't expect to see you again." She chuckled. Pikachu and Meowth bristled slightly remembering what happened the last time they'd met the woman but remained at Ash's side.
"I didn't think I'd see you again either." Ash replied.
"Ash, do you know this lady?" May asked.
"Sort of, she…helped me, Brock and Misty last time I was here." Ash explained. "I thought you didn't like the sunlight." Ash said to the woman, trying to hide a wince as his head started to ache again.
"I don't that's why I'm staying in the shade of the shrine." The old woman saw Ash wince and knocked on the wall of the shrine. "Leave the boy alone." She said and the ache in Ash's head faded away back to the slight tingle at the base of his skull. "It's not like he's going to be able to help."
"Actually that's why I'm here, I think I might be able to help." Ash said, "I'm an Aura Guardian, I can't promise anything but I'll try my best." Ash looked around to make sure they were alone before forming a small Aura Sphere in the palm of his hand as proof.
"Well, you might just be able to do something." A crooked smile crossed the old woman's wrinkled face. "Come back after dark, I'll be stronger then and together we might actually be able to help the Maiden peace after all this time. I think you should go and rest young Guardian, you'll need to save your strength for what we're going to attempt to do." Ash nodded and together with May started to walk back to the Pokémon Centre.
"Ash, what was all that about?" May asked.
"I don't actually know, I was just going to see if the Maiden's spirit guided me in what to do." Ash answered.
"So you had no idea of what you were going to do to help her?"
"Er…Not really no." Ash said scratching the back of his head smiling stupidly. May giggled and held Ash's hand a little tighter while resting her weight against him slightly.
They arrived back as the Pokémon Centre after taking a quick look around the town and buying some more supplies just to top up what they already had. Ash and Lucario sat on the floor of their room and meditated, focusing their minds and strengthening their concentration while they were doing that May had pulled a couple of notebooks out of her bag and started to write in them. One of the notebooks was her reference guide for her Contest Appeals, she'd write down any ideas she had for Appeals and move combinations, anything she'd seen other Co-Ordinators do, training methods and ways that she could possible use her opponent's combinations against them. The other notebook, the one she was currently writing in, was her travel journal, everything that happened she'd write down in it. The journal also acted as her diary as there were times when she'd write down her feelings just to get them out in the open, at least a little. May was lying on her stomach across the bed with her legs kicking lightly in the air as she wrote down the events that had just occurred while her other hand fiddled with the Manaphy pendant on the necklace that Ash had won for her back at the Fun Fair in Porta Vista.
After half an hour May had finished writing in her travel journal and started to flick through the other notebook looking at her old ideas and thinking of anyway she might be able to improve on them. She glanced up from the pages and looked around the room Ash and Lucario were still meditating, Gardevoir was looking out of the window of the room and Meowth sat on the other bed checking the wiring on the Transfer Capsule to see how it was holding up. May then moved to look over the side of her bed, looking down at Pikachu and Glaceon they were sat close together talking quietly. May smiled when she saw Glaceon lay her tail over Pikachu's and thought she saw a pinkish tint appear across the electric mouse's face but couldn't tell due to the angle she was looking at them from. She reached down and stroked them both getting a pleased purr from Glaceon and a happy squeak from Pikachu before returning to her notebook, May continued to flick through the pages adding a few notes as she went along with writing down a few new ideas. When she looked at the time she saw that another hour had passed, May put her notebooks away and stood up stretching her muscles.
"Meowth, I'm going to go outside and do a bit of training. Can you tell Ash were I've gone if he stops meditating before I come back?" May asked quietly, Meowth looked up, nodded and then went back to his work.
"May I come with you Mistress May?" Gardevoir asked.
"Of course you can," May replied, she then looked at Glaceon and was about to ask if she wanted to come but found that the ice type had decided to take a nap with Pikachu curled up alongside her. May couldn't bring herself to wake them as they looked so cute together and decided to leave them as they were. She made her way to the door and exited the room, closing the door quietly behind her, Gardevoir teleported out of the room and appeared standing next to May. The brunette Co-Ordinator squeaked and jumped a little when the Embrace Pokémon tapped her on the shoulder, not aware that Gardevoir was there.
"Don't do that, you scared me." May said, a little more forcefully then she meant to.
"I'm sorry Mistress May, please forgive me." Gardevoir replied bowing her head, shame, guilt and a small amount of fear in her voice. Gardevoir moved her hand to her hair and started to play with it nervously, it was then that May remembered the psychic type's history and put a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"It's alright, I know you didn't mean to." May took a small step closer to Gardevoir, "There's no need for you to be scared," Gardevoir looked up and May saw that she was going to argue, "don't say you're not, I can hear it in your voice. I'm sorry, if I did that to you. Can you forgive me?"
"You did nothing wrong Mistress May, it was my…"
"No, it wasn't your fault." May replied, causing Gardevoir to raise her head. May caught a glimpse of something on the psychic type's hairline as Gardevoir continued to fiddle with her hair. It was then that May remembered that every morning she had seen Gardevoir doing her hair in the mirror making sure that it covered that part of her face. "What's that?" May asked reaching to move Gardevoir's hair out of the way. The Embrace Pokémon smacked May's hand away and started to walk down the hallway.
May stood there in shock at what had just happened before steeling her resolve and following the psychic type. She eventually caught up with Gardevoir, finding her sitting on a bench by the Pokémon Centre's training fields with her head in her hands. May approached slowly and was about to say something when she heard Gardevoir's voice in her head.
"I…I'm so sorry Mistress May. I didn't mean to hit you it's…" Gardevoir paused, letting out a long sigh as she turned to face May. Gardevoir reached up and moved her hair to the side revealing a small scar a few inches long and a shade darker than her natural pale skin. "Please sit with me and I will tell you what happened." May nodded and moved around the bench sitting next to Gardevoir, gingerly she raised her hand and after a nod from Gardevoir May gently touched the scar feeling the roughness compared to the smooth skin surrounding it.
"Does it hurt?" May asked pulling her hand away.
"Not physically but it is a constant reminder of my past. You're the only one who has seen it, I've had it for years. I can't bring myself to show Ash." Gardevoir paused and took a deep breath. "I…I'm sorry I can't talk about what happened it is still too painful, though I may be able to show you. I must warn you that it won't be pleasant to witness, you will see and feel what I endured. It will not be pleasant."
"Show me." May said without hesitation, "I'll do whatever I have to if it helps a friend." Gardevoir nodded and let her hair drop back down to cover her face. She closed her eyes and took after a minute opened them again, May looked into Gardevoir's now glowing blue eyes and felt herself drifting into a trance, her vision went dark.
Mindscape (Gardevoir/Ralts' Perspective)
I emerged into the light having just been attacked and captured inside a small sphere, I grimaced as the pain came back to me. I fell forward on to my hands and knees clutching the bruise on my side, one of the many that adorned my small body, I looked to the human that had released me from the sphere. I knew a little about humans from talking to other Pokémon, I knew that this human was a trainer though I could sense a darkness inside him that scared me. The human wore black clothing that shone a little in the sunlight, I think it was called leather, he was much taller than me and had a sneer on his face.
"I suppose you'll do, even though you didn't put up much of a fight." The Pokémon I battled growled behind me, I turned and looked at it. The Pokémon towered over me a hulking form of black and silver, it let out a snort as it looked down at me. The human turned around and started to walk away. "Keep up or you'll be left behind." I simply starred at him, everything I'd heard about trainers said that they cared for the Pokémon they caught but here I was bruised, tired and in pain watching the…no, MY trainer strolling away like nothing had happened. The Aggron behind me stepped forward causing me to roll out of the way to avoid being stepped on following our trainer. I slowly got to my feet and followed, limping my way to the next town which was a few miles away. When I arrived my trainer was waiting, having arrived a little over an hour before. The only reason I managed to get there was the fact that I'd used my psychic abilities to carry myself once walking became too painful.
(As Gardevoir's memories played out May could feel the ache of the psychic type's injuries, the tiredness in her limbs and the hope that things would get better fading.)
My trainer took out one of the sphere's, which I learned was called a Pokéball, and a red light came out of it hitting me and drawing me inside. I don't know how much time passed but I felt a soothing energy flow into me, I assumed it was from one of those places a trainer went to a Pokémon Centre I think they were called. The next thing I knew I was released from the Pokéball again, only this time I was facing another Pokémon with another human stood behind it. I was scared, I was still young my powers were minimal at best, I could carry my own weight at that was all. The Pokémon in front of me was a light grey with four muscular arms, my trainer commanded me to use attacks I didn't know and shouted when I couldn't perform them.
The other Pokémon beat me easily, I was lucky that the opposing trainer was nothing like mine. He stopped his Pokémon from attacking again and asked why my trainer had sent me into battle against a much stronger Pokémon. My trainer just sent out Aggron to battle his opponent not bothering to take me off the field, I was thankful for the other trainer. He had his Pokémon pick me up and put me out of harm's way before fighting Aggron, I was in a great deal of pain and kept slipping in and out of consciousness. The last thing I remember seeing it Aggron beating the Machamp into the ground.
(May felt every blow that Ralts had taken, the texture of the grass against her body, she saw the battle through blurred vision until everything went black.)
Next thing I knew I was being released from the Pokéball again, I couldn't even stand up due to the pain, I had trouble catching my breath. I looked and saw my trainer crouched down glaring at me, I could feel the disgust flowing off him. He picked me up by my front horn and I screamed in pain, the horns are where the psychic powers of my species are located until we evolve to our final forms either Gardevoir or Gallade. As we evolve our brains become stronger and able to use our abilities without the aid of our horns and they become our way of sensing emotions.
"SHUT UP!" My trainer shouted lifting me into the air as he stood up. "You're useless, you're pathetic, I don't know why I even bothered capturing you." He moved me so our faces were level and barely an inch apart. "Right now you're going to train, you're going to get stronger and you're going to do it now or you'll regret it." He growled throwing me into the air, as I spun around I saw his five other Pokémon assembled in front of my trainer. I flew towards Aggron, still spinning wildly, I closed my eyes when I saw the light shine off the tip of Aggron's horn. I felt a blinding pain as the horn sliced through my skin as I sailed past, my blood trickling down my face, mixing with my tears, and flicked into the air as I continued to turn through the air.
Return To Reality
The link between May and Gardevoir broke as May stood up and stumbled away from the bench crying and clutching her head. Tears flowing down her cheeks, May dropped to her knees and carried on crying she could feel everything that Gardevoir had felt at that moment in time. All the injuries, the throb of the torn flesh on her head, the blood seeping from the wound and rolling down her forehead, the difficult task of breathing, the bruises, the aches every last one of them. May knew that none of this had happened to her but it felt so real that it was like all of it had been inflicted on her at once. Her body trembled as it fought to process what was happening, blood pumping to the areas it thought were affected, sending out endorphins to counter the phantom pains which ended up leaving parts of May's body numb when there was no pain to dull.
Gardevoir stood up and gently helped May to her feet leading her back to the bench, Gardevoir took a deep breath and used her empathic abilities to try and take away the emotional pain May was experiencing. They stayed there for a few minutes before May stopped crying and looked at Gardevoir.
"We do not have to continue Mistress May." Gardevoir said.
"No, I want to know." May answered, wiping her eyes of the remaining tears. "Show me what happened next." Gardevoir hesitated before nodding and rebuilding the link, the memories continued from where they left off.
Mindscape (Gardevoir/Ralts' Perspective)
I hit the ground hard and rolled to a stop, slowly I pushed myself to my feet and just as I stood up I had to defend myself. All the Pokémon that attacked were much larger than me, I was so weak that I couldn't use my abilities so I was reduced to dodging the incoming attacks. My vision out of my right eye was near useless due to the blood flowing from the gash on my forehead, I didn't last long and was soon being beaten back and forth between the five other Pokémon. I don't know how long it went on for but I eventually landed in the middle of all of them. They all charge in to attack me again, I closed my eyes and waited for it all to end but as soon as they made contact with me something broke inside me. I screamed out all of my pain and blacked out, when I opened my eyes my trainer was kneeling next to me holding a bottle. He squeezed the bottle and I felt a stinging sensation hit me when the liquid from the bottle landed on my body.
"You actually surprised me, whatever you just did send the others flying. You keep that up and you might just be useful to me." He said before squeezing the bottle again. I could feel some of my strength returning but the cut on my forehead was still pulsing agony into my brain. I could tell it wasn't going to heal anytime soon but the pain was dulled slightly. My trainer threw the bottle away and smiled at me but it wasn't a nice smile, it was a sadistic one. "Now let's do this again."
Timeskip
My trainer had been using the same 'training method' for months but I was unable to replicate what had happened the first time, I kept being beaten into unconsciousness only to wake up to the disappointed sneer of my trainer. I barely kept track of the time, one 'training' session after another just blended together into one mass memory of pain, since my capture I'd only been treated at a Pokémon Centre once. The wound on my forehead had scarred and luckily hadn't become infected, my short hair covered it so that no one would see.
I could tell that my trainer was getting angry about my lack of power and ability to recreate my burst of psychic energy from the first time. The next time I was released from my Pokéball I stood in front of all the other Pokémon my trainer had with him, we were in a mountainous area somewhere I'd never been before.
"I've had enough of you." He said, "You've wasted enough of my time, this is your last chance to use that power again." He turned to look at his other Pokémon. "Attack." They all started launching everything they had at me, between the attacks I saw him bend down and pick up stones. He straightened up and started throwing them at me, I was already tired when I came out of my Pokéball so I quickly succumbed to the assault. I collapsed and just lay there knowing that I wasn't going to get out this, I closed my eyes and waited for the inevitable.
"Hey, what are you doing?" I heard someone shout, my face was buried in the dirt and I didn't have the strength left to turn my head to see who the voice belonged to. I didn't hear what my trainer said to this new person as one of the stone he was throwing struck the side of my head, sending me dizzy. If I'd eaten anything lately I would've thrown it up as nausea over took my mind.
"Leave Ralts alone!" The new voice shouted, I heard a Pokémon shout as well but was too disorientated to know what type of Pokémon it was. The sounds around me grew louder at the attacks hitting me stopped, I felt something pick me up. I opened my eyes and saw a Pokémon I didn't recognize, it was a little bigger than me and covered in blue fur except for around its eyes the fur around them was black. This strange new Pokémon carried me to a new human, the human held me tightly to his chest but was still gentle careful not to cause me anymore pain. I looked at around weakly and saw a new set of Pokémon fighting against my trainer's and they were winning, I'd never seen that before my trainer's Pokémon had always been the ones to win in a battle.
"Good job Riolu." I heard the human say to the Pokémon that had carried me, the Pokémon I now knew was Riolu nodded and ran into the battling Pokémon. After a few minutes the new Pokémon had beaten my trainer's and the new human was returning them to their Pokéballs, thanking and praising them that too was something I'd never seen before. That was the first time I'd heard a trainer praise their Pokémon, I'd started to doubt whether such trainer existed. My trainer was stood there in shock before charging toward myself and the new human in a rage but never came close as a small yellow Pokémon, another species I'd never seen before, jumped between us and used an electric attack on my trainer. When the attack stopped my trainer in mid-step and he was now covered in black powder, he coughed up a puff of smoke and fell backwards unconscious, the human who held me thanked the yellow Pokémon then turned his head to look at me. He frowned, I thought he'd just throw me to the ground but he didn't.
"Don't worry." He said, "I'll take you to someone who can help." The yellow Pokémon then jumped on to the human's shoulder and the human turned, running down the mountain with me in his arms. I could feel a warmth spreading out from this new human, I felt safe and protected. Whatever this warmth was it dulled the pain of my injuries, passed out soon after that and when I woke up a large round pink Pokémon was looking down at me.
(Pokémon Language Translator Activated)
"W..Where am I?" I asked, my voice scratchy and weak. I could still feel the pain of my injuries, I looked over my body and saw that I was covered in bandages. My right eye was covered by another bandage, I lifted my arm and felt the bandage also covered my scar
"You're in a safe place, this is Mahogany Town Pokémon Centre." The round Pokémon said, from the voice I could tell that it was a female Pokémon. I tried to sit up but she gently put one of her short arms on my shoulder. "Don't try to move, you need to regain your strength first."
"Who are you?"
"I'm Blissey, now get some rest." Blissey started to sing and I could feel myself falling asleep, within a few seconds I was replaying the events that lead to me being here.
(Pokémon Language Translator Deactivated)
When I next awoke my vision was blurry, I saw the outline of a human and I started to panic. I couldn't stand up so I crawled as quickly as I was able to, desperately trying to get away but my injuries were still too painful for me to move very far or fast.
"It's okay I won't hurt you." The human said, "My name is Nurse Joy, I'm here to help you get better." I didn't believe her, I squeezed my eyes closed and used what little power I could summon to throw various items at her.
"No, go away, leave me alone." I shouted, still trying to get away but I was trapped on a bed and in my current condition I didn't want to risk trying to get to the ground as I didn't know how high up I was. The human called Nurse Joy cried out in pain as I heard something shatter, a rumble of footsteps came towards the room I was in. I felt something lift me up and hold me still, I continued to lash out wildly but then I felt the same warmth that I had before I passed out on the way down the mountain. I started to calm down and slowly opened my eyes, I still couldn't see out of my right eye due to the bandages but I was looking up at a human face. I assumed because of the warmth it was the same one who had carried me here, I saw a pair of caring brown eyes and zigzag shaped marks underneath them, he had a kind, soft smile. Even though my abilities were weak I could feel his concern for me flowing from him.
"Don't worry, Nurse Joy is a really nice person. She won't do anything to hurt you, I know how about I stay here while Nurse Joy changed your bandages." He said, I nodded in agreement. The human's smile widened, "Alright then, let's get you better. I'm Ash and I won't let anything happen to you okay?" I nodded again and for the first time in months I smiled.
Reality
Gardevoir let go of the link between herself and May, the blue glow that filled her eyes fading. Gardevoir and May just sat there looking at each other for a few minutes before either of them said anything.
"That is how I got my scar and how I met Ash." Gardevoir said, May just nodded as her mind processed all the information she'd just received.
"Are you alright?" May asked, Gardevoir gave May a confused look.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that everything you've been through, it's not something that would just go away. Even after a few years that sort of memory will always stick around."
"I understand what you mean, I am still coming to terms with my past but I have a family now that cares for me and will help me if I need it." Gardevoir looked directly into May's eyes before speaking again. "I think of you as part of that family now." A tear slowly rolled down May's cheek after hearing that, the brunette Co-Ordinator smiled and took the psychic type into a gentle hug.
"I'm happy to be a part of your family." May said, she leant back out of the hug and thought for a moment before asking a question. She had an idea of what the answer would be but wanted know what Gardevoir would say. "Why haven't you told Ash about the scar?"
"I don't know, I was going to tell him when I first joined him but I was afraid of how he'd react and as time passed it became harder to bring it up because I've kept it hidden for so long. Professor Oak doesn't know and neither does Delia, though she nearly discovered when I evolved into my current form. She saw that I was trying to brush my hair to cover that part of my face and helped me."
"I thought that might be the reason, you should tell Ash though. He won't be upset with you, he'll be angry at your old trainer and concerned about you. Lucario will be the same way but they'll both be there for you if you need them, just like me." May said with a reassuring smile, she stood up and turned around to look at Gardevoir. May held out her hand, "Come on, let's do some training." Gardevoir smiled and took May's hand before standing up and walking with the brunette on to the training fields.
"Mistress May, can you not mention my scar to anyone. I will tell them but Ash and Lucario should focus on whatever it is they need to do tonight, after that I'll show them." Gardevoir asked, May nodded in agreement. She wouldn't have said anything anyway as it was Gardevoir's decision to make when she felt ready.
May, her Pokémon and Gardevoir trained for a couple of hours, going over different Appeal ideas and applying Ash's training methods to May's Pokémon. May returned her Pokémon and together with Gardevoir walked back into the Pokémon Centre, May passed her Pokéballs to Nurse Joy and waited with the Embrace Pokémon for a few minutes. Once the pink haired nurse had finished with the Pokémon May collected her Pokéballs and went back to the room she was sharing with Ash. As May entered the room she saw that Ash and Lucario were in exactly the same positions they were in when she left them, Meowth had finished maintenance on the Transfer Capsule and lay on the bed napping. Pikachu and Glaceon however were now sat in front of Ash and Lucario, May saw a smirk on Pikachu's face as the electric type moved slightly. Before May could say anything, Pikachu pounced but Gardevoir was quicker, catching the Mouse Pokémon in midair using Psychic. Gardevoir moved Pikachu through the air until she was able to take him into her arms, May could see the disappointed look on his face.
"Pi Pikachu Pika." He said, Gardevoir giggled and started to stroke his fur. Glaceon had followed Pikachu and was now rubbing against May's leg.
"Pikachu said he's bored." Gardevoir translated, May smiled and knelt down to pick up Glaceon before walking over to the bed and sitting down. Gardevoir sat down next to May and a few minutes later Ash and Lucario opened their eyes.
"How long have we been meditating?" Ash asked as he stood slowly, his joints cracking from being in one position for so long.
"About three, four hours. It's starting to get dark, let's get something to eat before going to the shrine." Ash nodded in agreement as he stretched his legs out, Lucario stood alongside Ash doing the same. May gently shook Meowth to wake him, after that the group went to get some food.
Ash and May walked through the town towards the shrine holding hands with their Pokémon behind them. It didn't take them long to reach the shrine and they found that the doors were open, Ash turned to the Pokémon.
"You guys stay out here, we don't know what's going to happen in there or how long we're going to be." The Pokémon nodded although Lucario and Pikachu wanted to stay with Ash.
Ash and May entered the shrine closing the doors behind them, they took off their shoes and slowly approached the altar. The altar was made of polished oak and covered with a clean white cloth, a pair of lit silver candlesticks sat on top with an incense burner between them. They were surrounded by silence, they waited for a few minutes when May noticed something.
"Ash, the doors are closed right?" May asked.
"Yeah." Ash replied.
"And there aren't any windows?"
"No." Ash said, wondering why May was asking these questions.
"Then why is the cloth on the altar moving?" Ash looked and sure enough the white cloth that covered the altar was swaying slowly as if blowing in a light breeze. Ash's eyes started to flicker around the shrine to try and find an explanation for the moving cloth. He saw something out of the corner of his eye and knew what was happening.
"I know you're here." He said, there was a low chuckle and when he and May turned around the old woman was stood behind them.
"I couldn't help myself." The old woman laughed, "Now it time to let the Maiden finally rest in peace with her love. To begin I need to give you this," The old woman held out an old looking pendant, it had a gold chain and a red crystal hanging from it. "This pendant belonged to the Maiden's love, we can use this contact his spirit and bring it here but first I need to get in my…work clothes." The old woman's image started to shimmer and evaporate after a minute the old woman had disappeared. May looked around the shrine to find the old woman, when she turned around slightly larger than average Gastly was staring back at her. May screamed and jumped backwards, hiding behind Ash.
"Sorry, I couldn't resist the opportunity." Gastly laughed, now using a male voice. It took Ash a couple of minutes to calm May down before explaining that Gastly came to Maiden's Peak every year to keep the Maiden's story alive and to mess around with any tourists. "We need to start the process." Gastly said, "Hold the pendant out so that I can cover it with my gas, as a ghost type I have a 'foot' so to speak in the afterlife. I'll be the link between you and the afterlife then your Aura will act as a beacon to the Maiden's love's spirit, calling him here. That should be enough to let them both find peace, now let's begin." Ash sat on the floor holding the pendant in his hands, Gastly drifted lower and let his gas cover it. "Now send in your Aura."
Ash took a deep breath, slowly releasing it and closed his eyes, letting his Aura seep into the pendant causing the crystal to gently pulse with a purple light. May stood to the side watching, unsure how she could help both Ash and Gastly had their eyes closed as they concentrated on what they were doing. The doors of the shrine rattled quietly but steadily grew louder, the lit candles on the altar flickered and the cloth was moving again. May could feel her hair starting to sway in a building breeze and took a slow step backwards as the growing wind seemed to be centered around Ash and Gastly. The doors of the shrine burst open and Ash's body jerked, his eyes snapped open but instead of being brown his eyes were gold.
"The Maiden's love has returned home." Gastly said tiredly.
"Wh…Where am I? What happened?" The Maiden's love said with Ash's voice. His eyes wild and searching, his head stopped moving when he noticed the statue on the peak. "No, it can't be." He whispered, Ash rose and ran out of the shrine. Gastly shook his head sadly.
"I thought this might happen." The Gas Pokémon said. "I had hoped that simply bringing his spirit home might let him rest with the Maiden but it seems I was wrong."
"So what do we do now?" May asked.
"There is something else I could try but I would need your help."
"What do you need me to do?"
"Ash is currently possessed by the Maiden's love and I think he and the Maiden have to reunite to let them rest. Would you be willing to have the Maiden possess you so…"
"Yes," May interrupted, "If it will help."
"Okay then, follow me." Gastly said as he floated out of the shrine towards the statue, May hesitated for a couple of seconds before following.
"No, no, no my beloved Asuna. How did this happen to you?" The Maiden's love asked quietly, a tear slowly rolling down Ash's cheek. Pikachu approached and tapped Ash's leg.
"Pika?" The Maiden's love looked down at Pikachu.
"Leave me be mouse. I have nothing for you." The Maiden's love pushed Pikachu away, Lucario stepped forward and growled. The Aura Pokémon could sense that a spirit was inhabiting Ash's body and was about to take action when May stopped him.
"It's alright Lucario, this is part of the process." May said, laying a hand on Lucario's shoulder. All the Pokémon calmed down hearing May say that and took a couple of steps back to give May, Gastly and the possessed Ash space for whatever was going to come next.
"You have been away from home for a long time." Gastly said to the spirit possessing Ash. "Your love, the Maiden waited for you and her spirit has been unable to move on. The young man you have possessed was able to bring you home, I thought that would be enough to let her find peace but alas it was not however I do have another plan. If you would allow me and the young girl at my side to approach…" Gastly paused, waiting to see how the Maiden's love would answer.
"If you can bring Asuna back to me spirit then please do so." Gastly floated forward with May at his side.
"What is your name?" Gastly asked, "If I use your name then the Maiden's spirit will be more willing to appear."
"My name is Toru." The Gas Pokémon nodded and turned to May.
"Once more I will act as a bridge between the worlds, I need you to put your hand on the statue." Gastly explained, May reached out and placed her hand on the statue's back. "This will feel strange but don't fight the feeling just let it happen." Gastly covered May's arm and the statue with his gas, closing his eyes to concentrate.
May felt something pressing against her mind, similar to how Gardevoir established a telepathic link but stronger. Doing as Gastly said May didn't fight against the feeling and let it into her mind, a chill passed through her body, her head drooped down and her vision became tinted with gold. She could feel the Maiden's spirit inside of her, lightly touching her memories to learn what was happening.
Do not fear I mean you no harm, my name is Asuna. A voice said, I want to thank you for this chance to interact with Toru one last time. When we pass over to the next life please thank Gastly for keeping me company and your beloved for his help. Even though May couldn't she felt herself blush.
"Ash isn't my beloved. I want him to be but he's oblivious to how I feel." May replied, knowing she was talking to the Maiden. An image of the Maiden appeared in May's mind wearing a smile, that said she knew how May felt.
It was the same way between myself and Toru, it took me a long time for him to realize how I felt about him. I have unintentionally seen some of your older memories while learning why I am in possession of your body but from the little I've seen you have made more progress than I had in the same amount of time. Now shall we get the spirit of my love out of the body of yours?
May's head rose and the gathered Pokémon saw that she now had gold eyes like Ash.
"Toru." The Maiden said using May's voice, May's hand reached out and cupped Ash's cheek. "My love, I have missed you." May's eyes started to tear up. "I waited for you just as I promised, I waited centuries for your return and finally we are together again." Using Ash's body, Toru surged forward capturing May's lips in a powerful kiss showing Asuna that his love for her hadn't diminished during their time apart.
(AN I'm just going to use Toru and Asuna instead of having to say 'in Ash's body' or 'using May's voice', we all know what I'll mean)
"I tried to return to you but the enemy overcame me and I fell on that battlefield, my last thoughts were of you and of how I'd broken my promise to return." Toru said, looking down at the ground. Asuna smiled sadly and lifted his chin so she could look him in the eyes.
"You did your duty in that battle my brave warrior, the war ended a few years later due to the intervention of the Aura Guardian Council but it was too late for our people all who went never returned."
"Asuna now we can live the life we were denied." He said, Asuna looked at him with a confused expression.
"What do you mean?"
"We can use these bodies to live out the life we never had. We'll be able to have the family we always wanted." Asuna shook her head.
"Toru, we can't. This isn't our time, our place. Why should we spend a life time here in a world we don't know when we can have an eternity together now. I know we wanted to have a family together but even if we stayed here and have children they wouldn't be ours, they'd belong to the people we are possessing. I don't want that, if we were going to have a family I'd want it to be our and no-one else's. The feelings that these people share are as strong as ours and they are getting stronger with time, we can't deny them the chance to experience it." Toru was silent for a few minutes before nodding.
"You're right, just like you always were. I am ready to find my place in the afterlife…with you for all of time." Toru embraced Asuna and they shared one last kiss forcing all of their love for each other into it before releasing their hold on Ash and May, leaving to spend an eternity together. Ash and May had their eyes closed and didn't realize that Asuna and Toru had left them because the power behind their kiss had left them stunned, after a minute they broke apart sucking in air due to not breathing during the kiss.
"Er May, what just happened? How did we get outside?" Ash asked, unlike May he hadn't been aware of what was happening while he was possessed. He'd used a significant amount of Aura calling out to Toru's spirit and when Toru took over Ash's body, Ash's mind had closed itself off to allow his Aura a chance to recharge.
"The two of you just helped the Maiden and her love to find peace in the afterlife." Gastly said before explaining everything that had happened while they were possessed. May stood and listened to what Gastly said with a slightly glazed look in her eyes, the brunette Co-Ordinator was shaken from her trance when Gardevoir spoke in her mind.
"Mistress May I'm only projecting my voice to you, the others can't hear us. I thought that you'd like to know something I felt."
"What did you feel?" May asked.
"The kiss that Toru and Asuna shared, it temporarily brought Ash's feeling for you into the open. What you felt once Asuna left your body was Ash's feeling for you though now his mind is back in control those feeling have been pushed back but not as far back as they had been." Gardevoir said happily, May fought against the feeling to smile. Gardevoir didn't have to hear May's answer to know how she felt, her emotions were pouring out of her. "Mistress May, our may want to keep your feelings in check. They may interfere with Ash's Aura and I don't know what might happen if they do. It is possible that the interaction could end badly." May's eyes widened and she got control of her emotions.
Gastly finished telling Ash what had occurred and May relayed the Maiden's thanks to them both.
"What are you going to do now?" Ash asked Gastly, "I mean the Maiden's passed on now."
"True but we are the only ones who know that, I'll keep her memory alive and make sure she and her love are never forgotten. Besides, I can still make money selling those protection charms." Gastly chuckled. Ash and May sweatdropped but were happy to know that the Gastly would keep the Maiden's story alive.
The two trainers and their Pokémon returned to the Pokémon Centre to sleep. Ash and May were both tired from the possession, their own life force was suppressed due to holding Toru and Asuna's spirits and Ash could feel extra fatigue due to the use of his Aura. Partway back Ash needed to lean on Lucario as his legs started to feel weak, Gardevoir offered to Teleport everyone back to the Centre but Ash said he wanted to walk back, his hand unconsciously slipping into May's. Eventually they returned to the Pokémon Centre and went straight to bed, Ash and May passed out as soon as their heads hit their pillows, Lucario and Gardevoir shared a look and used Heal Pulse on both Ash and May to help them recover a little quicker before they settled down to sleep too. Pikachu and Glaceon once again curled up with their trainers, Meowth jumped onto the chair by the desk and curled up on the cushion. After a few minute the only sound in the room was the gentle breathing of its occupants and a whispering female voice that sounded familiar to May saying 'Thank you both.'
The next morning May woke up to a feeling of something cold sliding across her cheek, she knew what it was immediately having been woken this way while she traveled alone. She brought her hand out from under the bed covers and reached out to touch the cold fur of Glaceon.
"I know you want something to eat Glaceon but I'm really tired can't you wait a little while longer." May groaned without opening her eyes. Glaceon kept licking May's face and nuzzling against her until May finally opened her eyes. "Alright, alright I'm up, I'm awake just give me a few minutes to get ready." May threw the covers back and slipped out of her bed picking up the clothes she'd put out before going to bed. She walked to the bathroom sleepily rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she opened the door stopping when she found herself looking at Ash as he brushed his teeth wearing only his boxer shorts. May's eyes glazed over a little as they slowly drifted to his bare chest taking in the muscles. May stared for a couple of seconds before catching herself and turning around, rushing out of the room.
"Sorry Ash, I didn't know you were in here." She said flushing red and closing the door as she left the room, leaving a bewildered Ash behind her staring at the closed door with his toothbrush hanging from his mouth. May dropped onto her bed and put her head in her hands trying to calm her heart rate down, she felt Glaceon's cold coat brush against her leg. May took her head out of her hands and looked down at the ice type. "You knew he was in there didn't you?" May asked, Glaceon's only reply was an innocent look which May could see right through, partly due to the mischief that shone in the Fresh Snow Pokémon's eyes.
A couple of minutes later Ash exited the bathroom fully dressed, the previous day he and May had decided to leave Maiden's Peak after helping the Maiden find peace. May quickly walked past Ash into the bathroom to get ready mumbling a thank you, she came out a few minutes later and after picking up their things, making sure not to have left anything they went down the reception. May handed the room key to Nurse Joy asking her to take a look at their Pokémon as well before making their way to the cafeteria to get breakfast.
As they sat down with their plates, May nudged Gardevoir gently and gave her a meaningful look. Gardevoir nodded and pushed her plate to one side.
"Ash, I have something I need to tell you." She said nervously. Ash looked up from his breakfast, crumbs surrounding his mouth. He wiped his hand across his face.
"What is it?" He asked.
"Well, I …." Gardevoir turned to May, who gave her a supportive smile. The psychic type sighed and moved her hair to the side revealing her scar. "I meant to tell you about this a lot earlier but I couldn't bring myself to do it." Gardevoir then told Ash the story behind the scar, May put her hand on top of Gardevoir to let her know she wasn't alone. Ash and the Pokémon sat, listening to Gardevoir quietly until she'd finished. Ash stood up and walked around to stand next to Gardevoir, he gently touched the scar and sighed.
"I'm sorry." He said quietly, "I'm sorry about what happened to you, can anything be done about it?" Gardevoir shook her head.
"It's been too long, nothing can be done."
I wondered when you would decide to talk about your scar. Everyone turned to look at Lucario, he'd been silent since Gardevoir had started talking.
"You…You knew, how?"
I could sense a higher concentration of Aura in that area since we first met. I didn't however know the cause of the build-up, though it may explain why your Focus Blast is a different colour. The Aura may be interfering with your mind when you try and form the attack, some of your own Aura may be mixed into it. Ash and May just stared at Lucario as he explained.
"Why didn't you ever say anything?"
I was respecting your privacy, it wasn't my place to make you talk about something when you weren't ready to.
"Why haven't I sensed it then?" Ash asked.
When we first met Gardevoir, you had only recently started to learn the ways of Aura. You only had the ability to sense a being's Aura, not the ability to sense the concentration. Plus at the time you were focused on getting to the Pokémon Centre then looking at Auras. Since then I assume you haven't looked closely at our Aura's other than to find where we are. Lucario explained, Ash nodded. The Aura Pokémon was right, he hadn't even considered looking deeper into the Aura's of his Pokémon.
They were all silent for a while, May could see that Ash was upset about Gardevoir's scar, who wouldn't be. She knew he wasn't upset with Gardevoir herself though but with her previous trainer, just like May was. Arceus help him if Ash ever sees him again. May thought before turning back to her breakfast, they continued to eat in silence.
Once they'd finished and the Pokémon had done the same, the group left the Pokémon Centre and continued on their journey to Saffron City. During their travels Ash and May would occasionally use the Transfer Capsule to swap their teams around a little May had brought Beautifly onto her team, as she knew Butterfree was missing her, sending Froslass back to Professor Oak's lab. As they traveled they added more numbers into their X-Transceivers, Brock's, Misty's, their home numbers, Max's, Dawn's and any others they could think of. They called every number they input so that person would have Ash's and May's numbers too.
They'd been on the road for just over a week when they came to another place that Ash had visited, he stood on a cliff overlooking the sea. May stood by his side and wondered why he was looking at one of his Pokéballs, Pikachu shared the same look as Ash, a look of uncertainty. Lucario and Gardevoir seemed to understand what Ash was thinking about but May couldn't be sure.
"Ash, is everything alright?" She asked.
"Yeah, it just this is the place that I said goodbye to Butterfree. I'm not sure whether to let him out of his Pokéball or not." Ash replied
"I think you should. It'll be painful for him but if he wants to get past everything that's happened, he needs to face it. Letting him out here will help him in the long run." Ash nodded and enlarged to Pokéball.
"Butterfree, come on out." The Pokéball popped open and the Butterfly Pokémon became visible once the white light from the release had faded. Butterfree looked at his surrounding and knew immediately where he was, an angry expression formed on his face .
"Free Free Freeeeeeeee?" (Translation – Why have you brought me back here?")
"Butterfree, I know you don't want to be here but I think you need to be. I can tell you're still hurt about what happened but…" Ash started.
"You need to face it." May finished taking out one of her Pokéballs. "You don't have to face it alone though. Beautifly, take the stage." May threw her Pokéball into the air, letting her bug and flying type out. May quickly explained to Beautifly what was happening, Beautifly flew close to Butterfree and hovered by his side talking to him quietly. After a couple of minutes Butterfree had calmed down and rubbed his head against Beautifly's, Ash and May decided to let all their Pokémon out and rest on the cliff for a while. They sat there enjoying the view while Butterfree and Beautifly circled each other in the sky.
"Ash, Mistress May I believe it may be a good idea to call Butterfree and Beautifly back into their Pokéballs." Gardevoir said.
"Why?" Ash asked.
"I can sense the minds of a number of bug type Pokémon approaching. Quite a few have thoughts of a differently coloured female Butterfree." May realized what Gardevoir was talking about before Ash did and called out to their Pokémon.
"Butterfree, Beautifly can you come here please." May shouted out to them, when they stopped and hovered a couple of feet in front of May the Co-Ordinator explained what Gardevoir had just told her and Ash. Butterfree's expression darkened and Beautifly's eyes narrowed, before May could say anything else Beautifly took off flying straight for the small flock of bug types. May shouted after her but Beautifly ignored her trainer and kept going, Butterfree followed close behind asking Beautifly to turn back but she ignored him as well. Her mind was set on vengeance, she used Aerial Ace to close in on her target and get out of Butterfree's reach. As she got closer she saw that the Butterfree that Gardevoir identified as differently coloured was pink, a red mist fogged up Beautifly's mind.
(Pokémon Language Translator Activated)
"Hey! You in the pink." Beautifly shouted as she neared the Pink Butterfree. The Pink Butterfree (AN who I'm now going to call Pinkie, I can't think of a better name fine me) turned around to see who shouted and didn't have time to reply or react as Beautifly slammed into her body. "I'm going to destroy you." The male Butterfree who had been following Pinkie moved forward to defend the object of their affections but were blown backwards as Butterfree blasted them with Whirlwind.
"Beautifly, you don't have to do this." Butterfree said turning to his mate. "Let's just go back to Ash and May."
"You can go back I'm staying here." Beautifly replied, "I know I don't have to do this but I want to." Beautifly's usually quiet and caring voice had changed into a dangerous whisper, her eyes never leaving Pinkie.
"What's the big idea of attacking me like that?" Pinkie said as she got her breath back after the unexpected attack. Her eyes then landed on Butterfree, a look of shock flashed across her face as she recognized the cloth wrapped around his neck. "What are you doing here? I thought you would've been eaten by a Pidgeot by now." Butterfree bristled but kept quiet, not turning around. Beautifly rose above Butterfree and flew closer the Pinkie, hitting her with a short blast of Silver Wind.
"Don't talk to him like that. You broke his heart and scattered it into the winds, don't you know what he went through after what you did." Beautifly then listed all of the Pokémon Butterfree had battled and situations he'd been in after Pinkie had left him lying exhausted and in misery on the ground. The four male Butterfree came flying back, but Butterfree intercepted them letting Beautifly talk. Being back here, seeing Pinkie again and listening to his story had made Butterfree angry so he decided to let his frustrations out on the other Butterfree. He unleashed everything he had on them, this couldn't be called a battle it was a slaughter, the four Butterfree never stood a chance. Both Beautifly and Pinkie had stopped and watched as Butterfree demolished his opponents before catching them with Psychic and putting them down on the ground.
"You're a lot stronger now, you're worthy of being my mate." Pinkie said as she flew close to Butterfree and started to perform the courtship dance, Butterfree stared at her before flying around her and stopping next to Beautifly.
"I already have a mate." He said simply, Pinkie nearly dropped out of the sky in surprise. She'd never failed to get what she wanted.
"That's right and now I'm going to teach you a lesson about what happens when you break someone's heart." Beautifly said dashing forward again with Aerial Ace and switching into Acrobatics, battering Pinkie from all sides. Beautifly then launched into a U-Turn to get some height for her next attack, an attack she'd been working on to surprise May. She shot a string of silk from her proboscis which grew wider as it drew closer to the injured Pinkie, who was so used to getting by on her looks she never trained herself for battle. The next part of the move was the part Beautifly had been working on, she concentrated and electricity started to envelope the silk as it shot towards Pinkie. The silk had formed a web which wrapped around Pinkie's sore body, she struggled as the electricity came closer but couldn't escape resulting in her being shocked by the voltage. Beautifly kept the charge going as Pinkie cried out in pain, suddenly an Air Cutter sliced through the silk and blue energy caught Pinkie as she fell.
"That's enough Beautifly." Butterfree said, "She's had enough." Butterfree used Psychic to remove the web from Pinkie and put her in a nearby tree with some Oran Berries in it. Pinkie's eyes opened slightly as Beautifly nudged her side.
"I should thank you, if you hadn't broken his heart, if you hadn't destroyed him, I never would've met him and learnt what true love felt like. You have no idea what you've lost and I hope that haunts you for the rest of your life." The Hoenn Butterfly Pokémon said before flying away alongside Butterfree not noticing the lone tear that fell from Pinkie's eye.
(Pokémon Language Translator Deacitvated)
Butterfree and Beautifly flew back to Ash and May, landing on the shoulder of their trainer. Beautifly expected Ash and May to ask what had happened but was surprised when Butterfree explained that Gardevoir had telepathically linked with his mind, translating everything that was said back to Ash and May. May scolded Beautifly for how badly she'd hurt Pinkie when it wasn't necessary.
While May had been talking to Beautifly, Ash was whispering with Butterfree. Once May had finished with Beautifly Ash walked over, Beautifly and Butterfree left their trainer's shoulders and started to fly around again.
"May, I was just thinking…Do you think Butterfree and Beautifly would want to go and have a family?"
"Probably, why?"
"I was thinking maybe we should let them go. The mating season will be starting soon and I want them to be happy, even if that means Butterfree leaves again." Ash explained, May was surprised that Ash was thinking about that but considering were they were and what had happened last time he was here it wasn't that surprising.
"I know what you mean but we aren't the ones who can make that decision, it's up to Butterfree and Beautifly."
"You're right." Ash and May called their Pokémon over and asked them what they wanted to do. Ash and May gave them some time to think it over, it was a big decision to make, after about half an hour the two Butterfly Pokémon flew over to them. Lucario stepped forward to act as a translator.
"So I guess you've made your decision, either way we'll support you." Ash said.
"Freee Freeeeee Free."
"Beauti Beautifly."
They have decided to stay with you and Mistress May, Master Ash. They said there's no point having a family when you're away from part of it. Lucario explained, a small smile forming on his lips. Ash and May broke into massive grins at the news. Pikachu, Glaceon, Gardevoir and the other Pokémon were happy as well about not having to say goodbye to their friends.
"That's great to hear." May said, "I don't know how I would've coped saying goodbye." Beautifly and Butterfree landed on their trainer's shoulders again and nuzzled against them before swapping trainers and doing the same to the other. The group spent a little longer at the cliff before packing their things away and continued on their journey to Saffron City.
The group travelled for a few more days before stopping on a hill and looking at the sprawling metropolis in front of them, Saffron City was finally in sight. They crossed the remaining distance quickly getting to the Pokémon Centre just over an hour later, after booking a room, healing their Pokémon and calling home to let their parents know they'd arrived safely in Saffron City Ash swapped his team around. He sent Ponyta, Talonflame and Bagon back to Professor Oak's Lab, requesting Grimm, Houndour and Gengar in return. Gengar wasn't going to be part of the battle but Ash had promised him that when they got to Saffron City he'd take him to visit Sabrina.
As they walked through the city towards the Gym, Ash and May held hands occasionally bumping shoulder though neither of them seemed to mind. After a little while they arrived at the entrance for the Saffron City Gym, Ash could feel a sense of unease as he approached the doors he put it down to nerves. Sabrina was the only Gym Leader in Kanto that he was nervous about battling, her psychic abilities gave her an edge that no other trainer had. The closest that anyone came to that type of advantage was Anabel, being able to telepathically and empathically talk to her Pokémon.
Ash reached out a hand and pushed the doors open, he took a calming breath and walked in until he was in the centre of a dark room. The unease he felt became stronger and Ash could see that Lucario was starting to get twitchy, he opened his mouth to ask if the Aura Pokémon was alright but never got the chance. His Aura flared out, as did Lucario's, it seemed to be fighting against something. Ash and Lucario's faces twisted as they tried to fight the strange sensations that coursed through them then the two of them were lifted off the ground and thrown backwards. He let go of May's hand so that she didn't get thrown like he was, Lucario slipped his arm out from Gardevoir's and Pikachu jumped from Ash's shoulder.
"Ash!" May shouted as she watched the raven haired trainer fly out of the Gym.
Ash and Lucario were hurled out of the Gym and crashed to the ground on the opposite side of the road. They lay there groaning as they fought to calm down their Auras, they heard footsteps approaching them. Ash raised his head and saw May, Gardevoir, Glaceon and Pikachu running towards them.
"Ash!, Ash are you alright?" May asked kneeling by his side.
"Yeah, one question though…did you get the number of that Tauros that hit me?" He asked in reply.
"That wasn't a Tauros." A voice said, Ash lifted himself into a sitting position with May's help and they both looked to see who had spoken. Standing by the door of the Gym holding her head was a dark blue, nearly black hair which flicked up at the ends, her skin was quite pale. She wore pure white trousers held up by a simple black belt with a silver hexagonal buckle, a dark pink vest top covered her torso while leaving her toned stomach exposed, pink pumps sat on her feet and a thick black bracelet that pulsed with a green light sat on each of her wrists.
"Sabrina?"
That's it for the chapter, hopefully it's worth the wait. I'm going to start the next one on Monday it might be out for Christmas but I can't promise as I'm going to be working on a oneshot for Christmas.
Current teams
Ash - Pikachu, Lucario, Gardevoir, Meowth, Butterfree, Grimm, Houndour, Gengar
May - Glaceon, Blaziken, Beautifly, Mawile, Flaffy, Cubone, Spoink, Vulpix