Merry Christmas Readers, I don't have a oneshot for Christmas but I'm working on one for New Year so look out for that.
So without further ado here's the next chapter of Champion of Champions.
Chapter 40
Tropical Blizzard
Sian's appeal was first and when she exited the hut the Co-ordinators were using she ran towards the ocean wearing an emerald green one piece swimsuit, releasing her Pokémon as she went. She swam a short distance before turning back to face the beach.
"Surf!" She shouted so the judges could hear her, a large wave rose up behind her while at the same time her Dewgong surfaced next to her before diving under the water, taking Sian with him. The wave then started to shine in multicolour and Sian reappeared on top of the wave, surfing on Dewgong's back while the Sea Lion Pokémon used Aurora Beam to light up the wave. Everyone could see she was fighting to keep her balance but she was staying where she was. Sian's Finneon swam alongside her using quick blasts of Silver Wind to making Dewgong's coat shimmer even brighter in the sunlight. As the wave got close to the beach Sian shouted again, to her third Pokémon.
"Whirlpool!" An Azumarill rose from the water and her tail shone as the water before her started to spin, the wave shrank and fell back into the ocean allowing Sian and Dewgong to surf directly into the Whirlpool with Finneon still alongside them. The Wing Fish Pokémon then used Agility and Double Team to make it look like a school of Finneon were swimming with Sian and Dewgong. Once the whirlpool was fully formed and stable Azumarill used Superpower and Waterfall to swim against the current and then swim up the waterfall, reaching the top Azumarill dove down while using a low power Icy Wind to make her coat shine.
Azumarill had timed her dive just right and with a quick flip in mid-air landed on Sian's shoulders but the impact and additional weight threw Sian's balance off, she would've been able to regain it if there hadn't been for a small wave that shifted Dewgong's position. Sian's arms flailed around before she completely lost her footing and fell into the Whirlpool. The swirling water pulled her down quickly, Azumarill surfaced a few seconds after getting submerged and cancelled out Whirlpool. As soon as Sian had disappeared under the surface Dewgong went after her and once the Whirlpool was gone the Sea Lion Pokémon broke the surface of the ocean with Sian on his back, she was coughing up some water but other than that she seemed fine.
Dewgong, Azumarill and Finneon all swam to the beach, waiting in the shallows as Sian thanked them as well as assuring them she was fine and that what happened was an accident. Donna threw a towel to Sian as the redhead passed by her on her way to towards the Judges to hear what they had to say.
"I told her that Azumarill landing on her shoulders was too much but she said it'd be fine." Donna whispered to Ash as they waited for the Judges' comments. Mr. Contesta was the first to speak.
"Are okay my dear? That looked like quite a nasty fall you had." He asked.
"Yes sir, I'm alright. Just embarrassed and a little waterlogged is all." Sian replied, letting the towel rest across her shoulders.
"That is good to hear but please see Nurse Joy or one of the first aiders to make sure you really are okay. Your appeal was well thought out and showed off the strength of your Pokémon as well as the control they have over their techniques. I will say that Azumarill landing on your shoulders was risky given how unpredictable the ocean can be but overall a good appeal."
"Yes, it was quite remarkable." Mr. Sukizo added. Everyone turned their attention to Lorelei as she leant back in her chair, her left arm across her body with her right elbow in her left hand as her right hand cupped her chin, her right index finger tapping her lips as she looked deep in thought.
"I've never commented on Contests before today." Lorelei started. "As a Trainer I was focussed on the strength of a Pokémon instead of the beauty of their attacks, so I am not qualified to pass judgement on how your appeal was in terms of a Contest. Instead I'll give my opinions from the mind-set of a Trainer, it may not be what normally happens but it may prove useful to hear comments from a different perspective. You have a strong bond with your Pokémon, they trust you implicitly as you do them, that much is obvious to everyone. That allows you to draw out their inner strength which is one of the most important things a Trainer needs to do. I could, however, see some slight hesitation from Azumarill before she dove to land on your shoulders, meaning she wasn't fully confident in your ability to remain upright on Dewgong's back upon her landing. She did complete the manoeuvre which speaks volumes to the belief she has in you, a well-placed belief I might add. Your Dewgong has a lot of potential, his ability to adjust to the shifts in your weight to keep balance shows both his skill at reading the water currents as well as his wish to keep you safe from harm. Finally your Finneon, her speed was impressive and the strength of her Double Team almost made it look like there really was a school of Pokémon swimming with you. All together it was an outstanding appeal with some more work you would be able to make have Azumarill land on your shoulders with relative ease, I would suggest starting by being stationary and slowly working your way up to riding on your Dewgong, perhaps trying the manoeuvre on a skateboard or something similar would help. It is all a matter of controlling your balance, I had similar troubles when I first started to travel on the shell of my Cloyster." Lorelei looked at her fellow Judges to see how her comments were taken to find them looking back at her. "Did I say something out of turn?"
"No, Ms Prima. There is nothing wrong with that you just said, in fact it was very helpful advice to give. It is just that we usually keep our comments short and to the point so the Contest can run at a steady pace as well as keeping our Co-ordinators from becoming too nervous while they wait." Mr Contesta replied.
"In that case I will endeavour to keep my comments succinct." Lorelei said with a nod.
Sian bowed to the Judges, thanking them for their comments and returned to the Co-ordinator's hut. As she entered the next Co-ordinator was called to perform, she sat down next to May and let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding.
"Are you sure you're alright?" May asked.
"I'm fine." Sian nodded. "It's just…"
"Just what?"
"Standing there waiting for Lorelei to speak felt like I was back at school. It was like I was waiting for a teacher to tell me off."
"Ash said she could be like that, he got some help from her while he was training a couple of years ago and he met her a few months after he became a Trainer." Sian raised an eyebrow.
"Just how many famous Trainers has Ash met?"
"Pretty much all of them I think, he's met all the Champions and a lot of the Elites. Ask him if you don't believe me, you wouldn't believe half the things Ash has done over the years."
"And the other half I'd believe?" May paused to think for a few seconds.
"Actually you probably wouldn't believe them either." She chuckled. Sian smiled and nodded before starting to fully dry herself off.
The next Co-ordinator was a boy in his early teens, he had tanned skin, blonde hair and a crooked smile that portrayed his confidence. He walked on to the beach wearing a pair of swimming trunks, goggles and a snorkel, with a ball under his arm standing in middle of the 'stage' he called out a Skiploom , a Houndour and a Croconaw. His appeal turned out to be a game of volleyball with his Pokémon using various attacks to hit the ball and score points. When his appeal ended the comment he got from the Judges were mostly positive with a few helpful criticisms, such as keeping his eye on the ball and not on a group of pretty girls in the front row will stop the ball from hitting him in the face. The appeal after that followed a similar pattern, that pattern being what people did at the beach, one appeal had the Co-ordinator's Pokémon building sand castles, and another Co-ordinator sunbathed with his Pokémon, that one didn't impress the judges at all. There was a Co-ordinator that had the same idea as May's original appeal and performed a Alolan dance with his Pokémon, one of which Ash had to scan with his Pokédex finding out it was the Alolan variant of Exeggutor, though Ash was having a hard time trying to understand why it was classed as a Dragon type Pokémon and what caused it to have such a long neck when every other Exeggutor he'd seen didn't even have one.
"Now we have our last appeal, please welcome May Maple!" Julia announced as she walked from the performance area to stand by the Judges.
A single Pokéball was thrown from the Co-ordinator's hut letting May's Venusaur appear in a flash of light. The Seed Pokémon took a deep breath and bellowed as a vibrant green aura surrounded her, enormous roots burst out of the sand climbing high into the air. As the roots rose Venusaur shot Leech Seeds and Razor Leaves from the flower on her back, once the roots towered over the makeshift Contest area Venusaur changed from using Frenzy Plant to using Aromatherapy and Grassy Terrain, causing grass to rise from the beach and the roots to start blossoming. The green aura around Venusaur faded, leaving the Seed Pokémon panting and hidden amongst the greenery but what she had done was create a tropical rainforest before the eyes of the Judges, audience and other Co-ordinators.
Next came two more Pokéballs, one landing by the ocean and the other in the rainforest. Vulpix padded out of the rainforest and stretched in the sun, she was about to lay down in the sand when she stopped and growled at the ocean from which came Vaporeon. A sharp hiss from Vaporeon started an elaborate and beautiful display of the two Pokémon's abilities, the colour of Vulpix' fire rippled Vaporeon's coat and droplets of Vaporeon's water attacks steamed as they came close to Vulpix' body. Vulpix showcased her agility, speed and control over her fire as Vaporeon's flexibility allowed him to twist around attacks with ease and his moveset boasted a variety of attacks, switching from water to ice and then ice to fighting or ground even using Signal Beam at one point. The Fox Pokémon and the Bubble Jet Pokémon traded attacks for a minute before a high pitched whistle stopped them, from the rainforest May dropped out of the tree-like roots. She slid down a vine from Leech Seed and landed on the sand on all fours with a soft thud, a small puff of sand rising around her feet. She wore a Liepard print swimsuit and looked like a character from Tarzan with a dirtied face and leaves scattered in her hair, she stayed crouched over and moved like a Vigoroth towards the two Pokémon.
May stopped between the two Pokémon and gestured around, pointing out the damage they'd done before touching both of their heads and making some clicking noises. Vulpix and Vaporeon each took a step towards the other and turned slightly so they could bring their tails together and 'shake'. Once they'd done Vulpix launched a ball of fire into the air at the same time Vaporeon fired a Signal Beam, the ball of fire and Signal Beam collided in a flash of multicoloured light and showering embers. The rainforest shuddered and the tree-like roots sank back into the beach until it left Venusaur visible once more, when the rainforest had full disappeared May stood and bowed to the Judges and audience with her Pokémon copying her.
Applause rang out as May patted Vulpix and Vaporeon on the head and checked on Venusaur, returning the Seed Pokémon for a well-deserved rest as the Fox Pokémon and Bubblejet Pokémon sat by her feet while May waited to hear the Judges' comments.
"I must say that you continue to live up to your reputation Miss Maple, this was an interpretation of the tropical theme I didn't expect to see. A marvellously well performed appeal." Mr Contesta said.
"Truly remarkable." Mr Sukizo said.
"I must agree with my fellow Judges, that was an impressive display from your Venusaur. To be able to use so many attacks at once in such a ways speaks volumes about her strength and your abilities as a Trainer. I will say that your Vaporeon while strong still has some way to go before reaching his full potential, the same with your Vulpix but as long as you keep training the way you are they will be true forces to be reckoned with." Lorelei paused as her eyes scanned the audience and settled on Ash before she turned her attention back to May. "You have many avenues that can be called on to aid you in your training, it is not only the bonds you share with your Pokémon that give you strength and wisdom." May looked at Lorelei quizzically only to get a small smile in return.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, that's it for our Appeal round. There will be a half hour break for our Judges to make their decision on who goes through to the next round." Julia announced as May recalled her Vulpix and Vaporeon on her way back to the Co-ordinators hut.
"Mama Papa Mama!" Manaphy said stretching out towards the Co-ordinators hut.
"Okay Manaphy, we'll go see May." Ash replied, standing up and with Pikachu, Glaceon and Donna following him walked to the Co-ordinators hut, Lucario stayed behind to keep their seats in the stands.
May was sat against a wall with her eyes closed and she calmed her nerves, the climb into the tree-like roots and subsequent slide down the vine had sent a shot of fear and adrenaline through her system that needed to be dealt with before the battle rounds. She took slow even breaths as she counted backwards from 10 for the second time, it was working on slowing her heart rate another 10 count and she'd be fine.
"Mama Mama." She heard and opened her eyes to see Ash walking towards her with a happy Manaphy reaching out to her, she smiled and once Ash was close enough Manaphy jumped out of his arms and into May's. "Love you Mama."
"Love you too Manaphy." May replied as she hugged him before placing him in her lap and stroking his head as she closed her eyes again.
"Is everything alright?" Ash asked.
"Yeah, I just need to calm my nerves." May nodded. "Give me a minute and I'll be fine." Ash took a seat next to May and waited for her to open her eyes again. Pikachu and Glaceon both jumped into his lap while Donna has gone over to talk with Sian. May opened her eyes, turning to smile at Ash but before she could say anything there was a knock on the door of the hut. Everyone looked over and saw Lorelei in the doorway.
"Mr. Ketchum, may I have a word with you?" Although she was asking a question Lorelei's tone left no room for debate. Pikachu climbed onto Ash's shoulder as Glaceon dropped to the ground, sitting next to May's feet.
"I'll be back in a minute." Ash said, giving May a chaste kiss on the cheek before walking towards the door.
Outside he and Lorelei walked a little further down the beach so they could speak in private.
"I see you've taken some of my advice to heart Mr. Ketchum." Lorelei said turning to face him.
"I've taken it all to heart and thank you for helping me, you didn't have too."
"Call me a little selfish but I like the idea of being part of the reason why a trainer became a Champion, and don't tell me I'm getting ahead of myself. You have the potential to be one a Champion and an exceptionally strong one at that." Lorelei paused as her lips twitched into a slight smirk. "Unova Champion?"
"Alder Adeku, signature Pokémon Bouffalant." Ash replied with a sigh. "Did you asked me out here just to quiz me or was there another reason?"
"I just wanted to see if my lessons stuck, you've become quite impatient haven't you? I suppose I can understand why, Miss Maple is a remarkably beautiful young woman." The former Elite smiled as the blush on Ash's face. "Something I see you're noticed." Her smile faded as her tone became more serious. "There is another reason I asked to speak with you." Lorelei pushed her glasses back into place on the bridge of her nose. "Lance briefed me on the situation with the Legendary Pokémon, I wanted to hear your thoughts on the matter. I know you've had dealings with many Legendary Pokémon and your insight may lead us to a solution to the problem or even the problem itself."
"I can't really explain what's going on with them, I've managed to calm them down with my Aura and I've felt…something wrong with them but it's not something I can put into words."
"Try, anything you can tell me will be useful."
"It's…there's this feeling they have. It's like all their negative emotions are joined together by some other…. something…I have no idea what it is but it's painful whatever it is. I can use my Aura to push it out of them but I don't know if it'll last forever or not."
"So it's possible that they could relapse, that's not good. It would be dangerous to even station G-Men near location Legendary Pokémon are known to frequent and useless without an Aura Guardian who can purge this 'feeling'. How ma…" Lorelei started as Ash held up a hand.
"There aren't enough Guardians to cover Kanto's Legendary Pokémon never mind the ones in the Orange Islands, and I doubt this is only affecting one region."
"What makes you think the other regions are effected?"
"Manaphy, May's taught him to speak a little and he said that the feeling started when he was in Hoenn's waters. Whatever's going on is affecting all Legendary Pokémon, not just the ones here in Kanto. I can tell you that for sure, I've got no proof apart from what Manaphy's said but my gut says it's everywhere or will be soon."
"I'd say this isn't good but that would be a severe understatement. What's the status of Aura Guardians in other regions?"
"Two in Johto, one in Hoenn, three in Sinnoh, Unova doesn't have one and Kalos has two, including me there's 4 here in Kanto. There's the Aura Practitioners but I'd say you'd need, at least three of them to help one Legendary Pokémon and that's the highly skilled ones, most aren't on that level or even capable of reaching it. I don't know exact numbers but all together I'd guess there's around 40 to 50 Practitioners, out of them I'd say about 15 are at the level to help out."
"This is a worse situation then Lance thought it was, it doesn't help that we don't even know how many Legendary Pokémon there are in the world. There's roughly 60 known species but we have no way of knowing if there any offspring or how many there were anyway."
"I…no, never mind it's nothing."
"What is it, all information helps us understand the situation."
"I just think it might be the oldest or at least the strongest of each of the Legendary Pokémon that are affected."
"How did you come to that conclusion?"
"Just something I felt with Mew in Rota, that we know of that's the oldest and most powerful Mew in the world."
"But is this sickness can affect the strongest why shouldn't it affect the others?"
"Have there been any reports of other Legendary Pokémon attacking people or just the ones rumoured to be the strongest?" Ash countered causing Lorelei to pause, her eyes staring into the middle distance, showing she was in deep thought.
"Not to my knowledge, I would need to check the reports and question Lance to be sure but what would that mean if you are correct?" She replied, a memory echoed in Ash's mind, 'I would have to consult the Helix'.
"The Helix." Ash muttered to himself.
"What was that?"
"Nothing, just a memory but it's gone now."
"If our conversation triggered that memory it must be important. If you remember, contact Lance and let him know." Lorelei looked out to sea. "We should go back, the Contest will be continuing soon and I look forward to seeing your girlfriend battle." Nothing else was said between the pair as they walked back to the Contest area, Lorelei was focussed on the information she'd just obtained and what she already knew while Ash's mind drifted back to what Mewtwo had said after recovering from his bout of 'sickness' or whatever this thing was that affected the Legendary Pokémon.
Ash had just enough time to collect Pikachu, Glaceon and Manaphy from May and wish her luck before the audience were called back to their seats for the battle rounds. Donna tried to find out why Lorelei had wanted to speak to Ash but the Aura Guardian kept his mouth shut only opening it to shush Donna as the Contest started again.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, look to the screen as we unveil our finalists." Julia said, sweeping her arm around to cross the screen above the Judges." Four cards appeared and slowly rotated, May's face was first to appear but when the final card showed the face of the last finalist Donna's face fell, Sian hadn't gotten through. The redhead had foreseen this happening due to her falling form Dewgong's back during her appeal but Donna had been sure her friend would get to the next round. A round of applause came from the audience as the cards on the screen flipped over and rapidly swapped places until they settled again. The screen showed that May would be facing the trainer who had performed the Alolan dance for his appeal in the second battle of the semi-finals.
The first battle went by fairly quickly, one Co-ordinator was still quite new while the other had a couple of year's experience. The new Co-ordinator held out for a little while but ultimately lost on points to his more experienced opponent, the pair met in the middle of the battlefield and shook hands at the end of the battle with the more experienced Co-ordinator giving the younger one some advice
"Now for our next battle, please welcome the Princess of Hoenn May Maple and…" Julia stopped as something floated past her face. "Snow?" Looking up everyone saw that snow was indeed starting to fall across the beach and the rest of the island. A shrill screech echoed across the sky drawing all attention to mountain that took up half the island, a glint of pale blue was briefly seen rising from the peak before it disappeared. A few seconds of silence passed before another screech was heard, this one louder than the first. Ash looked at the people around him, his eyes locked on Lorelei's and he nodded answering the question he knew was on her mind.
"May I have everybody's attention, I propose the Contest be postponed until the snow clears." Lorelei said, drawing attention to herself as she stood from her chair. "I know how weather here can change quite quickly although it is rare for it to go from one extreme to another like this. I advise that everyone make their way back to town before the snow becomes heavier."
The audience seemed to agree with Lorelei's words and began walking back to the town, Ash told Donna to go one ahead with Sian while he waited for May to change. A slight nod from Ash to Lucario had the Aura Pokémon scanning the skies to try and pinpoint the problem, after a few minutes May appeared from the Co-ordinator's hut and jogged over to Ash.
"You're going to do something stupid again aren't you." She said once she was by his side.
"Probably." Ash replied with a grin.
"Although this time you won't be alone in your fight." Ash and May turned to see Lorelei walking towards them. "I may not be a member of the Elite Four now but do not think for a moment that my ability to battle had diminished in the slightest." Ash just nodded knowing that it wasn't worth trying to talk Lorelei out of helping them and in all honesty he was glad for the help.
A few minutes passed with nothing happening except for the temperature dropping and the small snow shower slowly turning into a full-fledged snow storm. Pikachu and Glaceon tried to pick up a scent but found nothing, the storm being too strong to smell anything other than snow. Ash joined Lucario in searching with Aura Sight while May and Lorelei waited for a sign that something was going to happen. More time passed and growing tired of waiting Lorelei enlarged one of her Pokéballs releasing her Exeggutor.
"I think we may be more productive if our opponent wasn't hiding in the snow. Exeggutor, Sunny Day." The Coconut Pokémon stamped her feet and launched a ball of glowing yellow energy into the air but the snow storm proved to be too strong and snuffed it out, before Exeggutor could try again a beam of icy blue shot out of the snow and blasted the grass/psychic Pokémon back. Lorelei immediately returned her Pokémon as a second Ice Beam flew towards her. Ash intercepted the attack with an Aura Sphere as Lucario fired his own at the source receiving a shriek of annoyance in reply.
The snow cleared for a moment revealing Articuno to the trio and their Pokémon, with a single flap of her wings a volley of Ice Shards flew from the Freeze Pokémon. Ash and Lucario threw up a wall of Aura, blocking the projectiles as Pikachu leapt from Ash's shoulder and launched a Thunderbolt but Articuno had disappeared into the snowstorm before Pikachu had even charged up the attack.
"We need to get rid of this snowstorm." Ash said, raising his voice as the sound of the storm grew louder.
"Articuno seems adamant to keep it in place given the attacks on Exeggutor." Lorelei replied, her hand hovering over her Pokéballs.
"Well, we need to try something. Torkoal, I choose you." Ash opened the Coal Pokémon's Pokéball, once the fire type appeared he stamped his feet, snorted and expelled a plume of black smoke from his shell. "Torkoal, Flamethrower." Torkoal took a deep breath but before he could release his attack Articuno sped past using Aerial Ace, knocking the Coal Pokémon off his feet and onto his shell. Waving his legs in the air Torkoal burst into tears but the dropping temperature caused them to freeze in mid flow.
"Vulpix, Blaziken. Take the stage." May shouted over the winds. "Help Torkoal."
"No, I'll get Torkoal. Have them fight off Articuno." Ash shouted back as he ran to his Pokémon. May redirected her Pokémon to watch the storm but they couldn't find Articuno's location.
Blaziken use Flamethrower at Vulpix's position and Vulpix be ready to roll left when I say. Lucario said via his Aura so everyone could hear him. A couple of second passed before Lucario spoke again. Roll now! Flamethrower! Vulpix rolled as Blaziken launched the attack not questioning the Aura Pokémon, Articuno flew through the space Vulpix had been occupying moments earlier and right through Blaziken's Flamethrower screeching in pain. Vulpix spun around and added her own Flamethrower to Blaziken's, Lucario threw an Aura Sphere into the mix but Articuno flapped her wings and dodged the attack swerving in the air and flying back into the snowstorm to avoid the stream of mini Aura Spheres Lucario continued to fire. When the Aura Pokémon stopped launching Aura Spheres he closed his eyes and the four appendages on his head became outlined in Aura as they rose into the air. Articuno is out of our range for now, she seems to be assessing the situation.
"You can speak?" Lorelei said but her voice went unheard due to the weather.
Miss Lorelei, think what you wish to say and direct it to the people you wish to hear it. I have connected all of our Auras to make communication easier, I hope you do not mind the intrusion on your privacy.
"I don't mind, although it is a strange sensation." Lorelei replied mentally. "I would like to ask how you learnt to speak but I believe that is a question for another time, seeing that we have a more pressing issue at the moment."
Lucario continued to direct Blaziken, Vulpix and Torkoal to counter Articuno's attacks while Ash kept a shield around himself, May, Manaphy, Pikachu and Lorelei. The former Elite had sent out her Cloyster, Dewgong and Slowbro to try and wrest control of the snowstorm from the Legendary Pokémon but so far they weren't succeeding. Ash wanted to send other Pokémon out to fight but they wouldn't be able to do much, Venusaur would be at a serious disadvantage, Unfezant wouldn't be able to fly, Seismitoad was more of a close quarters battler the same could be said for Crawdaunt and Kingler. When the weather cleared then they would be able to help but right now Lucario and the Fire types were on their own.
Articuno's attacks lessened in frequency and all together stopped after a few minutes, leaving everyone wondering what was going on. Lucario searched for Articuno but couldn't pick up a trace of her Aura and Lorelei's Pokémon got control of the weather, bringing the snowstorm to an end, the former Elite called out her Exeggutor once again to use Sunny Day to clear away the last remains of the storm.
"Where did Articuno go?" May asked as she looked into the sky.
"I don't know, Lucario can you find her?" Ash replied.
I am trying Master but she seems to have vanished. Pikachu jumped from Ash's shoulder and walked over to an Ice Shard, smashing it to pieces with Iron Tail getting out his frustration from not being able to help. Glaceon came up alongside him and nuzzled his cheek to try and cheer him up, Pikachu's annoyed expression softened as he nuzzled her back.
"It seems the bonds of Trainers affects their Pokémon more than I suspected." Lorelei said as she cast her gaze over the now snow covered Contest area.
A screech sounded around the group and as they frantically tried to find the source an Ice Beam slammed into Ash, knocking him to the ground and encasing his legs in a thick block of ice.
Articuno is hiding in the sun's light. All of Ash's Pokéballs burst open as his Pokémon sensed what had happened, hearing what Lucario said they all started launching attacks into the sky but the Freeze Pokémon was out of their range. Articuno sent down volleys of attacks, powering them all up with a combination of Tailwind and Blizzard. The sheer number of attacks caused May and Lorelei to send out the rest of their Pokémon to deal with them, leaving Ash unable to move or escape from the ice so he let his other Pokémon out of their Pokéballs to help in the battle.
May stood with Manaphy on her shoulder as she directed both her own and Ash's Pokémon in blocking the incoming attacks unconsciously turning the defence into a performance worthy of any Contest. She combined attacks like Air Slash and Heat Wave to make energy blades of burning hot air and had the Pokémon fuse attacks such as Thunderbolt and Fire Spin to create a funnel of flames and lightning. Any idea that came into her mind she tried, some worked, some didn't but they all served the purpose of stopping Articuno's attacks from connecting with any of them. Knowing the Pokémon needed a break to recover some energy, even if it was just for a few seconds, May came up with an idea.
"Torkoal, Vulpix, Blaziken, combined Overheat. Venusaur, Sunny Day aimed at Articuno." The Pokémon all acted without hesitation both Ash's and May's Venusaur fired a ball of yellow energy at Articuno, the balls fusing together as they flew into the shower of ice attacks. Seconds behind the Seed Pokémon the Fire types turned red and launched a joint Overheat, three plumes of white hot flames combined into a roaring torrent of destruction, melting all the ice attacks within a six foot radius instantly. The joint Overheat collided with the fused Sunny Day, causing the ball of yellow energy to grow in size and glow brighter and brighter until it exploded. The explosion sent out a shockwave that threw the fallen snow and sand from the beach into the air as well as making Articuno lose control of her flight. All the ice attack that had been in the air were destroyed in and a blinding light filled the sky. "Supernova!" May called out, barely being heard over the results of her spur of the moment idea.
The light given off caused everyone to look away and cover their eyes to stop themselves being blinded. May and Lorelei brushed the snow and sand that had been kicked up from their clothes and took a moment to look around, the area below the explosion was cleared of snow and sand revealing rock a few feet before the surface, some of the trees were burnt and missing leaves as their branches smouldered.
Articuno corrected her flight pattern and started to circle, looking for an opportunity to attack. Ash gazed over the Pokémon they had available and the area around them to try and come up with something that could help them stop Articuno and calm her down. His eyes widened when an idea burst into life in his mind.
"May, I have an idea!" Ash shouted over the clashing of attacks as the Freeze Pokémon tested their defences. "Manaphy can help us stop Articuno."
"What do you mean?" May asked, keeping an eye on the Legendary Pokémon. She felt Manaphy moving in her arms to try and look at Ash.
"Heart Swap." May turned to face Ash. "Manaphy can connect me to Articuno and I can purge her Aura without having to hold on to her."
"Would it really work?"
"I don't know the exact mechanism of how Heart Swap works but in theory it should be possible, although the distance between Ash and Articuno plus Manaphy acting as a medium would mean it will take more Aura then close contact would. There is also the strain this may put on Manaphy, there are a number of unknowns in the plan." Lorelei answered. "If you are to proceed with this tactic I believe we should have Articuno as close as possible to the ground to lessen the chance of an unfavourable outcome."
"And by 'unfavourable outcome' you mean they could be seriously hurt?"
"That is one possibility."
"The others being?"
"I think you know Miss Maple, travelling with an Aura Guardian you must know the results of using too much Aura has. I can only speculate what may happen to Manaphy due to channelling so much Aura but I can't say that the results would be pleasant." Silence passed between the three.
"Mana." All eyes turned to Manaphy. "Mana Manaphy Papa."
Manaphy says he wishes to help. Lucario translated between throwing out volleys of Aura Spheres.
"Manaphy, are you sure? You could…" May let her voice trail off, not wanting to say what was on everyone's mind.
"Mana love Mama, Mana love Papa. Mana Manaphy."
Manaphy says…
"You don't need to translate that Lucario, I know what he's saying…and I'm proud of him." May hugged the Seafaring Pokémon tightly and put him next to Ash. "Manaphy stay here with Papa." She wiped a tear from her eye. "Mama's got work to do." May walked over to all of the Pokémon and whispered to them before approaching the Unfezant, talking to her in hushed tones. Hesitantly nodding the flying type lower herself to the ground allowing May to climb on her back and before Ash or Lorelei could try to stop her Unfezant flew into the air carrying May with her.
Ignoring the shouts behind her May and Unfezant pressed on weaving through a storm of ice and snow as they fought for altitude, a powerful blast of hot air blew up from the ground helping their ascent. Taking a quick peek over the side of Unfezant's body May saw Blaziken, Torkoal and Vulpix sending out short blasts of fire to provide lift for the Flying type to stay in the air.
Articuno charged at May and Unfezant with her wings shining with metallic energy but as Unfezant was about to evade a Thunderbolt shot past them and hit the Freeze Pokémon causing her to shriek in pain. Thanks to Pikachu stopping Articuno's attack May and Unfezant were able to get higher than their opponent and it allowed May to put her plan into action.
The brunette released her hold on Unfezant and dropped on to Articuno's back, she immediately shivered at the sudden drop in temperature. It wasn't anything like how Glaceon's coat felt, the Fresh Snow Pokémon was surrounded by a slim field of cold, almost like a cool breeze, Articuno however was like stepping out into an arctic blizzard after being in front of a roaring fire. The sheer amount of cold almost made May lose her grip and fall from the Legendary Pokémon's back but she wasn't going to let that happen, May held on to Articuno's frozen feathers with all her strength and pushed down on the Freeze Pokémon's shoulders as hard as she could.
Articuno fought back against May and tilted to one side, trying to dislodge her but in a moment of Ash-like spontaneous thought she leant into the tilts and pushed down on the lower side causing Articuno to drop and spiral lower. Now that her plan was starting to work, May gripped the blue plumage in front of her and drew her legs underneath her so she was kneeling on Articuno's upper back before leaning her weight from one side to the other. Articuno battled against May but due to the attacks that still came from the ground her attention was divided so the Freeze Pokémon was slowly losing altitude, May had even started trying to steer her into the incoming attacks. The already freezing atmosphere around Articuno dropped even further as the Legendary Pokémon started to gather energy around herself, the energy was pale blue in colour, a blue so pale it could easily be mistaken for pure white.
Mistress May, Lucario said urgently through his Aura. You must let go, Articuno is about to use Sheer Cold. You won't survive the attack at such close range. May's eyes widened but she refused to let go, leaning her weight one way then quickly throwing it to the other side caused Articuno to lose more altitude but the manoeuvre did nothing to stop the attack as the decrease in temperature continued. The Co-ordinator kept moving on the Freeze Pokémon's back, trying to break Articuno's concentration and to keep herself warm but nothing was working. May's mind frantically scrambled for any ideas as the cold continued to sap her strength and ability to think, the feeling was leaving her body. She could feel the sting of frost coating her skin deadening her nerves, she continuously shivered and her thought became scattered and fractured, she felt a need to take her clothes off, her eyes gazes unfocussed across her exposed skin which was turning blue and puffy, her grip was slipping and her heart race racing. Finally one last idea came to May as she managed to keep her thoughts directed to her situation, she focussed all energy on keeping her hold on Articuno before pulling with what remained of her strength, yanking the feathers she held from the Legendary Pokémon's plumage.
Shrieking loudly Articuno stopped the build-up of energy for Sheer Cold and jerked, throwing May from her back. As she fell May's eyes drifted closed, the last thing she saw was a dark shape passing her followed by a flash of light.
"Lucario, Psychic!" Ash shouted, Lucario instinctively reached out with psychic energy and caught May, slowly guiding her to the ground, placing her in Blaziken's arms as Vulpix jumped on to her body to warm her up. Unfezant caught Pikachu and took over May's plan, firing attacks from above Articuno to force her closer to the ground. Seeing that May was in trouble and refusing to release her hold on Articuno Blaziken had thrown Pikachu into the air to help.
"Mama!" Manaphy cried, he tried to go to May but Ash held on to him.
"Manaphy, if you want to help May we need to stop Articuno. I need you to be strong, okay? Be strong for Mama." Manaphy looked at Ash with teary eyes before closing them and shaking his head, when the Seafaring Pokémon opened them again the tears were gone and replaced by determination.
"Mana!" Ash grinned and nodded. He looked at Articuno and saw the Legendary Bird had been forced low enough to be level with the tree tops.
"Alright then. Manaphy, Heart Swap!"
The ends of Manaphy's antenna shone red as tendrils of energy flowed out from them, one attached itself to Ash and the other rose into the air and connected with Articuno. The Freeze Pokémon seemed to hang in mid-air as both she and Ash were surrounded by a pale red Aura, their eyes glazed over and slowly Ash's Aura reached out. It moved along the tendril connecting him to Manaphy, coated Manaphy and continued towards Articuno eventually covering the Legendary Bird too.
Manaphy's eyes were tightly closed as he dealt with keeping Heart Swap active, channelling Ash's Aura and stopping whatever was affecting Articuno from transferring to himself or Ash. The other Pokémon stood between Articuno and Manaphy just in case the Freeze Pokémon broke out of Heart Swap, the Fire types were gathered around May to keep her warm after being so close to the build-up of Sheer Cold.
Minutes passed and Lorelei paced between Ash and May checking on how they were, Ash's eyes were still glazed over but other than that and the fact his legs were still in a block of ice he seemed to be fine. May on the other hand was more worrying, colour had yet to return to her skin, her lips were blue and even though she was surrounded by fire type Pokémon she was still shivering. Lorelei had taken off her blazer and placed it under May's head to act as a cushion, she'd run into the Co-ordinator's hut and pulled the curtains off the changing cubicles to wrap around brunette in efforts to warm her up.
More time passed until Articuno twitched causing all the Pokémon to immediately be on guard. Lucario had an Aura Sphere in each paw, Pikachu's fur was sparking, Glaceon was building up energy for an Ice Beam, Unfezant took to the air with her wings glowing for Air Slash and both Venusaur had their vine poised to grab the Freeze Pokémon at a moment's notice. Lorelei's Pokémon were ready too, Cloyster prepared a Spike Cannon and Dewgong's horn shone with the power of an Aurora Beam while Exeggutor and Slowbro were powering up a joint Psychic attack. Slowly Articuno's wings flapped as she came to a landing, the joint energy of Heart Swap and Ash's Aura faded away. The same happened to Ash as the power of Heart Swap retracted back to Manaphy's antenna, the Seafaring Pokémon let out a breath as he ended Heart Swap and opened his eyes slowly. Locking his sight on May he took a step forward and immediately fainted, Ash reached out and caught Manaphy before he hit the beach.
"Good job Manaphy, May will be so proud of you." Ash said holding the Seafaring Pokémon carefully in his hands. Lucario jogged over and with a quick Force Palm broke the ice encasing Ash's legs. He then channelled Aura into Ash's legs to let feeling return to them quicker, the other Pokémon started to shout and when Lucario looked over his shoulder he came face to face with Articuno.
The Freeze Pokémon cooed curiously as she looked past Lucario and down at Ash, or more specifically the sleeping Pokémon in Ash's arms. The young Aura Guardian looked into the Legendary Pokémon's eyes and saw that they were clear of anger and filled with confusion, slowly Ash reached out and put his hand under Articuno's beak and felt the question as to what happened.
"You were affected by something, I don't know what it is exactly but it's gone now." Ash stood up and looked around, he froze when he saw May laying on the ground with Lorelei and the Pokémon gathered around her, he immediately forgot all about Articuno and ran over. May's hair was frozen in place, her skin deathly pale and her lips were blue, the Pokémon around her were silently looking at the ground as Glaceon nudged her Trainer's hand without getting a response. Ash's gaze was pulled from the brunette as a hand gently rested on his shoulder causing him to turn and see the beginning of tears in Lorelei's eyes.
"Ash," Lorelei said sadly, that in itself told Ash that something was wrong. Lorelei had never used his name since she'd helped him train, she'd always called him Mr. Ketchum. "May…she's not breathing."
Teams
Ash – Pikachu, Lucario, Venusaur, Torkoal, Seismitoad, Unfezant, Crawdaunt, Kingler
May – Blaziken, Glaceon, Litwick, Vulpix, Delcatty, Spoink, Nidorina, Vaporeon, Manaphy
That's all I have for now.
Until Next Time
Basic Trainer