Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon

Training and Preparation arc – Chapter 5 – An Aura Bond

Mega Evolution… it was something that Dawn had only heard about in passing. She had never seen it in action, nor did she know much about it. So after hearing Lucas's declaration, suffice to say, the blue haired coordinator was extremely excited to see what it was about.

However she was surprised by the Pokémon that Lucas released onto the field.

Out of the ball appeared a bipedal, insectoid Pokémon with a red, metallic exoskeleton and a Scizorite hanging around its neck.

"A Scizor?!" Dawn gasped, "But isn't that a Bug and Steel type Pokémon?! Quilava's moves would really do some damage!" Her astonishment changed into confusion as her eyes narrowed, "Piplup… what's that around its neck?"

"Pip! Piplup!" The penguin Pokémon shrugged, he didn't know any more about it than her.

"It must be linked to Mega Evolution in some way." Dawn guessed, narrowing her eyes. "For Lucas to choose a Pokémon that is seriously weak against fire types… this Mega Evolution must be incredible."

"We're not dealing with a typical Scizor." Ash clenched his fists tightly noticing the Mega Stone that Scizor wore dangling from its neck.

"Pika!" The electric mouse growled standing at Ash's side. He'd been quiet throughout the match, confident in his fellow Pokémon's abilities but he could no longer remain silent at the sight of the Mega Evolving capable Scizor.

"No! We're not losing again, right Pikachu?!" Ash murmured fiercely to Pikachu.

"Chu… Pika!" Pikachu pumped his fists in excitement.

"Okay, Scizor!" Lucas shouted, touching his Key Stone causing a bright light to emerge from it. Scizor's Mega Stone reacted, releasing its own light. "Mega Evolve!"

The light leaking out of Scizor's Mega Stone suddenly increased and enveloped every part of the pincer Pokémon. When it dissipated, Scizor's form had changed drastically. Its pincers had lengthened, developing serrations and the lower half of the pincers turned white and gained three pointed spikes on the underside. Additional pieces of black armouring appeared on various area of its body. A three-pointed crest on its forehead, striated coverings on its shoulders, and unmarked coverings on its thighs.

"That's Mega Evolution!" Dawn shouted jumping to her feet in excitement. Piplup also looked on in awe. "This is my first time seeing it in person!" She said enthusiastically. "Amazing!"

"Get ready, Quilava… if we underestimate it for a second, we'll lose." Ash cautioned the volcano Pokémon.

"Lava!" The flames on Quilava's head and rear burned brighter than ever as he lowered himself to the ground on all fours, eager to test out his power against a Mega Evolved Pokémon.

Since Ash made the first move in the previous match, Lucas quickly took the opportunity to utilise the first move in this match. "Scizor use Swords Dance!"

Scizor crosses its pincers across its chest and spins rapidly while his pincers were engulfed in a red light and extended outwards for a moment before receding back into its regular shape. The moment it ceased spinning, Scizor swiped his pincers downwards confidently.

Ash knew all too well what Scizor had just done using Swords Dance as his own Scyther knew that same technique. It would be best to keep his distance.

"Flamethrower Quilava!"

"Quick use Bullet Punch!"

Quilava gathered the flames within his mouth and prepared to launch them at Scizor when suddenly Scizor was in front of him with its right arm pulled back and glowing red. The sudden speed caught the Fire Pokémon off guard, and Scizor's powerful pincer slammed into Quilava's head, forcing the volcano Pokémon to skid back a few feet.

Ash scowled at the use of a first priority move, "Hit it with Flamethrower Quilava!" Ash repeated forcefully.

Ignoring the pain, Quilava unleashed the surge of brightly orange and red flames from his mouth smashing into Mega Scizor's chest. Despite being powered up with Mega Evolution, Scizor couldn't hide the grimace of pain from the powerful fire attack.

That was all Ash needed to see… he could win this with Quilava, especially if he could hit it with that move up close.

"Use Metal Claw!"

Scizor responded to the Flamethrower by smacking Quilava had in the head with a glowing white pincer, sending Quilava crashing to the floor. The something happened that Ash wasn't expecting… Quilava was struggling to get back to his feet.

"What the hell?" Ash murmured confused, along with Pikachu who was equally shocked. Quilava barely had a scratch on him at the start of this battle, and suddenly he was barely standing.

"You haven't fought many Scizor, have you?" Lucas gave him a cocky smirk, "Otherwise you would be familiar with Scizor's ability Technician."

"Technician?" Ash wondered curiously.

"I won't get into the specifics, so let's just say that it allows Scizor's weaker moves to become stronger." Lucas boasted, "And then add the effect of Swords Dance, makes my Mega Scizor's attacks extremely powerful."

"I wonder what Ash is going to do now…" Dawn murmured with interest, bouncing on the boulder, clearly enjoying the battle.

As Quilava got back to his feet, Ash smirked, "Well then, I guess I'll make sure you don't hit us again."

"Easier said than done!" Lucas barked, "Scizor use Night Slash!"

With its glowing dark purple law pulled back behind its back, Scizor shot forward towards Quilava, but this time the volcano Pokémon could easily follow its movements.

"Double Team, Quilava!" Ash swiftly countered, and the slim quadruped Pokémon evaded the attack by creating over fifteen clones in an instant. Scizor glanced around in horror after its Night Slash sliced through an illusion and quickly it realised that it was surrounded at all sides.

"Flamethrower!" Ash demanded with a grin "And aim for its wings!"

"Quick turn around and block it!" Lucas retaliated.

All of the Quilava littering the battlefield unleashed torrents of flames from their mouths and Scizor – after hearing Ash's order, quickly turned 180 degrees and raised both its pincers into a cross shaped guard in front of its face. In the end, majority of the flames that made contact vanished before it was shockingly hit in the back, burning its wings.

'Perfect!' Ash beamed, he had no idea how he knew which Quilava was the real one, but the moment Quilava used Double Team, and he was immediately able to pick up the real one. By shouting that particular order, it enabled Scizor to turn its back on the real one.

"Clever…" Lucas growled, annoyed that they fell for such a trick.

"That was great, Ash!" Dawn cheered, wishing that she had her cheerleading outfit with her. She and her Pokémon always enjoyed dressing up to cheer Ash on in his battles. It was only for Ash that she would dress up as a cheerleader for.

Scizor gingerly moved its wings, but the damage had been extensive, and it glowered at Quilava furiously.

"Use X-Scissor!"

"Dodge and use Flame Charge!"

Scizor crossed his pincers and unleashed a large light green blast of energy in the shape of an 'X' but with his exceptional speed, Quilava sidestepped the attack and charged at Scizor. Quilava was immediately engulfed by flames, and he slammed into Scizor who managed to block some of the damage with a cross shaped guard.

"Bullet Punch!" Lucas barked furiously, getting frustrated by Quilava's incredible speed.

"Dodge it, and use Flamethrower!" Ash countered confidently.

Quilava ducked under the glowing red pincer and followed up by firing a stream of flames from his mouth up into Scizor's stomach sending the Bug and Steel Pokémon soaring through the air. Scizor landed painfully on its back.

"C'mon Scizor, I know you can still get up! I have full confidence in you!" Lucas pleaded desperately to his fallen Scizor, and the Pincer Pokémon responded, slowly getting back to its feet. The boy from Twinleaf town gritted his teeth when he saw the state his Pokémon was in, and it didn't help his frustration as Scizor was suddenly engulfed in flames for a moment.

"Nice work, Quilava!" Ash declared, beaming with pride the way his Quilava was battling. "You burned it!"

"Lava!"

Lucas had to concede that the only reason Scizor was still standing was because it had Mega Evolved. If it hadn't, then Scizor would have fallen long ago. Still, he had a couple of secret weapons left. "Use Swords Dance!"

"Stop it with Flamethrower!" Ash hurriedly ordered. While Quilava was currently controlling the match, he couldn't afford to allow Scizor to increase its attack even further. Quilava didn't have a great defence, and with an even further increased attack, Scizor could possibly win this with one well struck attack.

Too late.

"Break it up with Brick Break!" Lucas demanded, the second Scizor's attack went up, he knew he had to block this Flamethrower or it would have all been pointless.

With a glowing white left pincer, Scizor broke through the torrent of flames easily with its increased physical abilities. However the moment it defeated the flames, he was suddenly engulfed by another set, taking damage from its burns.

"Bah!" Ash spat, frustrated at the sight of Quilava's flames being brushed aside with ease. Judging by how heavy Quilava was beginning to pant, Ash deduced that he only had a couple of Flamethrowers left in him.

"Now…" Lucas smirked, "Use Roost!"

"No way!" Ash shouted with wide eyes, and to his horror, Scizor's entire body was enveloped by a blue light, and recovered some of its health.

"Use X-Scissor!" Lucas ordered, and Scizor quickly leapt into the offensive, slashing an 'X' shaped blast of energy.

"Dodge it and use Brick Break!" Ash countered swiftly.

Quilava charged towards the incoming X-Scissor before jumping and with a spin, safely evaded the attack landing calmly back on all fours and continued charging. As he grew closer to Scizor, he was engulfed by strands of white energy signalling his Brick Break attack.

"Block it with your own Brick Break!"

Quilava jumped at Scizor, aiming to ram his body, head first into its stomach like a rocket but was intercepted by Scizor's left pincer, shining with its own white energy. Quilava came off second best from that attack, skidding back several feet towards Ash, and struggled to get back to his feet. This truly looked to be it.

"You've got to get up, Quilava!" Ash called out desperately, as Quilava tried to get back to his feet.

"That's bad." Dawn murmured worriedly. Ash had been in complete control and she thought that Quilava was going to win it all, defeating a Weavile and then a Mega Evolved Pokémon would have been an incredible sight. However momentum had swung in Lucas's favour and she wondered if Ash would be able to defeat it.

"No need to worry!" Dawn whispered firmly, banishing those thoughts. "This is Ash we're talking 'bout! No doubt he's got a plan, right, Piplup?!"

"Lup! Piplup!" The penguin Pokémon agreed enthusiastically.

'I can't afford to let Scizor hit Quilava!' Ash thought determinedly. Granted he still had a Pokémon left to use, and Heracross was not only fresh, but one of his strongest, so Ash had no doubt that he could win against Scizor, but he needed to win this with Quilava. The only Mega Evolved Pokémon that he had defeated without using Greninja's unique method of evolving was Korrina's Lucario and Sawyer's Sceptile. It took a combination of Fletchinder, Hawlucha and Pikachu to defeat Korrina's Lucario, and he was able to defeat Sawyer's Sceptile with Infernape due to his vast experience and skill over the beginner Sawyer.

Against a trainer at his own level, he had never defeated a Mega Evolved Pokémon in a one on one battle without using Greninja. And he was determined to change that right here and now. Quilava still had the speed to dodge Scizor's powerful attacks, but he knew that he couldn't afford to drag this fight out anymore. One more hit from Scizor, and it would be well and truly over.

They needed to win this! Ash, along with Pikachu, and the rest of his Pokémon needed to know that they could come out on top against a powerful Mega Evolved Pokémon in a one on one battle.

"I know you can still win this! We've got to win this!" Quilava's eyes flashed red for a moment as he mustered up his last reserves of strength at his trainer's desperate call.

"Finish it with Giga Impact!" Lucas yelled triumphantly. Scizor swiftly followed the order charging towards the downed volcano Pokémon before leaping into the air just as he was engulfed in bright streaks of yellow-orange energy while the rest of its body was surrounded by purple energy.

A faint red aura began to surround Quilava's body as Scizor closed in, catching Ash's notice.

'He's about to use Blaze!' Ash realised joyfully. If Quilava could just dodge this Giga Impact, then he would have a clear opening to use that move, and with the power of Blaze strengthening it, Ash was confident Mega Scizor would be defeated.

Now on all fours, Quilava made a desperate attempt to dodge the attack, but his front left leg buckled in pain, and he fell back to the ground.

"No!" Ash's horrified shout reached Quilava's ears as the volcano Pokémon saw that he was powerless to move out of the way. He couldn't lose here! He couldn't afford to! He wanted to win! Not being able to dodge, Quilava instinctively lashed out with his energy, intending to block the attack. What happened surprised him and everyone watching.

A green oval shield had sprung out of nowhere to protect Quilava as Scizor slammed into it, the orange and purple energy surrounding it blew away upon coming into contact with it.

As the shield fell away, and Scizor had been forced back a few metres, Ash didn't let this surprising new turn of events distract him like they usually would. Ash quickly retaliated, as if Quilava learning and using Protect had been part of his plan.

"Finish this with Overheat!" Ash yelled out confidently.

The flames on Quilava's head and rear extended and seemed to wrap around each other forming a ball of fire in front of Quilava's mouth. The volcano Pokémon sucked in the ball before combining it with his internal flames and unleashed a large beam of burning white fire that was three times the size of a Flamethrower with red-orange flames spiralling around it. Usually his Overheat would only be twice the size of his Flamethrower, but with the boost in power from Blaze, it had grown in both size and power.

"Dodge it!" Lucas yelled urgently. A Pokémon may not be able to attack or use a defensive move briefly after using Giga Impact, needing to recharge their energy, but that didn't mean they couldn't dodge.

There were many factors that impacted on the outcome of a Pokémon Battle. Type advantages, type disadvantages, level, skill, strength, speed, intelligence, and of course, the battling style and intelligence of a trainer. However there was one factor that was out of reach for Pokémon Trainers. They could try to manufacture it, but in the end, it was out of their control.

This factor is known as luck.

And in this battle, in this moment… Ash received some good luck, which meant Lucas received the opposite, bad luck.

Scizor attempted to dodge the most powerful fire attack behind Blast Burn and Eruption (in the right circumstances) but a certain status condition prevented it from doing so. In the worst possible moment, Scizor froze as it was briefly engulfed in flames from its burns. That was all Quilava's Overheat needed, and Mega Scizor was powerless to prevent the beam of white fire from enveloping it.

Lucas could only look in horror as his Mega Evolved Scizor, a Pokémon that was extremely vulnerable to fire attacks was completely engulfed in fierce, scorching white flames. Through their bond of Mega Evolution, Lucas could almost feel the incredible pain that Scizor felt right now and it certainly didn't help that he could hear Scizor's loud screeches of agony.

Lucas felt the energy from his Key Stone fade away and so he wasn't surprised to see Scizor had returned to its normal form once the flames had dissipated.

Ash looked stunned for a moment as he saw Scizor lying on the ground, back into its normal form and most importantly, it was knocked out.

He did it… Quilava did it!

"He won!" Dawn squealed happily, hugging an equally happy Piplup to her chest. "That was incredible!"

"Thank you, Scizor." Lucas said gratefully with a small sad smile, returning the fallen Pokémon back into its Poké Ball.

"Quilava…" The volcano Pokémon lay tiredly on the ground, the flames on his rear and head had vanished after he used up all of his flames from that last attack but that didn't stop him from beaming with pride. He had bested a Mega Evolved Pokémon, and after defeating a worthy opponent in Weavile. He looked up after hearing his trainer's voice and saw him standing above him. Gratefully, he accepted Ash taking him into his arms.

"You were awesome, Quilava!" Ash praised him, also beaming with pride. Among his friends and rivals, his Quilava probably wasn't given the respect that in Ash's eyes had more than earned. Charizard, Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Greninja, and Heracross were mostly regarded as his most powerful Pokémon because of their accomplishments, but Quilava was right up there with them. He had gone toe to toe with Brandon's Registeel, and put up an incredible fight against Tobias's Darkrai. Heracross may not have defeated Darkrai if it hadn't been for Quilava.

So Ash was extremely proud to see Quilava defeat a Mega Evolved Pokémon along with another powerful Pokémon. He was finally getting rewarded for all of his hard work.

"Take a nice long rest." Ash whispered, returning the exhausted Pokémon back into his Poké Ball for a well-earned rest. As he attached the minimize ball onto his ball, he glanced at Heracross's Poké Ball. He felt bad for a moment about not letting him have a chance to battle, but internally he promised to use him first in his next battle.

"That Quilava of yours is incredible, Ash." Lucas complimented as he approached. "Despite its type advantage, I didn't think Quilava could summon the power to defeat my Mega Scizor. Guess I still have a lot to learn." Lucas chuckled, before holding out his hand, "Thanks for the battle, it was a great wake up call."

Ash immediately shook his hand, "It was a fun battle. It's the first time I've seen a Mega Scizor, and I'm amazed at its attack power."

"I appreciate that, but you've shown me that I've still got a lot of work to do before challenging the Elite Four." Lucas commented, breaking the handshake. "This battle has really opened my eyes."

"How so?" Ash inquired as Pikachu jumped onto his shoulder, looking equally curious.

"How long have you had Pikachu?" Lucas asked curiously, dodging the question.

"From the start of my journey." Ash grinned widely, giving his beloved friend a soft pet under his chin, earning a contended 'Chaaa'. "Pikachu's my very first Pokémon."

"Really? And you've never considered evolving Pikachu?" Lucas frowned.

"Hmm…" Ash pondered for a moment, "I've offered him a Thunderstone a few times in the past, but he's not really interested in becoming a Raichu."

"Pikachu." The electric mouse nodded in agreement.

"He considered becoming one recently though." Ash answered, surprising Dawn who had hurried over to them.

"Really?!" Dawn was shocked to hear it as she remembered quite clearly Pikachu rejecting a Thunderstone after losing to a Raichu. Ash and Pikachu then further evolved their battling style and defeated Raichu.

Piplup was also shocked to hear that his best friend came close to evolving. They both shared a special bond on the basis of their pride in their current form. Neither wanted to evolve.

Ash nodded, "Yeah, but I talked him out of it." The trainer from Pallet grinned widely at Pikachu, scratching the back of his ear softly, "It would have been for the wrong reasons."

"Pika-pika." Pikachu nodded in agreement, remembering how rash he was thinking.

"You're not the kind of trainer that cares about evolving your Pokémon, are you?" Lucas said, looking thoughtful, "I'm the complete opposite. All of my Pokémon have evolved to their final evolution states."

"That's an impressive feat in itself." Ash observed, remembering Misty had evolved a lot of her Pokémon too.

"Now that I think about it, ever since Scizor became able to Mega Evolve, I haven't battled with it once in its regular form." Lucas frowned, "I guess I've become dependent on his Mega Evolved form. I'll need to fix that."

"Yeah," Ash voiced his approval, "Since Mega Evolution is temporary means that the power is simply a boost, but in order to make your Scizor stronger, you've got to improve its natural form."

"Makes sense, I guess." Dawn muttered, making sure to ask Ash to explain Mega Evolution to her in more detail later on.

"I better get going, I'm incredibly inspired right now." Lucas beamed in delight, "It was nice meeting you, Ash, Pikachu and Piplup and of course, it's nice seeing you again, Dawn."

"Nice meeting you too." Ash nodded, "I hope we'll battle again someday."

"Pika!"

"I'm sure we will." Lucas smiled.

"Don't be a stranger, 'kay!" Dawn bid him farewell.

"I won't." Lucas promised before he ran off, heading towards Sandgem Town's Pokémon Centre to heal his Pokémon. One thing had become clear to the young man, and that was he clearly wasn't up against the best upcoming trainers when he won the Sinnoh League. He was still a long way off from battling the Elite Four, but at the same time, he hadn't felt this excited in a long time.

As Dawn watched him run off, she suddenly remembered something.

"Why're we saying goodbye?" Dawn asked Ash incredulously, "He's probably heading to the Pokémon Centre and we have to go too!"

"Ah!" Ash's eyes widened, "You're right! Let's catch up then!"

Post Battle…

"I can't believe how awesome that battle was!" Dawn practically shouted in excitement. She and Ash were currently in the Sandgem Town Pokémon Centre lobby as they waited for an update from Nurse Joy regarding Ash's Pokémon. They were sitting on a couch outside the recovery room waiting for the red light above the door to flicker off which would indicate that Ash's Pokémon had finished being treated.

Ash didn't say anything, instead he just stared up at the light deep in thought.

"What's with you?" Dawn huffed, upset that he wasn't sharing her enthusiasm. "You'd usually be jumping about in delight after being someone at Lucas's level."

"Hmm?" Ash glanced at her and gave her a half apologetic smile, "Sorry, just thinking about some things."

"Like what?" Dawn inquired curiously.

"Today's battle… was like a slap in the face." Ash admitted with a bitter frown, "To see Pokémon that I didn't use in the Unova region defeat an opponent that had won the Sinnoh League just further proves how stupid I was."

"Sorry." Dawn looked confused, "But I'm not following."

"I didn't use any of them when I battled in the Unova League." Ash said solemnly, "Not even Charizard. I only used the Pokémon that I caught in the Unova region, and Pikachu, of course." With a quick glance to his left, he saw that Pikachu and Piplup were still playing together. Thanks to Team Rocket, Ash always had to keep a close eye on Pikachu in case they struck. They could do it at any time.

"What?!" Dawn gaped at him in shock. Why on earth would he do that?! "Why?!"

"Because I rarely lost while I travelled through Unova." Ash chuckled emotionlessly. "My rivals, Trip, Stephan, even my friends, Cilan and Iris, I never lost to them. Not once. I never even had to have a rematch with a Gym Leader either, I simply blitz through it all. I won the Junior Cup, as you know, and I also won the Pokémon Club Battle Tournament. Hell, I even forced Alder's Bouffalant some real trouble with Pikachu. The only competition I lost was the Clubsplosion Tournament and that's because I used my inexperienced Scraggy. Up until the Pokémon League, it had easily been my most dominate journey. I was a step above every one of my rivals. So I thought I could continue with the same Pokémon through the Vertress Conference."

Ash then snorted bitterly. "I was quickly shown up in the conference, losing to Cameron, the only rival through my whole journey to ever beat me. If I hadn't been so arrogant and used my other Pokémon, then I would have won the Unova League for sure."

He really didn't know why he decided to tell her all of this since he had come to this realisation some time ago but he had to admit that it felt really good getting it off his chest.

"I'm sorry, Ash." Dawn didn't really know what to say to that. Ash wasn't the type to openly criticise his own performances, much preferring to compliment his opponent. There was really only one thing she could say. "No need to worry." She gave him a wink, "You won't make that mistake again."

Ash gave her a smile, "Yeah, I won't." Suddenly a curious look appeared on his face, "That's right! I've only seen Piplup and Buneary since we met up, how 'bout showing me your Pokémon?"

"Great idea!" Dawn said happily, jumping to her feet and doing a quick little twirl all the while pulling out her Poke Balls. In a bright light, she released her other five Pokémon into the lobby.

Ash immediately recognised Buneary, the small rabbit Pokémon, along with the powerful mammoth looking Pokémon, Mamoswine. The large Pokémon to Mamoswine's left caught Ash's attention.

"Wow Dawn! Your Quilava evolved!" Ash said in delight observing badger like Pokémon with interest. It seemed to be the trend with each regions starting Pokémon, as the second evolution line forms weren't that much bigger than their first forms but when they evolved into their final evolution forms they always seemed to get a dramatic increase in size.

Ash also recognised Misdreavus, the dark bluish-green, Ghost type Pokémon remembering the one that he, Misty, Brock, Harrison and Gary had saved after the Silver Conference. However when he looked at Dawn's remaining Pokémon, his jaw dropped.

"Is that a shiny Umbreon?!" Ash gasped in awe as Pikachu ceased playing with Piplup to also look at the rare Pokémon in wonder. Usually an Umbreon would have crimson eyes and yellow bands around its sleek black body but the one standing before Ash was different. It had light blue bands instead of yellow and instead of red eyes, they were yellow.

"He-he." Dawn giggled in embarrassment, sticking out her tongue, "Sure is! My mother couldn't believe it when she saw her!"

"Where'd ya get it?" Ash had to ask. For him, catching a shiny Pokémon was similar to catching a Legendary, purely in terms of rareness, of course.

"Actually I found it as an Eevee first, and it was battling other wild Pokémon in the forest near Mt. Silver." Dawn explained, "The moves that it was using were so beautiful and elegant. She was startled when I challenged her but she was very eager to battle and I defeated her using my contest skills. She evolved into Umbreon within a couple of weeks and she even performed in the Grand Festival appeal rounds."

"I'm impressed." Ash grinned, "All of your Pokémon great and I can tell that they're a lot stronger than last time I saw them."

"Ash." Nurse Joy interrupted their conversation as she exited the operating room, pushing out a cart that had Ash's three Pokémon sitting on, fully restored. "Your Pokémon are fine now."

Ash stood up and gave Nurse Joy a bow of gratitude, "Thank you very much, Nurse Joy."

"It was my pleasure." She smiled pleasantly before taking the cart away after Totodile, Quilava and Heracross jumped down so they could greet Dawn's Pokémon.

"So Ash…" Dawn grinned slyly at him, "You never told me about Serena."

"Hmm?" Ash looked startled at the question but he quickly grinned, "Sure, I'll tell you all 'bout her, along with Bonnie, Clemont and the rest of my Kalos journey, but in return I wanna hear about your Johto journey."

Dawn glanced at the time, and saw that it was getting late in the afternoon, "How 'bout we talk about it over dinner?"

"Sounds good to me!" Ash replied eagerly just in time for his stomach to let out an audible grumble of hunger.

Dawn giggled, "You haven't changed, have you?"

Ash just smiled.

The two friends would talk for hours over their journeys, into the wee hours of the night before heading to bed. One thing was for certain, the two of them were happy to be together again.

Outside of Veilstone City…

"So... What're we waiting for?" A very bored blue haired coordinator asked her friend, leaning against a large rectangular sign that had the words, 'Welcome to Veilstone City' imprinted on it. They had travelled for over a week to finally reach their intended destination.

"Will you relax?" Ash sighed, annoyed with her persistent pestering. She had asked the question every five minutes. "They'll be here any minute now."

Dawn scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest angrily. "You said that five minutes ago." She grumbled.

Ash opened his mouth to retort, but the sound of an incoming vehicle cut him off. Looking towards the road leading into Veilstone City, a white van slowly approached them, driving towards them. When close enough, it turned off the dirt road, and stopped 20 feet from them.

Ash quickly approached it, with Pikachu hurrying to side, and Dawn cautiously followed him, holding Piplup in her arms. The moment the passenger door was flung open, Dawn saw a familiar small blue creature leap out into a startled Ash's arms.

The blue haired coordinator's eyes widened at the sight of the small, blue, canine Pokémon in Ash's arms. He had black legs and torso, a blue tail, and a yellow collar. He had rounded bumps on the backs of its forepaws, a black mask and red eyes. She also noticed a small wooden figurine hanging from his neck. "Riolu?" Dawn muttered, shocked to see him again.

"How're you doin', Riolu?" Ash asked cheerfully, ecstatic to see the Fighting type Pokémon again. "It's great to see you again!"

"Great!" Riolu declared happily, wrapping his paws around Ash's neck, hugging him tightly, although fortunately for Ash not enough to choke him. "I've missed you!"

Ash blinked, startled at the voice and he pulled Riolu off him. Riolu grew nervous as Ash just stared at him. "Did you just talk?"

Riolu grinned widely. As Ash held him, he pulled off the wooden figurine off his neck and placed it around Ash's.

"Pika-pika?" Ash looked over at the electric mouse to his right, and Pikachu was giving him a confused look.

"You okay, Ash?" The boy from Pallet Town looked over to his left to see Dawn and Piplup each giving him concerned looks. "Riolu spoke to you like he always does."

"Only you and other Pokémon can understand me, Master Ash." The small blue canine informed him calmly as Ash lowered him back onto the ground.

"Ash, just call me Ash, please." Ash said uncomfortably, "There's no need to call me Master."

As Pikachu, Dawn and Piplup glanced at each other in worry, an elderly chuckle snapped them out of it. Out of the driver's seat of the green van came a familiar elderly man, the same man that they had given Riolu back to over a year ago.

"Don't be so alarmed." Riolu's trainer assured them. "Back when you all saved my beloved Riolu here, a bond began to form between him and Ash that was connected with their aura. Over the past couple of years, their auras began to grow stronger and the bond between them also strengthened. Through that bond, Ash can now understand everything that Riolu says."

"That's amazing!" Dawn beamed with wide eyes, staring at Ash and Riolu in awe. Turning back to the elderly trainer, she couldn't help but wonder, "With his aura, will Ash be able to understand all of his Pokémon?"

Even Ash looked over at the elderly man, curious for the answer.

"I'm afraid that it doesn't work like that." The old trainer told them, "The Riolu family are one of the few Pokémon capable of wielding aura and so the ability for Ash to understand Riolu is because of their aura."

"Too bad, that would be a really useful ability." Dawn sighed sadly.

"However over time, and the greater Ash becomes at wielding his aura, he can begin to understand his Pokémon's feelings. Master that, and you could become unstoppable." Riolu's trainer grinned at the young man.

Riolu broke away from Ash and walked over to his caretaker. With a sad look, Riolu stared up at the man that had raised him for years, and tears began to fall from his eyes. Immediately he was engulfed in a tight hug.

"It's okay, buddy." The elderly man whispered, tears falling from his own eyes. "No matter where you go, I, along with everyone back at the kingdom will always love you, and wish you the best of luck."

As Riolu and his trainer parted ways, Dawn looked over at Ash. "Is Riolu coming with you?"

Standing straight up, Ash nodded, his own eyes starting to water at the touching scene, but they wouldn't fall. "I received a call the other day from Mr. Barker." Ash signalled over to the elderly man, "Stating that Riolu was ready to leave the kingdom and that he wanted to come with me."

Dawn nodded, but immediately frowned. "I thought Riolu was supposed to be the kingdom's new guardian, how can he leave?"

"Mr. Barker assured me that there were other Riolu in the kingdom ready to step up. The Riolu you see before you was just far more skilled than the others." Ash explained. "After all, he is the only Riolu I've heard of that was capable of using Aura Sphere."

Riolu and his former trainer broke apart, and Riolu lowered his head, wiping away his tears. Mr. Barker meanwhile walked over to Ash and held out his hand. Ash immediately shook it, and the elderly man placed his other hand on top.

"You will look after him, won't you?" Mr. Barker asked firmly. He needed to hear the answer.

"With my life, I give you my word." Ash vowed determinedly.

"I know you will." Mr. Barker smiled, letting go of his hand. "It was nice seeing you again, Miss Dawn."

Dawn blushed lightly, not used to people calling her 'Miss Dawn.' "Same here."

Mr. Barker and Riolu had one final goodbye and as the elderly man got back into his vehicle, Dawn approached Ash. "So are we heading to Johto next?" Internally she wondered what was so dangerous about this.

Ash didn't reply for a moment, intently watching Riolu wave goodbye to the retreating vehicle. "No, not yet. There's one last thing that I need to do." Ash turned Dawn and the blue haired coordinator swallowed the gasp that rose in her throat at the sight of the deadly serious look on Ash's face. It was a face that Dawn had rarely seen, only when confronting Team Plasma and the Legendary Pokémon raging out of control did Ash ever get this serious.

"I'm going to ask you again… are you sure you want to come with me? What I'm going to do is not only foolish but extremely dangerous." Ash warned her.

Dawn swallowed but gave him a determined look, "If it's dangerous, then I'm not letting you go alone."

"Thanks Dawn." Ash smiled gratefully at her, "I appreciate it."

Dawn huffed, and placed her hands on her hips, glaring at him. "Now stop stalling and tell me what you're up to!"

"Okay then." Ash whispered, before looking her straight in the eyes. "I'm gonna catch Spiritomb."

End of Chapter

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