Saviour

By: chwangingwithkyuhyun/caoguibo

Simultaneously posted on ao3 and ffn

Pairing: Ash x Alain / Satoshi x Alain / SatoAran / Megabondshipping / Charizarditeshipping

Inspired by: one AraMano amv, one SatoAran amv, the song Asu Wa Kuru Kara by Tohoshinki/DBSK, and a bunch of short comics drawn by Pixiv artists

~Second~

The Greninja was in grave danger of losing.

As Alain watched the Greninja slam to the ground via a powerful Leaf Storm, he couldn't help but feel a tinge of pity for whoever its trainer was.

He was about to walk away. He had only approached that battlefield because his Holo Caster had shown a high level of Mega Evolution energy detected, but neither Pokemon had Mega Stones on their bodies.

But then he saw the Greninja get back up on its webbed feet and become enveloped in a swirling vortex of water.

Mega Evolution?

Alain raised his Keystone and held it near the battlefield. No responce.

Either he wasn't close enough, or it was, strangely, not Mega Evolution - but it seemed like it was, it seemed so powerful and worthy of battling.

After all, it had knocked out its opponent, a Sceptile with a clear advantage, in just one use of Aerial Ace.

Alain decided then and there to stay the night at the Pokemon Centre nearby. He hoped that its trainer - a younger boy with unruly hair who now looked just as exhausted as his defeated opponent - would also be staying the night there too.

Alain was right.

He was woken up by the racket a group of thieves with a dark red R emblazoned on their clothes were making. They had stolen a Pikachu in the early morning hours - but Alain recognised that it wasn't just any Pikachu, it was the boy's Pikachu. And sure enough, the boy had begun chasing after them in his pajamas, desperate to reclaim his beloved partner.

Alain did not hesitate. He called out his own Charizard and ordered it to free Pikachu from the thieves' grasp. It was only after it had done so that the Pikachu's trainer directed it to shoot a Thunderbolt at the trio - while it was still in the air.

It was impressive. For a brief minute it reminded him of the time when he and Manon had come face to face with the dragon of Hoennian legend, Rayquaza, and witnessed its Draco Meteor. They had nearly lost their lives that day, but now, for Alain, that Thunderbolt was just as impressive as the strongest Dragon move in the world. It was just a kind of impressive that Alain didn't exactly know how to put into words.

It was then that the boy, having allowed his Pikachu to hop back on his shoulders, turned to face Alain.

"Excuse me..." he stammered with uncertainty.

Alain did not hesitate. "That was remarkable, firing a Thunderbolt in mid-air like that," he said.

"Thanks! But Pikachu really couldn't have done that if it weren't for Charizard," the boy replied. Charizard let out a rumble of gratitude.

The boy's eyes shifted, then widened. Alain knew he had seen it.

"A Mega Stone? I didn't know Charizard could Mega Evolve too!" he said, his eyes bright and filled with wonder.

"You wanna have a go? I'd like to see your Greninja battle my Charizard," said Alain.

The boy's eyes widened. "H-how did you-"

"I saw your battle yesterday," Alain explained. "I'd like to see that again."

He didn't know what had made him decide to offer to battle the boy, but at that very moment, all Alain could think of was that Greninja, and how much he wanted to see it again up close, to let Charizard experience something that could possibly be just as strong as a Mega-Evolving Pokemon.

The battle - and his Greninja, even with its mysterious power coming to life right in front of Alain's nonresponsive Keystone - didn't last long.

But the thrill it gave, the thrill of battling a Pokemon that could be so much more powerful that it already was, even with no Mega Stone and no chance to collect Mega Evolution energy for Manon's sake - it was a special, all-encompassing feeling of emotion that Alain truly had not felt in a very, very long time.

What mattered wasn't the fact that Alain had nearly knocked out the Greninja before it could retaliate with that transformation - what mattered was the fact that the Greninja nearly knocked out Charizard after it had transformed. It was like every attack it made was faster, more powerful, dealt more damage. Alain had never seen anything like it with a non-Mega-Evolved Pokemon - but then again, he had only fought Mega-Evolving Pokemon since he left Manon behind...

Alain decided to conclude that it was ultimately due to the boy's bond with Greninja, a bond that was unusually strong - was there really a bond that strong? If he and Pikachu could execute complicated maneuvers like what Alain had seen earlier, then there was no doubt that even if the boy had lost today, he would get stronger, and fight him again and again.

Alain would not know until much, much later, but for the first time, he was looking forward to something that was not Manon's smile, and he was looking forward to something with something that felt like excitement.

So when Alain heard the boy ask him if he could battle him again next time, he agreed. Alain smiled a little when he heard the boy promise to get much, much stronger, with his Greninja.

"I'm Satoshi, by the way," he finally introduced, extending his hand. "And...you are.."

"You can call me Alain," Alain replied.

"Alain-san, isn't it?" the boy said, as Alain reached out with his own hand.

Alain never once believed in honourifics. If he allowed Manon to call him just Alain, then it was only right that he let Satoshi call him just Alain too.

As the two hands met and shook firmly, Alain replied, "Just Alain is fine."

Satoshi grinned at him, his wide, brown eyes shining.

"Let's battle again someday!" Satoshi said, as he broke the handshake and ran off to join his friends, who had been watching their entire battle from the inside of the Centre.

Alain couldn't help but notice that Satoshi had been a bit reluctant to let go of his hand.