Episode 32: Ghost Hunter – Part 5

The final part of episode 32 in my Fan Fiction series about the Pokémon journey of Ash and Angie. Involves some MorpheusShipping (Ash and Angie liking each other) so if you don't like that idea, perhaps you might want to stop reading here. The rest, I hope you enjoy this fan-fiction.

After running for a while, Angie and her unusual "rescue team" stopped.

"I'll try again here," Lucario said to Angie, as usual without making a sound.

The young girl watched attentively as the appendages on Lucario's head were raised, indicating it was trying to pick up Ash's Aura once more. Angie thought they were now close to spot where she fell into the water, after Ash pushed her over the edge. But Lucario didn't sense anything there, so either their attacker had moved since then, or...

Angie didn't dare finish that thought. "No! It can't end this way, not after all the effort Ash made in the past to keep me safe, it wouldn't be right that he got hurt... or worse," she thought.

They had been running around in circles of increasing diameter, a classic search pattern, but to no avail to far. Angie started getting a little tired again, which wasn't so strange as she didn't get much rest after all she had been through.

"Huh?" she suddenly heard Lucario say.

"What is it, Lucario?" Angie asked, "did you pick up something?"

"Pika?" Pikachu asked in it's own language, also wondering where it's trainer would be.

"It's faint, but I'm quite positive this signature matches that of your friend," Lucario said, much to Angie's relief. "We must travel in that direction," Lucario added, as it pointed north of their current position.

Angie didn't feel tired anymore. "A sign of Ash!" was all that flashed through her mind. With the appendages on it's head still raised, Lucario started running in the indicated heading, Angie, Pikachu and Buizel following closely behind. At first the surroundings didn't seem at all familiar to her, probably because she had been running when she tried to get Lucario and herself to safety. Then they passed the water Angie had fallen into after Ash said goodbye to her. "We must be getting close!" the young girl thought. They found a rocky track, which led up the hill, to the place they encountered the strange man who was after Lucario. But there was no sign of Ash. Angie looked down at the ground, and it felt like her hopes seemed to slip through her fingers.

"Don't despair, we are getting closer," she heard Lucario say, disturbing her sad thoughts.

"Are you sure?" Angie wanted to ask the Aura Pokémon, but she didn't dare disturb it's concentration, as it was again intensively 'scanning' for Ash's Aura. Nothing here seemed to remind of Ash and the battle in which Angie and her boyfriend were separated, except for the charred soil, caused by Magmortar's flames.

"This way!" Lucario said, with a touch of excitement in it's 'voice', which usually sounded a bit more solemn.

"Come on guys!" Angie shouted at Pikachu and Buizel, who had been looking around while Lucario was busy.

A bit later Angie saw the first evidence they were really on the right trail. On the side of the path there were some branches that had been broken, and some twigs lying on the ground, indicating something big had passed through. "That could only have been caused by that "thing" the strange person that captured Ash used for transportation. Suddenly Lucario halted, and Angie had to try hard to avoid crashing into the Aura Pokémon.

"What is it, did you lose the trail again?" Angie asked, worried.

"Please be silent, and look over there," was all that Lucario answered to that question.

Angie followed those directions, and she saw a shimmering light through the trees. It looked a bit artificial, judging by the color and brightness, and Angie was momentarily blinded when she looked straight into it, after running around in the dark for a while. Lucario had it's eyes closed, so it didn't have the same problems, and used it's Aura-sensing abilities to 'look' at the scene. After Angie's eyes had adjusted to the lighting, she could see what the bright light was coming from. It was attached to the side of the strange contraption Angie had seen before. She could also discern a shape moving around the open space around the craft. It was the Magmortar that had caused so much trouble to them. "Where is Ash?" Angie thought, "if he is also inside that mecha, it will be hard to get him out unnoticed..."

"Your friend is over there," Lucario said, with it's eyes still closed, pointing towards a large tree a little distance away from the craft.

Angie looked at the tree, and saw Ash tied down, motionless. For moment Angie got worried again but then she noticed something. "No wait, I can see him breathing. He is alright!" she almost shouted with joy. "But how to free him without having to face that Magmortar again?" she pondered. Then Angie thought about the bright light on the side of the craft the strange man used. As silently as possible she released Shinx.

"Shinx, try to sneak up close to that Magmortar and then do Flash," Angie whispered to her electric friend.

Anxiously, she and the others watched how Shinx sneaked through the dark, trying to stay unnoticed. Then Shinx stepped on a little twig, and Magmortar immediately looked their way. Angie ducked down, and held her breath as she feared her Pokémon might get detected. But everything remained quiet, and when Angie dared to look again, she saw Shinx hiding behind a rock that was on the open space around the mecha. "Phew," she thought, "that was too close for comfort!" Magmortar had decided to check on their prisoner, and now had it's back turned towards Shinx, who quickly took advantage of this opportunity to get closer to the fire-Pokémon. When it had convinced itself that Ash was still secured, it turned around, and suddenly found itself facing Shinx!

"Shiiinx!" the little electric Pokémon uttered, while filling the area with a bright Flash, blinding Magmortar instantly.

"Come on!" Angie said, jumping out of the bushes, and running towards Ash.

Despite all the commotion around him, Ash was still asleep. "I swear I could fire a cannon next to his head, and he will sleep through it," Angie thought, as she started shaking Ash.

"Huh... I don't want to go to school mummy..." Ash mumbled as he slowly woke up.

"Stop goofing, we've got to get you free fast," Angie whispered at him.

"Angie!" Ash said, now fully awake, and speaking a little louder than might be wise at this moment, "am I glad to see you here!"

"So am I, but we need something to cut these ropes..." Angie said, as she looked around.

"Pika... pika-pikapi," Pikachu said, also clearly glad to see it's trainer again.

"Hey little buddy," Ash greeted his yellow friend, "can you bite through these ropes?"

"Pi-pikapi!" Pikachu acknowledged, before sinking it's teeth into the strings.

But apparently the ropes were made of a very strong material, since Pikachu's efforts were to no avail, and panting heavily it had to give up.

"Nice try Pikachu," Angie praised the little mouse Pokémon, "but we need a knife or something like that. Now where can we get... hey!"

Angie took another Poké Ball and released her Bulbasaur.

"Can you do Razor Leaf on those ropes?" Angie asked, "but try not to hit Ash, please."

"Bulba...Bulbasaur-saur!" the grass Pokémon said, while nodding.

Bulbasaur sent a carefully aimed stream of sharp leaves at the ropes holding Ash, and this did the trick. Ash got up, still a little stiff from being tied down for so long, but before he could hug Angie, they heard a squeaking sound, coming from behind them, like some door or hatch was opening.

"What is all that noise!" they heard a familiar voice yell!

Meanwhile, in the village where Angie had found refuge, Nurse Joy, while doing her rounds, had discovered her guests had gone missing. She immediately took the phone and dialed 0900-Jenny.

"Yes..." a female voice yawned at the other side of the line.

"Oh, thank God you are in town already, we have a possible emergency here!" Nurse Joy said, with her usual concerned voice.

The worried nurse explained what had happened to Angie and Lucario, and how she just had discovered Angie decided not to wait for the police to get here and was out there to rescue Ash.

"Hmmm, my niece Jenny from Saffron City already told me about these kids, and how they ran into trouble with that Hunter J. there," Jenny sighed, "they're good kids, but sometimes they act a little rash."

"I see what you mean," Nurse Joy agreed.

"Well, it seems I won't have much time to catch up sleep after getting in town just half an hour ago," the police officer said, while trying to suppress another yawn, "but you know what they say, crime never sleeps, so I'll get my men ready and go look for those kids!"

"Fantastic," Nurse Joy cheered, "and I hope you can find them in time..."

"I'll do my best," Jenny answered, before putting down the phone.

Back at the place where Ash had just been freed.

"What is all this!?" an angry Conrad shouted.

"And who may that be?" Angie asked Ash, "is that the assistant of that character that attacked Lucario?

Conrad didn't have his helmet on, so his voice sounded a lot different from what Angie had heard earlier. Ash chuckled when he heard her question.

"That's Conrad, and he is in fact the same guy that threatened Lucario," Ash explained, "he thinks he's a genius and has some voice altering device built into his helmet to make his voice sound stronger."

"Oh?" Angie replied, as she had trouble keeping in her laughter, "I almost feel sorry for him then."

"Yeah, go on, laugh at me!" Conrad shouted, as he became more angry at all this mockery, "you will be sorry, I guarantee you that, sorry for interfering with my plans! Now hand over that Lucario!"

Angie's features hardened, and Ash also looked more serious all of a sudden.

"Never!" they both said together, while stepping in front of the Aura Pokémon.

"Like that's going to stop me!" Conrad shouted, "I'll just burn you all to a crisp, starting with that blue fur ball over there!" he added, while pointing at Angie's Shinx.

"No!" Angie screamed, as she quickly took her little friend's Poké Ball from her belt, "Shinx, come back!"

Just before Magmortar's Flame Thrower would impact, Shinx was drawn back into it's Poké Ball, safe from the flames. Angie quickly recalled her Bulbasaur also, before it would become the next target and Ash decided to get Buizel back also. Conrad was however not very impressed, and ordered Magmortar to do Fire Spin on our friends, trying to entrap them like during their first battle. And with success, just moments later Ash, Angie, Pikachu and Lucario found themselves surrounded by a wall of flames!

"I don't hear you laughing anymore, now do I?"Conrad mocked, as a vicious smile formed on his face.

"Ash! There's no way out!" Angie yelled.

Ash didn't say a word, but his face looked grim, indicating he also saw how sticky their situation was. He picked up Pikachu and placed the Pokémon in Angie's arms. Then he quickly took off his jacket, and put it around the girl's shoulders, hoping it would protect those two, who were so close to his heart, a little. Ash looked into Angie's eyes like he meant to say: "if this is it, I am glad we are together..."

Suddenly they heard Lucario growl. Ash turned around, fearing it had been hurt by the fire, only to see it was charging up an Aura Sphere. But there was something strange about it. Instead of releasing the blue orb of energy when it was the size of a ball, this sphere got bigger and bigger. Then Lucario extended it's paws towards the sky above, and the sphere expanded even more, now completely surrounding our friends. Also the temperature inside the sphere immediately dropped to more normal levels!

"That's...amazing..." Ash said, as he looked in awe at the blue energy that shielded them from the flames.

"It is called Aura Shield," Lucario explained calmly, "I've learned this technique as part of my training to help me prepare for my task of protecting my kingdom."

"Awesome..." Angie added, as she looked around at the strange blue glow protecting them.

"Now, instruct your Monferno to dig a hole and escape from here," Lucario suggested, "and hurry, I don't know how long I can keep this shield up."

"But what about you?" Ash asked.

"Don't worry about me," Lucario answered, "you have saved my life once, and your girlfriend has done the same. It is only fitting that I pay this debt now. I will do whatever is necessary to protect you. Now go!" Lucario groaned, as it was clearly getting harder to sustain the Aura Shield.

Ash hesitated for a moment. He really wanted Angie and Pikachu to be safe, and this seemed like their only chance to escape. But what would happen to Lucario? Then for a short moment, it looked like Lucario's image faded just a little before becoming solid again. Ash had seen this before...

"Oh no, Lucario must be getting almost at the end of it's strength, after using so much of it's Aura to protect us!"Ash thought, "what if..."

Images of his first encounter with a Lucario and how it had sacrificed itself to save the dying Tree of the Beginning and the Mew that lived in it flashed before Ash's eyes. Lucario was getting more and more exhausted, and was now resting on one knee, it's face revealing how much effort it cost to keep the blue shield up.

"No, I will not let this happen again!" Ash shouted, as he clenched his fists.

Ash had barely finished speaking, or a bluish glow started to appear around his hands.

"Now... raise....your hands.... just... like me..." he heard Lucario say.

The Pokémon's words sounded faint, almost like it was whispering because it lacked the strength to telepathically say it louder, like it normally would do. Ash slowly put up his hands, and watched the bluish glow expand, then merging with the sphere Lucario had created!

"Oh... Ash..." was all Angie could say, unable to understand what was going on, with Pikachu hiding behind her leg.

"What... what is happening?" Conrad said, as he noticed the flames Magmortar had created had stopped moving.

"Ash, I can feel Aura is with us!" Lucario said, now sounding much more revived, "just a little more..."

Ash nodded, and his face revealed the effort he put into it. The blue sphere started expanding again, and began closing in on Conrad's mecha. Magmortar didn't know what to think of this, and took a few steps back. Conrad ordered it to do a Flame Thrower on the still expanding sphere, but the fire just bounced off. He started to panic a little and even threw his helmet at the sphere, but this simply exploded upon impact, without any effect. The bluish light was now very close to his mecha, and he jumped off, starting to run away. But it was too late, the edge of the sphere made contact with the mecha, and it's power caused the contraption to blow, throwing Conrad and his Pokémon to the ground.

"I believe that will be sufficient," Lucario said, lowering it's paws.

Ash did the same, and the blue sphere dissolved into the air. Bits and pieces of the thrashed mecha were scattered around, some still smoking from the blast. Magmortar had been smashed into the tree Ash had been tied down to, and was knocked out. A little further they saw Conrad lying on the ground, apparently also unconscious, the remainders of his cape covering his face.

"How... how did I do that?" Ash wondered, as he looked at the destruction he and Lucario had caused.

But before he could find an answer to this question, the sound of sirens suddenly disturbed the silence. It was officer Jenny on her motorcycle, followed by a couple of police cars. Angie stepped closer to Ash, and looked into his eyes. Then they did what they had been wanting to do from the first moment they were reunited. The two embraced, holding each other tight, thinking about all the fear and concern about each other's welfare they had felt during the perilous moments they had been through. Suddenly, feeling very natural, their lips met in a short but tender kiss, just as Officer Jenny stopped and put off her helmet.

"I was going to ask if you kids were all okay, but I think I already know the answer," Officer Jenny said, smiling.

Ash and Angie both blushed a little, but deep inside they could only feel happiness about being safe and together again.

"So, it looks like we are just in time to clean up the mess," Officer Jenny remarked, "starting with that big piece over there!" she added, while pointing at Conrad, who was slowly regaining consciousness.

While Jenny instructed her men to gather the debris of the exploded mecha, since they would serve as evidence, Lucario stepped closer to our friends.

"Ash, our paths must separate here," Lucario said, with a tone of sadness in it's 'voice'.

"Do you really have to go already?" Ash said, as his face started looking sad.

"I have been away too long from the kingdom I pledged to protect," Lucario explained, "so if you would be so kind to ask if those law enforcers can help me get back, I would be much obliged."

"I see," Ash replied, "if that's what you want, I will ask Officer Jenny if she can give you a ride."

After Officer Jenny had taken Conrad into custody, Ash told her of Lucario's request, and naturally she didn't object to that. Lucario stepped into the sidecar of Jenny's motorcycle, and she started the engine. Ash and Angie decided to stay behind and put up their tents here, since they learned they were quite close to the Indigo Plateau now. As the motorcycle started moving, our friends waved at Lucario.

"Thanks again, my friends," Lucario said, "and Ash, your Aura was strong today. Remember that, perhaps one day you might need it again."

"Bye..." Ash whispered, as he quickly wiped a tear from his eye, "I will remember...you..."

As the vehicles disappeared into the night, Angie took Ash's hand, and they started looking for the best place to put up the tents. No one noticed how, in the trees behind them, a Treecko suddenly changed into a Pidgeotto, and flew off...

My 58th fan-fiction chapter. I apologize for any typing errors, or grammatically not 100% correct sentences. Remember, I am not a native English speaker or writer. I tried to make this story as close to the Pokémon series as possible, so that the characters will react roughly the same in this fictional story as they do in the series. Comments are always welcome, you can use the review function on this FanFiction site for that.

Disclaimer: I do not own or claim to own any trademarks of Pokémon. Any similarities to the works of others is purely accidental, and not meant as an infringement on anyone's achievements.