Adventure's Past

Chapter 13 - Devastation

"Where did Ash go, Espie?" Amelia asked Espie, who smiled back. "Pika! Pi!" Pikachu exclaimed, picking up Ash's Pokeball belt, which had been left behind where Ash was standing. "It's his Pokemon! But how?" Amelia thought aloud. Espie got up and walked over to Pikachu. "Pika!" Pikachu shouted at Espie, demanding to know where Ash was.

Espie stared in return at Pikachu, not answering the question. Pikachu stared at Espie's eyes and felt a sense of confidence and innocence. Pikachu realized that Espie was just trying to help, and wherever Ash was sent to, he needed to be there for reasons that he had no understanding of.

{—}

Ash felt the sunny rays on his cheek as he opened his eyes. Seeing the snow across the landscape through the window, he realized that he wasn't in a vision. Espie really did teleport me here, he thought to himself as he got out of bed and stood upon the wooden floors. But there's gotta be a reason why.

The reason was in the same city in the form of a blonde Lumiose inventor, but Ash didn't know this yet. He grabbed his bag and instinctively looked for his Pokeball belt before remembering that it had been left behind in Olivine City. As he situated his bag onto his shoulder and adjusted the black cloak in case people did recognize him, Ash formulated his next move, eventually concluding that if anyone was going to know what was happening in current times, it was going to be Wulfric.

Ash had developed a deeper bond with Wulfric than most of the Kalos gym leaders due to his loss after the first battle. Though he was able to overcome his mental blocks, Ash still had a hard time winning against him and was able to respect him for it. I'm sure he could help me out with my current... issue, Ash told himself as he walked out of his room and into the hallway.

Passing by the rooms, he noticed that Room 7's door was open, but the room was empty. Looks like someone left in a hurry, Ash noticed, making his way to the lobby. "Good morning!" Nurse Joy exclaimed upon seeing Ash into the front area. "Morning," Ash replied, sitting by the fireplace and staring out the window. "Looks like it was harsh weather last night," he commented.

Nodding while looking at the computer, Nurse Joy responded, "Yep. There was a snowstorm that hit this whole area." Ash felt that snowstorms always happened in Snowbelle City, but didn't say anything about it. He saw a clock on the wall and realized that it was almost midday. "Well, I'm going to head out," Ash announced as he stood up. "I've got some business to tend to here." Nurse Joy, engrossed in dealing with her patients, half-heartedly waved as Ash walked out of the door and into the freezing cold.

I should've asked for a jacket, Ash thought. It was too late, as he was already walking down the road and towards the gym. He remembered how close the gym was to the Pokemon Center and before he knew it, he was standing in front of it, its entrance shining bright against the snowy downfall. Ash entered and saw that the lobby area had a lit-up sign that indicated that a gym battle was happening right now.

Ash grinned, feeling pumped that a battle was taking place right now. It's probably super intense and awesome! He thought to himself, walking through the sliding doors. Suddenly, the entire icy battlefield layout before him, sending him memories of the battles he had here. His eyes averted to the corner that Greninja was thrown against and noticed that, while mostly fixed, a small dent stood there as a reminder of how powerful Wulfric was.

"Avalugg, use Stone Edge on Pyroar!" Ash heard Wulfric's gritty, yet booming voice. He looked over to the battlefield and saw a young blonde girl battling with her Pyroar against Avalugg, a Pokemon that Ash had trouble battling against since it was able to use Hail to restore its health via its ability, Ice Body.

"Dodge and use Fire Fang!" The young girl responded. Ash watched as Pyroar reacted instantly, being able to dodge the oncoming stones sprouting out of the ground and making their way towards Avalugg. "Get away from it!" Wulfric retaliated, urging Avalugg to avoid Pyroar at all cost. "Get back here Avalugg!" The girl exclaimed as Pyroar chased after the large iceberg Pokemon.