Ash's POV-
I sat there propped up against the boulder that Lillie had dragged me behind. My gaze drifted around to the rest of the group, letting my eyes linger on each of them for a couple of seconds, before looking towards another. My eyes came to a rest on Lillie, she had taken control of the group and was trying her best to direct everyone once she had finished tending to me. I couldn't hear anything being said because my ears were still ringing, though after a couple of minutes my hearing finally returned.
Explosions, crashes, and various other sounds rang through the battlefield. That was all I could hear for the first few seconds once my hearing returned. I winced a little bit in those first few seconds, as everything sounded much louder than it really was.
I let out a little grunt of pain as I slowly pulled myself to my feet , using the boulder as a bit of a crutch as I slowly stood up. Lillie looked over at me as I stood up, eyes wide with concern as she rushed over to me and helped me up.
"Ash you shouldn't be moving just yet, you haven't even had a few minutes to let yourself recover!" Lillie pleaded.
I let out a pained chuckled as I nodded. "I know Lills, hurts like absolute hell too, but we're in a battle right now. I can't really take any time to rest." I responded.
Lillie continued looking at me with pleading eyes, silently begging me to just sit back down and leave the battle to her.
I smiled softly and sighed as I looked into her eyes. "I'll try and take it easy ok? Though I'm still gonna be helping out." I told her.
Lillie stared at me for a few moments, before finally nodding. "Alright, just..please be careful, I don't wanna lose you." Lillie quietly responded.
A small goofy looking grin spread across my lips as I nodded and fully stood up, before looking around at everyone. "So what's been going on so far since you pulled me behind the boulder?" I asked.
Lillie grimaced and bit her lip as she reached behind to the back of her own belt and grabbed a Pokeball, handing it to me. "Noctowl got knocked out, so I took his ball and returned him to it, everyone else is a bit banged up and slowly getting exhausted. No matter what we do, there just seems to be no end to them, and they've slowly been gaining ground as we fought." She responded.
"Thank you Lills." I said as I took the Pokeball from Lillie and placed it back onto my belt, while I looked around at everyone. "Alright everyone, why don't we push the enemy back a bit, they're getting a little too comfortable with the idea that they're going to be able to capture us. Why don't we show them how bad of an idea that is!" I shouted to everyone.
Each of my Pokemon let out a shout of their own in response. I leaned around the side of the boulder and found that the enemies had started getting pretty close to where we were.
I glanced over at Infernape. "Infernape, use Fireblast on the group in front of us. Greninja, Hydro pump on the group to the right. Sceptile use Leaf Storm, Vulpix, try and freeze the leaves in the Leaf storm for some added damage to them." I told them.
Each one of them followed the orders that had been given to them. Infernape's Fire Blast had burned a good chunk of the guards and knocked them out of the fight, but almost immediately as they fell, a larger group had taken their place. I looked around and saw that this was true for the right and left flank as well.
"Crap, so that's what Lillie meant when she said that." I thought to myself.
The amount of attacks being thrown at us doubled in an instant as our counterattack started, almost immidietly stopping it before it even really began. The spot we were holed up in began getting heavily bombarded by the enemy. I grabbed Lillie's hand and took cover with her as the barrage continued.
I leaned out around the boulder and watched as the enemy began advancing a lot faster than before. "Crap, we can't let them keep advancing." I muttered. Though as I looked around, I saw that no one could get out to launch an attack, for risk of being hammered by the barrage of attacks.
My mind started racing as I looked for a way out of this, that wouldn't result in one of us getting severely hurt or killed. My eyes darted to everyone present, checking to see how banged up they were.
Admist all the explosions and sounds, I felt a couple of vibrations through my right hand, which was pressed against the ground. "What the hell? That felt different." I muttured as I looked towards the ground. The ground rumbled a few more times, each one being a bit more intense than the last.
There was a loud explosion and a pillar of fire towards the right side of the room. It came from the second level that we had initially bypassed. The bombardment momentarily stopped, and silence settled across the battlefield. A loud roar pierced the silence that had settled over the battlefield, it was one I was very familiar with.
"What was that Ash?" Lillie looked over at me, a frightful expression present on her face as she spoke.
A grin spread across my face as I watched the smoke from the explosion and fire being disperesed by an orange figure shooting out from it. "No need to worry Lills, it's just an old friend that I called in for some back up." I responded.
My grin only grew as I watched the orange dragon dive down towards the mass of guards that had been advancing towards us, and unleasing a storm of fire into the group.
Shouts of panic and crys of pain could be heard as the guards disperesed and started retreating from the frontline of their advance.
"Atta boy Charizard, kick their asses." I thought to myself.
The orange dragon created a semicircle wall of fire to keep the enemy away from where my group was, before diving down behind the boulders and landing.
I pulled myself up as he landed and I walked over to him. I looked up at him and smiled softly. "Thanks for coming buddy, it wouldn't really be a power team without one of the biggest hitters I have." I said as I used my good arm to give Charizard a hug.
After a few seconds, a small yellow Pokemon appeared from behind Charizard and sprinted over to me. I kneeled down and smiled at the Pokemon. "Hey there Pikachu, thanks for getting Charizard here little buddy, I really appreciate it." I said as I rubbed his head.
I stood up after a few moments and looked around at each of my Pokemon, they all looked exhausted and beaten up. "Alright, it's time to rally them and really start our counterattack." I thought to myself.
I took a deep breath before I started speaking. "Alright everyone, the battle has been hard, and it seemed like we were getting no where, but we're at full power now, so how about we pay them back for what they've done to us and show them a fight that they'll never forget!" I said.
Charizard let out a loud roar which echoed through the room, and the others followed suit, letting out cries of their own.
I looked over at Lillie and smiled softly. "Hey Lills, would you be alright directing things here on the ground, while Charizard and I give them hell from the sky?" I asked her.
Lillie looked at me, apprehension present in her eyes. "I-I don't know A-Ash, I don't t-think I can do that, I'm not experienced enough to do that." She replied in a nervous and frightened tone.
I took a couple of steps towards her and took hold of her hand, giving it a small squeeze as I looked at her. "It'll be ok Lills, I know you can do it, and I'll keep you safe from the air, I promise." I responded to her.
Lillie's frightened expression didn't disappear as her eyes started darting around a bit, I knew what that look meant. I gently pulled her close to me and hugged her. "Easy there Lills, don't worry ok? Charizard and I are going to take care of most of the enimies, so you won't have to really worry about anything." I told her.
Lillie took a deep breath after a few seconds and slowly calmed herself down. "A-alright Ash...I'll try my best." She responded.
I leaned in and kissed her forehead, before looking down at her and smiling. "Atta girl, now let's go and kick your moms ass." I said.
Lillie looked back up at me, a slight blush present on her face as she nodded.
I was about to turn away suddenly when I felt my head being pulled back towards her. I was about to ask what was up, when she suddenly leaned in and gave me a quick kiss on the lips.
My face exploded in a bright blush and steam practically poured out of my ears as I looked down at her in surprise. I stood there dumbfounded as Lillie blushed and let out a quiet giggle. "M-Make s-sure to be careful up there Ashy." She said.
I felt my heart skip two or three beats, as she said that. "Is this what dying from cuteness feels like?" I thought to myself as I momentarily clutched my chest.
I took a deep breath to try and compose myself. While I turned towards Charizard and grinned as I walked towards him. "So Charizard, are you ready to go and kick the crap out of the enemy?" I asked.
Charizard let out a grunt of approval as he leaned forward to let me get on his back. I looked down at Pikachu and smiled. "Hey buddy, I need you to stay here on the ground and protect Lillie okay?" I told him.
Pikachu nodded and ran over to Lillie and hopped onto her right shoulder. I looked around at all the others as I approached Charizard. "Alright everyone, while I'm in the air, Lillie is going to be taking command down on the ground. Make sure to keep her safe and to follow her orders the best you can." I told them.
Each one of my Pokemon nodded as I hopped onto Charizards back. Lillie rushed over to me and looked at me. "Ash, what about your shoulder?" She asked me.
"I'll be ok so long as we stay in the air and away from the enemies attacks." I responded.
Lillie nodded after a seconds. "Alright, be careful Ashy." She said.
"I will Lills, don't worry." I answered.
I patted Charizards back as Lillie stepped back. "Alright buddy, let's get going." I said.
Charizard let out a roar and stood up. His wings started beating after a few moments, and only moments later he took to the sky.
"Now the real battle begins." I thought to myself as Charizard ascended into the sky.
A/N
Hey everyone, It's rare to have almost back to back chapters isn't it? Hahaha.
I posted an announcement about what I might start writing in the future, and I wanted to hear what all of you thought about it.
I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, and if you have any comments or questions, don't hesitate to post them.
As always, I will see all of you in the next chapter.
-Pearlshipper332