Pokemon X & Y Reimagined

Chapter 20: Healing! Appear Deer of Life!

Ash panted and struggled to keep his eyes open as sweat poured down his thick hair and stung him. He glanced down off the wooden raft at the vast lake around him. Despite a thick mist almost concealing the surrounding forest, a warm sensation emanated from the water. It took every bit of restrain Ash had not to dive into the soothing pool and wash away the perspiration.

With a grimace, he looked around at Pikachu, Frogadier, Tyrunt, Charizard, and Lucario who each stood on a different raft. Fletchinder rested on Ash's shoulder where Pikachu usually sat. The fire-bird gasped for breath. Ash's entire team mirrored his appearance, but each stood ready and determined to continue.

"Again." Felix's voice pierced the fog ahead of them.

Gritting his teeth, Ash turned to Pikachu. The electric mouse sparked his cheeks before nodding and got into a crouched stance. Taking a deep breath, Ash centered himself and honed in on his bond with Pikachu. Of all his pokemon, the aura bond with Pikachu flowed like an unencumbered river. Ash's eyes flashed blue and Pikachu raced across a series of wooden rafts with his eyes shut.

Using Ash's sight and senses, Pikachu navigated his way without incident. That was until Felix upped the ante. Ash braced himself and shouted commands to Pikachu when a barrage of aura spheres crashed into the lake around them. Pikachu leaped up and away even as waves rocked the wooden rafts.

"Iron Tail!"

"Pika!"

Pikachu hardened his tail and knocked away two aura spheres before landing on Felix's shoulder. Ash's father gave the little mouse a warm smile before scratching his head. Ash breathed a sigh of relief, but knew it was only half over. Now he closed his eyes. Drawing upon observation aura and Pikachu's senses, Ash dashed across the same rafts and encountered the same obstacles. Yet thanks to their bond, he made it across and coated both fists in aura armor.

Ash yelled and exchanged a few blows with Felix before his father soundly pinned him. Despite this, Felix ran a hand through Ash's thick hair, earning a grunt from his son.
"Come on, dad, I'm not a kid anymore." Ash's voice carried more heat than he intended.
Felix went a little pale and nodded. Without another word, Ash got up and returned to his old position with Pikachu. For the next few minutes he repeated this exercise with Charizard, Fletchinder, and Tyrunt. Even his newest Pokemon proved capable of completing the task. Tyrunt roared in delight and playfully bit Ash's head.

Ash found himself laughing again, but stopped when Felix tried to join in. The red Lucario groaned and tried to ease Ash closer to Felix, but he resisted and went back to the starting point. Taking a deep breath, he glanced at his Lucario who shook.
"Lucario, it's alright. We'll get this."

"Grouu."

Despite Ash's assurances, when they tried to repeat Pikachu and the others' successes, Lucario seemed to resist Ash's connection and as a result he fell into the water again and again. The same thing happened when they switched roles, Ash took multiple dives into the water. Trainer and Pokemon gave somber looks at each other.

"Alright, Lucario, that's enough. Frogadier's turn." Felix said.

Lucario growled and turned his back on Ash. The young man sighed before Frogadier took him by the shoulder. With a nod, Ash pressed on. He could not let this hinder his relationship with Frogadier. With another deep breath, Ash opened up his bond to the water frog. Despite their relatively short time together, Ash's connection to Frogadier flowed almost as strong as Pikachu and Charizard.

Ash and Frogadier raced across the rafts together, each taking turns closing their eyes. Frogadier performed acrobatic jumps and slashed away the incoming Aura spheres. As Frogadier did this, Ash saw his partner's eyes flash blue. A glowing watery aura also seemed to surround his hands too. When they arrived, Pikachu and the others cheered for them. Ash grinned with a new sense of accomplishment racing through his veins. He fist bumped Frogadier before glancing back at Lucario. The aura pokemon was on the verge of tears and raced off.

"Lucario!"

"Pika!"

Felix's Lucario raced after him followed by Charizard. Ash almost collapsed. Despite almost three weeks of harsh training, he only made marginal success with Lucario. His other pokemon tried to comfort him, but Felix beat them to the punch. Ash felt his father's hand on his shoulder but did not pull away.
"I don't get it. Lucario hatched after feeling my aura. He always seemed so attached to me. Why can't we properly bond like the others?"
"I have been thinking about that, Ash. He resisted you when we started, but so did Fletchinder and Tyrunt. Both have shown immense improvement. As for Lucario, I have a theory. Ash, have you ever heard of reincarnation?"

Ash blinked and nodded a little. He knew of the basic concept but nothing deeper than that. Felix figured this out by Ash's bewildered expression and continued.

"Well, son, we aura guardians believe that our souls and aura are interconnected. It has long been thought that even after we pass on to the afterlife, a part of us remains behind in our aura which is bound to this world. This aura can come back and manifest itself in another life, human or pokemon."

"Wait? What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that it is possible that Lucario might be a reincarnation and that in a previous life you two were partners. It would explain why he hatched for you aura, why he became so attached to you."

Ash and his pokemon gawked in disbelief. Yet, the more Ash thought about it, the more it added up. It did feel like Lucario called out to him even before he hatched, and his instant attachment to him was odd, even for a newborn pokemon.

"But wait, why is that hindering us now?" Ash asked.

"Well, Ash. I can only speculate. But if I had to guess, Lucario is resisting because he is not entirely sure who he is. If you were bonded in a previous life, he feels like he has to do the same now and is trying to force the connection. Forcing a connection has the opposite effect. It's also why he's so jealous of Frogadier. He thinks he ought to have such a strong bond with you already like him."

"Frog." Frogadier muttered.

Ash gritted his teeth and clenched both fists.

"What do I do then?! We've been at this for weeks now!" Ash shouted at his father.

Frogadier and the others tried to pull him back but Felix raised a hand to them. He let Ash get closer. "I think the answer lies with your Charizard."

Felix's answer caught Ash off-guard and he blinked. Yet, before he could ask what his father meant, Ash contemplated their situation. He realized that Charizard was the answer. Ash wracked his brain for just how he got through to his fire lizard after months of disobedience and heartbreak. Then, it hit him. Ash remembered that night in the Orange Islands, when Charizard almost froze to death and he spent all night trying to keep him warm.

During that night, he made Charizard remember all of their time together, and everything they went through. From him saving Charizard as a Charmander, their travels and battles together. Ash earned Charizard's respect because of their experiences. The solution stood right in front of him. Ash wanted to smile, but as he looked back at Felix, his stomach hardened to stone.

"I think that's enough for today." Felix muttered.

He disappeared into the mist. Ash almost reached out for him, but lacked the strength and retreated himself, leaving his Pokemon with worried faces.

Elsewhere, near the shoreline, Serena threw up her hands while fire and ice gleamed around her in a magnificent display of fireworks. She panted with Amaura and Fennekin but gave a fiery smile with them.

"Wonderful, both of you. It was just like I imagined!"

"Amaur!"

"Fen!"

While Ash trained with Felix, Serena spent the weeks continuing her own training. Every day from dawn to dusk, she practiced her routines, refining them like fine art. She carefully rummaged through her bag for some soap and cleaning rage and avoided touching the outfits. She did not have them train in their performance outfits so as not to damage or dirty them.

Serena went to the lake and started washing both pokemon while smiling with pink cheeks. She imagined her first showcase and how happy the crowd looked. Ash was among them. Ash, her inspiration. How she wished she could help him in his current predicament. Then, peering through the fog, she saw him. Ash sat on a set of rocks a few yards away. He had a dispirited look about him as he cleaned Lucario, who whined and struggled to meet his trainer's eyes. Serena and her team shared the somber expression for a moment before Fennekin started to snicker. Serena glanced down at her fire-fox who pointed to the water and then Ash.The same devilish grin spread to Serena and Amaura. All three snickered and Serena whispered instructions to Amaura who nodded. The dinosaur nodded, then very quietly blew some ice into the water before jumping in. Just as Serena hoped, a wave of ice-cold water rose up, crashing into Ash and Lucario. Both screamed, then splashed into the lake before jumping up with frigid expressions. Serena exploded into giggles and turned pink when she saw Ash's exposed upper body.
Pikachu and the others laughed, but Ash and Lucario gritted their teeth and almost snarled at Serena. She gave a mischievous shrug with both hands raised. Unfortunately for her, Serena soon realized Ash was right in front of her with his own malevolent grin. Seizing both her wrists, Ash dragged Serena into the water and she sprung up wailing from the icy sensation. Lucario roared in delight and splashed Fennekin who snapped back, trying to hit him with flamethrower. However, the aura pokemon ducked underwater, then came up and dragged her in too. Soon, Ash and Serena laughed together as they tried to soak each other and before long their teams joined in. All except Charizard and Tyrunt who stayed clear of the water. This horseplay escalated when Serena tried to dunk Ash, but he proved too strong and found herself lifted up in his strong arms. Ash tried to crash her into the water, but she dragged him down with her. After several minutes both emerged and started to dry themselves off. To Serena's delight, Ash and Lucario seemed much happier now, nor were they alone. The young woman clasped both hands together and savored the sweet memories of what just happened. Pikachu too beamed at her then climbed onto Ash's shoulder."Arigato, Serena, I needed that.""It was nothing." She giggled. "Is training going any better?""For everyone but Lucario." Ash sighed.Serena bit her lip, regretting her question. She inched herself closer to Ash and sat down beside him. They stared out through the mist together. Lucario did much the same and Fennekin rested in his lap."Has Felix found out why?""He has an idea, and I think he's right."

Ash explained the reincarnation theory, leaving Serena breathless. She never imagined such a thing was possible. But then again, aura was still an alien concept to her.

"So, what are you going to do?""Something similar to what I did for Charizard. Lucario thinks he has to force our bond, I just need to show him that we already have memories of our own and don't need to call back to a previous life." Ash said and looked over at Lucario who sighed.
Even now, he sensed Lucario reaching inside himself to try and find memories of himself and Ash in their previous lives. Ash tried to show him memories of their times training together and the various battles, but Lucario still sought something else. Before Ash could say anything, he went still. An unnatural warmth filled the air around them. Serena felt it too. All of her aching muscles eased as if she emerged from a wondrous deep sleep. Pikachu and the other pokemon all gave enraptured expressions. Then, through the mist, Ash and Serena saw it. A gleaming bright light emenated around something big. Despite its size, the creature moved majestically before reaching the lakeshore. Deep blue and black skin contrasted the trees while shining yellow antlers lit up the water. Human and Pokemon alike could not speak or take their eyes off the strange deer-like pokemon which drank from the lake. When its head rose enough to meet their eyes, they jumped but the pokemon did not stir. The warm sensation only grew until all of them basked in the feeling. Serena found herself hugging Ash and did not pull away until the deer vanished back into the woods. Despite not knowing who or what it was, Ash emerged from the encounter revitalized and determined to break through with Lucario.