What If Ash was in Pokemon Horizons?

Kleavor the Solitary Warrior

The group continue the search for Kleavor. Liko taking a quick break to put on Lucius's belt. They arrives at a waterfall, seeing a tree being sliced apart and falling down.

"Wow." Ash commented, "Was that Kleavor?"

The group hear loud thumping footsteps, enough to shake the earth. Kleavor emerges from behind the waterfall. Before anyone can react, Lapras pops out of it's ball, glaring at Kleavor. 

"Wait, guys. Look at Lapras's scars, and look at the tree!" Liko suddenly said, pointing to the scars on Lapras and the sliced remains of the tree. "They're the same!"

The others look to anf from the scars, Roy pipes up "So, that means, Kleavor hurt Lapras?"

"Looks like it." Friede commented.

The two heroes start fighting each other, forcing the group to take cover. As soon as they do, however, the battle ends. The two pokemon shaking fin and blade. "Oh!" Ash piped up, "That battle was probably how they greet each other!" The others eye him oddly, wondering how he came to that conclusion, but relieved Kleavor seemed to be calm now.

Liko sees her chance and walks up to Kleavor, "Kleavor, I know you belonged to Lucius. And I want you to join us, so we can finally finish Lucius's promise and make to Laqua! So, will you join us?"

The group all wait in anticipation, Kleavor turns around and disappears behind the waterfall. Lapras's face falls and returns to its Poke Ball. But all four kids remain determined to continue the pursuit.

"Well, if Kleavor went behind the waterfall," Perrin observed, "That there must be something behind it where Kleavor can run off."

Roy goes up to the watefall and inspects it. Finding a cave entrance, the group enter, finding a limestone cave. Seeing more marks of Kleavor's blades.

"Looks like Kleavor trained in here for, a while by the looks of it." Friede remarks.

While the group traverses through the cave, Perrin's Growlithe gets distracted by a Noibat, Perrin and Friede to chase after it, leaving the children to continue the pursuit on their own. The kids feel a breeze from outside, finding another exit to the cave. Into a bamboo grove, not far is Kleavor, chopping down many tall stocks of bamboo. Kleavor senses their presence and turns to face them.

"What's Kleavor doing?" Dot asks, 

"Asking for a battle, duh!" Ash excalimed excitedly, making Dot roll her eyes. Pikachu jumps off his shoulder onto the grass, facing Kleavor.

"Oh yeah! It wants to see how strong we are!" Roy shouted, letting Croclure stand beside Pikachu.

"Good idea!" Liko said, "We can keep Kleavor here til Friede gets here!" Floragato joins the other two Pokemon, and Dot has her Quaxwell join them too.

The battle starts with Magical Leaf, Stomping Tantrum, Air Cutter and Thunderbolt. Atttacks Kleavor blocks with ease. They try more direct attacks:  Acrobatics, Flame Charge, Iron Tail and Liquidation. Kleavor just shrugs them off.

"It's okay!" Dot shouted, mentally coming up with a strategy "Just dodge and weave, and build of damage over time!" The other three nod, repeating their attacks. Until Kleavor suddenly runs off deeper into the grove. The group give chase, the Pokemon quickly surronding Kleavor.

They try to attack again, but Kleavor avoids them all, attacking them and sending them falling to the ground. Then attacking with a close range X-Scissor.

"Oh no..." Dot says, coming to a realization "Knleavor wasn't running away, it was luring us into a trap!"

"What?!" Ash yelled. 

"It's the bamboo." Dot explained, "Kleavor uses it to listen for our attacks. We can't hit it!"

"Then let's get out of here!" Liko shouts, planning a retreat.

"Pokemon, come back!" Roy shouts to the four Pokemon!

The four Pokemon try to run back to their trainers, but Kleavor raises a ring of stone pillars around the area, keeping them trapped in the fight.

The Pokemon keep fighting, but their attacks never land. Crocolure build up tons of heat for another Flame Charge, but the heat makes some bamboo pieces pop, grabbing even Kleavor's attention. Roy gets an idea, and has Crocalor build up another Flame Charge and run rapidly in circles around Kleavor. Causing nearby bamboo pieces to snap open loudly all around it, Kleavor's focus gets completely thrown off, leaving it open to an onslaught of incoming attacks from Floragato, Pikachu, Quaxwell and Crocolure.

Kleavor soon grows weak and climbs outside the stone pillar ring it created. Right where Friede and Perrin have excited the cave, the kids break through the stone pillars and attackin once again with their Pokemon. Kleavor Eventually launches a powerful counterattack with a move that Friede recognizes: Stone Axe. Imtimidating the kids.

"What kind of move was that?!" Ash shouted, "That was Stone Axe, one of Kleavor's trongest moves. It must be using it as a last resort." Friede replied. Liko pipes up "Well, if Kleavor's using its best move, then we should be at full power too!" Liko pulls out her Tera Orb, Ash, Roy and Dot pull out theirs as well. Terastallzing their Pokemon, Pikachu becoming a Flying Type.

The four Pokemon power through another Stone Axe and land a combination of Magical Leaf, Flame Charge, Liquidation and Tera Blast. Kleavor is hit heavily, falling onto its knee. The Pokemon and their trainers celebrate, but Kleavor manages to hit them with one last Stone Axe. Making all of them, even Pikachu faint. But Kleavor is too week to keep attacking.

The group has quickly heal the four Pokémon, and Kleavor stands up and motions the group to follow it. It leads the group out of the bamboo grove and and onto a cliff not far from Oni mountain. Kleavor smashes open a nearby boulder, revealing an Ancient Poké Ball was nested inside. Kleavor releases a shining sphere of light from its body, which envelops the group and transports them into a vision of the past. They see, Lucius, defending a tied-up Kleavor from a group of angry villagers. Lucius frees Kleavor from its bonds, it still tries to attack him, Lapras emerges and takes the hit for him, producing scars on its neck. 

"I see," Lucius said, "You're rampage isn't over yet. Why don't you test your strength beside me, on my adventure. Together we can find a paradise I've been searching for. What do you say?" 

After a moment of consideration, Kleavor accepts and enters one of Lucius's Ancient Poké Balls. Lucius smiles warmly, turning around "Rystal," He began, "It's time to go..."

The golden light fades, and the group is returned to the present.  Kleavor returns to its Ancient Poké Ball, and Liko happily picks it up. 

While Ash, Dot and Roy wonder who Rystal is, Friede comes to the conclusion that Kleavor must have been waiting  for someone it could trust and travel with in order to use its strength to aid its allies again.

The group head down the mountain and part ways with Perrin, who promises not to publish any images of Terapagos or Kleavor. Ash, Liko, Roy, Dot, and Friede return to the Brave Olivine and report their discoveries to the rest of the RVT. 

The next day, Ash and Liko awake in their shared room, and get ready for the day, but they stop once they hear a knock on the window. Liko goes up to it and Diana's Squawkabilly pops up, startling the two kids and making them jump back.