Love in the Time of Trials

Chapter 24: A Breaking

There are two things I need to discuss here before we begin. 1) None of the remaining Kalos Pokemon will be evolving. Why? Partly because for Clemont's development, they can't, but also, neither Diggersby, Quilladin nor Delphox suit their respective trainers. And Pancham is an impossibility.

2) My wonderful friend, Captain Luky Greace, has opened up commissions! She's the one who has done my beautiful and amazing covers and other fanart for my series. She's on DeviantArt as Great Peace, and while she has some conditions, her work, as you can see, is beyond amazing. Please support her in the way you all support me!

Well, this was long. Time for Chapter 24!

Chapter 24

A Breaking

Ash had to catch his breath. Out of all of the things he could have expected when arriving at the site of his Grand Trial, it was most assuredly not this. With thunder crashing around them and the rain pouring down in an endless sheet, the sight of the town was soon obscured by the whiteness of it. Still, he and the others simply couldn't stop staring.

"What...what happened to it...?" Clemont questioned quietly. It was so quiet that Ash was certain it couldn't even be heard over the sound of the thunder and rain. He was starting to feel cold, just standing there as water dripped from the brim of his hat. Pikachu shook his fur, flinging some droplets off in a rather futile effort.

"This is Po Town, right, Serena?" Bonnie asked worriedly. She had gripped her bag, which Dedenne had scampered inside of, to her chest in worry at the now obscured sight.

"The map says so. Rotom, can you confirm?" Serena answered, though her voice was warbling quite a bit as she did so. Rotom was pressing its screen, as though trying to process the whole situation itself.

"Yes, Rotom's map says the same thing. This is most assuredly Po Town..." It was strange to hear even the Pokédex sound so worried and positively freaked out by the occurrence of what had happened. The rain began to lighten, but only by a little. There was no sign of it stopping any time soon.

"Let's go," Ash told them all darkly. They must have heard his change in tone: from excited and confident, to worried, confused and almost furious. He knew this because he heard them all shifting their body stances behind him.

Before descending the hill, he turned back towards the direction they had come from. There seemed to be shapes, masked by the rain, though whether they were merely trees or a person or Pokémon, he remained less sure of. What he was convinced of, though, was the need to get to that police station as soon as possible. His feet stepped forward on to the slope of the hill, almost sliding against the slick grass. The others all held on to each other, with Serena grabbing the back of his vest, to make sure that they didn't fall. It was certainly tricky, especially in the falling rain that vacillated between complete blindness and visible, but nevertheless pouring, sheets.

The only guide they had to help them make their way down the hill were the shining lights from the station, though even that was masked by the constantly falling rain. Rotom flew ahead of him, buzzing past his ear like it was guiding their path. After a few more minutes of walking, their shoes caked with mud from the grass that had now turned to dirt, they finally seemed to find the cover of trees, the leaves rustling loudly in the downpour.

"Well, at least our heads are dry," Lillie commented, swiping her large hat from her head and wringing it. She was right about that; even though their caps were sopping wet, their hair had been relatively protected. Not that Ash felt it was something to concern himself with in the moment.