Chapter Text
‘ I should’ve known they were following us ,’ Liko thought to herself as she surveyed the meadow her and Roy were basically trapped in. It had been barely an hour since they separated from Friede, who had hopped on his Charizard in the opposite direction looking for Molly. ‘ We need to get back to the Brave Olivine or find Friede… ’ Liko thought as she gripped her pendant.
“Quick, Leafage!” Liko yelled as Amethio’s Ceruledge practically teleported behind Sprigatito. The small pokemon unleashed a torrent of leaves that directly struck its target with enough force to have Ceruledge knocked off of its feet. She could see Amethio’s balled up fists as he called for another Psycho Cut.
“Watch out Fuecoco!” Roy’s voice boomed next to Liko. She spared a moment to glance at where Fuecoco attempted to dodge and weave around the Golduck’s Water Pulse. Liko gasped as a Skarmory materialized and shot an Air Slash at Liko and Roy’s pokemon. The both of them screamed as they flew backwards into the air in Liko’s direction.
Liko rushed forward to catch Sprigatito, crashing into the ground as its weight slammed into Liko’s chest. She held Sprigatito close to her as Amethio’s Ceruledge approached the pair. Liko opened her eyes to meet Amethio’s cold gaze from across the meadow.
‘ We can’t even beat Amethio’s Ceruledge together, how can we take on three pokemon? ’ She thought frantically as she judged the Ceruledge, Golduck, and Skarmory. Amethio stretched out his hand.
“Just give us the pendant and we’ll leave you alone.” Liko gritted her teeth and reached to clutch tighter at her pendant.
“Or maybe you can stop trying to be a thief and leave us alone!” Roy shouted in retaliation, using his body to shield Fuecoco. Amethio remained silent for a moment before waving over his two grunts.
“Looks like you leave us no choice.” Roy gripped at Liko’s wrist as they ran as fast as they could. Liko closed her burning eyes and squeezed Sprigatito firmly, feeling her thundering heart rate pound in her ears.
“Psycho Cut.” “Water Pulse!” “Air Slash!”
Liko wrapped her arms around Sprigatito and braced for an impact that never came.
“ Electro Web !”
She looked up to see a massive web of electric sparks and power fly up and block every attack. Liko felt herself coughing as the smoke hit her lungs, lifting up her jacket to cover her mouth.
‘ Where did that come from? ’
She exchanged a glance with Roy who mirrored her shocked and bewildered expression. Liko gaped as a boy stepped out of the smoke with an outstretched hand. Next to him, a Pikachu who had presumably protected them with a determined look in its eyes.
“You guys okay?” The boy questioned and Liko found herself blankly nodding. Liko pushed herself to her feet as she held Sprigatito who was looking at the trainer’s sudden appearance with apprehension. Roy obviously didn’t have the same reserves and grabbed the boy’s hand to hoist himself up, his eyes sparkling with awe and admiration.
“What! Who the hell are you?!” One of the grunts (Onia if Liko remembered correctly) yelled at the boy.
“Yeah and how dare you butt into our battle?!” The other grunt (Zirc?) added on.
The black haired boy adjusted his hat as he turned to face their assailants. Now being level height, Liko noticed his gold accented fingerless gloves and distinct lightning bolt marks on his face. She had met this guy before, she was sure of it.
“My name is Ash Ketchum and this here is my buddy Pikachu! And well, three on two isn’t a very fair fight. Plus,” The boy’s gaze hardened, “trying to steal someone’s stuff is wrong.”
Amethio stiffened as his eyes widened with visible recognition. “Wait, aren’t you—” he started.
The boy–, no, Ash , grinned as he gesticulated with an air of confidence that reminded Liko of Friede. “Use Quick Attack!”
His Pikachu slammed into the Skarmory before Liko could even blink, the impact causing the Skarmory to crash into the trees behind it. The mouse didn’t pause before ramming its head directly into the nearby gaping Golduck with the same amount of force which instantly knocked it unconscious.
“No!” Onia screamed as she returned her Golduck.
‘ He knocked out the Golduck with one move?! ’ Liko thought incredulously.
“Skarmory!” Zirc cried out, sighing in relief as the steel-type flew out of the forest and back into the meadow.
“Phantom Force!” Amethio commanded as Zirc called for Wing Attack.
Ash’s eyes narrowed as Ceruledge vanished into the ground. “Catch the Skarmory with Electro Web and keep your guard up for that other pokemon!”
The Pikachu nodded in affirmation and shot out an Electro Web that perfectly tangled into the Skarmory’s wings, causing it to scream and drop from the air. Liko could see Zirc fumble for its pokeball, returning the Skarmory before it could hit the ground.
‘ Now it’s an even one on one… ’
“Bitter Blade!” Amethio called out as his Ceruledge shot up from the ground and swung at Pikachu. “Dodge it!” Ash yelled instantly as his eyebrows furrowed together. Despite the surprise, the Pikachu dodged with unparalleled speed and jumped backwards until it was out of range. “Phantom Force then Bitter Blade again!” Amethio growled. Ash muttered something under his breath as Ceruledge disappeared into the ground again.
The meadow was filled with tense silence for a few moments, the Pikachu’s ears constantly twitching as it looked around.
“Iron Tail!” Ash called out before Liko even saw Ceruledge appear behind Pikachu. The mouse responded instantly and slammed its tail into Ceruledge, causing it to fly across the meadow before it had fully left its portal.
‘ That speed! ’ Liko gaped. ‘ And how did he even see Ceruledge that quickly?!’
“Wow,” Roy gasped, his eyes blown wide with wonder. Liko looked down at Sprigatito and Fuecoco who were observing the battle with similar interest and awe.
Amethio’s mouth twitched into a scowl as he returned Ceruledge. “Retreat. This isn’t a battle we can win.” He signaled to his grunts as Onia threw out another Skarmory. The three of them piled onto the Skarmory with Amethio shooting a pointed glare first at Liko and then at Ash. The black haired trainer did nothing more than stare at the exiting Explorers, making sure they were out of sight before turning back to Roy and Liko.
For a split second, Liko swore she saw something akin to nostalgia and resigned acceptance in Ash's gaze. The kind of gaze that spoke of a hard life and bone deep exhaustion at the world. Then it was gone, replaced with well meaning enthusiasm and concern over Roy and Liko.
“Are you two okay? Thieves are always kind of scary” Ash worried, his Pikachu chirping in agreement.
“We’re fine because you two were awesome !” Roy exclaimed as he basically vibrated in place. “Pikachu went wam—and bam—-woosh—- so fast and strong!”
“I think what he’s saying is his form of thanks,” Liko stepped in, noticeably calmer but still in awe. “Me and Sprigatito wanted to say thank you to you and Pikachu. I didn’t know what we would’ve done if you didn’t step in.”
“Oh yeah sorry,” Roy scratched his head sheepishly. “Thank you so much for saving us from the Explorers!”
“No problem!” Ash grinned as he scratched his nose. “We’re just doing what we think is right.”
“Pika!” His pikachu added on which earned the delighted response of both Sprigatito and Fuecoco.
“Say,” Roy stepped up, his gaze firm and determined. “Could you have a battle with me and Fuecoco? We want to get stronger so we can fight back against the Explorers!”
Ash’s mouth became a wide smile and his eyes practically had stars in them before his Pikachu whacked him lightly on the head with its tail. “Ah– c’mon Pikachu it’ll be quick!” Ash protested, which was met with Pikachu’s shaking head.
“I really want to, but we have to rush to get this Pokemon egg to its owner because it's going to hatch soon.” Ash explained sadly.
Roy’s head lowered in sad acceptance while Liko put her arm on his shoulder. Ash pulled out a Rotom-Phone and glanced at it for a moment before putting it away and readjusting his hat again. “Let’s have that battle the next time we meet!”
“Yeah!” Roy and Liko exclaimed together as they waved off the enigmatic man. Liko turned to Roy. “We should definitely head back to the ship now.”
As they walked in silence, all Liko could do was replay the battle in her head. Ash’s confident commands and the power of his Pikachu as it followed Ash’s orders with creative ingenuity. When Friede finally found them again, Roy started to recount their encounter with wide gestures and unmatchable enthusiasm. Friede listened with an air of curiosity.
“Ash Ketchum huh…” Friede mumbled below his breath and Liko swore she saw recognition in his eyes. Someone tapped on her shoulder as they landed on the Brave Olivine and Liko spun around to see Roy’s determined expression.
“The next time we meet Ash, we’re gonna beat him!” Liko let her eyes settle on Roy’s outstretched fist for a moment before forming her own first and meeting it. She firmly nodded and clutched her pendant.
‘
I’m going to get stronger.
’