//------------------------------//
// Through the wall of wilted flowers 
// Story: My Little Pokémon 
// by Amarvax 
//------------------------------//

High above the skies, near the dark and murky woodlands.

"There!" Ash spoke as he, Pikachu, Audino and Chikorita were on the back of Dragonite while Fluttershy was flying next to them. They had spotted the woods that Chrysalis had mentioned and described after following the path she told them to follow.

Dragonite and Fluttershy descended, finally reaching the woodlands where Chrysalis was currently located. But not out in the open. Thankfully, Chrysalis had told them about the wall of wilted flowers that leads to the hidden land. 

Ash and the Pokemon hopped off Dragonite as they all approached the wall of wilted flowers which already had leaves falling off, littering the already tainted ground.

"Thanks, Dragonite. Return." Ash returned his Dragonite.

"Through here?" Fluttershy said, looking at the wilted flowers. "Do we open them up?"

"Hmm..." Ash tested it out for himself as he separated the wall of flowers only to find more walls of flowers layered behind them. "There's more!"

"Pika?" 

"Chrysalis said there was a hidden land through here, right? Maybe if we keep moving forward we'll find it." Fluttershy flew over to Ash.

"Good point. Hope we're not too late." Immediately getting a move on, Ash and the others moved through the wall of wilted flowers to see if they could discover the hidden land.

When walking through the wilted flowers, they could feel the crumpled and wrinkled texture massaging their faces and bodies as more petals just kept falling. Some of the flowers had even disintegrated with their ashes being blown in the wind, gone forever. Ash picked up one of the flowers, seeing how it just dissolved in front of him.

"There's barely any life here..." Fluttershy also picked up some of the flowers as they fell apart. "All of these flowers must've never seen the sun or anything at all."

"Chiko..." Chikorita tried to give this murky area some sweetness as she used her leaf to emanate a sweet aroma, attempting to create a friendly atmosphere. But unfortunately, it wasn't enough to overpower the horrid atmosphere of this area.

Audino then tried healing the flowers with Refresh and Heal Pulse, but even those weren't enough to restore them to full health, surprising the Hearing Pokemon.

Audino was using her feelers to pick up on Chrysalis's voice but all she could hear were the sounds of flowers dropping around her. Until she heard a brand new sound that was uncanny to her ears.

"Audino?"

"Did you get something, Audi? Is it Chrysalis?" Fluttershy asked.

"Audino..." Audino focused carefully, trying to pick up on what this new sound was. By lifting her own feelers, she could hear what seemed to be excessive buzzing. Specifically, soft and muzzled buzzing. A loud snapping and cracking sound also came through, as if something was flying this way.

"Audi!?" And Audino feelers finally processed it all as she immediately gasped, knowing exactly what was coming their way. And it wasn't anything really inviting. 

Very soon, Ash and the others could hear it too. The aggressive buzzing sounds heading straight for them. That sound belonged to only one thing.

Mellifera's Locusts.

Finding out that Ash and company were coming here in the first place, they were ordered by Mellifera to stop them from coming here, just for the sake of keeping Chrysalis in this hidden land. And to do that, the locusts were to eliminate them instead of just driving them away.

The locusts appeared from the south as they were eating through the flowers themselves with their aggressive biting and speed combined, locking themselves onto Ash and co. as they came in large swarms.

"Locusts?!" Fluttershy gasped.

"A bunch of them!" Ash followed up.

"Pika!"

Seeing that locusts were moving at haphazard speeds while being scattered in large swarms, eating through everything like it was nothing, Ash and the others made the first decision to make a run for it.

And that's what they did.

By bolting off the ground, they decided to run from the approaching locusts, initiating a chase between the Pokemon Trainers and their Pokemon and the aggressive locusts.

With the locusts giving chase and tearing through the wilted flowers, some of them even started to merge to form creatures made entirely out of their bodies. Just like with what happened with Chrysalis, the locusts had formed together to become a four-legged monster with the tendencies of a wolf while also being made entirely out of locusts with dark green eyes flaring out of its head.

"Awesome!" Ash was actually impressed by that, even though he was being chased down by it.

The Locust Wolf roared as it moved faster than the normal locusts themselves. The Locust Wolf clawed through the flowers with its dark claws as it was catching up at an unusual pace.

"Not gonna make much progress just running!" Ash knew that they were not going to outspeed this thing by running. Or even flying, so it was time to retaliate. "Pikachu! Use Thunderbolt!"

"Pika...!" Pikachu slid on the ground, putting his run on hold for now as he sparked his body up with electricity. "Chuuuu!" Out of his body, 100,000 volts of electricity came blasting out, breaking through some of the flowers that were in the way.

The Locust Wolf had been blasted by 100,000 volts with each of the electrons hitting all of the locusts. Reacting to the volts made all of the locusts drop on the floor, separating the Locust Wolf monster.

But there were still others to deal with. The other locusts saw how Pikachu easily defeated the Locust Wolf with just one single attack and how Ash commanded him to do so. Naturally, they were highly cautious of Ash and Pikachu now. They could now deem the two of them as a large threat instead of just a nuisance that needed to be taken out.

The locusts that had dropped from Pikachu's Thunderbolt had quickly recovered, flying away as they decided not to continue engaging in this.

To avoid the Thunderbolt, the locusts started adapting as they all collectively thought together as a team. Each of the groups simultaneously merged to create 3 different locust creations.

The first was a humanoid-like locust monster with four arms and sharp claws. The second was a Locust Scorpion with two tails and the third was Locust Snake with fangs that had Mellifera's magic embedded in them.

"Oh so cool...!" Ash was yet again impressed by how the locusts could perform feats such as this.

"Mhm." Even Fluttershy was amazed as she nodded in agreement.

But now was not the time to admire and gawk at the level of creativity these locusts possess. The first to move was the Locust Snake which slowly slithered towards the group with open dark green fangs ready to bite down on them. Then, the humanoid slowly walked, grabbing a tree off the ground with little effort while the Scorpion crawled, ready to stab into them with its dual stingers.

"Oh my...!" Fluttershy gasped. "That's a bit much!"

"We'll need some extra help then." Ash stepped forward as he held out a Poke Ball. "Go, Lucario!"

"Lucario!" Since Lucario was part of Steel, the locusts will most likely just tickle him instead of dealing any damage at all.

"Don't hurt them too much, Ash!" Fluttershy whimpered. 

"No need to worry. We're just gonna separate them like before! Pikachu! Iron Tail! Lucario! Aura Sphere!" 

"Chu...!" Pikachu hardened his tail, readying himself as the Locust Snake lunged at the Electric Mouse Pokemon. "Pika!" Once the Locust Snake got close enough, Pikachu capitalized, doing a short-hop off the ground as he swung his hardened tail, striking the fangs of the Locust Snake and separating some locusts in the process.

And thanks to the steel of Iron Tail, Pikachu was protected from the vicious bites of the locusts. Pikachu then jumped back as the Locust Snake screamed after losing its fangs in just one attack.

Lucario then followed up by firing a ball of concentrated Aura from his palms. The Aura Sphere tore through the wilted flowers as it connected with the Locust Snake, causing an explosion of aura to occur on the spot.

The locusts were all forced back by Aura Sphere, destroying major parts of the Locust Snake as it had already lost a majority of its length.

But then there was the Locust Giant which aimed the tree directly at Pikachu, ready to either swing or slam it towards the Electric Mouse Pokemon.

"Pika?!" Pikachu gasped as he saw the Locust Giant swinging the tree at him. With quick instincts, Pikachu used Iron Tail to cut the tree in half. "Pika!"

After Pikachu cut the tree in half, the snake went for another bite, hoping to catch Pikachu off guard this time. But once more, Pikachu's instincts and reaction time were great as he used Quick Attack attack to evade by bolting himself back, making the Locust Snake's fangs bite the ground instead.

"Lu!" Lucario then fired another Aura Sphere which blasted through the stomach of the Locust Giant, leaving a massive hole with many of the locusts being separated from it.

The Locust Giant fell on its back after being hit by Aura Sphere as many of the locusts could see that the Pokemon were absolutely thrashing them so far. In response, some of the locusts left the Locust Giant, aiming to just swarm around their targets instead.

But Lucario was there to handle it as he emanated his aura from his body. By emanating his aura, Lucario pushed back the approaching locusts, causing them to faint from the mere force of Lucario's aura. Even the Locust Snake had been blown back by it, losing more locusts in the process. But there was still one more to deal with. 

The Locust Scorpion.

Unlike the other two, the Locust Scorpion was stealthier and primed on getting the jump on its prey. It had hidden in the layer of wilted flowers, concealing itself from everyone. The Locust Scorpion watched as Lucario picked up the Locust Snake, swinging it about and slamming it on the ground, separating more of its kind. Pikachu had also spun around with Thunderbolt, using Counter Shield to force the Locust Giant back, preventing it from getting close.

Clearly, Ash's Pokemon were the biggest threats here. But instead of going after the biggest threats, the Locust Scorpion went after Fluttershy and her Pokemon who were just watching Ash handle everything so far.

It readied its two stingers, creeping up on Fluttershy and her Pokemon. However, it didn't go undetected as Audino immediately picked up on its presence with her feelers, turning around to spot the Locust Scorpion behind them.

"Audino!"

"Oh!" Fluttershy gasped as she and Chikorita also turned around.

"Chiko?!"

With a hiss, the Locust Scorpion struck its stingers forward. Luckily, Audino put up a Protect, creating a green shield that blocked the stingers from connecting. A nice save from Audino's quick thinking and very responsive feelers.

"A-Audino...!"

"Chikorita! Use Razor Leaf!"

"Ko! Chikorita jumped over Fluttershy as she landed on Audino's head, swinging her leaf around. Out of her leaf, smaller leaves came flying out in large numbers. While not that strong against the locusts, they were capable of pushing them back with their sharp-edged exterior.

"Luca!" Lucario had finished off the Locust Snake by tossing it aside, scaring the locusts to a point where they flew away out of fear. 

The same went for the Locust Giant, which Pikachu was able to intimidate just by his Counter Shield alone. The locusts didn't know what to do against it and they would just continue feeling 100,000 volts of electricity punish them over and over again. Plus, Counter Shield was diminishing their numbers.

And with that, the locusts could see that Ash was a problem they were not ready for. Thus, they had to warn Queen Mellifera of this as they all flew off to the hidden land, passing and chewing through the wilted flowers.

However, even with this battle coming to an end, they still couldn't find the entrance to the hidden land. They were still stuck in this area of wilted flowers and nothing more.

"That's done but...we still haven't found it yet." Ash crossed his arms.

"Pika..."

"Maybe if we just contact Chrysalis, she can tell us where it is." To gain further information of where the entrance to the hidden world was, Fluttershy took out her Xtransceiver to communicate with Chrysalis who had Ash's Xtransceiver.

By turning the communication device on and selecting Ash's number, the call for Chrysalis had begun. This time, it took 10 seconds instead of the usual seconds for the call to be answered. But despite that, it had been answered either way as Chrysalis's face showed up on the screen.

"Hello? Ash? Pikachu? Fluttershy?" Chrysalis spoke.

"Chrysalis. We need some help of our own. We've reached the woodlands and even went through the wall of flowers but...we didn't find anything but more wilted flowers. How do we properly get to the hidden land?" Fluttershy asked.

"Ah. I should've mentioned that. Unfortunately, the locusts are the only way I know how to enter this land. But, since it's protected and hidden by my mother's magic, you should be able to negate it by breaking the concealing spell she placed. If you can find a force strong enough that is."

"Good to know." Ash gave a thumbs up. "Are you still okay in there, by the way?"

"I'm fine. But my mother might return soon for another attempt to change me. So hurry. And when you arrive there, make sure you find a way to enter beneath the land."

"Got it! We've got a bunch of ways of doing that! But first, I think I've got a way to really break that spell." Ash smiled.

"You do?" Both Fluttershy and Chrysalis said.

"Right. Lucario and I could use Aura to break it. It could be strong enough to do it."

"Lu."

"Is it strong enough?" Fluttershy asked.

"It has to be. We're gonna concentrate really hard and give it our best shot! Right, pal?"

"Lucario!"

"I trust that you'll be able to do it, Ash. Now hurry. My mother may return soon. Do your best to break the spell at once." said Chrysalis.

"You got it. Just hang in there, Chrysalis. Let's go, Lucario!"

"Luca!"

As Fluttershy ended the call with Chrysalis, Ash and Lucario were already getting prepared to break the seal by using Aura at their absolute fullest. Possibly for the first time out of any of their Aura connection moments.

Aura is a potent force. The Life Force of the Pokemon Universe after all. It's proven to be capable of sealing spirits, reading minds, sensing other auras, seeing through objects and so much more that is yet to be discovered. So Ash and Lucario had faith that Aura would guide them through this. For the sake of their friend.



Mellifera's throne room.

"Useless...These locusts are nothing but useless..." The changeling queen growled, knowing that her locusts had failed to stop the intruders since they had returned to her.

But, Mellifera wasn't about to let anyone take Chrysalis from her so easily. Apart from the locusts and thorns, her Curse Inducement Magic had a lot more in store. 

The first Changeling Queen lit her horn up, preparing yet another spell from the Curse Inducement Magic. One that she believes will stop Ash and co. from having the chance of even finding or saving Chrysalis.

However, once again, her coughing came up, making her lose focus as she even fell off her throne. Mellifera was now coughing excessively as her health wasn't getting any better at this point.  Her hooves felt weak as she was struggling to get up. Mellifera breathed in and out, trying to maintain herself.

"I can't go on like this..." Mellifera gasped as she breathed slowly. She still wasn't in the best condition to focus and revert Chrysalis to her old self.

But she didn't care. Ash and the others might reach here soon depending on how fast they break the spell. However, Mellifera was wise enough to know that with the state she was in, her constant coughing would just delay the process at this point. And with those delays, Ash and co would've already broken through and reached the hidden land.

To work around this, Mellifera left her throne room, coming across the barren landscape of this land that was once highly fertile. The first Changeling Queen went over the remaining fertile soils that still existed in this land. They were minimal but they were there nonetheless.

She planted sharp seeds into the soil as they were in the shape of thorns, similar to thorns that Mellifera can summon. By planting them in the little soil of fertility, their sole intention was to grow and attack Ash and the others when they eventually get here.

With them distracted by the thorns, that will give Mellifera enough time to revert Chrysalis and achieve her goals. At least, she hopes so. With the seeds planted, Mellifera then made her way to the underground area by using a spell that temporarily created a hole through the ground, allowing the first Changeling Queen to descend through it.

After she descended through the hole, she had used her magic to close it up. As if it had never been opened in the first place. This was how she travelled to the underground section with all the cocoons.

And speaking of cocoons, Chrysalis was still stuck in one, waiting for her friends. Her patience was great as she had absolute faith in them. But she also feared that her mother might change her before Ash and the others even reach the underground area, let alone break the spell that conceals this land.

Mellifera approached the cocoon her daughter was in, ready to fully revert her to the old Chrysalis, believing that it would fix everything as she coughed while approaching Chrysalis's cocoon.

"Enough delays." Mellifera's voice was getting raspier because of all the coughing.

"There's no way you can change me in your state," Chrysalis replied. "Your voice is even being affected."

"Shut up!" Mellifera bellowed, which only made things worse for her as she held her neck, coughing louder than before because of her shout alone. "None of this would've happened if you never left here. But that's all going to change."

Mellifera's horn lit up as she was once more affecting both the cocoon and Chrysalis, ready to revert the second Changeling Queen. Chrysalis closed her eyes as the magic was going directly into her head, causing her to grunt and writhe in the cocoon.

All the while, Mellifera was doing her best to keep her focus. Even with her coughing, she would not let her magic focus drop even once. She was determined to get this done. Even at the cost of her own health.



Back at the wall of wilted flowers, Ash and Lucario were already in the process of trying to break the spell by using their combined Aura. They both stood there with their eyes closed as their Aura was emanating out of them.

Both of them were in sync with each other. With their Auras emanating out pulses that spread out so far, it ebbed through the wall of wilted flowers and even out to the murky woods.

Pikachu, Fluttershy, Audino and Chikorita looked around to see how Aura filled the area while also cheering Ash and Lucario on. As the two of them were in full focus, their Aura became more vibrant, showing that it was increasing in power. They had even merged to create a single larger Aura that surrounded both of them instead.

Finally, some great progress was being made as their aura had hit something. Right near the edge of these wall of wilted flowers, the Aura connected with what seemed to be a dark green wall, making it tremble with each pulse that went through.

"Oh! I think I see the spell!" Fluttershy gasped, spotting the dark green wall with the others. "You're doing it you two!"

"Pikachu!"

The more the aura pulsed on the wall, the more it trembled. And the more it trembled, the moment cracks were starting to form. Ash and Lucario both grizzled their teeth, making sure to not lose concentration even once. But Aura was a powerful force.

Even the most skilled users like Aura Guardians have trouble fully maintaining it at times. But Ash and Lucario were more than ready to tackle that. 

As their eyes both flashed blue, a burst of aura surged out of them. A surge that was so powerful that not only did it almost knock Fluttershy and the others back, but it was just strong enough to completely shatter the dark green wall with all of its might.

And once the wall was shattered, the spell had been broken, finally revealing the hidden land to everyone. And with that, Ash and Lucario could drop their Aura concentration as Ash almost fell over.

"Ugh..." But thankfully, as Ash was about to fall over, Lucario caught him. "Thanks, buddy."

"Luca."

"Great job you two!" Fluttershy flew up. "But, Ash. Do you need some rest? Using Aura looked like it took a lot of you."

"Pika?"

"I'm fine." Ash gave a thumbs up. "Let's just get to Chrysalis first before worrying about me."

"Oh, right." Fluttershy nodded as they got a move on. They would finally be entering the hidden land. But approaching it wouldn't be so magical considering the utter state of it.

Once they got through the last wall of wilted flowers, they had come across the hidden land and how barren, desolate and lifeless it was. An arid area that was barely able to support any growth as there were very few fertile plants remaining here that were also slowly dying out, just like the other plants that had perished years ago.

The atmosphere was even difficult to breathe in because of the smoke and dust from the ground and how the air was being clogged by them alone.

"Oh my...This is it?" Fluttershy looked at the parched land.

"Audino..."

"Chiko..."

"Chrysalis said it was underground. So let's get there as soon as we can." Ash tightened his gloves as he walked forward. "Lucario. Use Force Palm on the ground."

"Ca." Lucario nodded as he pulled his arm back. An orange glow appeared around his palm, concentrating his energy into one spot, ready to strike the spot.

And that's when the seeds Mellifera planted could come into play. Before Lucario could even unleash Force Palm on the ground, multiple thorns came bursting out of the ground, wrapping around Lucario's leg and arm.

"Luca!?"

"Thorns?!" Ash and Fluttershy both said.

The thorns then tossed Lucario aside, preventing him from striking the ground and giving everyone a major obstacle to deal with before they could even have the chance to reach Chrysalis through the underground.

But the thorns weren't the biggest threat here. Instead, what Mellifera planted earlier sprouted something far worse. Right behind all of the thorns, something bigger was sprouting. From beneath the ground, a large, monstrous flower covered with spikes and chains around a dark green bulb had appeared. It also had thorns and vines surrounding it as well.

"Mmm...!" Fluttershy whimpered as she hid behind Ash.

"Nothing's gonna make this easy to get to her is it...?" Ash growled.

"Pika...!" Pikachu sparked electricity in his red sacs.

"Lucario." Lucario got back up from the ground after being tossed aside by the thorns. They all looked up at the monstrous flower which was also hissing at them with the sounds it was making.

"We'll smash that flower and through the ground too!" Ash declared.

"R-Right!" Ash's words encouraged Fluttershy to take part in this as she looked at her Mega Ring.

As the thorned flower was about to attack them all, time was ticking as Chrysalis was resisting her mother's control at the moment, deep beneath the land. 

But there might be a chance she won't be able to resist it for much longer. But there is also a chance that Mellifera's coughing might end up stopping her once more as the journey continues.


Chapter 369 End.