Lifeless Garden
Remember Ash's cousins and auntie from the first Pokemon promotional video? Cause I sure do and I'm certainly bringing them in one day.
The hidden land.
The monstrous flower with thorns accompanying it finally went on the offensive by shooting the thorns directly at Ash and the others, having enough speed and strength to pierce through them.
"Pikachu! Iron Tail! Lucario! Force Palm!" Ash commanded.
"Pika!" Pikachu hardened his tail to be as hard as metal, jumping over the thorn that was heading towards him as he cut it in half by swinging his tail downwards. Another thorn came his way, but Pikachu was swift enough to also destroy that one by swinging his tail once more.
"Lu!" Lucario, who was half Steel, practically didn't need to worry too much about the thorns. But unlike the locusts, these thorns seemed to pack more of an Oomph with them. Meaning that Lucario would have to be more careful this time as he used Force Palm to break through the thorns that came straight towards him.
As for Fluttershy and her Pokemon, they were going to get involved as well. While not as skilled and powerful as Ash, they had an ace in the hole. The Mega Ring. Fluttershy and Audino nodded in understanding as they knew the time to Mega Evolve was now.
Fluttershy activated her Mega Ring which then reacted to the two keystones of Fluttershy and Audino. Blue and yellow lights started flaring out, clashing against each other before flying over to Audino and engulfing her. After that, the lights mingled with each other before bursting out to reveal Mega Audino.
"Audi! Use Hyper Beam!" Fluttershy commanded.
"Audi...!" Audino put her hands together, generating an orange ball of energy as she was aiming it at the giant monstrous flower. However, she had to be careful not to hit her friends. Lucario will obviously be able to withstand it but Pikachu, not so much. So, Audino waited for the right moment to fire.
"Pika...!" Pikachu blocked some thorns with his Iron Tail which ended up pushing him back. The force of the thorns then smashed Pikachu through a large rock. The Electric Mouse Pokemon then tumbled on the ground after being smashed through the rock while the vines pulled back. "Pika!"
"Pikachu!" Ash gasped.
"Pika!" But, Pikachu was alright as he got back up, shaking his head.
"Let's take out that main bulb and put an end to this! Get closer with Quick Attack!"
"Pika-Pika-Pika!" Pikachu blitzed forward with lightning speeds, leaving behind white afterimages of himself. The thorns tried to stop him by flying towards the Electric Mouse Pokemon. But, with the speed of Quick Attack, Pikachu was able to nimbly evade the thorns.
"Lu!" Lucario was currently running on the thorns while they were trying to stop him. The Aura Pokemon was the closest to the bulb as he readied a Force Palm, planning to strike it right into the bulb and put an end to this as soon as possible. For Chrysalis's sake. He jumped up, avoiding the thorns that almost caught him as he pulled his arm back, going for Force Palm.
But it wouldn't be so easy. Some hidden thorns that hadn't sprouted up yet, decided to sprout at the right moment, zooming towards Lucario and wrapping around his leg.
"Luca?!" Lucario gasped as he had been slammed down by the new thorns, hitting the ground hard and leaving a small crater. Not only that, but the thorns seemed to grow more aggressively.
This time, instead of just moving in straight lines, they were now spiralling about, moving in zigzags and just other haphazard movements.
"That should be close enough! Fire, Audi!" Fluttershy found an opening. She was going straight for the bulb. And since Pikachu wasn't close to the bulb, it was a good time to fire it now.
"Dino!" Audino was ready to blast the bulb away until one of the thorns remembered that Fluttershy and her Pokemon were here as well instead of Ash and his Pokemon. A thorn burst out of the ground, wrapping around Audino arms, legs and neck. "A-Audino?!"
"Oh!" Fluttershy gasped.
The thorns then lifted Audino off the ground, cancelling out of her Hyper Beam as the large bulb started opening up. From how the thorns were lifting Audino and with the bulb opening up, it was clear that something horrid was about to happen to Audino.
"I don't think so! Pikachu! Change directions and use Iron Tail!"
"Pika!" Prioritizing their friend, Pikachu swiftly changed directions by dashing to the side, heading straight for Audino who was being sent towards the bulb by the thorns, as if they were planning to feed her to the bulb.
"A-Audino!" Audino tried to break free by writhing around. She tried to fire a Hyper Beam from her hands but they were currently restrained, unfortunately.
"Chu...Pika!" Pikachu then combined Quick Attack with Iron Tail as he leapt towards the thorns that held Audino while hardening his tail. One of the vines came out to try and stop Pikachu but Chikorita used Razor Leaf to fend it off, giving Pikachu some free time.
With a mighty swing of his tail, Pikachu cut the vine in half, freeing Audino. "Audino!"
"Yes! Now use Thunderbolt!"
"Pika...!" While airborne, after saving Audino, Pikachu curled up into a ball, sparking up his body with an aura of electricity with sparks flying out.
Audino landed safely on the ground as Pikachu bounced off her head, gaining some extra height. With that extra height, Pikachu managed to get high enough to even be above the garden of thorns and vines while gazing at the bulb.
"Chuuu!" Then, by releasing 100,000 volts from his body, Thunderbolt came flashing out, going straight for the large bulb that was still wide open.
With a move that moves at lightning speed, the bulb couldn't react in time. Thus, it had been hit by Thunderbolt, getting 100,000 volts of electricity as punishment. The bulb hissed, flailing its thorns and vines about to show pain.
"Now, Lucario! Jump into the bulb!"
"Cario!" Lucario kicked his feet up, ripping the thorn that grabbed him off his leg. Lucario was the closest to the bulb so he climbed up the garden of thorns.
The bulb was still in pain as the thorns tried to stop Lucario from getting close to it. They did this by creating a shield of thorns and vines in front of the bulb, protecting it. But Lucario didn't care. Instead, he bashed himself through the thorn shield like it was nothing.
With the shield out of the way, Lucario finally managed to enter the bulb by front-flipping inside of it. And once he did, the bulb closed on him, thinking that Lucario made a silly decision to enter the inside of the bulb, which was poisonous.
However, it was the bulb that made the silly decision of letting Lucario inside. Not only is Lucario immune to poison being of being half Steel, but this is exactly what Ash and Lucario wanted.
"Now! Aura Sphere inside!"
"Lu...Ca!" Lucario raised his arms, creating a ball of Aura, gazing right at the centre of the bulb as he was channelling every ounce of his strength into this one Aura Sphere.
"Alright, Fluttershy! Audino! Now's your chance!" Ash turned to them.
"Oh, right!" Fluttershy understood what Ash meant. Using Hyper Beam while they had the chance.
"Audi...!" Audino once again, put her hands together, creating an orange ball of energy. This time, with Lucario, who will certainly be tickled by a Normal-Type move, is inside of the bulb. So there was no waiting this time. "No!"
With full focus and aim on the bulb, Audino fired a raging beam of energy that tore through some of the vines in the way, heading straight for the bulb.
"Rio!" And at the same time, Lucario smashed the Aura Sphere into the centre of the bulb. In perfect unison, both Aura Sphere and Hyper Beam had hit the bulb, creating a combination of moves.
And once they both hit, a glorious and stupendous booming explosion erupted from the bulb, spreading so far that it consumed the thorns, obliterating them. Lucario jumped out of the explosion, doing a backflip and landing next to Ash and Pikachu's side.
With all the thorns, vines and the main bulb destroyed, the distraction that Mellifera had originally placed had been wiped out by a perfect Aura Sphere and Hyper Beam combo. And the last thing that was heard was the hissing echo of the bulb.
"Audino..." Audino sighed as she de-evolved back to her normal form. She was glad it was over. Chikorita and Fluttershy ran to her side to tend to their friend.
"Pika..." So was Pikachu as he sat down.
"Good job, everyone." Fluttershy congratulated her friends. "My, I thought Everfree was aggressive."
"Chiko."
"Good that no one got seriously hurt," Ash said. "Now that that's dealt with, we can finish what we came here to do. Lucario."
"Lu." Lucario nodded, knowing to continue where he left off. He didn't waste any time as he got work, using Force Palm to smash the ground. One smash wouldn't be enough to make a hole. Lucario would need to do this multiple times.
But they'll go distances to save their friend Chrysalis from her potentially inevitable reversion. And then they'll bring her back home to her children, smiling.
Speaking of which, back at the underground, Chrysalis was still resisting her mother's magic and preventing her mind from being warped back to her old self.
"S-Stop resisting!" Mellifera coughed.
"Not until you stop trying to change me for the worst!" Chrysalis yelled back.
"I'm not cha-" She coughed yet again. "I'm not changing you for the worst! I'm bringing you back to your roots! How can you be so ignorant to understand-" Another cough got in the way. "Understand that!"
"Because I'm happy with where I am now! Something you wouldn't understand yourself!"
"What?!" Mellifera stopped the spell as she flew over to Chrysalis. "I understand completely!"
"I don't think you do!" Chrysalis pressed her hooves on the cocoon. "You never understood anything, to begin with! Especially when I was younger!"
"You watch your tongue, girl! Lest you forget, you are the reason this land and I are in this state! And you decided to come back here and-"
"You keep mentioning that! What could I have possibly done to leave you and this land in a state like this!?" Chrysalis demanded answers already.
"You want to know? Fine. I'll show you..." Mellifera flew back. She knew that by this point, nothing was getting to Chrysalis. Her words were practically ineffective. She certainly had her mother's stubborn nature. So, there was one thing Mellifera decided to do.
Reveal to Chrysalis what she had potentially done to this land.
Mellifera walked over to the other cocoons surrounding this underground area. At first, they seemed like they were all just backups for catching Chrysalis if she somehow managed to avoid the first cocoon. Another would just pop up and snatch her down to the underground. But that wasn't the case.
In fact, the cocoon that Chrysalis was in was the only cocoon that could've been used to catch her. Because when Mellifera used her magic to open up the cocoons, out of them, large piles of bones started falling out of them, dropping on the ground.
Soon, the entire ground was now a sea of bones that had cocoon silk on them. All of these bones were decomposed as some of them were even missing parts that had been blown to ashes.
But more importantly, they were the bones of changelings.
"Ah!" Chrysalis gasped with shock and horror as she screamed, covering her eyes, refusing to even gaze upon this disgusting and horrible sight.
"Don't you look away," said Mellifera. "This is what you've caused. Ever since you left this land, you practically placed a curse on it. Infertility struck this land as well as a lack of life. My own subjects. Doomed to perish the day you left this land."
"I-I didn't-"
"When you were still here, everything was thriving. Your magic was the core of everything here. But, even I myself don't understand why you were so important. Even with your potential, your magic shouldn't have tied in with this land in any way. Except it did."
"My magic?"
"Do you have any idea how long I've suffered for?" Mellifera walked up to Chrysalis's cocoon while avoiding the bones of long-deceased changelings. "I've done everything in my power to try and keep them all alive. But my magic isn't made for that. Even placing them in these cocoons, trying to preserve their life proved to be useless."
As she kept talking, Mellifera was starting to tear up. And Chrysalis could notice this as her expression was changing when seeing her mother reveal everything to her.
"It's because of you that I had to watch all of my subjects fall. One by one. And now, I have to suffer that fate as well and-" Mellifera was starting to tremble, struggling to finish her sentence. "Why did you leave?" She asked as she started coughing again, this time in much worse condition.
Mellifera's coughing had reached a point where it had become so horrible that she was starting to pass out. Which was actually a first and had never happened before until now.
The first Changeling Queen couldn't keep her balance. Her eyes were slowly closing, her hooves felt weak as she fell to the ground, passing out for the very first time.
"Mother!"
5 hours later.
"U-ugh..." Mellifera groaned. Her eyes were slowly opening up once more. Her heart was now beating at a medium pace as opposed to previously. When opening her eyes, she was given the sight of something new yet somewhat nostalgic and ancient to her.
A bright blue sky.
And right next to her was Chrysalis. Alongside Ash, Fluttershy and their Pokemon.
"Oh, she's waking up!" Ash exclaimed.
Pikachu!"
"Thank goodness...!" Chrysalis sighed.
"W-Where am I? Mellifera uttered as she sat up.
"Mother!" Chrysalis hugged her mother. "I'm so glad you're alright!"
"Wh-What's going on? Mellifera was a bit confused right now. "How did I...?"
Ash and the others came just in time to rescue both of us." Chrysalis started explaining what happened earlier. "We immediately brought you out of the hidden land as soon as possible."
"Brought me...out? Why?"
"I heard what you said back there...I realized, or rather Fluttershy realized, that the atmosphere there was slowly destroying you from the inside. "So, we all collectively took you away from it."
"Um. Sorry if that bothers you." Fluttershy hid behind Ash, letting out a sheepish grin.
"Mmrgh..." Mellifera felt her neck and throat. She noticed that there was a stark difference. Not only could she finally breathe fresh air, but there was a green glow emanating out of her body.
One that wasn't hers. Instead, this green glow was coming from her daughter, Chrysalis. It had a more vibrant colour this time. And this glow was seemingly healing Mellifera from what she could observe. She was also in what seemed to be a flat grassland as well.
"Why would you save me, daughter?" Mellifera asked Chrysalis.
"I had to. You're my mother after all. And I couldn't just leave you there to suffer like the others."
"You should've if you hated me so much." Mellifera turned around.
"But I don't hate you." Chrysalis shook her head.
"Nonsense. You said it yourself years ago. For you to not hate me would be impossible."
"I still resent you either way. For trapping me in that hive for so long. Shielding me from what I could've been pursuing earlier on. And even showing me no signs of love. Love that I wish I could have from a mother."
Tch." Mellifera kissed her teeth.
"But, after seeing what you tried to keep and lost in the end, I couldn't bring myself to hate you. Because I've suffered a major loss of my subjects as well. And I have to say...if this is somehow my fault, then I'm sorry." She apologized to her mother.
Mellifera shifted her eyes around, hearing her daughter apologize to her after so long. Considering how long changelings live for, it has been around a thousand years since she's heard an apology from her. And hearing how her own daughter doesn't truly hate her, just some resentment.
"Whatever." Mellifera replied as she hid her face from everyone, refusing to show them the tears running down her face right now. "Just leave me be."
"What But mo-"
"I don't want to hear it, Chrysalis. You've already saved me from a horrible fate. That's all I can take for one day already. Now go. That includes all of you."
"A-Alright." Chrysalis understood her mother's decision as she stepped back. Chrysalis then looked at Ash and Fluttershy, seeing them both nod at the same time. They knew why her mother was telling her to leave. It wouldn't be the first time they've experienced this.
"Goodbye," Chrysalis said her goodbyes to her mother as she and her friends finally left. Now, it was just Mellifera on her own. She was now far away from the land that used to be prosperous and beautiful.
But not anymore.
Faye Mountains. Changeling Hive. Late afternoon.
They had returned to the Changeling Hive finally as the sun was already setting. Nightfall was coming. And the hive was still safe and unharmed along with the mountains.
"Sorry that you couldn't find a way to stop that dark green magic coming out of you, Chrysalis," Fluttershy said.
"It's fine." Chrysalis sighed. "Mother herself said it best. It's a part of me. It's not like I can get rid of it anyway."
"Doesn't mean you have to stop trying right?" Ash asked.
"Pika."
"Right." Chrysalis nodded in response. "I swear I'll find a way."
"But, what did that land look like before you left?" Fluttershy wondered. "The flowers must've been healthier back then along with all the plants."
"Well, it looked like a garden long ago." Chrysalis looked up. "Albeit, one with a plethora of thorns lying around the place to keep other changelings in check. I'll never miss that place, especially in its current condition. But I know my mother truly does."
"Mama! Papa!" Anthophilia flew over to Chrysalis and Ash, glad that they were both back after many hours. And behind her were two changelings who were exhausted after taking care of the changeling baby.
"My little Anthophilia!" Chrysalis hugged her child. "Did you behave?"
"Mhm!" The changeling baby nodded.
"L-Liar..." The two changelings both said as they were lying on their backs, completely out of it.
"We should get going now." Ash pointed his thumb to the south. "It's already pretty late now."
"Pikachu."
"It's been a real um..adventure coming here and heading to that hidden land as well." Fluttershy grinned. "Hope we haven't been a bother."
"And it was a treat having you all here as well. And helping me nonetheless." Chrysalis took out Ash's Xtransceiver, returning it to him. "Will you come sooner next time?"
"Sooner for sure." Ash nodded. "I'll even bring you your own Xtransceiver."
"Pikachu!"
"Oh. Are those two going to be okay?" Fluttershy looked over at the two fallen changelings.
"We're fine. We just need some rest..." They both groaned, rolling on the floor as they covered themselves with leaves.
And with that, Ash, Fluttershy and their Pokemon left the Faye Mountains and Changeling Hive, having a new adventure ingrained in their memories. And even gaining further knowledge of Chrysalis's old home and mother. A turbulent adventure that surely won't be forgotten as the journey continues.
Chapter 370 End.
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Amazing! Nice to see another 2 chapters in 1 day come
through the what?
like
don't you mean "now"
that have
there
10770233
Thanks again.
10770233
Nah, that was just Audino saying a part of her name.
HOLD IT!!! The Pokemon wiki never made ANY mention of Ash's aunt or cousins!
10770290
It's from Pokemon Promotion video, but I don't know if it's canon or not.
10770339
It isn't canon to the show... Heck, Amarvax would agree with me on that
10770357
Canon or not, I'm bringing them in for fun.
Anthophilia Is the changling version of flurry heart 🤣