Warming Hearts

A/N: Here we go, with the forest battle. Other than that, let's just begin the chapter. Roll it!

Chapter 11

Fight With Mightyena

Ash was running through the dark and wintery forest as fast as he could, with Pikachu still hanging tight onto his right shoulder. The moon wasn't showing in the sky, because of the thick, dark clouds covering up the night. Snow had already begun falling down, and the wind was not helping very much, either.

Finally, the raven-haired Trainer stopped to catch his breath. "Well, it's still a long way back to Snowpoint City, and we'll finally be back with Mom, and forget about that beast completely."

"Pika-pi?" Pikachu called his attention.

When Ash turned over towards his Pokémon companion, the little Electric type pointed down to his belt with his paw. Ash followed it and saw the Poké Ball containing Talonflame inside. The eighteen-year-old slapped his forehead. He had completely forgotten about him.

"Aw, man!" He exclaimed, remembering their previous escape plan. "I forgot about Talonflame! I guess I was just so scared because of the beast and so eager to just get out that I forgot that we could've just flown away."

"Pika." Pikachu chirped with an exasperated but fond look. That was just like Ash; forgetting the most important things during an adrenaline-rushed crisis.

Suddenly, a loud, bone-chilling howl was heard, echoing through the forest. Ash and Pikachu looked around their surroundings, scanning to see what might be coming out of the barren trees. There was something about that howl, one that Ash just couldn't put his finger on.

"I've got a bad feeling about this." He said. Pikachu only nodded in agreement.

Soon, glowing red eyes appeared from within the dark shrubbery. Then, more of them appeared, two by two. Ash and Pikachu felt their blood run cold at the large pack of Mightyena that was slowly started to circle them.

"Oh, great." Ash deadpanned.

The Mightyena then began to pounce on them. Ash quickly dodged their attempts to pin him down and started running again. Unfortunately, the chase didn't last for very long, when Ash soon saw that some of the Mightyena had gone up ahead of him and surrounded him once more.

"You've got to be kidding me." The raven-haired Trainer muttered with a scowl. He then turned around and saw that the rest of the pack was circling around.

"Well, looks like we have no choice, Pikachu." He said to his partner. Pikachu understood what his best friend was implying, and hopped off his Trainer's shoulder, taking a battle stance.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded. The little Electric type immediately began charging up his body with electricity and then fired a jagged bolt at three of the Mightyena. The large Dark types howled in pain and were stunned by the powerful shock.

"Nice work!" Ash praised, but then he heard one of the other pack members started stalking closer to him. Thinking quickly, he grabbed a large stick nearby. "Bring it on!" He challenged. "You can't beat me!"

The Mightyena then jumped up, but Ash was quick enough to smack it across the face with his stick and send it flying. Ash then saw that Pikachu was still keeping some of the other Mightyena at bay, but one was sneaking closer to him from the side.

"Pikachu, watch out!" He warned. "Use Electro Ball, over towards your right!"

Pikachu quickly turned ninety degrees to his right and formed a ball of crackling electricity on his tail. He then swung it towards the Mightyena that was attempting to pounce on him.

"Pika-pi!" He called out to his Trainer, warning him that another one was about to jump on him from behind. Ash immediately spun around, and swung his stick to hit the Mightyena. But another one grabbed the branch that he was using and then snapped it in half. Seeing that he was now less defended, he turned back over towards his companion.

One of the Mightyena began forming dark purple energy in its maw. Then, it released it into the telltale rings of a Dark Pulse attack. Pikachu yelped in pain as the attack hit him.

Ash caught his friend in his arms. "You okay, Pikachu?" He asked.

Pikachu winced in pain, but then gave his Trainer a little smile, assuring him that he was okay. Ash returned the smile, but it quickly vanished when he saw that the Mightyena were getting closer, making the circle tighter.

"Now what?" Ash asked aloud, holding his partner close.

One of the Mightyena, most likely the leader of the pack, then eyed the defenseless Trainer with a fierce hunger in its eyes. But once it lunged and was up in the air, aiming to pounce on Ash, a large figure tackled it to the ground. Ash and Pikachu were in shock as they watched the beast get in front of them and hiss viciously at the Mightyena.

The pack of Dark types were all briefly taken aback by the sight of the beast, who was on all fours, snarling loudly at them, protecting the human boy and his Pikachu. But then, they all began attacking them again. The beast swatted at them, and then began wrestling one to keep it away from Ash.

Ash was stunned. She came back for him, even after she exploded at him and demanded that he leave? Why? Why did she come after him? His thoughts were cut off by a loud roar of pain. He saw that the Mightyena the beast was wrestling with had bitten hard into her shoulder.

The raven-haired Trainer knew that he had to do something. While keeping Pikachu tucked in one arm, with his other hand, he threw up a Poké Ball. With the familiar burst of blue light, Talonflame appeared, crowing triumphantly.

"Talonflame, use Steel Wing!" Ash commanded. The Fire and Flying type shot forward like an arrow, his powerful wings glowing a bright white, and tackled the Mightyena off of the beast.

The beast quickly looked over at Ash, immensely surprised that he was helping her. But then, she charged forward to wrestle with another Mightyena that had tried to pounce on Ash from behind.

Ash breathed out a breath of relief that he didn't know he was holding in and turned back over to Talonflame, who was flying above a few of the Mightyena, who were firing Dark Pulse attacks at him, but he was dodging them gracefully.

Pikachu shook off the dizziness that he received earlier and jumped out of Ash's arms. "You feeling better, buddy?" He asked the Electric type.

"Pika!" He answered confidently.

"Then, use Thunderbolt, at full power!" His Trainer ordered. The little Electric type charged his body up with electricity once again, and shot a bolt of lightning at some of the Mightyena, making them howl in pain as the power coursed through them.

"Talonflame, use Razor Wind!" Ash called up to his Fire and Flying type up in the air. The Kalos native Pokémon flapped his wings, and white streaks of power zoomed down on the Mightyena that were attacking him.

With the beast, she had finally gained the upper hand and tossed the lead Dark type over her shoulder to join its pack mates that have already been surrounded by Ash and his Pokémon. She then let out a final loud roar, almost sounding as loud as a Hyper Voice attack, and the pack scampered away, whimpering in fright.

Ash and the beast were both breathing heavily as they slowly turned to look over at each other in awe and relief. However, it didn't last long, as the beast soon collapsed in a faint and into the snow.

Ash immediately ran over to her, and saw that the bite mark on her shoulder was turning red and purple. Her breathing was also becoming a little bit unsteady. The wound was quickly starting to get infected. Ash turned over to Pikachu and Talonflame, showing that he was conflicted on what to do now.

"Pika-pi?" The little Electric type asked his Trainer.

The raven-haired boy was deep in thought. If he would leave right now, Talonflame would take him back to Snowpoint City and he would be reunited with his mother. But then the beast would die of cold and infection. And though he thought he wanted nothing to do with her, she just saved his life. He owed her that much, at least.

Ash carefully knelt down and gently shook the beast. Her eyes were glazed with sickness and pain as she looked at him. "You gotta help me." He whispered. "You've got to stand up." She just stared at him with mild surprise, even though she was still feverish. But she couldn't respond to him as she lost consciousness.

Eventually, Ash carefully got the beast onto Talonflame, and they all began flying back towards the castle, leaving the fight scene behind. He held onto her the whole way, making sure that she didn't fall off.

A/N: That's all for now. Next chapter, we will see what's going on back in Snowpoint City, now that there's a secret alliance between enemies. Until then, I'll see y'all! Please leave a comment about what you guys think.

Got to fly! ;)