The Way of All Things

by Henry

The battle continues towards its epic conclusion... but who will live to claim victory? Sixth in the 'Six Pokemon' series.

The Way of All Things

By Henry and Nate Z

Sootopolis City

It had seemed like a nice enough place to live. Sootopolis was surrounded by thick stone walls, had creative architecture, a cavern as old as the region itself, and was home to both a powerful gym leader and the reigning champion of the Hoenn Pokemon League (and the League Champion before him) so they'd come to expect relatively uneventful days.

Except fifteen days ago, when Rayquaza had descended to do battle with the rampaging Groudon and Kyogre, only for the chaos to be dealt with by two Pokemon masters and their hometown heroes. Now Rayquaza had descended again, only to be joined by a plethora of Pokemon from all over, even outside Hoenn. So they made a point of staying in their houses and looking tentatively out their windows until things blew over. Juan stared out from his gym, clasping his head on his forehead in exasperation.

Floating on the water not far from the gym and beside his unconscious Crobat, Silver glanced up at the battle raging above him. He tried to lift himself into a more upright position but winced; he was in pain, and even in the cool waters he felt as though his body was still burning after the Charizard's devastating flames.

"Silver?" the red-haired boy tilted his head and immediately regretted doing so as a massive blue creature approached him. He tried to tread away until he noticed Sharon standing on the creature's head, soaked and coughing up water, but otherwise her usual, pleasant, personable self: "The hell's going on?"

Silver pointed at the blue creature she stood upon. "I could ask you the same question."

Sharon narrowed her eyes. "I don't know, but it called out to me and saved me from drowning." She turned her attention to the sky, spotting a familiar face standing atop a Charizard. "For good reason, I think." She swiveled one eye to her side and spotted the Slayers, harassing Cap and Lisa and preventing Ho-Oh from getting any closer to the battle in the sky. Clair and Lance were upon their Dragonites, raiding either side of the massive emerald dragon Rayquaza, as a green-and-red blur raced about, taking potshots at the three legendary birds off by the city's westernmost stone wall. The bad guys were outnumbered, but that didn't seem to be much of a problem for them.

Sharon then heard a familiar shout: "GIOVANNI!"

She whirled around and there he was, standing upon Groudon's head, arms resolutely crossed and eyes burning bright behind his sunglasses. He was unusually angry and Sharon saw the reason why: the red-and-green blur came to a halt and she saw a familiar psychic cat entangled in one tendril. Sharon leapt from Kyogre's head and into the lake, stroking towards the landmass Groudon stood upon.

"Uh, little help here?" Silver called. "Sharon?"

He sighed and looked over at the ninja-esque characters approaching him, much to his chagrin. He recalled Crobat and reached for his nearest Pokeball, releasing his Magneton, just in time to see a Gyarados and a Sharpedo emerge on either side of him.

"Crappit."

Above him, Giovanni focused his attention down towards Henry and Groudon, as the fiery Eruption attack launched from the beast's mouth. Charizard swerved to the side, only to narrowly avoid the pressurized blast of Kyogre's Water Spout. He sneered at the man in black, but couldn't resist getting a potshot in. "This is familiar, isn't it?" he laughed. "You fought me with that very Pokemon once before. It can't be easy to control two Pokemon of that power level at the same time, can it?"

Henry did not answer, glaring steadily upwards.

'Lance' turned his attention away from his past self long enough to chime in. "Is that all you can do, Henry? You're not as creative as I remember."

"Hey, make fun of someone from your own time," Lance instructed his future self. "And pay attention." Dragonite unleashed a Hyper Beam, but the future Lance merely focused and Rayquaza lifted one claw to take the attack for him. "You're abusing your gift; control over dragons is not meant to be used for subjugation."

"I used to sound just like you," 'Lance' observed. "Given time, you learn how to do anything. Including forsaking what you believe in for what has to be done!" He punctuated his last statement as Rayquaza opened its mouth and fired off a much bigger Hyper Beam, but Lance was defended by blasts of fire, ice, and electricity as the legendary birds rejoined the fray.

Giovanni growled and called: "Release those beasts. Deal with Henry first." Deoxys and Mewtwo each released their grips on the three creatures they'd been fending off and headed downwards, as Mewtwo flung the three sacred beasts towards the three birds.

Henry's attention refocused on the creature called Deoxys –it was, after all, holding Mew- and he gave the simple, mental instruction to Groudon to attack, and a burst of flame erupted from the beast's mouth, only for Deoxys to rocket right past. Mewtwo, meanwhile, dropped down to attack Kyogre, blasting the water type away with a Shadow Ball.

Giovanni laughed heartily. "How heartless! I didn't expect you could still impress me, Henry, but you were willing to hit your own Mew? Would you sacrifice it to save your Charizard?"

Henry's rage built. Groudon fired another blast of flame off, but Deoxys fled. Henry clenched his stomach as he felt Mewtwo strike Kyogre again, and instructed the water type to fight back, pelting Mewtwo with blasts of ice, trying to take advantage of Giovanni's distance from the Pokemon he'd sent into battle.

Giovanni, of course, was indifferent to the fight below. "I'll deal with Henry. Think you can take the dragon trainers?"

'Lance' nodded, but swerved one eye in the direction of the six legendary creatures, as the beasts began running along the lake surface again and the winged mirages all moved back to the skies, focusing their attention on Rayquaza.

"And the annoyances," Giovanni added as an afterthought.

'Lance' turned his gaze to Celebi. "Dispose of them." The tiny green psychic type left his shoulder area and descended towards the six oncoming creatures, focusing its mind to begin altering the time flow, to move the creatures out of the present continuum and back into a state of flux until their stamina was exhausted… and in the several hours Celebi spent battling with the six creatures, only a few seconds passed in the ongoing battle, and all six –beasts and birds alike- plunged into the lake, Celebi returning with a few bruises and singes.

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Lisa found herself looking back, remembering how she and Cap had met during a similar crisis. How he faced a totally ridiculous and impossible situation, with determination and bravery. It was no wonder she had fallen for him.

Now, he simply sat on Ho-Oh's back silently, watching as the phoenix tried to ward off the attacks of the ninja-like warriors below. Though she couldn't see his face, she could practically feel the hatred radiating from his body.

And quite frankly, that scared her more than anything else that was going on.

"Here," he said suddenly, thrusting the Rainbow Wing into her hands. Without another word, he leapt from Ho-Oh's back and opened a Pokéball. A blue and crimson raptor, slightly larger than a Pidgeot, materialized and caught him.

"War Hawk," he said darkly, "Air Razor."

As the giant bird shrieked and obeyed his command, Cap found himself falling back into his own memories.

Memories of coming home to the farm on his birthday, only to find it in ruins. The Pokémon and his Grandfather, the man who had raised him all his life, dead. The memory of seeing the Order of the Dragonheed's sign, the silhouette of a dragon, burned into the wall of what had once been his house.

Memories of Sandslash being silent for almost a month, mourning the loss of its mother.

Memories of coming to the rescue of a pair of innocent Eevee siblings. Harmless creatures, being tortured just to see if it was possible to bypass friendship in order to make them evolve.

Memories of Grendel and the evils he had unleashed on him and his family. He remembered when he learned that monster was a product of the Order's training.

Cap leapt from War Hawk's back and landed on a small rock formation. He opened his remaining Pokéballs. Sin Sai, Umbreon, Espeon and Sandslash appeared before him.

"We're finishing this," Cap said darkly. "No matter the costs."

To show their agreement, the Pokémon attacked.

Sharon had almost made it to her husband's side when someone grabbed her hair, and violently threw her onto dry land. Coughing, she forced herself onto her hands and knees, and was shocked at the unexpected sight before her.

"Seamonstra..."

The sea monster laid in a broken heap, and armored foot on her head. Eyes narrowing, Sharon climbed to her feet to look directly into the eyes of her twin.

"One shall stand," Sharon said as her 'sister' removed her helmet. "One shall fall."

"Why throw away your life so recklessly?" Shadow spat.

"That's a question you should ask yourself."

And without another word, Sharon pounced.

Since meeting Cap and his friends, Melody had seen a lot. After the events of the festival five years ago, she knew there was no going back to her boring island life, and the excitement was admittedly part of why she tried to make her relationship with the boy work long after she knew it couldn't. Through it all, she had always remain confident that the Good Guys would win. But this time...

This time she was actually scared.

"The Gods," she whispered, horrified, as Celebi disposed of Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres. "They just tossed aside Gods like they were nothing."

"And their counterparts," Lugia added grimly. "But we must not give up! Remember--"

"This isn't a battle," Melody whispered suddenly. "That's it..."

Lugia said nothing, but its confusion was obvious.

"This isn't a Pokémon battle," Melody explained. "Instead of attacking their Pokémon, we need to attack them!"

"I see," Lugia said, nodding in understanding.

"Great," Melody grinned. "Aeroblast!"

Meanwhile, below her, Silver glanced amongst his soaked red locks on his left and right. A Gyarados and a Sharpedo –each accompanied by a Slayer- snarled at him, their master's expressions unreadable beneath their masks.

Silver glanced up at Magneton, but one of the Slayers chimed in: "Don't try it, boy. You'd be fried."

Silver reached one arm behind his back, hitting the opening mechanism on the sixth Pokeball attached to his belt. "I thought you were Giovanni's son," the other Slayer added. "But I guess you don't live up to his standard."

"Any last words?" asked a third Slayer, emerging from the water on the back of a Wailord.

"Four," Silver responded. "Hydro Pump!" Beneath him, the water bubbled as Silver was thrust up out of the water, riding the jet stream of water upwards. The Slayers observed in astonishment as a red beam lanced down into the water, absorbing the Feraligatr still firing off the blast of water. Still falling, Silver then cried: "Magneton, Thunder!"

The three Slayers each locked gaze with one of Magneton's three eyes, as its six magnet prongs sparked and unleashed a massive stream of electricity, right onto the water's surface, frying the Slayers and their three Pokemon.

Silver grasped the still sparking magnet on Magneton's side, clenching a bit as his right fingers received light burns, as Magneton lifted him over the electric current and towards the nearest land mass, beside the giant ground type and a pair of battling women.

An unfortunate side effect of electricity coursing through water was its tendency to spread very quickly, as Henry clenched his teeth and groaned in pain as Kyogre was struck by electricity. Mewtwo, seizing the opportunity, clenched its fist and contorted the massive water type's body with raw telekinetic force.

Groudon, meanwhile, was trading shots with Deoxys, and unable to catch the faster creature, was slowly but surely depleting its stamina. Kyogre was just constantly bombarding him with pain, and Giovanni was just laughing and mocking his every movement.

Reluctantly, Henry released his left hand's grip on the red orb, and Kyogre was freed from his influence (though it wasn't likely to last much longer against Mewtwo) as he reached his burnt, semi-dexterous fingers onto his belt to grasp a Pokeball and release his Pidgeot, slumping off Groudon's head and onto Pidgeot's back, lying on his stomach. Pidgeot hoisted upwards, Henry holding firmly to the bird's neck and glancing down at a pair of familiar brunettes fighting.

I'm in more pain than I thought, Henry observed, I'm starting to see double. He glanced up and saw Giovanni and his Charizard, the latter preparing a Flamethrower.

Well, kind of… I have to make this work. Pidgeot continued flinging itself at breakneck speed, near mach 2, right towards Charizard and the waiting flames. Henry tugged the bird's feathers and Pidgeot took a left out of the way of the flames, and slammed headfirst into the red-and-green psychic type. Henry, Pidgeot, Deoxys and Mew all fell downwards, the psychic cat suddenly free from Deoxys's tendrils.

Giovanni sneered. "It is too early for this battle to end, Henry," he and Charizard dove after them, catching the speed of gravity with ease.

Henry grinned back up at Giovanni as Mew prepared to slow Henry's descent, even as the fallen master recalled his Pidgeot. "I agree… Mew, don't worry about me. Get Giovanni off of Charizard."

Mew locked eyes with its trainer's sunglasses.

Henry only nodded and Mew floated up, reluctantly leaving him to fall and firing off a Psychic attack towards Giovanni.

Henry crashed into the water, sinking once more beneath the waves, but he had no time to sink: he paddled back up as best he could, emerging beside Groudon's land mass and staggering back onto land.

Once on his feet he was surrounded by five Slayers, each readying Crawdaunts, Klingers, Mantines, and a single Kabutops. Henry drew two Pokeballs and opened them up (no easy feat with only his injured left hand available), releasing his Quagsire and his Larvitar, each facing either direction.

"Fool," one of the Slayers observed. "Two ground types? Ground Pokemon are useless against these creatures!"

"Yeah, but they say that about fire types too," Henry pointed out. At the Slayer's confusion, he instructed: "Dig." Quagsire moved its flat arms and began spinning them frantically, cutting through the hard stone as Larvitar bit and scratched on the other side, pushing Henry down into a deep hole with his two creatures. The Slayers were about to make a comment when Henry added: "Eruption."

The Slayers turned to see Groudon, attention taken off Deoxys as it fired an enormous burst of flame, burning the Slayers and their Pokemon and sending them flying off into the distance.

Henry dragged himself back up from the hole, his two Pokemon in tow. His left hand was throbbing… he couldn't quite move his index finger as intended, and without Kyogre's red sphere, he felt the burns much more prominently.

He also felt considerable pain as Groudon fell backwards, and Deoxys blasted forth, stepping between the man in black and the legendary beast. Mewtwo floated down behind him, and again Quagsire and Larvitar moved to either side of him, ready to fight more…

…and he spotted Raikou, Zapdos, and Suicune all rushing towards him, as Articuno pulled Moltres and Entei out of the water and onto an ice sheet. Above him, Mew tumbled downwards, its Light Screen broken by Charizard's flames. Giovanni followed in pursuit, laughing rather maniacally.

Henry dropped the blue sphere and reached to his Pokeballs to recall the two creatures he had out… and as the red beams fired to each, a blast of water (accompanied by two massive electrical sparks) and two bursts of telekinetic force struck him, hitting from every side.

Above, in battle with the emerald dragon Rayquaza, Lance the Dragon Master, Melody, and Clair weren't faring altogether much better. Especially as it seemed Celebi was about to rejoin the fight, having taken a few moments to recuperate from its battle with the sacred beasts and winged mirages.

"Aeroblast," Melody recommended. "Try and keep it away from us."

Two Dragonites to her left each slammed into Rayquaza's stomach and head, and began batting fiercely with Outrage and Dragon Claw. The future Lance riding on Rayquaza's forehead seemed supremely unconcerned, his eyes closed tightly.

"It doesn't matter whether you defeat me or not today," 'Lance' said simply. "All that needs to be done is for Giovanni to finish Henry."

Lance (of the present) let up his attack. "What?"

"I'm not here to dominate anyone," 'Lance' said simply. "I'm only here to save the world from its greatest threat." He focused his scarred eye on the Blackthorn City gym leader. "I never even dreamed I'd see you here, Clair. I've missed you… after what Henry did to you and to our clan."

Clair let up her attack too, intrigued. 'Lance' continued. "I can't allow him to live. His disregard for life can end right now, and no one else will have to suffer for his ambition and his desire." He waved his arm, and Rayquaza too ceased to battle. "Henry is my only enemy in this battle. If you attack me again, I'll defend myself… but I do not wish to harm any of you. That man down there is my only target."

They didn't have much time to disagree as Henry was struck by three attacks, and disappeared in a blast of dust and debris.

The Slayer who had claimed Ground to be worthless against Water must had been one of the very few who had never encountered Cap's Sandslash.

Normally hydrophobic to the point of paralysis, the rodent was currently leaping and bouncing off of whatever it could, slicing at Slayer and Pokémon alike. Cap would have been proud of it, were he not distracted with problems of his own.

First, there were the few Slayers who not only managed to slip by his small but merciless army, but stupid enough to assume he hadn't learned anything from his adopted parents. While he'd managed to use the element of surprise to take out a first few who tried to attack him directly, they were slowly learning, and he would soon be in trouble.

Second, there was the flashing light on his Pokédex, indicating a slot in his party had just rather suddenly become available.

Like it had done the day Raichu died.

"No..." Cap whispered in horrified shock.

Taking a quick mental roll call, Cap saw that the five Pokémon he had sent out were all accounted for, which could only mean that is was...

"Seamonstra," he sobbed softly as images of a small red slug and the monestrous final form flashed before his eyes.

"Monsters!" he cried, delivering a quick snap-kick to a Slayer's head. He then took a deep breath and assessed his options as best he could.

He had three Pokémon remaining in storage. Two were a pair of loyal warriors, but he didn't want them to leave their task of guarding the young Azrael, and another an experiment that had proven itself a fierce opponent in battle. The problem was that due to the experimentation, it could not act on its own, not even to defend itself, and there was no way Cap could spare the attention it would need.

The other he was reluctant to use, even now. It had been a gift from a friend of his Grandad, and while it had been a quick friendship at first, when it evolved, it became unpredictable, attacking friend as well as foe.

"I don't think I have a choice," Cap whispered as he pressed the appropriate button on the Pokédex and a Pokéball appeared in his hand. "I just hope it goes for the Slayers and not us."

He was about to throw the sphere, but stopped, and watched in horror as his adopted father was consumed in a maelstrom.

"No matter the costs," he repeated grimly. "Go, Grovyle!"

A strangely colored and especially luminous wood gecko with a obsidian stone worn around its materialized. It briefly took in the scene before it, and leapt into the fray, slicing a pair of Slayers with its Leaf Blade.

"Tell me," Sharon demanded coldly as she delivered a backhanded blow. "Who is the new Mandarin?"

Shadow laughed and she shot back with a kick that sent Sharon reeling. "Come now sister. I expected so much more of you."

"I know the plan," Sharon spat as she resumed the spar. "All the Legendaries in one place, including the next best thing to your mascot. I get it." She caught Shadow's fist and flipped the twin over her back. "But who's running the show?"

Shadow laughed again as she landed gracefully. "You really don't know, do you?"

"It's not Grendel," Sharon said, holding an offensive stance. "There's no subtlety. No finesse. Not to mention you all would have killed him on sight."

"We did," Shadow agreed. "Five years ago. On Arshia."

Despite what she had just said, Sharon was obviously taken aback. "If it's not Grendel, and it's not either Lance..."

Shadow smiled. "You never truly understood the title of Divine Shadow, did you sister? What an honor it truly was."

"You don't mean..."

"I do," Shadow nodded. "I am the Order," she said, placing a hand on her heart, "and the Order is me."

The shock that shook Sharon to the very core of her body was matched by the one that consumed her husband.

Melody didn't know what happened. She had told Lugia to attack, there was an explosion...Henry...the next thing she new, she was picking herself up off the beach, and Lugia was no where in sight.

"This isn't happening," she whispered as she stood up, searching desperately for any sign of the Guardian, and finding none. "This can't be happening..."

She watched as Cap and his Pokémon fought valiantly against the seemingly increasing number of Slayers, watched the Gods she had worshiped as a little girl treated like common Pidgey, felt her belt and found no trace of her Pokéballs.

She saw all of this, feeling broken and powerless, but she knew there was something she had to do. Perhaps it was the only thing she could do.

She took her flute, and began to play...

Henry staggered up, his left sunglass lens broken, revealing the bloody hue of his iris. Henry discarded the sunglasses, and locked his fiery gaze with Mewtwo and Deoxys, as the two came to float beside one another. Deoxys was unaffected (unsurprisingly) but Mewtwo showed only the slightest visible tremor, after beholding the intense, hateful gaze.

Giovanni and Charizard descended, as Mew floated down to Henry's shoulder with a few fresh burns. "I cannot help but admire your tenacity, my rival. Your fingers are broken. The monstrous beasts you brought along with you are now beaten, and outside your sphere of influence. What more can you possibly hope to do?"

Henry reached his right hand to his belt and found his Pokeball, bringing forth his Dragonair on his right, as Mew floated further to his left. The two Pokemon faced off against Deoxys, Mewtwo, and Charizard.

Giovanni laughed again. "You continue to demonstrate your jaw-dropping idiocy! I once believed you were a worthwhile investment, but you can't let go of the past, can you?"

Henry extended his hand. Mew flung forth at Mewtwo and Dragonair moved towards Deoxys. Mewtwo and Mew began clashing their telekinetic 'bubbles' as Dragonair wrapped around Deoxys after the Pokemon from space attempted to speed away.

"Charizard, burn them both down," Giovanni instructed, striking the fire type's neck. Charizard growled but obeyed, gathering flames to its mouth and preparing to unleash them, until Henry stepped before his starter Pokemon, outstretching his arms. "Oh, still unwilling to do battle with your beloved fire type? Even now, even on the verge of death, you still cannot strike it down?"

Charizard clenched one eye in anger.

The man in black did not move. He lowered his head solemnly, the burning red irises still visible beneath his shaggy mane. Giovanni just sneered and struck Charizard, and a jet of flame shot forth, right at Charizard's former master.

Pallet Town, more than ten years earlier…

"The Pokemon League is instituting a new regulation that three trainers from any one designated location can receive a single Pokemon once reaching the age of ten and upon completion of a registration process," Professor Oak read aloud. "This is the first time we've implemented such a policy, and for the Kanto Region Pokemon League, the start point will always be here in Pallet Town. You three trainers-" Oak paused, casually waving his arm over the three children, "-are the very first to benefit from this process, and I certainly hope you'll all set a good example for those to follow."

The boy and girl on either side of him snickered quite audibly, but he was trying very hard to listen and listen intently, so he just kept staring straight ahead at Professor Oak.

"Now, select your starter Pokemon," Professor Oak instructed. "The grass type Bulbasaur, the fire type Charmander, and the water type Squirtle. Shall we let the ladies go first?"

"Okay, then," the girl said. "I'll take Squirtle!"

"Then Bulbasaur's mine!" said the boy on his left, and each took the Pokeballs, leaving only one, sitting on the leftmost edge of the table. Professor Oak issued the two children their Pokedexes before refocusing his attention on the boy with the shaggy black hair and blue eyes.

"Charmander was my first Pokemon too," Oak told him. "I really can't think of any Pokemon I could depend upon more."

The boy only nodded and accepted the Pokedex and Pokeball, quietly exiting from Oak's research laboratory, and almost immediately exiting from Pallet Town. The following day, Oak spotted the boy on his way up Route 1 to Viridian, his Charmander dispatching aggressive wild Rattatas with astonishing ease, already displaying the use of its Ember attack.

The boy had seemed quiet before, but now there was an added aura of determination, almost as though he'd found some reason to raise the young Charmander, and already the fire lizard had taken a liking to him.

In only three months that boy had returned, six Pokeballs clipped to his belt and almost a hundred different species recorded for the Pokedex, with a record of success that far exceeded the other two registered trainers. He flew over Pallet riding on the back of a Charizard, easily distinguishable by its smaller-than-average tail flame. He politely asked Oak where he could go with the eight badges he'd collected, and Oak was only too happy to point him in the direction of the Indigo Plateau.

And then…

"HYPER BEAM!"

"BLAST BURN!"

The sphere of flame and the blast of golden light. In the explosion of force, Charizard and Dragonite concluded their battle, and Charizard fell at last, after a few seconds of stubbornly trying to remain conscious.

It was a decisive moment, as Lance the Dragon Trainer ascended those final steps past Victory Road and to the league gates, while Henry, disgusted with the performance of his Pokemon, reluctantly returned to Viridian City to heal them, fully intending to return and defeat Lance in a rematch.

It was the first time Charizard had lost since its evolution. Henry had foolishly believed his Charizard invincible after it laid waste to Lance's Dragonair in their last battle… but upon evolving to its final form of Dragonite, it became clear to him why dragons were considered 'legendary' Pokemon.

Lance was the only trainer that was any match for him. Charizard was far and away his strongest Pokemon, but it had proven no match for the dragons.

Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew Charizard had tried its best, but that didn't concern him. He wanted to win, regardless of the health and conditioning of his creatures.

And upon returning to Indigo Plateau and laying waste to the trainers there, he accepted the devil's offer and refused to seek the championship.

And he became more powerful, his Charizard naught but a tool to one day be discarded.

Back in the present, Henry blinked. The flames were intercepted by a jet of water, creating a powerful, still-warm steam but preventing the Fallen Master from being hit by the attack. Giovanni tilted his head as Silver came over, Feraligatr and Magneton in tow.

Before Giovanni could make a snide remark, Silver turned his Pokemon's attention to Mewtwo, and struck the psychic type in the back with water and electricity. After having fought the three sacred beasts, Kyogre, and Mew, the attack proved suitable and finally managed to level the created Pokemon. Silver then moved to Henry's side, as Mew returned to its master's shoulder.

Giovanni seemed less than pleased. "Useless creature," he leapt from Charizard's back and turned his attention to Deoxys. "That does it. Destroy them all!" The psychic type blasted Dragonair away and moved over to its master, and Giovanni leapt on the creature's back and ascended, Deoxys charging energy between its tendrils. Charizard moved to follow, but Giovanni dismissed him. "Begone, fire type. You're not one of the Pokemon I need."

Charizard merely growled, before refocusing its gaze on Henry.

Henry's burning red eyes made it hard to show concern; indeed, it was hard to show anything other than hate. Still he walked towards his Charizard, reaching towards the fire type.

Above them, Giovanni laughed with his typical maniacal streak as Deoxys's power accumulated, energy gathering in a more substantial form than ever before.

"I don't believe you," Lance told his future self. "There has to be more to your plan than this. Why would you ally with Giovanni if you knew it would come to this?"

"I need Giovanni to survive," 'Lance' answered simply. "He cannot die by Henry's hand, or all I worked for will mean nothing."

"Well, if you're serious about saving the world, here's your opportunity," Lance told him, pointing up at Giovanni and Deoxys. "He's about to kill Henry instead, and like him or not, the guy's done his fair share of saving the world."

The six legendary creatures continued to gather on the ground, combining whatever energy reserves they had left. Celebi floated over to 'Lance's side, waiting for next instruction.

The Dragon Master of the future lifted a hand to feel the scar Henry had inflicted upon him, and then floated up with Rayquaza and Celebi, moving to Giovanni's side.

Lance and Clair moved over on their Dragonites to join the others in preparation for their battle, but didn't have time to react, as Henry, riding on the back of his Charizard, with Mew and Dragonair in tow, shot into the sky after them.

Shadow moved to deliver a punch to the seemingly oblivious Sharon. However, faster than even she could see, the other woman locked both her arms around Shadow's own, and the next thing the ninja knew, she was soaring through the air.

She landed somewhat gracefully, but just in time to see Sharon's steel-toed boot collide with her head. She allowed herself to fall onto her back and when Sharon moved to continue her assault, she slammed both of her feet into Sharon's face.

Shadow triggered a switch, and three blades snapped out of her armor's lower right arm. She swiped the blades at her sister, who ducked, but lost some hair in the process. However, while she was low, Sharon managed to deliver a series of rapid blows to Shadow's abdomen. The raven-haired woman vomited blood.

"I keep underestimating you," Shadow mutter hoarsely as she wiped her mouth.

Sharon agreed with a palm strike to the chin and a knee to the spine. Shadow rolled on the rocky ground. When Sharon moved to intercept, she pushed off, launching a kick to brunette's head that actually sent her into the air before crashing hard in a heap. Shadow landed clumsily on her feet, only to have Sharon spin on the ground and sweep them out from under her.

Not even bothering to get up, Shadow spun herself, aiming to sink her blades in Sharon's skull, but Sharon turned again, kicking and breaking the first two blades with her boot.

Shadow snarled as they both rolled away and scrambled to their feet. They ran at each other, each landing a blow at the same time. Shadow stumbled back, clutching her left eye while Sharon struggled to keep her balance while holding her stomach.

"Why are you doing this?!" Shadow shrieked. "You are one of us!!"

"No," Sharon said simply as she leapt and tried to deliver a spin kick with both legs. The first struck hard against Shadow's cheek, but knocked her back so that the second missed by a large margin.

"Damn you," Shadow snarled as she struggled to stay on her feet. "What is it you hope to accomplish?"

"The destruction," Sharon said as she landed, "of every last one of you."

"So be it!" Shadow cried, leaping forward.

Sharon crossed her arms in front of her face, but was forced back as Shadow's fist slammed into the protective stance.

"Fall!" Shadow demanded, striking again and again. "FALL!"

And with a rib-cracking kick, Sharon finally did. She fell hard onto the rock, and did not move except for her ragged and labored breathing.

Shadow couldn't help but smile, allowing a dark chuckle to escape her lips. Breathing heavily, she finally looked to her surroundings. Her smile grew.

Groudon and Kyogre lay defeated, the Winged Mirages and Sacred Beasts no doubt soon to follow. But perhaps the most beautiful thing was the body of Cap, the Order's most unfortunate mistake, lying perfectly still, surrounded by his wounded and worried Pokémon.

"Yes," Shadow grinned. "I would have waited an eternity for this."

"Look again."

Shadow's eyes grew wide, but not at the voice or what it said. In fact, it was doubtful she had even heard it. After memorizing the sight of Cap defeated, she sought out to find her followers.

She found them as bodies floating in the water. Some breathing, others not. Some in one piece, others in many.

"No..."

"The Order of the Dragonheed is no more."

This time, Shadow did hear the voice. Her face contorted in rage, she spun around to confront to speaker...

...only to see a blur and feel cold steel driven into her neck.

"Join them in extinction," Sharon said coldly as she watched her twin struggle to remove the broken armor blade from her throat, only to fall and become still.

"Great," Cap muttered as he looked about and found nothing but swirling white mists. "Back here again."

The last thing he remembered was sending out Grovyle, and then something hit him from behind...

"I'm getting to old for this..." he muttered.

"Tell me about it," he heard a voice chuckle behind him.

Turning, Cap found another teenaged boy, sitting Indian-style on the ground, a Charmander and Chicorita in his lap. He seemed normal enough. Black hair, lightly tanned skin, baseball hat backward on his head...just your typical trainer. But despite that, Cap could not shake the feeling he knew this boy.

"I'm just minding my own business," the boy was saying, "visiting the Ilex Forest, and then time starts going all screwy. I mean, Brimstone was fully evolved by the time I got Eden, but look at this!" He indicated the two Pokémon in his lap who seemed utterly confused at the whole situation.

Cap blinked. "Okay, who are you?"

"Hey!" the boy shouted suddenly, finally getting a good look at Cap. "You're you! Holy crap! This is surreal! And considering the things I've been through, that's saying something!"

"Hey!" Cap shouted, growing irritated. "What's going on?"

"Dunno," the boy said with a shrug. "By guess is that someone with a Celebi is screwing with the time stream, which would explain the sudden de-evolution of my Starters and how you and me are talking...but as for here, I'd guess it has something to do with that."

The boy pointed up. Cap looked, and his eyes grew wide.

The lights were changing constantly, shifting colors in a hypnotic pattern that seemed to drown out the nothingness of the place he found himself in.

"I've always wanted this," the boy said as he came to stand at Cap's side, his Pokémon behind him. "A chance...just a chance to see you again."

Cap didn't seem to hear him. He wasn't sure, but he thought he could see a shape in the center of the lights. It seemed to have four legs...and an impossible amount of arms...

"And you could probably stay here for...well forever," the boy continued. "In that time, I could just scrape the surface of what I could learn from you...but guessing by how young you are...there's still a lot you need to go through...and as cold as this sounds, if you don't go through it...God, I don't know where that'd leave me."

Was this kid still talking? And what was with that music in the background?

The boy sighed. "Guess that's your cue. Look, Cap, no doubt you're dealing with another crazy, impossible type situation...but we all need you to go back. Especially if it's that Dragon guy with the Celebi...trust me on this one."

Dammit, why did Mel always pick the worst time to play that stupid flute?

"Cap, you need to wake up."

Cap gasped and bolted upright. He was almost knocked back down again by Lisa grasping onto him.

"Thank god," she whispered softly. "Thank god thank god thank god..."

Cap hugged back, but it was obvious he was more than a little confused.

"I know you wanted me to fight," she continued. "And I tried, I did. But I couldn't just leave you to fight them alone."

"Henry," Cap said suddenly. "Where is he?"

"I don't know," Lisa said, finally letting go to look him in the eyes. "After the explosion, I came to find you, but I think I saw him on a Charizard..."

"And Mel?"

Lisa only pointed, and Cap saw the girl playing her flute, seeming oblivious to everything else around her.

"I think," Lisa whispered, worry obvious in her voice, "I think she's in trouble."

Cap was about to say something, but was distracted when name suddenly exploded to the front of his mind.

"Seamonstra!" he cried. "Sharon! You gotta get me to Sharon!"

It couldn't have taken two minutes, but the next thing Cap remembered clearly was jumping off Ho-Oh's back and running toward his adopted mother, who was leaning against a rock wall, clutching her wounds.

"Hey kiddo," she said weakly. "Great job with the ninjas..."

"We...we gotta get you to a hospital," Cap whispered. "This is bad...even for you."

"Great idea," she nodded. "Any idea how I'm gonna get there?"

In response, one of Cap's Pokéballs popped open, and War Hawk stumbled about, squawking and indicating for Sharon to get on its back.

"Are you sure?" Cap asked in surprise. "You're in--"

War Hawk shrieked in defiance, and Cap didn't see a point to argue anymore.

"Take Sharon," he told Lisa. "Make sure she actually accepts the doctors' help, then you get War Hawk to a Pokémon Center."

Lisa only nodded and helped the older woman onto the raptor's back. They moved up into the air, away from the battle, and Cap turned his attention to the body of the sea monster that had been at his side from the beginning.

"You're calm," he said weakly, placing a hand on Seamonstra's chest. "You've never been calm. Not since you evolved.

"Dammit, I lost another one," he whispered, his head lowering.

As he began to cry, he failed to notice that he dropped the Rainbow Wing, or that his tears fell upon it.

He failed to notice that, despite now being free, Ho-Oh made its way over to the boy and his fallen Pokémon, raised on of its wings, and sprinkled sparkling ash onto the sea creature.

Cap didn't notice much of anything until he felt his hand grow warm, and vibrate from the low growl the rumbled from the chest it was resting on.

Cap looked up, eyes wide as Seamonstra climbed to its feet and let out a roar that shook the stone walls of Sootopolis City.

He didn't say anything, he simply leapt into the creature's arm, hugging it tightly.

Seamonstra snarled quietly, gently but forcibly shrugging Cap off. When he looked at it, confused, it gestured with its tail to the sky.

"Right," Cap nodded, seeing the battle raging above. "Later." He looked at Ho-Oh, who was looking back, expectantly, but before he could say anything, his remaining pokéballs opened, revealing the miraculously recovered Sin Sai, Espeon, Umbreon, Sandslash and Grovyle.

"You guys up for this?" Cap asked.

His Pokémon nodded with determination, Sandslash adding "Let's slashin' do this!"

"I do what I do because it is necessary," 'Lance' called down to the other trainers. "With all the power that is left to me, I will save this world! I have been granted power over time itself! Henry will not stop me today!"

"I quite agree," Giovanni nodded. "Let's finish this sad charade." He tapped Deoxys on the back, and more and more energy gathered between the creature's tendrils. At his right, Rayquaza built up the energy of a Hyper Beam, gathering all of its remaining force in preparation.

Below them, Lance and Clair landed beside Cap, Sharon, and Lisa, looking up in the sky, spotting only the multicolored energy of the two Pokemon… and a single, orangeish-black dot careening up towards them, with a blue and a white object giving chase after it.

"I didn't think we'd have such a hard time with this much of a numbers advantage," Lance muttered as Silver and Melody came over. Cap's six Pokemon as well as Seamonstra and Ho-Oh all seemed prepared to continue the battle, but they couldn't possibly hope to reach their enemies in time.

Sandslash was about to hop onto Ho-Oh's back to pursue them, but Sin Sai intervened. He has a message for you, Cap.

"Henry?" Cap asked. "Is he calling to you?"

No. Mew is sending out a request to myself, and to every Pokemon she can reach. Attack together, and attack Charizard, Dragonair, and herself as they ascend.

"That's ridiculous," Clair interjected. "He'd be struck along with the rest of them."

"I think he realizes that," Silver observed. "My Pokemon don't have much fight left. One attack's about all they've got."

The winged mirages and the sacred beasts were already charging their attacks, as fire, ice, water, and lighting all shot up into the sky, pursuing the winged fire type and the fallen master.

"We have to make the decision quickly," Silver added.

"No," Sharon said simply. "I won't lose him again."

Regardless of what you decide, I will help him, Sin Sai stated flatly, unleashing a beam of concentrated psychic energy up towards him. If this is his final wish, then in death we will have seen his finest hour.

Cap was reluctant to do so. Though he'd normally trusted Henry's judgment and found himself relying on him from time to time, he still wasn't sure how this would work. Clair was stubbornly ignoring the request. Silver's six Pokemon had already begun their attacks, and Lisa was soon after him.

Lance pointed up. "He brings into battle the three Pokemon who mean most to him. He controls the dragons as skillfully as the best of our clan. Dragonite, Gyarados, Aerodactyl, Dragonair, Tyranitar, Kingdra!" All six beasts opened their mouths, and up shot the Hyper Beams.

Lugia lifted itself from beneath the lake's surface, and with what strength remained, fired off an Aeroblast, slicing through the air up towards its intended target. Groudon and Kyogre, barely conscious themselves, fired a stream of water and a burst of flame to follow.

And Sharon, though unable to render the command herself, allowed her Pokemon to attack as well.

Sandslash jabbed Cap in the leg. "Just go with it."

And then at last, they joined, as Ho-Oh ascended to release its sacred flames, carrying with it the energy of all who'd yet to attack.

All save one, waiting for the right moment to play his hand.

High above, Dragonair focused intently as she was bombarded by attacks on all sides, but was able to constantly redirect them, forcing the weather patterns to shift and combine, as Mew used her raw telekinetic force to bind them together into a single sphere, glowing an oddly green color.

Above them, Rayquaza, Celebi, and Deoxys finally unleashed their fury, and their three attacks shot downwards, forming a massive wave of multicolored force.

Charizard added his flames as final ingredient, and Mew gave a throaty cry and unleashed the attack. Though he had no specific name for it, Henry thought perhaps it might be known as: "EARTH BEAM!"

The blast of green light rocketed upwards, slamming into the multicolored burst. The two attacks struck each other in midmovement, as all their respective attackers continued to pour out as much energy as they could.

Though the attack was powerful, Mew was becoming overwhelmed. There wasn't any way she could defeat all of them, especially with the added power of gravity working against her. Henry, still clutching to Charizard, reached out his hand and placed it upon Mew's back, holding tightly and refusing to retreat.

Giovanni laughed (again)."You could never succeed, Henry! You gained back what you wanted, but got greedy and filled your head with delusions of grandeur! You are still only a Pokemon trainer; I am going to become a god!"

"But even a god can be defeated, if the timing is right."

Giovanni and 'Lance' both tilted their heads. Maxie, clutching to the leg of his Crobat, opened his two Pokeballs, and his Mightyena and his Camerupt were released in specific locations, biting into Deoxys and bombarding Celebi with flames.

Giovanni was astonished as two sources of the group attack were deterred, and the third source was interrupted as he released a grip on his Crobat and allowed it to divebomb Rayquaza, distracting the emerald dragon just long enough…

As Maxie fell, Giovanni roared after him: "Why?! Why have you betrayed me?! Why have you forsaken the only ally you had left?!"

Maxie smiled, firing the red beams to recall his Pokemon. "Sometimes it's better to be known for one's enemies."

Giovanni had to return his attention to the battle. Both he and 'Lance' saw it coming, though neither had much time to think about it. The blast struck. Rayquaza and Celebi fainted straight away, and Deoxys was blown apart, scattered back to its original, viral form. 'Lance' and Giovanni both fell down towards Sootopolis below them, landing on the back of Ho-Oh to be carried to the ground far below.

Henry, barely conscious himself, followed with Charizard, Mew, and Dragonair, and joined the others in forming a sort of circle around their two enemies, while the sacred beasts and winged mirages went to recover the three Pokemon they'd been controlling.

Giovanni was still muttering incoherently about his desires for greater power, but 'Lance' remained at least somewhat coherent, so he was the subject of interrogation.

"Why did you do it?" Lance asked his future self, keeping direct. "Why did you come back here for this?"

"I did exactly as you would've done," 'Lance' answered simply, maintaining a steady glare at Henry. "I saw an opportunity to save the world and I took it, before it would be too late to act."

Henry's burning red eyes made him appear angry, but the rest of his face was as expressionless as ever. "You erased a part of my life Dragon Master," he stated simply. "I don't mind this loss of Pokemon powers, but you also took away my Charizard." He intended to finish there, but spied Sharon staggering to her feet out of the corner of his eye. "And my family."

'Lance' only continued to glare at him. "You were going to destroy everything, Henry. I wasn't strong enough to stop you." Slowly, maybe unconsciously, he reached up to feel his scar. "I had to think of the future, and the health and safety of the planet. Without you, the world wouldn't have a god seeking to destroy it. Once I learned the key event, I went back to it and prevented it."

"Release Celebi," Henry instructed, to murmurs of assent from the other gathered trainers. "And Rayquaza. And anything else you captured." When the red-haired dragon master from the future refused, the red-haired dragon master from the present stepped forth and found the appropriate Pokeball and activated the release mechanism. Henry, staggering, went to Giovanni and did the same for Charizard, Mewtwo, and the Pokeball he presumed belonged to Deoxys. Giovanni reached his hand up to grasp Henry's wrist, before reaching his free hand to his nearest Pokeball.

The other trainers reacted at once, but Sin Sai and Sandslash each had their respective blades upon his neck immediately.

Giovanni paused, recognizing his disadvantage and placing significantly greater value on his life. "Do not worry… I'll kill you eventually, Henry. And I'll take over those powers for you."

"Not if he kills you first," Sharon pointed out.

The thought was tempting. He could easily spite this man from the future, and kill Giovanni at last after all that had transpired, and to do so would apparently grant him great power, enough to change the world instantaneously.

And yet…

"Sin Sai," Henry requested, "can you translate Celebi's thoughts for me?"

Sin Sai nodded, as Ho-Oh flapped down and lowered the resuscitated Celebi, who floated before them peacefully, no longer bound to the future Dragon Master's control. The tiny psychic type concentrated, and Sin Sai reacted, letting Sandslash handle the Giovanni guard duty (much to the ground rat's enjoyment, as he kept making little cuts and muttering 'oops'). Celebi regrets the deed, and begs your forgiveness.

Henry waved his arm dismissively. "Whatever. Just tell me what can be done now."

Sin Sai concentrated. The timeline can still exist, if you wish it. But the damage done cannot be changed; the memories you have personally lost will not be restored.

Sharon, Cap, and Melody were considerably disheartened. Henry only nodded grimly. "Can you take him back to his own time?" Henry requested, jerking his head at Lance. "And, ideally, not interact with him ever again?"

Celebi is only too happy to comply, Sin Sai relayed. But Celebi is also surprised. Is there nothing else you want?

"To heal whatever wounds he's inflicted on yourself and on all the other Pokemon he subjugated," Henry stated simply, as he reached into his jacket pocket, producing his decade-old Pokedex, making a transfer in his account to make space in his party, and stated words he'd hoped to say for a long time. "Charizard, Return." The fire type nodded, and gave Henry a short, knowing glance before returning to the sphere. Henry winced as he tried to move his fingers again, before placing the sphere back on his belt, alongside Dragonair and Mew.

Celebi smiled warmly at the collected trainers and moved to the side of 'Lance the Dragon Master.' The future trainer cried out: "So long as you live, the danger exists! The same thing will happen!"

"The future is not fixed," Henry responded curtly, turning from the red-haired man and ignoring his cry of fury as he was whisked away and displaced from their time.

Giovanni snorted. "And what next, Henry? Are you really not going to kill me?"

"I'll do it," Sandslash volunteered.

"No, I want to," Sharon interjected.

"No more killing," Henry instructed flatly. "Leave him to Lance and Silver." The younger of the two red-haired trainers seemed stunned. "I have what I wanted from him. It'd be selfish of me not to grant them their chance." He formed a half smirk, much to everyone's shock. "I'd like to go to your home. I'm told I have a boy, and I think I might…want to…meet him." He proceeded to collapse.

The legendary Pokemon, revived and reenergized, moved to Henry's side and placed him on Lugia's back. The massive psychic type gave an approving nod and ascended, as Cap and his family departed, leaving Silver, Lance, and Clair to deal with Giovanni.

Lance turned off his PokeGear. "Wallace will be here soon to collect you. Silver, can you keep an eye on him?"

Silver only nodded, and Clair and Lance departed into the sky above the fortress-esque city, followed by the winged mirages and the sacred beasts. Groudon dug into the soil and back into the caverns of the earth while Kyogre submerged and returned to the sea. Rayquaza gave a short roar and bore away into the sky.

As the two waited, Giovanni just stared up at his son. "This was my master plan, you know," the former Team Rocket leader said. "It was my shining moment."

Silver ignored him, glancing up at the dimming sky.

"I hate to fail more than anything," Giovanni told him. "I would've preferred to die, knowing I was defeated by so many adversaries at once… at least then I'd be free from this terrible knowledge."

Silver just continued to stare up at the sky. He'd finally been reunited with his father, but honestly couldn't care less… it was quite a disappointment to find out he was just a rambling lunatic.

At least the sky was cloud-free, and the stars were twinkling.

On the other side of Sootopolis, Maxie too examined the sky. "I had a dream once," he observed, "but I was denied, and lost my only opportunity to enact it." He found the thought oddly comforting. "Ah, well. Groudon still lives, and maybe after this act of heroism those kids might be willing to make a pact with me."

"Not before you make a pact with me."

Maxie turned as the area around him seemed to ripple, and a man in some sort of black-purple garb just appeared before him. "I will keep this simple. Ally with me now, or you will be disposed of."

Maxie didn't care for this mysterious stranger's cold, straightforward way of speaking, so he drew his Pokeball. Before he could make a move, he was thrust back into the lake, and pressure was exerted on him from afar, pushing him to the cavernous bottom.

The unidentified man cast a glance at the water's surface before moving away, towards his real target.