Chapter Four: Zero`s True Ambitions

Newton and the kids glared at the Megarig, watching as it hovered over the forest. Giratina thrashed and screeched in the cage locked in the center of the alien ship. Newton swallowed hard. "I designed that thing," he sighed, hanging his head in shame. Ash`s eyes grew huge. "Are you serious?"

The scientist nodded. "I wanted to capture Giratina`s powers so I could move in and out of the Reverse World at will. But when I discovered Giratina would be destroyed in the process, I terminated the project, and I eliminated all of the blueprints. I remember Zero being so upset, but I wouldn`t do something like that to Giratina. Even though I destroyed the plans, Zero must`ve remembered them all!"

He took a deep sigh. "That thing is draining Giratina`s energy. If it isn`t stopped soon, Giratina will be no more." The trio gasped in shock. Newton whirled around and made a mad dash for the hoverboard Zero left behind. "I won`t let Giratina die because of my mistake!" Ash clenched his fist. "We`ll come with you!" he shouted.

He and Dawn joined Newton on the hovercraft with Pikachu and Piplup. "Wait!" Brock shouted. He pointed out into the distance. "Look over there!" The others followed his indication, only to be struck with wonder as a sprawling field of pink flowers spread out over the grass. "This must be the Gracidea Flower Garden!"

Shaymin skittered across the grass and crawled into the flowers, kicking up a plume of sparkling yellow dust. When it settled onto Shaymin, the same tingling sensation returned as the little Pokemon`s body began to change and morph. The light burst away, revealing Sky Form Shaymin once again.

"I`ll go on ahead," it huffed defiantly. "We`ll all save Giratina!" Shaymin pranced over the field, soaring up into the sky and locking eyes with the massive Megarig. Ash nodded numbly, gripping the handles of Zero`s hovercraft. "Alright, let`s go!" he called. A whoosh of wind roared in the heroes ears as they took off, eyeing the metallic monster floating above the mountain range.

Meanwhile, Zero stood up on one of the Megarig`s long metal platforms, glaring evilly at the thrashing Giratina in front of him. A hologram of Infi appeared beside him. "Giratina has returned to its original form," she droned on. "Movement to and from the Reverse World is now possible."

Zero was overjoyed. "The time loop has shattered! Infi, commence the scanning process!" Infi nodded. "Understood, master." A wicked smile stretched across Zero`s face. "Soon all of the Reverse World will be mine," he snickered. "Then I will rule like a king!"

His eyes scanned over to the hovercraft darting across the sky, inching closer to his mechanical monstrosity. His heart pounded hard in his chest. He jabbed a finger at Magnezone and hissed, "Take care of them, you!" Magnezone let out a loud buzz in reply and took off, unleashing a searing beam of crackling blue energy from the antenna on its head.

Shaymin rushed past, veering past the energy beam and spitting an Energy Ball right in its one red eye. Zero eyed the aerial battle below as his army of Magnemite soared by like soldiers on a battlefield. He clenched his teeth and hissed, "Infi, prepare to enter the Reverse World!" Infi gave him a loyal bow. "As you wish."

Zero turned and strode back to his ship. A pair of hydraulic doors shot open with a whirr, revealing a long, dark hallway. He vanished inside as the doors slammed shut behind him.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Ash snapped. Pikachu glared at the electric cage confining the writhing Giratina and let out a burst of electricity, but once it got close to the capsule, the energy faded. Invisible waves rippled off the air, as if a stone was dropped in water.

Newton growled and turned back to the Megarig. "It`s protected by some kind of barrier!" he shouted. "I`ve gotta get in there and stop this myself!" Ash and Dawn pondered how exactly he would do that, but they both knew now wasn`t a good time for questions. They weaved through a swarm of Magnemite, dodging sizzling bolts of electricity.

The hovercraft swooped down on the Megarig and skidded across its steel surface with a loud scraping sound. Sparks flew off into the chilly air as it slowed to a halt.

The three leapt off, and Ash and Dawn ordered their Pokemon to attack the storms of Magnemite flying at them. Ash locked eyes with Newton and shouted, "We`ll take care of these guys! You just go on and stop Zero!" Newton nodded and pulled out a Poke Ball. He tossed it in the air, and a Shieldon burst free in a flash of light. "Use Flash Cannon!" he commanded, pointing to a steel wall. Shieldon let out a small screech and spit a gaping beam of energy from its wide-open mouth.

A plume of smoke erupted, and once it settled, a huge, jagged hole had been punched through the metal. Newton took off down the long hallway ahead. Shieldon scampered up behind him. The whole place was dark, cold, and seemingly alien. The walls gave off an eerie reddish glow. Newton rushed through the corridors, speeding around the corners of the maze of hallways.

He raced into a wide, dark chamber, and the air felt different. Colder and more threatening, as if the walls would close in on him at any time. He spotted an odd, intricate computer system and plopped down on the chair in front of it, his heart pounding and chest heaving. The glow from the screens seemed to be the only light in the small chamber.

An image of Zero flashed on-screen. "You`re too late," he sneered. "But, I invite you to sit back and watch as my brilliant plan becomes reality!" The image flickered off and displayed a screen with a red outline of Giratina. Right beside it was an icon that clearly read sixty-nine percent, and it was climbing every second.

Newton gritted his teeth and clicked a button on his metal backpack. A series of snakelike metal arms popped out and began tapping the keys below as Newton danced his fingers across the keyboard as well. "I guess Zero forgot that I`m the one who designed this," he growled. Finally, the tapping frenzy ended, and a single key flashed blue right in the middle. "Alright, how do you like this?!" Newton snapped, slamming down on the button.

As soon as he touched it, the life faded from every electronic device surrounding him. Even the dim lights flicked off. Back outside, as Ash, Dawn, and Shaymin were busy battling the Magnemite swarms, the roaring engines of the Megarig fell silent. The fighting quickly died down, and the heroes went quiet as well.

They glanced around, and the spinning blades of the ship`s motors slowed to a crawl. The crimson, crackling electricity around Giratina dissapated, and the metal bars surrounding the huge Pokemon crashed down with a cacophony of clangs. Giratina dropped down limply from the cage, plummeting down to a lake below.

Ash`s eyes lit up. Newton did it, he thought. Frantic footsteps clomped behind him as Newton emerged from the ship, panting with exhaustion. Sweat pooled up on his forehead. "Uhh, I have to apologize," he chuckled nervously. "To shut down the system, I had to turn off the engines too. So, in other words, this thing is going down!"

"What?!" Ash and Dawn snapped in unison. Suddenly, the ship lurched violently, and it quickly fell down to the forest below. "We`ve gotta go!" Newton shouted.

The trio climbed onto Zero`s hovercraft, clamping hard on the machine as it took off. Shaymin darted down from the sky and flew alongside them. "You`re all okay!" the Pokemon cheered.

As the Megarig dropped to its doom, a indescribable black blur flashed out of its center and crashed down into the lake, vanishing under its azure waves. The gargantuan metal monster collided with the forest, skidding across the ground. It was torn to shreds, mowing down lines of trees along with it.

Meanwhile, Newton, Ash, and Dawn made it safely to the ground and jumped off the hoverboard, rushing to the shore of the lake. Brock stood beside them. "Look at that," he said. Giratina limply crawled out of the lake, hanging its head in exhaustion. Its black, tattered wings were plastered fast to its body. Once its dripping body reached the shore, it let out a pained roar as it toppled over, sending tremors through the earth.

The team stared at the giant, unconscious Pokemon in silence. "It`s not moving," Ash piped up. Dawn covered her mouth in shock. "We must be too late!" she gasped. Shaymin pranced over to Giratina, hovering above its body. "Giratina, you must pull through!" it begged.

Shaymin perched itself on Giratina`s side and pressed down its paws. Its own body started to shine, and a bright, soft green light swept over the area. "That`s Aromatherapy," Newton said. "It`s one of Shaymin`s powers."

In a sudden flash, the light faded, and Shaymin pulled itself up, taking a huge breath. The Pokemon flew off Giratina as a ripple of movement pulsed over its body, and it slowly staggered to its feet. It let out a booming roar, as if it was yawning.

The team`s eyes lit up. Smiles instantly flashed on their faces. Shaymin gasped and ducked behind Dawn, trembling with fear. Ash smiled and called, "Hey, Giratina! It`s Shaymin who made you feel better!" Giratina`s eyes piqued with interest. Shaymin reluctantly floated out from its hiding spot and pranced up to eye level with the massive Pokemon. "I`m glad you`re feeling better," it chirped.

"Shaymin and Giratina finally understand each other," Dawn said. She and the others turned around, and herds of Furret, Stantler, Ursaring, and Senret emerged from the treeline. "It seems the Pokemon know just how important the Reverse World is as well," Newton commented.

A storm of bubbles popped up from the lake ahead, and a giant spray of water was ejected into the air as a massive, sleek ship surfaced from the water, hovering over its surface. Two long metal arms with jutting points were attached to its sides, and the middle hub was a sharp, steel-covered chamber decorated in red, black, and gold metal. It oddly appeared to have the likeness of Giratina.

"Is that Zero?!" Ash gaped. A wave of dread swept over Newton. He nodded regretfully. "That is the Megarig`s mother weapon," he explained. "Its firepower comes from Giratina`s energy. The Megarig was simply a collection system. It is...the Mecha Giratina!"

Deep inside the ship, Zero sat nestled in a small, cramped chamber, surrounded by ticking, clicking mechanisms, flickering computer screens, and holograms of Infi. Hot anger boiled inside of him. "I don`t care what they think they`ve done," he growled. "No one gets in my way!" He jabbed a button on the control panel, and a gaping ball of blue flame erupted from the golden, pointed head of the Mecha Giratina. It flew out across the lake.

Giratina roared and spun around, spitting out its own burst of azure fire. The two attacks collided and exploded in a blast of cyan-colored, billowing smoke.

The Mecha Giratina suddenly shot up into the air, soaring across the skies and casting a shadow over the field below. A funnel of whirling air shot out from the ship and collided with a glacier hanging on the other side of the lake, tearing open a swirling black hole. Zero flew inside, vanishing from sight as it and the portal faded from existence.

"Where`d he go?!" Ash hissed. "He went to the Reverse World!" Newton shouted. "Now Zero`s attained all of Giratina`s powers!"

At the same time, Zero soared through the Reverse World, weaving past the masses of hovering islands dotting the landscape. He skidded to a halt and glared at one of the crystalline orbs floating about. The reflections of Ash and the rest of the team were mirrored in its shiny surface. "Look at you all, in your pathetic, filthy little world!" Zero cackled, an insane smile plastered on his face. "Disappear, all of you!"

A long, glowing rod of energy materialized at the bottom of the huge craft. It swept across the sky, colliding with the orb and shattering it to bits.

Back in the Real World, a strong wave of energy burst from seemingly nowhere, sweeping the team off their feet. Ash groaned in pain and yelled, "What was that!?" Newton staggered to his feet. "Zero must be attacking us from the Reverse World!"

Giratina let out a shaking roar and flapped its wings, propelling itself into the air. It spit a gaping funnel of air from its mouth, and the same churning black vortex appeared. It became drenched in purple light as it flew inside and disappeared from sight.

Ash`s hands balled into fists, and he rushed onto Zero`s hoverboard, gripping the handles with his sweaty palms. Pikachu quickly joined him, leaping onto his shoulder.

"Ash, are you nuts?!" Brock shouted. "Be careful!" Dawn called. "Wait for me!" Shaymin yelled. It jumped into the sky and flew beside Ash and Pikachu. "I`m coming with you!" Ash smiled. "Thanks, Shaymin!" The two soared into the portal together, and the hole sealed up behind them once again, this time, possibly for good.