DISCLAIMER: I don't own Pokemon so stop asking me!
Forwarding Plans
June 26th, 2008
Ash was sitting in his room, meditating once again, ruminating on the information he had received the day prior. Pikachu was sitting next to him slightly exasperated and had since resorted to scratching its back with its tail. After another ten minutes of waiting however, Pikachu was beginning to lose it.
"Pikapi!" Pikachu complained loudly. "Pika pikachu, chu pika!"
"Relax, Pikachu and stop complaining." Ash said, opening his eyes and facing Pikachu with a stern look on his face. "Think of it like…we're preparing for a big gym battle and we need to meditate. Remember how we used to do that?" Pikachu started laughing, little words becoming comprehensible here and there. Ash glared at his yellow furred friend. "What do you mean it was because I would lose if I didn't? That would partially be your fault too!"
"Pika pikachu!" Pikachu yelled out and Ash jabbed his finger at him.
"Hey, we're a team, remember that. If you fall, I fall and vice versa okay. So if you make a mistake in a gym battle it's my fault and your fault." Ash said and Pikachu sobered up before glancing at the door, his eyes alighting. "What's up Misty?" Ash turned around to find her standing in the frame of the door with a bemused expression on her face. She giggled a little before beginning to speak.
"You know, as far as boyfriends go, you're a pretty bad one." Misty said matter-of-factly. Ash scowled before glaring at her.
"Oh, and you would know?" Ash said playfully. Misty scoffed.
"Well, maybe I would." Misty pouted before Ash looked at her with eyebrows raised. "Okay, no I wouldn't. Not a lot of us had time for personal lives after we thought you…you…" Misty took a deep breath in. "I won't deny I had a lot of offers though."
"Misty, are you trying to make me jealous?" Ash said teasingly. Misty smiled a coy smile at him.
"Is it working?" Misty said with an arched eyebrow and Ash laughed loudly.
"Maybe…" Ash before clapping his hands together. "Well, all right then, I'll take you out to breakfast!" Misty looked shocked as Ash grabbed her hand and dragged her out of the room and down the stairs.
"Ash, no, it's okay." Misty said. "I'm not complaining, I just-"
"So you don't want me to take you to breakfast?" Ash said, stopping and letting go of her hand. Misty sighed.
"Ash, I understand. Even though we're dating there's a lot going on so just…just don't worry about it." Misty said, tapering off and the end with a mumble. Ash just smiled at her as he fixed his hat.
"All right then! After this is over we'll go on a proper date!" Ash yelled out triumphantly as the doorbell rang. "But first things first, I'll get your doorbell for you. Boy, you sure are popular lately." Ash said with a laugh as he walked toward the door, quickly opening it. "Uh…Kenny?"
"I found her Ash." Kenny said seriously, staring straight into Ash's eyes.
"Uh…who?" Ash asked, utterly bemused as Misty came up next to him with an equally confused look.
"I found Dawn."
-CT-
"Prepare for trouble!" cried the shrill female voice, quieting down the enormous number of trainers in the area.
"And make it double!" responded a second voice.
"To protect the world from devastation!"
"To unite all people within our nation!"
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"
"To extend our reach to the stars above!"
"Jessie!"
"James!"
"Team Rock's battling all day and night!"
"So you better join in to fight, fight, fight!"
"That's right!"
"Wobbufett!" A group of disbelieving mutterings reached the trio's ears as the mass of people in front of them discussed what exactly they were doing there. Jessie sighed and slumped forward a little bit.
"Hmm…maybe we should have used the newer motto. Okay!" Jessie pumped her fist into the air before both James and Meowth suddenly attacked her and covered her mouth.
"Uh, I don't think that's the issue here, Jess." James said with a sheepish grin towards the now impatient trainers. Jessie finally nodded, her eyes narrowing in anger towards James and both of her friends quickly let go. She quickly dusted off her clothing before she walked to the edge of the podium they had set up, facing all the trainers.
"Fellow coordinators!" Jessie cried out and each of the coordinators turned to face the loud woman speaking to them. "I'm sure you are all wondering why I and my fellow companions have called you here." There was a large pause that Jessie left for dramatic effect before the crowd started getting restless.
"Are you gonna tell us already?" A coordinator cried out loudly. Jessie twitched slightly in anger but held her wrath in check.
"Of course. As you all know, the Pokemon League recently announced that all trainers with six or more badges from a given region who is fifteen or older is to be drafted for the coming battles against the legendaries."
"And what point are you trying to make, exactly?" cried a purple haired trainer dressed in an outlandish green costume. James and Meowth cringed from behind Jessie, remembering their horrible memories with the man.
"Quite simple really. The League doesn't require coordinators to fight for them. As such, we are here to gather all of you coordinators, and the one completely creepy guy there who eluded the draft, to come and fight in the war!" Jessie finished off with great enthusiasm. There was once more a following silence before many of the coordinators began yelling loudly in protest.
"How could expect that of us?"
"Why would we want to fight?"
"Screw you guys!"
"Hey, that's not very nice!" Jessie commented in protest to that last one before James grabbed ahold of the woman and pulled her back.
"All right, we completely understand your frustration but understand-" James began before the yelling broke out again.
"Why would you want to do this to us? Don't our lives mean anything to you guys?" yelled a sharply dressed man that James recognized to be the top coordinator of Hoenn, Michael. Meowth suddenly ran to the top of the stage and extended his claws threateningly.
"Now listed here, ya bozos!" Meowth yelled and the crowd seemed to quiet down some. "We don't care what yous people think. You tink we don't care what you want! We're lookin out for everybody." Michael cleared his throat and stepped forward.
"We understand that but forcing us to fight is nothing short of lunacy." he responded clearly and Meowth glared at the trainer.
"Den it's lunacy!" Meowth said. "But thousands of trainers all over are givin deir lives to protect yours. Run if ya want, you cowards!" Meowth paused for a moment but no one moved to leave. "Dat's right!"
"So what exactly are you expecting from us?" came a familiar voice and the trio managed to catch a glimpse of the red hair that adorned Zoey's hair. She was standing next to Drew who was currently looking uncomfortable with being there. Behind them they noticed some other acquaintances such as Nando and Solidad. James took this moment to speak once again.
"What we are expecting is simple: that all of you fight." James said, a serious look now adorning his face that had never appeared before. "And before you argue with me, I think you all need to understand just how much everyone else is investing this war. I'm sure that by now you've all heard of the Battles of Mt. Silver and Sootopolis. Well-"
"Our fellow coordinators May and Dawn took part in them. I'm sure you've all heard of them, especially with their connection to the twerp, I mean, As Ketchum!" Jessie yelled out. "See, if they're coordinators and they're fighting, how can you justify shirking away."
"Oh come on, we all know that's not a viable piece of evidence." Harley laughed bitterly following his statement. "They're friends of Ash Ketchum, of course they'll fight. Why can't we just leave everything to Ash?"
"What? You need your hearing checked you two-bit whackjob that dresses like a freak! You're worse at crossdressing than James used to be in his earlier days!" Jessie responded back.
"You didn't have to broadcast it Jessie…" James mumbled from behind her.
"You heard Cynthia's announcement and you can't pretend you didn't since most of you were here when we watched it!" Jessie screamed. "Cynthia said that Ketchum can only stand for so long. That's why all of us need to pull together."
"I still don't think you have any good reason for us to join you in risking our lives." Harley said with a smirk, folding his arms. Meowth's face scrunched up in annoyance.
"You want a reason, chumP!" Meowth said angrily and the coordinators in the front row took a step back. "You're part of dis world!" Absolute silence followed Meowth's statement; not a single movement was heard. "All of yous was born into this world, so you might as well die fightin' for it. Otherwise, you idiots don't even deserve to be called Pokemon trainers." A few very tense seconds passed before Zoey stepped forward, her hands in her pockets.
"I'll fight with you guys." Zoey said. Jessie and James' faces brightened as Zoey smirked. "Knowing that the three of you once belonged to Team Rocket but are now trying to help the world is enough for me to want to fight."
"I'll join you guys too. Not only will it help Ash," Drew said, his own smirk on his face. He flipped his hair a little. "But it will also help me look for May and honor what she would want. I mean, I came here cause I thought she might be here but…even if she's not, honoring her is the next best thing I can do."
"I wanted to join the draft but they missed me, so I'll help you guys here." Conway said with a creeping laugh as he moved his glasses around. Jessie shuddered. The wave of those few trainers' agreement began to wash over the rest of the crowd and soon, one by one, the group psychology took root with all of the coordinators but a few stating their decision to fight in the war. Meowth smirked. Zoey, whose initial agreement seemed to mark her as a leader turned to the three.
"So then, what's the first move?" Zoey asked and James cleared his throat to answer.
"As ex-members of Team Rocket we did quite a bit of surveillance and thanks to excellent investigative skills, and the help of our friend Looker, we managed to locate a base of the enemy where it appears they may be holding hostages." James told them and everyone's rapt attention was focused on him. "So, we have managed to secure a very fast boat, one of its kind, that will take us there in two days time. We'll free the hostages and then move to the Pokemon League, showing our allegiance!" Zoey nodded in acceptance and rest generally agreed with the course of actions, though a few dissenting mutters could be heard.
"Good, then in the meantime, rest up and we'll give you the full details later!" Jessie said and she and her companions stepped down from the stage, retreating into their tent. "I think that went well."
"I wanted to fix a few of deir faces wit a Fury Swipes attack, but yeah, I guess so." Meowth said confidently.
"Wobbufett!" Wobbufett responded, relaxing on the same piece of furniture that Meowth stretched himself across. A moment later, their relaxation was cut short when the tent flap opened and Zoey and Drew stepped inside.
"So…" Zoey said tentatively as the occupants of the tent entered into a stare down. "I have to ask. What exactly brought about this change of heart? I mean, why round us all up now?" No member of the trio answered for a moment, even as Zoey and Drew continued to stare at them.
"Well, what's your reason for choosing to fight with us?" Jessie asked nonchalantly.
"Easy, because my friends need help, and so do all the other defenseless people." Zoey said with a shrug of her shoulders.
"I want to help May out. I wanted to tell her something." Drew said with a slight blush tinting his face. Meowth leaned forward and smiled.
"Exactly. The twoips need help."
-CT-
"And you're sure this is it? This is where they were taken?" Ash asked yet another time causing Kenny to glare at him with annoyance.
"Ash, look around, this is Fuschia City! The place has been practically boarded up. It was near impossible for me to get in here the first time. I still don't know how the four of us managed to sneak in here…" Kenny said with a sigh. Ash rubbed his temples. After Kenny had arrived at the Cerulean Gym he had told all three of them the full story. Apparently he had left Shamouti around the same time as Drew. Drew had heard of a group of trainers calling for coordinators and he figured that May might have joined them (seeing as it had been days since the Battle of Sootopolis). Kenny instead went straight to Sootopolis to see if they were still there. When there he ran into Paul and had pestered him, eventually learning that Dawn, May, and Max were missing. So he did some digging around Sootopolis and began following a trail that eventually led him here. As soon as he knew, he came for Ash.
"Kenny's right," Misty said, jerking Ash out of his reverie. "This place is like a fortress. How did they build all this so quickly. I mean look, the entire Safari Zone has been turned into a factory…or it looks like one."
"You know that it's Koga's troops, right Kenny?" Brock asked and Kenny nodded in conformation. "This is dangerous…maybe we should call the League in. I'm sure they'd like to know where Koga's base is."
"Yeah, Brock, we just took Daisy's car and drove here in about four hours, passing through Lavender Town, to get to this spot where we snuck into the practical fortress of Fuschia City and are now spying on the guards outside the building towering in the Safari Zone, only to turn around and go home?" Misty said all this with glare of evil directed at Brock. "I don't think so."
"Okay. We don't go home." Brock said, looking at Ash with a frightened expression. Kenny shifted around, his gaze never leaving the entrance to the facility in the former Safari Zone.
"I'm not leaving till I rescue Dawn." Kenny said adamantly and Ash nodded. The other three joined him in looking at the gate. There were two guards at the gate, both of them holding guns.
"Guns…" Misty breathed out. "Great. Can this get any more dangerous? Ash, how're we gonna deal with guns?"
"Give me a minute, here, Misty. I'm thinking." Ash said with a scowl as he looked at the door. Pikachu cocked his head beside him, staring up at his trainer and friend. Misty scoffed somewhat loudly.
"Ash Ketchum, thinking. This is a new one on me." Misty said with a playful smirk. Ash briefly whipped his head toward her.
"Misty, now is not the time for hurtful sarcasm…again…especially towards your boyfriend."
"Fair point, Mr. Ketchum, but we need a strategy." Misty said, folding her arms. Brock nodded in agreement.
"Misty's right you know." Brock said with his own smug grin on his face.
"I know that!" Ash snapped at the two of them and they chuckled. Misty sighed a little while Kenny just glared at the front doors, as if hoping they would magically open.
"So then, what's the strategy, Ash?" Misty asked.
"Charge in, Pokemon blazing." Ash said with a smile and Misty did a double take.
"Ash, since when has that been a strategy?" Misty seethed out with vehemence. Ash shrugged his shoulders.
"It is now." Ash said, running his fingers through his hair. The color instantly changed to blonde. "On my signal, follow me in. Pikachu stay here." Pikachu saluted Ash as he ran away from the group. Their eyes followed him to a nearby house before Ash came out from it and headed towards the front gate.
"This can't end well." Misty said, her eyes trained on Ash as he approached the men at the gate. The men raised their guns and pointed them at Ash.
"Halt! Who goes there?" the first guard yelled as Ash held his hands up.
"I'm, uh, a new recruit." Ash said, a chuckle lacing his words. "I saw Koga's announcement on TV about a week or two ago and I was really interested in his offer. So I asked a friend of mine who was planning on joining you guys and figured out the location." The two guards looked at each other a moment, lowering their guns.
"It's true, we always need more help." the second guard said. The first guard nodded in agreement.
"All right, we'll let you in to meet the boss." Ash smiled at them as they turned towards the door. "By the way, you look awfully familiar."
"Oh, I get that all the time. A lot of mothers mistake me for their sons." Ash said with a laugh. The guards laughed along with him before Ash's smile hardened into a smirk. With two deft movements Ash had tossed an aura sphere at both of them, knocking them out. "Come on!"
"That would be our cue." With three flashes of light, Croagunk, Gyarados, and Empoleon appeared, their three trainers running towards Ash. "Couldn't you have waited till they opened the door?"
"No. Then we wouldn't have the element of surprise." Ash said with a grin as he changed his hair back to black and Misty rolled her eyes.
"And how on earth do you expect us to get in, genius?" Misty yelled out, knowing that by now they had already attracted all of the attention to them.
"Oooh…yeah…" Ash said with a sheepish grin. He quickly turned towards the door. "Okay, need a way in, need a way in, where's the way in?"
"You are helpless." Misty said with a shake of her head. Ash smirked. He thrust both of his hands forward and sent aura straight into the door. It quickly ate through the metal and made an opening for all of them to get through.
"Found it!" Ash exclaimed, quickly summoning his sword. "Let's move." A second later he and Pikachu had jumped inside the building. His three friends followed immediately after. As soon as they stepped inside they heard a blaring alarm going and numerous sounds above them that could only be footsteps.
"Ash, we don't have a lot of time here." Brock said and Ash scowled.
"I know. But we gotta find them." Ash said and Brock nodded.
"They'll probably be close to Koga." Brock answered and Ash smirked. He gave his friend a quick thumbs up before he began running down the hallway. The three trainers quickly went after him. Ash skidded to a stop as a number of men with guns came towards him in the hallway.
"Pikachu, Thunderbolt now!" Ash ordered. Pikachu leapt forward and sent a streak of lightning at the men. It immediately made contact, causing the whole group to collapse. Ash quickly stepped over them, Brock straight behind him. "I think we need to cut through, huh?" Ash tossed an aura sphere to the side, cutting through the wall. He motioned for all of his friends to get inside and they quickly obeyed just as another group of guns came running down the hallway. "Take a break guys!" Ash shot an aura sphere at the ceiling. Chunks of the floor above suddenly fell in front of them, blocking their access. Ash slipped into the room, joining his friends in the other hallway.
"Gyarados, Hyper Beam!" Misty ordered and her faithful Pokemon shot a powerful beam down the hall. A number of men evaded it, but those unlucky enough to get caught in the blast were quickly rendered unconscious. The other men quickly formed ranks and began shooting at the group. Ash brought his shield up and around the group, the bullets bouncing off of it harmlessly.
"We can't keep it up this way forever. Can any of you get rid of them, if only for a little bit?" Ash said and Kenny nodded.
"I can." Ash smiled and lowered his shield. "Empoleon, Hydro Pump!" Empoleon shot out a massive jet of water that peppered the men in the corridor, quickly washing them out. Without missing a beat, the four took off down the opposite end. More men were beginning to move into position.
"We can't do anything like this!" Ash growled. "We need to find Dawn and the others."
"I'll take care of it." Misty said quickly and Brock offered to help her.
"All right, we'll keep you covered. Go!" Ash ordered and Misty and Brock took off. Pikachu and Empoleon sent presents of electricity and water at the men that were mobilizing as they followed Misty and Brock down the halls.
"We got a computer!" Misty announced and Ash nodded, focusing his attention on the battle in front of him. Misty quickly began typing things in.
"You know how to do this?" Brock asked and Misty smiled a little.
"Not really, but at a basic level, yes. Hmm, for fortress security they have absolutely no passwords." Misty commented. "Probably didn't expect anyone to get this far. Now let's see…ah, here we are. Two floors up and on the other end of the fortress."
"Let's go!" The two quickly dashed back over to Ash who was now flinging aura spheres at their opponents. "Ash, ceiling now!" Ash aimed his hand upward and punched a hole through the ceiling.
"Going up?" Misty said with a smirk as Gyarados raised itself. Ash quickly climbed on and up. Everyone followed in suit before Gyarados quickly brought itself up to their level. Misty scanned around the room and noticed stairs. "I think we can use those." The four quickly began another mad dash toward the stairs. More footsteps were heard as Misty and Kenny began bounding up the stairs. Ash and Brock quickly turned around to see a new group of men approaching.
"Thunderbolt!"
"Poison Sting!" Both Pokemon reacted instantly, as they peppered the opposing side. As soon as both of their trainers reached the top steps they bounded after them. When they emerged from the stairwell they scanned the hallway and found a door at the end.
"That's it, Ash." Misty said. Ash nodded as they ran down the hallway. Ash sent an aura sphere at the door, slamming through it and opening it to them. Within a second they found themselves inside the room.
"All right, where are they?" Ash asked before s light giggle was heard.
"Not too bad…Misty." Misty's breath hitched in her throat as she turned toward the owner of the voice who was sitting on a balcony above them, lazily looking down on them.
"Janine…" Misty seethed, a venomous glare being sent at the former Fuschia gym leader. "So, you were expecting us?"
"I was expecting you to make it here when I saw you on the surveillance monitor." Janine said. "Oh, don't worry Misty, they won't come up here. They've already been given express orders to let me deal with all of you."
"Let our friends go." Ash said with an angry tone and Janine laughed loudly.
"Yeah, right. Like that's going to happen. We didn't build this fortress just to hand them over to you." Janine said, taking a pokeball out of her pocket and twirling it around on her finger.
"So, you built this place just to keep them prisoner?" Brock asked, his face twisted into a scowl.
"Oh please, that would be useless. We built it for many more reasons than that…of course, you had to come and ruin everything especially after we've been building this thing for almost a month now. Although, it was quite easy when you have so many people willing to work for you." Janine said with a smirk.
"Janine, you used to be a good gym leader. Now…you're just a coward." Misty said with a snarl. Janine waved her hand in front of her face as if tossing the issue aside.
"Save me the sermon Misty. You're here now, in our grasp, so all you have to do is-"
"Gyarados, Hyper Beam!" Misty ordered and her Pokemon sent an orange beam straight at Janine. Janine's eyes widened as she flipped out of the way, tossing three pokeballs into the air with a scowl. In a moment, Weezing, Venemoth and Crobat and emerged. "Weezing's mine."
"I'll take Venemoth." Kenny said with a scowl.
"That leaves Crobat for you and me, Brocko." Ash said with a smirk and Brock nodded, the both of them facing their target with their Pokemon in front of them. Misty was already engaging Weezing with her Gyarados. Gyarados sent a torrent of water at Weezing who responded with a well-timed Sludge Bomb. The two attacks collided and ricocheted off of one another. Without any hesitation, Gyarados' tail came whipping around and slammed into Weezing's side, disorienting the Pokemon. In another part of the room, Kenny's Empoleon was dueling with Venemoth. Venemoth quickly evaded each and every Metal Claw sent its way before quickly executing a Bug Buzz. Ash turned his own attention back towards their battle.
"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Ash ordered and Brock ordered a Poison Sting from Croagunk. Crobat instantly utilized its speed and darted out of range. It whipped its wing towards the Pokemon, sending a flurry of wind that caused the small Pokemon to shield themselves. Ash was unfazed by the move and quickly tossed a barrage of aura spheres at the elusive Pokemon. However, Crobat managed to evade them all. "Brock, we need to get one of our Pokemon up there. It's the only way we'll be able to effectively hit Crobat."
"Agreed." Brock replied. "Croagunk, pick Pikachu up and toss him at Crobat." Croagunk nodded curtly and Pikachu braced itself. Croagunk quickly grabbed the electric mouse's legs and began spinning around before letting go sharply.
"Pikachu, spin!" Ash yelled and Pikachu started twisting its body around, getting it quickly into an elegant spin. Crobat flew out of the way of Pikachu's spin before Ash smirked. "Now, Counter Shield!" Pikachu began immediately sending electric sparks all over the place. Crobat immediately caught in the shower of bolts as Pikachu came out of its spin, Ash issuing his next command. Pikachu immediately lunged at Crobat and came down on top of the Pokemon with a powerful Iron Tail before flipping off, beginning his descent towards the ground. Crobat quickly recovered and dove at the slowly descending Pokemon, its fangs glowing with a purple color. Ash warned Pikachu to get out of the way before Croagunk joined back in with a Brick Break at Crobat. The attack barely hit Crobat but the force was enough to make it flinch and back off of its attack. Pikachu landed on the ground safely before Ash assessed the situation.
"What now, Ash? Crobat's not out of the fight yet." Brock said, glaring at the flying Pokemon with his own venom. Ash's brow creased in thought as he looked at the three combatants.
"Brick Break Pikachu into the air." Ash said and Brock nodded. Pikachu quickly slipped onto its tail and launched itself into the air as Croagunk came up behind it and hit Pikachu with a Brick break. Pikachu braced for the momentum and was sent forward before launching itself into a Volt Tackle. Just as Pikachu approached Crobat, Pikachu launched an Iron Tail, hitting Crobat right on the head. The flying Pokemon faltered and eventually fell to the ground, unconscious, as Pikachu landed gracefully next to Croagunk. Ash and Brock turned their head to the other two battles going on.
"I call Venemoth." Brock said and Ash nodded, quickly running over to Misty with Pikachu in tow. Brock and Croagunk approached Kenny and immediately joined the battle. "Kenny, does your Empoleon know Ice Beam?"
"No…but I taught it Aqua Jet, would that help?" Kenny asked and Brock nodded confidently.
"Yeah…order Empoleon to use Aqua Jet. Then will hit it with everything we've got!" Kenny nodded and instantly ordered an Aqua Jet. As soon as Empoleon started moving, Croagunk hopped on the Pokemon's back as the two went sailing towards Venemoth. Venemoth sent a Signal Beam at Croagunk but he leapt off of Empoleon at that moment, bringing a Brick Break down on Venemoth. Empoleon then slammed into Venemoth with Aqua Jet before breaking out and slashing at the Pokemon with Metal Claw. Venemoth soon joined Crobat.
Weezing itself wasn't far behind its companions as Pikachu and Gyarados were bombarding the Pokemon with electric and water attacks. Weezing eventually decided to get itself lost in smoke and popped out a Smokescreen. Ash and Misty smirked as Gyarados roared out a Flamethrower and Pikachu added electricity to the toxic cloud. Within moments, the two Pokemon were safely away as the gas combusted, leaving Weezing dazed and confused as an Iron Tail and Aqua Tail connected with it. With Janine's Pokemon down, they turned to face her.
"Useless…" Janine growled out before reaching into her pocket for yet another pokeball. She was about to toss it when another hand stopped her. A hand that belonged to her father, Koga. "Father!"
"Janine, do you not remember the plan?" Koga asked quietly and Janine hung her head.
"Of course I do, father, but I-" Janine began, attempting to argue with her father.
"Then see to it." Koga instructed as he let go of his daughter's hand. She bowed to him before returning her Pokemon and leaping away into the shadows. Koga turned to face the group now at his feet. Ash had a scowl cross his face as he took a step forward, his sword held out.
"Koga, let Dawn, May, and Max go!" Ash ordered loudly and Koga sighed.
"I'm afraid I can't do that." Koga responded calmly. "They are the bait, you see. The bait to lure the Chosen One out of hiding."
"What?" Misty screamed. "You mean, this was a trap all along?"
"Of course, dear child, what else would it be? I had anticipated you would come to rescue your friends. Did you not notice the ease with which you arrived here: no password, the information readily available. What you believed to be luck was a deliberate machination on my part." Koga responded, a smirk on his face.
"And what exactly do you want with Ash?" Brock demanded as Koga chuckled.
"The Chosen One is a resource to be used. Whoever controls him, controls the world. So we laid out the bait, and he bit." Koga told them. "Now, you are here Ash, to join me in my quest."
"I have no plan of joining you!" Ash roared out with a snarl. "You want to hurt Pokemon. Whether they want to destroy us or not, I can't allow that!"
"Pokemon? You think those creatures are Pokemon?" Koga yelled out angrily before composing himself. "No, they are an entirely different class. They are legendaries, not Pokemon."
"I don't care what you call them, you still want to hurt innocent people and Pokemon just to end this war. I won't allow it!" Ash stated and Koga stared at him pointedly, deliberately choosing his next words.
"No, they are not innocent. The legendaries are a threat to each and every one of our citizens. tell me, Chosen One, do you really think their lives are worth more than ours?" Koga spread his arms for dramatic effect at this point.
"I-" Ash began to say before thinking. The legendaries were threats to the people…but did that mean they deserved to be exterminated.
"I thought not." Koga stated with a smirk and Ash suddenly snapped his gaze to Koga.
"Threat or not, killing them is going too far. I made a vow I would never kill a person or a Pokemon and I'm not doing it now. I won't help you win the war your way!" Ash yelled out and Koga laughed loudly, turning away from Ash for a moment. An instant later however, he had whipped around.
"You think this about the war? No!" Koga exclaimed emphatically. "This is about what happens after the war. The Pokemon League is but a dying branch of government. They are unfit to rule and so, when the war is over and our side emerges victorious, we will pick up the pieces and build this world for ourselves. No more will we be strung up by invisible strings. We will be our own men! With our own laws!" Ash took a step back, alarmed by Koga's now passionate tone. "And you, Ash Ketchum, may be offered a seat at our side if you join us!"
"You're crazy!" Ash yelled. "The Pokemon League is stronger than you guys. They won't fall apart so easily!"
"Then how is it that they cannot bear up under the pressure presented to them? Answer me that, Chosen One!" Koga demanded of him and Ash growled. "You cannot. because they are not."
"I don't care about your politics…" Kenny breathed out and all eyes in the room snapped toward him. "Just let Dawn go!"
"Kenny, no!" Brock warned the young trainer as he and Empoleon ran at Koga. Empoleon leapt at Koga and with one swift movement Koga knocked him to the ground.
"I see that we cannot resolve this easily." Koga a stated with a scowl, drawing out two pokeballs of his own. "Then we shall have to resolve this by force." He quickly tossed them both and Skunktank and Swalot emerged. "Go!"
"Pikachu, help them out! Koga's mine." Ash said with a scowl. Before his Pokemon partner could respond, Ash quickly set off for the low balcony. He quickly jumped and grabbed ahold of the railing. Koga took a swipe at him with his feet but Ash managed to swing his body out of the ninja's way and came to land on his own two feet.
"Impressive." Koga said with a smirk. "But now, it's my turn." Koga lunged forward as Ash dodged out of the way, swinging his sword at the fleeting ninja. Koga easily avoided the blade. Ash summoned a ring of aura spheres around his body and sent them all flying at Koga. Koga flipped out of the way and ran along the wall before landing solidly and swiping his hand through the last one. Ash's eyes widened as Koga crouched and dashed towards him again. Ash held his sword up and Koga's fist glanced off before Koga went low and tried to trip Ash with a kick. Ash saw it coming and leapt to the air, clumsily landing on his feet. As soon as he was stable, Ash took a haphazard swing with his sword. The attack completely missed its mark but Ash kept swinging as he took steps forward. Koga easily evaded each and every one of the sword strokes. Ash growled loudly as his attack missed again. Koga darted forward and pressed two fingers to the bridge of Ash's nose. Ash went flying backwards and landed on his back. Koga quickly descended from above.
With alacrity, Ash rolled out of the way as Koga's fist slammed into the metal surface, although he appeared to take no damage. Ash flipped back up onto his feet and tossed his sword at Koga. Koga held two fingers out, quickly catching the weapon. Ash smirked and sent an aura sphere at the ninja who twisted the sword into his hands to parry the blow. Ash twitched his fingers and the sword disappeared from Koga's hands, reappearing in his own. Koga's eyes widened as the sphere hit him, knocking him off the balcony. Ash quickly leapt down after him and swiped at him once again. Koga wasn't so lucky this time and the sword nicked his shoulder. He grunted in pain before glaring at Ash.
"Another time, then, Chosen One!" Koga said with a wicked smirk before tossing smoke pellets onto the ground. Ash dashed forward, but when he reached Koga's position both the trainer and his Pokemon were gone.
"He got away!" Ash said loudly, kicking at the ground. Kenny ran past him and started climbing the stairs that led to the balcony.
"Who cares, we gotta save Dawn!" Kenny yelled and Ash quickly dismissed his sword. Misty and Brock quickly went after him as they entered the room beyond the balcony.
"The alarm stopped going." Brock remarked and Ash's brow creased in confusion. Had Koga and his entire group left the facility simply because they broke in? Ash pushed the thought away as he used an Aura Sphere to jam straight through the door where May and Max were sitting upright, staring at the entrance, and Dawn was unconscious.
"Ash, you're here!" May yelled out.
"You shouldn't have come!" Max protested. "It's a trap!"
"We know." Brock said. "We already took care of Koga. What's wrong with Dawn?"
"I think they gave her too much sedative." Max said, adjusting his glasses. "They gave us sedative too, so, we can't really move our legs. We just regained consciousness. Can you help us?"
"Yeah." Brock responded as he and Misty went to help the two of them. Ash bent down and picked dawn up lightly. She stirred slightly.
"Ash…?" Dawn mumbled out and Ash smiled.
"Yup, we're here. Come on, Dawn." Ash said before Dawn lulled off again. Ash put Dawn's arm around his shoulders and he began to drag her out, unaware of the venomous glare being sent at him from behind.
Author's Note: This took a lot of work considering most of the chapter was action. Which, by the way, I fooled all of you. Many of you thought it was the legendaries that took Ash's friends. Now, you see, it is Koga for the purposes stated above. The story is heating up, especially now that we've established Koga as a true antagonist. As a note, I got inspiration for Koga's speech from the track "Lost Hope" on the Final Fantasy XIII soundtrack, a great soundtrack I might add. I hope you enjoyed the battles. Next chapter will be shorter since it's a little something that doesn't fit in anywhere else but is important for future chapters. On another note, I was very disappointed in reviews last chapter since only six people reviewed which was down by about a third from the last chapter. I know everyone's busy but, I take the time to write so can you PLEASE take the time to review. I'll beg if I have to…and I really don't want to. Anyway, in the meantime, REVIEW and Dare to Be Silly.