A/N: Sorry for leaving you so long on a cliffhanger! This chapter is the first half of the finale. There are still some edits to be made, but I'm posting what I have now in the hopes that reviews may help me get past my block on finishing the last bit of the Amazon Lily Arc.

My apologies for the delay with all my stories – not just this one – over the past year, and I hope to remedy that in the next six months now that my schedule has opened up. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or One Piece

Chapter 8: The Guardians of the Mountain

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Team Rocket's screams mingled as they hurtled through the air. Amazon Lily stretched out beneath them, the lush jungle broken here and there by streams and the occasional rocky ledge. It was quite beautiful, James had to admit, but he wasn't really in the mood to admire the scenery.

The trees grew larger as gravity did its work. James caught a glimpse of a mountain in the distance, with a pinkish glint at the summit, before turning his attention to the pressing issue of not dying on impact.

"Come on out, Weezing!" he called, releasing his buoyant Pokémon before he and his partner crashed into the lush green canopy. The tops of the trees looked soft and inviting, sure, but he didn't like the thought of crashing through all that green and impaling himself on a branch or getting tangled up in a vine. Weezing emerged from its Pokéball just in time, a giant purple balloon (or trio of balloons, really) floating just above the treetops.

Weezing let out a pained grunt when Jessie and James landed on its purple hide. Its body compressed with their weight, inadvertently venting dark smoke from its many gas vents. Jessie and James bounced back into the air as if propelled by a trampoline. The reversal slowed their descent when they came down again, enough to allow them to locate and catch hold of sturdy branches in their path.

"Whew," James breathed, as his heart rate began to normalize. "That was close." Weezing floated over to him, a long-suffering look on all three of the Gas Pokémon's faces. "I know, I know," James said apologetically. "And I'm sorry for treating you like an emergency trampoline." Weezing huffed at him – clearly he would have to grovel a bit before his Pokémon forgave him.

Jessie let out a shaky chuckle. "You know, that's the first time we've done that – blasted off, I mean – since we came to this world. Good thing we haven't lost our touch."

"It's like riding a bike," James grinned, as he shimmied along his tree branch to get closer to the trunk. "Only, you know… completely different."

Jessie began making her way to the jungle floor. James recalled his Weezing, while Jessie brought out Arbok. The serpent Pokémon was much more at home in their current environment than the floating ball of poison gas. "Take a look around," Jessie ordered her strongest Pokémon, "but stay close. We'll need you if we run into any wild Pokémon."

Arbok disappeared with liquid grace, melting into the jungle like a wraith. James was very grateful it was on their side. Arbok had a certain intimidating presence that Ekans had never quite managed to pull off... maybe it was the larger hood. Or possibly the fangs.

Two minutes and a few pratfalls later, Jessie and James were once again standing on firm ground. "I've missed you," James whispered, leaning down and pretending to kiss the earth. "I will not willingly leave you again."

"Stop messing around," Jessie snapped. "We're lost, separated from our crew, and we've got two Pokémon and one rifle between the two of us. Is it too much to ask for a little focus?"

James straightened up immediately and nodded apologetically. "Sorry. I joke around when a situation's spiraling out of control, you know that."

"Well, don't! Ash and the others aren't around to pull our bacon out of the fire, so I need to know you've got your head on straight."

James began to snap a mock salute, then caught himself and slapped his hand. "Reflex… sorry. So what's our next move?"

Jessie scanned the jungle around them. The trees didn't grow very close together, but it was certainly no clearing. To get anywhere they would have to trek through the jungle, bushwhacking all the way. Visibility ended abruptly mere yards away, and any number of creatures could be hiding nearby, waiting to strike.

"We have to rejoin the crew," Jessie declared, shouldering the sniper rifle. "We could try to go back the way we came, but there's no guarantee they'll stay where they are. In a jungle like this, we could search for each other for weeks with no luck."

"So what should we do?"

"I think Ash will continue towards the mountain. It's the largest mountain around, so it acts as a natural landmark. And since that's where we're supposed to go anyway, it's the one place we know Ash will end up."

"Sounds reasonable," James agreed. "I happened to see the mountain while we were flying through the air. It's that way-" he pointed in the direction he remembered. "Should we go?"

"No use waiting around here. Arbok will scout for us and help us avoid any wild Pokémon. I hope we don't run into another Rhyhorn herd…"

James threw a few mock punches at an imaginary Rhyhorn. "Speak for yourself! I'm still pissed off about those big bullies and how they treated that baby Aron. They show so much as a horn around me and I'll shove it up their-"

A distant cry filtered through the trees, the eerie call of some predator in search of prey. James screeched and jumped into Jessie's arms. She snorted and dropped him ignominiously. "Let's go."

The first hour was actually quite pleasant, minus the occasional goosebump-inducing noises. James enjoyed the solitude, which had grown increasingly rare since joining up with Ash and his gang of do-gooders. But as the hours stretched on, the dense overgrowth began to feel a bit oppressive. And when the last of the light began to go, replaced by thick shadows that could have swallowed James whole (and, he fancied, rather looked like they wanted to), the experience decidedly became one that he could do without.

"Are we there yet?" he whispered, shifting nervously when another unidentified animal cry sounded in the distance.

"Shut up," Jessie replied wearily, and not for the first time. But after walking for a few minutes more, they agreed that it would not do them any good to keep marching at night.

Setting up camp, at least, was a familiar ritual that they had carried out dozens of times back in Kanto. They had slept in many less comfortable places than the jungle floor, that was certain.

James soon had a makeshift tent of two blankets that he propped up with sticks. It was barely big enough for two, but the nighttime chill made it necessary to keep close together for warmth anyway. James certainly wasn't about to complain.

Just before dropping off to sleep, James spared a thought for the third member of their team.

It feels weird without Meowth here… I wonder how the little furball is doing? We could have used him here, since his senses are so sharp. Well, at least we have Weezing and Arbok. They won't let any wild Pokémon get close…

James drifted off to sleep, secure in the knowledge that they were in good hands. When he awoke the next morning, a strange Pokémon was levitating mere feet away, at the entrance to his makeshift tent.

"GAH!"

James woke Jessie with his shout as he looked around for the sniper rifle. It was propped up against the nearest tree – completely useless.

"Peace, human," said a voice in his mind. "We mean you no harm."

The Pokémon floating near his head backed away, allowing James to get a better look at it. It was shaped like a crescent moon made out of rock, with eyes that shone with an inscrutable intelligence.

A few feet away there was another floating Rock Pokémon, this one composed of pockmarked orange stone with spiky projectiles sticking out of its spherical body. Directly beneath it were Arbok and Weezing. Team Rocket's Pokémon were draped over each other, snoring like anything.

Some bodyguards, James thought bitterly. Nailed by a Hypnosis attack like a bunch of rookies.

"Wait a second," James said, turning back to the moon-shaped Pokémon. "Did you just speak, uh… without speaking?"

"I did," the voice came again, and this time there was no doubt – the Pokémon even tilted forward in midair, in an awkward version of a nod. "I am Lunatone. My companion is Solrock. We have been searching for you."

Jessie stood up warily, looking from her unconscious Pokémon to Lunatone. "Why us? And how did you know we were here?"

Lunatone was hardly the most expressive of Pokémon, but it "spoke" with more impatience. "We are Psychics, privileged to read the currents of time. There is a great peril growing on this island, and we may not be in time to stop it. Your crew is in danger – we must not waste time!"

"Ash and the others are in trouble?" James yelped. He scrambled to roll up the blankets and prepare to march. "There's no time to lose!"

"Precisely," Lunatone replied.

"You're a gullible idiot, James," Jessie snapped impatiently. "And I'm not convinced of any of this. But I'll humor you two for now, at least until you explain exactly how you knew about our crew."

"I will explain on the way," Lunatone's mental voice was definitely impatient now. "The critical moment approaches. Once it has passed, it will be too late – the Water Maiden will be lost, and a great evil will be unleashed upon this world!"

"Ok, you crazy floating chunk of rock," Jessie muttered. Despite her cynical words, she moved quickly enough to gather the sniper rifle and recall Arbok to its Pokéball.

"Where are we going?" James asked. After checking the mark he'd made the night before to fix the direction of the mountain, he knew that their mysterious guides were leading them in a new direction.

"You'll find out when we get there."

"Great," James griped to Jessie, as they scrambled after Lunatone and Solrock. "A psychic rock that sounds like my mother."

oOoOo

Since coming to this new world Ash had ordered his Pokémon to kill. He had angered a government that, according to Red Leg Zeff, ruled practically the entire world. He had come face-to-face with warriors who laughed at human limitations and machines capable of neutralizing a Hyper Beam. With his friends at his side, he had never failed to meet each new challenge.

But he had never felt this hopeless. Misty's life was in the hands of a heartless monster, and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. He had no doubt that Hawkins would die under Charizard's claws even easier than a Pacifista, but that simply wasn't an option while Misty was in the captain's power. Now Ash's crew was scattered, his friends in need, and he couldn't do a damned thing about it.

"Steady there!" shouted one of Hawkins' goons, his rifle trained on Ash. The pirate captain had left four of his men to watch Ash, Gary, and Brock. Four men! Four! Brock could have taken them apart with his bare hands, but Ash didn't dare give the order. Not with Misty's life at stake.

How do I possibly turn this around?

"You won't shoot us," Ash said, more calmly than he felt. He leveled a direct stare at the leader of Hawkins' thugs – it was the same stare he used when Charizard was being difficult, and he had the muted pleasure of seeing the man back up a step.

"Oh yeah?" his captor blustered, angry about being made to look foolish in front of his comrades.

Not that they don't already look foolish, Ash reflected. Mysticism seemed to be the theme of the Hawkins' pirates, and his four captors wore mismatched robes, talismans, and even face paint from a half dozen different religions.

"It's only because of Captain Hawkins' orders that you're still living!" the would-be monk said, holding his rifle even tighter.

Ash was actually kind of impressed by the pirate's bravery, since he had seen some of what his Pokémon could do and still had the guts to threaten Ash. "Let's get one thing straight," Ash declared. "Your life is in my hands. If not for the fact that your captain has one of my crew captive, my pet monsters would already be gnawing on your insides. If you so much as think about pulling that trigger, my patience will run out."

The pirate aiming at Gary was shaking by now. He'd seen the swordsman in motion, and even though he trusted his captain, Hawkins wasn't here right now. This crew was dangerous – their bounties, astronomical for a crew from the East Blue, testified to that. "Come on, Pavel," he shouted nervously. "Let's just kill them!"

"Please," Gary whispered, feeling Doublade's arm-scarves tense, the blades readying themselves for a fight. "Try it. I'm begging you."

"Do not fire!" Pavel ordered, not moving his eyes from Ash. "That's an order, Vernius! Captain said not to shoot unless they tried to escape."

"You seem to trust your captain quite a lot," Ash said, deliberately casual. "But he can't value your lives that much, if he left you behind like this."

"You shut up," Pavel gestured vehemently with the rifle. The cowl of his robe fell back to reveal a bald head covered with a rosary tattoo. "Captain Hawkins is the greatest pirate in the world! He can see the future. Everything he does is for a reason." His eyes lit with fanatic zeal. "He will become the Pirate King!"

Gary spat to one side. "We're wasting time, Ash! Who knows what that trash could be doing to Misty?!"

"Q- quiet!" his captor, Vernius, stuttered.

Gary turned slowly, his sneer cranked up to maximum. "Yeah? You gonna make me? Boo!"

Before Ash could say anything, Gary feinted forward a half-step. The crack of a rifle shot echoed loudly in the air.

Ash's senses, already heightened by the tension of the situation, strained to keep track of the ensuing action. The first bullet pinged off Gary's crossed blades. The pirate aiming at Meowth cried out in pain as the bullet ricocheted into his leg. It was either a colossal coincidence or the conscious direction of Doublade. The injured pirate lost his grip on his rifle, which fired uselessly into the air.

Brock's pirate managed to get off a clean shot, but his bullet only tore another hole in Brock's much-abused jacket before bouncing off his hardened skin. Brock's follow-up throw sent a Pokéball at the pirate, out of which came a fast-moving and very angry Graveler. The pirate went down after a single punch.

Meowth and Pikachu moved as one, becoming mere streaks of white and yellow. Meowth's Agility attack brought him closer to Vernius, the twitchy pirate whose bullet had started the brawl. Meowth's Screech caught him at close range, forcing him to drop his rifle and clap his hands to his lacerated eardrums. Graveler took care of the rest, dropping him like a sack of flour.

As for Pikachu, the electric mouse Pokémon shot off a Thundershock as soon as it was clear of Ash. Pavel, the last of the pirates still standing, dropped immediately after. However, he had managed to get off one shot before Pikachu's attack, and his choice of targets was better than either of his comrades'. Ash hissed as a line of fire sliced through the outside of his arm.

He cried out, more from surprise than pain, and clapped a hand to his wound. He didn't feel a thing after the initial sensation, the adrenaline pumping through his system leaving no room for something as trivial as pain.

Brock and Gary were by his side in an instant. "Are you ok, Ash?" Brock asked, reaching to take a look at his captain's wound. Ash hit his hand aside.

"I'm fine. But thanks to Gary, Misty might not be."

Gary had the grace to look ashamed. "I'm sorry, Ash – I just didn't want to sit there while they got farther away. It was wrong, I know. I should have controlled myself."

"Damn right," Ash spat. "But it's too late. There's no reason for Captain Hawkins to honor the deal now, whether or not he ever meant to in the first place. If we want Misty to come out of this alive, we have to save her ourselves."

"How?" Brock asked, as Graveler returned to his side. The Boulder Pokémon had taken the liberty of smashing each one of the pirates' rifles, as well as knocking out the pirate who'd been hit by Gary's reflected bullet. Brock quietly offered Ash a bandage from his ever-present satchel, which Ash wrapped around his arm and pulled tight with his teeth. It would do, for now. Until Misty was safe.

"I have a plan," Ash replied. "It's not much of one, but it's all we've got at the moment." He let out Pidgeotto and Bulbasaur, as they were his best hope for neutralizing Hawkins' mysterious ability. "Fly up above the clouds," he instructed them. "We'll circle around and climb the mountain from the other side, to avoid any sentries Hawkins may have left behind. We'll only have one chance to surprise him, so be careful. When I start the attack, Pidgeotto, begin your dive. Bulbasaur, you nail Hawkins with Paralyze Powder. No mistakes, ok? Misty's life depends on it!"

The plant Pokémon nodded seriously, then leapt onto Pidgeotto's back and anchored itself with one vine around the bird Pokémon's strong neck. Pidgeotto took flight and winged away towards the jungle, where it would ascend out of sight of any pirates on the mountain.

"What are you waiting for?" Ash snapped at Gary and Brock. His worry for Misty was making him short-tempered, and he reminded himself that he had to keep a cool head. "Let's go!"

The three set off at a brisk jog back down the mountain. They kept the pace up as they circled around, looking for another path they could use to ascend to the summit. It only took them a few minutes to find another path, this one smaller than the first and littered with scrub and loose boulders.

They changed to a fast walk as they began to climb, because the inclination would tire them out too quickly if they tried to run. They would be no use to Misty if they collapsed from exhaustion halfway up the mountain.

Ash was about to pass by a man-sized boulder next to the trail when a shadow flashed by in his peripheral vision. He ducked away, just missing a greenish-gray form that had aimed for his head.

"What the-" Ash turned, taking in the sight of a young Larvitar that landed on the trail behind him. It spun immediately and launched itself at Ash again. Ash ducked, and his miniscule attacker accidentally bit down on the large boulder instead.

"We don't have time for this," Ash snapped. "Pikachu!"

Pikachu leapt from his shoulder and knocked Larvitar flat with a well-placed Iron Tail attack. Pikachu had developed this attack when sparring with Brock's Graveler on the Marine ship – it was Pikachu's most effective move against Pokémon that weren't affected greatly by electricity.

Larvitar was knocked out instantly, rolling several feet away by the time Brock and Gary caught up to Ash. Ash was about to continue climbing, when he thought better of it and threw a Pokéball at Larvitar. It twitched once before falling still, and Ash added it to his belt.

"I know you're the Rock trainer," Ash said to Brock, "but the little terror was trying to bite my head off."

"No arguments here," Brock said mildly. "I already caught a few Pokémon, remember?"

They kept climbing, all three of them determined to reach the summit in time to do whatever they could to help Misty. As they went higher the landscape changed, with more and more rocks appearing to litter the mountain path. The soil itself grew rockier, until in many places the trio of Trainers were forced to clamber over rocky beds with poor footing.

"I think we're getting close," Ash said, after almost an hour of climbing. They were far above the rest of the island, and they could see out over the jungle. The mountain rose up ahead of them, but Ash could see a rocky cliff face about a half mile away. Once they climbed it, he thought, they would find the summit.

The last obstacle before the cliff face was a stream that cut through the path and wended horizontally around the mountain out of sight. It was small enough to wade across, but that wasn't the problem.

The problem was the two Pokémon standing side-by-side in front of the stream, each standing a head taller than Brock. Ash recognized the Pokémon from historical specials on television, the ones that talked about the Pokémon of previous ages. They were staring down a Kabutops and an Omastar, Pokémon that had supposedly gone extinct thousands of years ago.

"What should we do, Ash?" Brock asked, readying a Pokéball.

"I don't fancy trying to get around them," Gary added. "We still have to scale that cliff face, and they don't look like they'll let us have an easy time with it. But we might not have much time to waste here, either."

"They look strong," Ash said, sizing up the ancient Pokémon. It was true – the Kabutops was covered in rocky armor and bore blades longer than Doublade along its arms, while Omastar was a hulking monster with a nasty glint in its eyes. "Gary, do you mind lending me your Fearow? I'll fly up and bring Meowth to translate – if Misty needs help fast, I'll be able to see it and intervene. You two use your Pokémon and take these fossils out as fast as possible. Got it?"

Gary and Brock nodded as one. "Understood," Brock said. "Don't wait around, Ash. If there are Pokémon waiting here, there might be more up on the summit. If Hawkins walks into a trap, Misty will be in real danger!"

Ash controlled the reaction that thought had on him and leapt onto Gary's Fearow, which had materialized from its Pokéball. Meowth latched onto one shoulder, while Pikachu took the other.

Ash was not feeling particularly optimistic about the fight ahead. Misty and the Amazons were still hostages, hostile Pokémon might be lying in wait, and Ash still only had a seriously half-baked plan for taking out Hawkins. But waiting around only increased the chance that Misty might get hurt – and that was simply not an option.

Hang on, Misty. We're coming!

oOoOo

Many people, when kidnapped by pirates, would be afraid. The vast majority, when kidnapped by pirates and trapped in a demonic ritual that could kill them any moment, would be utterly terrified. Misty was just pissed off.

I am NOT some useless damsel in distress! Misty raged inwardly. I do the saving, thank you very much!

Yet here she was, slung over some pirate's shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Her Pokéballs were in a leather sack carried by another pirate, and even if Misty had access to them she couldn't attack. Hawkins still had his voodoo connection to her and the three Amazon warriors, so unleashing Gyarados and sending this motley collection of would-be mystics back to Hell would have to remain a pleasant daydream.

For now… Ash will figure something out to break Hawkins' hold over us, and then we'll finish him.

But then Misty realized the direction her thoughts were going and snorted in self-disgust. Ash was her captain and she trusted him more than anyone in the world, but hoping for him to fix everything was unproductive and stupid.

Misty had learned quite a bit during her short stint as Gym Leader of Cerulean, and foremost among those lessons was that no one solved your problems for you. She'd faced her share of challengers, politicians, and greedy businessmen who wanted to get their hands on the profits generated by the Gym. Sometimes you found allies, but you never relied on them too much. That was the first step to disaster.

So it worried Misty, in light of the dangers she had passed, that one of her first thoughts was after entering this unfortunate situation was: "Ash will fix it."

He'll damn well try… but he shouldn't have to.

Misty set herself to scan her surroundings and evaluate the situation. She might be powerless now, but that might change. There might be some way to use her knowledge or her skills to her advantage. She was not a hostage – she was a prisoner of war merely waiting for the chance to escape.

That's right… repeat it enough and you might even start to believe it.

In spite of Misty's determination to be prepared for anything, her unique situation made it rather difficult to see anything useful. Since she was currently being carried bridal-style by a burly pirate, she could only see the rocky path they were currently running up. If she craned her head up she could see the slower pirates following behind, but every time she tried her captor shook her roughly to remind her to keep still.

Hawkins' men seemed remarkably disciplined, for a pirate crew. They kept a fast pace up a fairly steep trail, without so much as a single complaint. Perhaps it was the promise of treasure at the summit that kept them motivated, but Misty thought it was more likely the devotion they felt for their captain. With his strange abilities, unquestionable strength and mystical air, he probably had little trouble inspiring superstitious men.

Misty only hoped that she had a chance to show these pirates that their idol was only human, preferably by having Gyarados chomp him into itty-bitty pieces.

Easy there, she cautioned herself. Don't put the cart before the Tauros.

"Halt!" Captain Hawkins' voice sounded in the crisp air, calm and assured. The pirate holding Misty stopped so quickly the whiplash propelled her nose-first into the sweat-stained robe sticking to his back. Blech!

The other pirates came to a stop as well, awaiting their captain's orders.

"We're close to the summit," came Hawkins' rich baritone. "I don't know what lies waiting, but the treasure will be guarded. We shall face fierce opposition, have no doubt of that. Gather your courage, men!"

His pirates responded with a rousing cry: "Hawkins! Hawkins! Hawkins!"

Hawkins let them shout for a long moment, psyching themselves up for whatever battle was to come. When he spoke again, the shouting broke off as if it had never been. "The hostages must be kept safe. I know that all of you want to fight for glory, to protect your brothers and sisters, but I must ask some of you to keep our hostages from coming to harm. Can I count on you?"

"You can always count on us, Captain!" the pirate holding Misty said. "We'll die before any harm comes to them… until you want it to, that is."

Rough laughter broke out, with many crude suggestions and shouts of agreement. Misty gritted her teeth and distracted herself by coming up with imaginative ways to kill them. She rather fancied having Lapras freeze them up to their waists and then having Gyarados bite off the top halves.

Misty's bloodthirsty daydream cut off when the pirates began moving once more. They charged forward, and a single shout from Hawkins triggered a chorus of war cries. Misty still couldn't see a thing except the ground under her feet, but she was able to tell when the charging pirates reached the summit because the path ended and the ground leveled off.

The shouts died out instantly, replaced by an eerie silence.

"Holy sh-" her captor whispered, his voice petering out into nothing.

"What is it?" Misty demanded. "Turn me around, damn it!" She beat her hands on the pirate's broad back, until he shook her violently into silence.

Without a word, he took Misty off his shoulder and set her on her feet – though he kept one gnarled, spade-like hand on her shoulder. Misty caught her first glimpse of what had so frightened the pirates… and she understood their reaction.

The first thing she noticed was the giant crystal pillar. It grew out of the ground, shooting up impossibly out of a bed of solid rock. The crystal glowed a vibrant, otherworldly pink and towered far overhead, at least twenty yards straight up. It was as thick around as a cart.

Marking a wide circle around the pillar, maybe fifty yards in diameter was a ring of smaller crystal columns. They were like frozen soldiers at attention, or jagged teeth in a rocky maw. Misty saw that each of the smaller columns was capped by a colorful stone as big as her head. The circle ringed by the crystal spears covered roughly half of the open area at the summit, with the biggest pillar in the exact center.

Next to the central pillar, several yards to the right and looking sorely out of place, was a runty little bush. The bush held one fruit, and it was the oddest fruit Misty had ever seen. It looked like a dragonfruit and a starfruit had crossbred, grew several sizes too large, and then mutated. Purple and white projections jutted out randomly all over its surface, and there was something about the swirling patterns on its surface that drew the eye.

Misty could not spare much attention for the fruit, however, because of a much more immediate problem: the line of Pokémon standing in a scattered formation between the central pillar and the pirates. All were Rock types, or at least partially Rock, and all looked powerful. They watched the Hawkins' pirates in baffling silence.

There was a Nosepass, stodgy and still, its giant nose oriented to the north. A Golem, a Graveler, and a Boldore formed an intimidating trio. There was a Pupitar, larger than most of its kind, and a Lairon with a nasty scar underneath its right eye. Directly in front of those two was a Rhydon so large that its horn alone was more than half Misty's height.

Misty took a moment to recognize Cradily and Armaldo, two Pokémon long thought to be extinct, until they had recently been revived from fossils on another continent. The last two Pokémon stood closest to the central pillar, and were considerably larger than the others: a sturdy Bastiodon and a massive Rampardos.

Coming across such a powerful and varied collection of Pokémon in the wild would have been terrifying, but that wasn't all. The Pokémon stared at the pirates with eyes that glowed the same unearthly shade of pink as the crystal columns.

Misty had traveled far and wide with her friends. She had seen many sights both strange and wondrous. But she had never seen anything like this. She shivered involuntarily, even as her instincts clamored at her, insisting that what she saw was deeply, fundamentally wrong. These guardian Pokémon – for they were guardians, even if she had no idea what they were guarding – were under the influence of some mysterious force, and it was making them act like no wild Pokémon ever would.

Misty's mind, which had temporarily frozen when confronted with the seemingly hypnotized Pokémon, began to catch up with her.

We were supposed to find an Aerodactyl… but it's not here. Did these other Pokémon drive it off or something?

A distant cry broke the eerie silence. A dark, winged form descended from the sky, growing clearer as it circled downward. The Aerodactyl, majestic and graceful, landed at the top of the crystal pillar, staring down at the pirates and Pokémon facing each other across the rocky ground. Its wingspan was twenty feet long at least, and it would have dwarfed Ash's Charizard. The ancient Pokémon roared a challenge that gave Misty goosebumps.

Great going, Misty… you just had to wonder about the Aerodactyl!

Basil Hawkins appeared next to Misty, having moved while she was distracted. In contrast with the fearful expressions of his men, Hawkins looked excited, even enraptured. He looked like a man at the end of a long journey, who had finally glimpsed his destination.

"Miss Misty," he began, all his polished courtesy intact. "I propose a momentary alliance, so as to subdue these monsters. As you have the most experience with their kind, I believe you would be a valuable ally. Please allow me to point out that while your life is shielding my own, fighting alongside me may be the only way to survive the coming battle."

"You want to fight them?" Misty demanded, incredulous. "Any of those Pokémon could decimate your crew without breathing hard. They're all bulletproof, you idiot! I can take a few, but all of them?! That's not just risky – it's suicide!"

Hawkins did not look in the least intimidated, only amused. "I have seen this future, and it is not our time to die. Will you trust me?"

Misty snorted and spat to the side, not really caring when her spittle landed on the sandaled foot of the pirate who'd been carrying her. He lurched back in disgust and gave her a dirty look. She flipped him off.

"I suppose you're going to attack no matter what I do?" Misty looked to Hawkins for confirmation. He nodded gravely. Misty sighed.

"Then I guess the only thing I can do is try to keep you from snuffing it. Otherwise I'll be the one who suffers for your stupidity."

"Precisely. Nirven, bring Miss Misty her monster capsules, will you?" Hawkins gestured to the pirate holding a sack with Misty's Pokéballs inside.

She clipped her Pokéballs back on her belt and swallowed a triumphant laugh. She felt whole again. It was almost enough to make her forget about the ludicrously one-sided battle she was about to throw herself into.

Through the entire ordeal, none of the waiting guardian Pokémon had so much as twitched. "I think they want us to make the first move," said Hawkins. He drew his sword in one swift, graceful motion. "Let us not disappoint them."

He brandished his sword, signaling his pirates to raise their own weapons. Dozens of rifles sighted across the rocky summit, while Misty stifled a snort.

Amateurs… think they can bring a rifle to a Pokémon fight.

Just as Misty was about to release her Pokémon, the Hawkins pirates sent off their first volley. Not a single one of the guardian Pokémon was harmed, as bullets ricocheted off of rock-hard hides. The silence swelled and turned darker, ominous.

Nosepass' nose began to glow brighter. Misty barely had enough time to swear before the electromagnetic Pokémon's ability roared into life. Every pistol, rifle, and saber shot forward, ripped out of their owners' hands and drawn irresistibly towards Nosepass. Belt buckles were next, then metal pendants, jewelry and cuff links. Soon every scrap of metal carried by the pirates was stuck to Nosepass – the Pokémon itself had disappeared from sight, surrounded by a giant, bristling, beehive-like structure of magnetized metal.

One unlucky pirate had a metal ring torn right out of his nose, while another couldn't get all of his gold bracelets off in time. He went flying through the air, unable to resist the magnetic pull, and his terrified scream cut off abruptly when he impaled himself on one of the sabers surrounding Nosepass.

The only pirate who had not lost his sword was Captain Hawkins. The captain held his broadsword with both hands, tendons in his neck straining as he fought against the pull of Nosepass' magnetism. Misty was impressed – his strength must have been far beyond the average human's to resist such a strong force. His sturdy boots dug into the ground, and actually carved furrows into the stone below.

Misty decided it was time to help out. She threw her first Pokéball high in the air. "Let's go, Gyarados. Hyper Beam!"

Gyarados sent its strongest attack at Nosepass almost before it fully materialized, as if it had been waiting inside its Pokéball preparing to attack. The Hyper Beam struck the defensive cocoon around Nosepass and practically obliterated it. Gunpowder ignited and added to the explosion.

Twisted fragments of metal flew everywhere and Nosepass itself went flying backwards, a significant chunk of its rocky body gone. The momentum of the attack sent Nosepass far over the ledge of the summit, where it plummeted out of sight. Whether dead or only severely injured, Nosepass was certainly out of the equation. So was the entire armament of the Hawkins Pirates, who were now armed with nothing more than their hands.

The pirates looked at Gyarados, then at Misty, with awe. She tried not to smirk. Then Aerodactyl let out another bloodcurdling shriek and Misty became far too busy with the business of surviving to gloat any more.

Rhydon rose on its hind legs and bellowed a challenge. Misty released both her Starmies to join Gyarados – unfortunately, Lapras and Seaking would not be much help on a mountain. The silver lining was that her Pokémon had a type advantage in this battle. That might not be all that reassuring when she was so ludicrously outnumbered, but it was something.

"Charge, men!" Hawkins cried. "If they surround Misty's pet monster, we're lost. Keep them occupied while she attacks from the rear!"

Misty recognized the logic behind Captain Hawkins' strategy. Gyarados wasn't very mobile on this rocky ground, which made it vulnerable. If the pirates and Misty's other Pokémon could keep the guardians pushed back, Gyarados would be free to pick them off with Hyper Beam and Hydro Pump. The danger with that was the time Gyarados needed to recharge after each attack. Using Hyper Beam repeatedly took a harsh toll on any Pokémon.

To Misty's consternation, Hawkins' men ran forward in a ragged line without a second of hesitation. No swords or rifles to speak of, yet they charged some of the most dangerous creatures Misty had yet encountered.

Among the guardian Pokémon, Rhydon charged first. Misty's Starmie duo stopped its initial charge, however, with twin Water Gun attacks. Next to move was Armaldo, and the ancient Pokémon sped forward with liquid grace. Captain Hawkins met its charge with his sword, but Armaldo merely parried with its armored forearms. The two began to duel, heedless of the rest of the battle raging around them – from what Misty knew of swordplay, which wasn't much, they seemed evenly matched.

Unfortunately, the majority of the pirates were nowhere near their captain's level. As the line of guardian Pokémon mobilized, the front line of the charging pirates found out why Pokémon were to be feared.

Cradily spat a gob of Acid that enveloped two pirates and turned them into bubbling, pockmarked corpses. The trio of Golem, Graveler, and Boldore initiated simultaneous Rollout attacks, becoming massive spinning spheres that bore down on the unarmed humans like the wrath of some dark god. Three pirates were mowed down without mercy within seconds, bones snapping like twigs as their comrades scrambled to dive out of the way.

Pupitar vented a cloud of gas that propelled it forward towards a pirate in sandals and the hair shirt of an ascetic monk, colliding with the pirate like a hammer smashing a watermelon into pulp. Misty felt her stomach heave as she saw the Pupitar's faceplate, now drenched in scarlet blood.

A pirate who looked like a Viking berserker had a huge wooden shield, though he'd lost his battleaxe to Nosepass' magnetism. He charged straight for the Rampardos, largest of the Rock guardians. Rampardos lowered its head and charged. The shield splintered on impact, pulverizing the pirate's forearm as well. He was propelled backward and into the air, vanishing over the edge of the summit with a dwindling scream.

In total, ten pirates died in the first contact with the enemy. None of the Pokémon were harmed, though Rhydon, Bastiodon, and Lairon huddled together to resist the barrage of punishing Water attacks from the Starmie duo hurtling around in the air above them.

"Come on, Gyarados," Misty whispered. She stood on Gyarados' head now, where she could watch the battle unfold and direct her Pokémon as needed. "We need to even the odds."

Gyarados roared in agreement and launched a Hydro Pump attack. He focused on the four-legged Pokémon first – Lairon, Rhydon, and Bastiodon – in a defensive formation in order to keep them from joining the battle. Then it charged up another Hyper Beam and launched it carefully at the Rollout trio currently carving bloody swathes through the pirates' ranks.

Golem and Graveler were quick enough to change direction in time, but Boldore failed to avoid the attack. The explosion reduced the Pokémon to rubble almost instantly, also killing two nearby pirates who were too close to the explosion.

Gyarados rumbled in satisfaction, as if to say, Good riddance. Somehow, Misty couldn't find much sympathy for them herself.

That was two enemy Pokémon down, but there were still nine guardians left, including Aerodactyl. Meanwhile, Hawkins was losing his pirates at a rate that was simply unsustainable.

They couldn't run fast enough to avoid the Rollout attacks, nor did they have a prayer of standing up to Rampardos. Cradily kept up a steady volley of Acid attacks, and Armaldo was still locked in a deadly duel with Captain Hawkins. It was a slaughter, pure and simple, and Misty's three Pokémon couldn't turn the tide by themselves.

The course of battle turned for the worst as Gyarados was recovering from its second Hyper Beam. Pupitar propelled itself through the air after Misty's Starmie duo, disrupting their aerial attacks on the other guardians. One Starmie circled around and used Light Screen, but Pupitar's power was simply too great. It shattered the defensive technique and caught Starmie before it could evade.

Misty yelled out as her beloved Pokémon was cruelly smashed from the sky. The gem in the middle of its body was badly cracked, its light flickering weakly. Misty recalled Stone to its Pokéball, while her remaining Starmie, determined to avenge its fallen partner, began an aerial game of cat-and-mouse with Pupitar.

Unfortunately, that meant that there was nothing keeping the remainder of the Rock guardians pinned down. Rhydon, Lairon, and Bastiodon locked their attention on Gyarados. Rhydon pawed the ground once, snorted, and began to charge. Its companions followed just behind, creating an arrowhead formation aimed at Gyarados and Misty.

"Miss us, Misty?" a cheerful voice called out. Misty looked down to see Kikyo, Marguerite, and Sweet Pea standing next to Gyarados. All three Amazons had their snake-bows ready, with stone-tipped arrows nocked and ready.

Damn foolhardy Amazons… Misty thought distractedly. If they got free, why not just run away? They're only in the way here!

"Get away," she yelled, pointing to the charging Pokémon. "Your arrows can't stop them!"

The Amazons ignored her, drawing their bows and taking aim at the three approaching behemoths. "We need another Hyper Beam, Gyarados," Misty whispered to her Pokémon, hating that she had to ask so much of it. "Big enough to catch all three."

Gyarados growled fiercely and gathered its energy and focus. The white glow from its open maw intensified, growing even brighter than the previous attacks, until it seemed impossible that one creature could generate so much deadly force.

When the Rhydon and its companions were less then fifty meters away, Gyarados unleashed its strongest Hyper Beam yet. It was aimed directly at Rhydon – until, suddenly, Pupitar rocketed in from nowhere, propelling itself between Rhydon's team and Gyarados' attack.

Pupitar took the full brunt of the blast. Misty's vision was impaired by the bright light from the explosion – her eyes closed instinctively. When she opened her eyes she saw Pupitar lying many yards away, misshapen and broken from the attack. But Rhydon, Lairon, and Bastiodon were unharmed, now close enough to Gyarados for Misty to see their glowing eyes with horrifying clarity.

Then the Amazons launched their arrows – one for each Pokémon. Not only were the arrows aimed perfectly, but they exploded on impact, somehow transferring force that Misty wouldn't have expected from normal arrows. Lairon and Bastiodon were disoriented by explosions so close to their eyes; they weren't harmed, but they faltered and broke their charge.

But Rhydon intercepted its arrow with its massive horn, the explosion not slowing it down in the slightest. Misty reached for her Pokéball, but was too late. Rhydon slammed into Gyarados with punishing force, goring the sea serpent with its spinning horn. Gyarados reeled in pain and thrashed wildly, sending Misty hurtling away in the direction of the mountain path.

Even as she fell from a height that would probably kill her, she twisted in midair and recalled her Gyarados. Any more thrashing and her Pokémon would have hurt the Amazons, which was unthinkable. Death reached up for her in the form of the rock-strewn ground, but Misty's only thoughts were for her Pokémon. Gyarados and Stone had both suffered grievous wounds – would they survive? Could Brock save them, if he got to them in time?

A purple flash entered Misty's field of vision. She recognized Stew, her second Starmie and her only remaining Pokémon. Misty grabbed for one of Starmie's spiky projections, swinging up and around in the way that she had practiced so many times over the open sea. Another swing to control her momentum and she leaped away, landing safely on the ground.

Starmie hovered over her head, an aerial bodyguard, while the three Amazons raced to join them. They had new arrows already nocked, ready to fire. Misty was now in command of her own little squad, but without Gyarados she wasn't feeling very optimistic.

Now standing where Gyarados had once been, the victorious Rhydon reared on its hind legs and roared. Behind it, inside the circle of crystal pillars, the remainder of the Hawkins Pirates were struggling to stay alive. A small group of survivors fought gamely on, led by two lieutenants that Misty could see had Devil Fruit powers.

One kept turning into an oversized raven, which allowed him to dodge each subsequent charge from the increasingly frustrated Rampardos. The other, dressed like a mystic with a necklace of miniature skulls, drew patterns on the ground with a red liquid that he kept in a tinted glass jar.

From within these circles appeared misshapen clay figures that grew to the size of men, with blades and hammers instead of arms. This makeshift army harassed the Rock guardians with determination, even though their weapons had little effect. But as long as the Rock Pokémon were busy fighting off the clay golems, they couldn't combine to take down the lieutenants or the half dozen or so other survivors.

Misty saw that Hawkins wasn't faring well, either. Armaldo had momentarily trapped his blade, turning the duel into a stalemate as human and Pokémon competed in a battle of strength.

But Rampardos and Golem approached cautiously from either side, cutting off all escape routes except directly behind. And Graveler swung in with Rollout, intent on crushing the pirate captain from behind.

Misty saw the trap as it formed, but she was in no position to help her quasi-ally. Rhydon and its followers had begun another charge, with only one Starmie and three stone-tipped arrows standing between them and Misty.

But Misty wasn't out of tricks. She readied the Pokéball that contained her Lapras – if she timed in right, she could catch Rhydon with an Ice Beam. After that… well, she would probably still die when Graveler smashed into Captain Hawkins' unprotected back. Her life was first in line to be sacrificed in place of his.

Asshole, Misty thought, too overcome with a sense of injustice to be afraid.

Two indistinct blobs caught Misty's attention, emerging from the clouds and descending fast. A second more and she could tell them apart: one was Charizard, and the other was Gary's Fearow with Ash riding on its back. Fearow split away from Charizard, heading towards Misty and the approaching Rock guardians.

Rhydon was now twenty yards away from Misty, an unstoppable juggernaut, but Fearow was descending at a rate that would place it between them. The Bird Pokémon pulled out of its dive just before crashing into the ground, and Ash released a single Pokéball.

Wartortle emerged in a flash of light and began Rapid Spin in midair, hosing down the charging Rock guardians with high-pressure water from the openings in its shell. Starmie flew forward and gleefully added its own attacks, targeting its opponents' eyes with Water Gun. The three charging Pokémon faltered, faced with powerful attacks of the kind they hated most.

At the same time, Ash's Charizard landed heavily with its back to Basil Hawkins. It planted its powerful legs and extended its arms, just in time to meet the approaching Graveler's Rollout attack. The spinning Rock Pokémon hit Charizard's outstretched claws and stopped as if it had run into a steel wall. Graveler was forced to break out of its Rollout attack, while Charizard tightened its claws to get a grip on its opponent's pebbly hide.

The ground shook with the impact of Charizard's landing, which created the opening Hawkins had been waiting for. Armaldo stumbled slightly, allowing Hawkins to free his sword and extend it in one smooth motion. Armaldo's hide was far stronger than most armor, but a straight thrust with all of Hawkin's strength behind it proved too much. The blade skewered Armaldo cleanly, and when Hawkins withdrew his sword his opponent's eyes flickered once and went dark.

Meanwhile, Charizard brought its wrestling match with Graveler to an abrupt halt by hoisting Graveler above its head. It roared in triumph, heaved, and threw Graveler off the cliff with yards to spare. Misty couldn't stifle a cheer.

Misty met Ash's worried look with an exhilarated grin. She'd been prepared to take a few more down with her before she snuffed it, but it turned out she didn't have to.

The cavalry has arrived… and I'm still part of it, so I'd better get back in the saddle!

"Took you long enough," she said to Ash, emulating Gary at his most snide. "Where are the boys – they get lost?"

"Coming," Ash replied, his eyes crinkling with laughter. "They had a disagreement with some fossils. But I think we can keep the party going until they get here, don't you?"

Misty bared her teeth. "I'm insulted that you even have to ask."

Starmie, Gyarados… just wait a little while longer. Brock will save you. He will!

Misty signaled to Starmy and the Amazons to prepare to attack. Now that she was reunited with Ash, she felt like she could take on the world. She didn't care whether it was Rock Guardians, Basil Hawkins, or the entire World Government and their thrice-damned fleet – she would make them all regret messing with the Pokémon Pirates.