Chapter 9: Kanto's Final Hour

Giovanni chuckled to himself. "I must admit," he shrugged. "I was certainly not expecting this."

"As you'll soon see, I'm full of surprises." Gary replied.

"Funny," Giovanni said. "I was about to say the same thing."

Suddenly, a ring of psychic energy raced towards Gary, who was then flung through the window of a small house, rendering him unconscious. With that attack, all Hell broke loose. All of the Gym Leaders and Elite Four members called upon their 6 strongest Pokemon. There were Gengars, Dragonites, Machamps, Dewgongs, Arcanines, Alakazams, Venemoths, Raichus, and dozens more. The combined strength of these Pokemon would easily overwhelm a lesser opponent. But against Giovanni, they weren't so successful.

While all of the Trainers attacked at once, Giovanni was more selective, using barriers to prevent damage while targeting Pokemon one at a time, absorbing them along the way. Surge was first, with his Electrode made to self-destruct by Giovanni's psychic power. After absorbing Electrode, Giovanni took out and absorbed Surge's Electivire, Magnezone, Jolteon, Pikachu and even his mighty Raichu. Having absorbed his Pokemon, Giovanni saw no reason for Surge's existence, sending a massive Hyper Beam straight towards him, killing him instantly.

Lance desperately tried to coral the Trainers. Rather than attack from all sides or in waves, he called for one massive attack, with every Pokemon attacking head-on with their strongest attacks. Giovanni extended his arms to form a barrier, bracing for the impact. However, the strength of the blast was much stronger than he had anticipated. The massive blast shattered the barrier, striking Giovanni in the chest before engulfing him in a massive explosion.

All of the Trainer's Pokemon panted heavily; many even collapsed from exhaustion. As the smoke cleared, the desperate Trainers were stunned by what they saw; Giovanni was still standing, and aside from a rather large wound on his chest, seemed no worse for wear.

"Aww, I'm sorry," Giovanni said mockingly. "This must be so disappointing to you. Well, I'm afraid it's about to get even more depressing."

With that, Giovanni sent out Psychic rings that sought out any of the fainted Pokemon. The rings then wrapped around the Pokemons' necks and suffocated them before absorbing their power. The absorbed power then healed the only damage that Kanto's finest had been able to inflict.

Every remaining Trainer had just one Pokemon left. They had gone from a feeling of confidence, to one of dread and despair. They now had to come to terms with the situation: they were all going to die.

…Inside the Trick Room…

Mewtwo suddenly froze in shock. He had sensed a massive energy that had suddenly been extinguished almost instantly. The training with Katoshi had been progressing well, but they still needed more time. Mewtwo decided that drastic action was necessary.

Katoshi was training by shooting Aura Blasts at trees. His strength had grown significantly, going from barely making a scratch on one tree, to destroying several in a single attack. Suddenly, through the corner of his eye, Katoshi saw a fist heading towards him. He had no time to react, and upon impact, Katoshi was sent flying backwards.

Katoshi quickly got back on his feet. "What the Hell was that for?" Katoshi yelled.

"Things are moving far too quickly. You have grown strong, but you are not strong enough to take on Giovanni. I am going to hit you with everything I have. If you can defeat me…no, if you can survive, I will deem you ready to face Giovanni." Mewtwo replied.

Mewtwo immediately sent a massive blast of energy at Katoshi, who barely had the time to create a barrier to block it. As the explosion knocked him back, Mewtwo appeared behind him and fired another, perhaps larger blast, striking Katoshi hard in the back and sending him forward. Before he could hit the tree he was careening towards, he would caught by Mewtwo you dangled him helplessly before firing a Shadow Ball at his chest at point-blank range. Katoshi collapsed to the ground, coughing up blood.

…Pallet Town…

Ash sat outside with his Pokemon, along with Katoshi's Dragonair, admiring the massive sphere of energy that was the outer appearance of the Trick Room. News reports were already coming in about the bloodbath in Viridian City. Reporters were talking like it was the end of days; it was hard to disagree with them.

Ash could sense that Katoshi was fighting for his life. Though concerned, he had faith that his son could pass Mewtwo's training. Besides, if he died, he would be no worse off than if he confronted Giovanni unprepared.

Suddenly, Dragonair began to call out to the Trick Room, sensing Katoshi's pain. Dragonair flung herself at the Trick Room, desperately trying to break through, but to no avail. Suddenly, Dragonair let out a massive cry and began to glow a bright white colour that Ash had seen many, many times in his life; Dragonair was evolving.

Out of the bright light rose a powerful Dragonite, and she was more determined than ever to help her Master. Slowly, Dragonite began taking in massive amounts of energy, forming a large ball in its mouth before firing a point-blank Hyper Beam at the Trick Room. Dragonite was relentless, as wave after wave of energy exploded from its mouth. Finally, the beam broke through, and Dragonite flew into the Trick Room, which re-sealed itself behind her.

…Inside the Trick Room…

Katoshi lay on the ground, clinging to life. Suddenly, a large explosion erupted from deep in the forest. As Mewtwo went to check on the source of the noise, a massive Hyper Beam flew towards him, knocking him backwards. Dragonite flew towards them, standing between Katoshi and Mewtwo.

Katoshi looked up in shock. "D-Dragonair," he said weakly. "Is that you?"

Dragonite looked back and nodded, before turning her attention back to Mewtwo, who had regained his composure. Mewtwo's face was one of absolute shock; no Pokemon had ever penetrated his Trick Room, or any of his barriers for that matter. This Dragonite was incredibly powerful.

"Very well," Mewtwo said. "Taking into consideration the strength of your Dragonite, and the limited amount of time we have left, I Mewtwo declare that you have graduated from my training."

Mewtwo approached Katoshi and healed him, as Dragonite watched on anxiously. Slowly, Katoshi rose to his feet.

"Prepare yourself, Katoshi," Mewtwo said. "We're leaving the Trick Room momentarily. I recommend that you use tonight to spend time with your father. As of tomorrow, you live out your life in the past."

…Viridian City…

The bodies of the Trainers were tossed in every direction, as almost every building was set ablaze. Giovanni was especially sure to burn down his old Gym, which he had come to despise. Every Gym Leader and Elite Four member had failed, and all of their Pokemon were now a part of his being. As he marched south towards Route 1, a single figure stood in his way: Gary Oak.

"Giovanni," Gary said. "You truly are a sick Son of a Bitch."

"Ha!" Giovanni laughed. "Come now, Gary. You're only just finding this out about me?"

"I always knew you were sick, but this is unforgivable," Gary replied. "I hope you burn in Hell."

"That's nice Gary," Giovanni replied. "Now, do you have any Pokemon for me to absorb, or can I just move on to killing you."

"I tossed my Pokeballs in one of the fires you created," Gary replied. "I would rather they die in peace than become a part of you"

"Ah, a noble choice," Giovanni replied. "I would expect nothing less from you. Goodbye, Gary"

With that, a small, thin PsyBeam shot from Giovanni's finger, piercing Gary in the chest.

"Aww, you thought I would kill you quickly?" Giovanni stated. "No, I'm going to leave you here to suffer and die a nice, slow, painful death."

"You…bastard," Gary sputtered as blood erupted from his mouth. As he slipped in and out of consciousness, Gary watched as Giovanni marched down Route 1, destination: Pallet Town.

To be Continued in Chapter 10: Dearly Departed

(To be Released on June 16th, 2012)