Chapter 94 – The Rise of Skywalker
GNN BREAKING NEWS…
This is Malva reporting live from Mossdeep Space Centre, where a large fire type Pokémon is attempting to storm the facility. What you are seeing here is footage of what appears to be a Charizard breaking through the police boundary and breaking through the gates.
The two members of Team Flare have sent out Pokémon to engage Charizard in battle, but they don't seem to be any match for this power…Wait here comes its trainer. Or trainers. It looks like there's three of them. And two other Pokémon, though it hard to tell what they are in the dark…
Whatever Pokémon those grunts sent out appear to have fainted and the trainers and their Pokémon have disappeared somewhere into the facility. Chloe, what impact this will have on the ongoing hostage situation is unknown, but from what this reporter has seen so far, its unlikely to be good…
[Pokémon]
Mable sneered at the rolling news coverage being displayed in one corner of the large monitor on the wall of the control centre. Across the screen were other images of different parts of the facility, divided into boxes.
The Charizard and its compatriots coming up the main road from the gate to the facility was visible on one of them.
"Well. It appears we are about to have company," she said with a giggle, before turning to face the room. "How soon before launch."
The rows of computer stations were being manned by Team Flare grunts, dressed in their red uniforms and dark red shades.
"Sir launching sequences will begin in T-minus forty minutes," one of them, a woman sitting at the monitor immediately to Mable's right. "Shuttle one is in position. Shuttles three and four are tracking to the launch pad. They will be in position in T minus five minutes."
"Excellent!"
Suddenly there was a shattering sound from somewhere down below and something orange flashed across the screen.
"Sir," shouted another of the grunts, a man in the far-left corner of the second last row. "The intruders have entered the building."
The sneer on Mable's face widened. "Well then, I must go and greet them." She strode up the passageway between the rows of desks and out the door, but not before adding, "Seal off the command room. Nobody gets in here until I get back!"
[Pokémon]
"CHARRRRR!"
Charizard belched a jet of flames at the doors of the command centre. The glass could not withstand the force and heat and shattered into a thousand pieces, shards flying everywhere. There were shouts and cries from inside the building, some angry, some fearful…
"Oh shit!"
"It's that fucking crazy kid!"
"Here we go! Get ready."
Ash strode forward across the threshold. The shards of glass that littered the floor crunched beneath his feet, the remnants of the door. Pikachu and Oshawott clung to each of his shoulders, while Charizard followed from behind. Cameron, Jimmy, Lucario, Nova and Typhlosion brought up the rear.
The lobby of the command centre reminded Ash of scenes from old movies about bank robberies. It was a long rectangular room with a reception desk in the far-right hand corner and filled with couches, seats and tables throughout. There was even a full spacesuit on display, though someone had knocked it over. Across from the front doors was a corridor leading to lifts.
No less than ten Team Flare grunts were occupying the lobby. Seven of them moved towards Ash and his friends, forming a semi-circle. Three were standing guard over a group of apparent hostages. A man and a woman in a white coat, scientists and a young woman in a blue dress had been tied and gaged and made to sit against the wall.
"Alright," Ash demanded of the room at large. "Where's Ashachu. Where's the aura Pikachu!"
"Get out of here kid," one grunt shouted at him in reply.
"Yeah fuck off," added another.
A bright flash of white light made Ash blink. Each of the ten grunts has thrown several Pokéballs. An army of Pokémon materialized around them. There were five, six, ten, twenty, too many to count… Ash spotted Mightyena, Scrafty, Houndoom Machoke and Aggron among them.
"Pika Pikachu!"
"Oshawott!"
Pikachu and Oshawott leapt from Ash's shoulder to take up a battle-ready position in front of him, their paws spread apart, tails low to the ground and fur bristling. The canine like Pokemon around them let out intimidating growls.
"Last warning kiddo," shouted the first grunt again. "Get outta here or your Pokémon are in for some serious pain."
"This is your last warning," replied. "Give me back Ashachu, or else!"
[Pokémon]
Meanwhile…
The last time Team Rocket had been at the Mossdeep Space Centre they had attempted to hijack a Space Shuttle. A plot hatched on a whim and Meowth's, perhaps naïve, suggestion that Giovanni really wanted a space shuttle and would reward them handsomely for it.
And it was a testament to the lapse security at the time that three bumbling buffoonish villains with no real plan had managed to get aboard the orbiter and initiate a launch sequence, getting the shuttle halfway to orbit before being stopped by a group of teenagers.
Their second visit to the facility at Mossdeep saw them standing at the perimeter fence at the far end of the island, watching as two Crawler-transporters, basically square platforms with wheels, tracking across the facility. Carrying two shuttle from the hangars to launch pads at the far end of the complex.
"Looks like the fashion freaks stole our idea," said Jessie. She passed the pair of binoculars she was holding to James.
"They call us a third-rate organization then they copy all our best plans," he added raising the binoculars to his eyes. "First they try to steal the twerps Pikachu. Now the Space Shuttle. Hmmm. Speaking of which. Check out what's happening on the primary launch pad."
He handed the binoculars back to Jessie. She put them to her eyes and turned to face the launch pad to the far right of the complex. The Mossdeep Space Centre had three launch pads. A primary pad that was used for most missions and two secondary pads. A further two launch pads were under construction.
Jessie quickly found what James was talking about. "Hmm. They're taking the twerps Pikachu and Riolu to the shuttle. Latios and Darkrai too."
"What!" Blade's heart skipped a beat at the word Darkrai. "Let me see!" He tried to grab the binoculars off Jessie only to have to slap him away.
"Sneasel. Get down!"
Jessie passed them to Meowth instead.
"No kiddin'," the scratch cat said, "Looks like dare takin' twerpachoo for a little ride into outta space."
"Sne!" Looking patience Blade shoved Meowth to the ground with one paw and grabbed the binoculars off him with the other.
He looked up at the gantry and saw to his horror, three Team Flare Grunts wheeling a trolly towards the door of the space shuttle containing the stoned Pokémon. And there he was among them…Poor Shadow.
"Hey," Meowth cried out in protest. "What's da big idea!"
He extended his claws and swiped at Blade, raking his claws across his face. A fight promptly broke out between them.
"So, what's our plan," James asked Jessie, ignoring the brawl.
"Same as last time," she replied. "We sneak into the cockpit without anyone noticing and take off…"
[Pokémon]
Pikachu jumped, dodged and weaved to avoid the barrage of attacks sent his way by the army of Team Flare Pokémon. With attacks bearing down upon him from all directions Pikachu wasn't able to formulate a battle strategy. Heck, not even Ash was able to keep up. He was battling on pure instinct…
A pair of Mightyena lunged at him. He jumped back narrowly avoiding being caught in one of their powerful jaws. He could feel their putrid breath on his fur. He let off a discharge of electricity striking and immobilizing both of them. Then he felt something grab him from behind.
Something had put an arm around his throat and was holding him a half-Nelson, choking him. He coughed and let out a cry.
"Pi-ka…"
Eyes watering, he managed to raise his head enough to see it was a scraggy, an evil grin glinting on it's wide mouth.
"Chuuuuu!"
With some effort he let off another thunderbolt attack. He scraggy's grip upon him slackened. Just enough for him to reach up and grab it by the single red hair on the top of its head and throw the Pokémon over his head, slamming it to the ground.
He then had to drop and roll to the side to avoid being hit with a flamethrower spat at him by a Houndoom. The Houndoom was then promptly taken down by a blast of water gun from Oshawott.
"Cro…"
If it wasn't for it's cry Pikachu would have been hit in the back with a jab from the Croagunk who had snuck up behind him. His ears twitched at the sound of it's croak and he looked over his shoulder just in time to see it raising its paw.
Pikachu was faster than it though. He spun around and deflected it's Croagunk's poison jab with an iron tail of his own. Croagunk was sent flying several feet into the air and landed smack against the wall.
Pikachu drew a breath and examined his surroundings. Lucario was fighting three mightyena at once, Typhlosion was trying to throw a Scrafty off his back, Charizard was in paw to paw combat with Aggron, Nova was keeping a Leipard at bay with a flamethrower, Ash and the other humans had backed against the wall and Oshawott…
"Oshawott…"
The poor otter had been knocked to the ground by a Sneasel. The sharp claw Pokémon had Oshawott pinned down, its foot on the otter's chest. Oshawott attempted to reach his scalchop, but Sneasel snatched it, pulling the shell off Oshawott's stomach with a claw and throwing it away. It then raised it's claw to attack.
"Hey! Get off him."
Pikachu charged, using quick attack to tackle Sneasel and throw it off Oshawott. Sneasel tumbled to the ground. But it didn't stay down for long. Sneasel was quickly back on it's paws, rounding on Pikachu.
It held up a claw and beckoned three other Pokémon to join it; three more Mightyena and a Gulpin.
"Sne Snea."
They all pounced on him at the same time. Pikachu wasn't sure his thunderbolt would be powerful enough to take them. Still, he summoned all the energy he could find and released it.
But, for the second time in his life, instead of firing electricity, he felt some powerful energy shoot from deep within him, out of his maw. It was powerful enough to send each of the five Pokémon attacking him flying. They landed in one of the coffee tables knocking it over.
"Was that hyper beam!" He heard one of the humans shout. Pikachu wasn't sure whether it was Cameron or Jimmy or even one of the grunts.
But Pikachu didn't have time to celebrate his apparent new move. Two more Pokémon, a Leipard and Houndoom were advancing on him. They attacked, the Leipard raising its claw and the Houndoom opening its mouth to belch a jet of flame.
Pikachu charged a thunderbolt, but before he could strike a jet of water shot from the right paw side of him hitting both Pokémon. Oshawott was evidently back on his paws. Leipard and Houndoom where washed across the room and lay still.
The lobby fell quiet. The battle was over. Pikachu looked around. The floor was littered with the unconscious bodies of the Flare Pokémon and their trainers were gaping at the scene of carnage.
"Is everybody okay," shouted Ash. "Pikachu. Oshawott."
Pikachu was exhausted. Still he forced himself to his hind legs and raised his paw to Ash, spreading his little fingers apart in a peace sign.
"Pikapi Pikachu."
Oshawott was faring worse. He had fallen to his all fours and was gasping for breath. Sneasel and given him a nasty cut on the top of his head and there was blood dripping down his face.
Typhlosion to had suffered a small wound to the chest. Jimmy was helping him stand, while Nova took refuge on his head. Lucario seemed to be fine but was breathing heavily and Charizard was flexing his muscles triumphantly.
"Amazing," said a cold female voice suddenly from the other side of the room. "That was simple amazing."
Pikachu's heart sank. He knew that voice.
"I was sure my idiot henchmen had you. Then out of nowhere hyper beam. I didn't think Pikachu could pull that move off without killing themselves!"
A blue haired woman, her eyes obscured by an electronic visor, stepped out of the corridor leading to the lifts at the far side of the room.
"Perhaps we picked the wrong Pokémon in taking your kit. Perhaps we should have taken you Pikachu."
"Pika." Pikachu growled a surge of anger rising within him, not unlike the hyper beam. "Pikachu."
"Mable," said Ash. "I should have known it was one of you behind this. What's going on here. Where's Ashachu?"
"All in good time Ashy-boy. I have to say your quite the trainer. Better than this sorry lot." She gestured to the grunts surrounding her.
"We tried Mable Sir," one of them protested. "They were too."
She held up a hand to silence him. "But no matter. No matter."
Mable then lifted her other hand, her right, and pointed at Pikachu. It was then that he noticed she was wearing a thick metal gauntlet.
Pikachu knew what was about to happen a second before it did, and a chill went down his spine. A beam of red energy shot from the glove hitting in square in the forehead.
"Piiiikaaaaa!"
He screamed as he felt a terrible pain in his head. Like his brain was going to exploded. But it was more than that. A wave of anger and hatred came over him that had nothing to do with how he felt about Mable.
Suddenly he wasn't in control of his own body. Like his soul had been detached from himself. He had become a prisoner inside himself. He felt himself turning around to face Ash.
"Pikachu." A look of true shock and horror had come over his mate's face…
[Pokémon]
"If you two are done," Jessie snapped at Blade and Meowth as they lay panting in the grass after their little brawl. "Sneasel. Cut a hole in the fence."
"Certainly," Blade replied sarcastically as he rose to his foot paws and dusted himself off. He strode over to the fence at it with his claw.
For all the time and money that the government had invested in improving security at the space centre, nobody seemed to have thought to make the fence Pokémon proof. Sneasel was able to cut through the steel mesh like a knife through butter. It took him less than a second to cut out a circle wide enough for the humans to pass through.
"Nah." Blade smirked at his handiwork and licked his claw triumphantly.
Meowth scowled at him as he got up. "Show off," he muttered.
"Good work," said Jessie. "Now let's go."
[Pokémon]
"Pikaaa!"
The soft yet menacing growl scared Ash more than anything he'd experience thus far on his Pokémon journey…no in his entire life.
And that was a high bar. Since becoming a trainer Ash had been attacked by a flock of angry Spearow, fallen in a river, off a cliff, multiple time, been entangled with not one but seven villainous teams, met countless legendaries and saved the world from the ultimate weapon.
But this was the most terrifying thing that Ash had ever had to face so far…
Because the soft menacing growl was coming from Pikachu…
His mate's eyes had turned blood red, his fur was bristling and there seemed to be a dark shadow around it. As if he were possessed by an evil spirt. But of course, it wasn't a spirit. Ash had encountered this before.
It was Team Flare's Pokémon control machine. A machine that turned Pokémon into sick puppets. Since the last time Ash had encountered it, Mable had obviously refined the technology so it could be contained in the gauntlet she was wearing.
"P-Pikachu," Ash said in voice trembling, hoping he could break through Team Flare's machine and reach his mate.
The response he got was another growl. "Pikachu!"
It wasn't just Pikachu under the gauntlets control…
Charizard, Typhlosion, Oshawott, Lucario and Nova had also been affected. Putting Ash, Cameron and Jimmy in the nightmarish position of facing a line of their own kits and mates. Glaring at them and baring their teeth.
"Lucario." Cameron sounded as scared as Ash felt. "Can you hear me buddy."
"What's happening?" Jimmy demanded of Mable. "What have you done to them."
"Mind control." Ash answered the question for her. The two words were enough.
Jimmy's eyes widened in fear. "What no way. Typhlosion."
"Jimmy don't."
Jimmy rushed over to his mate. He grabbed him by the shoulder and shook him. "You gotta snap out of…"
WHAM
Typhlosion shoved his trainer hard in the chest, forcing him off him. Jimmy stumbled backwards and fell hard on to his back.
"Ahhh…Typhlosion." He sat up, tears of horror welling up in his eyes.
Mable flashed them an evil smile. "I'm afraid your little fire buddy can't hear you. He's under our control now." She raised the hand wearing the gauntlet. "Do you like our new control gauntlet. All the power of Gigaremo unit condensed into one convenient to wear glove."
"What do you think you're doing. Let them go," Jimmy shouted at her again.
"Hehe. I don't think you're in any position to make demands little boy."
"Pikachu," Ash said quietly to his partner. "If you can hear me. Fight it."
"Afraid that friend thing isn't going to work either twerp. This device has double the EM wave output of the previous models. More than enough to overwhelm your furball lovers tiny fluff filled mind. Tehe." Mable giggled before turning to her grunts. "Alright you lazy lot they're out of Pokémon, grab them…"
The Team Flare grunts were older, taller, overall stronger and above all out numbered them. Six of them did the deed while the other four remained watching the hostages huddled against the wall.
One of them, a man of about thirty years and twice Ash's size grabbed him from behind, putting an arm…an arm that was thicker than Ash's neck, around his chest.
"Hey! Get off me!"
Ash struggled against him, grabbing the arm holding him and trying to pull it off, his fingernails digging into the soft fabric of the red suit. His fellow gave the rebellious Ash a hard punch in the stomach!
Pain exploded through Ash as the wind was knocked out of him. His arms fell limply by his side. Out of the corner of his eye he could see his friends receiving similar treatment. Another of the grunts and gone right up to Cameron and punched him right in the face.
There was a lot of blood on his face. Jimmy meanwhile had been wrestled to the ground by the fourth, fifth and sixth. Ash hoped he was imagining his voice gasping out, "I can't breathe."
And all the while their partners just watched, staring with blank red eyes…
"Escort them to Hangar three," said Mable…
[Pokémon]
Back in the command centre…
While the perimeter fence may not have been Sneasel proof, that didn't mean the security at the Space Centre was entirely lacking. The facility was full of CCTV Cameras. So many that every square inch of the complex was visible from the command centre.
There were also motion sensors around the permitted and near key infrastructure such as the launch pads. So, the Team Flare Grunts manning missions control at the top of the main building were well aware of the arrival of Jessie, James, Meowth and Blade…
"M'am intruders have just entered the launch site," one of the grunts announced to the room.
"Show me," ordered the admin overseeing the command centre. The admin was a women, dressed in the Team Flare admin white outfit and with, as was typical of nearly all Team Flare members, flaming red hair.
"Yes M'am…"
The grunt clicked at a keyboard at his station. Two images blew up on the large monitor on the wall. One of the hole Blade had cut in the perimeter fence. The other was of four figures running across the bitumen towards the primary launch pad.
"Who are they?" Demanded the admin. "Show me a close up of the faces…fuck!"
"It's too dark m'am!" The grunt replied. "The camera's can't make them out."
The admin swore. "Damnit…Do these camera's have audio."
"Yes M'am."
"Patch me through…Hey you! You aren't supposed to be here. Identify yourselves…."
The three figures came to a skidding halt and turned to face the camera…or at least face where they thought the admin's voice was coming from. They were looking slightly to the left of the CCTV camera whose image was being projected in the command Centre.
"Prepare for trouble," came Jessie's voice, as clear as if she were standing with them in the room. "It's a hijack."
"We're taking the shuttle, we won't bring it back," added James.
"To protect the world from devastation."
"To unite the peoples within our nation."
"To denounce the evils of trusty and love."
"To extend our reach to the stars above."
"Jessie"
"And James."
"Team Rocket blasts off – for real this time – and at the speed of light."
"Surrender now or prepare to fight fight fight…"
"Meowth dats rights."
"Wobbuffet!"
"Noibat Noi!"
The admin stared at the group of posing on the screen. "What! Who are you? What do you want?"
"It's those freaks from Team Rocket," one of the nameless faceless grunts somewhere at the back of the room shouted. "Kanto villains. They were partly responsible for our defeat in Kalos!"
"We're stealin' da shuttle if ya don't mind," said Meowth tauntingly.
"Then we're finally going to blast off in style," added Jessie. "To the cockpit."
The trio, and their other Pokémon turned and sprinted towards the launchpad.
The admin pounded the nearest computer terminal with her fist, making the grunt sitting at it jump.
"I don't think so. All units, we have trespassers trying to enter ark one. Stop them…"
[Pokémon]
There were two Team Flare grunts, along with a Manetric, waiting for Jessie, James, Meowth and Blade at the entrance to the launchpad.
"Noibat use air slash attack," James ordered as they drew close.
The little bat like creature fluttered above his head, its wings glowing light blue. It crossed them across its body and shot an energy like disk at the Flares, striking at Manetric's paws.
But the attack was too weak to do any real damage, and Manetric quickly retaliated with a thunderbolt attack. For the…who know how many this made…times in their lives, Jessie, James and Meowth found themselves being electrocuted.
However, while painful, this Manetric was far weaker than the powerful electric moves they had suffered at Pikachu's paws, and was no where near enough to make them blast off. Jessie managed to retaliate shouting, "Sneasel Icy Wind."
Blade opened his maw and blew a current of cold air at their attackers. Cold enough to cover the three of them in lumps of ice and snow and giving enough time for he and his compatriots to get past them and into the launch tower.
[Pokémon]
Hangar three was huge. A long rectangular room with a ceiling higher than a ten-story building, and as wide as a league battlefield…
Of course, the building had to be large. This was where the shuttles and other rocketry equipment was kept when they were not in use. The walls were made of thick concrete and a large iron door on one side slid open to permit access to the launch site beyond.
There was various machinery, tanks and other pieces of equipment scatted through out. And curiously something else. Lining the middle of the hangars, rows of rectangular containers. They reminded Ash, creepily, of coffins, with linen lined bed at the bottom. Except they the walls and roof were made of glass.
The six grunts whom had hold of himself, Jimmy and Cameron frog marched them up the rows and over to wall where they're was a large metal frame sitting on four wheels. Looking up Ash realized it was a gantry crane, used to move heavy equipment throughout the hanger.
A Team Flare admin, bald and dressed in a white coat, waiting for them by the gantry produced three sets of handcuffs and our heroes quickly found themselves being chained to the yellow metal frame.
As soon as they were restrained the grunts stepped back, allowing Mable to observe her prisoners.
"So, boys, we meet again. For the last time." She covered her mouth with her hand and chuckled. "Hehehe. Always wanted to say that."
Ash glared at her. "I knew you were evil. I didn't know you were boring."
She smirked at him. "I'd watch your tongue if I were you Ashy-boy. There are a lot of people here who would be only too happy to do you a great deal of harm should I allow them to. I think it best the three of you keep your traps shut and listen to what I have to say. Got it."
When none of them replied she continued, "I have to say its curious how we keep meeting like this Ash. When Bryony first told me that you might be a descent of the guardians of old. Perhaps the last aura sensitive human, I didn't believe her. And when we discovered your partner was impregnated with an aura Pichu. An actual aura sensitive Pokémon.
The power source we needed for the ultimate weapon. I had to wonder whether our meeting was fate…That was of course until you thwarted our plans to create paradise on earth. But the more I have learnt about you. And about your family. How can you not be who you are? Your father's son…"
Ash experienced a lurch in his stomach. "W-what about my father."
Mable raised her eyebrow. "Hmmm. You don't know. Curious… Your mother never told you."
"Told me what?"
"My boy if she didn't tell you. Tehe. It's not for me to divulge."
Ash grunted in frustration and gritted his teeth.
"Stop messing us about," Came Jimmy's angry voice from beside him. "What do you want with us. What have you done with Ashachu and Hunter?"
"I don't want anything to do with the three of you other than that you stay out of our way until we have finished our operation," Mable replied drily. "Of course, there are many in Team Flare who be believe we should kill you for what happened at geosenge town, but they will not have their way. I have a far greater form of suffering that I'm going to inflict on you Ashy. And you Cameron. What we want with your Pokémon on the other hand. To answer that. You must riddle me this. Do you know why it was that Lysandre started Team Flare?"
[Pokémon]
Meanwhile – Aboard the space shuttle…
The Space Shuttle was divided into three sections.
The first section, at the nose of the shuttle, was separated into two levels. The cockpit and crews living quarters were on the upper deck, along with the toilets and showers. The lower deck contained two laboratories and a storage area.
The middle section, comprising most of the area of the shuttle, was the payload hold. One long empty chamber to be filled with whatever was required. Once in space it was accessible by a giant hatch on the running the length of the back of the space craft.
Then finally there was the third section at the very end of the shuttle, just before the engines. Here were more storage areas.
While on the launchpad access to the shuttle was through one primary crew hatch on the lower deck of the first section. This lead to an air lock and eventually an anti chamber from which the upper deck, labs, storage and payload could be accessed.
Ashachu, Hunter and the others had been floated in through the hatch and into this chamber. The first thing Ashachu noticed was how cramped it was inside. Every inch of the anti-chamber was filled with compartments, dials, switches, pipes, handrails and Velcro straps. There was what appeared to be a long ladder down the floor leading below, and another coming out of the wall.
The platforms descended, down through another hatch and into the payload section. This area was mostly empty space. Brightly lit white walls pressed in on him from all section. However, once he got about halfway down he saw that the chamber was filled with hundreds of glass cases, stacked one on top of the other.
They were not dissimilar to the ones Team Rocket had used to capture him or Pikachu or one his friends on so many occasions. Except they were much longer and wider. And inside each contained a sleeping Pokémon.
He shivered…Or would have done had the bottom half of his body not been encased in, or turned into, stone.
The platforms floated through another hatch and into yet another chamber at the very base of the shuttle. Like the others it was filled with cabinets, dials and other equipment that was far too complex for Ashachu's understanding.
The platform landed on the floor – that would actually be the wall when the shuttle was horizontal. Hunter's landed beside him.
"Ashachu," the Riolu whispered upon seeing his friend again. "You okay."
"No," Ashachu whispered back.
"What's going on here? Did you see all those Pokémon up there? What are these freaks doing?"
"An excellent question master Riolu," Came Aliana's cold voice, as she climbed down the ladder. "But first. On behalf of Team Flare. I'd like to welcome you aboard the Space Shuttle Byzantium."
Another Team Flare grunt slid down the ladder and landed beside Aliana. This grunt looked a bit different to the others. Like the rest he had flaming red hair, but his was shorter for some reason.
"Or as we call it here in Team Flare. Ark one! There are three in total."
"What does Team Flare want with a Space Shuttle," asked Hunter incredulously.
"Salvation," Aliana replied. "This world is on the threshold of a calamity. A calamity Lysandre foresaw all those years ago when he first founded Team Flare…"
[Pokémon]
"Because he was insane," Ash replied.
The retort did not impress Mable. She glowered at him and said irritably, "say that again and I will have you beaten. Our great leader Lysandre founded our organisation because he wanted to help people. He made a fortune in selling Pokémon pharmaceutical goods and technology and he wanted to give back. But he soon found that people and Pokémon couldn't be helped in the ways he thought. He encountered a phenomenal so powerful. So terrible, it threatened the very planet. Tell me. What do you feel the greatest evil in this world is?"
"Is that including, or not including, you."
"Ash," Cameron hissed warningly at him. "Don…"
TWACK…
Mable slapped Ash hard across the face. His eyes wandered from the pain. "Ouch…"
"Perhaps that will teach you to hold your tongue. No. The greatest evil in this world. Is greed. Humans, and Pokémon too, are using too many resources. And they are not using them wisely. Rapid industrialisation, and the extraction and burning of fossil fuels, is causing large amount toxic greenhouses gases to be released into our atmosphere. These gases are acting like a blanket, trapping heat in the atmosphere, causing temperatures to rise. The planets average temperature has risen an entire degree in the last fifty years. The polar ice sheets are beginning to melt and that will make the oceans rise. The government doesn't care. Nobody cares. The whole of Castelia City could one day be underwater. And nobody cares. Even Pokémon are feeling the stresses too as their nature environments are being destroyed…
"I first encountered my Weavile, he was a Sneasel living as part of a pack in Unova. A place called the giant chasm. Far to the north of the giant chasm were a number of oil and gas extraction projects that had damaged much of the natural environment. Many of Pokémon who lived there had fled south to find food and safer habitats. So, the giant chasm found itself with too many maws to feed. Too many Sneasel, Absol and other Pokémon competing for food. Soon they started to fight. Nasty vicious fights. And the pack soon found itself without enough to survive. Fighting broke out in the pack. One Sneasel, the runt of the pack, found itself without enough to eat. There are scenarios like this all over the world. It is just as Lysandre always said…"
[Pokémon]
"…When there is only one of something, it can't be shared. When something can't be shared, it will be fought over. And when something is fought over, some must survive without it. That is what Lysandre always said. Even now it's happening all around us. In Ransai, Dragnor's war efforts being financed secretly by big corporations all of whom will get rich when they are granted rights to extract the coal, gas and oil in the lands it has invaded and…."
"BORING," Hunter groaned interrupting Aliana's rant. "Humans bad, got. You're worse than Nova." He feigned a little yawn much to Ashachu's amusement.
The mouse found himself grinning in spite of the situation.
"What does any of this have to do with us."
Aliana's eyes narrowed. "I'm getting to that. The point I am trying to make, your ignorant moron, isn't so much that humans are bad, is that greed and selfishness are bringing about a global calamity that threatens to destroy even the very planet we live on. The corporations that finance Dragnor's invasion care only for their own profits, not for the people and Pokémon who loose their homes or the environmental destruction their mining will causes. And when all that coal and gas is burned it will release more and more carbon into the air. The climate will change. The planet will heat up. Forests will die, crops will fail, and oceans will heat up. In a decade parts of Hoenn and Alola could be entirely underwater. The tropics might become too humid for human habitation. All because of greed, consumption and fighting over resources. Lysandre knew that the only way to prevent this calamity, the only way to prevent it is…"
[Pokémon]
"To reduce the number of living things!" Continued Mable. "This was Lysandre's vision. To use the ultimate weapon to reduce the number of people and Pokémon living on the planet to just the members of Team Flare, and thus create a world in which we could all live-in beauty. Unfortunately, because of yourselves, that proved never to be. Until now that is."
Ash felt his stomach turn over. "So is that what this is about. Another ultimate weapon."
"Not exactly," Mable replied. "No, if Team Flare can't live in beauty on this world. We will simply find our own plant on which to live."
This statement almost caused Ash to let out a snort of laughter. "Sounds good to me."
"Yeah. Goodbye," added Cameron.
Mable gave them an evil smile. "You may not think it so good when I tell you how we intend to get to our new home. You see the Ultimate Weapon wasn't the only product of the military's experiments with ultimate energy…"
[Pokémon]
"…the military also saw that ultimate energy, the energy produced from harnessing Pokémon life energy, had potential as a power source for deep space vessels," said Aliana. "During the Cold War and the space race the government commissioned project Skywalker. A top-secret operation within the military to design and build space vessel, powered by aura, that could transport astronauts to the stars. That project finally reached its final phase two weeks ago when construction was completed on the Centurion space craft."
"And let me guess," Hunter interrupted her again. "You're stealing it so you can take all your Team Flare buddies to live on the moon. Well don't forget to send a postcard."
Aliana sighed. "Oh, I'm looking forward to killing you. Essentially yes, I am planning to the Centurion and lead the few remaining members of Team Flare to the ultra forests. Our promise lands."
"And let me guess," said Ashachu, his heart stinking as he was sure he knew what was coming. "You need my aura to power this stupid rocket…"
[Pokémon]
"…You need what?" Ash asked incredulously. He knew Team Flare had planned wouldn't be good. But he had not expected that.
"That's monstrous," said Jimmy in disgust.
"The Centurion's propulsion system uses energy drawn from the life energy of Pokémon," said Mable. "Their aura. You may be interested to know that its the same mechanism as the ultimate weapon. Fortuitous then that we should run into the aura Pichu, well Pikachu I should say, again. Along with a Latios and Darkrai. Enough aura to take us to the very end of the universe and beyond. Oh, don't worry Ash. It won't kill you precious partner. The system is designed to keep its subjects alive provided they are strong enough. A living battery if you will."
"No. NO!" Shouted Ash, pulling against his restrains. "You can't do this. PIKACHU. We can't let her do this."
Pikachu just remained standing idly by, his red eyes staring at nothing.
[Pokémon]
" No. NO! You can't do that," Screamed Hunter at the top of his lungs. "That's cruel. It's in-Pokémon."
Aliana smirked at him. "Not so cocky now are you Riolu. I doubt your aura will prove strong enough for the Centurion. But we're going to keep you around all the same. You'll be a good motivator for the aura Pichu. Pikachu. Hahaha. Goodman. Give them the serum!"
And with that, she turned her back to them, and begun to ascend the ladder.
Ashachu swallowed. His mouth had gone very dry.
The grunt reached into the pocket of his red blazer, and produced a large, painful looking needle and syringe.
"No NOOOO!"
Hunter continued to bark, growl and struggle as much as he could in his stony prison. That was until the grunt, Goodman or whatever his name was, jabbed him in the neck with the needle.
Slowly Hunter stropped struggling. His head lulled forward and his eyes begun to close. A chill went down Ashachu's spine, as he realised he was next!