Trainer

by WarsOfShadows

Ash Ketchum is on a journey to become a Pokémon Master. With a spirited Bulbasaur by his side, he might be able to do it. But with countless challenges and dangerous paths, will Ash prevail, or will he be just another trainer in the world?

24. Silph Co

I just want to thank you all for the kind words since the last chapter. They really mean a lot to me, and they absolutely brightened my day.

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Chapter Twenty-Three: Silph Co

The Fighting Dojo was easy to find on their fifth day in Saffron, and they got there with ten minutes to spare before the exhibition match. Misty had told him she'd taken care of the registration, which certainly made getting in easier.

The dojo was far larger than he'd expected, and there were a fair few trainers present, no doubt waiting for their own friendly battle to begin. There were several private rooms to the right of the dojo's lobby, and it was only a matter of time before Ash and Misty had their turn arrive.

The first thing Ash realised was that the arena was farsmaller than the standard battlefield. It looked like it had been specifically designed for pokémon to only be able to battle up-close rather than at range, which was something Ash wasn't very surprised to find out. This was a fighting dojo, after all - they had their own rules, and he wouldn't be shocked if they would bar ranged attacks entirely.

One of the black belts in the room stepped forward to greet them, with a cross expression that did not fail to intimidate Ash. But it took only a second for that stern facade to break into a bright smile as the man bowed politely, and Ash and Misty matched his actions. "Welcome to the Fighting Dojo, home to Bruno of the Elite Four," he said. "I am Hideki. This is Aaron." He gestured to the man to his right, donning the same white gi. "Before we begin, let us go over the rules."

Misty and Ash shared a grin. He'd been waiting for this ever since Misty had mentioned it on their first night in Saffron. She was a phenomenal trainer, but Ash had no doubt that he would win this fight, even after a fair bit of struggling. He and his friends had trained too much to have a loss shatter them again.

Hideki and Aaron guided them to either end of the hall - their trainer boxes - before taking to the sidelines, where they took on a commanding pose. "The rules for this match are as follows," Hideki boomed, clearing his throat. "Trainers are allowed to use one pokémon each. Pokémon are allowed to use only physical attacks; there will be one strike before the offending pokémon is disqualified. Status moves are allowed, and the fight ends when one or both pokémon are unable to battle. The match shall end prematurely should either trainer forfeit."

Misty blinked, clearly surprised by the restrictions, while Ash simply nodded in acknowledgement. He figured this would be the case, although he wasn't too worried. He had the perfect fighter in mind.

Monferno was Ash's choice. The fire-type grinned at Ash as he was released, but rolled his shoulders once he realised he was in a battle. He was confused at first when Ash explained the match's rules, but he yipped in understanding, swinging his tail as he hopped on the balls of his feet.

"I'm winning this one, Ash!" said Misty, winding her arm back as she prepared to throw. Her pokéball flew in a perfect arc before snapping open and flying back in her hand, spraying the floor with white energy that formed into her short, muscled Poliwrath. It took a mere second for its serene gaze to shift into a focused stare. The thick muscles on its arms bulged when it pounded its gloved fists together.

Monferno faked a yawn, and that was enough to make Poliwrath's eyes narrow in controlled anger. Ash stifled a snort.

Hideki and Aaron took out pokéballs of their own, releasing two creatures of the same species - Medicham, if he remembered correctly, from their crimson bags of protective fat around their legs. They stood wobbling on one leg, the bulbous, red headpiece twitching as well. Their eyes flashed; in an instant, invisible psychic barriers formed around the mats' boundaries, protecting Ash and Misty from any danger.

"Battle…" Aaron glanced between the two pokémon, twitching as they prepared to fire off the moment a signal was given. "Start!"

"Physical attacks only, Monferno!" Ash reminded, receiving a growl of understanding. "Mach Punch!"

Bright light glowed from Monferno's fists, and he was off. The speed that carried him turned him almost invisible, but Poliwrath reacted with inhuman precision, ducking under the jab and throwing a fist out to chop its opponent's legs. But Monferno twisted and pulled his knees to his chest, and the Brick Break slashed through empty air.

"Brick Break, again!" Misty commanded, clapping encouragingly. Poliwrath charged across the mat, its short form possessing surprising speed as it slashed an open palm right for Monferno's neck. Monferno mimicked with his own Brick Break, deflecting Poliwrath's terrifying chop with a slice of his own.

"Thunder Punch!" Ash yelled, wanting to defeat Misty and her Poliwrath as quickly as possible. Golden electricity curled around Monferno's tightened fingers as he wound his arm back for a punch. Poliwrath balked. Ash was surprised by the fear its eyes held when it scrambled away from the Thunder Punch as quickly as possible.

Poliwrath shrieked and flailed, but successfully managed to avoid the attack. But Ash and Monferno were too bemused to pounce on that moment of weakness.

As Poliwrath returned to its side of the arena, eyes wide and chest heaving, Misty gave her pokémon a look of pity. "Poliwrath's deathly afraid of electricity," she explained, grimacing. "We're working on it." She said that rather quickly.

Ash raised an eyebrow. While he had no doubt that Poliwrath would naturally shy away from super-effective attacks - any pokémon would - the sheer intensity of hate and fright in its eyes was astounding. He hoped Misty would be able to help her Poliwrath get over that quickly. It looked downright terrified.

After assuring Hideki that she wasn't backing out, Misty urged her Poliwrath as gently as she could. "You can do it, Poliwrath," she soothed, although Ash could tell she was close to losing it. He knew her temper better than anyone. "This is the way if you ever want to get over your phobia. You can't run away from it forever, can you?"

Poliwrath gave her a look that said yes, it could, but it gulped and steeled itself, blinking the remnants of paranoia out of its bulbous eyes. Even still, Ash could see how hesitant it was in its walks. He was going to capitalise on it.

He felt a bit sorry for putting Poliwrath in such a position, but this was the sport they were engaging in. Pokémon battling was downright brutal at times, but this was the price to pay to get stronger, and pokémon knew that as well.

"Thunder Punch, again!" Ash said, ignoring Misty's glare from across the mats. "Keep it going!"

Poliwrath made a noise halfway between a whimper and a scream. Blue sparks danced across Monferno's fists once again and he lunged, aiming at his foe's spiral. But even in its terrified trance, Poliwrath was agile and graceful in its ducks and twists as it hopped further and further away from the Thunder Punches. Despite the almost comical fear etched on its face, Ash had to give it credit for maintaining some semblance of control even under such pressure.

It ducked and spun and jumped high to avoid each blindingly-fast punch thrown at it. The hum of electricity filled the air, sweeping over the crackle that came with Monferno's growls - and then it slipped up, ducking far too late, and a burst of lightning smacked it square in its belly.

Its shriek was inhuman as it was sent flying back. Poliwrath writhed, electricity coursing through its system, and stood on its knees with fear running through every muscle. Misty cursed and the dojo masters shot her a stern glare. "Again!" Ash said, grinning.

"Poliwrath, come on!" yelled Misty, pulling at her hair. The water-type scowled, picking itself up, but despite its brave face Ash could tell it was waiting to run away. It did - as soon as Monferno lunged, it back-flipped several feet away with no hesitation.

And then Misty smiled, an idea striking her. There was a mad gleam in her eyes. "Cover your front with mud, quick!" She repeated her words with more ferocity when Poliwrath hesitated. It back-pedalled from another Thunder Punch, then pressed its gloved palms to create a sphere of mud - tightly packed and ready to be fired. But instead of blasting Monferno with a face full of dirt, it splatted the earthy ball all over itself, smearing its arms and belly with thick, wet mud.

Ash shot the referees an incredulous look - surely they would give Misty a strike for using a non-physical attack - but they shook their heads, smirking wryly. "They didn't attack your pokémon," Aaron pointed out. "They hit themselves. It's allowed."

Ash grit his teeth and glared at Misty, whose infuriating smile only enraged him further. "Thunder Punch is useless!" Ash warned. Monferno scowled, shaking off the sparks around his fists. "Poison Jab and Brick Break!"

Poliwrath had just blinked the dirt out of its eyes when a fist of intense purple energy blew into its face. It grunted in pain and was sent flipping away, and it stood on trembling knees as it touched spot between its eyes. Toxins burned through its thin skin and began pulsing through its blood.

It lashed out with a Mega Punch just in time to block Monferno's Brick Break. Ash noticed that it was moving slower now, no doubt from the debilitating poison afflicting it, along with the mud all over. The resistance to electricity had come with a price - the mud sticking to its arms and chest had begun to weigh it down, and now it was far easier for Monferno to catch up.

"Body Slam!" Misty yelled, prompting Poliwrath to leap at Monferno in an attempt to crush him under its weight.

"Flame Wheel!" Ash responded. Fire blazed around Monferno as he leapt away from Poliwrath, who bounced against the mats and completely missed its target, and then twisted into a roll and crunched into the amphibian's back before it could recover.

Poliwrath was sent skidding, flipping to stumbled back onto its feet, and grunted as it tightened its fist under Misty's command. "Drain Punch!"

Monferno frowned. Ash had no doubt he was remembering his battle with Erika's Breloom. "Stone Edge!" he cried, and a massive blade of stone punched through the floor, tearing through the mat. It snapped into Poliwrath with a crunch. Flecks of mud sprayed the air as the water-type flew away and landed in a tangled heap.

Misty frowned. "Okay, Poliwrath. Belly Drum!"

Poliwrath hissed as it beat its gut with terrifying force. Once, twice, three times and more, filling Ash's ears with the slap of its skin. An insurmountable amount of adrenaline and hormones filled its bloodstream, but at a price - accessing such raw, unbound power came at the cost of serious pain and damage to itself.

Crimson engulfed its form as it roared, eyes burning with rage. Even a single blow from Poliwrath would be devastating enough to end the fight. Ash gulped. "Bulk Up!" he told Monferno. The fire-type nodded, pounding his fists together - his muscles grew more defined and the flame on his tail blazed wilder.

"Time to pull out the big guns," Misty remarked, smirking. "Aqua Punch!"

Ash frowned. What was-

Spheres of pulsing water bubbled around Poliwrath's fists. They looked like oversized gloves, rippling and foaming, and then it lunged forth with a push of its powerful legs and punched Monferno with the speed of a rocket.

An explosion of water swept over Monferno in a pulsing wave, and the might behind the punch was incredible enough to send the fire-type flying in a straight line. A look of dawning horror crossed Ash's face as Monferno landed on his back so suddenly that he feared his friend had cracked bones.

Another sphere of water pulsed to life around Poliwrath. Misty laughed triumphantly, urging her pokémon to renew its assault. "Again!" she snapped, eyeing Monferno like a Pidgeot. Poliwrath nodded, rolling its shoulders, and broke into a charge.

"Mach Punch!" Ash said. Monferno was groaning and clutching his head as he stood on shaky legs, and Ash could only hope that he would react swiftly. Another punch from Poliwrath - coupled with Belly Drum and the devastating technique Misty had invented - would end this fight.

He reared an arm to strike, but Poliwrath was too fast. The glove of shining water beaned him square in his chest, exploding in a blast of water once more. It rippled outward like a shockwave, splattering the psychic boundaries and drenching Monferno as he was repelled several feet.

Ash cursed himself as Monferno snapped into the mats face-first. As he lay there, groaning in pain, Misty squealed and jumped, shooting him an infuriatingly innocent wink. Ash had half a mind to rip that smug smirk off her face-

A scream made him flinch. Trembling, he turned slowly, eyes wide in dawning horror as Monferno shrieked into the floor. Smoke and heat rushed from him and the flame on his tail shot forth several feet, spinning and flickering wildly as it turned a terrifying blue.

No, no, no no nononono! Fear gripped Ash's heart and the entire room turned silent, except for Monferno's roars of raw rage. Hideki and Aaron tensed, their Medicham humming. Misty frowned. Poliwrath slackened, cocking its head and grunting in confusion.

And Monferno's eyes snapped towards the water-type. His roar returned tenfold, piercing enough for everyone to wince. Ash's fingers closed around Monferno's pokéball, but he hesitated when curiosity won over. He wanted to see if he could control himself…

"Ash," said Misty slowly, "what's up－"

A jet of white fire crossed the field in a second. Poliwrath flinched, but it was unable to do anything; in the blink of an eye it was consumed by raging flames. The air roared with heat. Ash could feel it through the barriers.

Misty scowled. "Ash, what the hell?!" Poliwrath emerged from the fire with a grimace, eyes twitching in pain. The cone of fire disappeared, but Monferno did not stop; in two leaps he covered the entire arena, punching with a glowing fist just as Poliwrath crossed its arms in defense, but even then it was repelled by the sheer force behind the blow.

Another Flamethrower spun out and bathed the world in flames. Poliwrath shrieked and scrambled out of the fire, but Monferno was upon it in a second. His fists shone with blinding power as he punched the water-type in the centre of its spiral. Its eyes bugged out as it was sent flying, and it slumped to the floor in an unconscious heap.

"Return your pokémon!" Aaron yelled. Ash flinched, but nodded. He raised the pokéball and brushed his finger over the return button, but Monferno noticed. His eyes turned from his sleeping prey and focused on the pokéball in Ash's hand, eyes unblinking as a beam of red shot out; but Monferno danced out of the way at the last second and the beam simply struck Misty's unconscious Poliwrath and fizzled. The pokéball in Ash's hand crackled like as if it had short-circuited.

Monferno screamed into the sky, spitting a geyser of fire that made the air burn. His fists glowed again and he pounced on Poliwrath again, but Misty recalled her pokémon and his hands punched through empty air.

"Recall your pokémon, now!" Hideki snapped. The two Medicham at his side teetered menacingly, as if waited for the order to attack.

Ash pointed the pokéball at Monferno, but nothing happen. Realisation struck him and he cursed. "It's timed out for trying to capture a trainer's pokémon!" he said.

Hideki growled. He exchanged a look with Aaron and nodded at the pair of Medicham at their sides. They entered the arena in a single leap and surrounded Monferno on either end.

For the first time in his unbridled rage, Monferno did not attack outright. He waited, patient and glancing at the psychics, as if waiting for them to move. Ash stared in terrified fascination, as if watching a car crash in motion.

The Medicham on Monferno's right flicked its wrists. A wave of psychic energy erupted from the motion and a cone of blue fire flew out to neutralize it. The fire was diffused in an instant, but the heat made the Medicham flinch, and Monferno took that moment of weakness to charge in a cloak of fire.

The second Medicham interrupted his Flame Charge - pillars of stone erupted around Monferno, halting his rush and trapping him shut in a rocky pyramid. Monferno's roars were only magnified from within. Fire began to spill out as the stone structure turned cherry red - and then there was an explosion of rubble and stone as Monferno destroyed his prison in a single strike.

Ash got over his moment of utter shock - when had Monferno ever displayed such strength before? - and stumbled back as a stray Flamethrower impacted the psychic barrier protecting him. His face stung - he felt his eyes dry up and his vision blurred. Ash gasped and focused on the battle once more. Monferno was almost a blur, weaving around lightning-fast punches and psychic blasts with disgusting ease.

Spirals of blue fire spun from his mouth and coiled around the Medicham. The Fire Spins weren't just fiery vortexes - they were towers of flame, a veritable maelstrom of dancing flame. Ash could hear the psychics' cries from within the roar the Fire Spin that moved in accordance to Monferno's will - with every flick of his tail they grew taller and blazed brighter, shifting from blue to white and blue again-

A shockwave of pure energy extinguished the Fire Spin despite its vigour - a Force Palm, Ash recognized. The other Medicham followed its companion's motion and dissipated its own fire vortex and they emerged, covered in burns and singed flesh. Monferno hammered his chest. He screamed a gout of flame and eyed the Medicham dangerously. They returned his stare, teetering with an eerie hum.

One Medicham charged Monferno with a Shadow Ball. He ducked under the blast and retaliated with a Brick Break that snapped into his enemy's jaw. The other Medicham poured its energy into a sphere of intense blue, firing it with extreme prejudice. Monferno scowled, bracing himself in the face of the Focus Blast that knocked him several feet away.

"Monferno, stop!" Ash yelled, anger crawling in his voice. He couldn't help but recoil at the sudden glare sent his way. But for once, Monferno's rage wavered - amidst the raw fury was a look of recognition, but it vanished the second it had come.

The pair of Medicham pounced in that moment. One slapped an open palm in Monferno's chest; the Force Palm rocketed him into a Zen Headbutt that snapped into his back. Monferno began to rise and fire spilled from his mouth, but a psychic prison kept him locked in place while the other Medicham soared skywards in a single leap.

Ash felt the still pokéball in his hand fuzzed back to life, and a surge of joy rose in his chest. As quickly as he could he aimed the ball at Monferno, but it soon turned out that he didn't really have to.

The airborne Medicham sank down like a stone in water. Monferno writhed against the psychic force pinning him down, but to no avail - Medicham landed on him with a glowing knee that crushed him in place and instantly knocked him out. The inferno on his tail came to a trickle, a mere ember as his eyes rolled in their sockets.

Ash was silent as he returned Monferno. His eyes never left the arena - badly scorched and torn up. He felt everyone's intense stare upon him.

After what seemed like an eternity of silence, Hideki spoke. "Your Monferno needs to be controlled," he said with a scowl. "An ill-trained pokémon can lead to much devastation."

His jaw tightened. Ash refused to retort - he feared he would yell and he didn't want an already bad situation to get worse. Instead he just nodded slowly, not meeting anyone's eye, and moved to take his leave when the dojo masters abruptly informed them of the end of their session.

Once they were outside, Misty exploded. "What the hell was that, Ketchum?" she cried. Ash could feel her glare burn into his back. "Monferno's worse than ever. What happened?"

"Blaze happened," he grumbled.

Misty huffed. "Obviously he isn't ready to use Blaze," she said. "Honestly, with the amount of training you do I figured you'd get him under control-"

"I have been training!" Ash snapped. His cheeks flushed with anger. "We've been working on it forweeks! There's something wrong with Monferno but no matter how hard I try, nothing seems to work. Shut up!"

Misty flinched. She stepped back and looked at him in fear - and it was then that Ash realised the uncharacteristic vehemence that had crept into his features. Where had that come from?

His anger softened and the red on his face was now from embarrassment. "Just leave me alone," he mumbled, too ashamed to look her in the face.

Misty's eyes hardened. She turned around and left in another direction, and Ash didn't blame her for getting mad at him. He needed to clear his mind, too.

That night, Ash found it difficult to sleep. He was angry because Monferno displayed no progress in terms of controlling his Blaze-induced rage - it just seemed to be getting worse. He didn't know what to do.

Ash scowled, pulling at his blankets. It all seemed so hopeless. Why couldn't he catch a break?

XxXxX

Over the next few days, Misty stopped giving him the cold shoulder. Ash was grateful. Things were still awkward, but he was glad they were back on speaking terms once again, even if there were agonising silences every now and then. Then again, things were still much better between them than with Ash and his team.

Monferno had been ashamed and horrified with his episode in the Fighting Dojo - not that Ash blamed him. The road to healing would be a long and painful one, but Ash could only hope they would reach the end without any more hitches. He'd spoken with Professor Oak the very next day, but his words provided little comfort.

That wasn't the only problem in their group. There was something going on between Screecher and Delphi - ever since the meeting with Sabrina, now that he thought about it. They'd gotten extremely well before, but now it seemed that they hated each others' guts - well, at least Delphi did. Indignant squawks were shrieked whenever they were out at the same time, and even Ash's protests seemed to have no effect. When he asked her what the cause for such anger was, Delphi had turned silent. She refused to speak to him about it, and any attempt at bringing up the topic resulted in her giving him the silent treatment, much to his frustration.

But Ash was now beginning - or trying - to slowly understand why Delphi had begun to dislike Screecher so. She had begun to act very, very oddly. He found her staring at him during every living moment. Frankly, it creeped him out. He was used to her antics, but it was as if there was now a…sinister side to it. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he found himself mildly uncomfortable whenever she floated too close.

Last night, he'd blearily woken up to see her amber eyes a mere inch from his face. That had given him enough nightmares to last a lifetime.

With so many problems at hand, Ash relished the distraction that came in the form of a tour of the Silph company. At least today, he'd be rather carefree. The tour itself didn't sound too bad, and Misty was accompanying, so he had someone to talk to while their guide would drone on. Maybe he could get his hands on some unreleased trainer gear, as well…

Most of the buildings around Silph Co were positively tiny. It was as if they were crowning the jewel of Saffron that shone brighter than the sun at night. There were already a couple of people there inside, waiting patiently in the lobby with the tour guide, who greeting Ash and Misty with cheerful smiles.

Samirah - the tour guide - led them easily to the row of elevators after handing them identity cards. Ash was stunned by how luxurious the interior was. He'd expected it to be more business-like, but the lobby itself reminded him of the entrance to a five-star hotel. He wasn't too surprised, considering how much Silph raked in profits.

"Welcome to the Silph Corporation!" said Samirah, grabbing their collective attention effortlessly. "Born from the mind of our founder Cadmus Silph, the Silph Tower hosts ninety-nine floors of innovation. Our scientific minds are pushing the boundaries of…"

Ash found himself tuning out Samirah's voice more than he liked to admit. He was too busy fighting the urge to fidget with things here and there, although he did manage to catch bits and pieces of her voice every now and then. Misty looked much more interested in the whole ordeal than Ash ever would be.

"...and here's a little sneak peak at our latest pokéball prototype!" said Samirah cheerfully, grinning at a scientist to her right. They were now well on the twentieth floor, where they had been led to the research and development levels of the skyscraper. Ash was thrilled at having a sneak peek at all the unreleased trainer supplies still in development, and the tour group had been hanging onto Samirah's every word for the past half hour. "Beau, if you could…"

The scientist handed over a pokéball. It was plain and ordinary-looking in every sense, except for the top half which was a bright yellow. "We call this the invisiball," Samirah told them in a stage-whisper. "It looks like a regular pokéball, but when you tap this button…"

The yellow pokéball hummed. Ash waited for a second or two, and then it shimmered and vanished out of sight.

Misty blinked. "What the hell?"

"How did it vanish?" asked a weedy trainer from the other side of the group.

Samirah laughed. "It doesn't actually vanish," she told him. "The invisiball is covered in a carbon meta-material that bends light perfectly to create full transparency."

As she said that, the invisiball flickered back to visibility, and her nose scrunched up in distaste. "As you can see it's not up to par - the surface is highly corrosive and doesn't do well around electric-type pokémon - but it's still in the developmental phase, and our amazing scientists are working as hard as they can to get it out to you as soon as possible!"

Ash clapped with the rest of the group. He couldn't wait for these so-called 'invisiballs' to be available in the market. He didn't know if he wanted to expand the team anymore, but if he did then catching a new pokémon would be much easier with one of these.

"And if you've never been able to find a ghost pokémon as much as you've tried, you'll definitely love the Silph scope!" said Samirah. Her hands were now holding a thick, heavy pair of mechanical binoculars. "Not only can this identify ghost-type pokémon in surrounding areas, but any invisible po－"

Suddenly, the lights overhead flickered. Samirah frowned. "Is something wrong?" asked Misty.

The guide shook her head, but Ash swallowed. For some reason, it was as if a Spinarak was crawling on his back, and he felt like something was about to go horribly wrong－

"Hands in the air!" someone screamed, and several people jumped; Ash heard the Silph scope hit the floor with a heavy clunk. "Now!"

Men and women clad in black jumpsuits filed into the room like an armed guard. Ash frowned. Who－

And then he saw the massive, red 'R' emblazoned on the front of their suits. His blood froze.

Team Rocket?

Someone to his left screamed. One of the Rocket grunts rushed forward, raising an electrified baton, and slammed it against the trainer's skull with a heavy thump. Crimson oozed from his forehead as he crumpled.

More screams. On instinct, Ash's hands flew to the pokéballs on his belt, but a Rocket grunt punched his wrist and he gasped in pain. Then a rough hand grasped his shoulder and shoved him down, and Ash fell on his rear.

"None of that," said the Rocket gruffly. Ash nodded dumbly, too shocked to be enraged, and huddled closer to the sides of a cubicle. Fear held his heart captive, overwhelming any rage that tried to spark within him.

Thin fingers wrapped against his hand and Ash jumped again. Misty. She was at his side. Her lips trembled with rage, but her eyes were comforting as she sidled up closer.

One of the grunts climbed up a desk, stamping over papers and kicking a computer to the ground. Whimpers mixed with the crash of plastic and glass. "Listen up!" boomed the Rocket, and there was silence.

Several pokéballs burst open. Ash flinched. He prepared for the Rockets to open fire at the offender, but he quickly realised that it was the Rockets themselves (there looked to be less than a dozen of them) that had released their pokémon - several Golbat took to the Rockets' shoulders and a mischief of Raticate clicked their fangs on the floor. An acrid scent took over Ash's senses - almost hidden behind the huddled Raticate was a considerably large Koffing.

"This is a hostage situation," he declared, a cruel grin splitting his face. "You make a sound, and we kill you. You move, we kill you. You do so much as try anything brave - you guessed it, we kill you."

The Rocket palmed his electric baton, smile thin. "Now," he said. "There will be no need for bloodshed as long as you cooperate. I'm sure Silph would hate to spend a few bucks scrubbing your blood off their pristine floors."

And he laughed, with the rest of the Rockets joining in. Righteous anger replaced the fear in his lungs. His fists tightened painfully. Where the hell had they come from?!

Ash's eyes drilled into the Rocket's back, as if he wanted to impale the man with his gaze. Several of the Raticate were now straying away from their trainers, hissing and snarling and snapping their incisors.

One of the scientists, either too brave or too stupid, spoke. "There's no pokémon here for you scum to steal," she spat.

The lead Rocket smirked, although his tightened jaw was noticeable to all. He jumped off the desk in a graceful heap. "Oh, but that's not why we're here," he said, leaning close to sniff the scientist in a perverse way. "But, to answer your question, there are a lot of the damn things to steal!"

He made his point by unhooking the belt of pokéballs around the unconscious trainer, still bleeding heavily. The other Rockets cackled.

The Rocket spun the pokéball on his finger, and, in one clean toss, threw it down at a Raticate by his feet; it caught the ball between its teeth. "Crush it."

Everyone watched in horror as the rat clamped down hard, keeping the pokéball in a vice as it was slowly crushed. Sparks flew madly out of it, decorating the air. The metal of the pokéball began to screech. More sparks danced. The Raticate grimaced as it struggled to pulverise the device. And then, finally, there was a scream of electricity as the pokéball crumbled, bits of shrapnel flying out and covering the floor at the Raticate's feet in shattered remains of pokéball.

Ash's stomach twisted. He felt the urge to puke, but anger occupied his senses as the Rockets began to laugh. Someone's pokémon had been killed, and they were laughing. He wanted to lunge and wrap his fingers against the Rocket's throat, but Misty pinched his wrist and slowly shook her head.

"That's one less 'mon to steal," quipped the Rocket, smiling. "Get the others."

There were cries of protest, but they shut off when the Rockets charged up their batons. One by one the Rockets relieved the hostages of their pokémon. A few tried to resist, but the threat of a beating made them deflate rather instantly.

"Quite a nice collection, eh?" muttered one of the Rockets, eyeing Misty's band of pokéballs with glee. Then he turned to frown at Ash. "What're you looking at?"

"I'm looking at a waste of oxygen, that's what," he hissed, venom in his words. It wasn't witty like he'd hoped it to be, but he was too overwhelmed with emotion to care.

"What the hell are doing?" Misty whispered, just enough for only Ash to hear.

The Rocket snorted. "Looks like we got a brave one, boys." He got to his knees, and Ash had to recoil when he caught a whiff of the grunt's nauseatingly bad breath. "What'd I say about trying anything brave?"

"Is bad hygiene a requirement for being a Rocket?" Ash taunted, relishing the fury in the Rocket's eyes. "Even if it wasn't, you don't look like you'd care about it, anyway. Now all you need is a bag for that thing you call a face and－"

The rest of his words died in his mouth as the Rocket slapped him across his face. It stung like a Magmar's flames, and Ash's eyes watered in pain. "You little fucker," the Rocket growled, his jaws trembling. "You need to be taught a lesson."

And his hands moved to Ash's waist. It took a second for him to realise what was happening, because the Rocket had already unhooked his belt of pokéballs. Ash's heart stopped, hands flying to wrestle his team from the Rocket's grasp, but the grunt was far more dexterous, and a second slap across the face left Ash sputtering as he collected himself.

"No!" Ash gasped. His lips trembled and fear seized his every muscle; his brave facade had shattered. Not his friends.

Ash moved to lunge at the man, but one of the Raticate lunged between them. It snarled, eyes bloodshot and fangs clicking as it was held back by a mere command. "Not so brave now, are you?" said the Rocket grunt, waving the belt of pokéballs tantalizingly close.

"I- I'm sorry," Ash mumbled hurriedly, hating himself for sounding pathetic and weak and begging for mercy. "Just leave- leave my team alone. I'll do anything."

"You need to understand the consequence of your insolence," said the Rocket coldly, and Ash's heart sank faster than a stone in water. A black hole formed in the pit of his stomach, draining every ounce of energy within him, and he suddenly felt very dizzy.

"Raticate, you know what to do," he ordered, as if this was an everyday thing - which, Ash figured, it probably was.

"Don't!" Ash screamed, tears blurring his vision. The reality of the situation suddenly descended upon him like a Fearow. His friends were going to die, and they wouldn't know, and he couldn't do a single thing about it.

The Rocket laughed. "I like the way you beg, kid."

And he hurled one of the pokéballs at the Raticate.

A swarm of emotions whirled through Ash in a split-second. Dread, fear, hate and anger and so much more.

And then there was only a cold, fierce determination that took over. His pokémon were not going to die!

A rush of adrenaline had Ash leaping at the Rocket leader in a piercing scream. Shock crossed the grunt's face. He unclipped the baton at the side of his waist, but Ash was already upon him before the stick could spark with electricity. The grunt yelped. The rest of the Rockets, either too stunned or too stupid, only stared dumbly.

Ash bowled into the grunt and sent him stumbling into the desk. The Rocket shrieked, and Ash quickly pried the electric baton from his fingers before he could react. As the grunt slumped over, Ash struggled with the thought of crushing the man before his very eyes, but a snarl from behind tore him away from his thoughts.

The Raticate had recovered from its initial surprise. It hissed and spat, leaving Ash's pokéball in favour of defending its master. He was glad to see the ball rolling on the floor, unscathed, but the large weight rising from his shoulders came crashing down back when he realised the Raticate was about to attack.

Ash gripped the baton and swung just as the feral creature leapt at him. There was a burst of electricity as the rod sliced right across the Raticate's face, and it shrieked, convulsing on the floor. It recovered, albeit wincing, and that gave Ash some hope. It was weak. Maybe he could take it on, however fragile he was－

And then pain lanced through the back of his head. A meaty fist bounced off his skull and Ash was sent tumbling to the ground. Ash's eyes turned watery again. He blinked the tears out of his eyes, only to be kicked in the chest and sent sprawling. Pain speared his chest, and now it hurt to breathe.

The lead Rocket had regained his senses, and now he towered over Ash, the rest of his companions flanking him. "You're fucking dead!" he roared, snatching the electric baton from the floor. Ash glared up in hate and fear. The rest of the hostages scrambled away from him as he inched further and further away from the advancing Rockets.

His back pressed against something wooden. There was no way to go. He was going to die here.

The Rocket leader held up a hand; the remaining grunts stopped in their tracks, but they looked no less angry. "We're going to kill you," he told Ash, teeth gritted as if fighting some animalistic urge. "First, I'm going to rip your guts out. Next, we'll kill every single soul in this room, starting with that bitch." He pointed at Samirah, who wailed and cowered under his stare.

And then he held Ash's belt again. "You're not going to have it easy, you little shit. Your pokémon will be crushed while you bleed out. And you're going to watch."

Ash gulped. He turned to Misty, but she looked away, and dread wrapped his heart in its icy embrace. No. This couldn't be it, he wasn't going to die this way his friends weren't going to die he needed to do something－

His pokéball. Ash moved faster than a viper. The Rockets frowned, confused, but then roared in angered surprise as Ash grabbed the sphere within arms reach－

"Go!" screamed Ash, his voice bouncing off the walls.

A flash of light. The Golbat hissed in pain and the ravenous Raticate by Ash's feet scuttled away in fear. Ash could smell the Rockets' fear now, and hope began rising in his chest as the energy coiled and materialised into one of his friends and-

But there was no roar or shriek or bleat. There was no enraged Hydrus drenching his foes in water blasts, or an annoyed Kratos cutting down his enemies faster than they could realise. Ash frowned. Even the Rockets were too confused to bury him under a pile of malevolent rodents. What…?

And then his eyes found the sandy cocoon lying still in the centre of the floor. Ash's heart dropped.

The Rockets busted out laughing. Ash couldn't have been hurt more if they'd shot him. What could he do with Atlas? He was as good as useless in this state, and Ash's chances of survival dropped to less than zero. His once shot at getting out of this was gone.

"What is that?" said one of the Rockets in the back.

"Did you really think your bootleg Metapod would save you?" mocked the lead grunt. He sniffed imperiously, and punted the cocoon of sand in a graceful sweep of his legs. Atlas flew and bounced off the wall with a pained, muffled chitter.

"Don't hurt him!" Ash roared, getting up again, but the Rocket struck with his baton.

Something snapped. Pain flashed through Ash's left arm. Suddenly he felt lighter and he nearly fell over as his momentum shifted. His vision blurred again, tears filling his view, and Ash hit the floor as his legs turned to jelly.

"That's just a taste of what's coming to you," he heard the Rocket say. Why did everything sound so fuzzy? "We're going to hurt you so much more. By the time we're done, you'll be begging for death, you little brat. And－"

For whatever reason, the Rocket stopped talking. Ash was glad - his temples hurt with every word and he just wanted to sleep the pain away. But then an impossible brightness seared his eyes, and then something cracked, and people were gasping and yelling…

The Rocket leader screamed. "What the fuck is that thing?"

And then the air exploded.

Ash gasped. It felt like his ears were about to burst. A destructive noise blasted everything in its path. Glass shattered and desks rattled. The Rockets shrieked. A pressure built up in the sides of Ash's head and he felt his brain was fit to burst-

The noise stopped, but Ash's ears still rang. "Get that thing!" cried one of the Rockets. Whatever had caused that sound reacted quickly - a piercing whistle made everyone clutch their heads in pain and agony stung Ash's ears once more.

Ash rolled to his unharmed side, blinking the tears from his eyes. Everything was still blurry, but he could make out the black figures that were the Rockets rush forward with their army of Raticate and Golbat. Another round of that same devastating sound rang through the floor, and, this time, Ash didn't hold in his scream. He yelled so much he felt his throat go raw and he feared his vocal chords would tear.

BOOM! The Koffing at the end of the room detonated. A concussive blast of heat and light rippled out, and Ash crawled for cover. Even in his desperate run for protection, Ash could tell that the explosion itself was weak, even though it was enough to blow splinters through the air. The shockwave made the floor itself shudder, and intense heat swept across every inch of the room.

Ash's ears were ringing and his body hurt, but he lifted himself off of the floor. Everything around him was wrecked. He moved to walk, but instantly regretted his decision; pain wracked his injured arm and he fell to his knees. He heard someone run up to him. He tried to bat them away, but he was too weak to even groan.

"Don't move," he heard the person snap. Misty. It sounded like her, anyway. Ash sagged. He felt so tired. Maybe he could take a nap…

No. He shook his head, but even that took a lot of effort. He needed to stay awake. It wouldn't do to pass out now.

"Fuck!" Ash's head snapped to the voice, and his energy returned tenfold. The Rockets. They were still here. He needed to stop them－

A weird buzzing came to life. The Rocket in question shrieked - a keening, unmanly sound. Ash's eyes turned to the source, and…what was that?

Ash had never seen the damn thing before. It was insectoid, he could make out, from its segmented body nearly four feet long and covered in sandy yellow scales. It had bulging green eyes, almost comical, and two pronged antennae. Its four emerald, diamond-shaped wings fluttered rapidly as it struggled to stay afloat and four twiggy legs kicked at the air like a child having a tantrum.

The thing tittered - a high, fuzzy sound. The Rocket jumped. "Get that bug away from me!" he shrieked.

The creature growled cutely, although Ash was more unnerved than anything. Then its wings flapped faster than before, turning near invisible, and a sharp, supersonic whistle made everyone grimace. The Rocket's reaction, however, was far worse. He wailed like a banshee and fell to his knees, writhing like he was being tortured, until something snapped within and he slumped over, unconscious.

A few hisses made Ash momentarily look around. The place was completely destroyed. Debris was strewn all over the floor and a small fire burned from the wreckage. The Koffing was out cold, charred and smoking with the same dumb grin plastered across its face.

Several of the Golbat and Raticate had been knocked out from the resulting explosion, as well as the rest of the Rocket grunts - they had been too close to the source of the detonation to not suffer their fate. A few remained standing, and focused their eyes on the odd bug that had become the center of attention.

The two conscious Golbat hissed madly. They flanked the bug and swooped in for a venomous bite, but the insect hissed and breathed a gout of turquoise flames. One of the Golbat fluttered away on instinct, but the other, too dumb or too brave, charged in and was swallowed by the draconic fire. It hit the floor with a thump.

The Raticate hissed. There were three of them left, but the creature looked unfazed. It cocked its head and breathed the same fire again, and struck home. One by one, the Raticate fell.

The last remaining Golbat screamed. It slashed its wings, releasing crescents of energy, but the strange insect twisted and barrelled out of the way. Deep grooves formed in the wall from the Air Cutter, but the Golbat wasn't done; venom began to drip from its fangs and with a flap of its wings it launched at its foe with speed that Ash hadn't expected a Rocket pokémon to have.

The bug screamed. Turquoise energy flared around its tapered tail and it swung, smashing the Dragon Tail right between the Golbat's eyes. There was a sickening crunch. The Golbat was sent flying away, and it crashed into a shattered desk and went limp under a pile of splinters.

It tittered again - this time, it sounded happy - and landed carefully on a pile of unconscious Raticate.

Ash stared at it. It stared back. It cocked its head innocently, and then Ash placed where he'd seen it before. His pokédex…

It was a Vibrava. It was Atlas! Atlas had evolved!

"Atlas?!" Ash exclaimed, incredulous. The insectoid creature screeched happily, and that did it - that was his friend, finally having emerged from his sandy shell in all of his resplendent glory.

Ash grinned. Despite his overwhelming fatigue, he couldn't help but be happy. If was as if Atlas had returned home from a long voyage…

Ash moved to hug his friend, but he immediately regretted it. His legs wobbled and he crashed to the floor. "You're hurt!" he heard Misty's voice say.

"Thanks, I had no idea," Ash snapped waspishly. He heard her teeth grind.

"Stay here," she told him firmly. He felt her hands leave his shoulders, and Ash struggled to stay upright. His arm hurt so bad…

The sound of a pokémon being released gave him life. "Slowbro, use Heal Pulse."

Warmth flooded Ash instantly. He felt the pressure on his left arm lift until it was barely noticeable and the throbbing pain vanish. His vision cleared. His ears stopped ringing.

"Wha…?" The tightness in his chest hadn't gone, but everything was feeling better now, and he couldn't care less.

Misty knelt next to him. "Slowbro took care of you," she told him. Ash noticed the pink mammal next to Misty smiling down at him.

"Oh," he said dumbly.

Misty nodded. "You'll be fine for a while, but you still need medical attention. We need to－ AAAH!"

Ash jumped. He whipped around, wincing as his left arm throbbed, but it was just…Atlas. The Vibrava had flown over, albeit awkwardly, and was buzzing away happily at his trainer. Misty, however, didn't take his appearance so kindly. She was all over the place, flailing and screaming while Atlas blinked at her in confusion. Snickering, Ash remembered he fear for bugs.

"He's not a bug-type!" Ash complained, rolling his eyes.

Misty scowled. "How do you know?" Her Slowbro was simply amused as its trainer hid behind it, shaking like a leaf.

"Because that's Atlas," Ash said fondly, smiling as the Vibrava flapped its rhombus-shaped wings and settled on Ash's shoulder. "You finally decided to come out of your shell, huh?"

Atlas chirped and nipped at Ash's collar. Despite the drastic change in appearance, he was still the innocent, playful child of the group.

"That's nice and all, but we've got a situation on our hands," said someone. Ash looked around. The group of hostages had collected themselves, frazzled and angry and scared. "Where the hell did Team Rocket come from? I thought this place was safe!"

Angry murmurs rose. It looked like it was about to devolve into furious yelling, but Samirah, the tour guide, instantly took charge and calmed everyone.

"We need to keep it together!" she snapped. "Who knows how many more Rockets are swarming the damn building?"

"I want to know why they were here in the first place!" yelled a trainer, slamming his fist against a broken desk.

"We need to get this out to the authorities, first," suggested a scientist. "Can anyone ring up the police?"

"There's no signal," said Misty, already having her pokégear out. "There's some interference blocking us out."

Samirah cursed. "Damn it!"

"Our best bet is getting out of here," said a scientist. "We can't stay here any longer. If the Rockets find us, they'll kill us for taking out their grunts."

"He's right," Misty said, nodding. "But how do we get out? We can't just go down the elevators and expect the Rockets to let us pass."

"Is there a emergency exit we can go through?" someone asked, hopeful.

"Wait, hold on," Ash interjected, blinking. He looked around, ignoring Atlas' buzzing wings. "There are Rockets swarming the whole place. Aren't we going to do something about it?"

Misty frowned. "We are. We're going to the police. They'll probably send a SWAT team－"

"We need to save the rest of the people being held hostage!" Ash snapped, his disbelief at their words growing. He massaged his stinging arm. "Every second we waste another innocent person or pokémon being killed at the hands of Team Rocket. We have to free as many people as we can－"

"What do you want us to do?" Misty cried. "Storm the building? This isn't the time to be a hero, Ash."

Ash's cheeks reddened. "Fine," he said sullenly, but inside he couldn't help but be conflicted. The need to help them surged to life, but, above all, Ash wanted to beat Team Rocket. He wanted them to hurt.

"The stairs are out best bet," Samirah said. "I can lead us out of here."

"Maybe I can try teleporting us. My Starmie's really good at it," Misty suggested.

Everyone murmured in agreement. Misty tapped the release on another one of her pokéballs, wincing at the snapping sound that came with the release of her Starmie. It was emotionless as ever, although it hummed with worry and levitated protectively over to Misty almost immediately.

"Okay Starmie," Misty called. "Warp us out of here."

Starmie's gem flashed. The air grew heavy with a psychic presence, and Ash felt something pull at his navel…but nothing happened.

"What just happened?" Ash asked, confused.

Misty frowned. Starmie's gemstone glowed. They exchanged a look for what felt like an eternity; then, Misty broke their connection, eyes narrowed in a glare and a curse forming at her lips.

"Something's blocking us out," Misty growled. "There's some- some kind of barrier."

The group of them groaned. "We have to go down the stairwell then," Samirah repeated firmly. "It's just twenty floors. We'll make it."

Several of them looked skeptical. Ash didn't want to go, either - a surge of guilt surfaced as he thought of the rest of the hostages. What were the Rockets doing to them? He didn't want to think of that.

"Let's move quickly," Misty said, shuddering as she threw one last look at the defeated Rockets. "They might figure out something's wrong."

There were murmurs of agreement. Sighing, Ash glanced at the Vibrava on his shoulder, and smiled. "Hey buddy," he said. "I know you're excited, but I need to recall you, alright?"

Atlas whined - it was with an odd buzzing that Ash hoped he would get used to in time - but let his trainer recalled him. He really didn't want Atlas back to the sidelines, especially after evolving, but he didn't want to send a distress signal to every Rocket while they made their escape.

The weight on Ash's shoulder vanished with a flash of light, and he clipped the sphere to his belt, which he tightened with a sudden punch of relief. If the Rockets had destroyed even one of them…

Ash squeezed his eyes shut. That had been way too close.

They were quiet as they made their way to the stairwell. Every step they took only worsened their paranoia. Ash trailed at the back with Misty, muttering silently to himself as they proceeded floor by floor. They should've been storming the building! Saving the rest of them! He needed to take care of the Rockets!

And he knew he could take care of them. His team had six badges - he was as good as one of the top trainers this League season had to offer. Besides, they had Misty on their side. A gym leader. She very well had the authority and firepower to take out a Rocket invasion!

"Just a few more floors, everyone," Samirah called from below. Their entire group took two whole staircases. "We'll be out of here in no time…"

Ash scowled, rubbing his aching arm. He hated being at the sidelines. He wanted to help, not be a civilian and spectate while the police force cleaned this up. Luckily they had no run-ins with any more Rockets, and they were now down to the fourth floor. Just a little while longer and they were out of here…

Ash was so lost in his own thoughts that it took a few moments for him to realise the near-unnoticeable noise coming from upstairs. He frowned, confused and focused. It almost sounded like…footfalls?

A sense of growing dread bloomed within. Surely Team Rocket hadn't sniffed them out so quickly…

On instinct, he looked up - peering through the gap between staircases - and he could see a flurry of shadows. The sound of footsteps were still soft, but louder. Ash felt the group ahead of him slow down - they could hear it too.

Misty grasped his hand, and Ash didn't bother batting it away - his entire focus was fixed on the jumbled yells and cries coming from several floors higher. They were here. Team Rocket had found them out.

A small, pale face glanced through the gap between the stair spindles. Ash stared back into those beady, narrowed eyes, heart caught in his throat. There was a wicked smile.

"There they are!" cried the Team Rocket grunt, pointing a bony finger down at the group. For the longest second, the Rockets stopped advancing. Then the crowd of grunts clamoured for vengeance.

An uproar of shrieks surged at the sound of hurried footfalls. Several of the escapees were crying, while most began skipping steps as they ran down to escape the Rockets' wrath. It was every man for himself as they stampeded their way to the building's exit, and they were uncaring as they trampled over each other like a swarm of Raticate outrunning a nest of Ekans.

Misty tugged at Ash's wrist. "Ash, come on!" she screamed. He looked at her, fighting against her hold on him as she tried to pull him with her. Tears were freely rolling down her cheeks, and she stared at him questioningly in shock and anger.

But Ash had made his mind up. Fear wanted him escaping with the rest, but raging determination made him unclasp a pokéball. "I'll hold them off," he said bravely. He rolled the ball between his fingers. His thumb flitted across the release function.

Misty let out a choked gasp. "Wha－ Ash, this is no time to be a fucking hero!" she cried, hysterical.

Ash scowled. Couldn't she see that he had to- needed to stop them?! "Look, there's no time! They'll catch up to us in seconds if I don't do something about it," he spat. "I can take them on. Go, I can buy you some time!"

For a split-second, Misty was conflicted. Then her lips thinned and her eyes narrowed into a glare. She looked like she wanted to say something - her fingernails sliced into his flesh - but her painful hold on his wrist disappeared and she left with the rest of them.

Ash smiled with nervous excitement, looking up as the hurried footsteps were almost like a roaring rainstorm. "Hydrus, go!" he yelled, setting the Golduck loose in an instant.

Hydrus looked visibly surprised by everything - his surroundings, the footsteps above, and the fading wails from below. He glared questioningly at Ash, who pointed up at the noise of angry Team Rocket grunts. "Rockets," he said hurriedly, and the Golduck's eyes narrowed. His gem burned red. "Exactly. I need you to do something to stop them, or slow them down."

He quacked softly. Mist and frost began to form in his beak; in one fluid energy beam he engulfed the entire staircase they had stepped off and froze them solid. Ash blinked. "Is that your plan?" he muttered, tone snarky.

Hydrus growled, glaring at Ash in annoyance, but focused on the frozen stairs. He squeezed his eyes shut.

Ash felt his heart beat quicker. What the hell was Hydrus waiting for? The Rockets were almost upon them!

There was a blast of energy and light and a dangerous sound; a destructive wave of psychic energy erupted from Hydrus' gemstone with such potency that it obliterated the icy steps within a second. Ash clung to the spindles as the concrete stairs beneath his feet shuddered. The Rockets yelped in surprise, halting and sticking to the walls as the stairwell shook.

Ash took a second to examine the result of Hydrus' psychic wave. The whole staircase had been blown off. Crumbles of stone and ice had fallen to the stairs below them. The Rockets would have to risk a painful impact and skip an entire set of stairs in a single leap to get to them!

Ash laughed, and he slapped Hydrus on the back. "That was awesome!" he praised, and then he stared up at the fuming Rockets with a smug smirk. "Catch us if you can, you idiots!"

One of the Rockets roared. "Get the brat!"

"Later," said Ash through a snigger, jumping down the stairs like a child pumped with sugar. Hydrus mimicked his eagerness - he spat a joyous geyser of water up, soaking the underside of the stone stairs.

He could hear the Rockets' curses from all the way up, but Ash was too giddy to care the sound of snapping pokéballs - bone-ratting shrieks made him flinch and glance upwards, and his eyes narrowed at the appearance of five rabid Golbat. They squeaked wildly and bumped into each other, spitting horrid venom with every movement.

The Rockets spat something incoherent, and the Golbat gathered themselves, their bloodshot eyes swivelling to narrow down at Ash and Hydrus.

"Freeze them solid!" Ash cried, and Hydrus screamed in agreement. A sphere of icy blue energy formed in his open beak; the air turn cold and a trio of jagged bolts burst out harshly. Two splashed against the dull walls of the stairwell, sending a spray of crystalline ice everywhere. The last remaining ray of energy struck home, impacting the wings of a Golbat that was too slow to move.

Thick ice spread all over its right wing in matter of seconds, and it shrieked as it tumbled down, its howl fading as it disappeared from view. The other Golbat didn't care - they spat venomous barbs, shaped like stingers. Ash cowered, but Hydrus lazily shielded the two of them with a barrier of green energy. The Poison Stings ricocheted off the Protect attack and sizzled on the stone steps.

The Rocket grunts above screamed in frustration. One of them threw their electric batons at Ash, but Hydrus stepped in front of him. His claws dripped with black miasma and he snapped the baton in one clean swipe. It clattered against the stair spindles in a crackle of fading electricity.

"Psychic!" Ash ordered. Hydrus grunted. He held his claws out as his jewel shone with a crimson glow. A ripple of energy exploded out, tightening around the Golbat in a blue glow and slamming them into the walls.

Another Golbat fell. The remaining three shook their heads, recovering from the concussion, and bared their fangs as poison began to drip. Hydrus snarled and leapt, spinning into an Aqua Jet and interrupting a Golbat's Poison Fang. Water exploded everywhere and the bat pokémon was instantly knocked out from the attack, but Hydrus was now airborne and as a result he began to fall through the stairwell.

Ash gasped. "Hydrus!" he yelled unhelpfully.

Hydrus grimaced; he ricocheted off a set of stairs, flailing wildly, but fortunately his claws curled around a spindle, saving him from a terrible fall. It looked like his arm was about to tear right off as he grasped the metal rod, but he hung like his life depended on it. Unfortunately, he was two levels below Ash - leaving the boy open to attacks from the remaining duo of ravenous Golbat.

"Hydrus, I need your help," Ash pleaded, looking down the edge of the stairs. Hydrus glared back up, as if to say, I'm busy! Ash glanced at the Rockets. Suddenly they seemed far more terrifying without Hydrus by his side. Spit and venom flew freely, their teeth glowing black.

Ash fumbled for a second pokéball. One of the Golbat came dangerously close, its slavering maw open wide so it could snap into Ash's throat. He leapt down several stairs, almost twisting an ankle in his desperate run, and frantically tore off his backpack as fast as he could. The second Golbat came for a bite, and this time Ash smacked it right in the face. Its pained cry made Ash laugh.

Hydrus screamed a blast of water in a vain attempt at hitting the Golbat, but he missed by a wide margin and almost hit Ash. The wall cracked and a wild spray of water made his face sting. The hiss of a recovering Golbat made Ash focus. He pushed his backpack right in its face and manage to enlarge another pokéball right on time, and released the inhabitant directly in its eyes.

Screecher emerged in a flash, blinking for an instant as she stared at the Golbat and it stared back. Then she smiled and blasted it with a point-blank Shadow Ball that made Ash's teeth rattle.

Hydrus finally pulled himself back to solid ground, huffing as he stood on his knees. The last remaining Golbat exchanged a nervous look with Screecher and Hydrus, who stared back with a smile and a glower respectively. It grit its teeth to growl, but Hydrus tapped the gem on his forehead, shooting it with a brilliant beam of rainbow energy.

The Rockets paused. They were teetering at the edge of the gaping chasm that had formed as a result of the destroyed staircase. One of them - perhaps the head grunt, from the commanding way she glared at the rest - growled in frustration. "Go on!" she snapped. "Jump!"

The other Rockets looked at each other nervously, until the head Rocket chose one to take the plunge. The chosen grunt swallowed, but stepped back, and leapt with all the strength his legs had to offer. Ash back-pedalled, realising the grunt could easily make it across-

A river of spiralling, black rings struck the Rocket halfway through, square in the chest. There was a disgusting crunch - the sound of ribs breaking, Ash assumed - as the Rocket's jump was interrupted midway and he spiralled down like a rag doll, impacting the staircases below headfirst with a sickening crack. There was a spatter of arterial scarlet.

The rest of the Rocket grunts looked far less eager to try and cross over to Ash and his team. Ash looked up at them triumphantly, ignoring the brutal result of Screecher's attack, as well as her indifference to her savagery. He forced himself not to react to her cruel smile with which she gazed down upon her victim.

The head grunt pushed her way to the front, leering down at Ash in both anger and disbelief. "What the hell are you waiting for?" she screamed at her companions, her voice shill and furious. "Attack them! Get the ghosts out!"

Half the grunts took a pokéball or two and enlarged the devices. Nearly a dozen flashes of light made Ash shut his eyes. When he opened them again, he was met with the sight of a cloud of purple smog, roiling as they shaped and took a physical form - half a dozen Gastly separated from the collective smog, blinking with their bloodshot eyes and grinning feral smiles. A particularly large ghost made Ash gulp - a Haunter, he realised quickly, noticing the disembodied, clawed hands, and it was massive. Not as large as the Black Fog - that would be ridiculous - but still larger than average. The Haunter floated above the rest of the Gastly, as if the leader of its brood, its laugh a gravelly, terrifying growl.

Suddenly, Ash felt a whole lot less confident. A few Golbat, he could handle. Six Gastly, with a little luck. But a Haunter on top of that? Doubtful.

Hydrus stepped in front of him protectively, masking his nerves with an angry quack. Screecher was still smirking, but Ash could see a flicker of anxiousness make her cheerful disposition falter. The memory of her run in with the Black Fog was still fresh in her mind, it seemed.

"Get ready to run," Ash whispered. Hydrus balked, but fell silent. Screecher had her attention focused on the Haunter, whose cackle only grew louder. The Rockets closest to it reared back, as if fearing the ghost would tear their throats in one swift slash.

"Screecher, distract them!" Ash cried, turning on his heel and skipping down the stairs. She laughed and spun, her spectral gown rippling as an iridescent wave of energy erupted from her ruby necklace with a bang!

The horde of ghosts shrieked their bloodlust and flew down in trails of noxious smoke. One Gastly flew right into the Psywave, diffusing into a puff of toxic gas; they reformed sluggishly, now smaller and wispy. Screecher bobbed, eyes glowing as another Gastly rushed at her. She hissed, her rubies shining, and prepped a Power Gem. Beams of glittering red leapt from her jewels and slammed directly into the Gastly's form.

The Haunter guffawed a guttural, demonic laugh as it charged. It's claws curled as they harnessed violent flames, and a Gastly flanked its left with a keening cackle. Screecher spun, an ethereal aura making her gown flutter as she struck with a psychic blast. The Haunter's claws lost their fiery curls and instead exploded with rings of obsidian energy - the Dark Pulse easily cut through the Psychic, nullifying most of it instantly, and Screecher had to sink into a cloudy portal to escape the blast.

Ash, momentarily distracted by the supernatural brawl, did not see the two Gastly slipping past until it was too late. His cry of "Hydrus!" came just in time for the Golduck to halt and spin, and an angry growl bubbled in his throat. One of the Gastly let out their childish crow and its eyes glowed black - then a Psybeam blew it apart before it could unleash its Night Shade. The second Gastly was momentarily bewildered and turned to entrance Hydrus with its hypnotic gaze, but suddenly froze as a shell of blue energy trapped it in place, its gaseous form compressing as Hydrus joined his claws. It bobbed in the air for a few seconds, wailing in pain as it was squashed smaller and smaller, until it forced its body to scatter to flee Hydrus' psychic hold and take form slowly.

Screecher had reemerged from her use of Phantom Force behind the stunned Haunter, but it reacted swiftly. It spun to face her with such speed that the Mismagius flinched, losing her ghostly aura and giving the Haunter an opening. A disembodied fist punched into Screecher, wreathed with shadowy energy, and sent her spinning through the air.

Ash crossed over to the next set of stairs. Hydrus was a far behind him, fending off the relentless Gastly trying to suffocate him under its toxic gases. A blast of pressurised, boiling water slammed into one of the spectres and knocked it out. Its limp body floated down in a spiral, like a feather.

The second Gastly lunged at Hydrus with renewed ferocity. Hydrus reflexively surrounded himself in a globe of viridescent energy, but the ghost simply laughed and quickly scattered its fumes all over the barrier. Hydrus growled. The Gastly's thick smog hugged closer, waiting for the energy barrier to give up. Ash could already see the strained glare in his eyes, as if he was going to burst a blood vessel. Protect wasn't meant for prolonged use, only for a few seconds at most.

The shield flickered. Hydrus' snarl was muffled under the Gastly's smug laugh. Then the barrier gave way, and Hydrus sank to his knees, exhausted, only to shriek as a cloud of toxic gases converged onto his face instantly.

Ash's heart dropped. Hydrus' screams were piercing as he writhed to shake the Gastly off him. He didn't know what to do, but he had to help him! He'd be knocked out in seconds, he could even be dead if Ash didn't act save him in time, and his hand reached for Hydrus' pokéball－

A chill ran up his spine. Ash's blood froze. The heavy stench of toxins in the air made his sinuses burn and eyes water. He spun around in fear and gasped - a black-purple fog hung in the air and coalesced into a shadowy blob. Thin, small fangs hid in a wide smile, like pinpoints, and bloodshot eyes stared into a statuesque Ash. He had never stared a Gastly in the face so close before, and he knew that even a single twitch meant a gruesome death.

Hydrus' yells and Screecher's shrieks were nothing but soft echoes. All he could hear was the Gastly raspy hiss as it rolled closer to Ash, sniffing as it examined its prey. Ash suppressed the urge to cough, but he didn't know how much longer he could hold it in.

And then purple miasma frothed behind the Gastly. It blinked, stunned by the noise, and turned just in time to see Screecher emerge from the portal - and she looked pissed. Her gown was tattered in places, but she looked no less dangerous. The Gastly snarled, scared yet defiant, but exploded in a ring of smoke as Screecher drove a Shadow Ball through it.

The Gastly struggled to reform, but Screecher wasn't having it. Her eyes flashed blue and, with her psychic powers, she held it in place long enough to blast it with a river of dark shrapnel that shredded it as easily as wood in a chipper.

"Thanks," Ash sputtered through harsh coughs. Then he remembered Hydrus. He whipped around, only to see a flurry of inky-black claws tearing apart a frightened Gastly. It tried to scurry away and disperse through the air, but Hydrus was relentless. He razed it with Shadow Claws until it hung limp in the air like a ghostly dust bunny.

Hydrus buckled to his knees. "Hydrus!" Ash cried, skipping up and looking at the Golduck in worry. He looked incredibly sick and was shivering, and Ash knew that he was badly poisoned. Ash grimaced. "I'm recalling you, buddy."

Hydrus growled, but he had no time to voice his defiance - the Haunter rounded up on them, and it had lost its grin. The last remaining Gastly looked around hesitantly after seeing the rest of its companions defeated so quickly, but Ash knew that it would still fight. He wordlessly returned Hydrus to his pokéball.

"We have to make a run for it." His eyes never left the Haunter, or the group of Rockets peering down the edge of the broken staircase, like spectators at a tournament.

The Haunter was the first to move. Having lost its patience, it waved its claws and lit up the darkness of the stairwell with brilliant blue fireballs. The crackle of hot fire was the only disturbance in the momentarily silence; then they shot forward in jets, nothing but blurs of blue and violet as they blazed. Ash ducked. The spot of wall behind where his head had been was now ripe with a scorch mark.

In one swift motion, Ash turned and ran. There was a bone-chilling hiss. A Shadow Ball exploded somewhere in a spatter of grey lightning, and Ash covered his ears. Screecher retaliated. A beam of rainbow energy leapt from Screecher's mouth and struck the Gastly; it shrieked as it was blown away, but floated once more with a whimper.

Ash's feet hurt with every step, but there was no way he was going to stop and fight when he was outnumbered. He believed in Screecher and himself, but even his bravery had limits. The Rockets' jeers melded with the ghosts' hisses and his thudding footfalls. Every now and then, Shadow Balls whirred past and exploded against the walls and sent bits of concrete flying.

Ash skipped another set of stairs and coughed. He was a couple floors away from the bottom level, but right then a whoosh flew past his right ear, the rank odour of rotting meat burning his nostrils. Screecher cried out, preparing a Shadow Ball as the Haunter changed shape from the trail of smoke, but the Ghastly crashed into her back and sent her reeling. Ash flinched, expecting to be put under a hypnotic spell, but the haunter merely cackled.

A hand lashed out and curled around his wrist. Ash hissed as toxic gas corroded his flesh, his eyes watering with tears. It was so painful that his knees wobbled and he nearly fell. The points of the Haunter's claws pricked his skin, drawing dots of blood…

Engulfed in the power of Payback, Screecher ran through the Haunter like a freight train. It exploded into vapour and black mist with a gravelly moan. The ghostly hand around Ash's arm dissipated and he thudded to his knees, gasping. Its clenched claws has been imprinted on his wrist in the form of toxic burns and Ash shuddered, feeling sick.

"I'm fine," he gasped out, forcing a smile as Screecher hovered around worriedly. There was no time for assuages, as the Haunter began to reform with a ragged groan. Ash took a glance at the stairs and realised the Haunter would manifest before they would make it past it; instead, his eyes snapped to a door in the side of the stairwell.

"Let's go!" he hissed, swallowing his pain as much as he could. His wrist burned with each step but he held back any tears with a strong intake of breath, ramming into the door as the Rockets cried in outrage. As the Haunter howled, finally taking shape, although without its two claws, Screecher froze the door with her Icy Wind just as Ash kicked the it shut.

Ash cursed. "We've got to find a way out," her told Screecher, realising his stupidity. What was he thinking, getting back inside the building? There were hundreds of Rockets swarming the place and they'd sniff him out like a ravenous pack of Houndour. He wouldn't be surprised if they were on higher alert now that they were informed of the escaped hostages.

You should've listened to Misty, a snide voice told him in his head.

The Rockets would've caught up to them if I hadn't slowed them down! Ash fought back. I helped them escape.

At the cost of putting you and your team in danger.

He had no response for that, and so with a resentful scowl he hugged the walls, wracking his brain for a new exit route.

There was no turning back now, what with the Haunter and the Rockets at the other side. They would pulverise the frozen door fairly quickly and Ash needed to escape before then. Unfortunately, all his options were terrible. Sighing, he looked at Screecher.

"Screecher, I need you to keep watch. Stay hidden in my shadow and come out only when I ask you to," Ash murmured. She obeyed, melting into a pool of black at his feet. Her yellow eyes stuck out menacingly from the shadow before she disappeared completely.

Ash looked around. His best bet would be using the elevators - if it wasn't for two grunts patrolling the doors to the lifts. Cursing, Ash peeked through the corner, hoping his plan wouldn't grab the attention of any Rockets guarding the main office.

Ash looked to his shadow. "When I give you the word, paralyse the guards. And be quiet!" Her eyes glowed from within his shadow again and she blinked, emerging with a soft whoosh. Ash peeked around the corner once more, glad that the grunts hadn't heard her.

Thirty seconds passed, and now Ash's heart was beating faster than it possibly could. He looked at Screecher and, with a determined nod, whispered, "Now!"

The Mismagius grinned. "What the fuck?" was all the Rockets could manage to say before threads of electricity flickered out and weaved through every nerve and muscle. The grunts gasped, a bit too loud than Ash preferred, but he couldn't help but grin as they crumpled to the ground writhing and croaking.

Ash quickly grabbed their transceivers and crushed them under his heel. "Good work," he praised, snorting as Screecher eyed her handiwork with glee. "Now let's get out of here."

He breathed, quickly jabbing the button for the elevator. His blood pulsed as it crossed ten, nine, then seven and six until it stopped at his floor with a noisy ding that made him wince in fear. It felt like eternity as the doors whooshed open, and Ash felt safer than ever as he jumped through the doors, and he didn't stop hitting the button to the ground level until they closed.

Ash wished the elevator moved faster, and the music was not helping. At least Screecher was with him, or else he'd be further paranoid by the fact that he'd have no one to protect him. Even so, he was jittery and massaging his hurt wrist - the skin around it had turned a sickly, pale yellow. Even looking at it hurt.

Deep breaths, Ash reminded himself. Take deep breaths.

As if the legendaries had heard his prayers and decided to spite him, he felt the elevator lock into place. Ash's head snapped around and his blood ran cold - the security cameras. It blinked red, as if leering at him, and suddenly he seemed to breathe in nothing but pure panic.

Suddenly, the intercom began to fuzz with a voice. Ash flinched a foot into the air. "Don't try anything stupid."

Ash didn't move. Screecher looked at him nervously, but he didn't have it in him to look back. He was, well and truly, done for.

The static of the intercom returned with renewed favour. "Did you really think you could try to mess up our operations and get away with it?" the voice told him condescendingly. "You've got two options. Fight us, and we'll kill you."

Tremors started to run through his arms.

"If you want to live…Return your pokémon and surrender. You have ten seconds."

Guilt and fear marred Ash's face. He did not truly resign himself to being captured by Team Rocket, but he did lose hope that he would be able to fight them off. There was a sinking feeling in his stomach as he realised how stupid and oblivious he'd been by thinking he could bring down Team Rocket all on his own. He had already returned Screecher, and her dismayed warble only made his face ashen with shame.

The intercom began to speak once more.

"Good boy," it mocked, sounding pleased. "Sit tight, kiddo. Don't be an idiot, or we cause a total system failure and you'll be crushed before you even know it."

Ash gulped down the lump in his throat. His heart skipped a beat when the elevator started up with a jump, going up the building. The walls seemed to close in, and Ash struggled to breathe. He felt like he was weightless, yet carrying a ton of bricks on his shoulders at the same time, and when the elevator finally stopped and the doors slid open, a pathetic, weak whimper passed from his lips.

A dozen Rockets flooded into the lift, and Ash pressed his back against the wall, trying to get away from them as far as he could. One grabbed his injured wrist in a painful vice. Another slipped a cold ring of steel around his hands, cuffing them together behind his back. Each one of them sent hateful glares his way as they surrounded him in a box, and Ash wanted the floor to swallow him whole.

Surprisingly none of them struck him with mocking words, but Ash didn't feel any better. His dread only worsened as the elevator was pulled up - each passing floor went by in what felt like eternity. The only thing giving him a semblance of comfort were the pokéballs on his belt, unharmed. As long as his pokémon were safe…They didn't deserve any of this.

For an incredibly uncomfortable moment he was just suspended there between a squadron of people who hated his guts, and the tension in the air was palpable. With the Rockets so close to him, he could hear them breathe in his ears until his own loud breaths drowned theirs out. His senses were beginning to overload and he didn't even realise when the lift came to a stop.

"Get moving." The Rocket's voice was gruff in his ears and Ash jumped. Everything was a blur - his feet were moving on their own, his eyes hurt, and his soul seemed to be lagging behind his body. The hallway felt everlasting until, after passing door after door, they were at the end, and the lead grunt knocked lightly and awaited a response.

XxXxX

The doorknob clicked. Ash was pushed in as the door was opened from the inside, and a blast of chilly air made him shudder. The dizziness had left him, but the wild thumping in his heart still struck his chest.

On instinct, Ash glanced around. It looked more like a luxury suite than an office, with bronze statues and busts and cases of books he wondered if anyone ever read. Television screens took up an entire wall. An old, wiry man - Cadmus Silph, Ash realised - sat at the desk at the other end of the office, but he looked deathly pale. On either side of him stood two, statuesque Rockets with their hands on their guns. He guessed they had been ordered to be pleasant.

There were three more people in the room, and Ash instantly recognised them. One sat in a chair at the side of the room, preening his purple goatee with half-lidded eyes - Petrel, if he remembered correctly, and huddled behind his chair was a Hypno. Another Rocket, with teal hair, was in the leather chair in front of the president's desk, wearing a crisp, ivory suit, and while Ash struggled to place his name he knew him from the St Anne. The third, dressed in the black jumpsuit that Petrel was in, lounged in the corner and tugged at his beret - Proton.

The Rockets around Ash straightened up as soon as they stepped into the office. "Sir!" one of them called, saluting swiftly. "We have the Ketchum boy."

The teal-haired executive turned his head lazily. "Ah?" he murmured, twirling a lit cigar between his thin fingers. A predatory smile stretched across his face as he met Ash's eyes with his own blue ones. "Well done, Admin. You can leave."

"Yes, Sir Archer." The Rocket Admin turned and, throwing Ash one last look of hate and revulsion, slipped out of the room with his grunts. The door slamming shut made Ash flinch.

Archer rose from his chair in one graceful motion, tugging at his collar. "Ash Ketchum," he whispered, and every slow step he took made Ash's skin crawl. "You've been a thorn in our side for many months, now. Mt Moon, the St Anne, Lavender, Celadon and now here…We've been wanting to get a hold of you for a long time."

Proton kicked away from his corner, grinning as he cracked his knuckles. "I remember you. You should be honoured that I do," he added, laughing. There were odd marks on the right side of his face, disfiguring the skin from his cheek to below his neck. "Small world, eh?"

He caught Ash staring unabashedly at the scars on his face, and stepped forward with a grin. "Makes me look pretty, doesn't it?" he said, exposing his disfigured side, but even Ash could tell that his smile was strained. The scars were almost fern-like, crawling across his flesh like spiders. "Got caught in a wicked thunderstorm. Pretty nasty, but I got to keep this as a memoir. Would you like one?"

Petrel was quiet the whole time, although he did offer a smug, lopsided smile when he caught Ash glance at him. He looked away.

"Like I said," Archer continued, inhaling as if holding back a string of expletives, "you've been escaping our clutches for quite some time. And now here you are, a sitting Psyduck. The boss is going to be very pleased."

Ash couldn't find the energy to glare back. Instead he shook in silence, waiting for the Rocket executives to say something again.

"I'd like to ask you," Archer said, taking a huge whiff of his cigar. "Why do your keep interfering in our business? If you had simply steered clear, you wouldn't be in such a mess."

"Because what you guys do is wrong!" Ash yelled, surprised that he'd found his voice.

Proton snorted. "You're pretty noisy, even for a kid."

"There is no right or wrong, child," Archer sneered, ignoring Proton. "There is only power. The strong, and the weak. And you were weak. Look at you - you're captured, shackled and at our mercy. Pathetic."

His words cut like razor blades.

The door behind shook with knocks. Archer stepped around Ash and twisted it open, admitting two Rocket grunts holding a large, silver briefcase. "We've got the masterball, sir," said one of them.

The masterball? Ash repeated. Was that why Team Rocket had invaded the Silph company?

Archer's eyes twinkled with a mad gleam. "Excellent. The boss is going to be very pleased," he muttered, holding briefcase with trembling hands. His fingers flicked over the 6-digit combination lock, as if tempted to open it and revel in its contents.

"Petrel!" Archer snapped. "What's the ETA on the helicopter?"

Petrel sighed, looking to his Hypno. The psychic's nose twitched. "The Blackout's going to be on for another twenty minutes. No one's getting in or out."

Archer nodded. "Good. Tell the boss that we've acquired the package-"

"You're not getting away with this," Ash hissed, fighting against his handcuffs. "I don't care if I'm just a kid - I won't let the masterball, whatever that is, get in your hands!"

Proton guffawed. "How in hell are you going to stop us?"

Ash frowned. "I don't care how I do it, or how long it takes. I'm going to destroy your lousy plans every chance I get!"

As if on cue, he used a foot to kick Ash's ankles and he thudded to the floor, falling face-first. Ash felt a meaty hand lifting him up by the back of his collar - Proton held his face near his, and he could practically smell the Rocket executive's musty breath singe his nostrils. "You talk too much," he snarled.

Ash hawked up a thick glob of spit on Proton's face. Seeing the man grimace in disgust made him grin, but the animalistic glower made him regret it almost instantly.

Proton didn't hesitate to strike him, his fist socking Ash squarely in the jaw. His blow was jarring and much worse than he'd expected, even with his muscly body and veined skin. Ash felt his vision blur and Proton struck him right at his cheek. The second blow made his teeth rattle, and he tasted iron on his tongue.

"You asked for it, you little punk," Proton growled, grabbing him by the collar. Suddenly he brandished a black rectangle from his belt, sparks flying from the metal prongs at the end, and as soon as he pressed the device against the boy's neck, Ash knew nothing but pain. His skin was on fire and every muscle flared and cramped at the same time, and then he was convulsing as Proton didn't stop electrocuting him-

"That's enough, Proton," came Archer's voice, and the pain stopped. Ash was still twitching even as motor control returned. His neck felt numb and he found it difficult to move. Proton snorted and shoved him away, and he fell on his back with a thud.

"That's what a Thundershock feels like," Proton said, flipping the device in his hand. "You pull any more shenanigans, and I'll show you how bad a Thunderbolt is."

Petrel got up from his seat. "Time to get to the roof, boys," he said in a singsong, motioning for his Hypno to follow him. "Chopper's landing in twenty-five minutes. We don't want our resident psycho to teleport in here and kick our asses now, do we?"

Archer sighed. "I was hoping for a better talk, Ash Ketchum," he said, almost sounding disappointment. "But our boss does not tolerate tardiness. It seems that your time is at an end. You should've made better choices." He looked to his companion. "Proton, kill the boy. Make it messy."

"You didn't even have to ask," Proton muttered, grinning evilly as he cracked his knuckles.

"W－ Wait!" Ash stuttered, his heart bursting with panic. No, this couldn't be it - he wasn't going to die, not at the hands of Team Rocket! There had to be something…

Proton frowned. "What, you think you can plead your case?" he mocked. "You've crossed us far too many times, Ketchum. This time, I'm going to make sure you face the consequences of your actions."

Ash growled. "You're pathetic!" he screamed.

The executive blinked, as if offended. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me," Ash said hurriedly, struggling to buy himself time. "You're pathetic!"

"And why, may I ask, am I pathetic?"

"Because…Because you're a coward," Ash stammered. What the hell am I saying? "You'd kill a defenseless kid because you don't have the balls to fight me on even grounds!"

Proton sighed. "What the fuck are you saying?"

"Fight me like a man," Ash snarled, hoping the executive would catch the bait. "Or are you going to be a－ a pussy and kill me after I'm already beaten up?"

Proton had a furious glower on his face - there could've been steam pouring out his ears. "That's it," he said, storming over to Ash. For a moment, feared he was going to have a bullet shatter his skull in that instant, but instead Proton unlocked the cuffs and threw them away.

"What the hell are you doing?" Archer whispered in disbelief. Petrel simply looked amused.

"Teaching this little shit a lesson," growled Proton, plucking a pokéball off his belt. "Get up, boy! I'm about to beat your ass like a drum."

"I'm not dealing with your bullshit today, Proton," snarled Archer.

Proton didn't take his eyes off Ash. "Let's give the kid his dying wish," he said with a grin, but it never reached his eyes.

"As much as I love disagreeing with Archer," Petrel interrupted, "I'm afraid he's right. The Blackout's closing in twenty-five－ twenty-three minutes and we don't want our window to close－"

"Stay out of this Petrel!" Proton scowled. "I'll be right behind you, Archer. Let me have this!"

Archer looked like he was going to lose it, but he reigned his temper in. "We're leaving with or without you," he said coldly. "Grunts! Follow me."

Archer ignored Ash as he walked out the door, holding the briefcase tight to his chest. Petrel clapped him on the shoulder, muttering, "Nice knowing you, kid."

The door slammed shut. As Ash picked himself off the ground, he felt the air charge up with energy. He'd bought himself a fighting chance - but he needed to make it count. He had to.

Proton looked like a heaving Tauros with every breath he took, pokéball twirling in his hands. "One last fight," he agreed, licking his lips. "One last fight, and then I will bathe in your blood."

Ash didn't want to test out if Proton was telling the truth or not - his trembling fingers unclipped four pokéballs off his belt and he tapped the release buttons without a single word, gritting his teeth with every fiber of his soul. His life depended on this fight! He needed going to win!

Saur, Zeus, Monferno and Kratos burst out of their pokéballs in a wave of white light that engulfed the office whole, blinding even Ash. They looked around, confused - then they saw the scarlet 'R' on Proton's and their eyes narrowed to thin slits. Proton smiled, pleased with their thinly-controlled rage, and brandished two more pokéballs in his hands.

"Not holding back, eh?" Proton smirked. "Let's even things up, shall we?" he said, and he released the monsters inside his two pokéballs.

A cacophony of savage roars shook the air. Hot air filled the room as Proton's massive Houndoom dug its claws into the rug, fire curling around its fangs. Then there was the smell of ozone as a yellow canine screeched its arrival - a vicious Jolteon that begged to be unleashed. And then a creepy, ominous tittering made Ash's skin crawl as a massive Ariados stared at him with its empty, soulless eyes.

Suddenly, the Silph president poked his head out from behind his desk, his wrinkly face taut with fear. "Please," begged Cadmus. "You got what you came for. Leave us-"

"Shut up, old man," Proton drawled, and at once his Ariados discharged a rope of silk that stuck to the president's mouth like tape. Cadmus screamed, voice muffled as he clawed at the strings gluing his mouth shut, while Proton cackled like a maniac and his Ariados tittered with sadistic glee.

"Saur, get the Jolteon!" Ash ordered, hoping he could take Proton's pokémon by surprise. "Monferno and Zeus, the Houndoom is yours! Kratos, I want you to cripple the Ariados! Go!"

His starter unleashed a nest of vines at his words, and they snapped towards the lithe electric-type. The Jolteon instantly leapt at the wall, leaving a flare of electricity in its wake, and pushed off as another set of vines chased it. Saur roared, spraying a jet of paralysing spores in an attempt to slow it down, but a jet of fire cut through and turned them to ash in a fiery explosion.

Ash raised his arms to his eyes, feeling the heat scorch him even as Zeus blocked the blast with a Light Screen. The Houndoom howled, jumping with a push of its nimble paws and stretched its maw open as flames burst within it. Zeus bleated and whipped his tail around, but he'd have to move twice faster to counterattack before the Fire Fang would close around his neck. Fortunately, Monferno was faster - the sharp crack! of a Brick Break thwacking the Houndoom's jaws in an uppercut was music to Ash's ears, and he had a big grin on his face as the canine was sent flipping away.

It recovered, however, twisting and bouncing on its feet before it would've crash-landed on its back. Houndoom whipped its head in an angry jerk, and then thick, black fumes began to spill from between its teeth. As the smoke collected within its muzzle, it let out an angry rumble before discharging the Smog in a steady, swirling cone.

Even Proton looked somewhat nervous as the poisonous gas flew to fill every empty space the office had to offer. Ash heard a terrifying hiss from his right, and then a blast of focused wind that sucked in the Smog in a matter of seconds. Kratos whirled his arm-blades like fans, keeping the fumes trapped within his Tailwind, before diffusing them with a concentrated blast of vacuum and leaving only a hint of the nauseating odour behind.

Right then the Ariados sprang onto his back, wrapping its spindly legs around his torso. Kratos growled and hacked at the spider, but it spewed a bunch of silky threads that began to wrap around every inch of the Scyther. Instead of their gleaming, silver colour, however, these threads were sickly white and dripping in slimy toxins that began to sink through Kratos' carapace within seconds.

"It's Toxic Thread, get out－ shit!" A barrage of glowing, yellow needles flew at Ash, and he was forced to duck. They sank into the wall halfway through behind him, and he dreaded to imagine what would've happened if they'd struck home. The Jolteon growled like a murderous beast, and its fur flared with a discharge of electricity. It flew everywhere, uncontrolled and unrefined, destroying everything it struck. Books burst into flames, a bronze bust was blown off its pedestal and left smoking, and several of the lights overhead exploded and showered Ash with crystals of glass.

"Saur, get its legs!" Ash screamed over the roar of Houndoom's Flamethrowers. Zeus jumped to his side and erected another Light Screen that blunted a Thunderbolt Jolteon threw his way - he kept forgetting that Proton wasn't treating this like a regular battle. "Spore Burst to keep it distracted, and then hit its feet with all you've got!"

The Venusaur rumbled. An army of spores exploded from his plant and spread outwards like rolling clouds. Houndoom collected a ball of fire in its mouth to set it ablaze, but Monferno rammed a fist into its windpipe and the fire sputtered to a stop. The Jolteon looked enraged as it danced from one side to the other, waiting for an opening - it was frustrated at having to stand back rather than attack, as it always did.

Another set of vines cracked out like whips, and the Jolteon leapt away as quickly as it could. This time, however, Zeus decided to leave his post as Ash's protector, and he lunged in to drive an Iron Tail right into its chest.

Jolteon choked on its own breath. Saur roared, and he didn't hesitate to grab the electric-type by its ankles. Lifting it into the air, he only allowed it a squeak of surprise before slamming it to the wall, then the ceiling, and then back to the floor with a crash. It whimpered and burst with lightning instinctively, forcing Saur to withdraw his tentacles, but he traded it for spitting a glob of poison on Jolteon that soaked every inch of its fur.

Proton howled. His Jolteon did the same, but its scream was of pain as its flesh burned and sizzled as poison began to replace its blood. An inhuman fury possessed it and it snapped forward, but Monferno slammed his fists together, surrounding himself in a ring of sharp stones. The flew out just as Houndoom sank its fangs into his chest, but the Stone Edge struck home and blew Jolteon off its feet.

It hit the wall with a painful thump and slumped to the ground. Too tired to break into a run, it let loose another thunderclap of wild lightning and Saur hissed in agony even as his tough scales blunted most of the electricity. Ash had to duck behind his Ampharos in order to evade the lightning that curved around and struck the floor by his feet.

There was too much going on for Ash to focus, but Kratos' pained scream called to him with urgency. The Ariados scored its legs against the Scyther's back in a frenzied 'X', claws flecked with venom. The tight threads of silk woven around him wouldn't let him move with his natural agility - leaving him a sitting duck for Ariados to attack until the continuous cuts and potent poison would take him out in minutes.

"Monferno, help!" Ash cried. The fire-type glanced at him, then Kratos, and nodded. Houndoom snapped its claws to pluck him out of the air as he jumped, but Monferno swung around its legs like tree branches without even hesitating.

And then Proton jumped in. "Oh no you don't!" he screamed, charging through like a maniac. The taser in his hand pulsed out dangerous sparks and he plugged it into Monferno's back, flooding him with electricity. While Monferno was more surprised than hurt by the taser, he hit the ground painfully rather than on his two feet. Before he could round up on Proton and bathe him in fire, Houndoom tackled him to the floor and hawked up a ball of sludge that exploded all over like a bomb.

Saur grabbed Proton by the ankles and threw him at a potted plant by the corner head-first. Blood began to flow freely down the side of the Rocket's head, but he appeared barely disoriented by the blow - if anything he looked even more insane as he stood back up, albeit groggily, with enraged eyes. "I'm done pulling my punches with you," he hissed, voice dangerously calm. A fourth pokéball - an ultra-ball - appeared in his shaking hands. "Pulverise them! I want them to be shit stains on the sole of my boots."

The very floor cracked under the weight of Proton's new pokémon. Ash gulped, eyeing the creature that stood nearly seven feet tall as the light around it faded and its true appearance showed. It was very clearly a revived fossil, a creature native to the cold land of Sinnoh - a Rampardos. It was much more fearsome than the images he'd seen back in the Pewter Museum. Blue scales formed bands around its thick knees and tiny hands and massive neck. The tough, stone hide was gravelly and rougher than a Rhydon' protruding dome on its head, however, was polished to a shine and smooth enough to blind Ash as light bounced off, and looked like it could obliterate steel like it was paper. Spikes of ivory rock crowned the skull and neck, and while its tail was short, it was thick enough to powder Ash's bones in a single flick.

Its red eyes blinked with murderous intent. The only thing keeping it from going on a rampage seemed to be Proton's word.

"Get to destroying," Proton mumbled.

The Rampardos didn't bother roaring. It followed its trainer's orders with religious fervour, lowering its head as it broke into a run, cracking the tiles with every step, and it picked momentum within three seconds. Ash didn't even have time to call out a warning to Monferno before the prehistoric beast smashed its skull into his chest and sent him flying like a bullet. He hit the wall and fell to the floor in an unconscious heap.

Ash looked at the Rampardos with panicked eyes. It was almost as terrifying as being near the Black Fog - Proton's pokémon was only a few feet away from killing him instantly. It regarded him with its evil, red eyes, but it didn't move in on him. Not yet.

Kratos was next. The Scyther cut through his silken bonds and punched out a blast of pure vacuum, but it bounced off the Rampardos' skull without slowing it down for even a second. The impact was so percussive that Ash could've sworn he felt a shockwave boom out. Kratos suffered far worse - his armour was strong, but it did little against an unstoppable force like Rampardos. There were massive cracks and his armour was sunken where the rock-type had hit him.

Zeus and Saur screamed in outrage. The Rampardos snorted, eyeing the two of them with cool rage, and it lunged. Lightning boomed from Zeus' horns and engulfed the beast whole. For the first time it made a noise - a guttural groan as the electricity sank through its scales and into its muscles. Saur swung his fronds, releasing curved, leafy blades that sliced into the behemoth's scales. It hissed as agony flashed through its nerves for the first time - its eyes widened in surprise, and then the rage returned tenfold at the audacity of Ash's team. The blue skull glowed with silver light, and it begun its charge with renewed vigor.

Saur was quick to unleash a couplet of vines that slapped across the Rampardos' ankles and tripped the beast over. It fell over with a heavy thud and Ash heard multiple cracks thread across the floor through the rug. It groaned, struggling to push itself up with its tiny arms. The delirious smile on Proton's face began to flicker.

"Spore Burst!" Ash said suddenly, voice cracking as he felt this to be the only chance at surviving. "Zeus, smash it with Iron－"

Proton snarled. "Insolent little shit!" he screamed. "You're dying tonight, Ketchum, even if I have to set my whole team on your ass!" He whistled, and Houndoom howled. Flames lit up in its muzzle and it leapt at Saur with a Flamethrower at the ready.

Saur sidestepped. The Flamethrower splashed against the floor and Houndoom landed on the burned spot of rug angrily. It threw its claws at the Venusaur, but slippery vines curled around its neck and began to crush its windpipe. The fire-type gasped. Smoke sputtered out with tiny embers as it struggled to breathe fire, and then Zeus' metallic tail whipped into the back of its head. It crumpled, whining, tired and in pain, but unconscious.

The Rampardos roared. It had stood back up, more furious than ever. Ash waited for it to run once more, but it didn't - instead, a ring of silver spheres began to grow around its arms and body, transforming into pointed, jagged stones that flew at Saur and Zeus with unprecedented speed. Zeus held up a Light Screen that deflected the Stone Edge even though they left cracks with each impact, but Saur had to weather the rocks with no defence but his own will. Ash felt one slice across his arm, tearing a deep groove in his flesh, and he yelped. It felt like someone had pressed a lit flame against his skin.

The Rampardos whipped faster than either of them realised. Its tail smashed into Zeus' chest and knocked the air out of the Ampharos in a single blow. An Energy Ball grew to full size in Saur's mouth and exploded against Rampardos' back, making it stumble. It rounded on him with a growl and lowered its head and began to rush. Saur screamed and ran right back, but Ash could see the terror in his friend's eyes.

The collision, while brutal, was incredible. Ash would only admire it later, but Rampardos took the impact like a champion and crashed its skull into Saur's own. There was a savage crack as they made impact, and Saur was sent flipping away, and the very floor broke as he hit the ground, utterly unconscious.

Ash felt the world leave him. "SAUR!" he screamed, and tears welled up in his eyes as the Venusaur never responded. Saur couldn't be defeated, he was the strongest on his team…This couldn't be happening…

Zeus bleated in pain and anger. His horns sparked again, but the Rampardos gave him no quarter. Turquoise light enveloped its tail and it spun around to smash it in his chest again, this time effectively knocking him down. Ash felt himself struggling to breathe. No, no no nononoNO－

The Rampardos stomped Zeus' chest, and his body went limp. For a second, Ash didn't move. Then the flood gates to his adrenaline broke open, and-

There was a sudden prick at his arm, like a tiny needle flicking against his skin. Then an odd numbness, and the rush of energy that had flooded him seemed to disappear. Wha…?

Frowning, Ash glanced to his arm. Sticking out of his flesh was a black, spiny barb the size of a golf ball. Toxic spikes.

Ash stumbled to his knees. He looked up, face numb as he stared at Proton in disbelief. Then he looked at his friends. Each one of them had the same, black spikes embedded all across their body. A tiny smile replaced the frown on the Rocket's face.

"I told you," Proton growled, kneeling so his face met Ash's. "You'd die for that."

His lips didn't move. Desperately, he grabbed Proton's hand with as much strength as he could muster, but the man wrenched his arm away in disgust.

"I would love to see Rampardos grind you to a pulp under his feet," continued Proton, "but that'd be too easy. Too quick. I want you to suffer, Ketchum. I want you to spend your last moments realising you were never strong enough to fight us, and that you should've never meddled in our business."

Ash felt his vision flicker. His throat grew hot.

Proton stood up. The noise of pokémon being recalled roared in Ash's ears. "See you never, kiddo."

The door slammed shut. Ash gasped, and slumped to the ground.

The sickness in his stomach was growing slowly, but it had already taken its effect on him. He was beginning to convulse on the ground, his body nearly unresponsive as he tried to reach for a pokéball. Maybe Delphi could help him…There were antidotes in his backpack, he couldn't just die…

But when his vision began to blur white, Ash felt the sickening realisation of his approaching death hit him. He was dying. There was no gym leader to save him, no convenient evolution that would help him get out of this. He'd failed, both himself and his team. And, worst of all, he had no one to blame but himself.

Ash didn't know if the tears is his eyes were from the poison, or from the deep, uncontrollable shame that welled up inside him. How could he have done this to his friends?

Once he accepted his fate, he tried to think of something…But he couldn't think. He couldn't do anything. He was clammy, covered in sweat, and the only movements were the spasms wracking his muscles. The pressure in his lungs had now crawled up to his windpipe. No…

"Wake up…"

And then, all of a sudden, the pressure was ripped out of him with painful force. Adrenaline raced through him like electricity, rejuvenating his every cell and now he could breathe again, even though it still hurt to do so. The pain around his eyes hadn't gone - every inch of his body was still ripe with pure agony - but at least he could move. At least he felt alive.

Ash bolted upright. He sucked in big bags of air, blinking furiously as he tried to clear his sight. Pain stabbed his heart with every beat and he felt a shaking hand pressed against the small of his back.

He looked to his side. An old man, looking at him in concern. Who was that? "Are you alright?"

Ash struggled to find his voice. "Fine," he croaked, voice hoarse. He blinked, clearing his eyesight. Silph, was it? Cadmus Silph, the company's president. What the hell just happened?

"Am I dead?" He couldn't help but ask.

The man paled, but he laughed nervously. "You almost did, young man," he stammered. "Fortunately, I found this in your backpack - just in the nick of time."

There was a small, pocket-sized spray bottle in his hand. A little of the yellow liquid still swirled at the bottom. An antidote.

"I thought my luck had run out," Ash mumbled, snorting. Then, without warning, he puked. Cadmus recoiled in disgust, but he patted Ash on the back comfortingly while the boy emptied his guts out all over the carpeted floor.

"Ugh…" Ash wiped the dribble on the corners of his mouth. Then he glanced at Cadmus' scrunched up nose, and he smile sheepishly. "Sorry."

"Quite alright." Cadmus cleared his throat. "That was a, uh…a very brave thing you did back there."

"It was nothing," Ash said quickly. "I just did what anyone else would've done." He hated himself for saying that.

"I don't think they would," Cadmus said skeptically. Then he straightened his tie. "If you ever need anything from the Silph Company…We are at your disposal."

"I'll keep that in mind," Ash muttered, hoping to end the conversation quickly. Right now, he was just glad he and his team were alive－ His team. His blood froze.

"Saur!" he yelled, crawling over to his fallen friend. The Venusaur showed no sign of noticing him. His great belly rose and fell gently with soft breaths, and Ash was just glad he was still breathing. Grimacing, he scourged for his pokéballs with trembling hands. He might've been cured of his poisoning, but his nerves were still on fire.

He only felt relieved when Saur disappeared back into his ball. Then there was Zeus - apart from the massive, blackening bruise on his front, he hadn't been harmed any more. Monferno looked alright as well, only appearing to suffer a heavy concussion, but Kratos…Ash felt immense guilt as he saw the broken, emerald carapace of his Scyther. With trembling lips, he returned Kratos to his pokéball, and felt fear course through his veins as the thought of Proton crossed his mind…and hate.

"I'm going to kill him," he said, shocking himself with the seriousness in his words. "I'm going to kill him with my bare hands." He swallowed his fury, tempering it with the promise of crushing the man the next time he saw him.

Proton was not going to get away with this. Team Rocket was not going to get away with this.

"What's the masterball?" Ash asked suddenly, remembering Archer's briefcase. The word rolled off his tongue with a weight that he struggled to comprehend. "I heard Team Rocket mention it."

The president sighed. "I suppose you've earned the right of knowing what it is," he said. "The masterball is the supreme capture device - the best pokéball with the ultimate level of performance. It will catch any pokémon - wild, mind you - without even the most obscure chance for failure. It's been in development for several years, now - almost a decade, really. It was never meant to get past the developmental phase, but word of it got out even with everything under wraps. I should've know Team Rocket would learn of its existence…And now they have it." His face darkened. "With it in their grasp, the can reverse engineer the technology and duplicate the masterball until the have the means to capture any pokémon in the world, even the－ never mind, that's classified…

"Anyway, it's gone now. Team Rocket has succeeded," Cadmus breathed. Bullets of sweat ran down his face.

Ash felt his blood run cold. If the masterball could catch any pokémon…He didn't want to think of what could happen when the mass-produced it. The ability to catch any pokémon, with every throw resulting in a success…That was power that Team Rocket had been looking forward to for a long, long time.

"There has to be a way to stop them," Ash pleaded. "They couldn't have escaped yet- the helicopter, Petrel said it would arrive in twenty minutes…We have to tell someone!"

Cadmus shook his head. "They've cut all our communications. No one can get in or out - this place is a Dead Zone. No psychic pokémon can teleport or read the building. They thought this out very well."

Ash clenched his teeth. There had to be a way - Team Rocket could not get away with something so invaluable and precious as the masterball. He had to do something…Could he risk his life again? Risk his team's life?

But what was the point in strength if you never used it? He was not justified by the Legendaries' standards, but as a trainer, it was his duty to protect. That was why the League sought out trainers; to protect a civilisation against destruction, from pokémon and humans.

Ash swallowed.

"I"m going to stop him," he muttered, standing up.

Cadmus blink. "What- Have you gone mad?" he said, staring at Ash in disbelief. "You nearly died, boy!"

"We can't let them get away with the masterball," he said, resolute in his decision, even though he hated to put his team in danger. But in the end, it was all for the greater good. It had to be. "Petrel said the Blackout would last another twenty minutes - that means Sabrina can't get in until then. Maybe I can't stop them, but I can stall them enough for the League to come to the rescue."

Cadmus' pleas fell on deaf ears. Ash headed for the door, feeling his heart pound. By the time it closed behind him, he knew there was no turning back.

He tried to ignore the heavy lurching of his stomach with every step, the urge to vomit again strong in his gut. His feet hurt, his head thrummed and his left arm was beginning to burn with intense pain - hadn't Misty healed his broken arm? He ignored it. Well, he tried to. The thought of Team Rocket was strong enough to keep him distracted from the agony surging through his body, however.

He was glad there were Rockets on his way to the elevators, because he feared he might snap. Ash grit his teeth as he jabbed the button repeatedly, until a few seconds later the door slid open, and he pressed the button for the rooftop. Pain sliced up his left arm as he tried to massage it. In the end, he left it alone.

The elevator stopped. This is it, Ash thought. He gripped a pokéball tight in his fingers, ready to release the pokémon within at a moment's notice.

The cold, dark night made him squint as he stepped out and onto the rooftop. Chilly air greeted him like a thousand cold knives and he felt himself shudder despite the determination in his eyes. It would've been a quiet night, if it wasn't for the deafening roar of a helicopter's rotor blades drowning out the silence, and the blood pounding in his ears as he glared at the Rockets in the distance.

"Hey!" Ash yelled, his voice uncharacteristically small. Scowling, he yelled louder, cupping his hands over his mouth in the shape of a megaphone. "HEY!"

The Rockets heard him time time, because they stopped boarding the helicopter. Even from afar, Ash knew his presence had shocked them. Archer's face was dispassionate, but his eyes conveyed his true emotions. Petrel looked more surprised than shocked - was that a smirk on his face?

But Ash found pure satisfaction in Proton. His eyes were wide with disbelief, his mouth agape as he struggled to comprehend reality.

"You couldn't even kill me," Ash goaded. "I guess you really are a Rocket!"

Proton looked like he was resisting the urge to pull his hair out.

"It seems that my companions are as incompetent as they look," Archer yelled, glaring at Proton. "Don't worry - this time, I'll make sure the job is done before my very eyes." He looked at the Rocket grunts holding cases upon cases of supplies and looking to the executive for an order. "Load up everything. We're leaving as per scheduled."

"You're not getting away with the masterball," yelled Ash.

"Bold words," Archer spat. "Petrel, Proton - take care of this fool. Properly, this time."

Ash didn't waste a second releasing his team - Screecher, Delphi, Atlas and Snorlax - into the night. Delphi screeched in fury upon seeing Proton, her grey eyes narrowing to slits as she glared at the Rocket with fearful hate. Team Rocket, she hissed in Ash's mind, and he nodded with clenched teeth.

"I'm going to make sure I see the light go out myself!" Proton boomed, not waiting for a response. He released Rampardos and Ariados onto the rooftop. The rock-type screeched, lowering its massive head as it pawed the ground aggressively. Ariados didn't make a sound, but stared at it with its cold, soulless eyes as venom began to pulse from the stinger on its head.

Petrel looked bored as he let loose his own monsters. There was his Hypno, gangly and hunched over, and then a Weezing, with its face drawn out in a stupid grin. Ash eyes turned grim - he only prayed he was strong enough to put up a resistance until Sabrina and her cavalry arrived, hopefully.

"Stall them," he ordered, balling his fists. "Delphi, the Ariados is yours. Hit and run - don't let it trap you with its Toxic Thread. Screecher, shut down the Hypno. Confuse it if you can. Atlas - I want you to keep the Rampardos at a distance with any sound attacks you have. When it's distracted, I want you to hit it with everything you've got, Snorlax. Fight dirty."

His team would've let out noises of agreement, but Rampardos' baleful roar cut it short. Silver light suffused its crown of spikes and then shot out, solidifying into misshapen chunks of gray stone. The Ancient Power flew at Ash with a toss of Rampardos' head, but his team was ready. Atlas used his newly-developed sound attacks and pulverised a boulder with a pulse of sonic rings. Delphi grabbed them out of the air with her telekinesis and threw them back with twice the speed, although Rampardos simply braced itself as the rocks shattered against its scales. Snorlax bellowed, his Mega Punch making the rock splinter into 3 uneven wedges, and Screecher reemerged from her use of Phantom Force right behind Petrel's Hypno.

It teleported just in time to escape a breath of freezing wind that left little crystals of ice on the ends of its fur. Petrel cackled, feigning fright as Screecher rounded on him with a terrifying glare, and Proton's Ariados tackled her away with a menacing hiss. Venomous threads of silk erupted from its yellow spinneret and began to curl around the Mismagius, but brilliant blue fireballs sparked around her and reduced them to cinders. Ariados scuttled away from the flames with a hiss. More silk sprung from its rear, but Delphi swooped down before it could whip the filaments and stabbed the insect with her corkscrewing peck.

Rampardos charged. Every stomp made tiny cracks fissure the floor. The silvery energy of Iron Head bathed its domed skull and it screamed, eliciting a cry of challenge from Snorlax. Despite Ash's frantic orders, Snorlax launched himself into a run as violet energy swirled around him in a cocoon, but before they could collide, Atlas blasted Rampardos with a stream of blue rings and right in its legs.

It tripped over and crashed to the ground, barely grimacing as it made impact, but that wasn't the end of its pain. Snorlax's Giga Impact made contact with such force that it was heaved off the ground and sent flipping several meters away before smashing to the floor with heavy impact. The rare feeling of pain arced through its bones, and Snorlax guffawed, rolling it over on its back with his feet. As swift as a viper, Rampardos swept his tail through Snorlax's ankles and felled him to the ground with an equally loud thud.

Psychedelic lightning cracked the sky as Screecher and Hypno blasted the air with Psyshocks and Shadow Balls. A translucent bubble surrounded Hypno as thin bolts of electricity sprung from Screecher, but the paralysing bolts merely dissolved the second they diffused through the energy shield. Hypno began swinging its pendulum, trying to put Screecher to sleep with its hypnotism, but she simply closed her eyes and waited.

Ash ducked as a train of silk flew past his head. The Ariados hissed, scuttling its way over the rooftop as venom bubbled at its mandibles. At once, Delphi teleported down and slashed her wings through the air, but then Petrel's Weezing intervened and caught her in a cloud of noxious smoke. She emerged coughing and squawking, and the Weezing spat up a stream of green venom that missed her talons by an inch and sizzled on the ground.

Snorlax rolled to his feet. His face hurt after being smacked away by a Dragon Tail, and he realised that sheer force was going to get him nowhere with Rampardos. As the fossil pokémon pawed the floor, he shared a look with Atlas. The Vibrava blinked, antennae twitching in confusion, but then understanding dawned across his face as Snorlax grunted something.

Rampardos lost its patience. A red aura, like vaporised blood, hung from its body as it broke into a frenzied run. Atlas screeched, his supersonic cry making everyone in the vicinity gasp and clutch their head in pain. The dinosaur tried to overwhelm Atlas' newly-improved vocal chords with its own scream, but it did nothing. Then, with a battle-cry that would've made Surge proud, Snorlax produced an Ice Beam that blasted Rampardos right off its feet.

Even Proton had to wince as Rampardos landed with a sharp crack. "Get up, you great oaf!" he yelled, stomping his feet. Rampardos rumbled, shaking its head as it rose to its feet on shaking legs. It shrugged off the ache in its joints and readied itself for another headlong charge.

Rampardos could turn far better than any Tauros. As Snorlax sidestepped its Iron Head, it spun to its right and headbutted him right in his gut. He yelped and flailed, tumbling to a halt. Electricity pulsed from Rampardos' spikes as it loomed over Snorlax, baring its fangs in a toothy grin. Right then, a river of turquoise flames engulfed its head whole and he back-pedalled, scales burning and scorched red.

Atlas' fluttering wings produced a squealing whistle that had Rampardos screaming. It thrashed and tried to claws its ears, and Snorlax took the opportunity to bowl it over in a blitzing tackle. A Mega Punch rocketed at the fossil pokémon's jaws - but it angled its head so that Snorlax's glowing fist ricocheted off its fortified skull.

Snorlax screamed. Agony slithered up his claws as he wrung his hand in pain, and Rampardos launched him away with a kick. Atlas screeched once more, but lightning bolts of icy energy zigzagged from the dinosaur's spikes and blast him away, engulfing his wings in shells of clear ice. He fell to the floor, frozen wings hampering his ability to fly.

"Delphi!" Ash called, his eyes never leaving Rampardos. The Xatu's eyes caught his even as she weaved through a dozen cables of silk and she understood his orders with a simple glean of his mind. A myriad of clones shimmered out of thin air and then she teleported without Ariados and Weezing realising, and they attacked her copies relentlessly. A split-second after she disappeared she warped back into existence directly above Rampardos and sliced into its back with a Steel Wing that knocked it to the ground.

The rock-type roared. It swung with electrified claws, but Delphi imploded away and appeared on its right, flying by and slamming another pair of metallic wings across its front. Another bellow, and she teleported once again, driving Rampardos to its knees with another Steel Wing. She flashed in and out of existence, battering at her foe's rocky scales while it struggled to claw her in the air, until it decided to play the waiting game.

And then it swung. With either expert precision or pure luck, it timed the whipping of its tail right, and it smashed the Iron Tail square in her chest and knocked her to the ground. A few feathers dispersed and now she was gasping for breath, while Rampardos loomed over, balling its claws as lighting wreathed them.

But in its victory, it had forgotten about the others. A pair of furry, thick arms snaked around the Rampardos from behind and caught the beast in a headlock. It balked in surprise and instantly began to flail, but Snorlax was unrelenting even as the spikes on the back of its head jabbed him repeatedly. White lightning exploded from the rock-type, and even still Snorlax didn't let go as he screamed in agony. It was only a few more seconds until Delphi recovered and, with righteous fury, crushed a Steel Wing into Rampardos' windpipe.

It wheezed and choked until Snorlax finally threw it to the ground. A few scales cracked away from its flesh and clattered to the floor as Snorlax raised his arms, but Ariados sliced its claws across his back in a flash. Venom traced his skin and flecks of blue fur were torn out, and suddenly a dark smoke dispersed through the field, blocking Ash's vision.

There was the slow laugh of Petrel's Weezing, then a piercing shriek that Ash recognized as Delphi's, before the smog flung outwards and revealed her frozen in the air, held up by Ariados' claws as they were sunk halfway into her. Blood ran down the insect's legs, and it turned to face him. He could've sworn he saw a smile in its eyes.

It threw Delphi off its legs and she landed in a limp heap. Ash saw red.

"Burn it!" he screamed, all semblance of restraint lost. Snorlax grunted, fire collecting in his mouth, but it sputtered as Rampardos rammed into him with the speed of the freight train. Ash looked to his left - Atlas was frantically melting the icy shell on his wings with a slow Dragonbreath - and then to his right - Screecher was fending off psychic beams from Hypno's pendulum, and it was slowly gaining the upper hand.

"Snorlax, you can do it!" Ash hollered, recalling his wounded Xatu with stinging eyes.

The normal-type rolled to his feet, bracing with Defense Curl as Rampardos came at him with another Iron Head. His claws ground against the floor as he pushed his foe to a stalemate, his longer, more dexterous arms giving him an edge against Rampardos' shorter ones. His fist slipped through Rampardos' clumsy grasp and delivered a swift uppercut that sent the rock-type reeling, but he had no time to recover as Ariados weaved around its stumbling teammate and lunged at him with the stinger aimed right at him.

Ariados dived straight into the Flamethrower with no chance of evasion. Its screams were music to Ash's ears, and his teeth clenched tighter as Snorlax buried it under more and more flames. Then Weezing butted it, smashing sideways into Snorlax and knocking him away. Ariados whined as the cinders on its carapace died out, but that wasn't enough for Ash.

Even though it was severely weakened, Proton's Ariados was still up for a few more rounds. Silk flowed from its spinneret and flew over to tie up a downed Snorlax, but Atlas screeched and rammed into the bug-type with terrifying force, a red aura suffusing him. The damning tell of Superpower began to fade, and Atlas seemed exhausted by using it just once, but it was enough to take Ariados out of the fight.

The collision send it rolling away like a tumbleweed, and it stopped by Proton's feet with a croaky hiss. Scowling in disgust, Proton returned the spider, but his eyes were still manic as his screamed out orders to his Rampardos.

"Rock Polish, and then Giga Impact the Snorlax!" His orders made Ash ball his fists.

Every inch of Rampardos' scales shone with pale, white light. When it faded, there was an odd smoothness to the creature - like its rough skin had been sanded to a texture almost akin to shale. Ash had no idea what Rock Polish did, but he was wary. Proton wouldn't have called for it if it wasn't a good idea.

When it moved, Ash was almost stunned to silence. It was twice faster now, and it picked momentum within a second and barrelled into Snorlax with percussive force. Ash watched in horror as Petrel's Weezing blasted his friend with an exploding ball of black sludge.

The explosion send chunks of poison flying everywhere. Snorlax himself was blown several meters away, and he got to all fours with clenched teeth. "Finish it," Proton muttered.

Atlas tried to come to his defense, but Weezing was not letting that happened. As the little Vibrava hastily swerved from a waterfall of venom, Rampardos surrounded itself with the energy for Giga Impact. Violet and white streaks circled it faster with every step, distorting the air around, until Ash didn't know where each of the colours started and ended. He stared in horrified fascination - it was like watching a car veer out of control and head towards bystanders with no sign of slowing down.

But Snorlax wasn't moving. Ash's eyes widened. "Snorlax, get out of the way!"

He didn't. Snorlax rumbled, his teeth clenching and muscles seizing as he braced for impact. Ash had no idea what he was up to - he was so close to the edge of the rooftop that the impact would send him over! "Snorlax, MOVE!"

Brick-red light made Snorlax's arms glow. Rampardos had no time to slow down and, with a war-cry that shook the sky, Snorlax met the Giga Impact with his Hammer Arm. Even still, he was sent skidding back, but his massive arms slipped around Rampardos in a painful grapple as they slowed. With a grating growl, he grabbed the rock-type by the hips, hunkering over so its jaws were atop his skull; then, in one powerful heave, he tossed the reptile in a Judo flip and off the edge of the rooftop, and Rampardos' roar of disbelief faded faster than a second as it careened out of sight.

For a moment, Ash stared with a gaping mouth. Then Proton's infuriated scream pulled him out of his stupor. "What the hell did you just do?" he screamed, outraged.

Snorlax collapsed to all fours, his body trembling. Ash didn't know how to feel, but he accepted the sensation of relief at Rampardos' defeat.

"You'll get another one," Petrel said, feigning sympathy. "Look, the kid's defeated anyway. Isn't that what you wanted?"

His words made Ash look around, and to his despair he realised that they were ringing true. Delphi was out of the fight. Snorlax looked like even a gentle push would make him pass out. Screecher was struggling against Petrel's Hypno, who was simply teleporting around while the Mismagius tired out. His only hope was Atlas, but what could he do alone, even though he'd evolved? They were hopeless.

"Weezing, quit dawdling," Petrel drawled, and the poison-type's dopey faces straightened up. As Atlas dove in for a Dragon Tail, shimmering spheres of light ballooned in its mouths, and then exploded into perfect beams that merged halfway to form a thick laser of golden energy. Sound waves began to ripple from Atlas' wings in retaliation, but he was too slow. The Hyper Beam engulfed him whole, and sent him rocketing through the air in a graceful arc as he streaked to the ground.

"No!" gasped Ash, falling to his knees. The adrenaline seemed to have faded, and now an utter hopelessness had taken over him. The pain in his left arm returned, cutting at his bones like daggers.

"Good work, Petrel." Archer stepped away from the helicopter, whose rotor blades were beginning to spin and shatter the deadly silence of the night with its noisy spinning. "Perhaps Proton could follow your example and be more efficient." The man cowered under Archer's icy stare, but then his face transformed into a grin as he saw the utter desperation on Ash's face.

Proton stepped forward. "End of the line, kid."

Ash balled his fists. Why hadn't Sabrina come? The Blackout, or whatever, had to have ended…Where was she?!

He heard a boom to his right. Screecher hit the ground like a rag doll, bouncing once before she came to her stop. Even though she levitated back up, eyes narrowed in hellish anger and more than eager to continue fighting, he knew that she would stand no chance against Team Rocket by herself.

"Before I wring your neck," Proton muttered, licking his lips, "I think your pokémon need to be taught a lesson."

Fire shot up Ash, burning through the deadly tiredness that had overcome him, but his steely glare only made Proton laugh.

"I, however, am out of usable pokémon," Proton said, and it seemed to cause him great pain to admit it. "Petrel, if you could please?"

Petrel hopped over, but instead of appearing goofy, he felt a lot more menacing. His smug, lopsided smile barely masked the sadistic calm in his half-lidded eyes. "Sorry about this," he said insincerely, ruffling his purple hair so that it fell into place the way he liked. "Hypno, get the Vibrava. You know what to do."

Its nose twitched and, as the pendulum hummed with power, Ash felt the air around his charge up with energy. The swinging amulet became a miniature sun for a split-second - and then Ash heard Atlas scream in agony as a psychic force slammed into him like a hydraulic press.

"Again," Petrel ordered coldly.

It smashed the Vibrava against the floor with almost double the intensity. Then again, and again, and then Ash lost count, until Atlas couldn't voice his agony anymore. His keening shrieks had dropped to a raspy, almost silent croak as the Hypno mercilessly redoubled its efforts and squashed him even more.

He looked to Screecher, face wrinkled with distress. "Screecher, stop them!"

But she didn't move. She simply stared at Ash, as if waiting for…something. There was curiosity, then hope, and then understanding, but Ash didn't know why. Why wasn't she helping? What was she waiting for?

"S- Screecher, help!" he stammered, anger and confusion creeping into his voice. "What the hell are you doing? They're torturing Atlas!"

In desperation, he pleaded with the Rockets. "Stop!" Ash yelled. "Stop! Please!" Tears trickled down his dusty cheeks.

But they didn't. The torture continued, even when Atlas' wings made a noisy snap, even when blood began to trickle down his bulbous eyes, even when they rolled back into his head and body went unresponsive. Ash screamed. He screamed and shouted until his voice went hoarse, but Petrel still smiled with glee, Hypno's pendulum still shone, and the Rockets surrounded him and laughed, mocking and enjoying his anguish.

When Ash lost all hope, Petrel raised his hand. The thud of the psychic pressure against Atlas' body came to a stop. "I love to see the hope drain from your faces," he said, clasping his hand like a child that had found a cabinet full of candy. "You brave ones are so far and few, it's been a long time since I last got a chance to do this. Thanks, I guess."

Ash felt nothing. He wanted to feel hate, he wanted anger to drive him to tearing Petrel's face apart, but…He felt so empty.

And then he glared at Screecher. She stared back, but then her eyes lost that excitement, and worry crawled in faster than ever. She was…confused? Disappointed? Like she'd expected him to do something. But what? He'd have been curious of her expectations if Atlas wasn't lying half-dead at his feet!

"Your Mismagius is next. I know, ghosts can only be killed by other ghosts," Petrel muttered, rolling his eyes, "but Archer's got a Gengar that's up for the job. Archer, could you be a dear and-"

Petrel stopped. Next to him, the Hypno twitched nervously, fidgeting with its focal object. The blood didn't drain from the Rocket's face, but for the first time tonight, there was genuine fear.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" he cursed, whipping around to glare at Archer. "The Blackout'sfucking gone! She's gonna be here any minute-"

Light exploded across the roof like a nuclear explosion. The loudest crack Ash had ever head split his hearing so bad that it echoed in his mind for several seconds. He felt the air around him electrify and burn with power that made chills run down his spine every second, and when it faded, he almost couldn't believe his eyes.

Sabrina had arrived.

It was now that Ash truly understood why Sabrina was considered one of the most fearsome leaders of Kanto. She looked almost ethereal, surrounded in an emerald psychic glow, but her face was as terrible as a dragon, contorted in a rictus of fury. Her hair flowed with a nonexistent breeze, and even as she touched the ground and the psychic aura left her, she looked no less terrifying. No longer were her eyes filled with the warmth that Ash had been accustomed to. They were cold, merciless, and utterly raw with madness that made Proton's anger pale in comparison.

Standing behind her was her team of six pokémon - a Mr Mime, a Hypno, an Espeon, a Gallade, a Wobbuffet, and her trusted Alakazam. They were equally stony, waiting for the slightest of orders to unleashed their cold ruthlessness upon Team Rocket.

"Shit!" Petrel snapped, looking genuinely terrified. "Proton, you fucking idiot, if your ego hadn't been so fragile-"

"Shut up," Archer hissed, stepping in front of his subordinates. While he maintained his impassive mask, Ash could see bullets of sweat slip through the cracks. "So…Sabrina. Looks like you finally made it."

"You've made a very big mistake," Sabrina said, her voice dangerously calm. "Did you really think you could get away with this? You're either fools, or entirely too hopeful."

A bracelet slipped down her wrist - The keystone, Ash realised. She tapped the keystone with her thin fingers, and iridescent bolts of energy exploded from it, reacting with the collar on Alakazam's neck. More energy exploded, then writhed in the air like the tentacles of a kraken, before solidifying around the psi pokémon and rippling away with the gentlest of shockwaves. Alakazam basked in his new appearance, the ruby in its forehead pulsing with energy with each flick of its claws, and readied its silver spoons for battle.

"Saffron is my home, and you have threatened its sanctity." Her pokémon behind her readied themselves - Mr Mime waved its hands, Hypno grasped its pendulum, Gallade's arm-blades extended, and Espeon's gemstone glowed. "The League is on its way, but you're not going to escape. Not this time."

When she stared at Ash, he felt himself cower under her gaze. "Return your pokémon."

Her voice didn't soften when she spoke to him - in fact, Ash felt part of her anger directed at him. Squirming in his spot, he didn't even bother nodding. His trembling fingers tapped the return functions - Snorlax was returned, then Screecher (although Ash refused to look at her), and when he recalled Atlas' broken body, he felt his heart ache.

"Get the chopper ready," Archer said to the Rocket grunts waiting behind. Then he spoke to Proton and Petrel. "Distract her. We're leaving."

Sabrina didn't give them a seconds reprieve. As Archer and Petrel released more pokémon, Sabrina's team launched into action. Hyper Beams exploded from Alakazam's spoon and smashed into Petrel's Weezing. It lurched back, groaning as a tiny crack cut into its thick shell, and began to glow as a last ditch-attempt at inflicting damage. Ash recognized the Explosion instantly and threw his arms up in defense, but Sabrina's Wobbuffet leapt over to shield him just as the poison-type detonated. The Wobbuffet lit up with a reflective glow, making it looked like it was covered in glass as it took the full brunt of the explosion head-on with no noise of pain. Then the glassy shine over it focused into a beam of iridescent energy that lasered through the air and hit the Rockets' helicopter before the even realised it.

The vehicle burst with a fiery explosion. Shards of metal and shrapnel flew as it blew apart, and a magnificent fireball bloomed in the shape of a mushroom. The Rocket executives stared at the fire in disbelief - and then Archer screamed in outrage, stomping his feet like a petulant child. Something told Ash that he wasn't very upset about the grunts that had been died in the explosion.

For the first time, Archer truly lost control of his emotions. He shrieked at his pokémon - a Magmar, a Gengar, a humongous Heracross, and a tall green reptile that Ash didn't recognise, with large, yellow seeds along its back and a massive, fern-like tail. It was a grass-type for sure, but he'd never seen it. It wasn't like he could whip out his pokédex and scan it, anyway.

Petrel had out his Golem, as well as a massive, prehistoric pokémon - an Aerodactyl, with its massive head almost touching the floor as it stood hunkered over. Ash had never seen one in real life, and the thing was enormous. Sabrina, however, was unfazed. She was either unimpressed, or she simply didn't care.

Ash tried to peek around the Wobbuffet, hoping to catch glimpses of the battle. He could still hear as the Rocket executives fought Sabrina - or rather, they tried to. Sabrina's Gallade leapt several feet into the sky in a single jump, then teleported when it peaked; it reappeared behind Petrel's Golem send the rock-type rolling away with its Brick Break. Petrel's Hypno struggled to blast its enemies with psychic attacks, but Sabrina's clearly outclassed it - every Psybeam it unleashed was curved towards another direction with a single swing of a pendulum. Mr Mime sent barrier after barrier as the Heracross tried to close in, and it wasn't long before the beetle was trapped in an intricate cage of psychic walls. The only true threat was Archer's Gengar, which laughed in its baritone as it wrecked mayhem, shattering Mr Mime's barriers in a single swipe and keeping the psychics on edge with its liberal use of Shadow Balls.

Archer's grass-type - Sceptile, Ash heard the executive call it - crawled across the rooftop with incredible speed. It weaved through Espeon's Psybeams with disgusting ease and parried Gallade with one of the sharp leaves along its arms, which had glowed and lengthened. The Magmar screamed and breathed a plume of flames, but Alakazam diffused the fire with a Psywave. Archer's Gengar cackled and opened its maw to comical proportions, expelling a stream of dark rings that left Espeon writhing as the energy pulse passed through it.

It was nothing but pure chaos. But after several moments, it was clear that Sabrina and her team were winning. Golem was already defeated, its stone shell cracked as it rolled on its back, and so was Petrel's Hypno, after a brief one-sided struggle with Sabrina's. Archer's team were the only ones left - but, once Alakazam exploded the Gengar into vapour with a dozen Psycho Cuts, the rest toppled soon enough.

A loud crash signalled the demise of Magmar, who had just been subjected to a finishing blow at Mr Mime's hands. The Sceptile was still defiant, however, even in the face of defeat. It got back up with a grunt, lunging in a desperate attempt at a Leaf Blade, but Sabrina's Gallade parried the blow and slashed it across the front with fire running along its blades, knocking it to the ground with a thud.

The fire from the helicopter's explosion still burned, blazing with a fiery crackle, but Ash could still hear Archer's scream of frustration. The Rockets' pokémon were strewn across the ravaged rooftop, passed out but still breathing. They looked almost peaceful, if it wasn't for the fact that they'd tried to kill everyone in sight.

Sabrina didn't lose her harsh edge even as Petrel begged for mercy. The executive dared to meet her eyes, and Espeon's eyes glowed. He seized up, falling face-first like a wax statue with his eyes rolled in their sockets.

"You're done," Sabrina hissed, kicking Archer's hands as he fell to all fours. Her team of psychics surrounded her, but they kept a watchful eye on the Rocket pokémon in case any of them tried anything - they could never be too sure with Rockets.

Ash expected Archer to yell. What he didn't expect was a bittersweet smile - like he'd lost the battle, but won the war.

"You've bested us, dear Leader. But, let me ask you one thing," he hissed, his eyes reptilian. "Where's Proton?"

Ash froze. He tensed up and expected Proton to jump them, but…Nothing. Where was he?

Archer laughed. "Aerodactyl are some of the fastest pokémon in all of the To continent," he murmured. "Proton must already have crossed Celadon. With the masterball, of course. How could we forget that?"

Sabrina's jaw tightened. Archer's smile stretched fully across his face when her frustration slipped with a growl, whipping around and stomping her foot. As the executive laughed, Ash felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. He'd gotten so far, only to fail.

With a dismissive flick of her hand she put Archer to sleep, head clunking the ground. Ash stared at the Rockets in disgust, but then he realised the rest of the tower was still being held hostage by Team Rocket.

"The Rockets are still all over the place-"

"League forces have teleported in," she said tersely. "Team Rocket has been taken care of."

Ash gulped. He squeezed the racing pain along his arm. "Thank you for-"

"I don't want to hear it." She pursed her lips, closing her eyes as if trying to calm down. "I'm taking you to Saffron General - you're in a shit state. Besides, you've caused enough trouble for one night."

He blinked. Then his eyes narrowed in confused annoyance. "I've been causing trouble? I tried to save the Silph Tower. I stood up to Team Rocket-"

"Enough!" Sabrina snapped, and when she met his gaze, Ash couldn't help but flinch. She was beyond angry. "We will talk about this later. For now, I'm putting you to sleep. Goodbye."

He opened his mouth to protest, but Sabrina's Hypno had already locked its eyes with him. Despite his frantic attempts to fight its hypnosis, his vision swam to a sea of blackness.

XxXxX

Trainer:Ash Ketchum

Pokémon in possession:

Saur – Venusaur

Delphi – Xatu

Zeus – Ampharos

Hydrus – Golduck

Monferno

Snorlax

Screecher – Mismagius

Kratos– Scyther

Atlas – Vibrava

Eevee

---

If you're wondering how and why this chapter came out so quickly, it's because I'd been working on this for the past several weeks alongside the previous chapter. Also, I haven't slept in two days because I was afraid I would experience another burnout, lol. I'm insanely tired. Gotta go sleep now. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and let me know your thoughts in either a review or a PM. Until then, have a good one!