December 17th, 2140
7:54 am
Ash/Uriah sat on the same bench. He was reading a new newspaper (duh..) when he felt a tap on his shoulder, he turned around to find himself face-to-face with Clemont.
He stared at the nervous-looking scientist and smiled. He then extended his hand and Clemont took it looking awfully relieved.
"How are you doing Clemont?" Asked Uriah.
"I'm doing fine... You?" Asked Clemont.
"I'm good."
Clemont took a seat beside Uriah on the bench. Clemont was fidgeting with his fingers while Uriah continued to read his newspaper. After a few minutes of silence, Clement finally spoke.
"Look Uriah, I am truly sorry about yesterday. When Bonnie grabbed your hair. I truly am..."
"No no no, it's my fault. I overreacted. I should have expected the kid to do that." said Uriah, looking up at Clemont.
Clemont smiled. He then sat beside Uriah on the bench.
"So, how was your day yesterday?" Asked Clemont. The two men began to chat.
"Well, I gotta get going, see you around Uriah, "said Clemont, Uriah smiled. Then, to Clement's utter surprise, Uriah slapped him on the back. Clement winced as he felt something sharp prick him on the back. But he shook it off guessing it was Uriah's nails.
"See you around," Uriah replied. Clemont walked away, back into the lab. Uriah watched him go.
What Clemont did not know was that Uriah had stuck a tiny microphone onto his lab coat when he slapped him on the back. Hendrix had given it to Uriah (Ash) in hopes of catching the conversations of the scientists inside the lab.
With this information, the duo hoped to be able to steal the Kalosian bomb-making papers.
o - o - o - o - o
December 17th, 2140
11:47 a.m
After hours of hearing the scientists talk about nothing except for "the beauty of the day" and about their favorite breakfast, Uriah decided to head back for breakfast (the scientists made him hungry).
He was heading to a cafe when he heard someone call out his name. He turned to find himself face-to-face with Serena.
Dear God, why me...
Serena ran towards him, beaming. "Uriah! how are you? Look... I am sorry about yesterday... We all are. We should not have angered you like that... We are... "
"It's ok," Ash replied roughly, realizing his tone of voice, he repeated his words, but softer. "It's ok."
Serena smiled. Ash hoped that she would leave since she finished her apology. But to Ash's annoyment, she didn't.
"Er… So where are you going?" Asked Serena.
"Just walking around the block looking for a good restaurant to eat at," Ash replied without looking at her.
"Cool! I have not eaten yet either… Can I join you?" Asked Serena.
Absolutely not…
But instead, knowing that saying "no" would arouse suspicion, he put on his biggest (and most legit looking… hopefully) smile and nodded his head.
o - o - o - o - o
December 17th, 2140
12:02 pm
Uriah (Actually Ash, but Serena doesn't know that) looked very uncomfortable. The only reason Serena was still with this man was because she didn't trust him.
She knew that he saved Bonnie's life, but still… He seemed too panicky and too secretive. Serena very much understood that people kept secrets, but from the looks of Uriah, his secrets could get him killed.
Even though Clemont said that Uriah didn't look one bit shady, she couldn't help feeling… this feeling…
She felt like she knew him…
Yes, he looked a lot like Ash, maybe that was why… but still. She planned to keep an eye on him from now on.
"How about this one?" Asked Uriah, pointing to a barbecue. Serena shook off her thoughts and smiled at him. Uriah frowned and gave her one long glare. Serena stiffened. After a few seconds, he entered the BBQ. Serena let out a sigh of relief.
He doesn't seem to trust me either, I better watch my back.
With that, she entered the BBQ.
Uriah and Serena gave their orders to the waitress and the duo sat in silence. Serena opened her mouth to initiate a conversation. She was going to mention something about Kalos' financial crisis after conquering the Hoenn region (hey, he seemed like a guy who liked to talk politics) but quickly stopped when Uriah gave her a glare. He seemed keen to NOT having a conversation with her.
When the waitress came back with their food, they continued to eat in silence. The waitress uncomfortably looked at the duo but scurried off when Uriah gave her one of his famous glares.
Serena had had enough of the awkward silence.
" I feel like I know you…" She said. Was it her imagination or did Uriah look panicked?
"Don't think I've ever met you before yesterday…" Uriah simply replied.
"You're hiding something… I am not naive like Clemont or Bonnie, I can tell," she hissed.
"Everyone in the entire world has a secret," Uriah said impatiently.
Everyone in the restaurant was watching them.
"Who are you? Where'd you come from? Why are you…"
She abruptly stopped when he suddenly raised his hand halfway up. He beckoned to the waitress. The waitress nodded and took his food away. She came back after a few minutes with his food in a plastic bag. Uriah paid for his food, stood up, and gave Serena an intense glare. Then he left the restaurant.
o - o - o - o - o
December 17th, 2140
6:34 pm
"Geez Serena!... You and your fantasized thinking…" Clemont groaned from his side of the phone.
Serena had left the restaurant a few hours ago and came back to her hotel room after a little walk, only now did she decide to confide in Clemont of the day's surprises.
"Look! There is clearly something wrong with that Uriah guy!" She protested. "He ve…"
"Just… just stop… ok? I need to take a breather. Just this morning I had to apologize to the poor man on Bonnie's behalf… now it looks like I will have to do it again since you have no interest in doing it yourself." Clemont responded, sounding irritable.
"Just hear me out! Ple…!"
"I gotta go, bye Serena, "Clemont responded lazily.
"Wait... Noooo!"
Clemont had cut the call.
Serena sighed in defeat. She would get him to see her point one way or another.
o - o - o - o - o
December 25th, 2140
12:00 am
"Merry Christmas private Ketchum, "said Hendrix suddenly. Ash turned around in surprise.
"What?" he asked dumbly.
Hendrix grinned at him and then pointed to the Santa hat on his head. Ash frowned and looked at his watch. It was 12 a.m.
It had been Christmas for the last few seconds. Ash grinned.
"Merry Christmas Admiral," Ash said.
"Make sure you are ready for the highlight of the day. If we successfully steal those papers then we will go down in history lad! I would love to go down in history, how about you? "asked the Admiral.
"Hell yeah!" said Ash happily.
"Make sure you are ready for the break-in... I am going to go get some hot chocolate." With that, Hendrix left.
Ash plopped onto the couch, just thinking about what's happened in the last nine days. How he ran into his old Kalosian pals, the cafe, BBQ, Bonnie's near demise, and more. He remembered with a chuckle how Clement was forced to apologize to him twice on the behalf of his sister and then Serena.
Then, he remembered hearing about the bomb-papers location from the mic on Clemont's lab coat and the day Kantonian hackers were able to break into the lab surveillance and map out the lab for the mission.
In approximately two hours, the mission would be a go.
By sunrise, they would either be in a plane heading for Kanto...
...or in a Kalosian prison cell.
o - o - o - o - o
December 25th,2140
2:02 a.m
Ash and Hendrix stood right outside of Sycamore's lab. A guard and his Pyroar stood guard at the entrance.
Hendrix looked at Ash. The duo wore all black tactical clothing with ski masks. Hendrix had a black backpack, held a paralyzing gun in one hand, and a Pokeball in another. They were hiding behind a corner so the guard would not see them.
Ash nodded at Hendrix, Hendrix then ran around the corner and shot his gun once. The tranquilizer hit the guard in the neck, the guard then silently slumped to the ground. The Pyroar whipped around to where it's master lay slumped, and then to Hendrix. Its mouth filled with fire, it was going to use a flamethrower attack.
But before that could happen, Hendrix threw his Pokeball and out came a Kingdra. The Kingdra then shot a powerful hydropump at the Pyroar. The hydropump hit it straight in the face. The Pyroar stumbled and shook itself dry. It took one last look at Kingdra…
... And then bolted.
Ash watched it go with worry. "You think it is going to go tell someone?"
"Hopefully not, "replied Hendrix, he looked worried. Nevertheless, he returned Kingdra back into its Pokeball. Ash and Hendrix ran inside.
Inside, there was a large room with two stairways going upstairs, they took a right and found themselves in the main lab. It was where Ash, Bonnie, and Clemont waited until Sycamore's assistant tended to the injured Froakie they'd found.
Ash looked into the room where Sycamore's assistant healed Froakie. He was surprised to see a huge cylinder-like object in the place where the bed used to be. There was no doubt what it was. It was the bomb.
Ash knew he shouldn't stick around and stare at it. But he couldn't help it. So many questions popped into his head.
Is it nearly complete? How powerful is it? Who do they plan to bomb first? What city did they plan to bomb first?
"Ash!" Hendrix whispered urgently. "Stop loafing around and help me find those danged papers! What're you even staring a…"
Hendrix's eyes widened as he realized what Ash had been staring at.
"Good grief… that's it then, isn't it," said Hendrix, he walked towards the glass. "She's massive. I heard she's supposedly more powerful than the atomic bomb... x1.5 more powerful the rumors say."
"What's that?" Asked Ash.
"The most deadly weapon ever made by man. It is said that it destroyed two entire cities hundreds of years ago. Evaporated everyone in a few meters radius." Said Hendri darkly (and in awe).
"Dang..." said Ash, he then looked at the bomb with a whole new level of fear.
"And soon, it's going to belong to Kanto… all that power... ours," said Hendrix. He turned to Ash. "Let's get those papers boy."
o - o - o - o - o
December 25th,2140
2:16 a.m
Clemont was having trouble sleeping. He was standing on his balcony when he saw something strange. He saw a Pokemon with white, yellow, and red fur below him. It was a female Pyroar.
"How peculiar" Thought Clemont. He tiptoed past Bonnie's room, and then he went to the door. He unlocked it and opened it.
"Where are you going? "asked a rough voice. Clement cringed.
It was his father. He had been caught.
He turned to face his father's suspicious eyes. His face had many emotions, among which were suspicion, surprise, and curiosity.
"I-I," Clemont stammered.
"Spit it out son," his father Meyer said.
Clemont took a deep breath and recounted what he saw. After he finished, Meyer grabbed a Pokeball from the coffee table and put his coat on. He turned and smiled at his son.
"Better call Sycamore and tell him what's up," Meyer said.
Clemont nodded, he took out his phone and dialed the professor's personal number.
"If you're going somewhere then-I-want-to-come-too!" Cried a high-pitched obnoxious voice. It was Bonnie.
"Bonnie... how did you wake up? This is an adult's problem, you can't come. You're much too young," Meyer told his daughter.
"You two were practically yelling at each other here and if there is a problem at the lab, then you're going to need all the help you can get, "said Bonnie pridefully.
"Bonnie... Please listen to me..." The father pleaded.
"No! I am coming and that is final!" Bonnie cried. Meyer sighed in defeat.
o - o - o - o - o
December 25th, 2140
2:58 a.m
"Ketchum! Look! A safe. This must be the one the scientists were talking about!" said Hendrix excitedly. The safe was cleverly built into Sycamore's couch so they hadn't recognized it till now.
They attempted to open it but to no avail.
"It's metal so maybe we could melt it… but don't melt it too much and risk damage to the papers," said Hendrix.
Ash nodded. He then threw his Pokeball into the air, out came Infernape.
"We need to melt this safe, but not harm the papers inside. You think you can do that?" Asked Ash. Infernape nodded.
Infernape used flamethrower on the safe. Softening the metal. When the metal was melted well enough, Infernape bent it open, wincing from touching the scorching metal. Inside was a stack of papers. Hendrix took it out.
"These are it! These are the bomb-making blueprints!" Hendrix whispered excitedly as he shifted through the papers.
He grabbed his backpack and carefully placed the papers into it. He then slung it over his back and had Infernape place the burning metal back onto the safe. Then Hendrix made some modifications so it looked like no one had touched the couch (much less the safe).
He beckoned the Ash, who returned Infernape to its Pokeball and stood up. Ash and Hendrix then turned to leave the lab.
o - o - o - o - o
December 25th, 2140
3:09 a.m
A long while away, stood a large blue pokemon. It watched the snow slowly fall. It was on a mission from its trainer. A never-ending mission. It was to protect Kalos from evil and harm. The war only increased Kalos' need for protection, and he was always happy to give it. The large blue pokemon watched the snow cover the forest, his forest, his home for six years.
Then suddenly, he felt his senses tingle. A Kalosian city was in trouble… Lumiose. But then his senses caught something else, something familiar.
The danger was… familiar. He couldn't describe it… it was too odd. Like something that he knew that was good the last time he saw it… was now bad.
But nevertheless, he got up… and sprinted towards Lumiose.
o - o - o - o - o
December 25th, 2140
3:16 a.m
Clemont saw Prof. Sycamore aimlessly walking around the outside of his lab. He was accompanied by someone… Serena.
"Serena? What are you doing here?" Clemont asked puzzled.
"Before you called me, Serena was in her hotel room -which was right behind the lab- when she saw what seemed to be flashlights from inside the main lab. We don't have guards positioned inside the main lab room so…" Sycamore was abruptly cut off as Bonnie interrupted him.
"Someone broke in?!" Asked Bonnie in shock.
Sycamore nodded gravely. "And I am sure that Clemont can guess what the robbers took."
Clemont's eyes widened in horror as he realized what the answer was.
"The paper's… they took the papers."
Sycamore nodded in fear. Everyone else looked confused.
"What papers?" Asked Serena. Clemont and Sycamore realized their mistake too late.
"My mega evolution papers," said Sycamore, hoping they would buy it.
They didn't.
"Professor, you seem to be hiding something… you too Clemont," said Meyer suspiciously, looking back and forth between Sycamore and Clemont.
"It doesn't matter if I am hiding something or not, I need those papers back. Will you help me or not?" Pleaded Sycamore.
Meyer, Serena, and Bonnie were confused as to why Sycamore was being secretive but agreed to help him either way.
"I'll look from the roofs," said Meyer. He dug into his pocket and pulled out two things: Blaziken's pokemon and his Blaziken mask. Then from his backpack (which Clemont did not realize he had) he pulled out the rest of his "Blaziken Mask" costume and put it on. Once on, he released his Blaziken from its Pokeball, and then the duo began to scale the walls of the nearest building.
"Professor… did the robbers accidentally leave anything behind?" Asked Clemont. "Luxray could perhaps use their smell to track them down."
"Unfortunately, the robbers left nothing behind… but we could use the safe itself. They had to have stood in front of it to have gotten the papers," replied Augustus Sycamore.
Clemont nodded. The four people then went into the lab and into Sycamore's main research room (Sycamore first so he could cover the bomb from Serena and Bonnie's view using a curtain). Sycamore pointed to the safe's hiding spot. Clemont released Luxray.
"Go! Luxray!" Clemont cried.
"LUUUXXXXRRRRAAAAAYYYYY!" The pokemon roared.
"Ssssshhhhh! Don't wake up the entire street!" pleaded Clemont silently.
"Luxray…" it whispered in reply.
"Luxray, some robbers broke into Sycamore's lab earlier this night. Smell the rug in front of the safe, they must've left a scent behind. That scent will help us track them down," explained Clemont.
Luxray nodded at his instructions. It took in the many smells of the rug. Smoke, eggs, and hot chocolate being some of the first smells that reached his nose… but then he smelled something else… two large human humans -probably men- and a large pokemon.
The pokemon must be the reason for that smoky smell. Luxray guessed that the pokemon's trainer must've returned the pokemon to its Pokeball since the pokemon's scent was only in front of the safe… whereas the two human's scents were all over the room.
Luxray walked around the room looking for more clues on where the robbers went, while its master silently conversed with Augustus Sycamore in whispers so the two females in the room couldn't hear them. ("The Kalosian government will have our heads mounted on spikes for the entire world to see if we don't get those papers back...") Serena sat on the couch staring at the glass window which separated them from the bomb room, a curtain although blocked the room from sight (courtesy of Sycamore).
In fact, everyone was too distracted to realize that Luxray was calling to them, except for Bonnie.
"Hey, guys… I think Luxray found something," she said.
The three other occupants of the room immediately got up and jogged towards Luxray hastily. (Luxray was standing at the exit of the room.)
"Luxray? Did you find their scent?" Asked Clemont. Luxray nodded in affirmative.
"Great! Luxray, lead the way to our culprits." Cried Sycamore, hope creeping into his voice.
o - o - o - o - o
December 25th, 2140
3:33 a.m
"Ketchum! The aircraft has arrived just outside of Lumiose city. Get the papers and let's get going! Quick!" Cried, Hendrix.
Ash quickly double-checked that they had everything packed, especially the papers and pokemon… once they left, there was no coming back.
Hendrix slung the backpack with the papers over his shoulders and Ash dragged the suitcase with his (very few) personal belongings using his right hand. Hendrix dragged his own suitcase behind him.
"Come on, come on, come on! Quickly before someone realizes that we…"
Someone knocked on the door so loudly that Ash was sure that the entire region could hear it.
"Open the door! This is Augustus Sycamore of the Sycamore Pokemon Lab! I order you to open the door this instant!" Cried Sycamore.
Ash waited for Hendrix's orders, but Hendrix stood there in silent horror. Ash heard some shuffling outside of the door.
Then out of nowhere… the door fell to the ground revealing four figures. Ash didn't have time to comprehend the situation because the moment the door fell, he bolted into the bedroom.
From the bedroom, he saw four people enter the apartment… Sycamore, Serena, Bonnie, and Clemont. They stared at Hendrix with eyes full of hatred.
"Alright! Hand those papers over!" Screeched Sycamore, Ash had never seen him this furious before, nor this panicked.
Hendrix blinked, "Mr. Sycamore… I don't know what you're talking about Mr. Sycamore," he lied.
Sycamore suddenly jumped on top of Hendrix and the two were rolling on the ground in a wrestling match. Clemont and Serena join in. After a few minutes, Serena managed to dislodge the backpack from Hendrix's back.
Hendrix swore loudly as Serena shuffled through the backpack and pulled out a stack of papers. She smiled triumphantly.
"Professor! Clemont! I think I found the papers!" She cried jubilantly. But she frowned as she began to look through the papers. "But, they looked more like blueprints than.."
Clemont snatched the papers from Serena before she could finish speaking. He quickly skimmed through the papers and nodded.
"These are the papers professor! Let's get going!" Said Clemont.
"Shouldn't we call the cops and tell them what's going on… and also so they can arrest this punk?"Asked Sycamore.
"Well, I think.."
As Clemont and Sycamore argued. Hendrix (Sycamore had him under his foot)stared at Ash … willing Ash to do something. Ash began to think about what to do to get those papers back and save Hendrix. Finally, he found a plan in the small figure standing quietly next to the door. The only light source in the apartment was the moonlight shining in through the window, and he wore black clothing.
The dark would be his friend in this cruel and wicked plan.
He picked up his gun from his belt and held it in his right hand. He tiptoed towards the tiny figure and grabbed her shoulder firmly and pulled it towards him, he jabbed the tip of his gun into her lower jaw. Bonnie screamed out in fright from inside his arm.
Sycamore, Serena, and Clemont whipped around. Serena finally found a light switch and flipped it on. They shook in shock and fury at what they saw before them.
"U-Uriah?" Stuttered Clemont in shock at seeing his friend point a gun at his sister's jaw. Not just his friend… his sister's SAVIOR was pointing a gun at her.
Ash found his mouth twisting into a sadistic smile.
"Not Uriah,no,no,no,no. Uriah is an alias," he told Clemont.
"Then what is your re…" began Serena, then her face contorted into pure horror.
"No,no,no,no...it...it can't be…" She muttered. She pierced into his eyes and said the one word that left all three of her accomplices in utter shock.
"Ash?"
Ash smiled at her… and slowly nodded.
"No...th-this can't be happening…" muttered Clemont. "We trusted you!" He screeched at him.
"You simply picked the wrong person to trust pal…" Ash said scathingly.
"Ash, don't do this. Let Bonnie go. What are you going to gain from this?" Asked Sycamore as calmly as he could.
"The war professor, you aren't the only person who wants to win," replied Ash impatiently. "Give my friend -the man you wrestled with just now- the bomb-making papers and I'll see that Bonnie is safely returned back to you."
Ash felt horrible threatening Bonnie's life in return for the papers - but he knew it had to be done.
Serena's eyes widened in horror. "Bomb-making papers?" She stuttered.
"That's out of commission," said Sycamore firmly.
"Then we are unable to come to an agreement," Ash said. He moved the position of the gun from Bonnie's jaw to her head. Clemont seemed to have trouble breathing.
Ash knew his approach wasn't working, even if Clemont caved into his request, Sycamore wouldn't let him. Sycamore couldn't risk the entire region's safety for Bonnie's life. So he went on to plan B.
He stared at Hendrix who simply nodded back. He jabbed Bonnie hard in the head and his finger on the trigger. Clemont and Serena's eyes were furious and pleading, while Sycamore's eyes were cold and panicked.
At that exact moment, Hendrix grabbed Sycamore's leg (which was on his chest) and twisted it sharply. Sycamore cried out in pain and fell to the ground clutching his leg. Hendrix managed to grab the papers from Clemont and ran to Ash's side.
"One move and we shoot her," snarled Hendrix pointing to Bonnie. He then looked at Ash. "To the window lad, come on."
Hendrix opened the window (still holding the papers) and was about to jump (they were on the second floor) when something hard hit his face.
"Gah!" Hendrix cried as he fell onto his back (still clutching the papers). Ash whirled around and looked out the window to see what happened. Suddenly, something sharp and wet slammed in the hand holding Bonnie. He released her in pain. Bonnie ran back to her brother.
Something large and blue flew in through the window and landed in front of Bonnie, Clemont, Serena, and Sycamore.
You just got to be kidding me….
It was Greninja.
Greninja stared at Hendrix… then its gaze fell onto Ash… Its face showed pure shock.
Greninja stared at Ash...What is my master doing here? Isn't he supposed to be in the Kanto region? Fighting in the war? But then why is he….
The realization hit Greninja like a bowling ball… that weird feeling he was feeling back in the forest, that feeling that the danger in Lumiose was… familiar…
It was Ash all along.
"Greninja! Stop him! Please!" Shouted the pokemon professor.
Grenininja was unsure as to what to do. His trainer was in front of him, the same boy six years ago who told him to protect Kalos from harm… and here he was… being the cause of harm himself.
"Remember me, pal? It's Ash… Please… help me…. Please..." pleaded Ash.
Does he listen to Ash… or protect Kalos… from whatever the harm was...
"Greninja! Your job is to protect Kalos from harm! He is causing harm to Kalos… if he steals those papers… the entirety of Kalos is in mortal danger! Those papers have the instructions on how to create a bomb… the most powerful bomb in the world… is more powerful than the atomic bomb that destroyed two entire cities centuries ago… two entire cities… in one of the cities almost half of the people lost their lives… almost half of an entire city...140,000 people out of 350,000 people lost their lives. This bomb is more powerful than that… If the bomb fell on Kalos… the death toll would be beyond imaginable…" Sycamore said.
Greninja stared at Sycamore...that did it. He faced Ash with a look of hatred, he faced his best friend with a murderous gaze.
Ash knew what side Greninja had chosen… and it wasn't his side. He picked out a Pokeball from his belt.
"Go Infernape!" He cried as he threw the Pokeball in front of him. Out came the flame pokemon, it stared at everyone in the room before its eyes fell onto Greninja.
"Use Mach Punch!" Ash cried.
Infernape jumped onto Greninja and landed a direct hit, Greninja retaliated back with a water pulse, Infernape dodged it at the last second. The two starter pokemon were throwing attack after attack at each other. In all the chaos, Clemont saw Ash and his accomplice cut the stack of papers in half, the accomplice jumped out the window and took off, then Ash tried to do the same.
"No, you don't," snarled Clemont under his breath.
He didn't waste any time, he swerved past the two pokemon and grabbed Ash by the shoulder. Ash whipped around and punched Clemont in the jaw. Clemont retaliated back with a kick in the guts. The two were aiming punches and kicks at each other for a few minutes.
Ash didn't know why it happened nor, did he know how it happened. But a gunshot rang through the air. Clemont stopped, stared at Ash, and then began to fall to the ground.
A bullet wound in his head…
...with Ash holding the gun right above him.
o - o - o - o - o
December 25th, 2140
4:02 a.m
Bonnie's scream tore through the entire room, everything in the room stopped. The pokemon stopped fighting and the people stared in disbelief.
Ash hastily knelt down and shook Clemont… no response… He yelled into the man's ear...no response… he grasped Clemont's wrist looking for a pulse, but he immediately dropped it…
...No response.
Ash's worst fear had become a reality… he murdered one of his best friends… he shook his head in disbelief and horror… he didn't even attempt to look up at Serena, Sycamore, or Bonnie… He ran and jumped out the window.
A sharp pain ran through his legs as he landed on the sidewalk. He bolted towards the forest. Not far behind him was Infernape, running on all fours. He didn't dare look back to the place where he had sinned. He and Infernape ran and ran. Finally, they reached the woods.
They sighed a sigh of relief, for they were protected by the towering trees and large bushes. They walked in the direction to the aircraft (Ash had memorized the map to the aircraft landing area, courtesy of Hendrix's death glare). They were catching their breaths when they heard two men talking not far from them. Ash and Infernape hid behind the trees as they saw six people on the trail. Two seemed to be leaders with two personal guards. They were having an agitated argument.
"What in Arceus's name are you doing here?!" Cried one of the men. That man wore blue clothing.
"I am here to meet Logan Owens… the Kalosian Prime minister." said the other man. He wore red clothing.
"What?! So am I...what does that man want with you…" snarled the man in blue.
"I am here to receive the thing I bought from him…" said the man in red.
"Which is…?" Asked the man in blue.
"Oh dear, even you can't figure it out… the same thing as you… just the other half…" said the man in red, seemingly enjoying himself.
The man in blue was silent for a moment, then he snarled. "He sold the other half TO YOU?!"
"You only took half, so I came and took the other half my dear Ar…" the man in red was cut off as one of his bodyguards spoke up.
"Sir if I may…" she said.
"No Courtney. You may not…" said the man in red. The bodyguard ducked his head and backed up.
"Our grand plan is nea…" the man in red abruptly stopped talking since he heard something in the bushes. Ash and Infernape ducked, but it wasn't them that the man heard, something else… something large and blue.
Oh no…
Ash and Infernape took off as silently as they could, Ash didn't have time to wonder what those men were talking about as he ran. If Greninja caught up… he didn't know what he could do to shoo him off their trail.
They kept running, but Greninja was faster. Greninja jumped in front of Ash. Ash and Infernape skidded to a stop. Greninja launched a fury of water shurikens towards Ash. Ash stood in place… in shock and fear. Just before the water shurikens could hit him, Infernape jumped in front of him and took the hits. Ash shook his head violently to clear his head. He then looked at Infernape.
"Use a series of mach punches!" He cried. Infernape did so, Greninja dodged every single one. It then used a hydro pump… which Infernape dodged.
Ash was aware that Greninja was dodging Infernape's moves easily… what he was not aware of, was that Greninja was attempting to inch its way towards Ash...until it was too late.
Greninja made one last jump from the tree he was on and snatched the papers in Ash's right hand. Ash was in shock. But this time, he didn't loaf around… he went straight for the blue beast.
"Use flamethrower at Greninja!"
Infernape nodded. A volley of flames hit the trees as they chased the blue beast… Ash knew they couldn't win this battle… they would not be able to get back those papers… he knew what had to be done.
"Infernape… the papers…" Said Ash sadly. Infernape knew what its trainer wanted. It gave one last flamethrower, but not towards Greninja…
… towards the papers.
The papers turned in ash before their eyes. Greninja stared at his ashy hand in shock. Ash and Infernape didn't even wait… they ran towards the aircraft, leaving Greninja in his shock.
After ten minutes they arrived at the aircraft, Ash returned Infernape to its Pokeball and took a seat next to Hendrix. He buckled in.
"Where're the papers?" Asked Hendrix.
Ash shook his head. "Had to burn it… Greninja followed us and got it, I had Infernape burn it before he could return it to the Kalosians."
Hendrix nodded. "Well, I got my half to the pilot, and don't worry kiddo, better neither of us have it then they have it."
Ash nodded. The plane began to rumble, and Hendrix gave Ash a smile and squeezed his shoulder…
And off to Kanto they go.
o - o - o - o - o
This chapter came out quicker than usual because I discovered something called "Voice typing" and made my rough draft smaller, by just using bullet points about the key ideas.
I won't use voice typing again (since I hated it) but I definitely will make my rough drafts shorter. Hopefully, then I can get new chapters out to you guys sooner.
Yeah, sorry about killing off Clemont, it was one of the few things I wanted to do when I started writing this fanfiction, kill off a major character (Not OC).
Hope you enjoyed this story as much as I did writing it. I am excited to read your comments! (WRITE COMMENTS PLZ)
Again, I do not own any of the characters (except for Hendrix) and places mentioned in this fan-fiction story, it all belongs to the Pokemon Company. I only own the plot.