Pokémon: Masters
Chapter Nineteen – The Darkest Hour Comes Just Before The Dawn
Ash glared at Giovanni. There was something different about him, and he could just place a finger on it. When his eyes turned blood red, Ash recognized the power he had felt.
"You again," he hissed as his own eyes turned gold.
"I said I would come back," Giovanni smirked. "And I brought a few friends."
"Father," Shane said as he stepped in front of Ash, "there is no need for this. I was just about to finish this."
Giovanni frowned at the boy. "They say one finds immortality in one's children," he replied. "I, however, have found a different course."
With that he sent a red energy ball at Shane's feet, sending the young man into his brothers.
"I will deal with you later," Giovanni said as he turned back to Ash. "We end this now, Destiny."
"Whatever you say," Ash replied. "Pikachu, thunder!"
As Pikachu began to power up for his attack, one of the shadows behind Giovanni dashed out and tackled him.
"Umbreon, hypnosis," Giovanni commanded. The sleep waves slammed Pikachu into Ash.
"Ash, I think we make a run for it," Misty suggested as she helped pick him up.
"No," Ash grunted. "Like Giovanni said, this ends now."
Ash pulled out a pokéball from his belt. "Charizard, fire blast!"
As the dragon appeared, a flock of Murkrow instantly attacked the fire pokémon. Charizard lasted only a few seconds before being forced to the ground.
"What's wrong, Ashy boy?" Giovanni smirked. "Are your little pokémon not up to the challenge?"
Ash glared at the possessed man. He did not know who was more in control, Giovanni or that shadow creature. Either way, both had enough hatred to level all of Saffron just to hurt him.
Sabrina gathered as many of her pokémon as possible. She rarely used more than Kadabra for badge challenges, but competing in various tournaments had kept the rest of her pokémon in top shape.
"I hope I'm not too late," she huffed as she and Haunter ran to the Silph Co. tower.
Ash watched in horror as Brock's Geodude and Shane's Golem were frozen in a block of ice by Sneasel. Giovanni just grinned as one by one his pokémon tore apart the younger trainers' pokémon.
"Give it up, boy," Giovanni jeered. "If you give yourself to me willingly, I might consider letting your friends live."
Ash gritted his teeth as he released Squirtle to help Staryu and Poliwag fight off the pack of Houndours and the lone Tyranitar. Most of his other pokémon had already fainted and Bulbasaur was fighting the pack of Umbreons with Zubat and Venonat.
"This isn't working, Ash," Rob called as he recalled his sixth pokémon to fall. "There's just too many of them."
"We have to keep trying," Ash replied.
"I agree," Shane said as he managed to take down the lead Houndoom with Poliwrath. "Once father sets his mind to something, he never gives up."
Giovanni smirked at his son still calling him father.
"You would have made a great heir," Giovanni called. "It is unfortunate that you choose the enemy over me."
"I choose myself," Shane replied.
"Is there a difference now?"
Sabrina turned the corner and saw a large battle in front of her destination, but it was not the battle that frightened her. The pokémon that Ash was battling were all the dark types. Only rumors of their breed had reach Kanto, but she knew that they could easily defeat a psychic or ghost type.
"All my pokémon, worthless," she sighed. "I would just be another person to protect if I went down there."
She hung her head as she watched the rest of the battle.
The last of Misty's pokémon were recalled leaving only three left to deal with the rest of Giovanni's horde.
"Now you will know true defeat, Destiny," Giovanni called. "I will seal you away for a thousand years in a wretched pokéball."
'There has to be something I can do,' Ash thought as he noticed Brock and Tracey still had not used Onix and Scyther. A girl in a light blue dress appeared in his mind.
"This was my role as Destiny," she said to Ash as she patted her pokémon. "I help to show pokémon their full potential."
Ash knew what to do now. Hopefully, it would be enough.
"Brock, Tracey, hand me Onix and Scyther," he told his friends.
"Ash, they're still to weak to fight a normal battle, let alone this," Tracey replied.
"Just do it," Ash snapped back. "It's not as if we have anything to lose."
Tracey glanced over to Brock, who shrugged and tossed the pokéball to Ash. Tracey followed Brock's lead and gave Scyther's pokéball to Ash.
"Here goes nothing," Ash said as he threw the two pokéballs into the middle of the fight.
Sabrina watched as a giant Onix appeared in the midst of the brawl. As soon as it appeared, it immediately began to glow.
"It's evolving?" she gasped. "But that's not possible."
A lot of things are possible when Destiny is involved, a voice inside her head replied.
Sabrina turned around and saw a little green fairy hovering in the air.
Now the real fun starts, she grinned.
Giovanni glared at the two newcomers, a large shiny snake and a red shiny bug.
"Crush them," he commanded.
The entire horde thought it best to eliminate all their opponents with a single blast of dark energy. They began to power up while the remaining pokémon of Ash and his allies picked off as many as possible. Soon, the horde had reached the limit of their power intake and released the black lightning into their enemies, causing a large dust cloud. Some of the horde fainted from the backlash or from the drain, but three Houndours and six Umbreons stood after the blast.
"That should end it," Giovanni smirked as the dust began to settle. "What!?"
Two pokémon still stood up against him. Never looked affected by the blast except that they were angry at the attack.
"Steelix, go underground," Ash commanded. "Scizor, metal claw!"
Both pokémon obeyed the command. Scizor took down one of the Umbreons while the pack of Houndours ran in circles waiting for Steelix to surface.
"Steelix, now!" Ash shouted.
Giovanni expected the large iron snake to appear beneath the waiting Houndours since Scizor was handling the Umbreons, but Steelix surface directly the dark Evee evolutions. Now he was done to only three Houndours.
"Use flamethrower," Giovanni called.
The flames of the dark hounds engulfed the steel pokémon. When they finally stopped their inferno, the charged pokémon collapsed to the ground.
"This isn't good, Ash," Misty whispered to him. "We don't have anymore pokémon left."
"I know," he sighed. "I know."
Sabrina dropped her head with disappointment. It had looked like they were winning until the Houndours finished off the new pokémon.
"So close," she whispered to no one in particular. "They were so close."
It's not over 'til it's over, Celebi told her. I have a friend on the way, and he always did have a flare for the dramatic.
"Now that you've had your fun," Giovanni smirked. "It's time for you to die."
Ash grabbed Misty's hand and waited for the inevitable. Suddenly, the night sky began to lighten.
"No, it can't be him," Giovanni snarled. "He won't help you this time."
"Ash, what's happening?" Misty asked.
"I don't know," Ash admitted.
"Houndours, fire blast them now," he commanded.
All eight flinched as the fire flew towards them, but it never reached them. Ash opened his eyes and saw a glowing figure absorbing the flames.
"It's you," Ash said as the other noticed they were burnt to a crisp. "You were there when I started my journey."
It nodded and glared at the dark hounds. The earth beneath them began to shake as large spikes shot out of the ground knocking them out.
Giovanni gaped as the last of his forces were now unconscious.
I will just have to handle this myself, the shadow as it left the body. Giovanni then collapsed on the ground. I can handle the likes of you with my bare hands.
The shadow launched itself at the fire bird, which shot it to the ground with the flick of its wing. The shadow snarled as it again charged the bird and again being slapped to the ground.
"It's a rather pathetic pokémon," Matt sneered. "I'm going to capture it."
You dare insult me, it snarled. I am MISSINGNO. The first of all pokémon.
"And you're going back where you belong," Ash replied. "Ho-oh, Ancient Power!"
Once again, the earth began to shake as a spire shot up underneath the shadow pokémon.
No, not again, it screamed.
A gold and silver pokéball appeared in Ash's hand. "Pokéball, go!" he shouted.
The shadow screamed again as it disappeared inside the pokéball. Once it had stopped rocking back and forth, Celebi and Sabrina joined them.
Cutting it kind of close, Celebi commented to Ho-oh. How about you take that thing someplace the humans won't find this time.
Ash swore that Ho-oh snarled at the green fairy as it picked up the pokéball and flew off into the rising sun.
"It's morning," Misty commented.
"Oh," a little voice moaned.
Everyone turned to Giovanni as he began to stir.
"What should we do with him?" Tracey asked.
"I bet Officer Jenny will be here soon," Shane speculated. "I'm sure she can handle it."
"What about our match?" Ash asked.
"I think in light of what has happened tonight," Shane replied, "you won. Come, brothers."
Ash watched as the four brothers walked inside the tower.
"It's over now," Ash whispered. "It's finally all over."
To be concluded…