Me: Didn't think I'd have the next chapter up so soon? Think again! I don't own Pokemon, nor do I own "The Time Has Come" from the "2 B A Master" CD, and we're nearing the homestretch, everyone!
Ash: Does that mean Misty and I save the world?
Me: Yeah, but it could come at a price I don't think none of you are prepared to accept yet.
Chikorita: Chiko, chiko? (What do you mean?)
Pikachu: Pika, pika! (Yeah, what she said!)
Me: Oh boy…you'll find out soon enough. To the story, before I get fried or seriously cut!
Pokemon: The Best of the Best
Chapter VI-Shedding Tears
"The human sacrificed himself to save the Pokemon…" –Mewtwo, Pokemon: The 1st Movie
When Ash and company landed, they soon discovered that Lawrence had engineered the carefully laid trap, and Brock, Richie and Casey were trapped inside a cage with their Pokemon! Ash, Misty and Pikachu, however, were not. Moltres, Articuno and Zapdos came in, intent on protecting Ash and Misty, but the collector used his remote to gain control of the Legendary Birds' minds! Team Rocket came in and helped free Brock and the others. Ash and Misty soon found themselves locked in a tense life-or-death battle with the three Legendary Pokemon! Only with the ingenuity of Chikorita, Charizard, Totodile, Poliwhirl and Staryu, were they able to survive the assault. Then, Psyduck shared some of Misty's strength and evolved into Golduck! Now, Ash and his best friend are headed into possible danger, as they race to help their friends from Lawrence's wrath!
(Theme Song; Fanfare starts as Ash says the name of the show)
Ash: Shedding Tears!
Ash, Misty, Pikachu, Chikorita and Charizard flew into the next room, which reminded Ash of a giant chessboard.
"Alright, Lawrence, or whatever your name is! Where's Mewtwo and our friends?" Ash growled angrily.
"CHAARRRRRRRR!"
"Pika!"
"Chiko!" At this moment, Ash felt a deep connection with his Pokemon. Not to say he never did, but this time, it was stronger than ever, like he could survive almost anything!
"You mean them? They're right here." A light flicked on to reveal Brock, Casey, Richie and Team Rocket-all of them trapped in cages.
"What happened? How'd you guys get in there?" Ash yelled out.
"You don't wanna know! Let's just say what happened to us when we first got here-it happened to us again. And he stole our Pokeballs!" Brock explained. "Well, all but Team Rocket's."
"Get out of here while you still can, guys!" Casey pleaded.
"Listen to her, Ash. You guys can still make a run for it." Richie insisted.
"What's the matter with you twerps? GET US OUT OF HERE!" Jessie ranted as she struggled with the bars on her cage.
"Oh, before I forget, I have a little surprise for you, Chosen One." (Snap!) A second later, Ash and Misty facefaulted in shock as Lugia finally appeared, but he didn't look exactly the same as when Ash left him. His eyes were a dark reddish color. His body was no longer colored in dazzling white, but a darker grayish color. And his song was no longer peaceful or relaxing, but it sounded like the cry of death.
"I think we may be in over our heads." Misty admitted as she clutched Ash's hand tightly, refusing to let go.
"You think?"
Just as Ash was about to recall his Pokemon, he heard a voice speaking to him telepathically. From the look on Misty's face, she was hearing the same voice as well.
"Don't give up! Together, you are both stronger than this. I only deciphered part of the prophecy for the collector, so he wouldn't go looking for Misty. 'Before and after the Chosen One's victory, he shall be challenged to a battle by his most dangerous rival, a battle that he cannot win alone, and may not. Only a sacrifice from one of the two Chosen Ones will bring peace and harmony back among the Legendary Pokemon."
"That's Mewtwo!" Ash gasped.
"But, where is he?" Misty asked.
"I am here." Everybody looked up to see Mewtwo, his eyes flashing a dangerous shade of blue. His psychic powers were charged to the max, but he forced himself to calm down.
This was Ash's destiny, as well as Misty's and they had to see it through, even to the end.
"Sometimes…" Mewtwo thought bitterly to himself. "…I hate being a Psychic Pokemon."
"Cyndaquil, Totodile, Espeon-GO!" Ash yelled out as he summoned his remaining three Pokemon from their Pokeballs.
"Staryu, Golduck, Poliwhirl, GO!" Misty said, sending out the only three Water Pokemon she had who could actually do battle on land. Calm as ever, Misty put Togepi back in her backpack, knowing there was little the baby Pokemon could do in a situation as deadly and dangerous as this.
"You don't actually think you can defeat Lugia with Pokemon like these?" Lawrence III nearly laughed, but stopped when he felt his throat constrict. He looked up to see Mewtwo, his eyes flashing blue again, but he was angry.
"These Pokemon-and humans-have something you will never have: faith in their abilities, knowing the limitations of their strengths, also knowing how to use their weaknesses to their advantages, as demonstrated by Ketchum's Chikorita. I could destroy you with one attack, but that wouldn't be how the prophecy is played out! The victory belongs to the Chosen Ones, and they will succeed, no matter what the cost!" That said, Mewtwo released the collector and prepared to leave, but before he did, he freed Brock, Richie, Casey and Team Rocket from their cages.
"Don't assist them unless there's no other alternative. This victory belongs to the two of them, and no one else." Mewtwo advised. Moments later, he was gone.
"Nice speech, but I don't see how he could've resisted my controller, unless…he was never under my control at all…Lugia, ATTACK!" Lugia took to the sky, shrieking out his transformed song. Ash grabbed Misty and most of his Pokemon, diving behind Charizard as the powerful Pokemon nearly hit them dead-on!
"Quick, Charizard-use your Flamethrower! Cyndaquil, help Charizard out!" Ash demanded.
"CHAAAAARRRRR!!!!"
"Cynda-QUIIILLLLLLL!!!"
Two intense streams of fire blazed out into the air to hit Lugia straight in his chest, but when the smoke faded, he didn't even look hurt!
"Those were some of their best attacks!" Brock said in shock.
"Charizard isn't out of this yet. Okay, Charizard, Cyndaquil-try a Fly attack!" Cyndaquil jumped on top of Charizard's back and the two Fire Pokemon joined Lugia in the sky.
"They will be." Lawrence moved to activate the controller and aim it at Charizard and Cyndaquil, but Meowth jumped in and snatched it away with his paw.
"Hey! That's mine!"
"Nice job, Meowth." James complimented.
"Thanks, Jimmy. Hey, twerp duo-catch!" Meowth quickly tossed the remote at Ash and Misty, but Moltres flew in and grabbed it with his beak before Ash could grab it!
"Ahh! Totodile, Water Gun attack!"
"Toto-diile!"
"Poliwhirl, Staryu, help Totodile out!" Misty said.
"Poli!"
"Hyah!"
The three streams of water hit its target and Moltres was shaken up, enough to drop the remote.
"Hey, guys, try to grab that remote!" Ash insisted. But before Brock or anybody could move, Lawrence caught it with one hand.
"Game over, Chosen Ones. Way over."
"Not yet!" James and Jessie both moved to tackle the collector, but he simply sidestepped them both and they nearly hit the ground, but managed to stay balanced.
As for Charizard, Cyndaquil and Lugia, the battle had grown more intense! Cyndaquil fired his Swift attack, but Lugia dodged it with one move. Lugia fired a massive beam of dark light, and Charizard roared in pain as it connected! Angered that Lugia had hurt his friend, Cyndaquil fired a pretty powerful Flamethrower that hit Lugia and caused him some damage. Charizard then fired his own Flamethrower, but Lugia recovered and moved out of the way.
"Charizard, Cyndaquil, we may need you!" Ash yelled from below.
The Fire Pokemon roared out to Lugia that this wasn't over, and he dived down in order to avoid Lugia's attacks.
Ash then moved to a more secure place with all six of his Pokemon and started talking in a low voice.
"I'm sure none of you would agree with me on this, but it may be the only way to save the world. Charizard, I want you to fly me as close to Lawrence as best you can, with Pikachu, Totodile, Chikorita and Cyndaquil giving you cover. Espeon, you'll be our main defense against Lugia. Once I'm close enough, I'll grab the remote and start running, okay? Then, Charizard, I want you to send a Dragon Rage attack at me as close to me as possible!"
Almost immediately, his Pokemon protested to his plan, extremely worried that Ash would get hurt, or worse! Ash silenced them all with his look of determination.
"You all know I'm not gonna back down, so there's no use trying to stop me. Besides, if worse comes to worse, Espeon can protect me with her psychic powers, right?" The newest member of Ash's team eyed him with a look of concern. She had only been added not too long ago, but she could feel the bond Ash had with all of his Pokemon, whether they were with him or at Professor Oak's laboratory.
"I'm not sure if I can protect you that well, but I will try my best to ensure that you don't get hurt." Ash's mouth dropped in surprise.
"Espeon, was that you?"
"It was. When you captured me, you created a psychic bond between yourself and me. As long as you are alive, that bond shall remain active."
"Oh. Well, let's go to work, guys!"
Ash mounted Charizard, and prepared to engage his plan. As Pikachu, Chikorita, Cyndaquil and Totodile surrounded the two of them, Misty ran up to Ash after leaving Togepi with Brock.
"Ash, what are you doing?"
"I'm going to get that remote and free the Pokemon." Ash wasn't prepared for Misty to grab him by his shirt and pull him off of Charizard!
"Are you crazy?!" Misty hissed under her breath, a worried look in her eyes. "We're both known as Chosen Ones! The burden doesn't have to be entirely on your shoulders anymore. Please, let me help."
"You can help protect me and Charizard as we go to grab that remote. Charizard, go!" Before Misty could object, Ash jumped back on Charizard and they flew off.
"All your efforts are futile-or at least, they will be." Lawrence declared as Moltres flew in and fired a blast of fire, but Chikorita, Pikachu, Totodile and Cyndaquil protected their friends with their own powers-Chikorita used her Vine Whip; Pikachu, his Thunderbolt; Totodile, his Water Gun, and Cyndaquil, his Swift attack.
"Wobbuffet, Counter attack!" Jessie yelled out. The powerful Fire attack bounded against Wobbuffet's skin, then was reflected back at Moltres, who shrieked in pain.
"Victreebel, use your Razor Leaf!" James demanded. His Grass-type, for once, didn't try to eat him up, but listened to him and fired three razor-sharp leaves at Zapdos, who had just entered in a few minutes ago. The Lightning-type yelled out before diving down and tackling Victreebel in one move!
"Golduck, use your Hyper Beam attack!" Misty's newly evolved Water-type fired an intense beam of light that temporarily confused and weakened Lugia. Espeon helped out by firing a Psychic attack that confused the Pokemon even more!
Despite the collector's moments of arrogance, Ash waited until he was close enough, then dived off Charizard and tackled him to the ground, snatching the controller from his grasp. Ash instantly got to his feet and ran to the center of the room.
"Charizard, Dragon Rage NOW!" Ash growled as he carefully placed the control on the floor. With extreme reluctance, Charizard prepared to fire his most powerful attack.
"Lugia, destroy that boy!" Obeying Lawrence's orders, Lugia prepared to fire a Hyper Beam attack. Misty suddenly realized what Ash was planning to do and ran to stop it!
"He can't leave me now! Not after what just happened. He won't leave me-I'll make sure of it!"
"ASH, NO!" Just as Charizard and Lugia fired their most powerful attacks, Misty pushed Ash to the floor, whispering sadly, "I love you, Ash."
"MISTY! NOOOOOO!" Ash cried as both attacks hit her with extreme force, but was able to destroy the controller, which freed the Legendary Pokemon and Lugia from Lawrence's control. Not caring if the smoke cleared, Ash ran inside and found Misty, who looked defeated. One side of her body was charred beyond repair, and the other was shimmering with a dark light.
"Is she…?" Brock, Casey, Richie and Team Rocket came in slowly, hoping beyond hope that they were wrong.
"She's dead…" Ash silently broke into tears, forcing himself to his feet. Ash was too heartbroken to notice that the Pokemon who were there had started crying as well-Pikachu, Chikorita, Charizard, Cyndaquil, Totodile, Espeon, Poliwhirl, Golduck, Lugia, Moltres, Zapdos, Articuno-who had flown in moments ago-Togepi, Meowth, Wobbuffet, Victreebel and even Staryu! (A/N: Don't ask me from where, maybe from the jewel in the center!)
"Pika Pi!" Through his tears, Pikachu saw Ash run off toward the opened door, where the collector had made his escape and where he'd left Brock, Richie and Casey's Pokeballs at.
"Chikori!"
Crying his own tears, Ash ran, not caring where he was going at that time. He stumbled and fell to the ground, crying his eyes out.
"She wasn't supposed to die! I knew she was the Chosen One, just like me, but I didn't want to see her get hurt…now she's left me alone, forever…"
I close my eyes, and I can see the day we met
Just one moment and I knew you're my best friend-do anything for you!
We've gone so far, and done so much, and I feel like we've always been together, right by my side, through thick and thin
You're the part of my life I'll always remember!
Chorus: The time has come
It's for the best, I know it
Who could've guessed that you and I…?
Somehow, someday, we'd have to say goodbye
Ash remembered all the things he and Misty had done-the time they met outside of Viridian City, when he'd danced with her at Maiden's Peak, the time they'd teamed up to save Pikachu from some Clefairy, when they battled to claim Totodile, the time she'd saved him from drowning while facing the Legendary Pokemon for the first time, and their first, and only kiss…
"You weren't supposed to leave me! How am I gonna get through the League, or the rest of my life without you there to support me?!" Ash wailed sadly.
You've helped me find the strength inside, and the courage to make all my dreams come true
How will I find another friend like you?
Two of a kind-that's what we are, and it seemed like we were always winning, but as our team is torn apart, I wish we could go back to the beginning!
Chorus: The time has come
It's for the best, I know it
Who could've guessed that you and I…?
Somehow, some way, we'd have to say goodbye
Somehow today, we have to say goodbye…
"Ash? It's me." Saddened, Ash looked up to see the face of someone he thought he'd never see again. It was Misty, and she was completely restored to normal, no signs that she'd ever been attacked at all.
"Misty? Is that you? But, it can't be, unless…am I dead?" Giggling, Misty responded with pulling him close for his 2nd kiss.
"Would someone who was dead feel that?" Ash smiled broadly through his tears.
"But how?!" Ash cried happily as he hugged Misty tightly.
"The Pokemon. For some reason, their tears brought me back."
"That sounds familiar. Where are Brock and the others?" Ash asked while wiping his tears from his face.
"Brock, Casey, Richie and Team Rocket were teleported to the Pokemon Center thanks to your Espeon. They also got their Pokeballs back! And as for the others…"
"Pika pi!"
"Chikori!"
"Charrrr!"
"Cynda!"
Ash couldn't help but laugh as Pikachu, Chikorita, Cyndaquil, Totodile, Espeon and Charizard crowded around him, with smiles on their faces.
"I'm sorry I worried you guys for a while there. Are you ready to take on the Johto League Championship?" Ash said. All his Pokemon nodded, determined to help Ash win the competition.
Unbeknownst to Ash or any of the others, the collector looked up at the sky, which had turned dark during his time underground, and noticed Lugia and the other Legendary Pokemon departing back toward Shamouti.
"What was that old saying people would say at a time like this? 'If at first you don't succeed, try, try again?'"
Now that Ash and Misty have saved the world, the final part of the prophecy can come to pass-the battle between Ash and Gary during the Johto League Championship!
