The instant Ash placed the ring on his finger, the crystal in the Kadabra's head began to glow a deep, dark red. Suddenly, Nidoking's eyes began to glow the same color as the crystal. Horrified, Giovanni looked at his son and saw that Ash's eyes were also the same color.

"What's going on?" asked Pikachu.

Ash, who suddenly felt like he had been riding on an upside-down roller coaster, turned to his Pokémon in amazement. "Pikachu, when did you learn how to talk?"

"I'm talking the same way I always have," insisted the Pokémon. Suddenly, its eyes also turned the same blood-red shade as Nidoking's. "I'm ready to do your bidding, Master."

"Huh? What are you talking about, Pikachu?"

"I, too, am ready for your orders, Master," growled Nidoking.

"My God, you can understand what they're saying!" exclaimed Giovanni in amazement. "It's true. The legend is true." He lunged for Ash. "Give me that ring!"

"No!"

As Giovanni reached for the ring, an invisible force threw him backwards against the wall.

Ash, stunned by what had just happened, gaped open-mouthed at the cursing Giovanni. "I…how did I?" Then realization hit him. "I'm telepathic! I'm telepathic just like Sabrina!" Ash, fascinated by his newfound power, focused on a statue at the far end of the gym. As he concentrated on it, the heavy stone statue began to float in midair. "Wow! This is awesome!"

Giovanni stood up, rubbed his injured back, then made another lunge for Ash.

"Oh no, you don't!" Ash laughed triumphantly as he sent Giovanni crashing back against the gym wall a second time. This must be like how Sabrina feels, Ash mused as he thought about the telepathic leader of the Saffron City Gym and the similar powers she had.

"I await your orders, Master."

Ash looked down and a Meowth with blood-red eyes was standing at his feet.

Okay, Ash told Meowth without even opening his mouth, I want you to do a ballet dance. Ash grinned as the Pokémon began to pirouette.

"What in the world is Meowth doing?" James whispered to Jessie.

"I don't know, but I don't want to stick around and find out," Jessie said as she started creeping stealthily towards the door.

"We can't leave Meowth!" James protested as he followed Jessie under the bleachers and the two crawled for the doorway.

"We're going to get some help, James," Jessie said as she crawled through the doorway and opened a nearby window. "Come on!" she urged him as she climbed through the window and dropped down to the sidewalk below.

With a last glance backward at the dancing Meowth, James gulped then followed his partner out the window.

"You have no idea what you're doing!" Giovanni shouted at the boy who was now entertaining himself by making Meowth and Nidoking dance a pas de deux. "You're too young to fully appreciate the real power of the ring. You can't control it." Giovanni slowly got to his feet again and held out his hand. "Give me the ring, boy. Give it to me and I'll teach you how to use the power within it."

Ash whirled around and grinned malevolently at Giovanni. The boy raised his hand and Giovanni immediately crashed into an invisible barrier. As Giovanni tumbled to the ground, he could hear Ash's voice inside his head.

You can't touch me, Giovanni. Now how does it feel to not be in control any more?

Giovanni, who was starting to become afraid of his son, reached for another Poké ball. "Go, Machamp!" The powerful fighting Pokemon appeared in a flash of light. "Get him!"

With a smile, Ash looked directly into the charging Pokémon's eyes. It stopped in its tracks as its eyes began to glow blood-red.

"I will follow only your commands, Master," Machamp told Ash as it dropped to its knees before him.

"Oh no," uttered Giovanni hopelessly as he realized what had just happened to his Pokémon.

Oh yes, Ash's voice echoed in Giovanni's head once more. Machamp will only do what I say now. Then with a terrifying, chilling smile, Ash looked directly into his father's eyes.

It's payback time. Machamp, rip him in two.