Freedom of the Phoenix - Part 5

It had been three weeks since the Legendary Pokémon and Ash had been captured by Team Rocket. All the legendaries had been in and out of the Energyball at least five times, Ash feeling all the pain Ho-oh felt when it went in. Each time they came out though, they seemed to be getting weaker, and it was taking Ash and Ho-oh longer to recover each time.

Giovanni was getting angry at this. He had collected enough power to destroy hundreds of miles worth of land, but he still wanted more.

Ash was feeling as if he was slowly wasting away to nothing. He was starting to feel sick too. He couldn't keep his food down, and he couldn't sleep.

Ho-oh and all the other Pokémon weren't feeling to well either. They were almost as bad as Ash.

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Misty and Brock had reported Ash's capture to the Police. Pikachu had been feeling depressed for the past few weeks, along with Ash's other Pokémon. Misty had done her best to comfort them by saying they'd get him back, but she didn't believe that herself.

Pikachu sat outside one night, staring up at the moon. "Pikapi...."

There was a rustling of a bush behind him and he perked his ears. He turned to see a Raichu running up to him. He turned and tilted his head. "Pika?"

The Raichu stopped in front of Pikachu and bowed. "Rai, rai rai Raichu. Chu rai rai chu chu rai raichu?"

"Pikapi? Pi, pika pikachu pika Pikapi?" Pikachu answered.

"Raichu rai rai raichu, rai raichu chu rai" Raichu said.

The two Pokémon continued to talk for a while, Pikachu listening intently. After a few minutes they shook hands and the Raichu went off. Pikachu ran in to the other Pokémon.

"Pika!" Pikachu called, to get there attention, he had something to tell them.

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"Get the Pokémon ready!" Giovanni ordered.

"But Sir, the Pokémon haven't fully recovered yet" James said.

"I don't care! It's been over a week since they were last put in and I'm not going to wait" He yelled.

James frowned and nodded. He brought the safe with the Captureballs in. He placed it on a table and a few Rockets took the Captureballs in turn. The Pokémon didn't last more than a minute this time, they were too exhausted.

Ash heard the familiar screeches of the Pokémon as he lay down in the bed. He knew that any minute he'd be sharing their pain.

Sure enough, a few moments later, he felt the familiar burning pain. As it struck Ho-oh's wing, Ash felt the pain in his arm. He shut his eyes tight and grabbed his arm.

Giovanni stood with his arms crossed watching Ho-oh. He groaned as Ho-oh collapsed after a few seconds. "Stupid worthless Pokémon" He muttered as Ho-oh was returned. He stomped off towards the Pokémon training room. Maybe forcing Pokémon to train hard would make him feel better.

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Pikachu and the other Pokémon snuck out of the Pokémon Center, making sure not to wake Brock or Misty. They ran along and arrived at the same place that Pikachu had been the previous night. Pikachu jumped up onto a rock and looked around. After a few minutes he spotted the same Raichu running towards them. He jumped off the rock and greeted the Raichu with a bow.

The Raichu bowed back then turned a little away. "Rai rai, raichu rai rai" It said and beckoned them to follow.

Pikachu nodded and turned to the others. "Pikachu!" He punched the air with his little fist.

The other Pokémon nodded and followed Pikachu and Raichu.

They group of Pokémon ran through the darkness in silence.

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The following morning Misty and Brock searched the Pokémon Center from top to bottom for Ash's Pokémon.

"Were could they have all gone?" Misty asked.

"You think they went to look for Ash?" Brock said as he checked behind one of the benches.

Misty looked out the window. "If they have, who knows if we'll ever see them again"

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Ash woke, five days after Ho-oh had been in the Energyball. He sat up in bed. That was it, he couldn't just sit around and do nothing anymore. He tried to stand but he was still feeling weak. He forced himself onto his feet and leaned against the wall for support. He grabbed his jacket and pulled it on then picked up his bag. He walked over to the door and pulled the handle, but it was locked. He groaned and dropped his bag, pulling on it again with both hands. He banged it and even kicked it, but it didn't budge. He sat down beside the door, feeling tired again. He leaned against the wall and looked at the ground. He heard voices from outside. From what he heard, they were bringing the Pokémon to the Energyball again. He sighed and closed his eyes again. He was never going to get away.

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Giovanni ordered that all the Pokémon be put in at once. It would take an hour or so to charge up fully, so the Captureballs were placed inside the Energyball.

"We better get some worth while power out of this, or else we can dispose of these Pokémon" Giovanni sat down and watched the Energyball power up.

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Ash heard a Rocket talking to himself outside the door. He didn't pay much attention until he heard a slamming noise and then a thud. He heard the door unlocking and the door opening. He felt something furry touch his hand and looked over. "P-Pikachu!?"

Pikachu sat smiling happily up at Ash. "Pikapi!" [Ash!] He jumped into Ash's arms and hugged him.

Ash smiled, for the first time in weeks, and hugged Pikachu back. He looked up and saw Bayleef, Bulbasaur, Totodile, Cyndaquil and Noctowl coming in too. They all went over to him. Cyndaquil, Bulbasaur and Totodile jumped up onto his lap, Noctowl landed on his shoulder and Bayleef sat beside him.

"I thought I'd never see you guys again" Ash hugged Pikachu tighter. "But how did you get in here?"

Pikachu pointed, still smiling, at the door. A Raichu walked in, followed by a man. The man turned to him. He had black hair with a few spikes at the front and blue eyes. "Hey, you ok kid?"

"Who are you?" Ash asked the man.

"Pokémon Master at your service" He bowed a bit.

Ash's eyes widened. "Your the one who picked me for this" He pushed himself up but fell forward a little. Bayleef kept him from falling with her vine whip.

"And I made a good choice. Not many people could have survived this long, but I knew you could Ash" The Pokémon Master said. "You can call me Rick"

"Whatever, look, the Legendaries are going to put in that Energyball, we need to stop Team Rocket" Ash said, ignoring most of what Rick had just said.

Rick nodded. "Come on, no time to lose" He turned. Raichu jumped stood beside its trainer.

Ash walked forward, Bayleef helping him, making sure that he wouldn't fall.

They walked down the corridor, towards the lab, Raichu checking the corners for Rockets, Pikachu ready to fight whoever had hurt his trainer.

When they reached the large metal door, Rick turned to Ash. "You up for this?"

Ash looked up at him, "Hey, would I have practically dragged myself the whole way here if I wasn't?"

Rick smiled. "Ok, on three. One....Two....Three!"

They burst through the door into the lab, which was full of Rockets.

Giovanni looked around and saw them, "How did that boy get out" He saw Rick and narrowed his eyes. "Get them!" He ordered the other Rockets.

Ash looked at a computer nearby. Three minutes left until the Energyball acted up. He had to finish this and fast. He looked at Rick, who was also looking at the screen. "Lets finish this quickly"

Rick nodded and nodded to Raichu. Raichu stepped forward beside Pikachu.

Ash narrowed his eyes at the Rockets, this wasn't going to be easy.

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To Be Continued

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Heehee, I know, I shouldn't end it there, but you can't stop me! MUHAHAHA! Anyway, next chappy up soon, hopefully.
Bay Bay!
Bayleef
adorable_chickorita@hotmail.com