All 386 shadows and all 386 ghosts ran towards each other at full speed and full force. The shadows and ghosts ran towards each and as they met in the middle it looked like two seas collided with one another. A blanket of black and silver crushed with full force as all Pokémon shadows and ghosts attacked each other. Meanwhile Ash and Eriscordia took to the sky as they fired attacks such as Fire Blast, Hyper Beam, Dragon claw and Extremespeed. All bystanders looked at the sky and the ground, as a war was unleashed right before their eyes.
In order for Eriscordia to succeed she needed to get Ash to hold his sphere in his left palm and as he did she needed to pull off a perfect Light's Shadow attack on Ash. As she thought of how to pull that off Ash unleashed a powerful Flamethrower that was wide and came at her with full speed and force. Eriscordia flew up high and avoided the attack; she looked around for Ash but couldn't find him anywhere. She looked up at the sky and he wasn't there. She looked to the rooftops and he wasn't there either. Finally Ash appeared out of the nowhere right behind her and he quickly pulled his left arm back and at the palm of his hand a black sphere formed so he quickly launched the Shadow Ball at her and hit her.
Not only were they both able to pull off every single attack known to mankind but they could also use other Pokémon's abilities as well. As far as Ash knew Latios and Latias could become invisible so he used that to his advantage.
Eriscordia had not been seriously hurt that attack was more to rattle her up and anger her, which worked like a charm. Down bellow all ghosts and shadows were still at each other but then the shadows froze and refused to move at all. Ash landed on a rooftop and looked at Eriscordia wondering what was she going to do. Eriscordia slowly descended on the edge of the bank and spread her wings and arms.
Suddenly all shadows turned to look at Officer Jenny and the others, as did Ash to see what was going on. Suddenly the shadows ran towards Officer Jenny and the others but they did not hesitate. Everyone released their Pokémon and made a line separating them from the shadows. Ash quickly and swiftly swiped his left claws in the air and all ghosts disappeared as he flew down to his friends.
A large line of faithful and battle ready Pokémon stood in a perfect line to make sure the shadows would not hurt their trainers. May had been asked to hold onto Ash's Pokémon but as they laid in May's backpack all of his Pokémon erupted from their pokeballs. Ash had seen this coming so he knew they would need all the help they could get so he got Corphish, Grovyle, Tailow and Pikachu to help out.
Dante, C.J., Brock, May, Karin, Officer Jenny and Nurse Joy released all their Pokémon to help out. Karin was counting on all her Pokémon but she knew Spellbound was trouble but she would try to work things out. As her Pokémon materialized before her she saw all of them were ready and willing to fight, even Spellbound which surprised her since Spellbound barely ever listened to her. Karin kneeled beside Spellbound and tapped her small shoulder and said. "Spellbound? Are you sure you want to do this?"
Spellbound the Sableye smiled and nodded at its trainer and as it agreed Karin was struck with outmost joy and happiness. "Oh, my goodness! Thank you, Spellbound! Thank you so much!" Karin hugged the small ghost and it returned the hug. Spellbound then turned to face the shadows since it knew its trainer's life would be in danger if the shadows got near them. That of course was what made it change its mind about its trainer and decided to help her out from that point on.
All of the Pokémon stared at the shadows as they came closer, they all felt fear but they knew they had to do everything in their power to protect their trainers. Pikachu looked up and saw Ash flying down and when he landed Pikachu jumped up and landed on his back. As the shadows came closer all the Pokémon unleashed their most powerful attacks they knew and Ash also unleashed a very powerful Hyper Beam. The attacks were 100 accurate but even with Ash's Hyper Beam the shadows were still coming. "Oh, no. I gotta get these guys out of here, quick!" Ash changed back to human form and Pikachu jumped up to his shoulder.
"Everybody inside!" Ash yelled as everyone including all remaining team members. The buildings in the area consisted of a bakery, mail office, cinemas and a small dentist's office. All buildings were unlocked of course since Eriscordia had chased all who lived in Alexandria City so it made it easier for everyone to find a place to hide in. Officer Jenny returned her Growlithe and said. "Get all of your Pokémon back inside the pokeballs."
They returned most of the Pokémon but they weren't fast enough. Symphony took off, as did Ash's Tailow, both of them along with the help of Dante's Crobat Lestat and Karin's Crobat Akasha they picked up some of the smaller Pokémon and flew up. Pikachu remained behind along with Ash to make sure everyone would get away safely.
As they did Eriscordia watched and made sure Ash could not get into the building by blasting a powerful Hyper Beam attack at the ground of the bank. The beam blasted through the cement and as it did the building began to slowly collapse right to where Ash and Pikachu were standing. Ash looked at the street and saw everyone was all ready inside the buildings so he grabbed Pikachu and ran towards the closets place which was the bakery.
As he was getting near dozens of shadows blocked him off, he snarled at them but then he remembered that he had Pikachu in his hands so he thought it a better idea to get away than to risk putting his Pokémon in harm's way. Ash turned around and saw more shadows behind him; soon all the shadows had circled Ash in and were ready to attack. Ash looked around for a way out and soon found it.
The bank had collided on the street but it had not fallen flat, instead it was leaning on some debris. Ash saw how some blocks of cement were aligned in a way that it made it easy to climb up and escape by running down the collapsed building so he ran off in that direction and evaded all the shadows before they could attack. Ash climbed up as fast as he could and held onto Pikachu as tight as he could in order to prevent any harm to come to his best friend. Pikachu climbed up on Ash's shoulder and saw that the shadows stayed behind which was weird since it figured they would be coming after them.
After a long climb Ash got to the top but he stopped dead in his tracks and when Pikachu looked up they saw Eriscordia standing on the edge holding an ax over her shoulders. As they looked at her thunder struck high above in the sky and gave her an even more maddening look, Ash looked at her and could tell from the look in her eyes that she was about to do whatever it took for her to win this. Ash could tell she would not hesitate to swing that ax and hit him so he reacted before she could. The ax being made out of metal and the fact that she was holding it up high and it was thundering gave him a rather wicked idea. Ash grabbed her right leg by the ankle and as soon as he did thunder came down on the ax and struck her. As Eriscordia was being shocked by the thunder Ash pointed his left arm at the mass of shadows under him.
The electricity smoothly ran through him without causing any harm but it did hit Eriscordia and her minions quite harshly. After several minutes Eriscordia fell to the ground and remained still as she caught her breath but her shadow minions had been turned into dust. Ash looked over Eriscordia and noticed that Alexandria City was just a few miles off the coast so to avoid any casualties between his friends he changed back into his hidden form and flew off in that direction. Pikachu was left behind but it looked at Ash and wondered where he was going. "Pika, pi!" Pikachu called out but Ash was just too far to hear the little mouse calling out to him. Eriscordia got up and saw Ash running off so she spread her wings and took off after him.
Out at sea Ash stopped and landed on a huge rock that was sticking out of the water. He had gotten at least one and a half miles out to sea which was all right since what he had in mind was to keep Eriscordia away from Officer Jenny and the others. Ash looked towards the city and waited. He just waited for his rival to come to him so that they could finish this destructive feud.
As Ash looked he could see the buildings from Alexandria City. The sun was finally rising right from behind those buildings. As the sun's rays shoved themselves from the clouds and dark sky they lit the sky up with a heavenly light that was not too bright but not so dull. As the sun slowly rose Ash stared at it with out most wonder, yes, the brightness of the light bothered him but it did not bother too much. As he stared at the sight he felt the corner of his mouth rise and felt a smile.
For the first time in days he smiled for the simple pleasure of doing so. The sight before him brought a huge amount of bliss he had not felt in the past few days. The beauty before him was like a portrait. An unseen hand in the sky was striking an unseen brush to create a perfect harmony of whites, oranges, pinks and pastel reds with a few streaks of baby yellow. The bright yellow from the sun that was now over some of the smaller buildings was opening the way for the rest of the parade of colors. As the pastel orange was being pushed away to give way for the bright yellow the rest of the colors just sort of fell into perfect harmony turning the portrait into a masterpiece done by an unseen mystical force.
Ash sighed and kept looking at the sun rising, he had never really focused on something so simple and a part of him regretted that he never really had. It seemed as though the "gift" bestowed upon him opened a few extra doors in his mind he had not noticed before. Everything now seemed complicated yet at the same time simple, all living creatures whether they were human or not felt as if they had a little piece of wisdom to share and he was the willing young kid listening to every whisper, whispers that could feed wisdom to him.
The mixture of emotions and the adrenaline flowing through out his entire body gave him a strange feeling. It was peaceful but at the same time it was wild and unpredictable, something all too new for him but he felt completely comfortable with it. As he kept admiring the sun rising Eriscordia landed next to him and smiled wickedly as she raised her right arm and pointed her palm at him. A white sphere formed in her palm but as she fired the attack Ash leapt into the air.
This of course agitated Eriscordia so she flew up high as well. Both stood perfectly still and looked into each other's eyes as if they agreed to stop fooling about and finishing what they had started. Both backed up and as soon as there was a wide area between them they both seemed to relax and concentrate.
Officer Jenny, Nurse Joy, Dante, C.J., Karin, Brock, May, Pikachu and all their Pokémon ran towards the edge of Alexandria City to witness what was happening. Ash had a black and silver mist form around him and as this was happening the sky over him turned as black as an Umbreon's fur coat. Eriscordia had a white and silver mist form around her as well and the sky over her was as white as an Altaria's wings. Dante and Karin and Officer Jenny gasped as they looked at Ash and Eriscordia in shock. May saw their reaction and wondered what was happening so she walked up to Karin and asked.
"Karin what's going on?"
"Both of them are going to launch their strongest and most destructive attacks at the same time."
Brock cut in and said. "That sounds pretty dangerous."
"It is, especially for both of them. If hit directly they could be brought down to their last drop of energy and getting any energy to do much of anything would be impossible."
Both Brock and May gasped and Pikachu looked towards Ash and wished him the best of luck. Pikachu felt pretty bad that it could not be able to do anything to help its trainer out but Pikachu had a lot of faith in him so it smiled and watched.
Out at sea the sky over them changed, the clouds began to twirl around and in the middle there was a hole that looked like a portal to another world. A soft light of a faint gentle black color fell on Ash. The light carried several sparkles that looked like stardust. Karin smiled and so did the others. Even though the light was black it was still the most beautiful sight any of them had ever seen. A comforting feeling overwhelmed them as they kept looking at the gentle light that surrounded Ash.
The same thing had happened to Eriscordia, the clouds above her twirled and formed a portal and from the portal a bright white light fell on her and just like Ash several sparks colored black fell on her as well. This sight was also beautiful and peaceful. It was strange both attacks were powerful and destructive but they emitted a gentle comforting feeling that seemed to calm all who looked upon them.
Ash lifted his left arm and Eriscordia lifted her right arm. Both of them launched a beam of black and white light at each other. By the time Ash and Eriscordia thought of flying away the beams hit them both. Ash could feel the beam draining all his energy but he knew he could not just give up.
As his energy was being drained he could not hold up his hidden form any longer so he changed back to human form, as did Eriscordia. Ash looked down and saw the sphere and yanked it off his neck and held it tightly in his palm. Officer Jenny and the rest of the group had their complete attention on the events unfolding before them as they kept looking they had not noticed how the remaining team members gathered behind them to look as well.
Suddenly both attacks seemed to fuse with one another and created an extremely bright light. It was so bright the onlookers had to squint their eyes in order to keep looking. Dante, Karin and Brock put their hands just above their eyebrows and looked impatiently to see who would remain standing from the two rivals.
Ash felt as the light subdued and as he opened his eyes he saw Eriscordia hugging him tightly. As the light left it was as if life returned into his body and he could feel and see everything. Both Ash and Eriscordia were looking out into the sea and as their cheeks met and their eyes were held captive by the sunrise and stunning sea under them they slowly turned their heads to look at each other.
Once their eyes met they stared at each other for what seemed like forever. Deep in their eyes they knew one of them had just lost and would be gone forever. Trapped in a sphere and their power would be a slave to the other whenever summoned. After looking into each other's eyes they separated a few inches and looked at their hands.
Ash's left hand was tightly gripping Eriscordia's right hand and a strange black and white glow emitted from their hands. Ash lifted his gaze and looked at Eriscordia who shed a single tear from her right eye as she lifted her gaze to look at him. Ash saw the other sphere hanging from Eriscordia's neck so he snatched it with his right hand and inserted the sphere into his and her hands and held their hands together with his right hand. Eriscordia now facing defeat took her left arm and swung it around Ash's back and gave him a rather heart felt hug.
At the shore Officer Jenny, Nurse Joy, Dante, C.J., Karin, Brock, May, Pikachu and all the other Pokémon and people watched as the two rivals shared what seemed like a rather sad moment. They knew they had won but the sight was not like anything they had expected. In truth, it was rather sad but Eriscordia's acts were demanding of justice for all who fell under the curse of the spheres. Thousands of lives were lost over the centuries and a single tear could not justify for all the misery and blood shed she caused.
Finally Eriscordia let go of Ash and he let go of her hands and watched as she slowly fell towards the sea. As she fell her entire body lit in a beautiful and peaceful white light that seemed to engulf her. Ash had also let go of the spheres so they could fuse together and finish swallowing Eriscordia into her prison which would now be her home for the rest of eternity. Both the white sphere and black sphere had fused together to create a stunningly beautiful silver sphere which swallowed Eriscordia into it as they both fell into the sea.
Inches before hitting the water Eriscordia had been fully engulfed by the silver sphere and it went into the water. Ash changed form and flew down after the silver sphere; he dove into the water and went after it. Pikachu, May, Karin and Brock walked closer to the edge and waited impatiently to see when Ash would come back up.
As the seconds passed they became very uneasy and worried. They all stared into the waves as they crashed into the sandy shore and left a dying impression into the wet sand. Suddenly Ash flew right out of the water and as he flapped his massive wings he slowly landed on the ground right in front of the group.
Ash changed back into human form and stood there quietly and looking down at the ground. Slowly he lifted his face and looked at his friends; they were startled by his eyes since they were burning with a silver glow. They settled down as the glow lifted and his eyes returned to their normal soft brown color. They also noticed that around his neck was a black string and at the end of it was a beautiful silver sphere.
Pikachu looked at Ash and then ran towards his trainer, leapt into his arms and hugged him tightly. Ash was somewhat unemotional for a few seconds but then he smiled sweetly and returned a heart felt hug. May, Karin and everyone else ran towards Ash to greet the winner. It was true, Ash had won, he saved not only a city and a town but also the entire world from total destruction but deep inside he felt somewhat terrible and sad.
As the voices from his friends overlapped and seemed to grow louder he retreated into the back of his mind and thought for several minutes. Finally he came to a conclusion that would rid him of that terrible burning feeling inside of him.
"Well, we should return back to Northbridge. Dr. Marco will want to hear the good news." Officer Jenny said as she smiled. Everyone agreed except for Ash who remained silent and walked away from the group. He walked towards the edge of the shore and looked to where the Heavens and Earth met. The group fell silent and looked at Ash wondering why he was acting that way, after all, they did win the battle.
"Hey, guys?" Ash said after standing there quietly for several minutes. "Can you give me a few minutes, please?" They all looked at each other and then back at Ash wondering what he was going to do. Brock spoke out and said as he smiled. "Sure. C'mon, you guys."
The group left and Ash turned his attention to the enchanting sea behind him. Ash slowly lowered his gaze and closed his eyes. Pikachu, who was still on his shoulder, looked at him but remained perfectly silent. Ash remained just as silent and still, he almost seemed like a statue overlooking all who sailed in the waters. Suddenly the wind picked up wildly and blew powerfully, Pikachu almost lost its grip and fell off of Ash's shoulder but Ash just kept perfectly still.
The wind kept blowing and as it raced past Ash it made the overcoat dance wildly. Ash's dark look seemed ethereal and almost celestial, like a dark angel sent to bring peace and hope to all for all of his wrongful actions. Seconds later the deep silence was broken when the voice of a small child was heard from Ash's left side.