The Power of One
"Sorry we couldn't find a Seadra but we can try again tomorrow, free of charge." The disguised Janine offered the group as they rode her boat across the Orange Archipelago.
Ash hung his head with a visible look of disappointment while Chloe's eyes were fixated on the islands around them. They were in an unfamiliar area as none of the islands within sight were ones they'd visited before, heck they didn't even look inhabited as they were smaller than the others with no sign of buildings of any sort.
"Well where would you recommend getting some sleep?" Chloe questioned.
"Not on this deathtrap-er I mean, I know the perfect spot!" Janine exclaimed while turning the ship's wheel as she changed course and began making way towards a distant island. "Shamouti Island, there's a festival going on tonight so there will be plenty of free food."
"A festival? What are they celebrating?" Ash questioned.
Brock let out an excited shout as he stared towards the distant island. "A festival?! This is great, everyone knows that most festivals involve a dance of some sort. This is the perfect opportunity to find my future wife!"
"Oh you'll soon find out." Janine laughed.
"Luuu..." A large shadow swam beneath the boat causing another force of wind to appear, Pikachu was quick to grab Ash's hat before it could fly off but Janine wasn't quite as quick due to her busy hands.
"Gah!" She reached out for her captain's hat only to freeze in place as Brock and Chloe were both staring directly at her.
"Janine?!"
"Janine?" Ash was quick to turn around with an excited look upon hearing his ninja friend's name. "What are you doing here?!"
"I-I'm taking you guys where you're supposed to be going, Ash has a destiny to fulfill."
"I have a destiny?" Ash blinked.
"Pika pi?" Pikachu tilted his head.
"Hold up a minute, does that mean you purposefully avoided locating Seadra?" Chloe was quick to ask.
Janine looked away with a guilty expression, proving Chloe's suspicions correct. "If I helped you then you wouldn't have a reason to stick around and then the world would end."
"The world would end? What are you talking about?" Brock asked while crossing his arms.
"Yeah, you keep acting as if Ash is supposed to be here so why is he? What's going on?" Chloe asked.
"What's my destiny?"
Janine rubbed her arm as she continued gazing towards the island before eventually turning back to face Ash. "Well it's going to be hard to believe but those three islands out there?" Janine gestured towards the small group of islands that weren't far off from their present course. "They're home to Moltres, Articuno and Zapdos; And not just any Moltres, Articuno and Zapdos but the originals, the ones that Arceus himself created! And long story short but somebody, I don't know who, is going to try and steal them to summon the Legendary Bird Pokemon Lugia!"
"Lugia?" Ash, Brock and Chloe shared a look of confusion as they looked towards each other before Ash pulled out his Rotom Phone.
"Lugia the Diving Pokemon," The Rotom Phone read out while bringing up a picture of a large silver colored bird Pokemon. "Lugia is so powerful even a light fluttering of its wings can blow apart houses! As a result, it chooses to live out of sight deep under the sea."
"Whoa, he sounds like quite the powerful Pokemon! I'd love to battle him someday!"
"Pika!"
"I sure admire that even in dire situations such as this, you never seem to lose the thrill of battling." The Rotom Phone sarcastically praised. "Pikachu you'd be torn apart if you faced Lugia right now!"
"Well it'd be the end of the world if those three get captured," Janine was quick to return to the subject as the boat neared Shamouti Island. "Remember how I said Arceus created these three? Well they help keep nature balanced, if even a single one of them was captured it'd be disastrous which is why they hide all they way out here so nobody will bother them. Chances are that whoever's after them knows that."
"Wouldn't they have to be a powerful trainer to capture a legendary Pokemon?" Brock questioned.
"I guess but the suspect list is incredibly small, the only powerful trainer I'd think capable of doing such is Cyrus and that's merely cause the guy looks like a creep. All the Elite Four members and Champions are clean and have no motive of hunting down Lugia, or at least the ones I know about." Janine knew there were more regions outside of Kanto/Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos and Galar but wasn't as informed as her father was when it came to that. "But I suppose we'll soon find out whose trying to catch them, it's supposed to happen tonight!"
"Tonight?!" Ash, Brock and Chloe gasped out.
"Tonight?!" Jessie, James and Meowth turned to each other with agitated expressions as they followed after them in their Magikarp sub.
"Sometime after the festival!" Janine exclaimed.
"Well if these people know then why exactly are they celebrating?" Chloe questioned with a visible look of confusion.
"Because if it comes down to it, only two things can calm Lugia down. One is entirely out of the question as Ash isn't ready yet-"
"What?" Ash blinked as he had no idea what Janine was referring to.
"And the second is a melodic tune, a tune that takes years of practice in order to master but worth it as the song can soothe Lugia and calm him down." Janine explained. "And the master performer is performing at the festival, they'll be joining you on your path to save the world. Speaking of which, there they are now." Janine thumbed towards a rather attractive red haired girl as she raced towards the group with an eager expression while outstretching her arms as if she desired to hug the group.
"There you are, I've been waiting my entire life for you to arrive!"
Heart's filled Brock's eyes as he eagerly stretched out his arms. "I've been waiting my entire life for you too, my sweet!" He cried out while racing towards her.
"Chosen one, will you be mine?!" The red haired woman skipped right past Brock causing him to face fault against the dock.
"Ugh, this isn't fair!" He groaned.
"Croa croa!" Croagunk laughed while picking up his trainer's leg.
The red hair was quick to wrap her arms around Ash while pressing her lips right up against his. Ash's eyes widened from shock while Chloe's face shot a dark shade of red as fire burned within her eyes. The temptation to have Eevee use Sappy Seed on the girl was strong right now.
"Hey back off, I have a girlfriend!" Ash gave the girl a light shove, pushing her away from him.
"Y-You do?" The girl froze up with a shameful look. "But the prophecy didn't mention-"
"The prophecy doesn't mention everything, rather the chosen one has a girlfriend or not isn't important." Janine rolled her eyes as she guided the girl away from Ash. "Melody this is Ash, the chosen one. Ash, this is Melody the girl I was talking about. She'll be joining you on your quest to save the Legendary birds."
Chloe was steaming. There was no way that she'd let the girl travel to those islands with Ash all to herself! "Well if she is going then so am I!"
"But the prophecy said that the Chosen One beat the Shadowy One all by himself." Janine frowned. "You can't just-"
"I don't care, I'm not leaving Ash to face danger all by himself. Especially if she's tagging along!"
"Count me in too!" Brock placed his hands on Ash and Chloe's shoulders as he reappeared. "I'd never leave my friends to face danger alone!"
Janine uttered out a sigh as she began massaging her forehead. 'My dad is so going to kill me for letting them go...' "Okay fine but make sure you three take the chance to rest up before you go, the festival will be starting up in a few hours."
Beep! Beep! The heart monitor began accelerating as Agatha stirred awake. Koga and Lance eagerly shot forward to pin her down as she attempt to stand up.
"Hold up, your body isn't ready yet!" Koga exclaimed.
"Please lay down Agatha, we've got this." Lance pleaded.
"The hell you do, the snake in the garden's been right in front of us this whole time and we didn't realize it! It's Rex, he's the one that did this to me and... killed my lifelong companions. He's the one that killed Red, Bruno and all those kids that have turned up dead over the past decade, he's been possessed by a demon of some kind!" Agatha hissed out. "He must be stopped!"
"Rex?!" Lance's eyes widened while his face was quick to turn pale. "Nonono, this isn't good!" Lance fall back into his chair while holding the side of his face as anxiety began taking hold of him. "I-I'm the only Elite Four member left, I-I can't beat him! Not on my own..." Bruno was dead, Agatha was off the table now that her Pokemon were in the afterlife while Lorelei was heavily pregnant and unfit for a dangerous situation, regardless she retired right before Bruno turned up dead as she wanted to raise her and Lance's kid in peace.
"You're not alone," Koga placed his hand on Lance's shoulder.
"Koga's right..." Agatha gave a firm nod as she remained on the bed. "Koga, I'm officially declaring you my successor. You've repeatedly proven yourself time after time and are among the strongest within the Kanto/Johto regions. It's only fitting that you take your place among the best."
Koga blinked at Agatha's words before dropping to a knee as he gave a respectful bow. "Thank you Agatha, I accept your generous gesture."
"It's well deserved, you're a good man and among the best I've seen." Lance smiled for a brief moment before turning his gaze back to the floor. "But what is it's not enough?"
"Well..." Agatha pulled a notebook from her pocket and handed it over to Lance. "Don't forget that we had two additional candidates in line along with Koga, they're a bit young but experienced and proven their worth as each beat their very first Silver League conference and proved themselves against us."
Koga stared at the list, recognizing the names as trainers that passed through Fuchsia City years ago. "They're from Johto, right?"
"Yep," Lance nodded. "One of them lives in this very city." He gestured towards the window, pointing out Goldenrod City's layout. "The other lives in Ecruteak City."
"Then it sounds like we've best get moving, once we find them we'll track down Rex and get our answers." Koga spoke.
"No need, I know exactly where he's going." Agatha spoke causing Koga and Lance to tilt their heads as she began informing them what Rex or rather Yveltal told her.
"Pika!"
"Wow, that melody is rather beautiful." Ash sighed out as Melody played a rather melodic and beautiful tune on her ocarina.
"What?!" Chloe's eye twitched as she snapped only for her to quickly blush as she realized that Ash was talking about Melody's melody and not the girl herself. "Oh, well I suppose it is."
"Melody is quite something herself..." Brock trailed off with a dreamy expression.
Loud cheers echoed across the festival as Melody finished up, the girl was quick to flash a flirtish wink towards Ash which resulted in Chloe's anger quickly returning though it soon faded as Eevee, Pikachu and Croagunk all uttered out worrisome cries.
"Pika..."
"Eevoi..." Pikachu and Eevee's ears flattened.
"Croa..." Fear was visible on Croagunk's face while a flock of Pidgey and Spearow quickly past the island.
"Cooo!"
"Spearow!"
"The prophecy, it's begun!" A local panicked.
"We're all gonna die!" Another screamed.
Janine looked towards the horizon as storm clouds began forming over Thunder Island, the ninja in training turned back towards Ash before quickly waving her arm. "Come on, everyone that's going needs to get on the boat right now. Zapdos is in trouble!"
"Ahhhh!" Jessie, James, Meowth and Wobbuffet screamed out as the Magikarp submarine began getting tossed back and forth as the ocean's waves began heavily increasing.
Ash, Brock, Chloe and Melody quickly raced onto Janine's boat as the ninja girl began getting prepped for take off, pressing a button that was hidden beneath the steering wheel to reveal that the ship had an actual engine the entire time!
"Let's go!" Janine shouted out.
"Hold on Zapdos, we're coming!" Ash clenched his fists as the boat sailed towards Thunder Island. Large electrical bolts crashed down from the clouds above and towards the island as the large bird could be seen battling it out with another Pokemon.
"Oh gee, I just realized that I neglected to tell those people about a hidden piece of the prophecy." A Slowking spoke while standing ashore a much smaller island, he shook his head with a shameful look. "The day that the Chosen One saves the world, one of his friends will leave this world and join the next one. Probably should have told them that, guess I evolved too early and still have a bit of Slowpoke in me." Slowking chuckled.
"ZAP!" Zapdos angrily cried out while firing a large powerful thunderbolt attack towards Shadow Dragonite. Shadow Dragonite swooped past it before firing off an orange-yellow energy beam, striking Zapdos directly in the wing and dealing a critical blow! "Zap..." Zapdos' eyes rolled into his head as he began falling towards the water below.
"Not so fast," The Shadowy Figure ripped a shadowy blob from his arm and hurled it towards the fallen Zapdos, the blob splattered against Zapdos and quickly consumed his body, transforming him into Shadow Zapdos! His yellow feathers were now dark purple while his darker feathers turned a fiery red color. "Now bow and accept me as your new master!"
"ZAP!" Zapdos was too tuckered out to resist though he tried as he could be seen struggling to fight his possession before eventually falling as Shadow Zapdos performed a light bow.
"At last, one down just two to go and the world will be forced to bow before it's true-!" The Shadowy Figure laughed out.
"Pikachu use Thunderbolt!"
"Pika...chuuuu!" A thunderbolt shot from the ground and struck Dragonite's body as Ash and his friends raced onto the island.
"G-Gah! Who dares strike me?!"
"I did, get away from Zapdos!" Ash shouted out.
"Pika pi!"
"Uh oh..." Chloe turned pale as she was quick to notice that Zapdos wasn't the color that he was supposed to be. "Ash, I-I think these are the same shadowy creatures we've met before!"
"Indeed you have, you were lucky to survive the first few attempts but you shall not survive again. Pidgeot and Gyarados were too weak but this one should do the job just fine, it's one of the strongest Pokemon in the region after all. Onix, destroy them!"
The Shadowy Figure tossed a ball forward to reveal an Onix that appeared to be made of coal rather than rocks, his eyes burned a fiery shade of red as he uttered out a menacing roar. He was much bigger than an average Onix was. No doubt it was the same Onix that caused Ash, Brock and Chloe to meet the Fossil Pokemon during their expedition through Mt. Moon!
"Hey where are you going?! Get back here!" Ash shouted out as Shadow Dragonite and Zapdos flew away from Thunder Island, leaving Onix to face the twerps on his lonesome.
"You're not worth my time, Onix will finish the job just fine. If he shall fall then so be it, he's outlived his usefulness."
Ash growled out at how the figure left Onix behind without even the slightest concern for his well being.
"Ash, you all need to get out of here. I'll cover for you!" Brock gave Ash a light shove while Croagunk leaped towards Onix before lashing out with Poison Jab! "It appears that Janine's prophecy is very much real and if that's the case then you can't afford to stay here while that guy captures Articuno and Moltres! You need to go now!"
"We can't just leave you!" Ash shouted.
"Ash, I spent years training Onix. I know the species better than most, I can handle myself so don't worry about me! Just get out of here!" Brock shouted while giving his best friend another shove.
"Brock's right, he's already halfway to Ice Island!" Janine gestured towards the fleeing figures with one hand while grabbing hold of Ash's arm with the other. "Come on, he'll be fine!"
"Be safe Brock!" Chloe was quick to give her friend a hug before racing towards the boat.
"Good luck Brock."
"Just go get the bad guy." Brock smirked at his friends and gave them a light wave before sending out Marowak, Kangaskhan and Vulpix to assist Croagunk in the ongoing battle. Onix roared out and whipped his tail at the four Pokemon as they attacked while Ash and his friends hurried back to the boat.
"ZAP!" Shadow Zapdos lunged at Articuno, taking her by surprise while allowing Dragonite the chance to perform a powerful uppercut with Fire Punch! The two Shadow Pokemon easily overwhelmed Articuno, weakening her greatly as Yveltal ripped off another shadowy blob from his arm.
"Welcome back to my servitude, Articuno!"
"A-Articu!" Articuno shook as she tried resisting the possession, even firing off an ice beam at Dragonite who uttered out a grunt in response. Articuno's light blue feathers turned dark purple while her lighter blue feathers turned a lighter shade of purple as her eyes began to glow a fiery red color. "ARTI!"
"Thunderbolt, full power!"
"Pikachuuu!" Pikachu summoned up a large thunderbolt thanks to the thunderstorm that was brewing around them and fired it off towards Shadow Articuno. The bird let out a pain filled screech and fell for a brief second before quickly collecting herself as she leveled back up.
"You again?! Why is it so hard to kill one measly teenager?!" The Shadowy Figure reached for his belt and hurled another ball forward. "You better not fail me this time, Blastoise!"
"Blastoise!" A black colored Blastoise burst from the ball, his shell was colored dark purple while his metallic cannons glowed a fiery shade of red. "Blastoise!" Blastoise raised his arms up as he summoned up a powerful wave.
Chloe's eyes widened as she realized that Blastoise was likely the one that nearly drowned them shortly before Damian was arrested. A large wave had come out of nowhere but she passed it off as a flash flood.
"Eevee use Sappy Seed!"
"Eevoi!" Eevee stretched herself out as a large vine burst from the ground, blocking the wave from striking the trainers while an array of large seeds fell from the vine and began exploding around Blastoise, knocking the large tortoise back and forth as he withdrew into his shell.
The Shadowy Figure turned to take his leave once more while Chloe was quick to give Ash a light push after planting a quick kiss on his lips. "Ash, you get the others out of here. If you hurry then you might be able to save Moltres!"
"What? Chloe, I'm not going to-" Chloe gave Ash a hard shove, pushing him into Janine's arms. "I'll be fine Ash, you don't need to worry about me. I've got Eevee with me!"
"Eevoi!" Eevee cried out as Blastoise fired off a Hydro Pump.
"...be careful." Ash sighed out, he hated leaving both his girlfriend and best friend behind but there wasn't anything he could do. He needed to stop the villain and save the day like the prophecy said or the world would come to an end. The storm intensified even further as lightning struck from the sky above while the ocean waves became stronger as a fierce wind blew through the air.
"My hat!" Ash shouted out as it went flying off into the distance, quickly disappearing from view as it's light weight allowed it to be carried away like a feather in the wind. "Okay now it's personal..." Ash growled out while stomping back into the boat as Janine started it back up.
"...Did anyone ever tell you that you're hot when you're angry?" Melody questioned only to sweat as Ash gave her a glare. "Kidding, just kidding... lighten up!"
"M-Moltres?!" Moltres gasped out as Articuno and Zapdos swooped towards him. 'Brother, sister what in Arceus' name happened to you?!'
"Arti!"
"Zap!" Articuno and Zapdos fired Hyper Beams towards Moltres, taking their brother by surprise as he hadn't expected his family to attack him.
"Tres..." Moltres grunted out, his breath began growing heavy as Shadowy Figure ripped off another blob before hurling it towards his target.
"Thunderbolt!"
"Pikachuuuu!" A thunderbolt shot through the air and blasted the shadowy blob causing it to explode into pieces!
"What the-?! You again?!" Shadowy Figure snarled out. "Don't you know when to give up?"
"I'll never give up, I won't let you take control of Lugia!"
"Pika pi!"
"Well I'm afraid that time is running out, once I get these troublesome brats back to my temple I'll transform them into something new. Something that Lugia will never be able to defeat!" The Shadowy Figure cackled out. "Then once he's under my control, I'll be able to use the Jewel of Life to bring myself to full power and engulf your entire region in darkness! All your friends and loved ones will soon be dead and I'll ensure that you'll live long enough to see each and every last one die!"
"Well you'll be waiting a long time cause Ash has a lot of friends, one of them isn't even in Kanto/Johto anymore so you can't touch her!" Janine smirked.
Ash gave her a look, he knew that she was referring to Gloria but had no idea how Janine knew about her.
"It doesn't matter her time will come soon enough." Yveltal dismissed with a wave of Rex's hand.
"Full power... why are you talking like you're a Pokemon, you're a human aren't you?!" Ash shouted out.
"Foolish child, this human is but my puppet! I am Yveltal, a name that once brought fear to those that heard it but now forgotten to but a few. Wait-I recognize you... you're that Ketchum's brat!"
"Ketchum's brat...? My father! What do you know about my father?!" Ash growled out.
"Pika?!" Pikachu snarled.
"I know enough, I eyed him as my initial puppet but the man was too weak. He had everything to lose but hadn't lost a thing, his anger and sorrow was much too low allowing him to break free just long enough for... my puppet to kill him." The Shadowy Figure smirked.
Janine tilted her head. "So Red truly is dead?"
Ash clenched his fists while fire flared within his eyes. "Voltage Vortex!" He shouted out.
"Pika!" Pikachu's cheeks sparks as he summoned his telekinetic vortex, electricity spiraled around it as it flew towards Dragonite and Yveltal, swooping them up into it.
"Dragooo!" Dragonite cried out, the shadows briefly faded away as electricity surged through him but it was just an ordinary Dragonite, nothing familiar about him.
"Ahhh!" Rex shouted as the shadowy blob began shrinking away from him, leaving half his face uncovered as the vortex died down. Ash's eyes widened upon seeing Rex's face, rage being filled his body as he realized that his father's killer had been his best friend.
"Rex!"
"Pika!" Pikachu snarled out.
Rex breathed out for a moment, it was the first time in over a month that he had control. "Kid listen I'm sorry about your father but-"
"Thunderbolt!" Ash growled out.
"Chuuuu!" Pikachu didn't even hesitate as he fired off another thunderbolt, giving Rex a hard zap.
"Ahhh!" Rex groaned out before collapsing against the floor, eyes rolling up into his head as he lost consciousness.
"Again... do it again."
"Wait Ash, don't-" Janine tried to stop Ash but Pikachu was already on it.
"Pikachuuu!"
"Dragooo!" Dragonite slammed down against the ground and shielded his master from the attack. "Dragooo..." He growled before the shadows took control, morphing him back into Shadow Dragonite while Rex's unconscious body easily fell back into Yveltal's control as he stood up.
"Moltres!" He hurled another blob towards Moltres while Dragonite shielded him from another attack. Moltres' body began being overtaken by the shadow as it splattered against him, soon ending in a similar situation to his brother and sister as his yellow feathers were a dark purple color while his fiery feathers were a more violent shade of red and orange.
"Tres!"
"I wish I could stay but my life is endanger so long as I possess this puppet, if he dies then so do I!" Yveltal smirked while giving Ash a mocking wave as he climbed onto Dragonite's back. "And a parting gift, Machamp kick his ass!"
"Machamp!" A dark purple colored Machamp burst from the ball, it's fists glowed a fiery orange color as he locked eyes with Ash. "CHAMP!"
"Oh no you don't!" A thick smokescreen covered the battlefield as Janine's Venomoth burst from his ball.
"Venomoth!" The Bug/Poison type flew towards Machamp and began attacking it.
"Ash, I know for a fact that you have no experience whatsoever driving a boat but there's a first time for everything! Get going, you've got to follow Rex-Yveltal to wherever it is that he's going! There's still time to stop him!" Janine pointed towards Dragonite as he took off from the ground.
"Right." Ash gave a quick nod, his fists remained clenched as he shot off. "Be safe Janine!"
"You too Ash," Janine spoke before flinching as a large explosion sounded off from behind them.
"The boat!" Melody gasped out.
"Good luck following me this time!" Rex-Yvetal cackled while flying away on Dragonite's back.
The thunderstorm crackled dangerously around them, lightning continually struck throughout the sky while fierce winds battered across the air. Even Charizard wouldn't be able to fight this storm and Ash never got him over his fear of flying over water so that was a whole other mess of it's own.
"What are we going to do now?" Ash paused while staring off at the rushing water as the boat began sinking into the watery depths of the ocean though it seemed as if his prayers were answered as the Magikarp submarine rose from the depths before the hatch opened up to reveal Jessie, James, Meowth and Wobbuffet.
"Get in twerp, we're going to save the world!" Jessie shouted.
"What? You guys are helping me?"
"Hey we may be cowards but we don't want the world to end!" James exclaimed.
"Yeah, we live in it! Besides we're hoping to be stars of a spinoff someday!"
"Wobbuffet!"
"Spinoff?" Ash tilted his head as he wondered what the three were talking about.
"Just get in the freaking submarine, twerp." Jessie sighed while rolling her eyes.
"...who are these clowns?" Melody asked.
"Clowns?! Listen here-" Jessie angrily shouted while James and Meowth grabbed hold of her arms and quickly pulled her back into the submarine.
"Now's not the time for your anger issues, Jess!"
"Yeah, calm down!"
"Wobbuffet!"
"I'll tell you on the way." Ash sighed out before climbing into the submarine. Pikachu flattened his ears as he was sure that this was just another trick. Melody had a look of visible disgust as she climbed into the submarine.
"It's far too cramped in here!"
"Just get peddling, we'll get there faster if you do!" Jessie snapped while pointing towards a long line of pedals.
"...you guys used this the entire time you followed me around this region?" Ash sweated while feeling slightly impressed by their persistence before eventually taking a seat as he began peddling along with the Rocket trio and Melody.
The group got about a mile off from Fire Island before the submarine started getting kicked around by large waves.
"Ahhh!" Team Rocket screamed out while red lights began flaring off as the submarine got knocked down towards dangerous depths!
"That's bad, right?!" Ash shouted out, showing his lack of understanding when it came to machinery.
"Yes!" The Rocket trio screamed out while holding onto each other for dear life as the sub only got pushed deeper and deeper. "It's going to blow!"
"Wobbuf!"
"Oh no, I'm going to die a v-" Melody screeched out with a horrified expression before a large explosion occurred as the submarine blew apart. The large group desperately swam up for air but the current was just too strong, their faces turned a dark shade of blue as they began running out of air. Ash soon reached out for Pikachu and held him close as he felt himself drifting off into unconsciousness.
'So this is how it all ends? Drowning at the bottom of an ocean?' For the second time in four months, perhaps it was best to stick with Lapras as transportation from now on if he managed to get out of this. 'Pikachu, I'm sorry we failed... we never got to... become Pokemon Masters...'
Pikachu lightly nuzzled against Ash's shoulder as they drifted off into unconsciousness while the others passed out around them, Ash could see a large shadow in the distance as his eyes closed for the final time.
"GAH!" Ash gasped out before proceeding to cough up water as he awakened atop something large as it flew through the air. Jessie, James, Meowth and Wobbuffet had already awoken and could be seen frozen in place as if they couldn't process what was happening right now. "W-Where are we... is this heaven?"
"No, we're on Lugia's back!" Melody exclaimed.
"Lugia...?" Ash's vision fully restored allowing him to see the large silver bird they were riding on. "Whoa, Lugia!"
"Pika!" Pikachu gasped.
"Hello Chosen One," Lugia greeted Ash causing Ash, Melody and Team Rocket to gasp out. "I've been keeping an eye on you throughout your journey here and now I'm here to help you out at the very end!" Lugia smiled back at the group before turning his attention towards the distant shadow Pokemon as they flew towards what appeared to be the temple that Ash found Melmetal in a few weeks back. "I can handle the birds if I can get there fast enough but there's too much weight, it's slowing me down! I'm not used to carrying passengers."
Team Rocket gave each other a look before quickly standing up.
"Hey what are you four doing?!" Ash shouted out as the four looked ready to jump. "You won't survive down there, we all nearly drowned!"
"We won't survive if Yveltal gets what he wants, twerp." Jessie stated.
"Yeah you're the world's last hope, Ash." James spoke.
"Good luck Pikachu, I hope you beat him."
"Wobbuffet!" Wobbuffet chimed in before the four leaped from the side of Lugia and towards the raging waves below, disappearing from sight.
"I-I can't believe they just did that..." Ash stared back at where they disappeared, there wasn't any sign of that Bewear this time.
"Pika..." Pikachu flattened his ears as he felt guilty for thinking they were planning on stealing him.
"We can't let their sacrifice be in vain, come on! Let's stop Yveltal!"
"Pika!"
Lugia pressed on, blasting off across the air much faster than he had before as they raced towards the temple.
"Tres!"
"Arti!"
"Zap!" The three bird's fired off a Hyper Beam at Lugia in an attempt to knock Ash and Melody off to their watery grave.
Lugia swiftly turned around, his eyes glowed a bright blue color as he sent the attacks flying right back to their owners causing the three birds to momentarily get stunned.
"Thunderbolt!"
"Pikachuuu!"
"Gah!" Rex-Yveltal screamed out as Pikachu fired a thunderbolt at him, the possessed human began falling off Dragonite's back causing the Dragon to go chasing after his owner while Lugia and Ash blasted ahead. Rex-Yveltal's eyes shot open as a sinister smirk formed across his face before he morphed into a shadow and disappeared from sight.
Ash and Lugia soon arrived on the island allowing Ash to see that it was the same island as a bit of toxic goo that Toxel hurled up was still present upon the beach.
"Gross..." Melody shivered at the sight.
"Get into the temple, Chosen One. The key to beating Yveltal is deep within!"
"Right," Ash gave Lugia a look before shrugging it off as he raced towards the temple.
"Melody stay here on the ground, if I lose control you need to play your melody and help me calm down!"
"R-Right..." Melody gave off a nervous nod while stepping aside as Lugia took back off into the air.
"At last..." Rex-Yveltal placed the corrupted Rainbow Wing he'd been carrying for the past decade down upon a pedestal before placing three additional feathers next to it, each having been plucked from Articuno, Moltres and Zapdos, before the jewel of life was placed beside them. Rex-Yveltal rubbed his hands together and licked his lips as he pressed his hands up against the jewel of life.
"With the great power that dwells within this orb, I shall transform three into one!" A dark red light shined throughout the temple, blinding Ash and Pikachu as they raced into the room.
"Ah! How did he get here before us?!"
Lugia fired off a quick and rapid series of hyper beams towards the possessed trio before uttering out a horrified gasp as dark red colors surrounded Moltres, Articuno and Zapdos while a powerful unseen force dragged them together and began morphing them into one! Lugia's face turned dark green as he felt sickened by the unholy abomination that stood before him as the three Pokemon had been transformed into a large three headed chimera!
"Zap!"
"Arti!"
"Tres!" Their cries sounded painful but they seemed forced to do Yveltal's bidding as they fired off a series of Flamethrower, Ice Beam and Thunderbolt towards Lugia, striking him with immense power!
"L-Luuuu!"
"Rex!" Ash snarled out as his vision returned. "What did you do?!"
Rex-Yveltal merely smirked while continuing to hold onto the jewel of life as a light holographic screen appeared allowing Ash to see the unholy abomination that was giving Lugia a hard time as the silver bird got repeatedly battered back and forth by an array of attacks!
"Lugia!" Ash shouted out with concern, his fists clenched as frustration formed across his face before a shocked gasp emerged as Lugia landed on the beach with a hard thud that he was able to feel within the temple! "No..."
Rex-Yveltal flashed Ash a sinister smirk as he lifted the jewel of life before teleporting himself outside, leaving the holographic window behind so that Ash could see what was happening. Rex-Yvetal gave Lugia a light tap causing his feathers to turn a dark shade of purple while the dark blue parts of his body turned pitch black. "Ketchum meet Shadow Lugia!"
Horror filled Ash and Pikachu's eyes as Lugia uttered out a demonic screech before firing a dark red pulse of energy towards the sky above. Dark red clouds began forming and spiraling around the clouds above while dark energy began filling the air.
"What is it, Archer? I'm busy." Giovanni sighed into his golden Rotom Phone, his arm was looped around Delia's as the two walked towards a classy diner for their dinner date.
"Sir it's the Pokemon, they're attackin-" The phone went dead.
"Huh?" Giovanni tilted his head before shrugging.
"Was it important?" Delia asked.
"Nope, wrong number." Giovanni dismissed.
"Meow..." Persian let out a deep violent growl as he fixated his gaze towards a nearby alleyway.
"Persian, what is it?" Giovanni asked with visible concern as he hadn't seen Persian this worked up in years.
"PRIMEAPE!" A Shadow Primeape leaped from the alley way, breathing heavily as it gave Delia and Giovanni a violent look. "Primeape..." Primeape's fist glowed a dark blue color as he took a swing, intending on ending Delia! Delia let out a terrified scream while Giovanni was quick to throw himself in the way, dropping to the floor with a deep grunt as the breath was knocked out of him.
"Meow!" Persian unsheathed his claws and leaped towards Primeape as he unleashed Fury Swipes on Primeape!
Professor Oak looked up from his research paper as he worked from his Vermillion City hotel room, loud screams could be heard outside causing him to peer out the window only to quickly slam it shut as a Shadow Spearow lunged towards him, the Spearow slammed against the window before comedically sliding down it as it fell towards the ground below.
"Well this doesn't look good." Professor Oak looked towards his suitcase while a serious expression formed across his face.
"DRAGOOO!" A Shadow Dragonite burst through the wall causing the Masked Man to utter out a shriek as he quickly fitted his mask on.
"You're going to regret coming here, demon!" The man shouted while tossing a ball forward, revealing a Machamp. "Ice Punch!"
"Champ!" Machamp shouted while racing towards his target as he prepared to deliver an icy blow.
Sirens were going off as Damian stepped out into the prison yard. "What's going on?"
"It's the wild Pokemon, they're all losing control!" A prison guard shouted.
Damian gave the guard a weird look before turning his gaze towards the sky as he saw a flock of birds swooping towards him. Damian narrowed his eyes before gasping out as the leader looked familiar to him. "I-Is that... the twerp's Fearow?" Damian growled.
"Fearow!" Fearow and his entire flock had fallen victim to Yveltal's control and swooped down before viciously pecking Damian and the fellow inmates and guards.
"Ow ow ow!" Damian covered up his neck as blood began trailing down his face.
"Oi? What's this now?" Gloria stopped in front of a television and tilted her head as she saw a newscast of a Shadow Pidgeot attacking a rather handscome cliche Kanto newsman before carrying him off to the sky above where he was promptly dropped.
"Ahhhh!"
"Cut it, cut it! Oh Arceus... we're going to have to bring him back." The weather lady groaned out.
"Bloody hell! I sure hope that Ash and the others aren't mix up in this mess!" Gloria flinched. A disguised Aria stood next to her, her hands clenched and raised upwards as a worrisome expression crossed her face while tears fell from her eyes.
"Brock..."
Alexa was interviewing Lysandre when the feed got cut. "What? What's going on?!"
"It's the Pokemon, they're attacking the citizens of Kanto/Johto!"
Lysandre raised an eyebrow at that as he found it hard to believe.
Alexa meanwhile flinched as she grew worried for her friends.
"Yeesh, I sure hope that Ash and the others are okay." Todd shivered while he and Rita watched from a far off region.
"At last, my time for vengeance dwells closer!" The Emerald Knight eagerly spoke as he cleaned his sword while watching from his cave deep within the Hoenn region's mountains.
"Oh no!" Brock gasped out as several Shadow Tentacruel began lumbering onto shore, closing in on him and his Pokemon as they continued their duel with Shadow Onix.
"Ah!" Chloe screamed out as a Shadow Seadra and Gyarados appeared beside her.
"Oh come on!" Janine groaned out as she found herself surrounded by a flock of Shadow Golbat.
Ash's eyes widened as Rex-Yveltal briefly changed the view from Lugia to that of Brock, Chloe and Janine. "No!"
"Yes, I'm afraid that your friends have found themselves in quite the dangerous situation!" Rex-Yveltal smirked. "But it's not too late, you can still save them... if you can strike me down and take the jewel from me!"
Ash clenched his fists before reaching out for his belt. "I choose everyone!"
Melmetal, Charizard, Tauros, Tyranitar and Snorlax burst out and took their place alongside Pikachu.
Yveltal-Rex threw two balls forward, releasing Shadow Raichu and a Shadow Arbok.
"SARBOK!"
"Raichu, rai rai!"
"Double Iron Bash, Flamethrower, Giga Impact, Stone Edge, Hyper Beam, Thunderbolt!" Ash shouted out to his Pokemon.
"Melmetal!" Melmetal spun towards Dragonite while Charizard blasted Raichu with Flamethrower, Tauros stampeded towards Arbok and sent him flying while Tyranintar crushed Raichu with Stone Edge. Snorlax fired Hyper Beam towards Dragonite while Pikachu electrocuted Arbok!
The three Pokemon shook off their attacks before turning towards their opponents.
"Thunderbolt, Sludge Wave and Draco Meteor!"
The array of attacks shot towards Ash's team, knocking them off their feet as explosions occurred around them.
"It doesn't look as if they have a scratch on them! Again!" Ash shouted out. His team fired off another array of attacks only for it to appear to do minimal at best which was to be expected. Rex was a champion and Shadow Pokemon had their powers increased!
Rex had his team fire off another barrage of attacks, Tauros was sent flying with Thunderbolt while Snorlax fell to his back after receiving an uppercut from Dragonite. Arbok squeezed around Pikachu and began choking him before Charizard forcefully ripped him off and threw him across the field, saving Pikachu's life!
"Char!"
"Lax..."
"Moo..."
"Return..." Ash returned Tauros and Snorlax with a grim expression as he wasn't sure what to do.
"Hyper Beam!" Ash heard another voice shout out, one that was familiar. Ash turned around and gasped out as a Hyper Beam whizzed past him towards Shadow Dragonite. "Professor?! What are you doing here?! H-How do you even have Pokemon? I thought they died!"
"Well their deaths were greatly exaggerated," Oak explained with a wave of his hand. "Those graves you saw? I merely paid for them in advance."
"Ah..." Excitement filled Ash's face as the field had just evened itself out. If anyone could help beat Rex, it was a former champion!
"Hyper Beam!"
"Dragooo!" Three Dragonite, Kingdra and a Salamence fired Hyper Beams towards Shadow Lugia, performing a distraction for Oak so he could gain access to the temple.
Lance smirked before pointing towards Lugia. "Keep attacking, we can't let Lugia reach the mainland!"
"Psychic!"
A bright blue glow surrounded the Shadow Golbat and Machamp before the group was hurled away, the Golbat blasted through the sky and disappeared over the horizon while Machamp's body landed in the water before sinking down to the watery depths.
Janine's eyes widened as she excitedly shot around. "Sabrina, you came-Who the heck are you?!" Confusion filled her eyes as she found herself staring at a purple haired male that wore a domino mask and a fashionable yet dated suit.
"I'm Will, Sabrina's cousin and a master of Psychic types. It's an honor to finally meet you, Janine. I heard so much about you from Sabrina."
"How did you know-Hey you read my mind!" Janine angrily snapped. "You're just like her, what's with you psychics and the disregard for privacy?!"
"Just wanted to make sure you weren't with the bad guys, sorry." Will shrugged.
"Dark Pulse!"
"Umbre!"
"Houn!"
"Sneasel!"
An array of Dark Pulses fired off, knocking Shadow Onix into the ocean while the Tentacruel were sent blasting off!
Brock frowned at the sinking Onix, he wanted to save it but there wasn't much he could do without drowning. He turned to thank his savior only to freeze in place as hearts filled his eyes. "Oh wow!" Brock dropped to a knee while extending his hand to her. "And who might you be?"
"Karen." The beautiful silver haired woman raised an eyebrow as she gave him a weird look. "You okay?"
"Usually it's the princess that needs rescuing but it appears this time the roles were reversed and the princess rescued her prince, how about the two of us live happily after together and-"
"Croagunk!" Croagunk jabbed Brock in the back causing him to keel over.
"Ugh!"
"Sludge Wave!" A large wave of sludge appeared, blasting Seadra and Gyarados away while Blastoise was tossed into the water. The tortoise soon rose back up only for Koga's Weezing to lash out with a Thunderbolt attack.
"Toise!" Blastoise screeched out as he fell back into the water, bubbles could be seen rising where Blastoise sank but as the electricity faded the bubbles had disappeared.
Chloe flinched. "Was that really necessary?"
"I'm sorry but he was simply too dangerous to be left alive, we can't cure him without Ash." Koga stated.
"I see... well thanks for the help." Chloe offered him a weak smile of appreciation.
Ash glanced towards the screen and smiled at the sight of his friends being rescued, he wasn't sure who saved Brock and Janine as he'd never seen them before but he was nonetheless grateful.
Professor Oak's Dragonite slammed his fists up against Shadow Dragonite's while Charizard blasted Dragonite's backside with Flamethrower.
Pikachu and Professor Oak's Charizard, which had black scales rather than the typical orange ones, raced towards Raichu. Charizard lashed out with Dragon Tail, knocking Raichu directly into Pikachu's path as Pikachu raced forward with Volt Tackle!
"Pika pika PIKA!"
"Rai!" Raichu screamed out as he flew through the air, his head crashed through ruin walls. His feet lightly twitched before coming to a halt while Professor Oak's Dragonite slammed Shadow Dragonite against the ground before looking towards Charizard. Oak's Charizard gave a smirk of approval before biting down on Shadow Dragonite's neck, the possessed Dragon twitched beneath his grasp before going limp.
"Melmetal!" Melmetal repeatedly battered his fists against Shadow Arbok before hurling him across the field.
"Sarboook!" Arbok hissed out before making contact with the jewel of life, electricity crackled around the device before flaring off as it gave Arbok quite the electrical shock! "Bock!" The snake hissed out before going limp as he laid against the floor.
Ash stared at Arbok and Raichu's lifeless forms before looking towards Professor Oak. "What happened to them was an accident, why did you...?"
"I couldn't risk harm coming to you, my boy. I made a promise to Red before he left that I'd keep you safe no matter what the cost." Professor Oak frowned. "I hated to do it but there didn't seem to be another way. Especially since you don't have the Rainbow Wing with you."
Ash's eyes widened as he realized that Professor Oak was right, Chloe had it with her! The rainbow wing was effectively useless without him and he couldn't access it's powers of healing without it!
Rex dropped to his knees as he felt the life leaving his six partners. "No... no!" Tears flowed from his eyes before rage filled them as he stood back to his feet, Rex cracked his neck before the shadows around him began morphing while taking on the form of Yveltal who gazed down upon Ash with pure hatred.
"You seriously think that you won just because the cavalry arrived to save you and your friends? Think again, I still have Shadow Lugia out there and another tool at my disposal..." Yveltal took a deep breath as Shadow Dragonite rose back to his feet and fired off a violet energy beam before dropping back to the floor, true enough it was as Yveltal said the most anyone else could use was two! "There's no escaping this, goodbye Ash!"
"Char!" Charizard gasped out as the blast flew towards Ash.
Pikachu felt frozen in place as time froze around them.
Professor Oak leaped onto his Charizard's back and gave him a light pat. "Onward my boy!"
"CHAR!" Oak's Charizard shot forward and proceeded to block the path with Professor Oak taking the blunt force of the attack.
"NO!" Ash screamed out, tears flooded from his eyes as he watched his remaining father figure get struck with the attack. Oak's Charizard turned to ash while Professor Oak was lightly scorched but still breathing as he hit the floor. Ash noticed the corrupted rainbow wing and glanced towards Rex-Yveltal.
"Pikachu... Thunderbolt."
"Pika!"
"Arrgh!" The shadows broke apart as Rex came back into view as Pikachu zapped away. Ash clenched his fists as he felt rage and hatred for what had happened but there was still a bit of logic working it's way deep inside his brain, Yveltal hesitated before claiming that Rex killed Red and Rex had clearly broken down when he thought his entire team had died. Rex sure wasn't in control when Dragonite was ordered to attack and kill Ash either, in fact Rex was always nice to Ash and the closest thing he had to an uncle.
"Stop!"
"Pika..." Pikachu cancelled the attack as Rex dropped to the floor, he was unconscious yet again while the shadows began crawling back towards him. Ash walked towards the corrupted rainbow wing before Professor Oak weakly grabbed his arm.
"Ash..." Ash turned to look at Professor Oak as he gazed up at him with a weak smile. "Promise to watch after Gary for me, he may be cocky but he means well... so much like his father..." Oak chuckled.
"Don't say that Professor, I'll grab the Rainbow Wing and you'll be back to normal in no time!" Ash spoke through tears as they poured down his face.
"Ash.. it's too far... I only have seconds left... I-I need to tell you that I'm very... very proud of you... y-you performed better than anyone I'd ever seen at the Indigo League, including... your father... I-I have faith, no... I know that someday... you'll be a Pokemon Master just like him... you'll do great, you'll do great..." Professor Oak began trailing off as his body grew shallow.
"Professor, no!" Ash dropped to his knees while tears flooded from his eyes. "Please don't go, just hold on a bit longer!"
Professor Oak offered Ash a weak smile and gently placed his hand against Ash's cheek while the color slowly let his eyes as he fell limp.
"Professor!" Ash cried before burrowing his head into Professor Oak's arm.
Rex noticed the incoming shadows as he awoke and quickly stirred awake. He glanced towards the hologram and saw that Will, Karen and Koga had joined Lance in battling Shadow Lugia but the Pokemon was just too strong. Rex clenched his fists as he began walking towards the jewel of life.
Pikachu's ear twitched as he heard Rex move.
"Pika...?"
"D-Don't stop me Pikachu, I need to make things right..." Rex grunted while reaching for the jewel of life.
"Rex..." Ash looked up while wiping the tears from his eyes. "W-What are you doing?"
"Making things right... you all best get out of here, this thing is going to blow. I have to unfix everything that Yveltal did the first time he touched this... that's a lot of power and these jewels can only contain so much of Arceus' power!"
"Explode?! But that means-" Ash froze up as he realized that Rex wasn't going to go back with them. "Rex... what happened to my father?"
Rex lowered his head as he was silent. "Red jumped... he was able to take control long enough and leaped off the edge into a seemingly bottomless pit. I-I couldn't, I had nothing left to live for. My wife and daughter were dead, my best friend was trying to kill me... but Red... his love for you and Delia allowed him to take control and he leaped off so Yveltal wouldn't be able to fully control either of us. It'd take Yveltal a long time to find a replacement to kill in Red's place and honestly, Red doing that saved the world as a Rainbow Hero wouldn't have been around to stop him..."
"But I didn't do it alone..."
"Not this time but next time and you can believe there will be a next time, make no mistake. We only won the battle but it's up to you to win the war and finish Yveltal off, he's got another puppet... I'm not sure who but lately I could sense him... he's not around... or he'd surely have arrived... it's up to you to beat Yveltal and end this, only the Rainbow Hero can beat Yveltal when he's taken on his true form and I feel as if that isn't far off. We-He unleashed a lot of dark energy today which opened the door for his return, I can fix what he caused but the energy will still be out there. The damage has already been done... but Lugia, Articuno, Moltres, Zapdos and all those other poor possessed souls... they'll be back to their normal free state."
Ash was silent for a moment before pulling Rex in for a light hug as he knew this would be goodbye. "Thank you Rex... though the Jewel of Life... if it really can do what I think it can do... mind if I suggest an additional change?"
"Oh?" Rex tilted his head as he heard Ash out.
"I'd like it so that anyone of pure heart can cure a Shadow Pokemon upon defeat, this will ensure that nobody else has to die like your team and who knows how many other Shadow Pokemon have."
"Heh... you're just like him..." Rex gave Ash's hair a light scruff before motioning towards Dragonite. "Dragonite, you're not mine but mind helping Ash get the Professor out of here? He's got to go."
"Dragooo..." Dragonite weakly nodded while carefully picking his deceased trainer up.
Ash climbed onto Charizard's back while recalling the rest of his team. "Good luck Rex, I'm sure that your wife and child are waiting for you on the other side."
"I'd wish you luck but I know that you don't need it." Rex said as his hands touched the jewel of life, a light smirk appeared on his face as he got a vision of the future. "Pokemon Master Ash... that certainly has a nice ring to it..." The jewel of life began heavily glowing before a bright golden light shot from it and burst towards the air above, the red spiraling clouds disappeared while Pokemon throughout Kanto/Johto and the Orange Islands reversed back to normal.
"LUUU-" Lugia prepared to fire off a Hyper Beam only to freeze in place as he turned back to normal. "Cease fire, cease fire! I'm back to normal!"
"I did it!" Melody cheered while pulling the ocarina away from her face which filled with glee.
Golden energy surrounded Zapdos, Articuno and Moltres as they reverted back to normal while the temple exploded behind them!
"Oh no, Ash!" Chloe screamed out.
"I'm sure he wasn't in there when it blew up." Brock placed his hand on Chloe's shoulder.
"In what?" Ash questioned as Charizard landed behind them. "Oh, that."
Chloe sprang into Ash's arms as tears of joy fell from her eyes. "Oh Ash, I'm so thrilled that you made it out of there!"
Ash gave her a hug while leaning his head against hers. "Some of us didn't..." He trailed off as a collective gasp could be heard as Dragonite landed with Professor Oak's lifeless form.
"No!" Lance dropped to his knees, his usual calm demeanor vanished as tears fell from his eyes.
Koga silently lowered his head to show his respect while Karen and Will shed tears of their own.
"Dearly beloved, we're gathered here today to honor three of Kanto's heroes." A priest spoke while three coffin's were present upon the stand while Red's, Professor Oak and Rex's pictures stood behind them. Red and Rex's were both empty as their bodies were never recovered and probably never would be, Red was at the bottom of a pit and probably a pile of bones by now while Rex was definitely atomized after the explosion destroyed the temple. "They gave their lives defending the region and made us proud, all of them were heroes in their own right and champions of incredible strength with a large number of friends."
Lance and a light blue haired woman that greatly resembled him sat in the front row alongside Koga, Will, Karen, Agatha, Professor Cerise, another scientist that was notably younger and had short light brown colored hair, Gary, Leaf and two people that greatly resembled Professor Oak that Ash had never seen before. One had a tan while the other had a mullet, Ash wasn't sure where they were from but it likely wasn't Kanto/Johto as he'd never heard of them.
Delia, Giovanni, Ash, Chloe, Brock, Tracey, and most of the Gym Leaders sat in the second row, their heads lowered as they paid their respects.
Ash silently gazed towards the ground as Lance said some words to the crowd. He couldn't believe that he lost his uncle and father figure within the same day, there was a great void where they once sat and he wasn't sure if anyone would ever be able to fill it.
After the funeral wrapped up, Professor Cerise nervously rubbed his arm as he approached Ash. "Ash, I-I know that this really isn't the time to be discussing this but I think it'd be best if you transfer your Pokemon to my lab. With Professor Oak... gone, they'll need somebody else to watch after them while you're away on your adventure."
"Of course, I'll send them over." Ash sighed out with a wave of his hand. He wasn't being careless, he knew that Cerise would take care of them and he'd easily be able to visit them upon his return as Charizard could get there and back to Pallet within a matter of hours.
Professor Cerise gave Ash's shoulder a light pat before walking off.
Giovanni frowned before making his approach, he looked towards his pocket where a small box sat before pushing it deeper into his pocket with a sigh as he made his approach. "Ash... I-I know how much Rex and Samuel meant to you, if you ever need anyone to talk to my door is always open. I may be your sponsor but I also care a great deal about you and want to make sure you're well both physically and emotionally." Giovanni spoke while offering Ash a smile as he placed his hand on his shoulder.
Ash sniffled lightly while offering Giovanni a light smile. "I-I think I'd like that."
"Pika..."
"Lance," The light blue haired woman grabbed at Lance's arm. "I know that now's not the proper time to discuss this but-"
"You damn well know that it isn't, Clair!" Lance snapped.
"But the Kanto/Johto region needs a new Champion! You're the only Elite Four member left from Rex's time, you're the most logical replacement!"
"I'm not ready, I can't!" Lance shook his head. "I technically was the Champion for the past month... and the entire Elite Four, I couldn't handle the stress and responsibility! I'm not fit for the role. It'll go to whoever wins the Silver League if they can best me and my fellow Elite Four members."
"But-"
"Clair we all know that you only want him to get promoted so you get added to the Elite Four." Karen rolled her eyes.
"But I'm ready!" Clair boasted.
"No, you're not." Lance firmly shook his head. "You actually weren't even on the list." He gave her the harsh true.
"It's true, I've seen it." Koga softly spoke.
Clair's eyes twitched. "Is this because I have several husbands? Arceus almighty! We're Draconids, Lance! It's legal and part of our tradition, don't be a big-"
"Clair I'm not judging you for that, I'm not that petty. I don't follow those traditions but I'm respectful of your choice to do so." Lance sighed while rolling his eyes. "It's because you're... well..."
"What?! What am I?! Hm?!" Clair tilted her head while giving her cousin a glare.
"Impatient? Petty? Immature?" Karen suggested with a sly smirk.
"You refused to give me the badge I rightfully earned, I had to complain to Lance in order to get it!" Will glared.
Clair's jaw dropped while slowly turning towards Koga to see if he agreed with the others. "It takes one with a large ego to throw such a scene at a funeral." Koga softly spoke.
Clair's eye twitched as she uttered out a light growl before turning away as she proceeded to stomp off.
"Are you Gary Oak?" A well dressed individual approached Gary.
"Of course that'd be me. I look just like Blue!" Gary sighed while rolling his eyes. "What do you want?"
"This is about Professor Oak's will," The lawyer reached into his pocket while reading it off. "To Gary, my one and only grandson, I leave both my laboratory and my personal Pokemon in his care." He reached into his pocket before withdrawing Dragonite's ball. "He's yours now, take good care of him."
Gary took hold of Dragonite's ball while staring off into the distance in stunned silence as he realized that his grandfather left him his lab.
Flash and Giselle glanced towards Ash and Chloe as the funeral began wrapping up, the two gave each other a look before walking towards Brock.
"Did those two ever have a proper date?" Giselle questioned.
Brock thought for a moment before shaking his head. "Nope." They hooked up shortly before the Indigo League and after that it was pretty much nonstop action before they set off for the Orange Archipelago where they were so absorbed into the adventure that they didn't even notice the time fly by.
Flash smirked. "Then Giselle and I have got the perfect thing in mind!"
Golden light entered Rex's eyes as he awoke. "W-Where am I...?"
"Welcome my child, you performed a noble sacrifice and met your end. You're definitely worth of a place here, nothing that Yveltal did was your fault."
"W-Whose there..?" Rex looked around as he heard a loud booming voice but didn't see anything.
"Daddy...?" Rex shouted around at the words and tears began falling from his eyes as a little girl raced towards him before leaping into his arms.
"Hope!" Rex cried.
"It's about time you joined us," Laura teased while wrapping her arm around her husband in an affectionate manner.
Rex smiled and hugged his family for a moment before silently pulled away as he looked around. "Is he here...?"
"That depends, who are you looking for?" Red smirked as he stepped out into view. Rex's eyes lit up as he raced towards his best friend before the two shared a fist pump, best friends were reunited at last!
Waves crashed down upon Jessie, James, Meowth and Wobbuffet as they drifted ashore. A stick came into view and poked them before a loud shriek echoed out as Bewear scooped them up into his arms, squeezing the water right out of their lungs!
"Ah!" The trio and Wobbuffet gasped out before uttering out cheerful shouts upon seeing that they were alive.
"I can't believe we survived!" Jessie gasped out.
"It felt so good doing the right thing..." James breathed out while a warm smile spread across his face.
"Too bad that nobody saw." Meowth frowned.
"What are you talking about?" Slowking finally stepped towards them with a smile before staring off in a certain direction. "Lots of people saw you and they're watching you right now!"
"They are?!" Jessie, James, Meowth, Wobbuffett and Bewear all followed Slowking's gaze before smiling as they waved.
"Hey Jess, do you think we'll become heroes in the sequel?" James suddenly asked.
"It's been two weeks since the Shadow Pokemon incident and the destruction of an ancient Orange Island temple but after the destruction, there's been some rather old and unusual goings on as Pokemon are relearning new moves that they were thought to have forgotten while some are learning new moves while maintaining those that they've had. It appears that Pokemon are now capable of knowing more than four moves at once! We're not sure what exactly happened in that temple or what caused it but stay tuned as the League rules will be sure to change to accommodate to this sudden change!"
"Right this way you two," A week had passed since Professor Oak's funeral and the next day would be the beginning of the Silver League but Brock and the others wanted to be sure that they made it a night to be remembered, Brock held onto Ash and Chloe's hands as he guided the two out of town. "Now close your eyes..."
"Brock what is this...?" Chloe asked.
"Yeah, we know the area pretty well." Ash stated while closing his eyes.
"Just close your eyes..." Brock smirked with a light shake of his head. A small clearing soon came into view, light strings had been tied up onto poles while a small radio sat to the side. "Okay now open them!"
Ash and Chloe slowly opened their eyes before gasping out in surprise. "Surprise!" Gary, Leaf, Janine, Sabrina, Flash, Giselle, Misty, Todd, Rita, Tracey, Ren and Gloria all shouted out.
Ash smiled at the sight of his friends while Chloe tilted her head as she didn't understand what was going on.
"What is this?"
"It's a date!" Giselle explained.
"Yeah, a dance to be precise. Gisellle and I thought it'd be nice for you to have a bit of time to relax and enjoy yourselves on a date... we even called up all your friends so you wouldn't have to dance in front of strangers!"
"T-That's great, thanks so much everyone!" Ash and Chloe smiled at their friend's gesture. Gloria smirked before giving the radio a kick, hardcore rock music began blaring off so Gloria gave it another kick before flashing a satisfactory smile as romantic music began playing. Ash held his arm out towards Chloe while offering her a loving gaze.
"Chloe Cerise, may I have this dance?"
Chloe's cheeks burned brightly as she took hold of his hand. "Why Mr. Ketchum, I thought you'd never ask!" She playfully teased before stepping closer to him as they two began dancing.
Ren and Tracey partnered up alongside Gary and Leaf, Flash and Giselle, Todd and Rita, and Sabrina and Janine. Misty, Gloria and Brock stood by themselves. Gloria seemed just fine doing so by herself but Misty rubbed her arm while giving Brock a nervous look.
"Hey Brock, this is pretty awkward but I honestly thought there'd be some single guys here... seeing how the two of us don't have anyone, you wanna dance as friends?"
"Just friends... right?" Brock gave Croagunk a nervous look. Croagunk smirked while encouraging him to go on with a wave of his arm.
"Croa..."
"Of course, no offense you'd make a great husband but you're not exactly what I'm looking for." Misty giggled out.
"Well 'just friends' is good enough for-"
"Brock!" Aria sprang onto the scene, Alexa not far behind him.
"Brock hold up!"
"Huh?" Brock turned to face Aria and Alexa as they raced towards him. "Alexa..? Aria...? What are you doing here?"
"I saw the newscast and was worried sick! Are you okay?!" Aria exclaimed with an anxious expression.
"You're not hurt, are you?" Alexa's expression matched that of Aria's as both women looked him over.
"Y-Yeah... I'm fine..." Brock nervously shook while his face glowed a dark shade of red.
"Then seeing how a dance is going on..." Aria and Alexa gave each other a light glare before hastily shouting out. "Would you dance with me?!" Both shouted simultaneously.
"..." Brock stood in stunned silence before falling to his back as he fainted.
Gloria thrusted out her arms and shook her hips as she tried dancing only for it to look as if she were trying to punch something while sitting on the toilet. Gloria huffed before glaring in a certain direction as she began marching towards it before punching out, leaving the screen cracked. "I feel bloody ridiculous..." She muttered out.
Ash and Chloe stared into each other's eyes as their friends danced around them, their faces slowly edged closer to each other before meeting in a kiss, leaning into each other as their lips melted into each other while their friends clapped and cheered for them.
And so that's the end, Yveltal is still out there but other than that I believe that's all the loose ends as Shadow Zard X belonged to the second puppet(Yveltal lied, shocker right?). Red's really gone and Ash came to accept that, now the world really knows and is preparing to move on while something unusual occurred after the jewel of life blew up. Totally didn't happen cause I'm too lazy to keep track of moves every Pokemon Ash and the others have haha
The Elite Four is newly forged and ready for the upcoming Silver League, will a new champion take control and sit where Red and Rex once sat? What sort of Pokemon will Ash and his friends encounter while traveling through Johto? And what exactly is the Masked Man planning? Find out in Electric Blossom: A Bloombolt Johto Adventure coming soon! :)
First fanfic I ever wrote to completion!