This is the third of three chapters today.
Suicune slowed to a walk, panting. "How are we doing?"
"Not great," Pikachu replied, cheeks barely giving off a spark. "We're hurting them, but that's about all we're doing."
Arc sneezed, shaking his fur, and pawed at a patch of wet ashy slurry which had landed on his muzzle. They were all dotted with the stuff by now, and Pikachu in particular looked a state with greyish streaks across the brown fur on his back.
"We should be careful," Entei said, shaking out his mane. "This kind of material is dangerous – there could be a lahar, and even if there is not then the paste will harden to something like cement if it's given time."
A shattering BANG caught their attention, as the volcano's eruption amplified. A new wave of rocks came soaring out, and they were only able to follow most of them for a moment before they vanished against the grey sky background.
Mega Absol landed next to them, her fur matted and scorched, and sighed.
"Mega Absol?" Pikachu asked. "Are you okay?"
"This is as un-smeared with this… stuff-"
"Tephra," Entei supplied.
"Thank you," Absol said. "This is as un-smeared as I can get. I've traded blows with Primal Kyogre a couple of times, but that attack of hers is a nightmare..."
The Dark-type glanced up, and sent a pulse of Sacred Sword directly skywards to smash a rock in half. The moment her blade's beam hit it, it exploded, and pumice shrapnel rained down on them.
"My wings have nearly stopped being able to hold me up," she explained. "And I don't think even Ho-Oh is doing much better."
"Where's Rayquaza?" Suicune asked. "I'm fairly sure this is his job..."
"He was supposed to be at LaRousse," Pikachu said, worried. "But he wasn't. So perhaps-"
Mega Absol turned to face the volcano. "Trouble!" she warned. "Look out!"
A moment later, the eruption column stuttered. With no force from below keeping it up for an instant, tons upon tons of eruption material came crashing down on the lip of the volcano and developed into a roaring, rolling landslide.
"Pyroclastic flow!" Entei summarized.
Suicune took a pace towards the mountain, and her wind stilled.
She took a deep, steadying breath.
"Absol?" she asked. "Is this a mistake?"
The Mega looked uncertain.
"...I don't think it is," she replied.
Suicune nodded, then looked back up at the eruption.
She crouched, and her wind returned – coiling around her, whipping up some of the drying volcanic ash and plant cinders. Faint blue light of Aura danced around her like witchfire, and her eyes blinked once, slowly.
Then she set off in a charge – and fired.
And kept exhaling, Hydro Pump flowing from her mouth in a continuous stream which built up and built up as she went.
She hit the Pyroclastic Flow about five hundred metres away from the rest of the group, accompanied by tons of water, and the instant wave slapped into the flow at about the same speed that it was going. Water and fragments of rock slapped skywards, and the force of the blow made the flow split cleanly in two so that half flowed either side of the other Pokémon.
The tonnes of water mostly evaporated with a hiss and rush of steam, cooling the temperature of the air-punch, and what washed over Pikachu and Arc was sticky, humid, steamy… but safe.
When Suicune walked back down to them, she was even dirtier than before. Ash and small fragments of gravel smeared her coat, and she was clearly exhausted – her breathing ragged, though it steadied as she regained her breath.
"That was very impressive, sister," Entei told her softly.
"I'm glad it wasn't a waste," she replied. "Though what we do when the next one comes I don't know..."
Mega Latias came flying down out of the sky. "Guys! You need to get out of here!"
"Why?" Entei asked. "What's… was the sea always so close?"
"Great, now there's a tsunami too," Pikachu sighed. He jumped onto the Dragon-type's back, and she reactivated her shield to prevent too much ash from reaching her.
Red beams caught Arc, Suicune and Entei, and Mega Latias rose into the sky.
"Can you zap Primal Kyogre?" she asked, looking back at Pikachu.
"Maybe," Pikachu said, frowning. "I'm not sure, though."
He held onto her neck with one paw, and looked out over the bay. With only Mega Latias and Lugia able to avoid being covered with ash and hit with rocks, the teams fighting Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre had thinned out drastically. Lance's Dragonite was carrying both Lucario and Sceptile back into the air, both looking exhausted, and with most of the distractions gone the Primal Legendaries were focusing more on one another.
Primal Groudon roared, and the ground shook – and the train-roar of the eruption intensified. Primal Kyogre's fins beat the water as she let out a bass rumble, and rain slapped into Mega Latias so hard her shield was impossible to see through for a moment.
Then, all at once, the clouds parted and the wind stilled. A green arrow came shooting down from overhead, with a keening roar seeming to come from well above the position of the arrow itself.
Lance steadied himself, watching the blazing green comet come down. "That must be Rayquaza!"
"Yeah, looks about right!" Ash agreed. "Better late than never!"
Green energy surged along Rayquaza's form as he smacked directly into Primal Groudon, hitting him hard enough to blow a crater into the ground from the transferred force, and the slap of impact reached them in the plane orbiting high above.
Then things went very wrong.
Primal Groudon's talons reached up, grabbing Rayquaza in two different places, and slammed the Dragon-type Legendary to the ground.
As Rayquaza struggled to rise, Primal Kyogre got in on the act with a splitting and resplitting stream of blue energy which hit Rayquaza at every point along his body.
Primal Groudon's clawed foot stamped down, making half-a-dozen Precipice Blades spike up from the scarred beach and hit the grounded Rayquaza, and then Primal Kyogre blasted him with Ice Beam.
"It's like they both decided to gang up on him..." May said, softly.
Rayquaza was as tough as they remembered from LaRousse, and rose somewhat shakily back into the air. He coiled, ready to spring skywards again, and then both Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre fired Hyper Beams at the same time.
Blazing red-gold and blue-gold light collided, pouring into Rayquaza for three seconds before a double-cored explosion, and Rayquaza came groaning and twisting out of the smoke to crash to the ground dozens of yards away.
"Wow," Brock said softly.
"Okay, we're doomed," Meowth said, voicing his opinion as the weather began to build again.
There was a slam as something big hit the plane, and the whole fuselage shook violently. Ash's grip slipped, and he missed grabbing at the door as he fell out of the plane.
"Ash!" Brock and May called at once.
"Togekiss, can you catch him?" Misty added, sending her Flying-type out.
"I'll try!" Togekiss said firmly, flying out of the door and turning to dive.
Rayquaza was not having a good day.
He'd spotted the familiar pattern of tortured weather that signified yet another argument between Groudon and Kyogre on the far horizon, and cursed at the realization that he'd let his guard down. Hastening there with all the speed he could muster, the Dragon-type had poised himself almost in space directly over the battle.
It had looked like an unusually big one even from that high up, rain and dust mingling in the troposphere below, and Rayquaza had decided that the best way to teach them a lesson would be to really hammer both Pokémon – Groudon straight away with Dragon Ascent, Kyogre with a pattern of Hyper Beams – so they'd think twice before doing this again.
Rayquaza felt this was a good plan when he began diving. He'd still considered it a good plan as he plunged like a meteorite into the thicker air, and had been feeling quite happy with it as he reached Air Lock range of the cloud layer.
Then things started going wrong.
First, the effect of his Ability had swept a far-too-small hole in the clouds – and left an ashy haze which was much less tractable to Air Lock.
That was when he noticed the erupting volcano.
A few seconds later, as he aligned on Groudon for his final plunge, Rayquaza noticed a dreadfully familiar golden light filling Groudon's veins.
After that things got indistinct and painful for a few moments. Rayquaza felt at least five attacks, all of them of the kind of power neither Groudon or Kyogre had used since the fall of Pokeatlantis, and staggered into the air before crashing to the ground.
A series of small, rhythmic tremors came through the ground.
Rayquaza looked up, using one arm to support himself, and saw Primal Groudon advancing on him.
Then – bizarrely – a human landed in front of him, with a flash of blue Aura to break his fall.
A Togekiss pulled out of a dive low enough that her wings stirred up great plumes of ash, and began to circle.
Rayquaza wondered when he was going to find out what was going on.
Ash winced, rubbing his leg. "Ow..."
He shook his head, and looked around. "Where – Rayquaza?"
The Dragon-type looked at him. "Who are you?"
"I'm Ash," Ash introduced himself, then turned around at the sound of a roar.
Primal Groudon slammed his forefoot into the ground, making Ash stagger, and raised his hands in a gesture which brought up a giant boulder from the ground.
The boulder hung there for a moment, glowing a sullen red, and Ash realized what was about to happen. That was an Ancientpower attack – aimed at Rayquaza.
He didn't have time to plan, and acted on instinct. Reaching for the weapon he had closest at hand, Ash ran to one side to get between Rayquaza and the attack meant for him.
The boulder fired, coated in red-orange energy.
And Ash brought up his sword.
There was a great eruption of golden light which hurt the eyes, and Ash felt like he'd run for miles.
Panting, he looked up at Primal Groudon – who seemed startled, the first time Ash could remember the Primal Pokémon showing an emotion that wasn't rage or triumph.
He looked at the sword in his hands. It was certainly the same one he'd been given in the Togepi Kingdom, as ceremonial and non-functional as he remembered – but at the same time, it seemed… different. Lighter, perhaps.
And his backpack had fallen off, the straps cut as if with a knife.
"What just happened?" Rayquaza asked. "There's bits of rock everywhere."
Looking around, Ash realized – yes, there were. Pieces of brown and black rock, most of them smashed to bits and a few showing a mirror-like perfectly smooth cut on one surface. Tephra from the eruption was starting to fall to cover them, but there was only one place all those rocks could have come from.
"Did I..." Ash asked, still breathing heavily. "Was that me?"
"I do not-" Rayquaza began, then stopped. "Look out!"
Ash turned in time to see a wave rolling up the beach, as Primal Kyogre had her go at attacking the downed Legendary.
"Ash!" Keldeo cried, seeing from his airborne vantage point a horribly familiar combination of dark-haired Aura wielder and oncoming wave. "No!"
Fed by his determination, Ash's Aura spiked again. His grip shifted, and suddenly he knew what to do.
The presentation sword flashed in a shimmering, opalescent gold as it rekindled, and Ash drew it back almost to his shoulder before sweeping it around in a complete arc.
"Secret Sword!"
The pulse of energy built to eye-hurting brilliance, then detached from the blade. Ash stumbled, nearly falling as the pull left him horribly drained, and a bar of golden light smashed into the oncoming Surf.
There was an explosion-
And it rained seawater.
The sword clattered to the ground from nerveless fingers, and Ash fell to one knee. The water mingled with his sweat, and there was a strong aroma of burnt rose and saffron around him.
"What just happened?" May asked, squinting. "I can't see! Is Ash okay?"
"Good question," Brock admitted. "There was a bright flash – I can't see him very well."
"Hey, can you take us a bit lower?" Max called forwards.
"You want us to get closer to dat?" Meowth asked. "Dat ain't a good idea."
"Ash might be in trouble down there!" May insisted.
Rayquaza stared.
This young Aura adept – Ash – had just saved him. Twice.
First from an Ancientpower from Primal Groudon, and then from Primal Kyogre's massive Surf attack.
The Dragon had to admit, that was impressive. For a Pokémon, let alone for a human.
Then he heard… something. Faintly, singing in the shocked stillness – as if it was calling out to him.
Something rolled out of Ash's bag.
Rayquaza stared for a moment at what had to be one of the largest meteorites he'd ever seen on the ground. Normally anything that big was either stopped on the way down or exploded in the air.
Then he made the connection. This was exactly what he needed!
Reaching out an arm, the Dragon snatched it up and swallowed it in one gulp. The Infinity energy rushed through him, answered by Ash's staff pulsing with eye-watering brilliance, and then Rayquaza roared.
His body lengthened, symbols forming all down it as his fins expanded and spiked out. The long lines of yellow light running down his flanks lit blazing gold, pulling off to form separate streamers which undulated of their own accord, and a howling air current began to form.
Mega Rayquaza coiled, paused, picked up Ash because the Aura adept looked nearly unconscious with fatigue, and launched himself skywards just before two Hyper Beams hit the space he'd been.
"Huh," Jessie said, tilting her head. "I guess Rayquaza can Mega Evolve too."
"Ya think?" Meowth asked.
"I'd occasionally seen mention of this in rumors, and in the oldest lore of the Dragon Clan," Lance said softly. "But I didn't realize that he would be this… powerful."
He pointed. "Look. The weather's dissolving completely."
"Yeah," James agreed. "And-"
"Wait," Jessie interrupted. "Who's flying the plane?"
James and Meowth exchanged a glance, then both hurried back to the cockpit.
Mega Rayquaza transferred his new passenger to his back, rising into the air fast enough to produce rippling shock clouds, and checked that he was holding on before turning and facing the two Primals below.
"Right," he rumbled. "Let's get this sorted out..."
His weather control spread, banishing the falling rock and thick clouds, and quieting the blazing sun. In its place, there was a powerful turbulence which wrapped around his form in interlocking layers of air control – dozens of them.
Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre faced up, their quarrel forgotten, and both began to gather light in their maws.
Mega Rayquaza obliged them, light running up his streamers as he charged a Hyper Beam of his own. Then, just as they fired, he unleashed a lambent current of orange-golden light.
Mega Rayquaza's Hyper Beam crashed into both of the other Pokémon's Hyper Beams, throwing off streamers of gold-red-blue light as they fought for dominance.
For a moment, they were evenly matched. Then Mega Rayquaza began lashing his tail behind him in a rhythmic pattern, and with every movement the conflict point between their beams moved closer to the ground.
"Hah!" Mega Rayquaza bellowed, with one final tail-snap, and the golden Hyper Beam broke through. It hit the ground between Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre, burrowed deep into the soil, then exploded violently enough to make the ground heave up like a live thing and throw them both flying.
Mega Rayquaza was about to pick one of them to go after, when the same Togekiss from before came sweeping up next to him.
"I can help!" called a Pikachu, seated on her back.
Mega Rayquaza managed to avoid a double-take. "Really?" he said, a little dubiously.
"Yeah, he can!" Ash supplied, sounding as though he was none the worse for wear.
"I'll hit Primal Kyogre just before you do!" Pikachu said. "It can't hurt, right?"
"Fine," Mega Rayquaza decided. "But don't get in the way – you might not like it."
Accepting that, the Togekiss dove, and Mega Rayquaza circled once to build up momentum before following her down.
Mindful of his passenger, he took a slightly different angle to usual. Rather than hit head-on from a vertical trajectory – and probably end up hitting the ground – he aimed for a point about a hundred feet away from Primal Kyogre, so he could hit her on a horizontal trajectory.
Green light built around Mega Rayquaza's form as he used Dragon Ascent, and there was a faint tingle as Ash held on with Aura.
Then the Pikachu used his electrical attack. It was powerful enough that Mega Rayquaza had to admit he was impressed, a great crackling bar of energy which blazed directly into Primal Kyogre and let off a thunderclap loud enough to hear over the rushing of the wind.
His currents aided Togekiss as she pulled up and away, and then Mega Rayquaza twisted to skim bare feet above the ground.
Dragon Ascent hit Primal Kyogre with the force of a meteorite, producing an almighty BANG and dishing out the water around the impact point.
There was a bright blue flash, and when it faded Primal Kyogre was just Kyogre.
"I saw a blue orb fall off!" Ash called. "We should pick it up later!"
"Agreed," Mega Rayquaza confirmed, taking a moment to judge his own strength and deciding he still had plenty for handling Primal Groudon.
"Good work, Togekiss!" Misty said, smiling as the Fairy-type matched speed with the plane. "And you too, Pikachu – I bet Mega Rayquaza was glad of the help."
"Yeah, I hope he was," Pikachu agreed, crouching and making the jump into the plane. He stumbled, almost falling, and Max grabbed him before he left the aircraft.
"I guess I'm more tired than I thought..." Pikachu yawned, shaking his head. "Man, what a rush..."
"You saw Ash, right?" Brock checked.
"Yeah, he was on Mega Rayquaza's back," Togekiss supplied. "I think his backpack got incinerated, though."
"Well, I guess we'll need to go shopping when we reach Mossdeep," May decided.
"It looks like Mega Rayquaza is going after Primal Groudon now," Lance informed them, and they all turned to watch.
"Hey, wait!" Ash said, turning to look at something. "It's Keldeo – Rayquaza, uh, Mega Rayquaza, can you fly a bit slower so Keldeo can catch up?"
Mega Rayquaza rumbled, slowing in his twisting flight through the air. The winds around him slowed a bit, shedding layers seamlessly as he moved to orbit, and a layer spun off to help support Keldeo and make his flight easier.
"Ash!" Keldeo called across the gap. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," Ash said, then frowned. "Well, I feel really, really tired, but that's okay."
"I thought you were about to die," Keldeo said, blinking. "I saw you, and the wave, and I thought-"
He shook his head. "Uh, anyway – Mega Rayquaza, I think I can help with Primal Groudon like Pikachu did with Primal Kyogre."
"Go on," Mega Rayquaza invited.
"Well – I can do a pretty good Aqua Jet," Keldeo explained. "And I can sort of stack it up, by doing more force from my forehooves than my rear hooves – so I can use that to distract him."
"Sounds like a good plan," Ash volunteered. "Don't forget to cool down the water as well with Ice Beam, so it's harder to evaporate."
"Great idea!" Keldeo agreed.
"Very well," Mega Rayquaza nodded. "I will attack as soon as yours goes in."
Keldeo flashed a grin, then dove – cutting off his jets so he dropped like a rock, then twisting and reactivating them.
His rear hooves thundered away at full power, but his front hooves were kept at a lower force – resulting in a pile-up of water as Keldeo continually caught up with his own water spray.
Once it had grown large enough, he inhaled and added an Ice Beam, making the whole mass of water become – not quite frozen, but chilled and slightly slushy.
Keldeo decided he'd added enough water.
The globe had flattened out with wind shear into a kind of disc, which fell with the flat end towards Primal Groudon, and it was getting thick enough it was hard to see. So he cut off his rear jets, letting his Hydro Pump from the front two flip him once over backwards and propel him away from his creation.
Switching to all four hooves down to lift himself above his attack plane, Keldeo blinked – then lit his horn with a shining Sacred Sword.
Primal Groudon was hiding, a wall of Precipice Blades between him and the oncoming attack. They might or might not stop Keldeo's huge water attack, but they'd certainly attenuate it.
So Keldeo swung his horn in two sharp movements. "Sacred Sword!"
The x-shaped pair of Sacred Swords shot forwards, overtaking the water, and bit deeply into the Precipice Blades. They shook, then one great slab of rock crashed to the ground.
When the water hit Primal Groudon, there was an explosion of steam visible as a white cloud of pressure. Then, before it had properly faded away, Mega Rayquaza's Dragon Ascent slammed home through the same gap.
The impact sent a spherical pulse through the steamcloud, momentarily compressing some of the water vapour hard enough to turn it into droplets. It rained around Primal Groudon for an instant, then as the rain faded so did the glowing golden lava.
Groudon slumped to the floor, the Red Orb hitting the ground next to him with a clack.
Keldeo landed hard, his hooves stinging, and let out a relieved sigh.
"That was… ow," he summarized.
Flakes of ash swirled up as the Rockets' aircraft slowly came down to a landing.
"Thanks for the lift," May said, sitting on the door rim and then jumping out – landing with a soft crunch on the ground below.
"Eh, it ain't a problem," Meowth shrugged, waving it off.
"Yes, my thanks as well," Lance said, brushing some of the grey dust off his clothes. "Do we know if the volcano is going to erupt again?"
"It started slowing down the moment Rayquaza mega evolved," Brock supplied. "And it seems to have gone completely quiet now, so… we're probably okay for now."
"Right," Lance agreed. He took a few steps, grimacing at the effect it had on his boots, then shook his head. "I think we're going to need some help to find the Orbs – they shouldn't be in the wrong hands."
"I'll handle that," May said, sending out Swablu and Beautifly. "Guys, can you try to find the Red and Blue Orbs? They should be… uh, not far from Groudon and Kyogre."
"Maybe it's best if I look for the Blue Orb," Misty decided. "I've got a rebreather somewhere… and I can have Milotic and Seaking look."
"Yeah, I was meaning to ask..." Brock said. "Where'd the Milotic come from?"
Misty sent out Milotic and scratched her under the fin. "Well, I thought it'd be good to have a Pokémon which no-one had seen me with," she explained, as Milotic let out a pleased purr. "And this lovely lady was just who I needed."
"So… you infiltrated Team Aqua?" Max asked. "For how long?"
"Actually, I joined a few days after the Togepi Kingdom thing," Misty shrugged. "I was kind of hoping that Lance and I could find good times and places to get the whole leadership, but the only time they were all together was usually on their ships..."
"Ash..." Keldeo said, walking over with his hooves going splat on the muddy ground. "What happened there?"
"I don't know, not really," Ash replied. He touched the hilt of the presentation sword, now just as it had been. "After all the practice we'd been doing – that's me and Lucario, and Sceptile and Absol too – it was just… the weapon that it felt natural to take. And… I guess it was Secret Sword, but I don't know how I'd do it again."
"Secret Sword?" Keldeo repeated. "That would explain why it's so bright gold, but I don't know why… well, I could have cut that boulder in half, I think, but I wouldn't have made it explode like that. Into thousands of pieces."
He shook his head. "This is so hard to – I mean, most of what I know about this is just guesswork."
"I guess so," Ash agreed, hand coming back off the hilt.
Keldeo sniffed. "And… uh, how come you smell like that?"
Ash frowned, sniffing as well, and noticed the aroma. "Oh, yeah – I hadn't actually noticed that… uh, it's kind of familiar…"
He rummaged for a moment in his pouch, and took out a Pokéball. "Ho-Oh?"
The firebird appeared in a flash of light. "This is about the smell you're discussing-"
He stopped, blinking.
"Can you get the Sacred Ash bag out, please?"
"I'll help," Pikachu volunteered, hurrying over from the landed plane. He jumped into Ash's pouch, rummaged for a bit, and came squirming back out with a small drawstring bag.
Ash opened it, and blinked. "Huh. This is… what, half empty?"
"A little more than that," Ho-Oh judged. "But yes, that was enough effort to kill you under normal circumstances. Since it was simple depletion of energy, my ash paid the excess and kept you from total depletion."
Pikachu absorbed that along with the rest of them, then slapped Ash with his tail.
"Be more careful next time!" he admonished. "I don't want to-"
His voice broke. "Damnit, Ash, don't do this to me."
Ash reached up and squeezed Pikachu, wordlessly assuring him that his trainer was still okay.
"Can you get more?" Keldeo asked, looking up at Ho-Oh.
"Not for a while," the Fire-type replied. "It's my Burning ash, and that's something that happens only once in a human lifetime."
"Huh."
There was a long pause.
"I agree with Pikachu," Lucario said, making them all jump.
"Lucario!" Ash complained. "That was rude!"
"I don't see how." The Fighting-type shrugged. "But – you survived. That means your next goal is to make it easier to survive again – I know that Sacred Sword, when used normally, is not much more expensive than an Aura Sphere… so we should train until you can use it at will."
"I guess so," Ash agreed.
"Also, you need a new backpack."
"Here we go!" Misty said, walking over. "One Blue Orb."
"That's both of them, then," Brock nodded, holding the Red Orb in a spare t-shirt. "What are we going to do with them? Uh – Lance, I guess you're the one in charge."
"It's a good question," Lance admitted. "They probably belong in a museum, but given their known qualities then they'd be safest inside a lead lined box."
"And even then, they're still..." Misty began, then stopped talking.
There was blue light coming from inside the bag.
She put it down and stepped away, and the Blue Orb burst out of the bag. The one Brock was carrying ripped itself out of his arms, rising as well, and the two circled one another as they ascended to thirty feet into the air.
Then they rammed into one another and disintegrated in a flash of golden light.
"...or they could do that," Lance sighed.
Just so we're clear, Mewtwo said, floating next to the now-reverted Rayquaza. This does not necessarily mean that I am no longer the World's Most Powerful Pokémon.
Rayquaza turned, coiling around like the thread of a screw. "Why not? You didn't seem especially able to beat them."
It's your speciality, Mewtwo replied loftily. You are the Legendary who keeps these two under control; thus, you should be better at it. It is simple logic.
The Dragon-type snorted.
So, what's going to happen to those two? Mewtwo added, with a frown.
After a moment of thought, the green Legendary shrugged. "They are going to get such a talking-to, for a start..."
Just a talking to? Mewtwo asked.
"And I'm going to make them say sorry to one another," Rayquaza elaborated. "Sincerely."
"Thanks for the help," Ash said, shaking James' hand and then Jessie's. "It's great to have you guys' help."
"Thanks," James said, nodding.
Behind him, Moltres lowered Wobbuffet to the ground – looking no worse for wear from his experience.
"Yeah!" Meowth nodded. "And imagine how da boss is gonna react when we mention dat Lance owes us one!"
"That's a good point..." Jessie admitted. "And knowing that the Orbs are gone is going to help too."
Ash snapped his fingers suddenly. "Oh, yeah – that reminds me!"
He rummaged in his pouch for a bit, reaching in up to about his elbow, then pulled out a Mega Stone. "I guess you guys have more use for this than we do – it's an Audinite!"
Meowth blinked. "How long have you had dat?"
"Since… uh, before Fallarbor, I think," Ash frowned. "Mew found it."
"This is a pretty impressive gift, Ash," James said, though that didn't stop him taking it. "We'll have to come up with something to pay you back."
"It's fine," Ash waved off.
"No it's not!" Jessie countered. "You're supposed to be the one who owes us!"
"About two hours ago," Lance said, speaking clearly, "the criminal organizations Team Aqua and Team Magma lost control of some ancient artefacts they had acquired. The result was a significant incident, but fortunately myself, Elite Four member Misty Waterflower and Champion Ash Ketchum were in the vicinity and the incident was contained."
"Can you comment on the volcanic eruption?" asked one of the reporters.
"Not at this time," Lance replied, shaking his head. "Next question."
"How bad was it?"
Lance replied by holding up a Ketchum Incident slip, then turning a page to reveal a second one stapled to it. "There were fourteen known legendaries present."
There was an audible intake of breath.
Gary's eye twitched.
"Oh, come on! Not again!"
AN:
And that was the conclusion of the Scuffle of Legends. Featuring Mega Rayquaza, Secret Sword, tremendous explosions and Gary Oak At A Conference.
The meteorite's another thing that's been in planning for a long while.
