This is the third of four chapters today.


"Great, they've gone missing," the pirate commander groaned. "Do you think that means they found Samiya?"

"It's not as if we're going to be able to tell now," said one of the others. "Stantler is getting pretty tired now, can't we just say we've done all we could?"

The commander hesitated, but before he could reply there was a crackle from the radio.

"Land now," the speaker said, cut with static, then went silent.

"Land?" the pilot asked. "Land where?"

They glanced across to the other cloaked helicopter, seeing a shrug from the pirates in that one too. Then the commander leaned out the door, did a double-take, and pointed – straight down.

"There!" he said, as the sea boiled and something huge came bursting out. "That's the Phantom Sub! Land on the deck while it's surfaced so we can get on board!"


It was an odd experience, diving down to the entrance of Samiya.

They were taking it slow, slowly enough to avoid injury from rapid compression, and the deeper they got the more Pokémon there were – drawn by Manaphy's presence, starting with a few flashing Chinchou but quickly developing as more and more Pokémon flocked to see the Prince of the Sea.

"This is pretty amazing," Latias said, looking around. "There aren't this many Water Pokémon even in Altomare."

"I think you're right," Latios smiled. "I wonder if they're here because of the Temple of the Sea, or because of Manaphy?"

"Both?" Pikachu suggested.

They moved deeper, approaching somewhere they couldn't see but which Manaphy seemed to know, and the light became odder – more washed-out by the weight of the sea above.

"You know..." Pikachu mused. "Since we're the only ones who can actually talk, this would be pretty boring for anyone listening."

"But there's a lot to look at," Latios replied. "Besides, Ship and Meredith are in our air bubbles, they could talk as well."

"There's nothing to say," Ship said softly. "I just can't think of anything that would help."

Manaphy sang something up ahead, and there was a kind of shiver through the water. Then they passed through some kind of boundary, and they were abruptly inside a tunnel – a huge one, big enough to fit even a large submarine.

"The Temple of the Sea," Meredith realized. "I never thought we'd actually see it, even after all that's happened today."

"Well, there it is," Latias agreed, and they began to float upwards – towards a shimmering air-water interface, not far above. "I wonder if this is how the People of the Sea got in and out of Samiya in the past?"

"I don't think it was," Ship mused. "Not all the time, anyway. But they must have used it some of the time, or it wouldn't be here at all."

"Why do you think they didn't do it all the time?" Latios asked, curious. "This is how we get around in Altomare a lot of the time, and like you say it is here – oh, I see."

"See what?" his sister asked.

"Air supply," Latios said. "Even if they had submarines, or water Pokémon, they'd need to be able to refresh the air supply so there must have been a way out above water."

"Oh, right, that makes sense..."

Then they broke the surface of the water, and got their first look at what Samiya was really like.


"So this is the main underwater entrance!" Manaphy explained, proudly. "I wasn't sure if the above-water entrances would be above water – or if they'd work if they weren't – so I took us here!"

"I can see why the People of the Sea remembered Samiya so fondly," Jackie said, looking around at the glittering docks – even here, somewhere which was supposed to be just for utility, was made like a work of art. "But… hold on."

He looked back at the water they'd climbed out of, then around at the temple. "This is below water level on the outside, right?"

"Yep!" Manaphy agreed. "About… fifty feet, I think?"

"I don't get how that could even begin to work," Jackie said. "Shouldn't the water flood up into the temple itself?"

"No, that's part of the special way Samiya is built," Manaphy answered. "It uses a force field generated by the crystals to keep the water out."

He approached one of the doors, then frowned. "Hmmm… Lizabeth, can I borrow your crystal?"

Lizabeth passed it over, and Manaphy pressed it to the door. There was a flicker of light, and he gave it back with a smile as the door swung open. "Thanks!"

"Why this door?" Ship asked him.

"It's the way to where the Sea Crown is kept," Manaphy answered. "And the control room, so I can turn off the invisibility device..."

He stopped, and looked back to where May was. "Mama? Do you know anywhere I could keep Samiya?"

Everyone stared at him.

"Seriously?" Jackie said. "You want to park the Temple of the Sea somewhere?"

"Yes!" Manaphy confirmed. "Why not? I think it's mine, isn't it?"


"I don't recognize this route," May said softly, walking down the corridor with Manaphy on her shoulder – both of them lit by the glowing crystals in sconces on the walls. "Did we come this way last time?"

"Well… no," Manaphy said, thinking. "But it's the way I normally use, because it's quicker."

"Right," May said, realizing. "Okay, that makes sense. I guess you know the place inside out by now?"

"Kind of," Manaphy shrugged. "I spent a lot of time here."

He gave May a hug. "It was lonely."

"Oh, Manaphy..." May sighed. "I'm sorry about that. Did no other Manaphy turn up?"

Manaphy was about to answer, but then May's foot touched one of the floor stones and it went down slightly.

The door behind them closed with a thunk, making everyone jump.

"What just happened?" Kyle asked.

"...oops." Manaphy said, blushing. "I just remembered the other thing about this way to get around… it's kind of got traps on it..."

"Traps?" Jackie repeated, looking around nervously. "Why did you take us down this way, then?"

"I didn't remember!" Manaphy said. "And… and it's the fastest route if the traps aren't there, so I just picked this one..."

His voice broke slightly, and May hugged him. "It's okay, Manaphy," she said, trying to calm him down. "It's a mistake, but we know about it now so we can try to solve it. What traps are there?"

Manaphy frowned. "Um… I don't remember which ones are in this corridor, but I know there's some dart traps, and one which floods the area, and a rolling boulder… and I think there are some pit traps as well."

One of Ash's Pokéballs flashed open, and Lucario emerged. "Okay," he said. "I've got this."

Striding past May and Manaphy, he walked purposefully down the corridor.

"Are you sure?" Latios asked. "Some of those traps sounded pretty dangerous."

Lucario paused, foot in the air.

"You're quite right," he agreed, and walked back down the corridor. Going past Ash, he stopped in front of Misty.

"Can I have one of the rebreathers, please?" he requested.

Misty handed it over, and Lucario examined it closely. Then he put it in his mouth, and walked back down the corridor again.

One of the flagstones sank as he put weight on it, and a shower of poisoned darts rattled out of hidden launchers to hit Lucario all down both sides.

"Lucario!" Ash called. "Are you okay?"

Lucario turned back to give him a look, then took the rebreather out to talk again. "I'm a Steel type," he said, patiently.

"Oh, yeah, right..."

Stepping back, Ash's Pokémon tested the flagstone again – making the dart launchers fire a second time. Then he began jumping up and down on the dart trigger, poisoned slivers of metal hissing out in volleys with every impact.

"I don't really think those were designed to keep out Lucario," May said. "How many darts do they have, Manaphy?"

"I don't know..."

The dart launchers abruptly stopped.

"Oh," Manaphy corrected himself. "That many!"

Lucario continued on after that, searching for the next trap, and May got Manaphy's attention again. "About that thing you said… about parking Samiya somewhere, I mean."

"Yep!" Manaphy agreed. "That's my plan!"

"Are you sure it'll be okay?" May asked. "I mean… I… well, it sounds like a great solution, but what about the other Manaphy? They're supposed to all come to Samiya after they're born."

"There aren't many Manaphy," he replied, sadly. "I didn't see another one."

May winced.

"But I did think about that," Manaphy added. "And-"

There was a whunng ahead of them as a trapdoor opened, and Lucario dropped through it – straight down.

Then a flash of blue light came out of the open hole in the floor, and Lucario rose back into view with two jets of blue Aura coming from his feet.

Landing on the far side of the hole, he turned and indicated it. "Watch your step, there's a bit of a hole there."

Manaphy giggled.

"I think Lucario's just determined to show off as much as he possibly can," Ash commented.

"Probably," Latios agreed.

"What was your idea, Manaphy?" May asked, trying to get their conversation back on topic.

"Well… I was thinking about how it used to be, with the Temple of the Sea," Manaphy explained. "And I realized – it used to be in one place anyway, so it's just fine for it to be in one place again!"

May's jaw dropped.

"That… is a very good point, Manaphy," she said, once she'd regained her composure. "And that means you wouldn't have to follow Samiya around the world, so you could stay near enough to visit!"

Manaphy beamed.

Then there was a whud from up ahead, followed by a long grinding sound that terminated in a sharp crack of breaking stone.

"What was that?" May asked.

"Lucario just triggered the rolling boulder," Ash answered. "He punched it."

"I think these traps weren't built to deal with Pokémon," Brock said. "At least, not Lucario."

"But if you think about it, then you wouldn't need to build traps that could stop a Lucario," Max replied. "I can't imagine anyone who you'd want to keep out having a Lucario."

There was another rattling click from where Lucario was, and he started jumping up and down on the trigger stone he'd found.

"Are there any trap types we haven't seen yet?" Ash asked. "Manaphy mentioned a water-flooding trap, right?"

"Yep," Manaphy confirmed. "But… um, I'm not sure if I forgot one..."

"What do we do if there is a water trap?" Jackie said.

"We all have rebreathers," May answered. "That's why Lucario took one, so he had one as well… that way, if the corridor floods, we're fine."

"I like it," the Ranger admitted. "Your Lucario's sharp."

"That would be all the pointy bits," Pikachu said.

Meredith watched with surprise as Ash and Brock chuckled. "Did I miss something?"

"Pikachu made a joke," Ash explained. "Any idea how much further it is?"

"It might be a while," Manaphy said, thinking. "I know-"

"Oops," Lucario said, drawing their attention. "Everyone has a rebreather, right?"

Water began to fill the corridor, pooling around their ankles.

"Anyone who doesn't have one, over here," Latios said. "That includes you, Chatot."

"It's actually Casey," the Flying-type said. "And… thanks."

"Casey?" Pikachu asked. "We know a Casey. She plays baseball a lot."


Deep inside Samiya, water fountains played endlessly over the surfaces of the huge sanctum. The rustling and splattering sound of the caged waterfalls was the only thing disturbing the air, and the only thing that had been heard there for decades.

Then a door hissed open, admitting a flood of water and a Lucario.

"There!" Manaphy said, pleased with himself, as the water level in the corridor dropped. "I thought that would work!"

"Good work, Manaphy," May agreed, taking her rebreather out as the water from the corridor spilled into the main pool. "But next time… no traps, okay?"

"I'll turn them off soon," Manaphy agreed. "I did remember to turn the water jets on full!"

The others followed her, with Casey taking to the air again now there was air to actually fly in, and everyone got their first look into the sanctum of the Temple of the Sea.

It was an amazing sight, even more than normal with the sun shining high in the sky. The sunlight was split and recombined into a diffuse glow which lit the whole enormous room, with the occasional shaft left all but untouched by the windows to throw shafts of sunlight into the air.

The lighting was impressive enough, but what really drew the eye were the streams of water – some of them like waterslides, but without any need of tubes to confine the water, while others surged up like fountains to lift water high into the air before letting it splash back down into the central pool.

"This is… astonishing," Ship said. "It truly does deserve to be called the temple of the sea."

"Okay, everyone!" Manaphy called, standing on May's head for height. "I just want to tell you some things!"

He held up a flipper. "Firstly, be careful because if you fall out of the water jets you might get hurt. Secondly, if you hold still you shouldn't fall out of the water jets. And thirdly, the water jets are the quickest way to get around, but there are stairs too."

After a moment, he looked down. "How was that, Mama?"

"Very responsible, Manaphy," she told him, smiling, and lifted him down. "What should we do now?"

"Oh!" Manaphy realized. "First, I'll turn off all the traps, and then we can start to steer Samiya somewhere else. It's not very fast, though..."

"We can wait," May assured him. "Okay, how do we get to the control room?"

Manaphy looked around, getting his bearings, then pointed. "That one."

May eyed the water jet, a little nervously, then sent out Altaria.

She patted Manaphy, reassuring him. "Don't worry, Manaphy. I'm just a bit nervous – but I'll do it, for you."

The Water-type smiled happily.

"Why did you send out your Altaria?" Lizabeth asked.

"Firstly, in case things go wrong," May explained. "I trust him to catch Manaphy and me if they do."

"I'd be fine, mama," Manaphy pointed out.

"I know, but I wouldn't," May said, smiling to take out the sting. "And secondly, because that means Altaria can enjoy himself once I'm done."

The others exchanged glances, then began sending out their Pokémon as well as May took a firm step forwards. She hesitated, then her stance shifted and she stepped right into the water jet – which sent her flying through the air, Manaphy with her and Altaria trailing behind her.

"Wait..." Latias said, tilting her head. "Does this mean we can just mess around a lot?"

She glanced at her brother, slyly, then tapped him on the wing. "Tag!"

Then the Legendary was off, curling as soon as she passed the edge of the balcony they were on and diving into the water below.

Latios followed, the wind of his takeoff making Lizabeth shriek as it blew on her wet skin, and there was a splash as he followed his sister into Samiya's extensive underwater passages.

That seemed to break the ice, and more Pokémon came out – and Ash went as well, using a different water stream to May to bounce across to the other side of the room.

"...do you think it's safe for me to take part?" Pikachu asked, glancing over at Lucario.

"Depends, do you think you can avoid sparks coming out of your cheeks?"


In the docks, a small object broke the surface of the water. It swivelled, the periscope tracking around the entire room, then withdrew again.

Bubbles boiled up out of the water, and a few seconds later so did the sleek shape of the Phantom Sub. It rocked back and forth a little as the trim tanks evened out, then moved slowly over to the pier at one side of the pool.

The conning tower opened up, and half-a-dozen Phantom Pirates came out along with their Pokémon. They moved nervously, looking around to see if there was any sign of movement, and only after a good half-minute of checking did the commander raise his radio.

"All clear," he said.

"Good," came the reply.

Then the Phantom himself came out of the hatch.

Unlike the others, he was not wearing a uniform. Instead, he was almost completely enclosed in a giant suit – one built like armour, but which was so large it was clearly actually a robotic assistance suit.

"Which way did they go?" he asked.

One of the pirates looked up, his Linoone already on a trail. "This way," he replied.

"Good," the Phantom said, smiling nastily, then began to walk forwards – each step accompanied by a whirring sound. "And radio silence from here. They have Porygon, they might be able to detect it."

"Captain," his second-in-command nodded. "All right, you heard him – spread out."


Manaphy's fins moved over the crystalline controls, sending patterns of light dancing through them.

"Okay," he said. "I… think that's the traps all off. And I'm telling Samiya to head to the south for now."

He glanced over at May. "Should I make it turn visible, or bring it up to the surface?"

May thought.

"Surface it, I think," she said. "That way we'll be able to turn off the bubble if we want to leave – or if we want to get a satellite signal, too."

"Okay!" Manaphy agreed, hitting those controls, then jumped off his seat to watch with May as the Temple began to rise.

Unnoticed, behind him, a shiver ran through the glittering display crystals.


Casey circled over the pool, not taking part – just watching, and thinking.

Everyone here was just… odd, to his experience. Oh, sure, kids enjoyed themselves, but once you got strong you had to give all that up, and you got strong by refusing to let things like that hold you back.

But these people, and these Pokémon… the ones who seemed to be taking things most seriously were the two he thought were parents, and he knew they didn't have the strongest team by a long way. While there were Legendary Pokémon enjoying themselves, and Ash – the one who actually had Ho-Oh – was in some kind of water fight with his Lucario.

The Chatot winced as Ash threw a giant blue sphere at his Pokémon, and then Lucario burst it and produced a rain of water everywhere.

Both of them were laughing, though, so it was probably fine.

It was all just… odd. Different from how things were in the Phantom Pirates, of course… but so much more full of joyous energy, and he didn't know what to think of it.

Alighting on a ledge, he furled his wings and looked up at the sky.

He could just fly off. That was an option, and one he'd thought of more than once.

But it was nice, talking with humans, at least when they weren't-

There was a very faint thumping sound, and Casey took off again – flying in a circle to see if he could work out where it was coming from.

He passed over Ship – the old sailor, who was sitting and watching the water jets – then got close to the door they'd entered by. It sounded louder here, and he stopped to hover right by it. His own tail made an occasional faint tock sound as it flicked back and forth, but he could still hear the thumping as it got less faint.

Then Phantom came out of the door in his full mech suit, nearly nine feet tall, accompanied by half-a-dozen pirates and their Pokémon. The change was so sudden that Casey did a double-take, watching as his comrades spread out, and then Phantom looked up directly at where he was hovering.

There was a frozen moment of stillness.

The Phantom looked angry, but not incandescent – Casey knew the signs well. He'd be angry, but it would probably be taken as an attempt to infiltrate…

The Chatot came to a decision.

"Captain Phantom is here! Look out!"

He saw Phantom scowl, then a flash of electricity came from the shock gun built into one wrist of the armour. It hit Casey despite his dodge, and he fell paralyzed to the water below.


"Traitor," Phantom muttered.

He nodded sharply at one of his pirates – the one with the Stantler – then signalled the commander. "Cause disruption," he told them. "Keep them busy."

That got him a nod of confirmation, and Phantom turned to face the main control area up at the top of the room.

Thrusters in his boots spooled up, and he took off with a near-silent shoom.


"Roland, Kris, make sure Lizabeth and her family are okay," Max called. "Everyone else – look out for their Pokémon!"

Roland vanished with a flicker of movement, then appeared again a second or so later with Ship. He teleported away again to get Lizabeth, and Max spotted a Beedrill flying fast across the surface of the water.

"There!" he told Jirachi.

"Got it!"

A plume of spray burst out of the water as Jirachi's Future Sight detonated directly underneath Beedrill's position, and the Bug-type was catapulted into the air – totally spoiling his attempt to attack Misty's Togekiss.

Then a Charizard came swooping down from the balcony, launching out a gout of flame which came close to hitting Misty – with the Elite Four member ducking under the water before she was hit, though steam still hissed up from the surface.

"That's not fair!" Arc said, and fired a Thunder attack – though the Charizard managed to dodge away. "We're the ones who are supposed to be helped out by a Charizard!"

Something rippled under the waves, where Misty had gone, and then there was an enormous plume of water as three of her Pokémon burst out at once – Mega Gyarados, Milotic and Kabutops, mounting combined attacks on the low-flying Charizard.

Kabutops got there first, scythes flashing as he used Smack Down, and his attack-

-passed right through.

Then a Charge Beam came fizzing down from the Phantom Pirates, hitting Kabutops in the side, and he jerked before recovering. The second Charge Beam came a moment later, and this time Seaking got in the way to absorb it with Lightningrod.

"There's an illusion Pokémon somewhere!" Max shouted, to make sure everyone knew, and looked up at the platform the pirates were on. There was an Electabuzz, just stepping back from the edge, and a Weepinbell taking their place.

"There's no Charizard," Lucario reported, running across the water. "But there is-"

He broke off, blocking a Skarmony which appeared from nowhere, and Max winced.

This was worse than sparring against Brock – at least then it was friendly.


"What's going on?" Manaphy said, frightened. "Mama?"

"I don't-" May began, looking over the edge of the balcony, then gasped. "It must be the Phantom Pirates!"

"Not again!"

Manaphy peered over the edge as well, then shook his head and hurried back to the Sea Crown. He looked at the glowing crystals, picked one, and touched it.

There was a sudden shift in the character of the water sounds, and May did a double-take as a geyser of water came crashing down on the Phantom's crew.

Manaphy reached for a crystal to do it again, and then the ground crunched as something landed between them. A suit of powered armour appeared out of thin air with startling swiftness, then something on the wrist flashed and sent a blast of electrical energy into May – knocking her to the floor with a cry of pain.

The Water-type turned away from the controls. "Mama!"

"There you are, Prince of the Sea," Captain Phantom said, one arm pointed down at May and the other at Manaphy himself. "Step away from the Sea Crown – now – or your mama here gets another blast."


Jackie reached the side of the pool, and hauled himself out – assisted by a quick push from Misty's Corsola – then turned to look at the situation in the room.

It was hard to tell what was going on, with at least half the Pokémon almost certainly illusions but others probably real – including a very busy Skarmory, which kept dropping in and out of stealth to come around behind combatants who weren't paying attention.

Glancing at the Chatot he'd snagged from the water, Jackie made sure he was breathing before turning back to the complex, multisided fight. His Styler activated, and he sent the Capture Disc flicking out into the air.

"Chaa?" Chatot asked, damply.

Jackie smirked in reply, spinning the Disc around the entire room, and as it came back to him it pulsed once – conveying his feelings to the Pokémon in the room.

It wasn't very powerful, not with so many Pokémon to use, but-

"There!" he called, pointing, and Max's Manectric sent a bolt of lightning crashing through the air. It hit something, outlining the Skarmory in fizzing coronal discharge for a moment before the illusion-creating Pokémon adjusted.

The Capture Disc did another loop, and Jackie pointed again. "By the fountain!"

It was a rock this time – a Rock Throw from Geodude, who managed to score a glancing blow on a hidden Nuzleaf.

Then Lucario threw an Aura Sphere, which passed within a foot of Jackie's head. It crashed into the Skarmory, throwing it off an attack run which would have knocked Jackie into the water.

"Thanks!" the Ranger called, getting a wave from Lucario in return – who was still running around on top of the water, as if that was just perfectly normal.

These Pokémon were crazy.


"This is terrible," Ship groaned, as a gout of flame erupted from one of the battling Pokémon. "This shouldn't be happening in the Temple of the Sea."

"I know, granpa," Lizabeth said, taking his hand and squeezing it. "But Ash Ketchum and his friends are winning, aren't they?"

"I honestly can't tell," Kyle said. "I've lost track of who has what Pokémon."

He pointed. "Look up there, that Crobat. Whose is that?"

Lizabeth frowned. "I… think that's one of Brock's Pokémon… yes, he had it out earlier, before we ran into the pirates."

"Wonder what he's doing up there," the old man said, scratching his head. "Too high to join in the battle..."

"I'm sure Crobat's doing something useful," Lizabeth said.

There was a flash, and she looked at her Medicham – currently keeping up a psychic shield as best she could. "Are we safe?"

"Me...di," Medicham replied, a little unsure, and then there was a sploosh right in front of them as something came out of the water – visible only from the way the water surged around it.

Medicham strengthened her shield, and then got smashed to the side by something large and heavy.

"Medicham!" Lizabeth shouted.

The illusion broke down, revealing a burly Crawdaunt already raising a claw for another strike.

Then a blue blur hit the Crawdaunt with a running double kick, making it slide a few feet backwards, and the whole family stared.

Ash Ketchum ducked under a Bubblebeam launched by the Water-type, hands glowing blue, then snap-kicked it as it tried to prepare a Crabhammer and knock him away. Before it could recover, he darted forwards and took its claw in his grip.

Then he shifted his weight, a brighter blue glow forming around his feet, and threw the Crawdaunt halfway across the room.

"That… shouldn't really be possible," Kyle said, as the Dark-type hit the water with a booming splash. Then Ash reached for his waist, drawing a sword, and swept it up to block the Skarmory as it tried to blindside him.

The crash was painfully loud, and Ash followed it up a moment later by lashing out with his free hand and Thunderpunching the Flying-type.

"I don't think I even know what the difference between humans and Pokémon is any more," Meredith said.


"There are still a lot of them up there," Milotic reported. "We're having trouble telling exactly where because of all the illusions, though."

Misty took a deep breath from her rebreather, then signalled to Starmie. The Psychic-type formed a little psionic bubble, and Misty took out her rebreather before discharging a cloud of air into the sphere of psychic energy.

She stuck her head in it, and took another deep breath.

"Milotic, you take Seaking with you," she said. "Come up near the platform they're on, and use Iron Tail to deflect any Solarbeams. Corsola, you make a big plume of water – as big as you can get, so it rains down all over the place – and, when you notice an empty area that's blocking the water, pass it on to Kabutops. Kabutops, your job is to mark the targets and keep them from escaping."

"And me?" Mega Gyarados asked.

"Use your initiative," Misty told him, with a thumbs-up. "But probably Crunch."

The air in the bubble was starting to get stale, so she ducked out of it and switched her rebreather back in. Starmie let the bubble go as a cloud of froth heading up towards the surface, and then her Pokémon shot off to do their jobs.

Misty smiled.

This was actually working out quite well. Maybe she'd need to try it for the next prospective Gym Leader...


Some distance from the main battle, Brock stood on one of the higher platforms – a few feet away from the water jet that would launch someone still further into the depths of the huge room.

"Doing okay?" he asked, softly.

Stantler nodded, not taking his eyes off the battle.

Nodding, Brock turned his attention back to the fight as well. Ash was running across the water with his sword out, and Brock realized after a few seconds that he was chasing the invisible Skarmory.

There were other clashes going on as well, the battle having more of a stop-start feel than he was used to due to the illusion work of one of the Phantom Pokémon – probably a Stantler of their own – and it was clear that Roland's teleportation was letting him repeatedly jump in and turn the tide of a lot of the little battles.

Ash still hadn't sent out Ho-Oh again, but that was probably smart in a battle like this where most of the targets weren't clear, and he had no idea where the Eon Twins had ended up.

Then Stantler nodded sharply. "Done!"


"How are we doing?" the commander asked. "The captain said to give him as long as possible before we retreat!"

"Pretty well," one of the others replied. "We've lost a few Pokémon, but they're still having trouble getting through the illusions."

The commander looked out at the battle, and had to admit that he was having trouble following what was and wasn't an illusion. Not only were most attacks against their Pokémon missing – or turning out to be made against Pokémon that weren't really there – but their enemies were still unable to compare notes and coordinate as they were too busy avoiding surprise attacks.

"Solarbeam!" called a helicopter pilot, and their Weepinbell launched out a beam of condensed sunlight. It flashed out into the water, then hit a shimmering silver Iron Tail and bounced back – right along the line it had been fired.

Weepinbell wasn't knocked out by the hit, but it did knock the Grass-type backwards and stun them for a moment.

"I think we need some more attacks at the front," the commander decided. "Octillery, you're up!"

Octillery promptly arrived, suction cups making a thok sound on the damp surface, and looked up at him for guidance.

"We want to attack that trainer with the sword and the staff," the commander told him. "Use something powerful, like a Flash Cannon or Signal Beam or something."

Octillery raised a tentacle and saluted, a little awkwardly, then turned to face Ash Ketchum.

There was a long pause, and the commander frowned.

"Octillery?" he asked.

Then there was a thump sound from the side, over where Stantler was, and the commander's head snapped around to look just as the thump was followed by a loud explosion.

Stantler was staggering to one side, concentration broken and his own personal concealment illusion gone along with all the rest, and a Forretress rolling at speed to follow him before Selfdestructing again and knocking Stantler flat to the ground.

"What!?" the commander demanded. "What happened?"

Out in the main battle area, there was an explosion of rose-coloured light as Ho-Oh was finally sent out. The Fire-typed Legendary sent a Sky Attack to hit Skarmory, knocking the Steel-type out of the air, then rounded on the still-active Crawdaunt.

"I don't know!" said Stantler's trainer. "I was keeping a lookout – nothing came in from any direction!"

Scowling, the commander ordered his final reserve Pokémon forwards – a Graveler and a Nosepass. "Stealth Rock that Ho-Oh!" he ordered. "Octillery, Flamethrower the Forretress!"

Octillery clenched his tentacles, then lashed out with surprising speed – hitting the commander in the ankles, tripping him over and knocking him nearly flat on his face.

There was a flicker of light, and Octillery transformed into a Steelix. Before the Phantom Pirates or their Pokémon could react, it swept its tail across like a giant club and knocked both Rock-types off the platform and into the water.

The shock of impact produced another flicker of light, and suddenly the Steelix was a Zorua. It smirked at him, and the commander noticed a shape hidden in the shadows behind one of the water jets.

It looked an awful lot like an Octillery tied up into a knot with its own tentacles. As he stared, the Crobat he'd spotted earlier flew overhead – with a Heavy Ball in his claws – and he suddenly had a sinking feeling about how those Pokémon had managed to both find the invisible Stantler and drop in to ambush them.

Then two blurs shot past, slowing down just enough he could identify them as a Latias and a Latios, and he raised his hands in surrender.


AN:


The trap scene was fun to write. Lucario do not really care much about traps – the old "spiked pit" trap just results in blunt spikes, for a start.

And, of course, we have the big idea for what to do with Samiya, interrupted by the Phantom Pirates.