POKEMON HEART SOUL ADVENTURES
Author's Note: Aaaand... here I am! This chapter was a bit of a problem to translate, because of my personal busy life and because of the fact that it was longer than I remembered, but I'm proud to say that I finally got the job done, and I hope you will be as satisfied as I am!
Last chapter, we've seen Moltres rise from his sleep thanks to a well thought-out trap J had laid for Ash ad Phoebe... and now as we speak, the huntress is trying to capture the Legendary Pokemon, using all means at her disposal, as the team tries their best to keep Moltres from destroying too much of Knot Island! At the same time, Zoey and her friends are caught up in a dangerous battle on the snowy fields of Mt. Coronet... a battle which they're still quite well-equipped to win, if you ask me! Still, it seems we've got ourselves a couple of pretty exciting battles to watch... and I can already tell you that you'll get awelcome surprise towards the end of this chapter!
So, let's not waste any more time! Let's get this fanfiction back on track, and head to Knot Island for a marathon fight!
oooooooooo
Chapter 16 - Sky Chase
"Darn... Probopass, use Power Gem!" the annoyed Team Vicious member ordered as Maylene's Machoke sent his Pokemon airborne with a well-placed Brick Break attack and tossed him in the thick snow with a dull thud. A little further, Zoey's Gastrodon had managed to bring her opponent's Jolteon on his knees thanks to an accurate and powerful Earth Power attack, while the enemy Grumpig had been frozen solid, courtesy of a Blizzard attack from Candice's Froslass! The only enemy still standing was the repulsive but resistant Rock-type Pokemon, who started to glow, floating a few inches above the earth, before unleashing one of his signature attacks against the Fighting Pokemon!
The weakened but unbowed Probopass let out a deep, mournful sound similar to an elephant's trumpeting, and the hat-like magnet he had on top of his body shone brightly, like a polished gem, before shooting a large, rhomboidal pink projectile towards Machoke, who quickly stood on guard and crossed his arms in front of him! The energy shot shattered on the fighter's guard, pushing him back a few steps without doing any considerable damage, and Maylene wasted no time in regaining what little ground she and her Pokemon had lost.
"Now, Machoke... use Bulk Up, and then hit that Probopass with Cross Chop!" the pink-haired girl exclaimed. Machoke didn't need her to tell him twice, spun on himself and struck a bodybuilder's pose, flexing his impressive muscles and clenching his hands into fists... then, in a sudden burst of rage and speed, he launched himself at Probopass and struck the Rock-type Pokemon on both sides with a pair of chops! Probopass' small eyes widened in pain and surprise... and one second later, the bizzarre Pokemon crumpled to the ground in a heap, leaving all three Team Vicious members speechless in front of such a crushing defeat.
They had lost... to those three groupies? How could that be possible, they were sure they had gotten the best Pokemon available from their leader! How could they possibly...
"Okay, that was the last one..." Candice commented, nodding in satisfaction as Probopass fainted... then, she turned to the weird Rock Pokemon's trainer, glaring at him almost ominously. "Now... I think these people owe Candice and her friends a good explanation! Who are you, and why did you attack us? Does this have anything to do withthe avalanche that struck Candice's town a few days ago?"
Despite having no more Pokemon and no way out, the three criminals still tried to put on some air of being brave, and after recalling his Pokemon, Probopass' trainer shook his fist at the Snowpoint City Gym Leader to intimidate her. "Hah! You think we're going to tell a bunch of rugrats like you? Why don't you go home and play with dolls?"
Zoey shrugged the insult off. "She said that for your own good, you know. But since you won't listen to reason, we have other ways to convince you!" she said as he gave a nod of assent to Maylene... who smiled gleefully and racked her knuckles as she approached the three individuals!
The Team Vicious members, undersanding that things were looking grim for them, stepped back a little as Maylene and her Machoke slowly advanced towards them...
"Now you will speak... one way or the other Hehehee..." the small martial artist chuckled...
oooooooooo
Moltres' awakening had unleashed the fury of nature's elements, causing panic among the inhabitants of Knot Island, who were running back in their homes or in search of a shelter, or simply stood, mouth agape, as they watched the gigantic fire bird soaring out of the volcano! Uncaring of the many people watching him, Moltres was flying majestically in the cloud-covered skies, leaving a flaming trail behind himself. Despite the rage he was possessed by, he also seemed to be confused, as if he had to get accustomized to his newfound freedom before being able to do some real damage. However, most of the people ofKnot Island had no intention to hang around long enough for him to completely regain his senses...
"Quick, this way! Get in a shelter, now!" Knot Island's Officer Jenny was saying, motioning to the people to follow her towards a safe place. A few boats had already been set up in case it was necessary to evacuate... which was in fact a good idea, since one can never be too prudent when living close to an active volcano...
As people kept running towards safety, a girl dressed in black, with a large and regal Mightyena at her side, tried to keep her distance from the crowd in order not to be swept away. She was looking at the erupting volcano, keeping her eyes affixed there as much as she could, while also never losing sight of the gigantic, fire-feathered bird of prey flying around it... and while both her and her Mightyena looked like they were in a hurry, they didn't show as much fear as the other inhabitants did.
"Darn... so it was true! Someone was trying something with Kanto's Legendary Birds! And maybe with a few more Pokemon as well..." the girl said to herself. Not much older than Ash, she was dressed in an elegant gothic lolita costume complete with a black skirt with white highlights, knee-length white socks, black shoes and a red ribbon in her hair, and contrasting with her dark appearence, highlighted by her pale skin and black hair, her eyes were green and shone with life, almost hypnotically. "If only we had moved earlier, we could have done something before the situation got to this point."
"Might! Might!" her Mightyena barked, as if in disapproval. The girl noticed and nodded.
"I know, I know, Night Sky... what's done is done." she answered, stroking the black-and-grey hyena on her head. "But now we must find a way to keep the damage to a minimum... which means stopping those who awakened Moltres! Of course, taking care not to get sizzled to a sausage ourselves..."
"Might!" the Dark Pokemon agreed. Her trainer motioned for her to come, and the two began running in the opposite direction of the fleeing population, trying to reach the road to the volcano. First things first, of course, they had to reach the volcano and try to understand what really had happened, and that was the easy part.
"Of course, as soon as we're there, we'll need to find a way to stop that little birdie up there..." the girl told herself, grimacing as another high-pitched shriek from Moltres threatened to shatter her eardrums. "My team is strong, that's a given... but can they really hold a candle to... a Legendary Pokemon?"
oooooooooo
"Stable asset. Engines working at maximum efficiency."
"Acknowledge. Correcting vertical axis. Ready to move."
"Free network. No further communications."
Inside of a huge control room, in the bowels of the gigantic flying machine that had just smashed open the side of Mt. Ember, a group of Team Vicious grunts were busying themselves with the preparations for the final part of the operation. As soon as J was back, they would start chasing Moltres, who was still flying around the volcano in a fit of rage and confusion, and trying to capture him. The criminals seemed determined to do a good job of this...
One of the operators turned to a door behind his back as soon as it slid open and allowed J, a cruelly determined expression on her face and her Pokeballs back in her belt, to enter the control room. The other Team Vicious members quickly moved away to allow her to use the controls...
"Welcome back, miss J." the closest grunt said. "We can see that... the plan has worked to perfection! We knew we could count on your expertise!"
"Thanks. I wish I could say the same of you." the woman stated. "Anyway, I guess everything is ready. We can proceed with capturing Moltres."
One of the grunts was surprised at this, and voiced his own doubts. "Er... sorry, miss J, but do we really have to start now? I mean, there are still some of our companions down there..."
"Leave them be, we don't nee them anymore." J said, not even turning away from the radar screen. "To recover them would be nothing but a waste of time at this point. They well knew what they were getting into. You just make sure everything is under control... and don't let the Fire Titan get away! The boss won't be forgiving if we let him escape."
While they surely were no saints, the other Team Vicious grunts were quite put off by J's ruthless orders, but since she was still their superior, they didn't protest and resumed their work, even if with a slightly heavier heart. One of them, standing in front of a screen, pushed a few buttons in order to visualize Moltres' position and make sure the flying vehicle could follow his every movement.
"Looks like the target is still disoriented due to the sudden awakening. This does give us a small edge on him." another operator said. "Convey engine power to the electrodes. Stabilize flight asset and get fireproof shields ready. We'll need to use every weapon we have to capture Moltres!"
As the preparatives continued around her, J placed herself at the commands and smirked in satisfaction. Despite some unpredicted events, the mission was going well, and that Moltres was free, those meddling kids had become small fish...
oooooooooo
The earth began to shake as Ash, Pikachu and their friends old and new ran out of the caverns and continued along the path they had taken earlier on. Phoebe quickly looked behind herself, to the volcano from which Moltres had made his entrance: aside from the flames and the molten lava coming out of it, there was also an ominous black cloud rising above their heads, almost completely covering the sky. Having been born and raised on a volcanic island, Phoebe knew all to well what that was...
"That's a burning cloud! We have to get away from here, everybody!" she exclaimed in alarm.
"Burning cloud? Sounds like the name of a new Pokemon attack..." Ash exclaimed, not being an expert on names. Without ever slowing down, Misty rolled her eyes at Ash's daftness...
"That's a very dangerous phenomenon, Ash!" the more savvy Brock answered. "Volcanic dust expelled by the volcano reaches extreme temperatures, and can spread with great speed. Breathing the hot vapors is fatal, we have to get away from the burning cloud at all costs!"
"Cripes, of course we do! I'm kinda too young to die like that!" Dawn exclaimed in fear as she looked at the black cloud. While the burning cloud was still far away from the team, after knowing the inherent risks, even that seemed too close for confort! Apparently in agreement with her, the rest of the team wisely chose to run for it, only slowing down when they were sure the burning cloud couldn't catch up with them.
"Looks like we're safe, for now..." Misty commented. "But that's only the start of our problems... how can we get the little birdie back in the cage?"
"Wish I knew, Misty..." Ash said as he remember his first - and sadly, not the last - run-in with Moltres, when the Fire Titan had been captured by the mad collector Lawrence III. In that occasion, they had managed to calm down the crazed Legendary thanks to Lugia... but now, could they really pull that off again?
He was still trying to think of a solution when someone bumped into him, sending him sitting on the ground. The young boy yelped in surprise as Pikachu stepped backwards, charging his cheeks up with electricity... but one second later, both he and Ash were able to see that the ones who had collided with Ash were the usual Team Rocket, running away from another one of the caves...
"Owww! Darn these mountains! Obstacles everywhere..." Jessie muttered as she stood up, rubbing her head... then, as soon as she looked up and saw who she was talking to, she almost fainted in shock! "Aaaaargh! You again? Aren't you happy with blowing us sky high every time?"
"Team Rocket!" Ash exclaimed. "And what about you guys? What are you doing around here? Are you trying to pull off one of your tricks?"
"Wha... hey, hey, kiddo, hold yer horses! Don't jump to conclusions!" Meowth exclaimed, putting his hands forward. With all that had happened, taking a Thundershock from Pikachu was the last thing he wanted... "We were just trying to get out of this place... but we lost our way, and here we are! Sigh... and my tail is still smarting from that Magcargo's Flamethrower!"
"Er... we... we haven't lost our way, for crying out loud!" Jessie exclaimed in outrage. The fucsia-haired girl didn't like it when anyone doubted of her abilities, in any way, shape or form... "I... er... I was just trying to orient myself in this mess... and that's not what we need to worry about, anyway!"
"I have no idea who these three are... though I can guess they aren't really your friends... but she's right! Let's not waste time on this nonsense, we have bigger problems to think about!" Phoebe exclaimed as she pointed to the sky above them... and the fiery Moltres flying in circles aroundthe roaring volcano! The fiery phoenix seemed to have gotten back at least some of his bearings, and was now shooting Flamethrower attacks left and right, overtaken by rage for having been awakened, but lacking an obvious target on which to vent.
"Yeah... Moltres woke up, and he's quite pissed that they awakened him so rudely..." Gary said with sarcasm.
Needless to say, Team Rocket was hardly enthusiastic about seeing the burning bird of prey, mostly because of what they had been through during the whole fiasco with Lawrence III... and in fact, Jessie, James and Meowth screamed in terror and comically hugged each other, waterjet tears gushing out of their eyes! "AAAAARGH! Noooo, not that giant turkey again!" James whined. "I was hoping I'd never see him again!"
"We're done for! It's over! We're all going to die!" Jessie cried, before Phoebe took charge of the situation and called for calm, clapping her hands twice.
"Now, now! Calm down, you two!" the island girl exclaimed. "Look, I have no idea what's your deal with that Legendary Pokemon, but staying here and shaking in fear won't help us any! As we speak, he's getting ready to go on a rampage... we have to find a way to stop him!"
"Miss Phoebe is right... but I'm afraid we have no way to stop Moltres!" Dawn said, just a little before J's huge flying machine soared in the skies above with an ominous rumble, passing through the cloud of ashes and dust, and heading towards Moltres as if they wanted to ram him!
"Ah! What's that?" Misty exclaimed, her eyes wide as Moltres, finally finding a target, blew an enormous crimson flame towards the flying fortress' side. But the attack did not register, and the flames simply slipped on the huge vehicle's plated armor, like water on a duck's feathers! "I can't believe it, it repelled Moltres' Flamethrower like nothing! What's that thing made of?"
"J doesn't catch Pokemon in a regular battle..." Brock explained. "She always makes use of the technologies her employers give her, or she gets others to create for her. And since her services are quite expensive, you can bet that whoever can hire her also has access to all the technologies she needs."
"This makes things a lot more difficult..." Phoebe murmured. "If we can't find a way to reach either Moltres or J's flying machine, we're powerless to do anything except stay and watch as J captures Moltres!"
"Either that, or Moltres burns this island to a crisp..." Gary went on. "We need to find a way out of this mess, at any cost!"
Misty produced one of her Pokealls. "Well, maybe I can do something." she said. "Come out, Gyarados! We still need your help!"
The redhead threw her Pokeball, letting out the gigantic blue sea serpent, who roared in determination and flew a few feet above the ground, before lowering himself and letting his trainer get on his back.
"Ugh... I didn't think the twerpette had a Gyarados now..." James murmured. He was not exactly a fan of that kind of Pokemon as well, because of an all-too-close encounter with one of those at the beginning of his journey. If only he hadn't gotten rid of that Magikarp right at that moment...
One wouldn't have thought Misty had once been afraid of Gyarados by the way she nimbly got on the sea serpent's back... and the mighty Pokemongrunted an affirmative before gaining back his altitude. "Guys, I'll try to hold them off as best as I can! I think I can distract them a little, at least!"
"Misty! What are you thinking, it's too dangerous!" Ash exclaimed in worry. Gary, Dawn andBrock were feeling much the same way... while Phoebe, while agreeing with them, also felt that it was the only way to at least buy some time and keep Moltres from being captured...
"You've got such a talent for stating the obvious, Ash Ketchum..." the redhead deadpanned. "But... at this point, I'm afraid this is the only way to slow down J and Moltres! And my Gyarados is the only one of my Pokemon capable of going that high!"
"Hold on a second, kid! You are not forgetting my Ghosts, now are you?" Phoebe interjected as she took more of her Pokeballs. "Come out, Mismagius! You too, Drifblim!"
In a blinding flash, the elegant violet Ghost Pokemon appeared in front of her trainer and floated in midair, as did the blimp-like spectre one split second later. "Mismagius, Drifblim... we're kind of in a pinch right now! I need you to help my friend stop Moltres and that accursed flying fortress! And I need to count on you for that..." the Hoenn Elite Four instructed her Pokemon. The two ghosts did not hesitate and, trusting in their trainer and her judgement, they took to the air along with Misty and Gyarados to meet the challenge!
"Well, if they're going about it this way... I certainly can't do any less!" Jessie stated. "Go, Yanmega! I choose you!"
The gigantic dragonfly popped out of her Pokeball with a resonating buzz... and at the same time, Wobbuffet's Pokeball snapped open, letting the weird azure Pokemon out! "Wobbuffet!" he shouted, ruining the whole dramatic atmosphere!
"Ugh... I didn't ask you to come out, you dimwit... oh, what the heck!" Jessie growled, resisting the urge to punch the weird Psychic Pokemon upside his head. "Well, since you're here, you might as well make yourself useful, right? Climb on Yanmega's back and help her! Deflect all the attacks coming your way, am I understood?"
"Wobbuffet!" he croaked in assent. Yanmega's insectile face briefly contorted in what could be seen as a grimace of embarassment and annoyance, but the monstrous bug did as her trainer said and picked Wobbuffet up with her segmented paws, then threw him on her own back like he was a mere backpack! Buzzing in assent, Yanmega took to the air herself and joined Gyarados and the two ghosts.
"Okay, guess I might as well lend a hand myself!" Gary said. "Come out, Fearow! Show them what you're made of!"
"Go, Staraptor! Gotta catch 'em all!" Ash echoed.
"We need your aid once again... Crobat!" Brock stated as he let out his bat-like Pokemon again.
Dawn nodded. "And I'm not going to hold back myself... take the spotlight, Togekiss!" she exclaimed. All the trainers threw their Pokeballs in the air, and their respective Pokemon popped out and soared into the cinder-colored skies, letting out their battle cries! Hearing the name Togekiss, Misty turned that way for a second... and felt her heart clench as she saw the latest addition in Dawn's team. It didn't take a rocket scientist to see that it was an evolution of Togetic... and for obvious reasons, this brought out a lot of memories for her.
"Togekiss..." the redhead murmured to herself. But she quickly snapped out of it, reminding herself to concentrate on the task at hand - namely, to stop J and keep Moltres from doing too much damage. The rest of the team could do nothing but stay on the ground and wish good luck to the ones who had taken to the air...
However, Ash did not seem to be satisfied with simply sending out Staraptor and hoping for the best. Feeling angry at the idea of being forced to watch as Misty and the Pokemon who were with her risked their lives, the young champion looked at Gyarados, just as a volley of electric beams was fired from the front part of J's flying machine and missed Moltres by an hair's breadth. The legendary Pokemon retaliated with another Flamethrower, once again uselessly sliding off the vehicle's armor...
"The battle hasn't even started yet, and I can already see that it will be terrifying..." Phoebe commented, only showing the barest hint of fear. Actually, even the Elite Four member was terrified, but she was doing her best to keep her self-control. "We can only hope that all those Pokemon are enough to stop this mess... this island wouldn't last long if Moltres decided to attack..."
"And if Moltres was caught by J... I prefer not to think about it!" Brock concluded.
Dawn joined her hands in front of her, praying with all of herself. "Please, Misty... be careful, my friend!" she implored, never once managing to avert her eyes from the battle. It was only a few seconds from then, before the three factions clashed... and even Team Rocket silently prayed that Misty and the Pokemon could stop the Fire Titan's wrath.
"Pika pi..." Pikachu squeaked as he looked at Ash, while the huge phoenix aimed straight at J's flying machine...
Ash gulped, only then seeing that his throat was dry. "I know, Pikachu... but as of now, there's nothing we can do... we just need to trust Misty and our Pokemon!" he reluctantly said.
oooooooooo
"What? Miss J, there are problems out there! Our radars show that a group of flying Pokemon are approaching us at high speed!" one of the Team Vicious members exclaimed as a number of blips appeared on the radar screen.
J didn't seem to mind all that much, though, and reacted with an uncaring smirk. "Hm... So, those kids have decided to annoy me to the last. No matter, they can't do much at the moment. Ignore their Pokemon, unless they damage our weapons, and concentrate your fire on Moltres. We cannot let this chance go to waste!"
"Al... Alright, miss J!" the grunt said, trying to aim other weapons towards their target. "Don't worry, we'll make sure to capture him!"
"Good for you, the boss won't accept a failure!" the mercenary said, turning back to the console. On the main screen, the woman saw Moltres doing an acrobatic loop, then attacking again, charging head on. Smirking, J pressed a button and unleashed a storm of green laser beams upon the Legendary Bird, scratching his wing and causing him to shriek in disappointment. However, Moltres wasted no time following up with another Flamethrower... and this time, some of the external cameras overheated, and the images on the main screen flickered out. J grit her teeth in vague annoyance, but it didn't last long... and when the visuals turned back to normal, and Moltres put some distance between himself and the flying machine, the huntress frowned in determination.
"You can keep up with your tricks all you want, Moltres... I've driven you into a corner, you cannot escape this time!" she said to herself.
oooooooooo
"Okay, guys, here we go!" Misty exclaimed from Gyarados' back, screaming at the top of her lungs in order to let herself be heard by Phoebe's Ghost Pokemon and by the others who had joined her. "Gyarados and I will try to distract Moltres and keep him occupied! You think of J's flying machine... destroy her weapons and keep her from catching Moltres! Good luck, guys, it's all riding on you!"
The Ghosts howled in assent, and Yanmega rapidly beat her wings, buzzing loudly enough to drown out the sounds of battle for a second... then, they all went their separate ways to face the separate threats. Gyarados tried to attack Moltres, who was still venting his rage upon J's vehicle... and once the way was clear, the sea monster waved his enormous tail, which was surrounded b what looked like a gigantic, roaring tidal wave...
"Gyarados, now! Hit him with Aqua Tail!" Misty exclaimed. Gyarados waved his massive tail in a powerful arc in front of him, tossing the tidal wave against Moltres and striking the legendary phoenix head-on! Moltres shrieked in rage and irritation, as a massive cloud of steam rose from his body, and lost altitude for a split second, his wings beating clumsily in the air... but he recovered a second later and turned to his new opponents, unsheathing his claws as he tried to dive down on them. Misty took a deep breath, knowing that even if she and Gyarados had gotten the advantage of the first hit, the battle with the Legendary Pokemon was going to be long and hard...
"He's coming, Gyarados..." Misty said as she encouraged the massive sea serpent to stand ready.
It would have been a chance for J and her men to take advantage of Moltres' distraction and hit him with all they had... but their plans were disrupted by a bunch of howling Ghosts and miscellaneous other Pokemon atacking their weapons, led by an incredibly fast dragonfly who was darting around in search for chinks in the armor! Mismagius howled as she summoned a Shadow Ball and tossed it at a group of electrical devices, doing some damage... and at the same time, Drifblim managed to quickly dodge a salvo of lasers and took out the guns with a well-placed Ominous Wind!
Even Yanmega and the rest of the team were doing their best: the Ogre Garner was so fast that even the automatic lock-on systems couldn't keep up with her, and just when Yanmega seemed to slow down, it was only to close her eyes, concentrate and summon a bunch of glowing, floating rocks all around herself. She then telecinetically threw the rocks right at the flying machine, whose thick armour mostly absorbed the hit... but it wasn't in vain, as the after-effects of Yanmega's Ancientpower soon showed: the giant dragonfly was engulfed in a visible golden aura, and quickly appeared to fly faster and to have been invigorated by her latest attack!
Fearow's Drill Peck ripped a hole in one of the battleship's doors, and Dawn's Togekiss had blown a few holes in the armor thanks to her Aura Sphere attacks. Staraptor and Crobat, on the other hand, were drawing the automated defense mechanisms' fire, using their agility to dodge all attacks...
And yet, J's flying fortress had not been damaged too significantly, and J was continuing her attack on Moltres without slowing down... Mismagius thought it would be better to focus on the bigger weapons, in order to quickly disable J's flying machine, even if it meant to be exposed to the minor weapons' fire...
A chilling shriek warned them of Moltres attacking again! Annoyed at the two-way attacks he had to deal with, the fiery bird of prey soared again, evading the electric beams J was shooting... and sweeped the air in front of himself with another Flamethrower, narrowly missing Misty and her Gyarados! The redhead screamed in alarm as the flames came dangerously close to her, and clung to her champion's back with all of her strength, trying not to look down, as the ground was a few dozen metres below...
"Darn... I don't think I've ever been in a worse position! I should think before I act..." Misty repriminded herself. But her own stubbornness kept her from stopping to think about that, and the Water Pokemon trainer stood up slightly on Gyarados' back to encourage him. "Don't give up, Gyarados! We have to keep at it!"
The sea serpent roared and glared at Moltres before charging at him once again. He knew that, despite his type advantage, he would lose in a straight-up fight... but if only he could force Moltres away from J's flying fortress without getting caught in the burning cloud around Mt. Ember, maybe he could stand a chance! With renewed strength, Gyarados roared a challenge and stood ready to face Moltres once again...
oooooooooo
"What are you fools doing? We've already lost some of our automatic defense mechanisms... how can you let those Pokemon pull our legs?" J exclaimed in annoyance, after taking another glance at the controls. "Don't let that rugrat get Moltres away from us!"
"We're doing our best, miss J, but it isn't easy! These buggers are really driving us nuts!" one of the agents said, trying not to sound disrespectful. J seemed to have forgotten that some of those Pokemon belonged to an Elite Four from Hoenn, and that, despite the fact that the actual damage had been minimal, it was still affectng the onboard functions. "Okay, activate fire extinguishers 4 and 5. Fire in Block B. Exclude propellers from 1 to 4. Damage control, and proceed at maximum possible thrust! Switching to electronic lock-on system! We cannot let those rugrats annoy us anymore!"
"Route correction, 15 degrees right." another operator said. "Acquire target and attack at maximum power."
"Hm. That's better." J answered as soon as her flying ship was back in a stable asset. Misty's Gyarados had managed to let the Fire Titan put some distance, but not enough to really matter... and in a few minutes, J would be able to attack again...
oooooooooo
As the battle raged on in the skies above Knot Island, Ash and the rest of the team were staying on the ground, powerlessly looking at the scene. It would have been a spectacular battle, with all the attacks blazing left and right, explosions and puffs of smoke... had it not been for the fact that they were in a really dangerous situation! And one of their closest friends was risking her life to fix that mess!
A few moments later, Ash decided that enough was enough. "Well, that's that, guys, I cannot just stay here and do nothing!" he exclaimed as he abrupty turned to his friends and Phoebe. "Misty and our Pokemon are fighting up there... and I can't just leave them alone! I want to go as well!"
"Wha... Ash, what do you plan to do?" Dawn exclaimed in shock. "Haven't you seen how high up in the air they are? How can you hope to get there? And... even if you were to reach them..."
"I know, I know, Dawn! It's dangerous... but I have to at least try!" he answered. "It's probably a foolish thing for me to say... but I can't help it, that's just who I am! Guys, you stay here... I and Pikachu will come back in one piece!"
"Pika pika!" the electric mouse squeaked, agreeing with his best friend. Before anyone could argue against this, the young champion and his best friend started running up a narrow road going up the side of the mountain, climbing up by sheer force of will! For a second, Phoebe thought it best to at least try and call them back, but as the Elite Four raised a hand towards them, Brock told her to leave them be.
"No, miss Phoebe... you won't be able to hold them back." Brock told the confused island girl, calmly yet firmly. "That's the way Ash is... when he sees friends or Pokemon in danger, he just can't stay put. You won't be able to change his mind..."
"I always knew that kid isn't all that right in the head..." Meowth commented. "But I have to say, he's got guts! Even though he's our enemy... I have to admit I admire him for that!"
"That's two of us, then..." Jessie said.
Dawn gulped. Now it wasn't just Misty and the other Pokemon to be in danger... if only she could do something as well...
The blue-haired girl frowned, her anxiety giving way to cautious hope. Maybe the situation wasn't all that hopeless. Maybe, if she were to play her cards with some cunning...
In the meantime, Ash and Pikachu had climbed the rock cliff, finally finding themelves in front of an impressive and terrifying vista of Knot Island being wracked by the volcano's wrath! An apocalyptic night had fallen upon the archipelago, the waters were boiling madly, rivers of lava dropping straight into the sea... and several boats, each of them filled with the terrified inhabitants of Knot Island, were heading to the open sea. Entire swarms of frightened Slugmas were crawling out of the crevasses, resembling small rivulets of lava flowing from between the rocks. The lightning storm was getting worse and worse by the moment, while the battle among the dark clouds was still visible, too far up in the air for Ash and Pikachu to be able to do anything to help!
Ash grit his teeth as a gust of wind slspped him in the face, and his heart skipped a beat when Moltres' Flamethrower barely missed Misty's Gyarados, who tried to counter with an equally unsuccessful Aqua Tail! The combatants seemed to be evenly matched for now... but Moltres was still at full power, while Misty's Gyarados was going to exhaust himself soon...
"Pikachu pi!" Pikachu squeaked as he attempted to call out to Misty and her Gyarados.
"Ugh... no way... we're still too far away, Pikachu!" Ash exclaimed in worry and frustration. He hated to feel powerless in such moments... if only he could fly up there and show Moltres what he and his team were made of... so that Misty was not facing such terrible danger alone...
If only there was a way...
Just then, as a familiar feeling overtook him, Pikachu raised his ears and turned around, in the direction of the dark clouds. For a moment, he didn't see anything out of the ordinary... but one second later he was able to see a couple of winged red creatures energically gliding towards him and Ash... two creatures he was very familiar with, having travelled with one of them for months!
"Pika! Pika pi, pika pika chu!" the electric mouse squeaked, grabbing the leg of Ash's trousers and pulling towards that direction. Caught by surprise, the young boy looked at Pikachu first, and saw him pointing to the two rapidly-approaching Pokemon...
And that was when Ash saw them! Only a hundred metres away, their wings splayed majestically and their tails aflame, two magnificent and terrifying Charizards were flying, one of them wearing a pink ribbon that didn't detract from her fearsome countenance! About the other one... well, it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who he was, and both Ash and Pikachu smiled brightly with renewed hope as the firey dragons dropped down and began the landing procedure...
"Charizard, Charla!" Ash exclaimed. "Welcome back! I never expected you to come just now"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu echoed.
"CHAAAAAAR!" The two Fire / Flying Pokemon landed, threw their heads back and roared in defiance, breathing a large trail of fire from their terrifying maws! Charizard, one of Ash's strongest Pokemon, and his beloved Charla, from Charicific Valley, had come to help the young aspiring Pokemon Master in that critical moment!
Perhaps there was still hope...
oooooooooo
"O... Okay... okay! We'll talk! We'll talk!" one of the three criminals who had attacked Zoey and her friends murmured. At the moment, two of them were lying on the ground, with huge lumps on their heads thanks to Maylene and her Machoke... and the one speaking right now was standing with his back against a tree and a visible black eye! "We... we are part of Team Vicious, a new criminal organization using Pokemon for their own agenda... and... we're here on orders of the supreme commander! We... we were ordered to capture Regice, the Pokemon living among these glaciers..."
"Aaaand?" Maylene said while smiling amiably and keeping her right fist up, just as a reminder for the guy not to try anything funny.
"And that's all! Really! Believe me!" the man stuttered, not wanting to be hit again by the small martial artist. "I just know this much... the boss wanted Regice... and we had to catch it for him! But we were clumsy and Regice took notice of us... it fled, and now we're trying to chase it!"
"Chase it, huh?" Candice almost spat out. Things were much clearer now... since Regice had been disturbed, the glacier had become unstable, and that was how the snowslide upon Snowpoint City had happened! Worse yet, those Team Vicious guys were continuing their wild goose chase, with the clear risk of more avalanches when Regice moved again! If this was to happen, the number of victims would surely grow a lot! At that moment, they were the only ones who could keep the tragedy from repeating...
"Alright, so now you're coming with us, and taking us to your boss." Zoey said, her tone allowing for no refusal. "If you help us, we won't turn you over to the police."
"And if you don't, you'll get another dose of Maylene and Machoke's special treatment." Candice continued. "And Candice doesn't think you want that, right?" She winked in Maylene's direction, and both the pink-haired girl and her Machoke cracked her knuckles, causing the three criminals to jump up in fear, their hands frantically moving in front of them and their faces turning blue with fear!
"Aaaaargh! No, not that, please! We'll do anything you want!" the woman with th Grumpig said. Maylene nodded, as if saying that it was a wise decision... and Zoey turned her eyes to one of the surrounding snow-covered peaks, catching a glimpse of a solitary Noctowl flying away just then.
"Hm? A... Noctowl?" Candice questioned as he too saw the Flying Pokemon getting away. "Candice is no expert of Flying Pokemon, but shouldn't Noctowl be, well, nocturnal? Not to mention, they usually don't live at such heights, right?"
"Exactly..." Zoey said suspiciously. "Whoever these Team Vicious guys are, they're keeping a close eye on us. We must not underestimate them..."
oooooooooo
TO BE CONTINUED...
Author's Note: Well, not much to say... especially since I'm very tired, and I still need to do a few things before I call it a day. But still, I hope people liked Charizard's return! You'll see, the battle with Moltres will really, no pun intended of course, heat up now!
See you next chapter... and please, review!