I kind of got you guys riled up with the cliffhanger last time, huh? Sorry about that! But you know I love my cliffhangers!
Either way, you don't have to wait any longer to see what happens next! Enjoy...
LAST TIME: Misty, Brandon, and Michelle manage to escape from the ship, despite a run in with some grunts on their way to freedom. Ash, Aiden, Lance, and Kira take on Mickey and a group of grunts, defeating them all. Ash wants Aiden and Kira to run, but Kira recommends taking the ship down first. She hacks into it and gets the ship to malfunction, where it crashes just ahead of the escaping Misty, Brandon, and Michelle, who all watch in horror as it goes down.
Chapter 61: In the Wreckage
What Misty couldn't see was the on the other side of the ship, from the same door she had escaped with Michelle and Brandon from, Ash, Lance, Aiden, and Kira had all managed to escape, flying out on the backs of Dragonite and Charizard.
"Wow, Kira," Aiden marveled, looking around his father. "When you said you knew how to bring the ship down, you weren't kidding."
Kira laughed nervously and rolled her eyes up towards the sky. "Yeah…"
"Now we've got to put that fire out," Ash commented, eyeing the ship.
"Why would we do that?" Aiden asked. "If the fire keeps up, Team Rocket will be trapped in there!"
"Because those kidnapped kids are still trapped in there too," Ash replied, looking over his shoulder at his son. "We can't put them in danger."
"Not to mention the forest nearby is now in serious jeopardy of catching fire as well," Lance added.
"I didn't think of that," Aiden mumbled sheepishly.
"It's fine, we got this!" Ash assured. "You've got Blastoise with you, right?"
"Yeah, of course!" Aiden trilled.
"Great, then you and I will help put out the fire together," Ash replied. "Lance, you check the perimeter of the ship and while Aiden and I put the fire out, get back in there and hold down the inside until we can come and help with the rescue mission."
"Sounds like a plan," Lance stated.
"I get to help too, don't I?" Kira asked.
"I don't know, Kira," Ash sighed. "I'm really worried about Team Rocket finding you!"
"I can stand up to them," Kira replied. "Besides, you guys know that I know this ship like the back of my hand. I can take Lance exactly where he needs to go."
"She would be helpful," Lance hesitantly admitted. "Who knows what the inside of that ship looks like now."
"Alright, fine," Ash conceded. "Just make sure she stays safe."
"You have my word," Lance assured. "Dragonite, let's go!"
The dragon Pokémon roared and flew back up towards the door, leaving behind Ash, Aiden, and Charizard.
"Now it's up to us," Ash sighed. "Charizard, get us to the ground!"
The flame Pokémon snorted and began to flap his large wings, lowering himself down to the ground. Once he was settled, Ash and Aiden hopped off, staring ahead the slowly burning ship.
"Ready?" Ash asked his son, retrieving one of his poke balls.
"Yeah," Aiden replied, following his father's actions. "Let's do this."
"Greninja!" Ash called.
"Blastoise!" Aiden cried.
"I choose you!" Both father and son chimed simultaneously.
XXX
"Oh my gods…"
Brandon and Michelle both frowned as they looked over at Misty, who had her head hanging and her shoulders hunched over.
"Mom, I think we should go over there and look for them," Michelle whispered nervously.
"No," Misty replied strongly. "I-I can't put you and Brandon in danger! Yo-your father would kill me…"
Michelle frowned as her mother's voice started to waver. "Brandon and I will be okay on our own. We can find a place to hide. You can go look!"
Misty didn't respond, or even move.
"Please, Mom?" Michelle murmured. "I know you're worried…"
"Water shuriken!"
"Hydro pump!"
Misty's head snapped up, a rapid gasp accompanying the sudden movement. "Those attacks…those voices!"
Michelle and Brandon peered around Misty, and were stunned as Ash and Aiden came running around to the front of the ship, following after their Pokémon as they used water attacks to try and put out the fire.
"They're okay!" Michelle cried, her eyes lighting up.
"That's a relief," Brandon sighed, a big smile on his face.
Misty said nothing. Instead, she just whimpered softly and rubbed at her eyes, trying to clear the tears away.
XXX
"Keep it up, Aiden! It's working!"
Aiden nodded at his father's encouragement. "Blastoise, don't give up! Keep using hydro pump!"
"You too, Greninja! Keep that water shuriken coming!"
The two water starters continued using their attacks on the fallen airship, just about extinguishing every last flame. Ash and Aiden each watched their own Pokémon, determined to stop the fire for good and keep not only Lance and Kira safe, but all of the children inside the ship too.
"Freeze!"
The duo gasped and whipped around, less than thrilled to see both Cathy and Yvette standing behind them.
"You two," Ash seethed.
"Don't you realize by now that you lost?" Aiden threatened, narrowing his eyes.
"We didn't lose anything," Cathy hummed.
"Yeah, we've got you right where we want you!" Yvette added. "In prime positioning to see your new little friend!"
Both Ash and Aiden's eyes widened in horror as Yvette stepped to the side, revealing a handcuffed Kira.
"Kira!" Aiden cried.
"You two will get what you deserve for trying to manipulate one of our own," Cathy growled.
"Us?!" Aiden yelled. "She doesn't even want to be part of Team Rocket! Why can't you guys accept the fact that not everyone wants to be a criminal like you are?"
"Because that's not part of our mission," Cathy retorted. "This girl, like all of us, was selected by Team Rocket to become an integral part of our mission. Defecting is not an option."
"She cannot escape from us, we're all she knows," Yvette added, roughly yanking on Kira's arms. "Without the organization, she would have nothing."
"You're wrong!" Ash barked. "She could have her own identity, and a family that loves her!"
"You and that stupid love talk," Yvette growled. "It's disgusting, and I've had enough of it. Life is not a fairytale, Pokémon Master, and I think it's high time you learned that."
"Try me," Ash seethed.
Yvette just smirked. Using the hand that wasn't yanking on Kira, she grabbed a poke ball and tossed it up in the air. "Manectric, go!"
Aiden deepened his scowl as the electric type Pokémon manifested before him, sparks emanating from its angled body as it bared its teeth at the boy.
"You don't scare us," Aiden bit, throwing his own poke ball. "Shinx, I choose you!"
The flash Pokémon appeared before her trainer, and upon noticing that Manectric was growling at Aiden, growled right back. Yvette laughed, causing Aiden to scowl.
"Of course a little baby like you has got a little baby Pokémon," Yvette drawled, placing her hands on her hips.
"I'm no baby, and neither is Shinx!" Aiden barked.
"Shinx! Shinx!" The electric type agreed.
Yvette rolled her eyes and thrust Kira at Cathy. "Here. You watch her while I take on this little brat."
"Why me?!" Cathy snapped.
"Because I already called out Manectric," Yvette replied haughtily. "Besides, we all know who the better battler here is."
Cathy scowled and grabbed Kira by the elbow, yanking the brunette girl closer to her.
"Oh no, I'm not letting you two pass her around like a toy," Ash bit, pointing a finger at Kira. "Let her go! Now!"
"Please, why should I listen to you?" Cathy sighed.
Ash opened his mouth to respond, but was quickly cut off by a powerful orange beam bursting up towards the sky, right through the hull of the airship. The explosion caught the attention of both Aiden and Yvette as well, halting their newly started battle.
"That was a hyper beam," Aiden breathed.
Ash gasped, his shoulders pulling back. "I know which Pokémon knows that attack…"
As if on cue, Lance's Dragonite emerged from the hole that its hyper beam had created, a large purple Pokémon floating right behind it.
"What's that?" Michelle murmured, peering over her mother's shoulder and pulling her pokédex out of her bag as they watched the scene from afar.
"Gengar," Misty murmured.
Gengar, the shadow Pokémon, and the evolved form of Haunter. Gengar has the ability to hide in the shadow of any object. Its body also acts as heat sink, cooling the temperature of the surrounding area.
Dragonite spun around, firing off another hyper beam at Gengar. The purple Pokémon dodged the attack, however, and instead returned a large, deep purple ball of energy, which collided with Dragonite's massive body.
"Shadow ball!" Brandon gasped.
"Dragonite!"
Lance was storming around the body of the airship, his eyes wide as he watched the battle taking place up above them. From behind, an arm wrapped itself around his shoulders, trying to hold the dragon master in place. Lance, however, would have none of it. He ripped his body around, glaring at whoever it was who had dared to touch him. Staring back at him was a pair of dual colored eyes with a scar running down his face.
Magnus.
"You," Lance hissed, reaching out and grabbing Magnus by his shirt.
"Don't you touch him!" Cathy snarled, throwing Kira to the ground so she could pull out a poke ball. "Serperior, vine whip!"
The grass snake emerged, unleashing its vines and wrapping them around Lance's arms, tearing them away from Magnus before throwing the dragon master to the ground. The future boss of Team Rocket settled himself with a huff, dusting off his shirt as he glared at Lance, who was now grimacing on the ground. Aiden, for what it was worth, was less than pleased to see Lance being thrown around by Team Rocket, and he intended to do something about it.
"Shinx, use bite on Serperior's vine whip!"
The electric type ran forward, taking a leap in the air as she sunk her teeth into Serperior's vines. The grass type cried out in pain, thrashing around until its vines released Lance and went retreating back, sending Shinx colliding with the ground.
"Shinx!" Aiden gasped.
"Pikachu, you go after Serperior too," Ash commanded. "Iron tail, let's go!"
The yellow mouse soared off of his trainer's shoulder, spinning around in the air before whacking Serperior in the face with his glowing tail.
"Hey!" Cathy cried.
"See?" Yvette barked. "This is why I'm the one who battles. Manectric, bite that pesky rat!"
The discharge Pokémon darted towards Pikachu just as the mouse landed, opening up its jaws and showing off a plethora of sharp, primed teeth.
"Pika!" Pikachu gasped.
"Shinx, tackle!"
Before Manectric could reach Pikachu, Shinx rammed her head into Manectric's side, sending the larger electric type flying just a few feet until its body collided with both Cathy and Yvette, knocking the two girls down.
"Great, Aiden!" Ash cheered, beaming at his son.
Cathy and Yvette were both screaming at Magnus, demanding his help in stopping both Ash and Aiden. Magnus, however, was paying them no mind. Something out of the corner of his eye had caught his attention, and that quickly became his main focus.
"Gengar!" Magnus ordered, his voice strong but steady. "Dark pulse. To your right."
In one swift motion, Gengar swung its body to the right and held its claws out, a beam of black and purple circles hurtling towards the water. Misty gasped, realizing very quickly that the attack was heading straight towards them.
Magnus knew that they were there!"
"Gyarados, dodge it!" Misty cried hurriedly.
The atrocious Pokémon roared and threw himself under water, alarming both Michelle and Brandon who hadn't been expecting it. The dark pulse collided with the water, however, and created an explosion, bringing Gyarados and his passengers back to the surface and up into the air.
"Misty!" Ash gasped, his eyes widening as he heard the screams.
The gym leader leaned forward on her Pokémon, hugging his neck tightly. "Gyarados, straighten out! Hurry!"
The dual type Pokémon twisted his body around for a bit until he was able to re-center his gravity. Once that was accomplished, Gyarados was able to float in the air, just as before. Misty, however, was not exactly relieved. She knew that Magnus was just below them, and his intentions were very clear. She was not going to let him near her children; there was just no way.
"Gyarados, dragon rage!" Misty commanded.
The atrocious Pokémon opened his mouth, releasing a blue and black ball of energy…right towards Magnus.
"What?!" Ash gasped.
"Your wife has lost her mind," Lance muttered from his spot on the ground, glancing up at Ash.
"Gengar," Magnus sighed tiredly.
Without another thought, the part-ghost type positioned himself in front of his trainer, taking the dragon rage attack head on. A large explosion ensued, and when it was over, Gengar stood badly injured in front of his trainer.
"No way," Aiden breathed. "Magnus just used his own Pokémon as a shield!"
"That's horrible!" Michelle cried.
Gengar staggered before his trainer, soon falling to its knees. Magnus, for what it was worth, seemed less than impressed by his Pokémon.
"Pathetic," Magnus muttered under his breath, casting a dark glance down at Gengar.
XXX
Pathetic.
That single word sent a violent shiver up the spine of the purple haired, gray eyed boy who had just witnessed the scene before him. As if watching that guy using his own Pokémon as a shield hadn't been bad enough…
The boy clenched his fists at his sides. He couldn't stand to see a Pokémon treated that way. Using them as objects, and putting their strength above all else. It reminded him of…no. His father wasn't exactly like that. He wouldn't say that his father viewed Pokémon as objects or tools. But valuing strength and mettle above all else? Yeah, that was him.
Grabbing a poke ball, the boy ran forward, steel eyes narrowed as anger coursed through his veins. "Hey!"
That caught everyone's attention, and out of all of them, Michelle was the most shocked.
"Jake?!" She gasped.
Before he could respond, Jake was soon tackled by Serperior, his body being constricted by the hissing green snake.
"Great, more brats," Cathy huffed, having finally gotten to her feet.
"It's like an infestation!" Yvette cried, joining her partner.
"I'm sick of all of them," Cathy seethed, narrowing her eyes. "Serperior, squeeze tighter! Make that brat fight for his next breath!"
As Serperior squeezed more tightly, Jake wheezed breathlessly and threw his head back. The poke ball in his hand slipped out of his fingers and fell to the ground…landing right on its button.
The red and white sphere burst open, releasing one of Jake's Pokémon: Electabuzz. Upon seeing his trainer in such trouble, Electabuzz growled ferociously and used low kick, startling Serperior and causing him to release Jake.
"Good job, Electabuzz," Jake wheezed, strongly eyeing his Pokémon.
Serperior, however, was not about to give in. Narrowing its eyes, Serpior whipped its tail and fired off a razor leaf at Electabuzz, the attack colliding with the electric type's face as he reached up to try and guard itself.
"Hey, leave Electabuzz alone!" Aiden yelled.
Jake scowled over his shoulder. "My Pokémon and I can take care of ourselves; we don't need your help."
Aiden blinked before scowling back at the purple haired boy, his hands balling into fists at his side.
"Manectric, bite that measly little Shinx!"
Aiden gasped and turned his attention back towards his own Pokémon. Manectric was taking a long stride towards Shinx, baring its sharp white teeth.
"Shinx, dodge it!" Aiden cried.
While Cathy, Jake, Yvette, and Aiden all squared off, Magnus was busy staring them down. He had finally turned his attention away from Misty and the two other children. The gym leader knew this was her chance to escape, and keep Michelle and Brandon safe.
"Gyarados, back to the water," Misty whispered, not wanting to regain Magnus' attention.
The dual type slunk back towards the lake, slowly lowering his body into the water. Without having to be told, Michelle and Brandon both held their breath, staring ahead with wide eyes as Gyarados swam. From up above, they could hear the muffled sounds of battling, not unlike what they had experienced in the airship before their escape from there.
Back on land, Ash was glaring at Magnus. He thought he had been disgusted by the boy before, but his stunt with Gengar had pushed that disgust to an entirely new level. Ash could not stand for the mistreatment of Pokémon, and watching Magnus carelessly order his Gengar to give himself up like that had sent the Pokémon Master's blood boiling.
"Hey!" Ash barked, causing Magnus to slowly turn his head. "You're some kind of creep, you know that?"
"You've told me before," Magnus replied coolly. Just behind them, Serperior and Electabuzz were exchanging blows, while Manectric and Shinx tried their electricity's strength against each other's.
"Good, then it's time to make you pay for all of that," Ash snarled. "I will not let you get away with anything you've done! Kidnapping children, mistreating Pokémon…only a heartless monster would do those kinds of things. Your reign of terror ends right here, right now! Charizard, dragon tail!"
Ash's loyal flame Pokémon rose above his trainer's head, whipping his body around and swinging his tail, encapsulated by a green shield of power, at the future leader of Team Rocket. Narrowing his eyes, Magnus expanded another poke ball and tossed it up in the air, releasing his Zoroark.
"Night slash."
The two Pokémon's attacks collided just as Gyarados was breaking the surface of the lake. Michelle heard the attacks connecting and snapped her eyes open, not even bothering to clear the water away from them. Gyarados had pulled up behind a large tree, effectively hiding himself and the humans on his back from view.
"This is intense," Brandon muttered, his own eyes locked on the three way battle.
"It's also bad," Michelle grumbled.
Brandon blinked his eyes and finally tore them away from the battle. "What do you mean?"
"I know that Dad and Lance are strong, and Aiden and Jake are pretty strong too," Michelle sighed. "But Team Rocket plays dirty. Who's to say they're not going to find a way to trick everyone else?"
"Easy. Because I won't let them."
Michelle glanced up at her mother, who was watching the battle intently. She reached to her waist and plucked off her poke gear, turning the screen on.
"You've got a plan?" Michelle asked.
Misty smirked and nodded her head. "I do. You're right, Michelle. Team Rocket is deceitful. They're tricky and they don't play by the rules. But this time, I don't think that's going to help them. In fact, that just might be the reason for their downfall."
Michelle didn't say anything in response. She had no idea what her mother could be thinking.
"By the way," Misty continued, "once I'm through with this, I want you to tell me who that boy is."
XXX
Aiden's head was spinning.
There were three different battles going on at once, and it was throwing him off. Aiden did not have the greatest attention span. He loved Pokémon battles more than anything, and they tended to be one of the only things he could focus on. But even this was a bit much for him.
He was so thrown off, in fact, that Shinx was getting absolutely crushed by Manectric. Every attack Aiden ordered just wouldn't land. Manectric would always find a way around it, and Yvette always knew how to get her Pokémon to strike next. Before long, another one of Manectric's bite attacks, right to Shinx's neck, caused the smaller electric type to cry out in pain and fall to the ground.
"No, Shinx!" Aiden cried.
Yvette laughed wildly as Shinx trembled before her in agony. "Give it up, little boy. You can't win! Not against an elite operative like myself. You and your buddies are in big trouble now."
Aiden grimaced as he looked over his shoulder. Serperior and Electabuzz were both getting their jabs in against one another, while Charizard and Zoroark seemed to be evenly matched as well. It was only he and Shinx who were struggling, and for that, Aiden started to feel great shame.
"Shi…Shinx…"
Aiden blinked hard and glanced down. Shinx was struggling to get to her paws, her bright yellow eyes locked firmly on Manectric. As she managed to get herself up, Shinx let out a high pitched, angry cry, her body suddenly glowing a bright blue.
"What?" Aiden breathed.
Yvette, on the other hand, was not as impressed. "What is that thing doing?!"
Shinx soon began to grow in size, her tail growing longer and extra tufts of fur appearing around her face and backside. When the light disappeared, Aiden could see two yellow rings on both of his Pokémon's front legs, blue back paws instead of black, and a far more intimidating and determined look on her face.
"She evolved!" Aiden gasped, a smile overtaking his face. "Shinx…you're a Luxio now!"
"Lux!" Luxio cried in confirmation. Before Aiden could say anything else, the spark Pokémon charged forward and bit down hard on Manectric; much harder than she had ever bitten before. Manectric cried out in absolute pain, shaking itself to try and throw Luxio off to no avail.
"And you learned crunch!" Aiden cheered. "Great! That'll do way more damage than bite!"
"Ooh, crunch, I'm so scared," Yvette taunted. The snarl on her face, however, was deceiving her tone. "Manectric, wild charge!"
"Oh no you don't!" Aiden yelled, his confidence newly restored. "Luxio, spark!"
As the two electric attacks went barreling towards each other, a strong wind from overhead sent the attacks astray, missing both Pokémon. Aiden looked up towards the sky, his raven hair blowing in every which direction. He saw a helicopter, not large but with a propeller powerful enough to create almost a mini windstorm.
"We have to retreat!"
Aiden's head snapped back down, his brown eyes setting themselves on a frantic looking Cathy.
"Why would we do that?!" Yvette barked. "We've got these brats right where we want them! A few more attacks and none of them will be able to fight back! We can bring them all to the boss and-"
"We won't be able to do that if the G-Men get their hands on us!" Cathy snapped.
Yvette scowled and looked up towards the sky. When she saw the helicopter, her expression changed to one of shock, and she wordlessly held out her pokéball to recall Manectric.
"Hey!" Aiden bit. "What do you think you're doing?!"
Yvette returned to scowling, setting her deeply narrowed eyes on Aiden. "A bratty runt like you isn't worth my freedom. Cathy, come on."
As Cathy tried to return Serperior, however, Jake became determined to stop her. "Electabuzz, swift! Let's go!"
The electric Pokémon unleashed a brigade of stars, causing them to collide with Serperior and send the regal Pokémon flying back, right into Cathy. Aiden gawked at the scene, stunned that Jake had managed to take both Cathy and Serperior down like that.
"What are you doing?!"
Aiden blinked hard and looked over at Jake, who was glowering at him.
"I-"
"Don't just stand there!" Jake cried. "Stop the other one!"
Aiden furrowed his brow before nodding. Normally, he would never do this, but if the G-Men were really coming, he needed to keep Yvette in one spot. "Luxio, spark!"
The newly evolved Pokémon unleashed a charge of bright blue electricity straight for Yvette. She couldn't react before being struck, falling to her knees as she yelped. From behind the two, Kira gasped, her face reflecting nothing but surprise. With both Cathy and Yvette rendered unable to move, Aiden began plotting his next move. As it would turn out, he didn't have to do a thing.
Lance, though still in pain from being thrown before, had managed to get to his feet, striding over to the two female operatives and handcuffing them together.
"Let's see you two try and get away now," Lance remarked. "On the bright side, the others sure will be happy to see you!"
A little less of an evil cliffhanger this time ;)
The Team Rocket arc is almost over! But first, we have to see who's coming to their aid, and how they got there. Any guesses?