I. Am. BACK! YES! Finally, I've got the precious internet back up in my AMERICAN HOME! Don't get it? It's okay. I'll elaborate more in the ending AN. See ya then! :)
"Overgrown... Fish?" Ash questioned.
"Okay, first of all, do you even know what a fish is?" Volcanion reluctantly nodded, so Ash continued. "Then you should know that Kingdra here is in no way, shape, or form a fish." Volcanion reluctantly nodded once again, so Ash continued one final time.
"So apologize to her."
This, however, set Volcanion off.
"SILENCE! I will not be commanded by you before you even capture me! Now battle!"
Ash smirked and looked down at Kingdra.
"Ready to show Volcanion exactly how much of an overgrown fish you really are?" Kingdra bobbed her body as if nodding. Ash smiled.
"Sweet. Now use Scald!"
...
"Are you absolutely retarded or was that a joke."
"I'd say it's a little bit of both. Earthquake!"
Despite the fact that they were still technically underwater, they were in a cavern so the ground-shaking attack acted as it was supposed to- disrupting the earth and dealing moderate damage to the legendary. However, Volcanion was quick to react with an attack that Ash had never seen before. The hoop on the back of Volcanion split into two parts and spewed out what looked to be a Hydro Pump, but had steam coming off of it. When it hit Kingdra, the dragoness shrieked in pain. Volcanion smirked.
"Now THAT's how you do Scald. Or, rather, Steam Eruption!" Chuckling at his own joke, Volcanion kept up the attack until Kingdra fainted, which took surprisingly little time. Ash grit his teeth, recalling his fallen dual-type.
"Volcanion, I really feel bad for doing this to you. But, no one makes fun of my friends. BRAVIARY, I CHOOSE YOU!" Ash yelled with a loudness that he didn't know he possessed. With a majestic squawk, the oddly-colored bird emerged from the pokeball, wings flapping. Then, suddenly, the bird stopped and looked straight at Ash, unmoving. Ash smirked. He had figured out during a training session with the bird that Braviary did better with no commands in a battle. However, the flying-type would remain motionless until Ash gave him the okay. But when he did give the patriotic bird the okay, all hell broke loose.
And so Ash gave Braviary the okay.
With a scream, Braviary soared to the top of the cavern, dropping what seemed to be Magnet Bombs on Volcanion. Or, maybe they were Seed Bombs... He didn't really care either way, though, because it was working. Wether Braviary's attacks were actually hurting the legendary or if he was just so surprised Ash didn't know, but it seemed to be working. Suddenly, the bombing stopped and Volcanion heaved a sigh of relief, followed by him snarking,
"What's wrong, Fluffy? Too tired to-"
And then Braviary picked up Pikachu, dropping the mouse in front of Volcanion. Confused, Ash stared at the electric-type until it happened.
Pikachu started to glow pink.
Ash tried to open his mouth, to scream to stop, but it was too late.
Pikachu used Return.
What followed was the biggest explosion that Ash had ever seen. It completely decimated the entire island, leaving only the chunk where the mansion lay intact. Ash could see dozens of water-type Pokemon lying prone in shallow pools of water, but what he couldn't see was Volcanion. That is, until he looked up.
Because lying on a very thin rock tower was an extremely unconscious Volcanion, who Ash casually lobbed an Ultra Ball at. Then, from behind him, he heard a squack. Braviary had already acquired an Ultra Ball and was gesturing at Volcanion. Ash shrugged and nodded, so Braviary shot into the sky and tapped the yellow sphere into Volcanion's flank. Then the flying-type proceeded to drop the Ultra Ball back into Ash's hands. A slow grin began to spread on Ash's face.
"Alright!" Ash cheered, "I caught a..."
"ASH GODDAMN KETCHUM!" A new voice suddenly thundered. "What in the HELL did you do?!" Ah, so it was Misty.
Indeed, the redhead was stalking towards him, mallet in hand, ready to pound the raven-haired trainer into a pulp if he didn't explain himself. And explain himself he did.
Or, he tried to at least.
"Er, well, you see, I was, um, fighting Volcanion... And, uh, Pikachu might've used Return."
Misty's jaw dropped.
"You mean that all of this," she gestured around the carnage, "Was because Pikachu used Return?" Ash nodded.
"Damn," She breathed. Then, louder, she continued, "Anyways, you've got ten minutes to capture as many water-types as you can before I kick your sorry ass all the way to the Digimon universe."
Ash's eyebrow shot up. "Digimon? What kind of Pokemon is that?" Misty looked confused as well.
"I-I don't really know... That just kinda popped into my head... Anyway, the point still stands. Run."
Wisely, Ash sprinted off, lobbing Pokeballs at a beached Wailord, Sharpedo, Swampert- who was knocked out, presumably from the explosion, Vaporeon, Huntail, and a Lanturn. All this had taken him eight or so minutes, so he was just calling out Pidgeot for transportation when the Hydro Pump hit him.
"And THAT is for destroying the island." A smug-looking Misty said, Starmie flanking her.
"Mie-Starmie!" The Pokemon chimed in. Ash just shrugged sheepishly and mounted his bird.
"Arceus," he yelled to the heavens, "Would you please restore the island?" Misty snorted.
"Do you really think that that'll-"
"Okay, I gotchu fam." A divine voice rang out, and suddenly the the island was back to normal, and the duo was standing in the front room of her mansion.
Misty shook her head.
"Never again will I be surprised by anything when it comes to you," She said.
However...
"Not even this?" A voice spoke from behind her. Misty whipped around, only to see that the Alpha Pokemon was standing about five feet behind her. So naturally, she did the only thing that she could do: faint.
"Wait, so why do you need me here, anyway?" Ash inquired, confused. "Is it because I destroyed Splash Island?" After Misty had fainted in shock, Arceus had teleported them to the Hall of Origins, for a reason that Ash didn't know. Quite frankly, it was a bit unnerving. Finally, the Alpha Pokemon turned to him and started talking.
"Do you remember Team Flare?" Arceus asked.
Ash nodded slowly. Oh, he remembered Team Flare, alright. The crime syndicate from Kalos had come up with quite a few creative methods for destroying the world, from connecting Yvetal to a giant death ray to attempting to make a clone of Xerneas that had Yvetal's powers, the organization probably would've succeeded if Ash hadn't been there to step in. However, Arceus broke him from his thoughts.
"Well, they're back. And this time, they've managed to harness the power of Zygarde. They found his Mega Stone, if you will, and experimented on it. They added so many foreign substances that once they used it on Zygarde, it reverted him back to his Cell Forme. This greatly exited them, and they experimented on his weak, prone form. They cloned him, too. And, well, long story short, Kalos now has Perfect Zygarde rampaging through it." Ash slowly nodded, trying to digest all the information. Arceus continued.
"That's where you come in. You have a track record in saving the world, so I'm pairing you up with Groudon's Chosen One- although the lad doesn't know it yet, so don't mention that- to stop them. The boy's name is Slade, and he's an accomplished trainer, too, so he won't be a burden. Anyway, you shouldn't have too hard of a time fending off Zygarde and calming him down. The hard part will be breaking into Flare's lab and retrieving the original Zygarde. That being said, though, I'd take a legendary or two to help you. Prehaps Articuno would like to spread her wings, no?" Ash nodded, already knowing who he'd take. He was about to make the switches when Arceus piped up one last time.
"Oh, and one last thing. Suicune! You can come out now." Confused, Ash turned around, only to see the legendary emerge from behind a pillar, a feature that was quite common in the large room that they were in.
"I'm sending her with you- as your Pokemon- to help in the fight." Arceus said simply.
Grace Tower was a great place to build a base, Lysander mused. And indeed, it was. The towering rock formation was out of the way of any major cities, so not many travelling trainers passed it. And even if they did, two things kept them from exploring. One, the rock formation was absolutely huge, making for a hard climb, and there were no enterances other than the top of the rock. Lysander had personally seen to that one. Secondly, apparently there were rumors circulating about the Tower being a supposed landing site for UFOs. Lysander had absolutely no idea where that one came from, but he wasn't going to look a gift Rapidash in the mouth. No, instead he helped spread those rumors, which almost ensured that no one would find his operation. Well, a few brave souls did, but they were easily... persuaded... to see reason. Those that didn't, well, he had a legendary Pokemon held captive in the B6. He wasn't too worried about wayward trainers.
Except that Ketchum kid.
He had heard about what that kid was capable of from other crime bosses in the various regions, and this prompted him to keep a close eye on him, even if the kid didn't know it. What he saw, though, didn't worry him too much. The kid was an average trainer with loyal Pokemon. Big deal. However, that changed when he voiced his opinions to Archie of Team Aqua. The pirate had scoffed and proceeded to show Lysandre a video of the kid battling Kygore. WITH GROUDON. To say that that had altered his views on the raven-haired trainer was an understatement. When he asked around with the other crime bosses, he got a similar response from all of them: Don't underestimate Ash Ketchum, and never, ever, put him in unbeatable odds.
He was broken from his thoughts by a nervous-looking grunt quivering before him. He smirked. He loved the feeling of power he got from the fear of the expendables. He spoke.
"What do you want, grunt?"
The grunt swallowed, stuttering a few times before finally managing to say,
"Lysandre sir, uh, there are, um, three legendary Pokemon, a Mandibuzz and a Flygon flying down through the chasm."
"What?"
"So you're Ash Ketchum, huh?" A young man, with dirty brown hair asked.
"The one and only!" Ash replied. He titled his head thoughtfully. "So you're Slade? Last name Sol?"
The now-named Slade's eyebrows shot up and he responded,
"Yeah, that's me." A smirk grew on his features and he continued, "Didn't know I had a fan club."
Ash scoffed.
"But anyway, I know that you didn't just Teleport to me for fun, so what do you want?" Slade said. Ash scratched the back of his head, Pikachu mimicking his motions, and he started explaining.
"So basically we need to infiltrate a Team Flare hideout, break out a legendary Pokemon, and stop said legendary's perfect clone from destroying Kalos and potentially the world? And we're doing it alone?!"
Ash nodded.
"Hell. No. I'm calling in some backup." The Ground-Speciallist said, pulling out his PokeNav and dialing a number. It rang a few times before someone picked up.
"Hello?" Whoever Slade had called asked.
"Hey! It's me. Hope I didn't interrupt anything important between you two," He raised his eyebrows a couple times here, "But we have a Code Aqua. Oh, and is Mark nearby?" Slade replied. Ash raised his eyebrow at the 'Code Aqua' part, but shrugged it off and kept listening.
"Mark is always nearby. That guy can fucking appear from nowhere at all, I swear. And shit, really? Where are you? We'll teleport to you."
"I'm near Grace Tower, Kalos," Slade said, and proceeded to rattle off some coordinates. Moments later, Ash saw a bright flash from behind him. He turned around to see three people, two boys and a girl, recalling a Mega Sabelye, Gardevoir and Gallade respectively. It took a couple seconds for Ash to recognize the duo, but eventually he did, and his jaw dropped.
"Brendan? Sapphire? And some guy I've never heard of before in my life?"
They looked at him.
"Who are you?" The trio asked in unison.
"What? How did you? You know these two?" Ash managed to stammer, ignoring the harsh look the third one was giving him. However, one couldn't blame Ash for disregarding the thrid member of the party, given just who the other two were...
Brendan- a legendary trainer (literally and figuratively) and one of the Dex-Holders. He had trounced the Hoenn Pokemon League three years before Ash first step foot in Hoenn, and had since gone missing. His Swampert was said to be nigh-unstoppable, and no one had beat it in years, except for Sapphire. Boyfriend of Sapphire.
Sapphire- a legendary trainer as well and also one of the Dex-Holders. She had managed to beat Platinum in a Pokemon battle during her first year of training, but had never competed in a League. She disappeared around the same time that Brendan did. Her Blaziken was almost invincible, had only ever been stopped by Brendan. Girlfriend of Brendan.
And here they were, standing in front of Ash.
It's only natural that he was astounded. The two were legends in the Pokemon World, only equalled by Red and the likes.
"And I am Mark. Mark Kuradiesu. Chosen One of Darkrai," He smirked, expecting a reaction from Ash. He got one.
"Cool! I'm the Chosen One of Lugia, probably Azelf, definitely Manaphy, Meloetta, Mewtwo, and oh, yeah. I'm Arceus' Chosen One as well." Ash replied cheerfully.
Silence met his statement.
"Are you kiddi-" Mark began, but Slade, sensing the tension, started filling Brendan, Sapphire and Mark in on everything.
XX
"So basically we're swooping in, saving a legendary Pokemon, and then destroying everything?" Sapphire summed up.
"Don't forget the rampaging Perfect Zygarde. That's a pretty big part too." Brendan reminded her.
"Oh, yes. However could I forget the GIANT-ASS LEGENDARY POKEMON!"
By this time, Ash had recovered from his fan-attack and was ready to go. Instinctively, he pulled out Articuno's Pokeball from his belt but then hesitated, not knowing how the others would react. He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't see Brendan and Sapphire do the same exact thing. He took a deep breath.
"Hey, please don't freak out," All three started, then blinked.
"You first," They all chorused again.
"No, yo-" They all began.
"ASH! You go first. Brendan, Sapphire? Shut up." Slade interrupted.
Ash sighed. "Alright, here goes nothing. I choose you!" And with a brilliant flash of light, Articuno appeared in all it's glory. Ash sighed again, expecting the other three to act awed. However, he wasn't anticipating the chuckles that met the legendary's arrival, which caused the proud bird to let out an indignant squawk.
"Let me guess. You were scared that we'd react badly to your legendary?" Ash nodded, wondering how they had guessed it. Suddenly, the two legendary trainers pulled out a necklace with a Master Ball on it. Raising their hands, they tapped the release button and, to Ash's great surprise, released...
"A Latias and a Latios?" Ash asked, mostly unsurprised. Apparently the duo was expecting a greater reaction- Brendan and Sapphire both had raised an eyebrow at Ash's nonchalant reaction.
"Yep!" Sapphire said.
"They're one of a kind!" Brendan added. Ash's eyebrow shot up, and he grabbed his Xtranciever, transferring two of his Pokeballs to his belt.
"Really?" Ash asked. "Are you sure?" Brendan's eyes narrowed and Sapphire jokingly reSladeed,
"Well, you don't have one, so-" She was cut off by Ash snapping open his two transferred Pokeballs, revealing a stronger-looking Eon Duo.
"And I've battled a guy who at least owns a Latios." Ash said. Then, thoughtfully, he added, "And I know a Nurse Joy who has a Latias too..." At this point, all gusto had left the two trainers, but they managed to perk up.
"Whatever!" Brendan exclaimed, "We've got a mission. Let's fly, Popo!"
"Yeah!" Sapphire yelled, "Psyfly, lets soar!"
...
"Did you guys actually nickname two fucking legendaries Popo and Psyfly?"
"Shut up."
XX
Within the next ten minutes, Latias and Latios had been Mega-Evolved, Articuno had been given the Ice Treasure, which changed her forme to Primal, Slade had released a Flygon, and Mark had sent out a Mandibuzz.
(Quick AN: If anyone wants to see the pictures of the alternate forme/primal/Mega Evolved Legendaries, email me at theogpokemonmaster gmail. I'd be happy to send you all the pictures. All copyright on the pictures belong to their original artists. Please don't sue me.)
Once this was done, the trainers climbed aboard their respective Pokemon and they took off, Latias and Latios getting to the top of the tower significantly faster than Primal Articuno and Flygon did. Once the slower aviators had arrived, they found Brendan and Sapphire already looking into the rock formation. Far below Ash could make out the forms of Team Flare Grunts, who were hustling around the floor of the formation. Looking back up, he gave a start when he noticed that all eyes were on him.
"Well...?" Brendan said.
"What's the plan?" Sapphire added.
I... Actually have a plan, Ash realized. He began talking. "Alright, here's the plan: Slade and Mark will fly down to the bottom of the cavern, claiming to be clueless photographers for the Lumiose Times. While all the grunts are distracted, Brendan, Sapphire, and I will swoop down and do as much damage as we can before the alarms go off. Then-"
"And they're already halfway down, aren't they," Ash asked Pikachu, who gave an exasperated sigh and agreed,
"Piiiika."
Once Ash had caught up with the rest of the trainers, he found that they already had their own plan, which was: 1) Fuck shit up, and 2) Rescue Zygarde. A good a plan as any, Ash figured, but it sounded like a twelve-year-old had thought of it. Nevertheless, though, Ash decided to go along with it and soon he found himself descending on Articuno next to two other legendaries and a Flygon. Needless to say, this didn't quite go unnoticed by Team Flare.
He was almost halfway down when the first alarm went off. However, it was quickly silenced by a Dragon Pulse from Popo- Ash still had to stifle a laugh whenever he looked at the majestic legendary- and a Mist Ball from Psyfly.
When he finally reached the ground, he found himself swarmed by a horde of Flare Grunts, all of whom released Slugma.
"Freeze!" One brave grunt yelled.
Ash almost laughed. Almost. Instead, he grabbed one of his three non-legendary Pokeballs and lobbed it into the air, releasing the beast inside. With a roar, Ash's Garchomp was released. Wasting no time, Ash instructed Articuno to hover a few yards above the ground. When he was satisfied with the height, he turned to Garchomp and yelled,
"Earthquake!"
And then it was over. Many, many grunts and their pokemon all found refuge in the bliss of unconsciousness. Looking up from the carnage, Ash thanked Garchomp but didn't recall him and started searching for the Hoenn Duo and Slade. Slade and Mark were easy enough to find; they were battling off a horde of grunts with a Flygon, a Golurk, a Swampert, a Mega-Evolved Sabelye, a Mandibuzz, and a Houndoom. Brendan and Sapphire, however, were nowhere to be seen, although the massive hole where they landed was a bit of a clue as to their whereabouts.
Thinking quickly, Ash released the second member of his party- his Aggron, and instructed him to aid Slade if he needed it. The dual-type nodded, lumbered his way over to the horde and started casually tossing people and pokemon aside. Shaking his head, Ash recalled Articuno- there was no way in hell that she would fit in the hole- and started to run over to the hole, Garchomp at his side.
When he reached it, he slowly looked over the edge, careful to not lose his balance. However, what he saw almost did make him. Under Grace Tower was a lab. Okay, big shock. Team Flare had made it their base of operations. However, he wasn't ready for what he saw next. When he glided down on Garchomp's back, he saw Pokemon. He saw an Eevee that looked about ready to die curled up in a ball in the back of it's cage. When he got closer, though, the poor thing lept at the bars and-
"What the fuck? Did it just transform into an Umbreon?!"
Yes, yes it did.
The Eevee had somehow shifted into an Umbreon and was growling at him menacingly. Turning his head to other cages, he saw a Poliwhirl that was constantly shifting between a Poliwrath and a Politoed, and a Castform that was cycling through all of it's formes. Ash barely had to think for a second before he growled,
"Garchomp. Brick Break open those cages." On his Pokedex, he quickly sent an emergency message to all Officer Jennys in the area. With the discovery of Pokemon in the labs, Ash no longer could destroy everything... At least until they were gone.
Once the Pokemon were released from their cages, they seemed to realize that Ash was a good guy and refrained from attacking him mercilessly. He did, however, get a warning growl from the Eevee- who had shifted into a Jolteon. Turning around, he noticed an elevator next to a bunch of empty cages. Recalling Garchomp- there was no way that he would fit- he left the Pokemon behind and stepped in.
Looking around, he saw that the elevator was rather posh. It was carpeted with a thick red- surprise surprise- rug and had mirrors on every wall, giving the elevator a rather luxurious feel. On his right he saw a panel of buttons: G,B1,B2,B3,B4,B5, and B6. He scoffed.
"Well obviously Zygarde is going to be on B6. I think I've played enough video games to know that."
Jabbing his finger onto the button, Ash gave a start when the elevator instantly started moving downwards. When the elevator doors opened again, Ash saw himself looking into a long, dark room. The only thing that was giving off light was an aquarium in the back, which illuminated just enough for Ash to see a silhouette of someone standing in front of it. Ash walked about halfway across the room before the person in front of the water started to speak. However, Ash cut him off.
"Are you fucking kidding me? This has got to be the most stereotypical thing I've ever seen in my life!" Ash yelled out. Suddenly, all the lights cut on and Ash could see Lysandre standing in front of the aquarium, hands spread out.
"Well I thought it was cool," Lysandre indignantly replied.
"Well you were wrong."
Lysandre ignored that comment, instead pressing a button on a remote he pulled out from a pocket. Instinctively, Ash tensed up, grabbing Suicune's Pokeball, waiting for the trap that he knew was coming. However, it wasn't a trap. Slowly, the aquarium descended into the floor, opening up a well-lit corridor. At the end of it, Ash could see the thing that he had come to rescue lying prone on the floor. It was a little green blob, only about as big as his backpack. And it looked weak. Very weak. Ash followed Lysandre almost to the end of the corridor, before he stopped at a point about five feet from the legendary. Briefly, Ash wondered why there were no scientists bustling around it, but Lysandre answered his internal question.
"Beautiful, isn't it. One of the world's strongest legendaries reverted to this," he gestured to the Zygarde Cell.
"We usually have him on B2, but we moved him down here when we saw three goddamn legendaries flying down the tower."
"And a Flygon and a Mandibuzz" Ash said.
"What?"
"There was a Flygon too, and a Mandibuzz," he repeated.
Lysandre scoffed. "Well forgive me if we didn't notice a Flygon and a Mandibuzz in the midst of a LATIOS, LATIAS, AND A FUCKING ARTICUNO."
"Oh, and by the way, Arceus is absolutely pissed off at you."
This managed to catch Lysandre off guard.
"W-What? Arceus is pissed off... At me? And you expect me to believe this how?" He replied after a pause.
"Well he's the one who told me where your base was."
"I'm not even going to respond to that.
"Anyway," Ash drawled, "It was nice to know you, but I think that I'm going to leave now." He lobbed a Pokeball at Zygarde, hitting it in the side.
The legendary didn't even struggle.
"What?!" Lysandre roared, thrusting a Pokeball in midair. "You cannot leave unless you beat me in a battle! Go! Pyroar!"
"Suicune, I choose you."
Exactly one minute and thirteen seconds later, Ash, Pikachu, and Suicune were ascending back up the elevator after sweeping all fourteen Pokemon that Lysandre was carrying. All of them were fire-types, with the exception of his Gyarados, which Pikachu took out before the poor dual-type could even Mega-Evolve. Ash looked down at his right hand, which held the Master Ball in which he had captured the Zygarde Cell. The legendary had taken one glance at Ash before leaping onto his unoccupied shoulder much to Pikachu's amusement. Ash had caught the Cell a few moments later, pulling a Master Ball out from his bag.
And then it disappeared.
The Master Ball vanished from Ash's hands without the slightest noise or indication that it was going to; it was there one second and then gone the next. Ash was about to have Pikachu short-circuit all the electricity in the entire base until he heard a voice in his head.
"Chill, Ash. Arceus needed it to restore Zygarde to his normal form. You'll get it back soon, bro."
Definitely Hoopa.
'Well,' Ash thought, 'it's time to go capture a rampaging legendary.'
Brendan and Sapphire had a rather easy time incapacitating every Grunt and Admin that came their way. Mumu (Brendan's Swampert), and Chic (Sapphire's Blaziken) easily dispelled everything that came their way.
And they didn't even have to Mega Evolve.
Currently, Sapphire had turned away from the battle and released Elec (her Manetric) and was short-circuiting everything. If it ran on electricity and it was in Team Flare's base, Elec had fried it. After a few short minutes of Elec constantly discharging electricity into, well, everything, she recalled him and turned back to the battle just in time for her to see Mumu and Chic destroy yet another admin. After a few minutes of nothing happening, the four hastily made their way back to the ground level of the base.
While Ash had been confronting Lysandre and Slade had been fighting off the Flare Grunts, Hoenn's star duo had been systematically destroying everything in the top five levels of the base. Nothing had escaped their wrath, save for the Pokemon that were being experimented on, which were now in the care of the local Officer Jennys. It had been a couple years since they had trashed a base like this, but the couple was pleased to find that their destructive abilities had not diminished in the slightest.
However, you probably don't really care about what Brendan and Sapphire are up to right now, given that Ash is about to face down a goddamn Perfect Zygarde. I gotchu. So back to him.
Damn, there goes the fourth wall.
It was rather easy to find Perfect Zygarde. However, battling him was going to be a different story. Ash had not realized just how huge this thing was when he had agreed to fight it.
And oh shit, did it just see me? Ash thought in alarm. Yep, Zygarde did, and one of its massive eyes was staring right at him. Gulping, Ash gripped Glalie's Pokeball and threw it as hard as he could straight in to it's eye.
...Okay, so it wasn't Ash's best idea. After the small sphere hit Perfect Zygarde's eye, Glalie emerged and everything was silent for a couple seconds.
And then Zygarde roared. The sheer force alone sent Ash flying from the back of Articuno and through the air. While he was spinning around, he caught brief glimpses of Articuno rocketing towards him.
She wasn't going to make it.
Ash had just resigned himself to whatever injuries he would get when he something slammed into his back. Or rather, he had slammed into something midair. Tentatively, he opened one eye and saw the Pokemon that had saved him from serious injury. It was a Dragonite.
"I've got you, Ash." Came a female voice from below them. Ash looked down and saw the familiar bush of purple hair.
"Iris!" He called, "Thank you so much! But... How'd you get here?"
"Arceus sent us. Zygarde is still adjusting to his form up in the Hall and Arceus figured that you'd need backup."
Ash nodded, but someting stood out in Iris' explanation to him.
"Us?"
However, it wasn't Iris that answered. Instead, he saw seventeen figures walk up from the other side of the hill Ash was standing on. It was the Islanders, Ash realized with a start.
Brock was the first to reach where he was standing, and gave him a curt nod before shouting,
"Onix, let's rock!'
Fifteen shouts followed.
"Swellow, lets soar!" Winnoa.
"Gardevoir, it's time to knock some heads!" Zero.
"Hariyama, surfs up!" Brawly.
"Prepare for trouble!" Jessie and Arbok.
"And make it double!" James, Persian, and Weezing.
"Misty calls Starmie!" Misty. (No shit)
"Simisage, let's spice this battle up!" Cilian.
"Metagross, I choose you!" Max.
"Vivillion, let's go!" Viola.
"Metagross, time to battle." Steven.
"Gengar." Morty.
"Slaking, I choose you!" Norman.
"Blaziken, let's heat this battle up!" Flannery.
"Or we could not... GO ABOMASNOW!" Candice.
"Luxray, shock this up!" Clemont.
And for once, Ash was the inspired one. Grabbing the Pokeball at his side, he yelled,
"Go! Suicune!"
"I really owe you guys a major thanks," Ash addressed his League, tossing his new Master Ball.
"Without you I probably wouldn't have been able to beat Zygarde. I still can't believe how fucking huge that thing was!" He continued.
Max shrugged it off.
"Eh, it was no big problem, Arceus just teleported us here and Hoopa briefed us... Man, I'm still getting over the fact that I can mention legendaries casually now..."
And with that, the Islanders disappeared in the familiar flash of Teleport.
Well, except one.
Iris stayed behind, nervously shuffling her feet.
"Iris?" Ash asked. The girl's head snapped up, eyes looking anywhere but his.
"What's wrong?"
The dragon-specialist smacked her lips together a couple times before blurting out,
"Wellimsupposedtobethechampionofunovasoineedtogobackimreallysorryash."
"...Can you repeat that any faster?" Ash responded. Iris took a deep breath and explained.
"Well, Arceus told me that I'm supposed to be the Champion of Unova. So, uh, that means I've got to go back Ash. I'm really sorry. But, if you don't want me to-"
Ash cut her off with a chuckle.
"Iris, do you want to do this?"
She fervently nodded.
"Then do it. And remember that you're always welcome in the islands." Ash said.
Iris shot forward and hugged Ash, taking the raven-haired trainer by surprise. Suddenly, though, she released him and said,
"Wait. I caught a Latias. Do I need to release her?" Ash thought a moment before responding:
"I don't think so, so long as Arceus didn't say anything about it."
"Well, I guess this is it."
"Uh, hell no it isn't, so don't get sappy on me. I'll see you later. Oh, and Ash, stop being such a kid."
And with that, Iris snapped open one of her Pokeballs and a Latias was quickly released and Mega-Evolved before Iris hopped on. And with a final wave, the legendary and her trainer rocketed off into the horizon.
Slade's Pokemon team: Flygon, Golurk, Swampert~, Camerupt~, Diggersby, Claydol.
He's from Mossdeep, Hoenn. Traveled Hoenn, Unova, and Kalos (In progress)
I. Am. BACK!
WOOOOOOOO! So, for those of you who don't know, I moved to America recently, where I was able to get a great job in the video game industry. So, for a while, I was without internet. When I finally got it, though, duty called. I have been so busy for the last couple weeks that the only time I had to edit this chapter was late, late at night.
But enough about me.
Reviews!
The Creator: I'm so sorry man. Really, I am. When I reuploaded chapter 12, I felt like the world's stupidest man. You have no idea how much it sucked to see it on my phone and not be able to do anything about it. And you know what? Ash does need some Jesus in his life. And as an apology for this chapter... I could pull some shit from the realm of author'sfreewillia and give Zero that Pokemon. Yes, that Pokemon. :)
animal lover13- Nope, no it wasn't. LIke I said earlier, it was a complete accident and I apologize for that.
Guest- Grow a pair and review as a profile.
Omega the Espeon- Heh, no problem. Once again, sorry about the repeat chapter. And I think I'm gonna stick with naming the islands after the plates unless the name sucks.
boomingmaster- That was supposed to be an AN, as implied by the title.
OMAKE!
Ash slowly slid off of Primal Articuno, his face shifting into an expression of pure determination. Turning his head to his shoulder, he nodded at Pikachu, whose features were set in a thin line. His starter leapt off of his shoulders, awaiting Ash to call out the undoubtably futile attack on the Perfect Legendary. Still though, it would buy their friends time. Suddenly, Ash's voice cut through the silence of the once-lush forest.
"Pikachu!" He began.
"Use Return!"
"Wow, that was actually a really easy battle, huh buddy?" Ash asked of his starter, hands sliding over the Pokeballs that housed his two Zygarde.
Pikachu nodded enthusiastically.
XXX
Well, I think that that wraps this up nicely. Remember, if you want to get in touch with me, I have this email set up at theogpokemonmaster at gmail!
~ThenowofficiallyAmerican OGPokemonMaster.