Chapter 6: The Challenge
With Summer, Theodore, Eleanor, and Cilan…
Summer smiled at her handy work. With the help of her Staraptor and Litwick, she tore apart the iron ball the caged her friends. "Okay, guys, tell me everything that happened."
"It all started shortly after you took off on Staraptor…" Theodore began. Summer's face looked more and more shocked as the Chipmunk spoke.
"And he tried to kill you anyway?!" she asked when Theodore finished. Cilan looked away. Theodore looked down at his furry feet. Eleanor and Axew burst into tears. Summer clenched her fists. "What was Iris thinking?!"
With the Shadow Master and Iris in the tower…
"So, you really spared my friends?" Iris asked. She wasn't aware, even though she was there at the time. When the darkness was entering her, everything was blurry. When life came into focus, her friends were gone.
"Yes. As I told you, they are in a cell here in the tower for…safekeeping. Be very careful, Iris, for their sake," the Shadow Master lied. If he had scared her with her companion's lives, he'd have her wrapped around his fingers.
"Good," Iris said defiantly, yet fearfully. It was ironic. She hated what she was doing, but Cilan's life was at stake, and to her, that was all that mattered. The Shadow Master handed her a Poké Ball. "What's this?"
"Your new slave," the Shadow Master answered. Even when their faces were inches apart, Iris still couldn't see his whole face. She hated it when Pokémon were called slaves, but if she stepped out of line, she'd be the one responsible for the deaths of Axew, Excadrill, Emolga, Cilan, Theodore, and Eleanor. "I have a plan for you to execute."
With Ash and the others…
"You know what I just noticed?" Thomas asked. "Dawn and Chris are gone."
"Yeah…where did they go?" Simon asked. No one had noticed their disappearance until that point.
"Gangway!" they heard someone shout. A blur of several colors consisting of yellow, orange, white, green, and brown slammed into Ash. It turned out to be Barry. "Geez, Ash. Watch where you're going. Or I'll fine you."
"Ugh," the dizzy Ash moaned. "Barry? What are you doing here?"
"Howdy!" Dawn's voice greeted as she, Lucas, and Chris came out of the shrubs.
"Did you miss us?" Chris asked somewhat eagerly. Thomas and Hannah exchanged glances, not sure how to tell him that they hadn't noticed he was gone until a few moments before he arrived. Chris seemed to understand, but didn't really care to begin with. "Okay."
"You should've seen Dawn! Her eyes were all glow-y, and she beat the King of Darkness so hard! And she totally exploded on those ninjas!" Barry informed them.
"Huh?" Misty asked. "She what?"
"Simon, I'm starting to worry about Eleanor and Theodore. They and Cilan are not back yet. I hope they're okay," Jeanette whispered in Simon's ear.
Simon held her close and her hair fountain tickled he nose. He said to her, "Don't worry, Jeanette. I'm sure they're fine. Wow! Your hair fountain is so soft!"
"Thanks," Jeanette smiled.
"Am I hallucinating or am I seeing the Chipmunks and Chipettes?" Lucas rubbed his eyes and asked. He then clutched his stomach and wheezed, "I'm think I'm gonna hurl."
"Hey, guys, I have a proposal. When the time comes, I kill the Shadow Master," Dawn requested, though it was fierce and firm.
Thomas smiled and reasoned, "There are seven Warriors. If there ever is a seven-sided coin, we'll flip for him." Dawn growled a low growl. She wanted to make the Shadow Master pay. She wanted to see to that personally. But she knew he was right. She couldn't do it alone.
"Fair enough," Dawn growled.
Just then, a Hydreigon descended upon them. On the Dark- and Dragon-type's back was none other than Iris. She smirked and said, "We challenge you! Pick three representatives. You'll fight me and two others in a Pokémon battle. We're giving you two hours to decide on who is battling. And not a second later." Hydreigon flew off again.
"What the squish was that all about?" Ben asked.
"Well, we can't have three of us from this specific group go and battle them," Thomas began. "Iris knows us. She knows our tricks. We need to battle alongside someone she hasn't seen in a while, if ever."
"I got it!" Ash came up with an idea.
2 hours later…
Ash, Thomas, and Brock stood in a forest clearing. Brock requested, "Remind me what we're up against."
"Well, Iris…a dark, evil Iris," Ash began.
"And two unnamed battle partners," Thomas finished. Both Pikachu and Vileplume looked determined and ready for battle. "That must mean it is a triple tag battle of some sort."
"We haven't done anything like that," Ash realized.
"Any way we put it, we have to stay sharp," Brock said to them. His eyes (or rather eye slits) glowed with a golden light. Ash's eyes glowed with this color as well. Thomas' eyes glowed, but they glowed with the color magenta, the color of Palkia. A Hydreigon descended. Iris, once again, was riding it. Two Netherworld ninjas appeared by her, one on either side. She got down from Hydreigon.
"All Warriors? All the more pleasure to defeat you," Iris growled. She took out and cracked her whip. The ninjas took out a Poké Ball each and threw them in the air. Out of one came a Bisharp, and the other, a Sableye.
"Bisharp is a Dark- and Steel-type, and Sableye is a Dark- and Ghost-type," Thomas mentioned.
"Not to mention Hydreigon, a Dark- and Dragon-type," Brock added.
"They're all Dark-types…but with those other types in the mix, this could get rocky," Ash brought up. "We have to choose carefully. Something tells me it's all or nothing this time."
"We have some conditions. We win; we get to take the planet talker's life," Iris stated.
"Planet talker?" Brock asked.
"You want to kill Brittany?!" Ash and Thomas gasped. Brock then gasped.
Iris smirked. "And what are your conditions? Speak now, Warriors!"
"Iris, if we win," Thomas began.
"You have to come back over to our side," Ash continued.
"And the Shadow Master has to leave Azula," Brock concluded. On the way to the clearing, Ash and Thomas had explained the situation to Brock, who they had called via a telepathic link.
"Hmm…accepted. Choose your Pokémon," Iris demanded. Hydreigon looked restless.
"Pikachu, I choose you!" Ash exclaimed. Pikachu ran out onto the battlefield.
"Vileplume, you're up," Thomas declared. Vileplume took its place beside Pikachu.
Brock took out a Poké Ball. "Go, Steelix!" His ace, Steelix, appeared on the battlefield.
"So, these are your choice Pokémon?" Iris asked with a smirk and a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah. And we don't need your approval," Thomas told her bitterly. "Stay sharp, Vileplume!"
"Plume!" Vileplume nodded. Translation: Right!
"Hydreigon, use Flamethrower!" Iris ordered. Hydreigon spewed flames towards Steelix.
"Steelix, counter with Dragon Breath!" Brock countered. Steelix fired a Dragon Breath attack. It met the Flamethrower. "She must still be a bit spiteful about that one date we had…"
"Well, you did openly state you preferred older women," Ash reminded him.
"Sableye, use Fury Swipes!" one of the ninjas ordered. Sableye rushed towards Pikachu with razor sharp claws.
"Pikachu, dodge it!" Ash commanded. Pikachu tried to dodge, but Sableye was too quick. Pikachu took on the Fury Swipes. The damage wasn't large, but damage was damage. Pikachu was on all fours once again, ready for more. "You okay, Pikachu?"
"Pika," Pikachu smiled at its Trainer and nodded. Translation: Yes.
"Okay! Use Iron Tail!" Ash smiled and commanded. With a metallic tail hard as iron, Pikachu slammed into Sableye. The attack hit it right on the head. "Alright! Good job, Pikachu! Let's keep it up!"
"Vileplume, use Energy Ball!" Thomas ordered. Vileplume summoned the power of nature and condensed it into a sphere. It fired the attack at Hydreigon, but Bisharp rushed forward and took the hit. All three Space-Time Warriors gasped in surprise. Bisharp gave Vileplume a cold look, but did not move otherwise.
"Bisharp, Night Slash!" the other ninja ordered. Bisharp sped towards Vileplume. The attack hit. However, Vileplume didn't take heavy damage. More damage than Pikachu, but not a dangerous amount. The ninja ordered, "Night Slash again!"
"Vileplume, dodge and use Drain Punch!" Thomas countered. Vileplume, with its incredible speed that was not native to most Grass-type Pokémon, managed to barely dodge Bisharp's Night Slash. Then, Vileplume, with a swirling green energy around its purple fist, punched Bisharp in the back, gaining the strength it had lost to the first Night Slash.
"Wow! A direct hit!" Ash admired.
"And with a double type disadvantage, that surely left a huge amount of damage on Bisharp," Brock nodded in approval. Tom always did spend a lot of time trying to polish Vileplume's speed.
Iris took Brock not paying attention as an opportunity. "Hydreigon, use Dragon Pulse!" Hydreigon fired the Dragon Pulse attack at Steelix. The attack hit.
"Oh! Steelix!" Brock gasped. "Ur! Use Dragon Breath!" Steelix recovered from the hit it took. It fired a Dragon Breath attack at Hydreigon. Sableye tried to jump forward and take the hit. Instead, both it and Hydreigon got blasted by Dragon Breath.
Out of the corner of her eye, Iris saw something moving in the bushes. To her astonishment, Cilan came out. Axew followed, and so did Emolga and Excadrill. Theodore and Eleanor then appeared. Summer came out last. She muttered, "The Shadow Master really did let them go. He wasn't holding them hostage…"
"Did she say 'let them go'? Yeah, he let them go—from a few hundred feet off the ground! He tried to kill them!" Summer stated from the sidelines.
"What?!" Iris gasped in shock.
"Okay, can someone please tell me what the squish is going on?!" Thomas demanded.
"Iris, why did you join the Shadow Master, anyway?" Ash asked with crossed arms.
"Well, we were captured. Cilan, my Pokémon, Theodore, Eleanor, and I. We were in the Shadow Master's tower. They were in some kind of iron ball. The Shadow Master made an offer to me that I…" Iris choked on her words as tears rolled down her cheeks. "I just couldn't refuse it!"
"Iris…not to antagonize, but…what was the offer?" Thomas asked. He had an idea of what the offer was, but it was better to confirm it.
"He said that he'd spare their lives…if I joined him. So, I did. I had to! After I was infused with darkness, he told me…that…he was going to hold them hostage rather than let them go. He said that because he didn't want me to get out of line," Iris admitted tearfully. "But…BUT HE LIED TO ME!" She gave each ninja a nasty glare. "Hydreigon, use Flamethrower on Sableye and Bisharp!"
"Remember who your real master is, Hydreigon," an eerie voice rang out. Hydreigon faced Iris. Flames were peeking out of each of its mouths. Iris' eyes went wide with fear.
"Okay! Steelix, use Bind!" Brock ordered. Steelix wrapped its steel body around Hydreigon. Hydreigon let out a squealing screech of pain. Steelix then threw it up in the air and used Iron Tail, knocking Hydreigon out.
"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded.
"Vileplume, Solar Beam!" Thomas instructed. Vileplume charged and fired a Solar Beam attack at the exact same time Pikachu used Thunderbolt. The two attacks merged into one and hit Sableye and Bisharp. They were knocked out.
"Excellent work, boys," Hannah complimented as she and Dawn emerged from the bushes. Simon and Jeanette were on her shoulders.
"That finishing move was amazing!" Jeanette exclaimed; awestruck by the battle.
"The whole battle was amazing!" Simon added. "It makes me greatly anticipate befriending my first Pokémon."
"A truly aspiring battle indeed," Cilan claimed. "Now, Iris can come back over to our side. A recipe for blissful happiness!"
"Oh, Cilan, I missed your Connoisseur lingo!" Iris wrapped her arms around him. A blacken aura flowed out of her body. Her gown went from black to pink. Her whip was goldenrod once again. The evilness left her eyes, replacing it with gentleness and kindness.
"Axew!" Axew rushed over to Iris, overjoyed. Translation: Iris!
Excadrill and Emolga joined Axew. Iris spoke to them, "I missed you all so much!"
"Wow! This is great!" Misty cheered as she, Haon, Ben, Alvin, and Brittany emerged from the shrubs.
"I can't believe you bet my life!" an enraged Brittany hollered. Alvin gave her a gentle nudge.
Haon looked to the sky, saying, "Now, honor your promise or face the consequences." Moments after, there was a trembling in the ground. Haon reported to everyone, "The Shadow Master has fled. The balance has been restored."
"He left without us?!" one of the ninjas gasped in shock. Everyone looked at the two of Iris' former battle partners.
"Let's get out of here!" the other ninja suggested. They ran off. No one bother to chase them.
"Hey, guys," Chris emerged from the bushes and greeted.
"We're all ready to go," Lucas reported as he followed him.
"Come on! I can't wait all day!" Barry shouted from far behind them. The others shrugged.
"Come on. We don't want Barry to wet himself," Ash urged and walked into the forest. Brock called Steelix back into its Poké Ball and everyone else followed.
Sometime later…
Chris was in the Ranger Bird 1, waiting for the TSC to open up a portal. Brock was in the driver's seat of the TSC. Ash in the passenger seat. Everyone else tried to find room in the back. Alvin complained, "I'm cramped back here. And at this size, that's saying something."
"I can't believe Haon said no," Brock mumbled sadly. Once again, he had faced another rejection. "Hey, Ash? Do you think Lucy, the Frontier Brain of the Battle Pike, likes me?"
"Anything is possible," Ash shrugged. "Now that I think about it, she did seem kind of smitten. Maybe. You should ask her out, Brock. She's a really strong Trainer, too. Everything anyone could ever want in a woman. She kind of reminds me of Misty in a way."
"Aw! Thanks!" Misty thanked her boyfriend.
"This is an adventure I doubt I'll forget," Cilan chuckled awkwardly. He was crammed in a corner of the van. "So, uh, how about we play a game?"
"How can we play a game when your foot is under my arm?" Summer asked.
"At least we're all present and accounted for," Ben smiled and pointed out.
"Goodbye, Azula," Brittany whispered as she looked out the back window. She was on Summer's head. Placing a paw on the window, she frowned. Deep down, she was never a fan of goodbyes. But the balance of Azula was restored and that was all that mattered.
"So, where are we off to?" Barry asked. "If we're going to some planet that isn't Earth, you can just leave me out in space."
"That would actually make my day," Thomas said harshly. "Now either shut up or get an oxygen tank."
"Simon, are you excited to be going home?" Jeanette asked her boyfriend. He nodded to her and held her paw. Brock turned the key and the van roared to life. With Haon waving goodbye, the TSC and Ranger Bird 1 sped into a portal and disappeared.
I know some of you may think that this is kind of a rushed ending. I know. Believe me, I wanted to make it a little longer, but I was running out of things to write that were not complete nonsense. Thank you to all of you who read this. Next time should be even longer and better. There will be three categories for the first time since Pokémon BW: Grand Adventures. This one will be called…okay; I haven't come up with a name for it. But I will. Somehow. Thanks again. If you would like to know the categories, I will be updating my profile to announce the next crossover. So, my profile is the place to check.