"So, Viperia," Highness Spirit Terrus said, as he strolled through his new lair. "How goes the integration of the Shadow Spirits?"
"Well…" Viperia said, with a sheepish look on her face. "Unfortunately it hasn't been as successful as we hoped. A group that call themselves the Poké Rangers have been defeating the Shadow Spirits as they move into this realm. They have become… Troublesome to say the least."
"Well then it appears we will have to do something about that…" Terrus turned to the purple fireplace and grinned. "Viperia, Zangax, you know about the Voiden Crack right?"
"Not exactly…" the two of them said.
"This is where the Highness Spirits and other strong Spirits emerge. However, there is also a being on the other side, one who we must obey under every circumstance."
"If he's on the other side how do we talk to him?" Zangax asked.
"Simple," Terrus said. "If you do a bad thing, you'll die when you near it!" The Highness Spirit began to laugh as Viperia and Zangax had looks of horror cross their face. Terrus continued to laugh as he walked to the bronzor mirror, waving his hand across it.
"It seems another Shadow Spirit is about to emerge," Terrus said, watching as a purple crack formed on the outside of the Hearthome city Pokémon Centre. "Get down there and assist it."
"Yes your Highness," the two Chaos Spirits said, leaving the cave. Terrus sighed, looking at the large war-hammer he held. The red orb that was embedded in it seemed to shine with power.
"This pitiful planet will know no mercy…"
Beast Force!
(An Arcanine, Sharpedo, Pidgeotto, Persian and Tauros all seem to roar)
Beast Force Unleash!
(The Five Rangers stand side by side)
Beast Force Poké Rangers!
(The Red Ranger and Yellow Ranger attack Octormator)
We'll protect what's right forever.
(The Rangers run into a squadron of Grimoids)
Beast Force Poké Rangers!
(Blue, Black and White charge at Viretric)
We'll protect this world together.
(The five rangers, ride on some themed motorcycles)
Beast Force... Beast Force, Beast Force!
(The Rangers point the Beast Sabres into the centre of a circle they formed)
Poké Rangers flying higher, Go!
(Artemis looks at the screen, smiling, then morphs to his Ranger form. Artemis Kane, Red Arcanine Ranger, created by Hotrod198)
Beast Force running faster, Beast Force!
(Bradley has his arms folded with a serious look on his face, then morphs into his Ranger form. Bradley Fobb, Yellow Pidgeotto Ranger, created by Hotrod198)
Poké Rangers stick together, Go!
(Lewis smiles at the screen while holding a magikarp in his hand, then morphs into his Ranger form. Lewis Rose, Blue Sharpedo Ranger, created by Hotrod198)
We will save the world!
(Seth and Kaylee both look at the screen, Seth holding a book while Kaylee holds a pair of scissors. Then two then morph into their Ranger Form. Seth Ulrich, Black Tauros Ranger, and Kaylee Holloway, White Persian Ranger, created by Hotrod198)
Beast Force Unleash!
(The five rangers charge at the screen.)
Beast Force Poké Rangers!
(The Beast King Megazord forms itself)
We'll protect what's right forever.
(The Rangers use the Five-Beast Blade)
Beast Force Poké Rangers!
(Princess Alyrra smiles at the screen, with Shaymin in its sky forme floating alongside her)
We'll protect this world together.
(Terrus, Viperia and Zangax look at the screen)
Beast Force Poké Rangers!
(A giant Mightyena looms on a mountain, howling)
We'll protect this world together!
(The Arcanine Zord and Darmanitan Zord nod at each other)
Beast... Force... Beast Force!
(The five rangers pose in front of the five Poké Zords. Poké Rangers: Beast Force explodes onto the screen. Written by Hotrod198. Inspired by Blaze Productions)
Episode 3
Seeing is Believing
Mandy Ray, a thirty two year old painter, sat in the Pokémon Centre, staring at the floor at her feet. A smeargle sat alongside her, the pokémon's hand on its trainer's shoulder.
"It'll be fine Smudge," Mandy said, looking at her pokémon. "We can still win this art competition. We just need to get a new brush and we can get to work."
"Sme, smeargle," Smudge said. Mandy got up and brushed her hands on the apron she was wearing. She sighed, and motioned for her pokémon to follow her. The two left the pokémon centre and headed into Hearthome city. As the two walked along, Mandy felt Smudge tug on her apron.
"What is it Smudge?" Mandy asked. The normal type held up an object that Mandy took and looked at it. It was a paint brush that had a purple stick, and the brush itself seemed a strange green colour. "Oh? A paint brush? What a find! That's so good Smudge! Maybe we can win this competition after all." Mandy and Smudge ran off, happy with their new find. However, Viperia and Zangax watched from a nearby alley, laughing as the two ran off.
"Is everyone here?" Artemis asked, looking around. He got a nod from the rest of the team and he smiled. "All right then, let's get started. As a team I feel like we need to have a few guidelines if we need to work smoothly as a team."
"What kind of guidelines?" Lewis asked, crossing his arms.
"Well first of all," Artemis said. "We have to always answer a call from the Beast Phones, no ifs or buts."
"Well that's pretty much an obvious," Lewis muttered. Artemis ignored the blue ranger.
"Second of all, we're a team. So that means no fighting alone. If you see a Shadow Spirit, you call the team and wait for everyone to get there. The Shadow Spirits are working with the Chaos Spirits now, so we can't afford to just wander up to any old bad guy and hope that everything works out."
"That seems fair enough," agreed Kaylee. However, Bradley merely shook his head.
"You can wait for back up if you don't think you're good enough," he said. "But if I find a Shadow Spirit, I'm not going to let them harm innocent people while I wait for the rest of the team to get there. I'd rather die and save a civilian, then wait and watch them die."
"We can get there quickly," Artemis argued. "We need this teamwork otherwise we stand no chance."
"Look, I don't care. I may recognise you as the leader, but I'm not going to be bossed around to act like a weakling. We're here to save the world, not watch people die." Bradley stormed out of the place, while Artemis sighed and rubbed his forehead.
"This leadership thing really isn't working…"
"Just give him some time," Kaylee said. "I'll go try and talk to him, see if I can get him to calm down."
Mandy and Smudge sat on a bench in the middle of Amity Square. Smudge watched as his trainer stared at the canvas resting on the easel. She held the purple paint brush in her hand, as she tried to think of what to paint. She saw a trainer and his psyduck playing near the pond, and finding inspiration from the scene, she begun to paint.
As soon as she started painting she realised something was different. She painted incredibly fast, and she didn't even need to change colours at any point. Lost in the moment, Mandy painted the scene, and in a matter of a minute, she was done, and there was a masterpiece before her eyes. Mandy blinked and seemed to fall out of a trance.
"Did I paint that?" she asked Smudge. Her smeargle shrugged, surprised just as much as she was. The painting itself was almost as good as a photo, taking in every little detail that a photo would have. "I didn't think I was that good. Maybe this brush is a good luck charm?"
"Smeargle…" her pokémon sighed. The normal type looked at the brush, and for a moment, the pokémon thought it was smiling. But that was impossible wasn't it?
Out of nowhere, breaking the silence that had fallen between Mandy and Smudge, a scream cried out. The two got up and looked to the pond, where she saw the trainer and psyduck disappear before her eyes. She heard the screaming still and moved towards the pond. Suddenly, she felt two hands grab her shoulders.
"Help us!" a voice shouted from right in front of her. But she saw nothing. Mandy freaked out and ran, grabbing Smudge by the hand and dragging him along too. She forgot about the painting, but that didn't matter, as the painting mysteriously burnt away in to nothing…
"Hey Bradley, wait up!"
The yellow ranger turned his head as he saw Kaylee approach him. He sighed and continued walking, choosing not to stop. The white ranger managed to catch up to him though.
"Bradley, you okay?"
"I'm fine," Bradley said. "But he's not. I thought he'd learn to listen to me after last time. Apparently not…"
"Well, he does have a point…"
"You're taking his side?!" snapped Bradley. "Really? I mean come on, you know that I had been doing this for a year by myself, and with no trouble at all."
"I wouldn't say there was no trouble," Kaylee stated. "I mean, remember when Shaymin had to step in?"
"That was an exception," Bradley said. "Besides, I don't want to talk about it."
"Look, we have to let Artemis get used to being a leader. He's new to all this, so we need to just focus on being a team."
"You don't get it…" Bradley sighed. He turned and ran off while Kaylee watched silently, knowing she wouldn't get through to him.
Bradley soon reached his destination, Amity Square, a peaceful place where he could always relax. The yellow ranger noted how handy it was to have a powerful portal in Pokétopia that could take him anywhere. As Bradley walked around he could see people and pokémon enjoying each other's company. The more Bradley walked in to the square he noticed something, crime tape circling off a piece of the park. A group of people watched on, and Bradley decided to investigate.
"What's going on?" Bradley asked. One of the bystanders turned to the ranger.
"Apparently something happened to these people and pokémon," they said. "Turned them invisible."
"Invisible?" Bradley asked. He looked in to the centre where he saw two people wrapped up in blankets. Well what looked like it anyways. The people themselves had disappeared, the blankets being the only thing signifying there was anything there. The pokémon must have been returned to their pokéballs, or just didn't have a blanket. "Any idea what did this?"
"Not really," the bystander said. "The only thing they mentioned was that there was someone painting them."
Bradley thanked the man and walked off, thinking to his self about what could have caused it. He pulled out his Beast Phone, and considered calling the others, but decided against it. He figured he'd at least look around before he did.
Mandy and Smudge reached the exit on to route 212. She panted as she looked around, hoping no one had followed her. She looked at the brush she was holding, and then at Smudge.
"Did we do that?" she asked herself. Smudge looked at her, shaking his head. Mandy turned to the brush again, looking at it once more. "Could this brush be cursed?"
The brush seemed to shimmer as she spoke, catching Mandy off guard. She dropped the brush and it rolled along the ground. She went to go pick it up when a bright light pushed her backwards, knocking her to the ground. In place of the brush stood a creature that looked like a kecleon in shape, yet it had two smeargle-like tails instead of a regular kecleon's one. It held each tail in its hands. On its head, it had the hat-like growth that a smeargle had as well. The entire body of the creature seemed to have the same colour theme as a smeargle. Mandy merely screamed when she saw the creature.
"I am Smerleon!" the creature announced, laughing sinisterly. "Thanks to you, I have been able to regain my physical form! It was quite the pleasure painting that masterpiece with you dear."
Mandy scrambled to get up, recalling Smudge when she finally did. She went to ran away but was met with laughter from Smerleon.
"I don't think so dear!" he shouted. Using his two tails, he painted a picture of Mandy in thin air. With a laugh, the mystic painting that floated in the air burned away, and with it, Mandy vanished, collapsing to the ground as she did. "This is fantastic!" Smerleon laughed as he walked away…
Bradley had spent the last half hour finding more and more invisible bodies. Ever since he found the first two bodies, more seemed to be appearing out of nowhere. He helped as many as he could, but he wasn't sure what he could do. The trail seemed to be heading in a circle motion, having gone from Amity square, to the route 212 exit, and he was now at the route 209 exit. He was struggling to figure out where to go next. Sighing to himself, he picked up the Beast Phone and dialled Kaylee, who answered within the first ring.
"Kaylee, we have a problem at Hearthome. People are turning up invisible and I think a Shadow Spirit is behind it."
"Turning people invisible? But how can it do that?"
"I don't know," Bradley said, looking around. It was at the moment, that in the distance, he noticed Smerleon wandering around, flinging his tails around. "Hold that thought, I just found the Shadow Spirit. You guys get here as fast as you can!" Bradley hung up and ran towards the Shadow Spirit.
On the other end of the line Kaylee shouted Bradley's name multiple times in to the receiver.
"Damn it Bradley," she muttered. As she said this, Artemis, Seth and Lewis walked in, looking at her.
"What's wrong?" Artemis asked.
"It's Bradley, he's gone to fight a Shadow Spirit by himself."
"Far out he doesn't listen does he," Artemis said, rubbing his forehead. "Come on then, we have to get there as quick as we can. We can't let him get in to trouble."
Bradley made his way towards the Shadow Spirit, who was busy painting someone else's picture, turning them invisible in the process. Bradley had a look of anger cross his face, and he brought his Beast Phone up to his ear. "Beast Access, Unleash!"
Bradley's Beast Phone spun around and took a human shape, with the Pidgeotto spirit appearing around it. The phone then exploded, revealing Bradley striking a pose, wearing his yellow ranger suit. The head of the Pidgeotto spirit then formed around his head, his visor being the open mouth of the Pidgeotto, with a grey mouth piece under that. As Bradley's transformation completed, he brought out his Pidgeotto blade, striking the Shadow Spirit across its chest.
"Damn you," Smerleon said as he recoiled from the attack. "Just who do you think you are, attacking the great Smerleon like that?!"
"And who do you think you are hurting innocent people like that?" Bradley charged at Smerleon again, striking him across the chest two more times.
"Stop it!" Smerleon shouted, using one of his tails as a whip and slashing Bradley multiple times. Bradley moved out of the way of the fourth strike that was coming and charged for Smerleon once more. He brought down the blade towards Smerleon's head, only to have it blocked by a long dagger. Surprised, Bradley looked up to see Zangax standing there, smiling. The Chaos Spirit then brought his other dagger across, slashing Bradley painfully and causing him to fall back on to the ground. Bradley got up and looked at the two.
"I've got this," Zangax said, chuckling. "I'm going to enjoy killing this ranger!"
"Heh, thanks Mr Chaos Spirit!" Smerleon said, giggling.
"Damn you Zangax," Bradley muttered, as he gripped his blade with both hands, waiting for his opponent's to make a move.
"You know, your dead body could be a perfect present for Lord Terrus…"
"Lord Terrus?" Bradley asked, confused by the new name. "Who's that?"
"To you, he's nobody. Besides, you'll be dead in five minutes that you won't have to worry about it!"
As soon as Zangax finished speaking, his daggers glowed with energy, and he swung the blades, sending bolts of energy flying in to the yellow ranger. Bradley fell to his knees in pain, sparks raining off of his body from the bolts colliding. Bradley then pushed himself up and jumped in to the air, bringing his blade towards Zangax. The evil warrior however blocked the attack, and pushed Bradley back to the ground. Bradley rolled on the ground and got back up, moving back in to strike Zangax. However, Zangax blocked the swings the yellow ranger made, and then brought up his knee, slamming it in to Bradley's gut, causing the ranger to keel over. Zangax then brought down his two daggers, striking Bradley painfully. Bradley fell to the ground, and his suit disappeared from his body. Bradley looked up to see Zangax and Smerleon standing next to each other.
"You can have the honours," Zangax said, laughing as he did. Smerleon smiled, and brought his two brushes forward. He then painted a picture of Bradley, which burnt away afterwards. Smerleon laughed and the two disappeared in a flash. Bradley got up, clutching his sides as he did. However, as he stood up, a strange sensation came over his body.
"Bradley!" Bradley turned around and saw the others running towards him. As the others reached him he looked at them. He fell to his knees and looked at his body. Realising what was happening he turned to his allies.
"I don't know how but… He made me invisible…" Bradley then fell to the ground, passing out as the others stared at where his invisible body was.
"Lord Terrus, I bring great news!"
Zangax and Smerleon walked towards the Highness Spirit and Viperia, the three kneeling before Terrus. He turned around, clenching his battle hammer tight.
"Speak, Zangax."
"The Shadow Spirit you see alongside us has succeeded in removing the use of the yellow ranger's body. As he was the most experienced, the other four should crumble beneath our power."
"Excellent… most excellent," Terrus walked forward and placed his hand on Smerleon's shoulder. "As a gift, I will give you a taste of my power." Smerleon's body glowed, and a red orb appeared in the creature's chest. Blue lines appeared over the Shadow Spirit's body, resembling the pattern that a Groudon had. Smerleon smiled as the red orb in his chest shimmered with power.
"Thank you your Highness!" Smerleon said with a slight bow.
"This power will allow you to capture more than two or three people or pokémon at a time, and will increase the speed of your painting. Also, the more energy you capture from taking their bodies, the stronger you will get."
Smerleon laughed as he realised how much power he had. "Hearthome city is going to be a beautiful masterpiece when I'm finished with it!"
"Is there anything we can do?" Kaylee said to Alyrra, concerned about Bradley. Alyrra shook her head, looking at where Bradley was. The only thing that gave away his location was the blanket that was wrapped around him.
"I believe there is another problem…" Shaymin said in a gentle voice. The legendary walked forward towards Bradley and its flower glowed slightly and then diminished. "As I feared… Bradley's life force is fading away. If we don't find a way to reverse this, then Bradley will die, and so will all of the other victims."
"Then I'll beat it out of him!" Bradley said, standing up and shoving his way past everyone, leaving the blanket on the ground. The others looked around for him, only to hear something fall to the ground.
"Over here," Shaymin said, moving quickly. Shaymin appeared next to the invisible ranger, Seth and Lewis then helping him up. They brought Bradley back to the fountain, and rested him there once more.
"If I'm going to die, I'm going to die fighting the creature that did this to me."
"Don't be stupid," Lewis said. "You can't fight the way you are. You're dying at the moment, and you'll just make that come quicker."
"Yeah but I don't want to die sitting around."
Artemis stepped forward, his hands clenched. He shook his head. "You're not going to die. I'll find that Shadow Spirit, and I will destroy it. As leader of this team, it is my responsibility to protect my team mates." Artemis left in a rush, catching the others off guard. Seth, Lewis and Kaylee ran after him. Bradley merely watched, thinking to himself.
Artemis ran through Hearthome City, people were screaming and rushing around, pushing each other out of the way. Artemis forced his way through the crowds of people, until he came face to face with Smerleon.
"Shadow Spirit!" he shouted, clenching his fists as he stared at the enemy. "I won't let you do this anymore!"
"I'm afraid you don't have a choice!" Smerleon shouted, grabbing his brushes. He went to start painting but Artemis dived behind a tree, so Smerleon couldn't see him. "Get back out here!" Smerleon moved towards the tree, but Artemis started moving, running through the forest, weaving between trees to obscure Smerleon's view. The forest seemed to part, and revealed an abandoned factory, with old machinery and metal objects cluttering the place. Artemis made his way in to the factory, with Smerleon not far behind.
Inside the factory, Artemis hid behind a large metal crate, and took the brief moment to catch his breath. He peered around the side of the crate to see Smerleon walk in. The Shadow Spirit seemed to be laughing, as he looked around the building.
"Come on then," he shouted. "Where did you disappear too?" Smerleon walked forward a bit, and in the corner of his eye, noticed Artemis move his head behind the crate. "Gotcha!" From the red orb that was in Smerleon's chest, a bolt of energy blasted out and hit the crate however Artemis managed to react in time and scuttled off behind a forklift. However, Smerleon saw him move there, and fired another bolt of energy at the machine. Artemis disappeared behind more crates, and hid next to a staircase.
"Come on…" he muttered to himself. "I can't give up. Not yet. I need to do this for Bradley." Artemis looked around, searching for anything he could use. What he did notice, was a large steel beam that was very loose in place. If something struck it, it could easily fall.
"Come out wherever you are Ranger!" Smerleon was taunting Artemis, and the red ranger had had enough. He decided to act, and bolted out from his hiding spot. He ran towards the steel beam, and stood near it.
"Come and get me then!" Artemis shouted. This caught Smerleon's attention, and the Shadow Spirit ran towards him.
"You're not getting away again!" he shouted. Artemis moved backwards as he watched Smerleon approach him.
Meanwhile, Seth, Lewis and Kaylee appeared outside, already morphed, and moved to go in to the factory. They looked in to see Smerleon approaching Artemis.
"Get out of the way Artemis!" Kaylee shouted, trying to warn the red ranger.
"I think you should be quiet White Ranger," Viperia said, appearing out of the blue alongside Zangax and a handful of Grimoids. "You're going to have bigger problems soon. Get them!"
The Grimoids ran at the three rangers, and the rangers fought the grunts off, while also trying to keep an eye on Artemis.
Artemis meanwhile, was watching as Smerleon came closer to him. The Shadow Spirit seemed to be laughing at the red ranger, but Artemis hoped his plan would work.
"It's time for you to die I'm afraid," Smerleon said, as the orb on his chest began to crackle with energy. Artemis took a breath, and then grabbed a nearby brick. With a quick lob, he threw it at the breaking point of the steel beam. The beam groaned and then split off, falling down, and striking Smerleon in the head, knocking him down to the ground and pinning him there.
"Alright then," Artemis said, a smile appearing on his face from his plan working. He pulled out his Beast Phone "Now it's my turn. Beast Access, Unleash!"
Artemis' Beast Phone spun around and took a human shape, with the Arcanine spirit appearing around it. The phone then exploded, revealing Artemis striking a pose and wearing his red ranger suit. The head of the Arcanine spirit then formed around his head, his visor being the open mouth of the Arcanine, with a grey mouth piece under that. Artemis equipped his Arcanine Fang as the transformation completed itself, and he ran at Smerleon, who was struggling to get up.
"Flare Blitz!" he shouted, his entire right arm becoming engulfed in fire. He swung directly into Smerleon's red orb, shattering the object and sending Smerleon flying outside from the impact, causing him to topple in to Zangax and Viperia. Artemis followed him outside, and re-joined with the others. The four rangers looked at Smerleon and the Chaos Spirits, and watched as energy flowed out of the orb and in to the sky, dispersing in many directions.
"Artemis, I think you just destroyed what was keeping the bodies in place," Seth said.
"Well I hope so, because I think we could really use Bradley's help here," Artemis stated, watching as the three evil Spirits looked at them, Smerleon having recovered slightly from his earlier attack.
"Smerleon, I believe a nice group portrait is in order," Zangax said, pointing his dagger at the rangers. "Paint the lot of them!"
"Of course," Smerleon said, grabbing his two paintbrushes. "I may not be able to store the energy but I will at least be able to kill them!" With that Smerleon went to start painting however, out of nowhere, a blade came slicing through, cutting the brushes off of the ends of the tails. Smerleon roared in pain, and looked up to see Bradley standing there, morphed and with his Pidgeotto Blade already equipped. The others ran up to his side.
"You know," Bradley said, looking at Artemis. "You're not meant to break the rules you make."
"Well," Artemis said, giving a chuckle. "I guess exceptions can be made sometimes, given certain circumstances." Bradley just shook his head, and looked back at the injured Smerleon.
"You're going to pay for that!" Smerleon shouted, getting angry. The rangers then stood in formation.
"Soaring Pidgeotto!" Bradley shouted, while striking a pose.
"Savage Sharpedo!" said Lewis, also taking up a pose.
"Iron Tauros!" Seth said following suit.
"Prideful Persian!" Kaylee shouted, doing the same.
"Blazing Arcanine!" shouted Artemis, finishing off the roll call. Bradley then stepped forward, in the centre of the group.
"As protectors of Earth, we unite our hearts to rid this planet of the evil upon it. We are the heroes of Earth. Hear our roar! Poké Rangers! Beast Force!"
As the five struck one final pose, Viperia turned to Smerleon.
"Hurry up and kill them already!"
"Gladly," said the Shadow Spirit. Smerleon ran towards the group, with Bradley taking the charge. He swung his Pidgeotto Blade at Smerleon, striking him once across the chest. He went to go again, but Smerleon grabbed the blade with his left hand. Then, with his right, he grabbed Bradley's forearm, and threw him over his head, sending him toppling into some empty crates. The other rangers ran to his side, helping him up.
"You rangers will die today by my hand!" Smerleon shouted. Suddenly, a long tongue shot out from Smerleon's mouth, tangling the rangers up. The tongue then had energy crackle along it, dealing damage to the rangers, causing them to writhe in pain.
"No!" Artemis shouted, standing as tall as he could, even though there was a tongue wrapped around him. "I can't lose here! My friends depend on it!" Almost as soon as Artemis spoke, Arcanine's roar could be heard, causing Zangax and Viperia to look around in worry.
"I hear you Arcanine," Artemis said. "And no, I won't give up either. I will do this!" Artemis began to roar as his body became surrounded in fire. "Flame Body!"
Smerleon's tongue lost contact with Artemis, the red ranger becoming free from the attack, and Smerleon seemed to be in pain, as the tip of his tongue was now burnt. Artemis then pulled out his Arcanine Fang.
"Flaming Evolution! Arcanine Cannon!" As Artemis shouted the words, the gauntlet became surrounded in a red light, and transformed into a large red gun, with the nozzle looking very similar to an arcanine's head. The mane had several holes in it while the arcanine's mouth was shut.
"That doesn't scare me!" Smerleon shouted.
"Well it should! Rapid Fire mode!" Artemis pulled the trigger, and the holes in the mane lit up, a flurry of lasers blasting out and dealing very quick damage to Smerleon. The attack caused him to recoil his tongue, and the rest of the rangers regrouped.
"And now for the kicker. Final Burst mode!" The arcanine's mouth on the nozzle opened up, and a small barrel appeared. A large ball of energy formed and blasted towards Smerleon, hitting him in the chest and sending him stumbling backwards, sparks raining from his body. Smerleon screamed in pain as he hit the ground.
"Alright guys," Artemis said, transforming the Arcanine Cannon back in to the gauntlet mode. "Let's finish him off!" Artemis took the Arcanine Fang and gripped the bottom of the Persian Baton with it. The Pidgeotto Blade's hilt fitted inside the gap in the middle of the Tauros Axe. The Sharpedo Cutters then formed as a connector between the baton and the axe. The sword was formed, and Artemis took it, the other four standing behind him with their hands placed on each other's shoulders.
"Five-Beast Blade!" Artemis shouted, turning the blade ninety degrees. "United Beast Slash!"
Artemis brought down the sword, and the large energy blade came slashing through Smerleon, cutting him in half. With a cry in pain, Smerleon fell to his knees and then exploded. The rangers broke the sword apart and turned away from the explosion at the same time.
"Damn you rangers!" Zangax said. "Viperia, you know what to do."
Viperia nodded and pointed her staff towards the remains of Smerleon. "Arcane energy of the rift, flow through me and grant this follower the power to destroy!" A purple ball of energy shot out from her staff and hit the remains of Smerleon. The energy crackled and Smerleon's body transformed into a giant copy. Smerleon let out an angry roar as he finished being revived.
"Smerleon, I gave you your second chance!" Viperia shouted. "Do not fail me!"
As an instinctive response, the five rangers pulled out their Beast Sabres and thrust them in to the air and Artemis spoke. "Beast Summoning! Pokémon Zords descend!" The five Zords came charging down a road of light from Pokétopia, charging in to battle. Pidgeotto took the lead and swooped towards Smerleon, hitting him with a steel wing attack. Smerleon moved back and went back to attack, but instead met Arcanine running in to him, striking at his face. Smerleon kicked Arcanine away, sending him sliding along the ground.
"Alright guys, lets finish this off," Artemis said. The five rangers pointed their Sabres in to the centre of a circle they made. "Beast Fusion!"
The back of the Tauros Zord split open as it roared. The Arcanine Zord then leapt into the air, the front legs folding in, while the back legs rotated up. Two small connectors emerged from the Zord's back. The Arcanine Zord then connected to the Tauros Zord and the Pidgeotto Zord landed on top. The Sharpedo Zord's rear extended outwards, forming a shoulder and connector, while the Persian Zord folded in its legs, and the rear end rotated around, revealing a connector of its own. The Sharpedo Zord and Persian Zord then connected to the Arcanine Zord, the Sharpedo forming the right arm and the Persian forming the left. The underneath of the Tauros Zord then flipped backwards, and the whole body then rotated around, so that the head was still facing forward, as was the Tauros' back that was now legs. The Arcanine's head then shifted forward, giving room for the Pidgeotto Zord to slide in, with the wings folding down around the Arcanine's head. The tail feathers of the Pidgeotto Zord then flipped upwards, and then rotated around, revealing a face. The Megazord then stood tall. The rangers then jumped in to the Megazord, taking their positions.
"Beast King Megazord! United we stand!"
"You won't beat me again!" shouted Smerleon. "I'll paint this final masterpiece!"
"Not happening!" Artemis said.
"Sharpedo Bite!" Lewis shouted. The right arm of the Megazord struck Smerleon twice in rapid succession, causing Smerleon to feel some serious pain.
"Persian Slash!" cried out Kaylee. The left arm then swiped across Smerleon's face, causing him to fall backwards in pain.
"D-Damn you rangers…" Smerleon said getting back up. "I won't die like this!" As he said this, Smerleon's tongue shot out towards the Rangers. However, before the tongue hit, the Beast King Blade appeared in the Megazord's right arm. The Megazord slashed straight through the tongue, cutting it off of Smerleon's body.
"Gah!" Smerleon shouted, trying to produce real words but finding he was unable too. The Megazord moved forward and slashed Smerleon's body multiple times, dealing some serious damage to the Shadow Spirit.
"Let's finish this," Artemis said. "Spirits of Pokémon and Humans unite! Spiritual Beast Beam!" Five beams of each ranger's colour blasted out and struck Smerleon. The attack overpowered the monster and he screamed in pain, before exploding into absolutely nothing. The rangers cheered as they defeated the Shadow Spirit.
"Good job guys," Artemis said. "We did great."
"All thanks to our awesome leader," Lewis said, placing his hand on Artemis' shoulder.
"It wasn't all me," Artemis said. "Anyways we should head-" As Artemis was speaking, a purple cloud formed in the sky, lightning shooting out from it. The rangers looked at it as Terrus appeared in the sky. He was laughing as the rangers looked at him, no idea of who he was.
"Rangers!" he said. "I am Highness Spirit Terrus!"
"Terrus…?" Bradley said. "That's who Zangax was talking about."
"You may believe this victory as some big success but it truly isn't. You have not even begun to see the true power that the Voiden Army contains. Celebrate all you want, but this is not the end…" With that, Terrus was surrounded in a purple light, and disappeared in a flash, leaving the Rangers standing there.
"So…" Lewis said. "That's their leader?"
"Appears so…" Seth said. "And he seems powerful."
"Who cares if he's powerful," Artemis said. "No matter what he does we will beat him down. We will destroy him if it's the last thing I do."
"I like this new attitude," Bradley said, smiling beneath his helmet. Kaylee let out a laugh while Artemis sighed.
"You know what, let's go celebrate," he said. "We've deserved it. First round of Black Persian's are on me!" With that the rangers nodded, having saved the world for another day.
A/N: And another chapter done! I had some trouble with this one for some reason. Couldn't get a few things right that I liked. Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed, and there was also a reference to another Poké Rangers series in there, if someone sees it. Anyways, see you guys next time!
Lewis: I don't need your help!
Seth: You obviously do.
?: You fell right in to my trap!
Seth: I'll make this right. Just don't let me be too late…
Episode 4: Hardships of Friendships