Obligatory Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.
Thanks for the compliments and review, The Straight Elf!
"Shock" would be an insufficient word to express Ash's feelings as the smoke grew to extend around the group and their Pokémon.
"Dismay" would hardly suffice either.
He was dimly aware of Cameron, then Cynthia, shouting something that carried through the smoke easily even though they were mere shapes in the obscuring, artificial darkness.
The brief rush of adrenaline he had received during the first few seconds after Team Rocket had seized Meloetta had faded as he inhaled some of the surrounding thick black cloud, and he paused too long to consider what they had done; a grand mistake, as he almost gave into uncharacteristic despair.
It'll be hours until dawn breaks again.
They could hide in that cave for ages given their head start.
What if they get away?!
Meloetta…
All these thoughts passed through his mind as barely a moment went by, his eyes watering and his hand over his mouth to limit the strain of coughing.
He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up, his reverie broken, to see Cilan, his face etched with concern and a fist covering his own mouth.
"Togekiss, blow this smokescreen away with Air Slash!"
He heard Dawn before he saw her; the rush of air easily dissipated the cloud. They stood outside the entrance to the cave, visible once more, and as serene as if no-one had passed through it only a minute before.
The smoke wasn't harmful, more annoying than anything else, but it had done its job. Team Rocket had escaped.
Ash steeled himself. He remembered the number of times that they had defeated the thieves before, often when they had seemingly faced impossible odds. He remembered that he was standing alongside five friends – four he knew very or fairly well, and one new – and that together, they could do anything.
He remembered his goal, his dream.
He remembered that hewould never give up.
"We've got to go after them!" His voice and tone betrayed nothing of the grim train of thought that had consumed his mind. He sprinted into the cave mouth, Pikachu running at his side.
There was no hesitation from the others. Any other circumstances might have allowed for caution, but they followed him boldly into the breach in the ground.
The cave was wide and the roof tall enough to allow for Togekiss to remain out of its Poké ball; it floated just behind and above its trainer, carrying Piplup on its back.
Even in daylight, the cave was extensive enough for there to be no illumination from natural light, and there were no lanterns or other artificial sources of brilliance throughout its area. Instead, Pikachu generated small sparks from its cheeks to provide a small amount of guidance through the darkness. Dawn sent out Pachirisu, Iris chose Emolga, and Cilan called upon Stunfisk; all helped with the same duty.
They were fortunate in that the path was fairly smooth and navigating it was easy, however, and there were no protruding obstructions that could not be spotted at a distance, even in the gloom. No-one tripped or fell.
They were unfortunate, however, about five minutes into their run through the depths. The tunnel split off in two directions; two distinct routes. They had no way of knowing which one would lead to their goal…
Or if one could lead to a dead end.
The first tunnel lead downwards and that was all that could be determined of it.
The second was clearly at a slight incline, but was similarly opaque.
Ash barely registered these facts in his mind; he wasted no time in time-wasting decision-making and simply kept running.
"Pick a direction and stick to it!" He chose the first path, and lost none of his momentum in carrying on.
No-one questioned his recklessness. Not now. Not anymore.
Dawn and Iris flanked him. Iris seemed to have no trouble keeping up, but Dawn clearly hadn't run this hard in a while. Can't slow down, though.
Cameron, Cilan and Cynthia took the other way. Though the task of providing light now fell solely to Stunfisk for their trio, it was still capable of creating enough to allow them to sustain their advance.
Ash's half quickly discovered that their path had not been a mistake to take. After continuing downwards for a short while longer, it too turned to proceed upwards, and far more steeply than the other had been. Climbing it was difficult, but the end result was worth it.
They rounded a corner and saw the exit to the cave. The exit that they were seeking.
No time to waste words. No time to stop.
We have to hurry.
They had a good lead on the twerps. An excellent one, in fact. If they had arranged for pickup – assuming that the rumours about the plateau being impenetrable from the air were false, at least – they would have had a very high chance of successfully escaping.
But that wasn't the plan.
Weeks of patient observation, of waiting for their target to make the slightest move had finally paid off. They had experienced a slight hiccup when Meloetta had reunited with the twerps after it had been injured, but it had worked out in the end.
Looking back, the trio would agree together that their past failings had been as a result of poor planning, rashness, and immature overconfidence. Time and time again, day after day, they had failed to capture Pikachu, and for years they had wondered at the reason behind their failure, and raged at how it constantly eluded them.
Now, however, they were prepared for almost everything. No more arrogance to be found…
Or, rather, no inner arrogance. Indeed, success depended upon the twerps believing that nothing had changed – that they would still be so easily defeated by the simplest of strategies.
Team Rocket reached the spot that they had set up previously. Meowth still carried the jar holding Meloetta, whose fear was still plainly written on its face.
The target was in their hands and soon everything else in the area would be too.
And the twerps would finally be dealt with.
Once and for all.
They just had to wait a little longer…
They emerged into another forest, but the difference in what they saw compared to the White Forest that they had known finally made them pause.
"Oh. Wow…"
These trees were all completely green, but far taller than even those that had formed a canopy in Yanmega's forest before. Even in the night's darkness – which, admittedly had not yet reached pitch black levels – this was obvious.
Ash recovered from the imposing sight and turned to his friends. Their electric Pokémon lessened their electricity production, allowing their trainers' eyes to adapt again to the outside.
"We've gotta keep moving!"
They nodded, returning their electric Pokémon to their Poké balls, and all three were about to charge into the treeline when they heard a crash behind and to the left of them, and turned to look.
Rocks tumbled and dust spat everywhere as Cynthia's Garchomp forced its way out of the cave using Brick Break, followed by Cilan and the others. They had reached the end of their path, which turned out to have finished on a part of the cave just above the exit that Ash, Dawn and Iris had used.
"Hey, over here you guys!" Ash waved them over.
"Exit was blocked." Cilan panted as they ran to reunite as a whole group. Stunfisk stopped generating electricity as it bounced alongside him. "Had to cut our way through." He paused and took in the image of the trees. "Oh. Wow…"
"Yeah, we said that too." Dawn chuckled.
"This must be the plateau that the maps indicated." Cilan mused, examining the trees.
Need to hurry…
"We haven't got time to waste!" Ash groaned, frustrated. "They're getting away!"
"Right, sorry."
They forged their way through the treeline as a full group once again, the brief respite having given those less accustomed to running – particularly Dawn and Cameron – a chance to recover.
"Look, guys, there're Pokémon in the trees and bushes!" Dawn pointed out an Aipom looking at them curiously, hanging upside down from a branch.
"Amazing! This place must be completely cut off from the forest proper by the cave, sustaining a completely different ecosystem. I'd wager that the cave is more of a gateway than an actual feature in itself, and-"
Wasting time…
"Cilan!"
"Sorry."
And so they kept running, following the uneven path through the increasingly-densely packed woodland.
"Wait!" Ash ground to a halt round a corner, the others doing the same. "There's a fork in the road!"
"Not again…" Dawn moaned, and took another moment to recuperate, breathing hard.
Natural or otherwise, there did indeed seem to be two options for them to choose between. It would have seemed like déjà vu, had they not stopped this time to think.
"It looks like someone went down this path very recently…" Cynthia indicated the right path, bending down to confirm it. "Yes, at least two people."
"They must've gone that way, then!"
"Maybe not…" Cynthia stood up, and gestured to herself, Garchomp and Cameron. "We'll take the left path, just in case it's a trap or a trick."
"Okay!"
Saying anything else would have been pointless, and a further waste of time that they could not afford. The group split as they had decided and each disappeared from the view of the other as they pressed onwards.
They might already be gone…
"You know…" Dawn spluttered, fighting for breath. "I don't remember Team Rocket being this… competent."
"You're right." Ash confirmed. "They've gotten stronger since we came to Unova. They don't appear as much anymore, but whenever they do, they always mean real trouble."
They fell back into silence again, the only sounds being their running footsteps, increasingly ragged breathing, and the occasional rustle of a nearby bush or tree as a Pokémon moved around inside.
Meloetta…
They were ten minutes into the forest when they suddenly, unexpectedly and very anticlimactically reached their goal.
The outgrowth just ceased, and their momentum carried them into the clearing as they slowed down, shocked at the sudden absence of plant life.
This clearing was not a natural occurrence; even Ash and Dawn could realise that. There were massive gaps in the ground where trees had once stood and had been felled, probably very recently. Indeed, some stumps still existed at the edge of the space, as though the defilers had perhaps not had time to remove them. Or had simply not bothered.
"Three guesses who-" Ash nearly finished his sentence, but was interrupted by a blinding light.
"What the-"
Where there had previously been the natural shroud of night, now there was an unnatural eruption of brightness. The sudden, unexpected light burst upon the group's eyes, and it took them some time to recover from the glare and adjust to the illumination.
What they saw surprised them, but who they saw angered them, and came as little of a surprise.
A metal stand, or podium, sat in the middle of the clearing, which, it transpired, was far, far larger than the previous one outside the cave that connected the outer forest to the plateau. It had been made circular, around one hundred metres in diameter. Massive stadium-quality lights shone in their direction, bathing the area in a slight luminosity that brought with it long shadows.
This light was no comfort, given its sinister origin. They would have preferred the darkness.
"Well, look what the cat dragged in." A feminine voice said, and then paused. "No offense, Meowth."
The Team Rocket Trio was arrayed on the podium.
James was on the left, grinning wickedly at the new arrivals.
Jessie stood to the right, smirking viciously.
And, of course, Meowth was in the middle.
Not holding Meloetta.
"What have you done with Meloetta?" Ash cried, and the villains' smiles only got wider.
"No need to shout, twerp."
"You'd better calm down, or you might end up making mistakes…" Jessie taunted.
"Shut up!" Ash was in no mood to listen, and, at this point, neither were the others. "Where is Meloetta?"
Jessie shook her head in exasperation.
"Still a one track mind. All right, twerp, you want to see your precious friend?"
Meowth picked up a remote from the platform and pressed a glowing button. There was a whirling of gears; the sound of mechanical movement ripped through the night.
The back of the platform shifted and rose, pulleys and rotors working in technical harmony to help a chunk of metal, wires and glass ascend into the air.
The machine stopped moving and the mechanical symphony was silenced.
"Look there!" Dawn noticed it first. Meloetta was still in its glass prison, but now that prison was hooked up to the machine behind it.
Meloetta was seemingly unharmed, but looked out of the glass at Ash and the others with a mixture of pure terror and misery.
"Don't worry, we'll get you out of there!"
"No, you won't." James dismissed that hope with a wave of his hand. "You won't even make it up to the platform."
"Oh yeah? Who's going to stop us?" Iris spoke up, determined not to let Ash have all the fun.
It appeared that was what Jessie had been waiting.
"What a question, twerpish indeed!" She began.
"We'll answer these questions when we feel the need!" James added.
Cilan and Iris sighed and shook their heads. Dawn looked on, perplexed, while Ash's annoyance grew.
"Bringing the blinding white light of evil into the future!"
"Thrusting the hammer of justice down into the black darkness of the universe!"
"Carving our names into the rock of eternity!"
"The fiery destroyer, Jessie!" She gave a twirl.
"And with thunderous emotion, I am James!" He gave a mock salute.
"Wisest of the wise, Meowth!" the cat Pokémon bragged.
"And now, gather under the name of Team Rocket!" They finished together.
Fireworks burst into the sky in a brilliant coalescence of colour and sound, and then faded as quickly as they had appeared.
"Guess they changed the motto again, huh…" Dawn muttered.
"Quit fooling around and give Meloetta back!" Ash wasn't to be deterred today.
"Didn't you hear us earlier, twerp? Go, Woobat!" Jessie sent out the Bat Pokémon, which beat its wings rapidly at her side.
"Yamask, you're needed too!" James sent out the Spirit Pokémon, and it similarly moved to float above him.
Pikachu leapt forward and narrowed its eyes at Meowth, electricity crackling at its cheeks.
Cilan waved a hand and Stunfisk mirrored Pikachu.
Piplup jumped off Togekiss' back and both Pokémon positioned themselves sin between their trainer and the platform.
"Dragonite, let's go!" Iris chose to put her strongest foot forward. Dragonite emerged and glared at the Team Rocket Trio.
Each trainer now has at least one Pokémon to battle with… But that isn't enough for the plan. Jessie smiled.
"Is that all? Really?" She laughed out loud, and inwardly cheered as Ash grew even redder in the face. "Surely you care more about your precious Meloetta than to risk it all with that pathetic bunch?" Oops, might have overdone it a little.
Dragonite would have charged at them there and then – hence Jessie's sudden apprehension – but Iris restrained it with a look that said "just a little longer". Its newfound trust in Iris overrode its instincts, and it stood its ground.
Ash frowned down at the cool, illuminated ground below, and sighed, briefly closing his eyes.
When he looked up again, he was smiling, and his demeanour was calmer.
"You know what, Team Rocket?" His voice betrayed only the slightest hint of inner, but now tranquil, rage. "Fine. You'll get what you asked for. We'd be happy to oblige." He glanced at Cilan, Dawn and Iris. "You ready, guys?"
They responded with a chorus of affirmatives.
"Excadrill, Emogla, let's go!" Iris patted her hair, and Axew jumped out. "You too, Axew."
"Pansage, Crustle and Jigglypuff, you're up!" Cilan was next.
"Mamoswine, Buneary, Quilava and Pachirisu, take the stage!" Dawn's Pokémon joined the two that were already out. Which left only Ash…
"Boldore, Oshawott, Snivy, Leavanny and Krokorok, come on out!" Ash roared.
Now this, Jessie decided, would do.
Excadrill knocked its arms together towards Team Rocket in a threatening clash of steel and began stretching its claws. Axew attempted a similar motion and discovered that it hurt to do so without metal on its fists.
Crustle cracked its claws dangerously. Jigglypuff bounced and giggled happily.
Mamoswine huffed at the sight of an enemy it hadn't expected – nor hoped - to see ever again. Quilava flared up.
Emolga, Stunfisk and Pachirisu started generating electricity again.
Buneary attempted to hug Pikachu until he told her to focus on the task at hand.
Krokorok adjusted its sunglasses. Oshawott detached its scalchop. Snivy stared at Team Rocket and then turned away dismissively.
Every single Pokémon – some sooner than others - adopted various different stances and poses for the coming battle.
It was an inspiring display of strength by the four trainers and the Pokémon. Any other day, Team Rocket would have probably been terrified to say the least.
Today, though, it was exactly what they had wanted to happen.
"Well, this is what you wanted. Do you honestly believe that you can stand up against us now?" Ash asked, his tone oozing the rhetorical. "Our strength comes from the bonds we share with our Pokémon. After so many years, haven't you learned that we never give up? That because our Pokémon are our friends, we won't stop fighting for them, and they won't stop fighting for us!"
"Nice speech, twerp, but those were wasted words." Jessie and Meowth offered mock applause as James spoke. "Haven't you learned by now that we never give up?"
"Maybe you should!" Dawn shouted.
"Right back at ya!" Meowth retorted.
"So, so cocky." Jessie said with an air of finality. "It's time we put you in your place."
"Enough, Team Rocket!" A shrill cry cut through the artificial twilight as Cynthia made her presence known, her fists clenched up in anger. In front of her, Garchomp made ready to attack; behind her, Cameron stood, observing the scene. "Give Meloetta back, at once!"
"Even better!" The sheer glee now etched across Jessie's face gave all of the assembled trainers pause. "Fire it up, Meowth!"
"You got it, Jessie!" Before anyone could react, Meowth slammed down the second button on the remote. The machine holding Meloetta began to whirl into life once more.
Meloetta let out a cry of pain that was blocked by the soundproof glass, arching its back in agony.
"Take them down!" Ash screamed, and every single Pokémon began to rush forward as fast as they were able.
And then stopped as one, frozen, as if… listening.
They could hear Meloetta's psychic scream, where their trainers could not. The machine forced it to emit the noise, and channelled it into a song of torment.
"What's going on?" Dawn stared in horror, but the others had no answer for her.
Meloetta's song was normally famed for its ability to calm the most furious souls, with a few notable exceptions. Twisted like this, and channelled appropriately by the machine, it served a more sinister purpose.
"Turn around." Jessie barked.
With only two exceptions, the Pokémon turned as one against their trainers, their eyes glowing red and their bodies surrounded by a red aura.
Dawn and Iris gasped, and Iris attempted to recall Dragonite. The beam connected, but failed to return the Pokémon to its ball, and only served to enrage it, if anything.
"What the- how?"
The two exceptions were as follows. Krokorok stood still for a moment, utterly baffled by the actions of its fellows and completely unaffected by the dirge. It moved back, one careful step at a time, to stand between its trainer and the other Pokémon.
Garchomp on the other hand clutched its head, kneeling on the ground and growled ferociously. Her eyes had slammed shut, and she seemed to be fighting a private battle with herself. With a final cry, her left arm glowing with power, she smashed herself across the face with Brick Break, knocked out but unable to harm her trainer.
The same could not be said for the other controlled Pokémon.
"Surround them!" James ordered. With only a moment's hesitation, they obeyed, pushing the trainers and Krokorok back to back and further into the clearing, closer to the platform, as they formed a fairly wide circle around them. Cynthia managed to return Garchomp to its ball; it seemed that being unconscious stopped the effect of whatever the red aura was.
"All of you, stop this!"
"Piplup, what's happened to you?
"What have you done?" The tranquil part of Ash's anger had disappeared, drained away by this terrible turn of events.
"Don't you remember?" Jessie shrugged. "Doesn't this seem the least bit familiar to your twerpish brain? Think back to the Orange Islands."
Ash stared at Pikachu, witnessing the scale of the hatred that it now seemed to bear. Suddenly, the whole situation did seem familiar.
"But, but…" He spluttered. "That wasn't you… It was the others… How could… How did you…?"
"Cassidy and Biff are part of Team Rocket, of course." Meowth reminded him. "We got given the updated tech, and we're gonna use it properly this time!"
"Ash, what do they mean? Have they done this before?" Dawn was torn between looking fearfully at Ash, in search of a response, and at Piplup and her other Pokémon, barely able to comprehend the harsh expressions that they wore.
"Years ago, two other members of Team Rocket used a machine like this and a Drowzee to hypnotise a bunch of Pokémon, including Pikachu." He explained. "But we stopped them, and we'll stop you!"
"Not likely!" Meowth laughed. "We learned a lot from last time."
"So this is your big plan, Team Rocket? Seems a little narrow, to me." Cynthia commented.
"This isn't the plan, no, silly Champion." Jessie drawled Cynthia's title, earning a scowl. "But this is an excellent way of dealing with you pests. Now, any more last words before we finish this?"
The ring of Pokémon closed in further.
Then Cilan realised the obvious – the elephant in the room. Or crocodile, in this case.
"Wait, why isn't Krokorok under their control?" He glanced at the Pokémon in question, who shrugged unknowingly.
"Maybe it's the sunglasses…" Iris whispered.
"No, it won't be that simple…" Cilan looked past the encircling Pokémon at the trio of smug villains and their Pokémon. Their Pokémon… "That's it!" He finally had the eureka moment that they needed. "Yamask and Woobat-"
Cameron's eyes widened as he realised what Cilan was trying to get across.
"No you don't, twerp!" A slight twinge of panic etched across Jessie's face as she interrupted, as though the all-important secret was out. She pointed at what was probably the fastest and strongest Pokémon under their control; Dragonite. "Get them!"
Dragonite accepted the hasty command and surged towards the humans with a ThunderPunch, causing a few panicked cries and screams.
Before it was even half way there, a flash of light heralded another arrival on the battlefield…
"Metagross, stop that Dragonite!"
With a burst of acceleration, the Iron Leg Pokémon flew towards Dragonite and knocked it back with a Bullet Punch. Dragonite stayed up, wings flapping hard to centre itself, but remained firmly under the machine's influence.
Cameron's Metagross retreated, floating back to position itself at the fore of the group. It then dropped to the floor, legs stabilising it with a dull thump as it hit the ground.
"Nicely reasoned, Cilan." Cameron complimented, and Cilan beamed.
"Wait, so how come Metagross isn't affected?" Ash, Dawn and Iris were now very confused. Cameron smirked at the now worried villains, whilst Cynthia experienced a moment of realisation too, and Cilan rushed to explain.
"Look at Yamask and Woobat." He pointed again. "They don't seem to be affected by the machine! I'd bet that psychic and ghost types, and dark too given Krokorok, don't get affected by Meloetta's song."
"That theory would explain why Golduck wasn't calmed back in the forest." Cynthia recalled.
"Pity I left Scraggy with Professor Juniper." Ash muttered.
"But what about Meowth? He's a Pokémon as well." Iris pointed out.
"He probably has some other way of stopping the machine from affecting him." Cilan offered.
"I'm not telling ya nothing!" Meowth growled.
"It doesn't matter!" Jessie huffed defiantly. "We've still got the advantage!"
"Yes!" James joined in. "You'll still fall before our barrage of boisterous bruisers! Your Pokémon are our Pokémon now!"
"Well, now we've got a chance!" Ash turned to his friends. "We need to get to that machine and free Meloetta!" He took another look at the writhing Melody Pokémon contained by the machine and steeled himself. "Krokorok, are you up for a challenge? Are you with me?"
The Pokémon answered by bellowing a battle cry towards Team Rocket.
"Silly twerp, you haven't got a chance at all. Dragonite, get back in there and do the job properly this time!" Jessie commanded. Dragonite rushed forward in an Outrage this time, the red aura around its body joined by a white glow that could only just be seen in the blaring light.
"Intercept it with Meteor Mash!" Cameron shouted. Metagross charged a metal fist with glowing cosmic power, and jumped forward to meet the charging dragon. It took the impact of the Outrage head on, but survived with little more than a dent; the impact also sent Dragonite reeling, and in no position to dodge the subsequent smiting blow.
Having lost its Multiscale earlier from the Bullet Punch, Dragonite couldn't take such a damaging attack, and fainted easily. Iris returned it to her Poké ball.
"No! That was our best one!" James hollered in shock, only to receive a smack on the head from Meowth.
"Calm it!" He hissed. "We've still got all the others, including Pikachu, and they've only got two Pokémon to stop us!"
"You're right!" James coughed and addressed the Pokémon that they controlled. "Attack at once, all together!"
Pikachu charged an Electro Ball. Snivy sent forth its vines. Mamoswine began a running charge. Jigglypuff curled into a ball and began to roll.
All of the Pokémon were poised to attack, and surely would overwhelm the meagre resistance that Metagross and Krokorok posed by comparison.
"There's too many!"
"If only we had more Psychic, Dark or Ghost Pokémon…" Iris lamented sadly, but Cynthia patted her on the arm, and smiled calmly.
"We do." She pulled out a different Poké ball, and Cameron did the same.
"Spiritomb, battle dance!"
"Jellicent, rock out!"
Ash and the others had seen Jellicent once before, and had only forgotten it because of their unfamiliarity with Cameron's Pokémon, aside from the Volcarona that he would often bring out to allow it to enjoy the sun. It floated in the illuminated darkness, eerily silent as always, its tentacles never touching the ground.
Cynthia's Spiritomb, however, was new to them, and it seemed to act in almost completely the opposite way to Jellicent from the moment it emerged. It bounced around the group energetically, chuckling away heartedly, its eyes spinning in endless circles.
"That Spiritomb seems a lot different from the one we saw in Sinnoh." Dawn commented.
"Incoming!" Cilan yelled, as the Pokémon that opposed them launched their attacks.
What followed thereafter was a brutal melee in which the attacking Pokémon fought to get through to the trainers, and Krokorok, Metagross, Spiritomb and Jellicent fought hard to protect them.
Krokorok duelled with Leavanny and Boldore, using its endurance to take the former's hits and its speed to avoid the latter's.
Metagross stopped Mamoswine's charge with a Hammer Arm, leaving the ice/ground type barely conscious. It turned away Excadrill's Drill Run with a block using its thick hands, shrugged off a Shell Smash-empowered X-Scissor from Crustle and barely noticed the weak impact of Jigglypuff's first rollout.
Spiritomb flew above the clearing and attracted as much attention as it could with a Double Team that momentarily drew the ire of every Pokémon who could attack it from the ground; such was their intimidation at the possibility of there being so many copies. The real Spiritomb suffered little damage from the electric attacks of Pikachu, Emolga, Stunfisk and Pachirisu, and took to raining down Dark Pulses, cackling madly while avoiding the persistent aerial attacks of Togekiss.
Jellicent bore the brunt of the elemental attacks aimed at the group. It sustained damage from Snivy's leaves, Pansage's Solarbeam, Quilava's flames, Axew's Dragon Rage and Buneary's Ice Beam, but was subsequently reinvigorated by the water-based attacks of Oshawott and Piplup, absorbing them to regain its strength. It retaliated when it could by shooting out scalding water.
The attackers could not break the defenders' line, but equally the defenders were too busy warding off the attackers to go on the offensive.
It was, in short, a stalemate. One that had no end in sight.
What the conflict did cause, however, was a cacophony of noise, sparks and violence that attracted attention from those outside its original expanse.
"Ash, we've gotta get to that machine and shut it down!" Iris yelled over the din.
"Yeah, let's go!" He turned to the other trainers behind him. "Cynthia, can you keep going without Krokorok?"
She waved him on, a look of intensity and concentration plastering her features.
"We'll be fine; go, destroy that machine!" She shouted.
"Ok, Krokorok, let's move!" Ash yelled, and sprinted out of an opening in the battle created by a well-timed Shadow Ball from Spiritomb, flanked by Iris and Cilan. Dawn attempted to follow, but was pulled back by Cynthia just in time as Metagross brought Mamoswine temporarily crashing down with another Hammer Arm.
"Uh oh." Meowth noticed Ash, Cilan, Iris and Krokorok break away from the crowd. "We got a problem."
"Yamask, stop them with Shadow Ball!" We're too close! We can't fail now!
"Use Psychic, Woobat!" Just a little longer, and they'll be down for the count!
The attacks connected, but barely hurt Krokorok at all by virtue of the type matchup.
"Krokorok, hit Woobat with Stone Edge, and Yamask with Crunch!" Ash's choices were good ones. A flurry of rocks zipped towards Woobat with such speed that it was in no position to avoid them, and easily caused it to faint because of its flying-type. Yamask got too close to Krokorok, allowing it to leap up to the Ghost-type and intercept it, with a painful conclusion.
"No!" Jessie and James yelped in unison, recalling their Pokémon.
The twerps kept coming.
"Pikachu, break off and help us!" Meowth screeched. The Mouse Pokémon kicked away from the fighting and blitzed back towards the platform.
"Krokorok, keep Pikachu busy!" The Desert Croc assented and turned back to delay Pikachu. Ash and Iris reached the platform steps, Cilan right behind them.
"We won't let you win, you'll- oof!" Jessie began to shout, but was interrupted by Iris shoulder-barging her. The strength of Iris' momentum bowled Jessie over and carried her straight off the side of the platform.
"Cilan, shut that thing down!" Ash pointed to a button next to Meloetta's container, helpfully labelled SHUT DOWN MACHINE. He then proceeded to obstruct James, running him around in circles.
Meowth tried to intercept Cilan, but found his way blocked by Iris, who glared at him.
"Stop him!" Jessie wailed as Cilan was only three metres from the button, closing the distance fast.
Two metres…
One metre…
He reached his hand out and…
SPLAT
His hand was pushed aside and stuck to the machine proper, far off from the button, by a strong strand of String Shot. More of the sticky substance followed, sealing Cilan to the machine in something of a half-cocoon. A Venomoth fluttered down to stare at him, eyes wild and glowing red.
"What the-" Ash managed, before he was pulled away from James by a strong hand-like tail and forced to the floor. The Aipom that they had spotted earlier had arrived, eyes glowing in the same way. It kept a strong pressure on his back to stop him from getting up.
"Ash! No!" Iris screamed, giving Meowth the opening he needed to safely knock the wind out of her.
It was at about this time that Pikachu finally defeated Krokorok, Iron Tail overcoming Stone Edge.
Jessie climbed back onto the platform and surveyed the scene; Cilan; all strung up, Iris; breathless, Ash; pinned and Krokorok; helpless.
She tipped her head back and laughed deeply. At the edges of the clearing, more wild Pokémon began to emerge from the treeline, all with terrifying red auras and matching red eyes.
"The machine's range slowly increases the longer it's turned on for." James noted. "It'll cover the whole plateau soon."
"You mean the longer it hurts Meloetta!" Ash spat, and Aipom increased the force it was exerting in response.
"Details." Jessie waved off this criticism and stopped laughing. "We'll turn it off as soon as we have what we need. And as soon as this control is permanent."
"Which could take a couple o' hours, depending on the Pokémon." Meowth winked at him. "As for you three… Ya won't be around to see it."
On the ground just off the platform, unbeknownst to Pikachu, Krokorok began to stir.
Ash looked left and saw Meloetta, still screaming, still writhing inside its prison.
He looked right and saw the on-going melee. Cameron and Cynthia were too caught up in orchestrating the fray, giving commands to their Pokémon and avoiding attacks, to be paying attention to the platform. Dawn was looking straight at him, unburdened by the need to direct. Her blue hair was all over the place, she was on the verge of crying, all confidence gone, and she seemed to be trying to shout something to him desperately.
He couldn't make out what she was saying.
If he shifted just far enough, just quickly enough, he could perhaps send the Aipom sprawling and make a run for the machine.
It's risky, but it's our last hope.
He was preparing himself to do this when two things happened at once.
First, Krokorok drew upon the last reserves of its strength to stagger upwards and launch a Stone Edge attack at Pikachu, sending the Mouse Pokémon flying right next to Ash and startling everyone on the platform. Krokorok threw back its head and roared triumphantly.
Second, the edge of the forests shifted again.
Only this time, it would not mean that Team Rocket would be receiving new recruits.
Two Pokémon stalked out of the bushes at the far side of the clearing. Both were practically shuddering with rage, a thunderous look in their eyes. An aura surrounded them, fully visible in the harsh light.
The aura was blue, not red. And their eyes had not changed.
One waved a hand that clutched a spoon, and sent some of the wrathful Pokémon – half of those attacking Cameron, Cynthia, Dawn and their unaffected Pokémon - flying into the sky, only to crash back down.
The other brandished bladed arms and unleashed waves of energy on the other enslaved Pokémon that besieged the trainers, the force knocking them down.
"What's going on over there?" James tried to make out the shapes through the obstructing plethora of wounded Pokémon, but was unable to.
While this occurred, it was not the worst of Team Rocket's woes.
Krokorok was still roaring, a sound which suddenly became dominant to the humans as the clash of battle from afar ceased.
Then Krokorok started to glow with a familiar, brilliant and utterly welcome light.
"Ash!" Cilan was ecstatic, even if he could move nothing but his head to watch. "It's evolution time!"
The silhouette of Krokorok's snout enlarged under the light; it grew slightly taller and bulkier, with pronounced eyelids and a massive tail. The light faded, and it made its first move to ensure that the sunglasses were still firmly on its face. It then roared again, only with a different cry this time.
"Krookodile!" The newly evolved – much larger – Desert Croc bared its fangs and slammed the ground. All of the enraged wild Pokémon that had been slowly approaching the platform were knocked off their feet.
"Woah!"
"A brilliant Earthquake!" Iris cheered. "If only Excadrill would learn that…"
"Uh oh." Meowth trembled as Krookodile turned towards the platform and grinned, revealing its very shiny and very pointy teeth. "I don't wanna mess with that guy."
Now Ash took his chance.
Throwing Aipom off, he pushed past Jessie and dived for the button. The wild Venomoth was far too slow in attempting a Stun Spore, and his fingers hammered down on the button.
The machine spotted whirring.
Meloetta stopped "silently" screaming.
Team Rocket started screaming.
With no further decorum – as properly befitted a dark-type Pokémon - Krookodile sent the villainous trio blasting off with a powerful Stone Edge. They disappeared over the horizon to the north-east, swearing vengeance.
The rampaging Pokémon – those that remained conscious - lost their glowing red aura. Their eyes returned to normal.
The wild Pokémon on the edge of the clearing got to their feet and dispersed into the forest. They were soon after joined by the Venomoth and Aipom.
There was momentary calm in the forest once more. Night resumed as the lights were the last part of the machine to shut down.
Pikachu looked around, confused, at how battered and bruised Ash, Cilan and Iris were, and wondered how he had managed to get up on the platform in the first place.
"Pikachu, you're back!" Ash cried. Pikachu scurried up to Ash and jumped into his arms.
"Pika, pika!"
"And Krookodile, you were amazing! Thank you!" His newly evolved Pokémon roared happily.
"Uh, Ash, sorry to break up the reunion, but we've got some things to deal with here." Cilan pointed at himself and Meloetta, who was still encased in the glass, albeit no longer in pain.
"Oh. Right. Sorry." Ash recovered. "Krookodile, cut away the web and then carefully break open the glass!"
Krookodile complied with surgical skill.
Cilan dusted himself off as Ash gathered up Meloetta.
"Come on, Meloetta, wake up." He whispered soothingly. Meloetta stirred and looked up at him mournfully. "You're safe now."
"Ash! You did it!" Dawn and the others had finally walked up to the platform. Dawn carried Piplup in her arms, looking shaken herself, but relatively unscathed.
Cynthia had a cut across her cheek from a stray attack, but was otherwise fine. Bouncing alongside her was her Spiritomb, who had retained its cheerful nature even after the battle.
Cameron was again trying to avoid putting pressure on his leg, patting the slightly dented Metagross on the head and whispering appreciatively to Jellicent as he walked.
"And Krokorok evolved!" Dawn finished.
Ash smiled, and soon they were all copying him; it was simply infectious.
It had worked out in the end, after all. Mostly.
Ash turned his gaze across the assorted Pokémon, starting with Dawn's – some of whom were in desperate need of medical attention, including Mamoswine - and ending with his own, all sporting various injuries but none particularly worse for wear. Then he noticed the other two Pokémon at the back of the group.
They stood calmly, apart from the rest, but without a sign of hostility.
"An Alakazam? And a Gallade?" He asked, intrigued. Cynthia nodded.
"Yes. They came out of the forest and helped us at the end of the battle. We think," She exchanged a glance with Cameron. "That they are the guardians of this plateau. That they protect it from aerial observation and keep it safe with their psychic powers."
Looking closely, Ash could see scars and marks of age across the two Pokémon that stood out even in the dark.
"Thanks." He said to them. "Thanks for helping. We might not have been able to stop them if you hadn't…" The Alakazam nodded.
"Uh, sorry to interrupt." Dawn's worried tone put them all on alert again. "But Mamoswine kinda needs a potion or something; it's not doing so well."
"Oh, of course. We'll need to treat all of the Pokémon." Cynthia sent out her recovering Garchomp again as Iris called upon the similarly hurt Dragonite. Cynthia reached into her pocket for a potion from her endless supply, but stopped when Gallade motioned for them to step away.
They complied, and Gallade moved to stand in front of the injured Pokémon. With a deep breath, it brought its arms down to its sides, and unleashed a horizontal, circular wave of brilliant colours, from deep reds to shining golds. The energy washed over the injured Pokémon, mending their wounds and restoring their injuries.
"Amazing!" Cilan gasped, awestruck.
"Thank you." Ash repeated, and the others echoed him, recalling their Pokémon. The Gallade nodded. Both it and Alakazam remained, but stayed silent.
Meloetta stirred again, and this time had regained the strength to hover slightly in the air. In took off, but looked at Ash miserably, then averted its gaze, still upset from what it had done earlier.
"Meloetta…" Ash sighed, and paused for a moment. In all of the excitement, with the adrenaline rushing through him, he hadn't realised just how cold the night had become. A chill wind whipped across the open clearing. "Listen," He began again. "I don't blame you for doing what you did." Meloetta looked up at Ash again, eyes wide. "You wanted to stay with us, and I can understand that. But you won't be safe with us, and we're going so far away… I just can't guarantee that I'll be able to protect you, and that's what's most important. I'm sorry, but please understand…"
Meloetta opened its mouth to argue, but Alakazam started speaking first.
It spoke calmly and quietly, and it would have been a struggle for Meloetta to hear it had the night not been now so clear from outside noise. The conversation lasted one minute, and was fairly one-sided. Meloetta occasionally replied, but Alakazam did most of the talking.
"What do you think they're saying?" Iris asked Cilan, whispering. Cilan couldn't even hazard a guess, and simply stared, fascinated.
It finished with a final flourish of its spoons, and pointed off to the west horizon in the air. Meloetta could apparently see something that the humans could not, because it gasped in admiration and surprise.
Alakazam stepped back, and seemed to be waiting for a decision of some kind.
Meloetta sighed, and then floated through the air back to Ash. It hugged him, and he hugged back.
"I think Meloetta's decided to stay." Cynthia murmured. "It knows that the Psychic Pokémon can protect it, and it will have friends here."
Meloetta released Ash from the hug last, and floated back into the sky to hover between Alakazam and Gallade. It waved first at the trainers, who waved back, then at Pikachu, Piplup and Oshawott, the latter having somehow having avoided being returned to its ball earlier. Both Pokémon promptly began to argue over who exactly Meloetta was fighting over, until Pikachu broke them up with a jolt.
"It's time to go." Cynthia whispered gently. Ash nodded, and the six trainers and their outside Pokémon walked slowly out of the clearing and back into the treeline, intent on returning through the cave to the White Forest itself.
Ash looked back, waving all the way, until darkness obscured the platform and Meloetta, Alakazam and Gallade in front of it.
Having said a heartfelt farewell to a good friend, and seen off the predations of an old enemy, the trainers had finished the first step of their journey.
Now, Ash though, It's time to head to Kanto and deliver this. He felt for the strange stone in his pocket and noted that it was still there, untouched. Pikachu yawned and stretched on his shoulder, then curled up as carefully as he could.
Let's just hope that this trip home doesn't prove to be too much trouble…
Rage courses in every heart, yearning to betray its rational prison.
- Sarkhan Vol, Act of Treason (M12)