A/N: Sorry for the slight delay, everyone! I've been busy with school! ENJOY!
Blacklock Prison
Ketchum City
The two security guards stood silently at the sides of the single door that led into the prison cell of the one who had been called the world's most hated man in history. One of the guard's Houndoom let out a yawn and itched itself before resuming its post. A chilly winter breeze blew into the empty hallway through an open window. It didn't seem to help the guards one bit in attending to their responsibilities, for they were visibly shivering, having not bothered to bring along their winter coats. After all, who in the world would be in their right mind to envision a snowy season anywhere in the Johto region?!
Finally, one guard complained, "This both sucks and blows. I knew we should've placed a call for an air-conditioning system for this place!"
"What air-conditioning system?" the other guard asked. "Who in Arceus's name would even think of winter in Ketchum City, or anywhere else in Johto for that matter?!"
The first guard chuckled hollowly and took a fleeting glance through the window offered by the doors. Inside, the prison cell was small and simple, designed to enforce a psychological toll on the occupant relegated to these specifically small and unsatisfactory living conditions. There was a single bed with a soft pillow and a blanket, a wooden table that held a food-tray that was half-empty, a single window with iron bars, and a TV set that hung in a corner of the ceiling. The TV was currently on and turned to the news channel. The guard could see the cell's occupant, a man with graying jet-black hair that was spiky, looking up at the TV, as if hypnotized by it.
"Yeah, well, you don't see him shivering from the cold," said the guard. "Not at all. Arceus, just look at him, Braden..."
"Why don't you look at him, Louis?" the second guard snapped, growling as he rubbed his cold shoulders. "He makes me SICK."
Louis looked away, unable to shake off the feeling that the prisoner, despite maintaining his stare on the TV, was looking at him...
Elsewhere
"MOM, I'M COMING!" Nate shouted after the screaming figure of Kelly as he ran down one of the city's walkways as fast as he could, careful not to run into any civilians, Pignite running right behind his heels. He watched as the fourteen Team Rocket grunts continued to fly across the air, attracting the gazes of the citizens down below.
Meanwhile, in the air, Butch shouted to Cassidy over the roar of the winds, "What should we do about that meddling twerp who's running after us?"
"What do you think, Butch?!" exclaimed Cassidy in response. "Take care of him!"
Butch nodded and signaled to five of the Team Rocket grunts.
"You heard the lady, grunts!" he ordered. "Take care of that twerp! Make sure he doesn't interfere with the operation!"
"You got it, Biff!" one of the grunts exclaimed.
"IT'S NOT BIFF, IT'S BUTCH!"
The grunts merely turned back and flew towards the walkway, procuring Poké Balls from their pockets. Nate stopped and pointed at the grunts in gesture.
"Pignite, bring those guys down with Flamethrower!" he ordered.
Pignite fired the attack, which successfully hit one of the grunts and sent him crashing into a food stand, barely missing the vendor and two customers. Another grunt gritted his teeth and threw his Poké Balls into the air, unleashing an Onix and a Golem, both of which landed on the walkway, roaring, sending up a large cloud of dust that obscured Nate and Pignite's visions, while all civilians nearby burst into a panicked run, screaming.
"Onix, use Rock Slide!" the grunt ordered.
Slabs of rock caused by Onix and Golem's impacts emerged from the cloud of dust, surrounded by a gray aura, ready to be launched. However, Nate was quick.
"Pignite, dodge, quickly, then use Flame Charge!"
The Fire Pig Pokémon dodged the thrown slabs before jumping at the Rock Snake Pokémon, engulfed in a blazing orb of fire. Pignite landed the attack successfully, but Nate gritted his teeth upon seeing that the Onix had only sustained minor injuries. Meanwhile, the three other grunts unleashed their own Pokémon, which consisted of several Golbat, which screeched menacingly at Pignite as they joined Onix and Golem's ranks.
"Golbat, use Confuse Ray!" commanded the two grunts simultaneously.
However, before the army of Golbat could begin their attacks, an ice-cold blast of snowy wind blew against everyone, immobilizing the Golbat and freezing the grunts' jetpacks, causing them to crash into the ground. Shivering, Nate looked behind him and saw Hilda and her Beartic running up to him, followed closely by Dawn, Cheren, Rosa, Hugh, May, Hilbert, Marina, Jimmy, Lyra, Khoury, Tory, and their respective Pokémon.
"We'll hold off these guys, Nate!" exclaimed Dawn. "Go get your mom!"
Nate smiled and nodded. "Thanks, Dawn," he replied before bursting into a run, ignoring the fallen grunts and their Onix, Golem, and Golbat.
After running several yards down the walkway, he noticed that Rosa, Hugh, Hilda, Cheren, and their Pokémon were running beside him. However, he recognized that they wanted to help him, and he didn't say anything as he continued to follow the remaining Team Rocket grunts.
"Dewott, use Water Pulse!" Hugh ordered. Dewott fired its attack, which hit a grunt and disabled his jetpack, causing him to crash-land somewhere in the city.
Up in the air, Butch growled angrily upon seeing the grunt fall from the air, and he took out a Poké Ball from his pocket. "Time for me to send out my newest Pokémon," he snarled menacingly. "It should take good care of those meddling twerps once and for all! GO-"
"NO!" Cassidy shrieked suddenly. "ARCEUS-DAMN IT, NOT NOW, BUTCH!"
"What do ya mean 'not now', Cass?" spat Butch, clutching Poké Ball tightly. "We CANNOT let them jeopardize the operation!"
"Just don't!" The tone in Cassidy's voice sounded very strange to the green-haired man, but he knew better than to argue with his calculating, strategic partner, so he merely growled in defeat and put the Poké Ball back into his pocket before looking at four of the grunts.
"You know what to do!" he ordered.
"Right away, sir!" one of the grunts replied as he and his accomplices swept down towards the walkway, towards Nate, Rosa, Hugh, Hilda, and Cheren.
"Oh no, more?" asked Nate upon spotting the advancing grunts.
"We'll hold those four off, Nate!" Hilda cried. "You follow the others! They look like they're going to the Ketchum Center, so you can cut 'em off there!"
Nate nodded and sprinted down another walkway, watching as Cassidy, Butch, and the two remaining grunts, the former still holding the struggling Kelly, flying down the same route. He then saw Cassidy glance down at him, the ghost of a satisfied smirk briefly flickering on her face, before looking back up. Nate then looked at Kelly and gritted his teeth upon seeing her let out a loud scream. There was NO WAY they were gonna do this to the woman that raised him, shaped his life!
"YOU TEAM ROCKET LOSERS GET BACK HERE!" Nate shouted after them.
"NATE!..." echoed Kelly's voice.
Nate growled and quickened his pace. Up in the air, Cassidy, Butch, and the remaining two grunts suddenly stopped mid-flight, a sputtering sound emerging from their jetpacks. All of the civilians down on the ground ran away from the Team Rocket agents, sensing trouble. Kelly continued to struggle in Cassidy's grip.
"Damn it, we're going low on our jet-fuel!" snarled Butch.
"Calm down, Butch," Cassidy said calmly. "Everything's going just as planned..."
"Just as planned?" the green-haired man repeated, outraged. "Just as planned? Cass, we lost ten of our assigned grunts, therefore many of the Pokémon we managed to nab from that train, and there is no doubt that the walls are closing in on us! And you're saying everything's going just as planned?" He began to chuckle, a crazed glint flashing across his eyes. "Heh. I'd rather think that the whole plan's become BOTCHED!"
Cassidy smirked. "Don't worry." She glanced back down to the walkway that Nate was running on. "I've got a plan..."
Back on the walkway, Nate and Pignite stopped upon spotting Cassidy, Butch, and the two grunts landing a few yards in front of him. He couldn't see Kelly anywhere.
"What'd you do to my mom?!" demanded Nate. "ANSWER ME!" Pignite accentuated its Trainer's white-hot fury by snorting out a stream of flames from its nostrils; the flames scorched the walls of the buildings, prompting the two grunts to yell out in cowardly fear.
However, Cassidy was unfazed. "Oh, she's alright. In fact-" She smirked as she held up her fingers and snapped them. "-she's here..."
Nate watched in horror as the woman floated down from the air, surrounded by a bright purple aura. A Sableye appeared from a nearby rooftop, its diamond-like eyes glowing maliciously. The Trainer growled and pointed at the Sableye, preparing to shout an attack, but Cassidy waved a finger in warning.
"Uh, uh, uh!" she exclaimed. "If you hit Sableye, then your mommy's going down to the ground. And after all, she's still high up in the air. It's a dangerous height..."
Nate gritted his teeth. "You...wouldn't...DARE!..."
"Of course I would dare! After all, we're the bad guys. Why wouldn't we? But...today, I'm willing to make an exception..."
"Cass, what in Arceus's name are you DOING?!" Butch exclaimed angrily.
However, Cassidy ignored her partner and procured a Poké Ball from her pocket, smirking. "How 'bout we have a Pokémon battle instead? One round. You against me. No recalls. You win and you get your precious mommy and all the Pokémon we stole from that train." She continued to ignore Butch and the two grunts as shocked and confused expressions flooded their faces in comical fashions. She merely continued, her smirk growing wider with each word that she spoke. "You lose and you come join us and our righteous cause. Determination and stubbornness is a trait that we're seeking for. We need more people like you, Nate. ...What do you say? Deal?"
Nate growled furiously. He knew that he was putting his own integrity on the line by accepting this deal. However, he glanced at the struggling, immobile Kelly...
"Deal," he said, almost in a whisper.
Cassidy's smirk widened even more in triumph. "Excellent," she said before she threw the Poké Ball into the air. "Go, Heatmor!" The Poké Ball unleashed the Anteater Pokémon, which snarled at Nate and Pignite. Unlike the Heatmor that Nate had seen back at Unova, it had a darker color scheme; it was a Shiny Pokémon. Apparently, the gold-haired woman had acquired this Pokémon very recently, for Butch looked surprised at the sight of it.
"Cass, since when did you get that Pokémon?" he asked. "It's not even native here!"
"I have good connections," Cassidy replied simply, but Nate couldn't help but feel that that was a lie. However, he had little time to ponder over it, for Cassidy already ordered an attack from Heatmor. "Heatmor, attack that weak Pignite with a good offering of Incinerate!"
Heatmor's body glowed a white color before it expelled a blast of flames from its body, which traveled towards Pignite, hitting it ferociously. Nate gasped as his Fire Pig Pokémon was sent barreling into the side of a building, burn marks masking its frame, smoke issuing from them. Already did Pignite appear severely damaged.
"Pignite, quick!" Nate cried. "Quick, get up!"
With some difficulty, Pignite clambered out of the wreckage, looking almost ready to collapse from the Incinerate attack. However, it quickly regained its stance, and it snorted at Heatmor tauntingly. The Heatmor faced Pignite, the ghost of a crafty expression on its face. Not liking Heatmor's look, Nate pointed at it.
"Pignite, use Flame Charge!"
Pignite engulfed itself in flames and slammed into Heatmor, sending it into the side of another building, raining tiny pieces of debris on the Team Rocket grunts, but for some reason, only Cassidy was unfazed by this. She merely pointed at Pignite in gesture.
"Use Slash, Heatmor!" she commanded. Heatmor stood from the wreckage, not displaying any signs of battle wounds, and charged for Pignite.
"Dodge, Pignite!" ordered Nate.
Pignite successfully dodged Heatmor before it could slash its chest.
"So, you wanna play get-away, huh?" Cassidy smirked. "Use Amnesia, Heatmor!"
A transparent beam of small, circular waves traveled out of Heatmor's eyes and into Pignite's own. The Fire Pig Pokémon promptly stumbled around, its eyes spinning.
"Pignite, stay strong for me, buddy!" Nate shouted. "Use Flame Charge again!"
Pignite tried to repeat the attack, but it was unable to. In addition, it was extremely confused, and it stumbled across the walkway and into a food stand, sending fruit and vegetables rolling across the concrete ground. Cassidy burst into malicious laughter as Pignite stumbled out of the wreckage, falling over on its side.
"Your Pignite is weak and worthless, Nate," she said. "If you join us now, you'll be gifted with stronger, more reliable Pokémon!"
"NEVER! NOT IN A BILLION YEARS!" roared Nate. "PIGNITE, USE FLAMETHROWER!"
Standing up, reeling from the Amnesia, the Fire Pig Pokémon tried to use the attack, but all it could get out was a small cloud of gray smoke. Nate sweat-dropped and dropped to the ground anime-style. Cassidy issued a fallacious yawn before pointing at Pignite with triumph.
"Heatmor, use Inferno! Finish this now!"
The Anteater Pokémon fired a spiraling stream of red-hot fire from its nose, which barreled straight for Pignite.
"PIGNITE, QUICKLY!" Nate cried. "DODGE!"
Pignite dodged the attack, but it fell over in its confusion. Cassidy smirked, seizing the upper advantage.
"AGAIN, HEATMOR! MAKE SURE THAT MISERABLE EXCUSE OF A PIGNITE FEELS THE HEAT!"
Nate watched with horror as Heatmor fired the attack again. Pignite stirred, moaning weakly, unable to avoid the attack this time.
"PIGNITE!"
Suddenly, a light-blue sphere appeared from out of nowhere and headed straight into the vortex of flames. A second later, the sphere exploded, dissipating the vortex before it could strike Pignite, sending flames everywhere and scorching all surrounding buildings. Nate, Cassidy, Butch, and the two agents were forced to shield their eyes from the forming cloud of smoke. Nate could hear the grunts crying out in pain, a couple of smashing sounds, and Butch exclaiming, "WHAT THE?!"
Eventually, Nate opened his eyes; the first thing he saw was the grunts' unconscious forms, Heatmor gone, Sableye lying on the ground, and a large hole in the side of a couple building. Then, he noticed the blue-and-black, jackal-like, bipedal Pokémon with red eyes, which was standing in front of him, the freed Kelly, and Pignite in a defensive stance. One of its paws was held in the air, a second light-blue sphere suspended in the air, a few centimeters directly in front of the aforementioned paw.
"What in the world is THIS?!" snarled Butch, stepping forward, but Cassidy stopped him.
"A Lucario..." she said in a barely inaudible whisper.
Nate, intrigued by the name, pulled out his Pokédex. "Lucario?" he asked as he activated the device.
"Lucario, the Aura Pokémon," the Pokédex explained. "Lucario has the power to detect their opponent's thoughts and actions by reading their Aura."
"HEATMOR, USE INFERNO ON THE LUCARIO!" Cassidy screeched, fear actually present in her voice. Heatmor leaped out of the hole in the building and fired yet another vortex of flames at Lucario, but suddenly, the Aura Pokémon placed its paws together and then spread them apart, in the process creating a light-green, bone-shaped weapon of energy. It then jumped directly into the Inferno attack, emerging unscathed from the opposite end and striking Heatmor across with the bone.
"NOW is everything going just as planned?!" Butch cried, staring at Cassidy as her jaw dropped open in shock at the Lucario's attack.
"No, not at all," the gold-haired woman replied. She quickly recalled her Sableye and pointed at the Lucario. "Heatmor, let's retreat!"
"And leave these guys here?!" Butch gestured to the two unconscious grunts. Cassidy merely glared at him with a strangely sinister expression.
"Don't worry. They won't be alone."
Immediately, Heatmor fired an Incinerate attack, which struck Butch and rendered him unconscious and badly burnt. Cassidy quickly grabbed the belt containing Butch's stolen Poké Balls and sprinted away, Heatmor following close behind. Lucario ran off after them; further intrigued, Nate recalled Pignite and looked at Kelly.
"Mom, stay here!" he said.
"But Nate-" began Kelly.
"I SAID STAY HERE, MOM!" Nate then ran off after Lucario, leaving the brown-haired woman behind.
Though she was worried for Nate's well-being, Kelly's lips curved into a relieved smile.
"He called me Mom..." she thought.
Nate didn't know exactly why he was running alongside the Lucario who had just rescued him and Pignite only a minute ago, but it seemed like the two had some sort of spiritualconnection, as if they already knew each other. It was just like the scenario with the Genesect Army, except that Nate was more comfortable beside Lucario.
He saw Cassidy and Heatmor turn a corner. He and Lucario did the same. The three ran down the walkway, past several civilians who were unaware of the unfolding situation. Occasionally, Heatmor would turn back and briefly fire an attack at them, which they would easily dodge. Repeatedly, Cassidy and Heatmor would turn more corners, and Nate and Lucario would do the same thing. It was as if the four of them were running through a maze.
After several minutes of this, Nate saw Cassidy and Heatmor turn yet another corner. He and Lucario did so as well, only to find that it was a dead end.
And Cassidy and Heatmor were nowhere to be found.
"Huh? Where'd they go?" Nate asked to no one in particular.
"Quiet..."
Nate's eyes widened as he stared at the Lucario, whose paw was extended towards him as a silencing gesture. Lucario then closed its eyes and raised its ears, which trembled softly. Remembering the definition of Lucario by his Pokédex, Nate assumed that Lucario was reading Cassidy and Heatmor's Aura to find them. After several seconds, Lucario opened its eyes and gazed in the opposite direction, towards the rooftops. Nate followed its gaze and immediately saw Cassidy and Heatmor, both of them hopping from one roof to the other with seemingly unmatched expertise as civilians down below watched in awe and confusion.
"STOP!" Nate shouted as he ran after the Team Rocket agent, feeling Lucario also in hot pursuit.
After running a long distance, Nate watched as Cassidy and Heatmor leaped towards a nearby bell tower. Instinctively, he commanded, "Lucario, Aura Sphere!"
To his surprise, Lucario obeyed the command without any shred of reluctance. It leaped into the air, formed the distinctive light-blue sphere in its hands, and fired it at Cassidy and Heatmor, just as they landed on the bell tower. A split-second after that, the sphere exploded into a cloud of smoke, and all of the civilians screamed and ran for cover, shocked by this attack on a city landmark. However, when the dust cleared, Nate gasped upon seeing the bell tower completely unscathed, with a green outline barely visible from a distance. Nate and Lucario ran closer to the base of the bell tower and saw that it was a Milotic on the tower's balcony, using Safeguard.
In front of the Milotic was Cassidy and Heatmor. But they and Milotic weren't alone: standing beside them were seven people wearing shady cloaks colored in different shades: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. The hoods were drawn, obscuring the wearers' faces. The person wearing the red cloak hopped onto the balcony railing and directly faced Nate and Lucario, both of whom sensed a grin of triumph on the person's face.
"Be careful of whose affairs you're interfering with, boy," the person spoke; he had a gruff, cold male voice that sent a shiver down Nate's spine. "We will complete our unfinished work, and the world shall become a much better place for it. ...We will accomplish our goals, no matter what the cost! MILOTIC, USE TWISTER!"
Milotic floated into the air and started to spin around, creating a twister around its body. It then launched the formed twister towards Nate and Lucario...
Suddenly, a pale-purple flame appeared out of nowhere, intercepting the Twister and causing it to dissipate. Everyone looked up and saw a great black dragon flying towards the tower, roaring ferociously. Two figures appeared to be riding the dragon's back. As the dragon came closer, Nate recognized it from ancient engravings he looked at in Cheren's class: it was none other than the Legendary Deep Black Pokémon, Zekrom!
On the bell tower, the man wearing the red cloak smiled. "Ten years," he said, "and the Legendary Zekrom had to pick today." He faced his comrades. "Let's vanish."
Down below, Nate looked back up at the bell tower, only to see a brief flash occur directly on the place where Cassidy, Heatmor, Milotic, and the seven hooded figures were standing on. When the flash disappeared a split-second later, there was no sign of any of them there.
"What the?" Nate cried in surprise. "Where'd they go? Lucario, can you sense 'em?" He turned his head, but saw that Lucario was not standing beside him anymore. In fact, Lucario was nowhere to be found. "Lucario? Lucario, where ARE you?! LUCARIO?!" However, he received no response; it was obvious that the Aura Pokémon had disappeared. The Trainer sighed and gazed back at the bell tower. "Who in Arceus's name were those guys anyway?"
"The Sky Seven," a familiar voice said. Nate turned around and saw Cheren running up to him, accompanied by the others. Then, they all watched as Zekrom landed in front of the group. Indeed, there were two figures riding the Deep Black Pokémon; one was a man with light-green, neatly-combed hair, while the other was a woman with bushy, long purple hair tied in a large ponytail. The pair hopped off of Zekrom and ran up to the group.
"Hey, guys," Cilan Parlet said. "Long time, no see."
"Cilan!" Dawn exclaimed. "Iris! You guys are here!"
"Sorry we're late, guys," the woman said. "We were searching around the Forest of Hearts for-" She suddenly spotted Nate and became quiet. She then walked up to him, and leaned her face towards his to examine his features. "...I...I can't believe I'd get to see you ten years later." The ghost of a smile appeared on her face on the moment she gazed into Nate's eyes; the Trainer felt uncomfortable. "...Your eyes look just like your father's..."
"His soul is identical to his father's as well," a voice suddenly said. "Their cognition, their resonances with Pokémon, their ideals... One and the same..."
Everyone looked up at Zekrom, whose head moved for a fraction of an inch.
"I assume he knows of his true heritage..." Zekrom said.
"Yes," replied Hilda, with a hint of shame in her voice. "Unfortunately, he's not taking it well. I don't recommend bringing it up-"
"No, I'm fine." Everyone looked back at Nate, who was smiling slightly. "...Well...I'm actually not... I still can't believe it... But-" A determined expression flooded his face as he remembered all of the strange behavior that had been happening to him recently...the odd stare the red-cloaked man gave him before disappearing. "-it is quite obvious something big's going on, and...if any of it has to do with my true...heritage, as you call it...then I need to know what's up."
"HOLY ARCEUS AND HEAVEN!" a voice screeched, cracking in the process. The group watched as the same fat, balding man who had previously been with Marina on the stage; he was running up to the bell tower, accompanied by a group of four men wearing black suits. Hot beads of sweat was cascading from his forehead, and a comically exasperated look was on his face. Zekrom immediately flew into the sky, out of sight from the men.
"THANK ARCEUS THE BELL TOWER WASN'T DAMAGED!" the fat man screamed. He pointed at Nate accusingly. "IF IT WERE DAMAGED, I SWEAR TO ARCEUS THAT YOUR PUNISHMENT WOULD BE THE MOST SEVERE AND HARSH IN EXISTENCE! INFLICTING DAMAGE UPON A BELOVED KETCHUM CITY LANDMARK IS A CLASS-ONE CRIME AND IT IS NOT TOLERATED AT THE VERY LEAST! D'YOU KNOW WHERE YOU ARE, TOURIST BOY?! YOU'RE IN KETCHUM CITY!"
Nate sweat-dropped, as did everyone else. "Yeah, I think we noticed..." he said nervously.
The man's eyelid twitched. "DON'T YOU GIVE ME THAT KIND OF TONE!" he shrieked at Nate. "D'YOU KNOW WHO I AM, TOURIST BOY?! I'M ZANDER HARRINGTON, GREAT, COMPASSIONATE, SUPREME MAYOR OF KETCHUM CITY! IT SHOULD BE AN HONOR TO MEET SUCH A PERSON OF HIGH CLASS!"
Alarmed by the mayor's behavior, Marina ran forward and waved her hands frantically.
"Calm down, Mayor Harrington, calm DOWN!" she exclaimed. "He's a friend of mine, and he was trying to pursue these guys that stole some Pokémon! Honest!"
Harrington glared at Marina, his entire face contorted, twitching menacingly. Then, a scoff escaped his lips.
"Very well then, Mrs. Brass," he snarled. "Tell your friend to watch where his Pokémon are aiming! If he succeeds in destroying a monument like the bell tower, then I am gonna use all of my power as Ketchum City mayor to land his sorry little butt in Blacklock Prison!"
"Mayor Harrington!" one of the mayor's companions exclaimed. "Blacklock Prison is only reserved for...you-know-who!"
"DOES IT LOOK LIKE I DON'T KNOW, FOOL?! I'M JUST DISPLAYING THE SERIOUSNESS REQUIRED FOR ALL MAYORS! SHUT UP AND LET ME DO MY JOB AS MAYOR OF THIS CITY!" He stared back at Marina and spoke more calmly. "Now, Mrs. Brass, you and your friends run along! You're all disturbing the day for the rest of my civilians."
"Yes, Mayor Harrington," Marina replied, nodding as she escorted the rest of her group away from the scene.
"Who in the world was that guy?" asked Nate.
"Mayor Harrington..." Marina said, shaking her head disapprovingly. "Better not cross him, Nate..."
The sewer systems
Underneath Ketchum City
Enigma smirked as he felt the presence of his New Sky Seven, plus Cassidy, materialize directly behind him. He stood up from his carpet and looked back at the group.
"So, you're back," he said. "What's the report, Fox?"
"It's indeed true, Enigma," replied Cassidy. "The Trainer named Nate, he is the son of Ash Ketchum."
Enigma's smirk widened as he sat back down on his carpet. "I guess that means...things have just gotten even more interesting..."
Blacklock Prison
"It appears that the Ketchum City Train Tour crisis is over," a reporter announced on the TV set that was used as the inmate's only means of entertainment. "All but one of the Team Rocket grunts that were confirmed to have attacked the train have been taken into police custody. One grunt managed to escape with a total of fifteen stolen Pokémon; she is being described as a gold-haired woman with green eyes and having a Raticate, a Houndoom, a Granbull, and a Shiny Heatmor at her disposal. No one was harmed during the robbery and resulting incident at the Ketchum Bell Tower."
"And it appears that the day could've gotten much worse," a second reporter said, "had it not been for the intervention of one of the passengers aboard that train, identified as Nate Brown, who used his Pignite and Lucario to apprehend most of the grunts. I guess this Nate fellow's the hero of the day, huh Sara?"
"I guess so, Burke," replied the first reporter. "Here's security footage of Nate pursuing the grunts, which we managed to acquire..."
The TV set displayed security footage of Nate and Lucario running down the walkway, after Cassidy, Butch, and the two remaining grunts. The inmate instantly pressed a button on his remote, pausing the live report midway, allowing him a clear view of Nate's face. He gazed at the Trainer, his eyes narrowing into slits in suspicion...or, more like eye... His right eye was covered in a black patch that glinted from the little sunlight that crept through the barred window...
"Nate Brown..." he whispered, his voice hoarse, as if he didn't use it for a long time. "Nate Brown... Nate Ketchum..."
His lips curved into a small, satisfied grin that signified a sort of undeniable malice.
"...My dear nephew..."
A/N: Here we have it, the conclusion of last chapter's cliffhanger! It looks like Nate is finally starting to accept the revelation of him being Ash's son. Which finally gives me the opportunity to reveal the long-sought identity of Nate's true mother! HOORAY! Stay tuned for the next chapter!
I'd like to thank those who reviewed:
ThirteenMoney: Lucario just did. :D
Xexe: Yes. What kind of story would this be if such a meeting did not take place?!
PsychicEevee0103: Because she's actually a member of the Sky Soldiers, that's why! :O
woodland59 (guest reviewer): Meh, it's okay. Take your time! And I'm glad I could incorporate a favorite part of yours from the anime! It's always a pleasure to keep the readers wholly satisfied with the faithful material. :D :D :D
Galaxina-the-Seedrian: Really? I thought DP was okay at best.
Alpha B. A. 7: With the exception of Arceus (who is a 'he'), I'm keeping the genders of all Legendary Pokémon ambiguous (unless I accidentally make a mistake).
jg13145: You'll learn who Nate's true mother is soon enough. And this is what happens to Kelly. She's saved.
BlueLightningXD: Well, consider yourself a Psychic-type! XD
random girlz: This is what happens next. Exciting, isn't it?
Whoever will be this story's 100th reviewer? I'm willing to find out! Whoever accomplishes that milestone gets a free cyber cookie from me! :D :D :D
Well, hope you enjoyed this chapter! TheCartoonFanatic01 is out. PEACE!