Hey guys, Chp. 3 is here! This one is a wee bit shorter than the last two, but that's just the way it was flowing. Hope everyone enjoys it!
8 weeks ago...
Professor Oak turned the PokeBall over in his hand...again, and then again. His mind boggled down with questions and concerns. Today marked the third day after Gary's funeral, and the third day after Oak had been given all of Gary personal effects. This included the items that had been collected from Gary's body in the morgue. All of the items Professor Oak recognized: Gary's PokeBelt, PokeGear, etc. All of them...except for one...the PokeBall he was currently turning over in his hand.
The ID number was not one from Kanto, so he had checked to see if it had been purchased from a different region. Gary traveled a lot, who's to say one of his PokeBalls needed to be replaced? However, the ID still did not register. The idea of opening the ball to see if something was inside came to him, but then a cautionary feeling followed.
Gary caught a lot of Pokemon. If there was one inside, it could range anywhere from a Weedle to an Aggron. Best not to let loose and Aggron in the lab Gary may had of just caught.
So, he opted to scan the ball first. Check for structural damage, and see exactly what lay inside...and never would he have consider what was inside...
There was a knock at the door, and the Professor called out, "come in"!
The door to his study swung open, and Ash walked into the room. Just Ash, no Pikachu, no Misty. Just as Professor Oak had asked him to do.
"You wanted to visit with me Professor"?
Ash closed the door behind him as he walked farther into the room.
"Yes" Oak leaned forward in his chair, placing the PokeBall on the desk before him, "sit down".
Ash did as instructed, looking just a little bewildered to the Professor's solemn tone.
"Is something the matter" Ash asked cautiously as he took the chair on the opposite side of the desk.
"Everything is as fine as it can be" Oak offered as reassuringly as he could, "I'm just a little bewildered about this".
He gestured to the PokeBall between them, and Ash looked it over.
"What's confusing about it" he asked, looking back up at the Professor.
"It has no registered ID whatsoever" Professor Oak explained, "technically this PokeBall does not exist in any region".
"So it's a special made ball"?
"Not at all, it's just a regular ol PokeBall" Oak continued, "aside from the ID, it happened to be on Gary's person at the time of...death".
He swallowed as he said that last word. Ash shifted in his chair uneasily.
"So" Oak moved on, trying to ease the sadness, "I ran a few scans on it, and much to my surprise, the Pokemon inside of it...well...".
Oak opened a drawer, and pulled out a printed sheet of paper. He handed it to Ash, who took it and began to read. His expression grew into shock and remembrance as he read over the text. Suddenly it clicked, and Ash looked at the PokeBall once more before he filled Professor Oak in.
Present Day...
The massive amount of helicopter wreckage crashed into the DJ table, crushing Maria and Terrence, and shorting out the remaining electronics. They exploded in a massive fireball that May felt the heat from on her face.
"LOOK OUT" Cameron's voice shouted behind her, and then his hands yanked her out of the way as a Dominion zoomed by slicing at her.
"We can't stay here any longer" Brock shouted as May regained her own balance.
"We can't leave Ash and Misty" May bellowed back, her eyes frantically scanning each fleeing face.
"I don't like it either May, but Brock is right" Cameron told her, watching the sky for attacking Dominion's, "we're going to be killed if we stay here any longer".
"But what if-".
"They're strong together May" Delila cut her off, "they'll be fine"!
May looked to each of them, and finally, nodded in agreement. If anyone could survive this, it was Ash and Misty. She was sure of it! More screams of terror caused May's ears to ring as dozens more Dominion's swooped into the crowd. The Rocket helicopters had begun to retreat, fleeing before they could be brought down.
"Let's move it" Cameron barked, grabbing May's wrist and jerking her to the side as a large man nearly plowed her over.
"To Professor Oak's lab" Brock shouted over the terrified screams, "we'll rendezvous there"!
May's heart skipped, maybe Ash and Misty had the same idea? Brock's towering frame led the way, covering Delila as much as he could. Cameron pulled May to his back, and forced her to wrap her arms around his chest.
"Don't let go" he ordered, turning his head just enough so she could hear him.
May nodded into his back, and tightened her grip. Cameron twisted and turned so that he took the beatings from the retreating guests. The hits would jolt May, but otherwise, she went untouched. Her feet left the makeshift dance floor and almost slid out from under her on wet grass. She mentally decided the grass was wet from a spilled drink...
She closed her eyes as they proceeded across the field. Burying her face in between Cameron's shoulder blades. She felt water smudge across her face, and realized she must of been crying.
Screams, metallic shrieks, and the ripping of clothes and flesh pierced through the night air. Sending crisp tingles down their spines as they quickly moved towards the lab. Brock gripped one of his PokeBalls tight, his thumb on the release button. He was seriously debating about using his Steelix...though Delila had already used her Onix...
The beating blades of the helicopters were nearly gone now, being replaced by the sound of gunfire in the middle of town. Delila flinched with every pop, and tried to retreat further into Brock's chest.
They had broken away from the main surge of people now, and were almost to Oak's lab. Dark figures ran every which direction into the night, and Brock tried to block out their agonizing screams as a Dominion would catch them.
Finally, and with a little luck that they did not have to face a Dominion, Brock's hand clasped onto the back door knob of the lab.
Giovanni crawled his way through twisted, and crumpled metal. His left shoulder seared with burning pain, so he was limited to his right hand. He could hear the retreating blades of his Air Force, and if those cowards didn't turn back to fight, he would kill them all personally.
His hand crawled ahead of him, searching through the dark and debris. His face pressed against a cold metal shard, pricking at his cheek, but he ignored it. There! His fingers closed around the radio he had been searching for.
Clicking the button, he said, "this is Giovanni! Where in the Hell do you think you cowards are going?! Get back here and find that Mew"!
There was static for a moment, and then Matilda's voice came through, "good to hear your voice sir! We assumed the worst. Unfortunately, most of the air force has shut off their transmitters, and I am unable to reach them".
Giovanni growled into the mic, so Matilda continued, "we are turning back now as we speak. I'm afraid one chopper is only good for an evac sir".
"AN EVAC"?!
Something detonated in the distance, and multiple metal shrieks lit into the night.
"I DON'T NEED A FUCKING EVAC" Giovanni roared so loudly that feedback rang through the tiny speaker, "I NEED THAT MEW"!
It took Matilda a moment to answer back, but flatly she said, "yes sir".
Giovanni licked a bit of blood dripping from his lip and flung the radio away from him.
Brock sprinted through the dark halls, the others right on his tail. They had been running and searching through room after room, hoping to find someone. So far...no luck. Someone had to be in the lab right? Even just a random stranger looking for shelter?
"Ash! Misty" May called for the umpteenth time, her voice bouncing down the empty corridor.
"Professor! Mrs. Ketchum" Brock decided to try again, "Lance"!
Still no replies. The deathly sounds outside had been muffled greatly the further into the laboratory they ran, but the Dominion's horrible metal shrills could still be heard.
"Brock" Cameron's voice suddenly broke in, "I see a light down this hall"!
Brock and Delila stopped sprinting, and turned back to the other two. Cameron was motioning down the hall Brock had just passed, and May was squinting to try and see better.
"Maybe it's one of them" May asked a little unsure, but hope was in her voice.
Brock hurried back to them, and looked down the hall as well. Sure enough, a light was shining through a cracked open door.
"One way to find out" Brock said, and quickly led the way once again.
His figure blocked the light from Mays's view, so she shuffled to the side to keep her eyes on the door. Their footsteps echoed down the hall, and as they neared the door, a shadowy figure darted across the opening. The group froze inches from the room, and with a quick inhale of breath to help his courage, Brock gripped the PokeBall he still had in his hand and reached for the doorknob.
He flung it wide open, and Professor Oak appeared in his vision pointing a handgun straight at him.
"WHOA EASY PROFESSOR, IT'S JUST US"!
The relief spreading over Oak's face would have been priceless if the situation wasn't so dire.
"Oh thank God" Professor Oak breathed heavily, "in quickly"!
He slammed the door behind them as they crossed the threshold. May found herself in a semi large room, with dozens of different machines and mechanisms she couldn't identify. In the center of the room, sat a round table encased in a glass dome that was connected to a wench above it. On the table, with a bunch of wires connected into it, was a PokeBall.
"Mew"?
May jumped violently to her left, crashing into Cameron. Thankfully he was quick enough to catch her before she hit the tile. His arms wrapped around her, and lifted her back to her feet.
Floating in front of them was a small, pink, catlike Pokemon. The baby Mew. May breathed a sigh of relief, and relaxed herself. Until she noticed she was leaning her back into Cameron's chest, with his arms still wrapped around her.
"Eep" she jumped forward, pulling away from him, "sorry...".
She was blushing furiously, but that was as far as that went as Professor Oak shoved by them, hurrying to a machine on the far end of the room. His sat the handgun down on the desk beside it, and then positioned himself in front of a small monitor. His fingers clicking away rapidly on the keyboard.
"Mew"!
The small pink Pokemon zoomed over by his side and watched the text flicker across screen.
May worked away her blush, and then stepped forward a foot, "Professor, have you seen the others"?
There was a hitch in his typing, he did not reply, instead he spoke to Mew "Do you remember what I told you Mew"?
Mew cocked its head to the side, blinking slowly with big blue eyes.
"About in case we ever needed to keep you safe"?
Mew's eyes lit up with recognition and it zoomed in a circle. Apparently happy that it remembered.
The others had inched closer as the Professor worked, but Cameron took a glance back at the PokeBall in the middle of the room. His attention was snapped back when the machine Oak was at, let out a loud hiss, and a panel slid open in the side. The older man reached into the compartment, and grasped the small sphere inside it.
A MasterBall, with the original purple top, but a pink underneath. With a sharp turn, he looked back to the younger adults. He eyed each of them for a moment, then spoke quickly, "Ash and Misty are fine, last I saw them. I instructed them to run, and not look back. Lance and Delia were with them as well. I'm sure they've all made it out of here by now".
Relief washed over the younger four, but not all of their worries vanished. Oak then turned to Mew, and raised the MasterBall.
"Time to go in. We must keep you safe".
Mew nodded in understanding, Professor Oak pressed the button on the front. The little red beam shot out, and sucked Mew into the ball.
"As for you all" Oak continued swiftly, hurrying past them to the center table, "I have a job for you"!
He put the MasterBall down beside the glass domed PokeBall and began to type on another keyboard.
"I need you four to protect Mew" he informed, "get it out of here! At all costs"!
This surprised them, and each of them shared a quick look before Brock asked, "you want us to take Mew"?
"Precisely" Oak nearly shouted, spinning away from the center table to face the others, "the Dominion want this Mew, and Ash! I told him to run so that the two wouldn't be in the same place! You four must get this baby as far away from here as you can"!
A muffled explosion went off somewhere in town, making them all shift uneasily.
"Where would we take it" May asked, "where are we supposed to go"?
That last question rang hard through the group. Where we're they supposed to go? Pallet Town was surely lost, and no other city would be safe for long. They had no where.
"Shamouti" Oak told them, "take the baby to Shamouti Island".
Silence, well silence among the five people in the room. Outside, the sounds of Hell continued on.
"Why Shamouti" Brock finally asked.
"I've been working on a theory" Oak began, finally turning back to the center table, "I'll explain it in full when I can, but for now, just remember we need Ash, and the Legendary Pokemon".
He finished typing, and pressed the enter key. The wench above the dome hissed, and raised the glass from the table.
"Those pictographs found in Sinnoh told of Arceus and the Legendary Pokemon fighting together to stop the Dominion's" he said as he picked up the PokeBall from the center of the table, "I believe that is how we must do it again, and Ash has met every single one".
Suddenly, it clicked in Cameron's mind what was in the PokeBall Professor Oak was holding.
"Lugia and the Legendary Birds are at Shamouti-" Oak stopped himself, glancing down at the PokeBall in his hand, then continued, "well, I hope Lugia returned to Shamouti after that boat incident. Unfortunately, we never leaned how many Legendaries Team Rocket has caught. Thankfully, you all saved two of them".
With that said, Oak opened the PokeBall. May gasped, she had completely forgotten! Suicune materialized before them, its blue main flowing as if there were a soft breeze. It snorted to the group, and then turned its eye on the Professor.
"I've been monitoring Suicune closely for the last two months" Oak explained, "thankfully he already knew me, otherwise I may have lost a chunk of my lab".
Brock was the only one to know what Professor Oak had men't. Seeing as no one else in the room had been witness to the Lake of Life event with Celebi.
"If Lugia has returned to the Orange Islands, then you four must find it" Oak pressed on, "in fact, I'm assigning the four of you to track down all of the Legendary Pokemon not under Rocket control".
"What about Ash and Misty" May suddenly cut in, "where will they be going"?
"For now, I imagine Lance will take them to the Indigo Plateu" Oak mused, "I'll contact him there and-.
"Oh how nice of you to have found my Suicune"!
The female voice cut across the room, sending a shiver up May's spine. Matilda strode into the room, with Giovanni and three other Rockets in tow. The grunts had handguns pointed at the group.
"Last time I saw you, you left me to die under a hundred pounds of rock" Matilda sneered.
She certainly didn't look as if she had been almost crushed to death. Her silver eyes glinted over to Delila as she glanced back at the hand gun Professor Oak had left on the desk behind them.
"Where's the Mew Professor" Giovanni growled, stepping forward, "I know it is here".
"Torture me like you did Everett, but you'll never find out" Oak retorted, glaring down the Rocket leader.
Suicune growled deeply in response as well, spreading its feet so it could attack faster if needed.
"Bad dog" Matilda taunted, "I thought I had taught you better than that"!
"Back it down Professor" Giovanni warned, "before it gets hurt again".
"I'm confident Suicune can take on the five you" Oak retorted defiantly.
For a brief moment in Professor Oak's attitude, Brock could see a hint of Gary, and the thought almost made him smile.
Giovanni, however, scowled even further. Slowly, he reached around to his PokeBelt and removed two Balls.
"Confident huh? How about now"?
Giovanni tossed the two Balls before him, and in two bursts of light stood Entei and Raikou. Roaring straight at Suicune, and covered in wires and the tiny device that gave Giovanni control.
Suicune stepped back, its growl diminishing upon seeing its brethren.
And just like that, what cocky attitude Oak may have had, was gone. Replaced by an old face filled with worry.
"I'm surprised they were ever confident" Matilda snarled with a wicked grin, "seeing as one of them was a Rocket".
What?! The tension that suddenly filled the room was terrifying. May glanced around at the three other young adults. Each was wearing a dumbstruck expression. None of them could have been a Rocket...could they? She then looked towards Professor Oak, who had turned back and stared only at Brock.
Brock looked back, trying desperately to read the look in the old man's eyes. Oak didn't glance to anyone else, never shifted his eyes, as he suddenly shouted, "GO"!
And faster than Brock would have believed, Oak snatched the MasterBall from the table, threw it to Brock, and then released a Dragonite and a Feraligator.
"HyperBeam! HydroPump"!
Dragonite and Feraligator obeyed, and blasted their attacks at Entei and Raikou. The two Legendaries dodged, and Giovanni shouted, "OPEN FIRE"!
The three grunts pulled the triggers of their handguns, but the bullet were stopped cold by an Ice Beam from Suicune.
Brock wasted no time in turning to the others and yelling, "let's go"!
He grabbed Delila's wrist with his free hand, and immediately scanned for another exit. Not finding one, he pocketed the MasterBall and released Geodude.
"Break down this wall" he ordered, pointing to the wall away from the fight.
"Dude" the rock Pokemon shouted, and then barreled through the sheetrock.
As the four ran through the hole, Cameron snatched the forgotten handgun, Brock recalled Geodude, and Professor Oak shouted after him, "KEEP IT SAFE"!
Of course he was referencing the MasterBall holding Mew, and Giovanni deduced what Oak was implying.
"AFTER THEM"!
Matilda attempted to dart after Brock and the others, but Suicune lunged at her, snapping its teeth.
"You son of a Bitch" Matilda growled.
Entei and Raikou fired their attacks at Dragonite and Feraligator. Oak's Pokemon fired back, and the four attacks slammed together and detonated in a quaking blast.
Down the hall that the four young adults had charged into, the floor beneath them rattled violently. Dust blasted out of the hole they had made and barreled down the hall towards them. They coughed and closed their eyes as the air particles clouded their vision.
"Professor" May gagged out, starting to make her way back.
Brock reached out with a snap and halted her progress.
"He told us to go" Brock coughed, "come on"!
He turned her around and pushed, forcing her to move. They moved as quickly as they could through the dust filled hall, following only shadowed shapes of each other. Another explosion went off somewhere outside, followed by Dominion's shrieking in victory.
A tingle ran down Brock's spine. Going outside men't facing off against Dominion's, staying inside men't fighting against Giovanni, and one of them might be a Rocket grunt...
He'd worry about that later, no one was trying to kill anyone yet. Dominion's were the bigger threat, so he grit his teeth and pushed on. A Pokemon roared far behind them, but Brock was unable to identify which Pokemon it may have been.
Keep going...keep going...damn dust...Shimouti, they had to get to Lugia!
Finally, the dust let up, and they could breath normally again. A window in a room ahead of them shattered and the four froze in place. Brock reached back for a PokeBall. In front of him, Cameron raised the handgun to the door.
BANG!
Both girls shrieked as the door splintered off its hinges and a Dominion barged through. Cameron pulled the trigger rapidly, catching the creature off guard and peppering its torso with bullets. Yellow blood spurted from its chest, and it staggered back, but otherwise it seemed fine...furious even.
It opened its mouth wide and screeched at them. May covered her ears, feeling warm blood trickle out of them. Brock tossed his PokeBall, releasing Geodude.
"Body Slam"!
"Dude"!
The Rock Pokemon zoomed at the Dominion. It flew straight up, dodging the attack. Then flicking its third arm, launched lightning at Geodude. All logic to Brock pointed towards Geodude being able to withstand electricity...
The lightning struck, blasting a chunk of rubble from Geodude's body and leaving a bloody hole. Geodude grunted in pain, but remained conscious. Turning to the dark creature determinedly.
"Dude Dude! Geodude" it shouted and launched itself at the Dominion.
The thing must of thought that its attack would have killed Geodude, because it only retaliated with a bewildered expression. Geodude slammed into the creature, wrapping its stony fingers around the Dominion's neck. The Rock Pokemon smashed the Dominion so hard into the wall that the Sheetrock gave in and they both tumbled into the room over.
Brock ran to the demolished section of wall, and peered in. Geodude had positioned itself on top of the Dominion in such a way that the dark creature was stuck flailing on its back, with none of its three arms able to reach the rock.
Seeing Brock, and then the others appear, Geodude shouted in distress, "GEODUDE! Geo, Dude"!
It pointed once to the hall, and then quickly went back to holding down the Dominion. Brock's stomach hitched as he understood what his Pokemon was saying. Run! No! He couldn't leave one of his Pokemln behind! His hand traveled to his PokeBalls, briefly brushing against Mew's as well...
"DUDE! GEODUDEDUDE"!
It glared at Brock, and then shook its body to signal shaking its head. Delila's hand fell on Brock's shoulder...Brock stared right back at Geodude...thinking back to the day he had first caught the Pokemon.
"Thank you" he said, and then ran with the others in tow. The lab shook with an explosion somewhere in the building, but they kept running. They burst into the main lobby, where only a mere 3 hours ago the wedding guests were arriving. The chandelier high above them rocked back and forth as another explosion rocked through the walls. Cameron reached the front door first, and burst through it.
They halted just outside the lab...Professor Oak had built his lab, and ranch, on somewhat of an overlook to Pallet Town. No matter where you were at the lab, you could see the sleepy town perfectly...unfortunately...they could see Pallet Town perfectly...
It was aflame with the largest fires any of them had ever seen. The buildings and homes crumpling underneath the excessive heat. Professor Oak's ranch was a blackened wasteland, and the woods off to the north were slowly burning away.
A few scattered dark figures of people, and Pokemon on the outskirts of town, were rushing off into the night. Fleeing for their lives. A few stranded screams of terror echoed over the crackling flames, only to be silenced shortly by a Dominion screech.
"We have to keep going" Cameron said firmly, beginning to lead the way away from the flames.
Their was stress, and pain in his voice, but none near the amount Brock and May were feeling. This town had always been like a second home, made so by the Ketchum's. Ash and Delia, a good friend and a mother figure to them...childhood memories, and future memories not yet created...friends and family...gone. Burnt to the ground.
A single tear ran down May's cheek. Her chest ached something fierce, crumbling in on itself as the pain washed over her. How could they fight against this? Brock looked down to his feet, then quickly turned away. He started forward, but stopped when he realized May had yet to move.
"May" Brock called, "come on".
She didn't respond.
"May" he called again.
Still she did not reply. She couldn't...this would be their fate no matter what right?
"Hey"!
Cameron's face appeared in her line of vision, illuminated by the massive fires of Pallet.
"I know this hurts, but we have to keep moving. Professor Oak, Lance, Misty, Ash...they are all counting on us. Wether they know it or not. We have to go, we can't let them down. The rest of the world will fall just like Pallet if we do. We have to get Mew away from here".
May's blue eyes turned to his bright green ones. The firelight made them dance before her. It was pleasantly captivating and terrifying at the same time.
"You don't have to do it alone either May" he continued, "I'll be right behind you every step of the way. I promise, but we have to go".
He reached out and placed both his hands on her shoulders. The handgun having been pocketed as he walked up to her. As she looked into his eyes she felt her confidence returning, and nodded. He the grabbed her hand and ran.
The group ran to the south, avoiding town altogether and heading for the docks. To get to the Orange Islands, they needed a boat right? May glanced back only once, letting one pleasant memory of her first ever visit to Pallet Town wash over her.
Welp, that's chapter 3 of part 3! And now I have a question for ya'll. We've now had the two chapters of the two groups leaving Pallet. Would you guys like me to do individual Chp. for the two groups, or would you like me to split the Chp. half and half?
As always, let me know what ya'll think!