Chapter 21: Aggressive Expansion Pt. 2
"Looks like we're just in time for the show," Ghetsis appeared out of a dark portal with Zinzolin and Colress. Behind the leaders of Team Neo Plasma appeared Hilbert, Hilda, and N, their hands tied with rope.
"Hilda, Hilbert, N!" Ash and May yelled when they saw them.
"Hey guys," Hilbert grinned with embarrassment.
"Sad to say, we fell into one of Team Neo Plasma's traps and are now hostages," N looked down in disappointment.
"As it turns out, Ghetsis was only holding a replica of the Sword of Victory, someone else has the real sword," Hilda informed the couple.
"You have big mouth there young lady," Archer was pushed out of a dark portal and dropped on his knees.
Behind the member, Brodie and Kodai were also pushed out. The three Majestic 12 members had their hands cuffed as Auro, Nate, and Rosa appeared behind the captives.
"So you were defeated after all?" Zero raised an eyebrow when he saw his comrades on the floor.
"The little brats had more tactics than we thought," Brodie grinded his teeth in frustration.
"There wasn't much we could have done," Kodai frowned at Auro, who merely chuckled.
"So, we have your operatives hostage, let them go and we'll set these clowns free as well," Nate glared at Ghetsis.
Omega chuckled and spoke, "I'm afraid no one is exchanging anything, a battle is about to commence and if anyone intervenes, they will be killed, ally or foe. I'll even have the pleasure of killing you with this sword," Omega took the Sword of Victory out of his coat and pointed it Ash while smirking.
"Fine, if it's a battle you want, it's a battle you'll get," Ash answered aggressively while clenching his fist.
"If we win you hand over the sword and return our friends, do you agree to the terms?" May responded with a stern tone as well.
The orange-eyed leader of the Majestic 12 gave May a blank look and answered with a deep and menacing voice, "Unfortunately…I don't." The leader then threw both his Pokéballs from his right hand as he held the sword with his left.
Ash and May glared at Omega as two memorable Pokémon appeared before them. The couple instantly recalled their frightening power and weren't sure what to expect this time. Tyranitar and Hydreigon roared violently as they stood in front of the teens, clearly ready to battle.
Auro quickly reached for a Pokéball, but Omega detected his movement and pointed the 4-foot sword at his face. With one intense glare from Omega, Auro grinded his teeth and put away his Pokéball.
Pikachu and Blaziken quickly took their positions and prepared to battle the Pseudo Pokémon. While Blaziken hadn't battled these Pokémon before, the Fire-type could easily sense their power and became alarmed, while Pikachu recollected the time when Tyranitar left him unconscious for days.
"Ash, do you really think we can win?" May whispered to her boyfriend.
"No, but we have no other choice May, remember what I told you though, I'm not going to let anyone hurt you," Ash replied with a whisper.
May gave him a soft grin and then frowned when she turned to Omega, who was staring blankly. Omega's deep voice echoed throughout the room when he spoke, "Let the battle commence!"
"Pikachu, use Quick Attack on Hydreigon!" Ash commanded.
"Blaziken, get close to Tyranitar and deliver a Sky Uppercut!" May shouted and mimicked an uppercut.
Omega chuckled and spoke, "Hydreigon, stop Pikachu and Blaziken's advances with Hyper Voice and Tyranitar, send them flying with Earthquake."
Before Pikachu and Blaziken could reach their targets, Hydreigon let out a piercing cry that hurt everyone's ears, except for Hydreigon's trainer. Pikachu and Blaziken fell to their knees because of the bursting screech and Tyranitar took advantage of this moment to stomp on the ground brutally. The floor beneath all of them began to shake like during an earthquake and the tremor caused Blaziken and Pikachu to fly back because of the force.
"Double Dragon Pulse," Omega pointed at the sword at Ash and May while he made the command.
As Pikachu and Blaziken flew back, Tyranitar and Hydreigon opened their jaws wide and shot out the energy ball at the pair. Luckily the couple was able to react in time and yelled their orders.
"Blaziken, use Counter Shield!" May screamed
"Pikachu, Counter Shield too!" Ash yelled.
The duo quickly gained their composure and used their attacks to shield themselves from the double attack. Dragon Pulse got destroyed on contact with the fire and electricity. Pikachu and Blaziken then dropped on the ground proudly as Omega gave them a half-grin.
"You think you're ready for anything, don't you?" Omega raised an eyebrow at Ash and May.
"We were born ready," May gave him an arrogant smirk.
"Bet you didn't expect us to counter your attack so easy," Ash made a fist and smirked as well.
Omega placed the tip of the sword on the floor and put his hands over the handle like a cane. He gave the couple a frown until the stare became a sly one, "While I must admit the Counter Shield method is an efficient one for dire situations, I'm afraid it's going to take more than that to defeat me. Let's see how you take my Draco Edge."
"Draco Edge?" Ash and May gave him confused looks.
Omega snapped his fingers and Tyranitar unleashed two rings of white energy while Hydreigon shot out a bright ball of energy at the ceiling. At that sudden moment, Ash and May realized what Omega and quickly countered.
"Pikachu, prepare to dodge the combination attack with Agility and destroy any rocks that get too close using Iron Tail," Ash instructed.
"Blaziken, you do the same while using Quick Attack and destroy any rocks that are too close with Sky Uppercut," May clenched her fists as she made her command.
Suddenly, Tyranitar unleashed sharp stones coming from the white energy while Hydreigon's energy ball burst into multiple others. The shower of super attacks aimed at Blaziken and Pikachu swiftly, but the pair's incredible speed allowed them to dodge and block as many as possible.
Pikachu dashed across the battlefield, panting and dodging Draco Meteor while using Iron Tail to destroy any stone aiming its away. Blaziken leaped from one part of the battlefield to another while bashing through stones that slashed towards it. The two Pokémon were doing well countering the combination, which stunned everyone watching, including Giovanni, Ghetsis, and the Team Rocket Trio.
The momentary advantage would not last though and out of nowhere, a Sandstorm developed, which made it difficult for Pikachu and Blaziken to see. The meteors and stones stopped shooting out though, but Ash and May were expecting an even more powerful attack now.
"Ash, how are we going to overpower them when we can't see a thing," May gave him a worried look.
"I don't know…" Ash grinded his teeth, feeling hopeless in the situation they were in.
Pikachu and Blaziken looked at each other and tried to sense Hydreigon and Tyranitar, however, the Sandstorm's powerful winds and sand blocked their vision and impaired their hearing. At that moment, a Double Dark Pulse burst out of the sandstorm and blasted the two Pokémon, creating a large explosion that caused the glass walls of the panoramic view to crack and break, falling to the city.
When the sand and smoke cleared, Omega and everyone else stood in their normal positions, but Blaziken and Pikachu were both panting as they lay on the floor.
"Blaziken!" May yelled with shock as she ran over to him.
"Pikachu!" Ash did the same with Pikachu and picked up his friend.
"Blaziken, you fought incredible out there, I've never been more proud of you," May held Blaziken's head close to her chest and shed a few tears onto its feathers. Blaziken gave her a weak smile and said his name weakly. The sapphire-eyed girl returned the Fire-type to its Pokéball and looked at the floor for a second, spotting small a stain of blood on it.
"Pikachu, I'm sorry I had to make you fight like that pal, but you did amazing. I didn't expect us to do as well as we did now, thank you buddy," Ash pressed Pikachu up against his chest and pushed back a few tears.
The couple lamented over their Pokémon's wounds and turned to Omega, who returned Tyranitar and Hydreigon without a word. Auro, Nate, and Rosa were left speechless by the battle and so were the villains.
"None of us expected you to last as long as you did, I'm impressed, I have to admit," Omega extended his right arm to the right.
Ash and May didn't say anything and only glared at the man. Omega then chuckled a bit and spoke, "Ash, this next trial is for you."
The raven-haired teen saw the menacing look in Omega's eyes and his eyes widened as he answered with "What?"
All of a sudden, Omega appeared in front of May and grabbed her by the throat. The next instant he appeared beside the panoramic view of the city. He held May out the room and into the free air, her hair motioned everywhere as the strong wind pushed it.
The brunette fidgeted and tried to break free, but it was futile. "Omega, let her go or else!" Ash screamed at the top of his lungs as he held Pikachu in his right arm. Seeing his beloved struggling to break free from his grasp and sensing the danger she was in, Ash felt his blood boil with anger.
Omega let out a sigh and glared at Ash, "Very poor choice of words." Then suddenly he let go of May and dropped her from the skyscraper to the bottom of city.
The brunette yelled her loudest as she felt the air push her towards her impending death and death pulling her downward. "May!" Ash screamed even more and jumped out of the building.
The auburn-eyed teen held on Pikachu tight as he dropped to the ground like an arrow, his eyes focusing on his falling girlfriend and his body motioning towards her.
In the building, Nate and Rosa gave Omega horrified gazes while Auro frowned. "You monster, I'm going to make you pay!" Auro cried out and charged at Omega, but then a small purple ball of energy enveloped Auro and the teen quickly fell asleep. The ball of energy then faded and Auro dropped to the ground.
"What did you do?" Rosa snapped at Omega, but she was also shot by a ball of purple energy, which placed the same effects on her.
Before Nate could also react, the attack was also shot at him and the boy dropped to the floor asleep.
Omega shook his head in disappointment, "To think, they're part of the world's greatest trainers."
Kodai, Archer, and Brodie then ran over next to Omega when they realized their capturers had gotten knocked out.
Where did that come from? Hilbert thought to himself and stopped a ghostly shadow hidden among the columns of the room, which sustained a small balcony.
Omega looked down at his 3 underlings and glared, "I should execute the three of you for your failure, and I should do it right now."
"But sir," Kodai gave him a frightened look with Archer and Brodie.
"Is he really going to…?" James had been watching with Jessie and Meowth from behind a column with a fearful look.
"I can't watch!" Jessie hid her eyes in her arms.
"Gulp," Meowth's pupils shrunk with fear.
Hilda and N closed their eyes as Omega lifted the sword and prepared to slash down the three of them. Hilbert was the only who watched with a terrified expression, then in three slashes, the sounds of metal clashing could be heard. Hilda opened her eyes and saw the metal handcuffs restraining the three members, on the floor.
Kodai, Brodie, and Archer got up and gave Omega thankful looks. "However, you can still serve of use to me," Omega told them and returned the sword in his coat.
The scene relieved everyone from a bloody event, including Team Rocket.
The 3 members looked at Zero, who merely chuckled while Genesis shook his head in disappointment. A beep sound was heard and Genesis checked the Xtransceiver on his wrist, "Omega, we have more company."
Omega then replied to his second in command, "We don't have time for more games. Ghetsis leave those children here and Roxas's friends, we won't need them."
"Don't you believe they will pose a threat to our plan if we leave them like this?" Giovanni questioned.
"Not at all, the only priority we have now is reaching the harbor and heading toward Liberty Garden," Omega responded.
"Then let's move," Ghetsis stated and with that the Majestic 12 and their allies, left the room through dark portals.
"We should be leaving to you know, whoever is coming will most likely arrest us," Jessie stated.
"Gud idea, there's a door in ta back ov ta room," Meowth pointed out.
"Then c'mon," James replied and tiptoed quietly with his partners to the door and exited, without any of the teens noticing.
The moment Team Rocket left the room; Looker arrived with Iris, Cilan, and Trip. Hilbert and Hilda's eyes widened with relief, "Looker!" they both shouted with relief.
"What happened here, where are Ash and May? My scouts had spotted them here earlier," Looker questioned them.
N gave Looker an expression of sadness, "They're gone, Ash leaped to his death after May was thrown out the view by Omega. Auro, Nate, and Rosa tried to fight back, but they were quickly knocked out."
"What?!" Iris, Cilan, and Trip exclaimed.
Looker gave N a blank stare and then closed his eyes, "We must get to the port as soon as possible, Ash and May, are in safe hands. You'll understand what I'm referring to when we get to the port."
The teens became surprised by Looker's calm attitude and Iris, Cilan, and Trip untied their hands. Hilda looked out the view and wondered if Ash and May were really alright.
Concurrently, Ash and May had been dropping, the auburn-eyed teen was closer to May now and extended his free arm out to reach her. "Aaaaassh," May let out as the fear of death overcame her, she closed her eyes shut and wrapped herself with her arms.
Ash aimed at May like a missile and reached her just in time; the boy wrapped his arm around the girl's waist and closed his eyes as they prepared to hit the ground. "Maaaay," Ash tried to say her name as he dropped with her.
May opened her left eye and saw the boy holding on to her, she could feel the rate of the drop increasing, but her fear of death vanished in his grip, she couldn't say anything, but she gave him a smile as Ash returned the gesture and shut their eyes.
End of the road, Ash kept his eyes closed and grinned, his body gave in to gravity and the couple, along with an unconscious Pikachu was about ten seconds from hitting the cement.
Time to sleep, May gave herself up to gravity and only cared about Ash holding on to her, seconds before her end.
3 seconds before hitting though, they landed on something else, it was warm and its skin felt reptilian. The air was no longer shooting upwards; instead it pushed from the side. The pair got confused by what was going on and they slowly opened their eyes.
May's eyes widened with joy when she realized where she and Ash had landed. Ash's eyes also glimmered with relief when he saw what he was lying on.
The creature flying them was all too familiar and its black color could instantly tell them who it belonged to. "This Charizard…" May stated, but got cut by Ash.
"Belongs to Roxas," Ash had never been so relieved to see one of Roxas's Pokémon saving them. They had dodged a bullet in the past thanks to his Metagross, his Dialga, and now Charizard.
Charizard turned its head slightly to the couple and grinned. "Charizard, we're so glad to see you," Ash told the Shiny Charizard.
"How did you know we were in trouble?" May asked the Pokémon sweetly.
Charizard looked to the right and growled; Ash and May followed its gaze and saw Roxas standing on a rooftop. The Fire-type Pokémon flew over to its trainer and landed gently next to it.
"Will there ever be a time when you don't save us, Roxas?" May inquired and then grinned sheepishly.
"You're always around to save us whenever we need it most, are you a guardian angel or something?" Ash raised an eyebrow and questioned the teen who resembled him.
Roxas chuckled and gave him a sly grin, "I was dashing over to the JE Building as fast as possible, I saw you two falling from a distance and I summoned Charizard to go rescue you, thankfully, he arrived just in time," the sapphire-eyed trainer petted his fire starter, who rubbed himself against Roxas warmly.
Ash and May got off Charizard and Roxas quickly noticed Ash's injured Pikachu. Roxas raised an eyebrow, "Ash, how did your Pikachu get so badly beaten?"
"We went after Giovanni in the JE Building and instead got into a battle with Omega, we had no other choice, but to face him," Ash sighed and frowned at the tower where the battle took place.
"I see, May, are any of your Pokémon hurt?" Roxas turned to the girl and gave her a soft grin, making Ash slightly jealous.
May took out a Pokéball and spoke, "My Blaziken also got injured in the battle," the brunette's tone was a saddening one.
Roxas nodded and threw a Pokéball gently into the air; Lucario quickly appeared when the ball opened. Lucario, I'm sure you heard the whole thing from inside your ball; Roxas spoke with his Pokémon telepathically.
I did, Lucario replied, his gaze shifted to Ash, May, and then to their Pokémon, place your Pokémon on the floor; I'll cure them as best as I can.
The duo nodded and May released her unconscious Blaziken, she then placed Blaziken next to Pikachu. The two silently watched as Lucario walked over to them and began releasing energy. It put its hands in front of its body and a light pink ball of energy appeared in between them. Lucario opened its arms and the orb broke apart into multiple light pink sparkles, releasing waves of light pink energy with light pink sparkles in it that expanded outward, the energy transferred into Blaziken and Pikachu and soon their wounds began to cover up, their bruises and cut faded away like magic.
As May watched the process she mentioned something, "This technique or move, it's the same one you used on Ash in Pallet Town, isn't it Lucario?"
Lucario nodded, correct, it's called Heal Pulse.
"Is this the move they used to save me, May?" Ash asked, looking at the brunette and then at Lucario.
"Yes, we used it to save you from death, however, it took more energy than what Lucario is exerting right now, we had to use up almost all of our aura," Roxas informed Ash.
"Oh," Ash bobbed his head, he looked at Roxas and smiled, "Well, thank you for that."
Roxas gave Ash a half-grin and nodded. When their attention turned back to Pikachu and Blaziken, they saw the Pokémon slowly starting to open their eyes. "Pika?" Pikachu said as he sat up after Lucario finished healing the mouse.
"Blaze," Blaziken also sat up and looked confused. The two Pokémon could only remember their fight with Omega and then they blacked out.
"Don't worry guys, the danger is over, we managed to get away from Omega after you got knocked out," Ash placed his hands on his hips and gave them a reassuring smile.
"You can breathe again," May teased them and giggled. Ash and May began petting their friends while Roxas and Lucario gazed with interest.
How does it feel? Lucario asked Roxas.
How does what feel? Roxas looked at Lucario.
Seeing them after so long, being able to talk to them, and saving them, Lucario responded.
Roxas chuckled and replied, they are loved and adored by everyone, I just have an extra soft spot for them, and I always wonder what things would have been like if I had been there when they needed me, just like they have always been there for me.
You no longer need to wonder, you're impeccable timing for saving them has even amazed them. Lucario chuckled and smiled at his trainer and friend.
Roxas smiled and nodded, he then turned to Ash and May, "Guys, we need to get going, the Majestic 12, Team Rocket, Team Plasma, and Team Neo Plasma are still around. Our next stop is Castelia Harbor; flying is our fastest method of transportation, you in?"
"You bet," Ash grinned at Roxas.
"We'll go with you, right?" May asked the older teen.
"Well, I'm going to be riding Dialga and you will be riding Charizard, will that be any trouble, we can still fly alongside each other," Roxas crossed his arms and grinned at May.
"Great," May beamed a smile at Roxas.
Ash felt another hint of jealousy in his heart, but the boy quickly pushed it aside. Roxas then threw a Master Ball in the air and Dialga burst out, roaring into the air. Roxas turned to Lucario and reached for his Pokéball, its best if you stay inside your ball, I'll let you know if the situation gets critical again.
Very well, Lucario nodded and Roxas returned the Aura Pokémon into its Pokéball.
"You should probably return inside your ball Blaziken, you need to rest," May told her Fire-type, who nodded and went back inside its ball.
"Pikaaachu!" Pikachu ran up to Ash and climbed his shoulder.
"Alright bud, let's get going," Ash grinned at Pikachu and they climbed onto Charizard.
Ash extended his arm out so May could climb and the brunette happily accepted. This kind of feels like the last time Ash and I rode his Charizard, except this is a different one and Pikachu and Roxas are here…still, I feel like this is kind of romantic, me and Ash on a Charizard. If only the situation weren't so bad, I could relax, May thought to herself.
The brunette wrapped her arms around Ash, and the black-haired teen slightly blushed. Pikachu hung onto Ash's shoulder and the boy grabbed onto Charizard's neck. May placed her head on Ash's back for a second as a sign of affection and boy squeezed May's hand as she held to his stomach.
Charizard looked at Dialga and Roxas, who nodded, "Let's go," and within seconds they flew off at a modest speed.
"Roxas, did you ever manage to stop that building from falling?" Ash asked the sapphire-eyed teen who rode next to them on his Dialga.
Roxas sighed and answered, "You mean the Liberty Tower? No, I couldn't do anything to stop it from collapsing so Dialga had no choice to destroy it. The sad part is, it was just finished being constructed to replace the Global Trade Center Tower in another part of the world, and Castelia City would have been the capital of our planet's global economy."
"That is sad…" May thought about how hard people must have worked to construct the power only to have it destroyed by madmen.
"Was there anyone that…you know…died?" Ash inquired, not comfortable when asking things regarding death.
"Lucario and I detected many construction workers who didn't make it," Roxas recalled the amount of bodies he saw lying around the fiery tower when he used aura to detect any life.
Ash, Pikachu, and May put on solemn faces as they thought about the people who died within the building. All of a sudden, a Dragon Pulse shot from behind, which Charizard nimbly dodged.
"What was that?" May became frightened and turned around.
"Drat," Roxas grinded his teeth when he looked behind them.
"Not them again," Ash glared at their attackers.
"Miss us already?" Brodie flew behind them with a Dragonair.
"We're here to finish the job," Genesis spoke with a threatening voice as he appeared with Brodie, riding a Dragonair as well.
"And ensure our victory," Omega led Genesis and Brodie, the leader rode his Salamence as they flew up to Ash, May, and Roxas.
"Dialga, stop them with Blizzard!" Roxas commanded. Dialga spun around and confronted the dragon riders.
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt on Salamence!" Ash pointed at Omega.
Charizard, without needing a command, shot out a Fire Blast. Dialga's chilly breath unleashed a massive storm of ice and snow aiming at the Majestic 12. Pikachu shot a Thunderbolt at Salamence and Charizard intended to burn out all three members.
"Dragonair, use Fire Blast to stop Blizzard!" Brodie and Genesis ordered simultaneously. The double Fire Blast easily melted away Dialga's attack.
"My Dragonair is pretty strong, huh Genesis?" Brodie gave him a cocky grin.
"You fool, your Ditto merely transformed into my Dragonair and copied all of its stats, it's a cheap trick if you ask me," Genesis glared at Brodie through his red helmet.
"Dragon Claw," Omega demanded and Salamence charged at a unified version of Thunderbolt and Fire Blast. The Dragon-type bashed through the combination at an incredible speed with Dragon Claw and got close enough to Charizard to slash the Fire-type.
"Charizard, dodge, quick!" Roxas grinded his teeth while Ash and May got intimidated by Salamence's fearsome power.
The Shiny Charizard narrowly dodged Dragon Claw and glared at Salamence. "Dialga, Rock Slide on Salamence!" Roxas commanded.
Above Salamence and Omega, shower of boulders shot from multiple portals, aiming down at them. "Dragonair, use Agility and then Aqua Tail to counter Rock Slide!" Brodie and Genesis came from nowhere to protect their leader.
"No, you don't, Pikachu, stop them with Thunderbolt," Ash ordered.
"Charizard, use Fire Blast to stop them too," May commanded.
Pikachu and Charizard intervened with their attacks, but the Dragonair nimbly dodged and countered the Rock Slide with Aqua Tail. This isn't going to work, Roxas grinded his teeth and turned to Ash and May. "Charizard, get Ash, May, and Pikachu out of here, that's an order!" Roxas yelled at his Fire-type.
Charizard looked at Roxas and nodded sternly. "Charizard, wait, Roxas, we're staying and we're going to help you," Ash told the black-haired teen.
"No Ash, I'll handle them myself, Charizard, go now!" Roxas demanded.
"Roxas, no, we're not going to let you get hurt!" May screamed, refusing to leave as well, but Charizard jetted off before Roxas could respond.
Roxas gazed at the couple that flew off and could hear their faint screams of frustration, if you knew would understand, the sapphire-eyed teen sighed.
"The things we do for our loved ones, inexplicable," Brodie teased Roxas and chuckled.
Roxas frowned at Brodie and spoke, "Shut up and battle."
Omega smirked and replied, "Let's see the real Roxas in action."
Roxas glared at Omega and made his command, "Dialga, use Flash Cannon!" With that command, Dialga cried and released a beam of bright silver energy at the trio.
The Majestic 12 members split up in the blast and the attack blasted a building, causing smoke to fly everywhere. Roxas closed his eyes and then opened them that very instant, "Dialga, dodge the Double Dragon Rush!" Dialga flew into the jungle of skyscrapers as the pair of Dragonair shot out using Dragon Rush, but missed Dialga.
Dialga and Roxas wandered among the skyscrapers and the Legendary Pokémon narrowly dodged a Dragon Pulse blasted by a fast-moving Salamence. Foolish child, what are you? Stop trying to play the hero, there's nothing you can do to stop us; you are nothing more than feckless neophyte whose attempts to save an entire world are futile. Roxas could feel Omega's words try to trespass his mind, but the sapphire-eyed teen remained focused.
"Thunder Wave!" Brodie and Genesis appeared again and tried to paralyze Dialga.
Their Dragonair shot out electric waves, but Roxas had a way to counter, "Rock Shield!" With that command, Dialga unleashed an improvised version of Rock Slide and trapped itself in a shower of rocks to counter the Double Thunder Wave.
"Now, disperse!" Roxas yelled and Dialga shot out the rocks and Brodie and Genesis.
"Dodge with Agility," Genesis countered.
"You do the same, Ditto," Brodie commanded and the pair barely avoided the attack.
Very good, but not good enough, a voice told Roxas and out of nowhere, Omega and Salamence shot out of a building and slashed Dialga with Dragon Claw. Dialga cried in pain as Roxas glared at Omega, who smirked at Roxas.
"Salamence, Double-Edge, now," Omega instructed his Salamence to attack Dialga.
"Dialga, stop Salamence with AncientPower!" Roxas countered.
"Defend with Aqua Tail," Genesis watched in the sidelines and his Dragonair, shot out a stream of water from its tail, canceling out AncientPower.
The moment Dialga's sphere of energy disappeared, Roxas acted quickly, "Dialga, sidestep!"
Dialga nimbly dodged Salamence, but Omega acted fast, "Salamence, spin and use Dragon Pulse!" The instant Dialga dodged, Salamence spun back to face Dialga and used Dragon Pulse.
"Dialga, use Flash Cannon!" Roxas ordered. The two energy attacks clashed with each other and created an explosion between the two Dragon-types.
"Dialga, end this with Blizzard!" Roxas demanded and Dialga released an icy wind from its breath and into the smoke.
Too slow, Omega's telepathic voice told Roxas and the boy's eyes widened. "What?!" the sapphire-eyed teen quickly turned to his left and saw Omega dashing at him with the Sword of Victory.
Roxas grabbed the blade with his hands, his leather gloves protecting his palms from the blade of the sword. Omega stood on Salamence and struggled to push the sword against Roxas, the silver-haired leader was clearly trying to kill him.
"You die today boy," Omega spoke menacingly.
Roxas gave Omega a fiery glare and fought back the blade with one hand, "Not today, not tomorrow!" At that sudden moment, Roxas used his free arm to make a sword out of aura and parried the Sword of Victory out of Omega's hand down to the city below.
"The sword!" Brodie screamed and Omega glared at Roxas.
"Salamence, Thunder Fang on Dialga," Omega commanded while still standing on his dragon.
"Dialga, fight off with Thunder!" Roxas reacted fast and intended to jump after the dropping sword, but Brodie and Genesis were flying over to it as well.
Suddenly, out of the blue, a young boy riding a Charizard with a young girl and a Pikachu caught it. Ash grabbed the sword by its handle and winked at Roxas, who was in shock as Dialga blasted Salamence away with Thunder.
Salamence and Omega moved away from Dialga and Roxas and rushed toward Ash, May, Pikachu, and Charizard. Genesis and Brodie also flew toward the couple and the Pokémon. "Roxas, get out of here now!" May yelled at the raven-haired teen.
"What are they doing?" Roxas's eyes widened, not sure whether he should be thankful for them arriving and retrieving the sword, or kill them himself for returning to risk their lives.
"Charizard, use a Counter Shield Blast Burn!" Ash commanded.
Roxas's eyes widened even more when he heard the command and the last thing he saw was Charizard releasing a powerful stream of fire in all directions, seconds before the Majestic 12 members closed in on them. The most powerful fire attack caused multiple explosions in the area and created large amounts of smoke.
Roxas stood petrified there, sitting on Dialga, wondering if they were still alive, he fell into silence for a second, but then Charizard dashed out of the smoke with Ash, Pikachu, May, and the sword. "C'mon!" Ash shouted at Roxas as they flew off into the distance.
The raven-haired teen watched them fly off and chuckled, "Well, now I see where my talents for successful missions came from."
He closed his eyes and spoke to his Charizard from a distance, Charizard, don't turn back again to rescue me, I'll be fine, just take those kids to safety.
Charizard, who received the message, sighed and began flying much faster, obeying his master's orders this time. Roxas turned to the smoke and when it cleared, he found no one. "They must have gotten away, nonetheless, it won't be long before we meet again," the sapphire-eyed teen shifted his gaze to the sea and focused his eyes on an island with a lighthouse.
"Why didn't Roxas come back with us, the whole point was to get him out of there," May said with a worried tone.
"I guess, he just didn't want to be saved," Ash also sounded a bit concerned.
"Piiiiii," Pikachu also wondered why Roxas hadn't followed them back.
Charizard then roared in the direction of the port and they couple looked ahead. "Hey, look who it is," Ash smiled when he saw the people at the harbor.
"It's Auro, Nate, Rosa, N, Looker, Bianca, Trip, Hilbert, Hilda, Iris, and Cilan!" May cheered.
"Hey look, it's Ash and May!" Hilbert saw the pair in the sky.
"What are they doing with a Charizard?" Iris seemed puzzled.
"Isn't that the Sword of Victory?" Looker took note of the weapon Ash had carried in his right hand.
"Hey guys!" Cilan waved at them with the others as they smiled with relief.
"Hey!" Ash and May yelled and waved happily as they descended.
When they finally landed, they were embraced in hugs by Hilda and Hilbert. "We thought we lost you," Hilda gave the couple a sheepish grin.
"We saw you fall, how did you survive?" N questioned them.
"Looker told us not to be concerned over it because he believed you were going to be alright," Trip had his arms crossed, speaking a serious voice.
"Well, we made it in one piece thanks to this Charizard," Ash petted the Shiny Charizard.
"We wouldn't be here right now if it weren't for Roxas and his Charizard," May also petted Charizard.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu basically stated the same thing as his friends.
"Wasn't Pikachu badly injured also?" Hilbert asked the teens.
"Roxas must have used Lucario's Heal Pulse, didn't he?" Auro questioned with a knowing smile, which the trio nodded too.
"There's one thing puzzling us though, how did you get the Sword of Victory?" Rosa pointed at the weapon in Ash's right hand.
"We were flying back here with Roxas, but Omega and two his friends attacked us. At one point, Omega tried to kill Roxas with the sword, but Roxas slashed it out of his hands with this aura sword or something. Charizard quickly flew in and I grabbed it, we got away with the sword when Charizard used an improvised version of Blast Burn," Ash explained the story in short and sweet terms.
"Where's Roxas now though?" Nate asked the raven-haired teen.
"After we got the sword and bought us time to escape, Roxas refused to leave and Charizard flew on without him, the whole point of that was so Roxas could escape with us, because earlier Roxas forced us to leave, but we came back for him and that's when we got the sword," May added more to what Ash said.
"Typical Roxas," Rosa sighed with Auro and Nate.
Auro then looked at Charizard and spoke, "Charizard, you should probably fly back to Roxas and see if he's where you left him. He might need you more over there right now if he's still battling Omega."
Charizard roared and extended his wings proudly, the Fire-type then blasted off back into the city in search of his master. "So what's the plan?" N asked who had been forced to ally himself with the enemy if he wished to stop his father and his allies.
"My marine unit should be arriving soon, they will be transporting us to Liberty Garden and now that we have the Sword of Victory, we will be able to awaken Victini and send it to a more secure area," Looker informed N and the others.
At that moment, the ground beneath them begun to shake and a large black submarine merged from the water. "What's that?" Iris looked with shock.
"Its bad news," Nate glared at the submarine.
Out of the submarine came out Phantom, with Zero and Charon. "There are two types of people in this world, one has a plan and the other doesn't, I'm the type who has a plan. The only ones getting to Liberty Garden and capturing Victini will be us, I'm afraid." Phantom chuckled.
"You in what army?" Ash glared at Phantom and his comrades.
Suddenly, the submarine beneath them began to lift up and a large ship with characteristics of a submarine, its design was similar to that of a military ship and stretched about 200 meters long. Its windows were pitch-black and it only had a few chrome-colored streaks on it. On the wall of the ship it read "S.S Illuminatus". The submarine as it turns out, was only part of the structure of this black monstrous ship. "This subship and the members of Team Rocket and Team Neo Plasma are part of our army," Zero answered, laughing.
Ash, May, Pikachu, and all others felt a sense of hopelessness return as they looked at the cruise-sized ship stationed in front of them. "How were you able to keep something like that underwater?" Cilan inquired, intimidated, but curious about the ship.
"It's a subship lad, designed to be a ship and can operate underwater thanks to the advanced technology in the hands of the Majestic 12 and the funds of Team Rocket and Team Neo Plasma, works like a submarine underwater and like a cruise ship on the surface, convenient huh?" Charon cackled and smiled cunningly at them
"Now board the ship, you are all prisoners of Team Neo Plasma and Team Rocket," a voice called out and the gang turned around and saw a dozen Neo Plasma grunts and Rocket grunts.
They all grinded their teeth in frustration as Phantom dropped on the floor after jumping from ship. "I'll take that," the old man snatched the sword from Ash's hand.
"The sword!" N shouted.
Phantom chuckled, "Relax boy, I'm just going to have some fun with it." The man then walked into the ship as he spun the sword from its handle.
"Handcuff them all," Zero ordered and their allies forced the gang to drop and on their knees and let them be handcuffed.
"How did I not see this one coming," Looker whispered to himself in an angst tone.
"What's the plan now?" Nate mumbled to Rosa and Auro.
"We've been in worse," Rosa murmured back to Nate.
"That's right and the best part about this time is that we have a backup plan," Auro smirked as they all entered the military ship.
"Ash, they're more relentless than Team Rocket," May sighed and walked beside him.
"I know, but look at the bright side May, I'm sure we'll get out of this, we always have," Ash said, pointing out the fact that this is not the first time they've been captured.
May grinned at shamefacedly and responded, "You're right, we'll be out of this one in no time."
As they continued walking to the lower levels of the ship, they only saw Rocket and Neo Plasma grunts lurking, chatting, and glaring at them as they walked by while being escorted by other grunts.
Father, this is the result of your madness, the destruction of Castelia City is in your hands, N thought of his father with disgust and every single Plasma grunt in a black militaristic uniform disgusted him even more.
The group then stopped for a minute in front of a room where a Rocket Grunt typed in a password on a keypad and the door automatically opened by sliding to the left. "Get inside," Plasma Grunts stated simultaneously and pushed the members of the gang in.
They all dropped to the floor and looked at their common enemy with anger. The Plasma and Rocket grunts then made way for Charon, who entered the room with two more Plasma grunts. "I hope you plan on enjoying your stay, it's going to be one heck of a trip," Charon laughed.
"Your humor is as bad as your battling skill, old man," Auro glared at Charon.
Charon frowned at Auro and turned to the grunts behind and ordered them all to leave, except for his two personal guards. "What kind of Majestic 12 member needs to walk with guards," Rosa taunted the man even further.
"Hey, respect your elders lady," Charon glared at Rosa.
"What exactly are you here for?" Trip asked the old geezer.
"Being such a highly respected member of the organization, I was ordered to supervise you fools until we arrive in Liberty Garden," Charon informed them.
Ash sighed and looked at May and Pikachu, they both grinned at the boy and tried to tolerate Charon's obnoxious behavior. Suddenly, the ship began to move on Charon spoke, "Looks like we're mobilizing, this is going to be fun."
The gang glared at Charon for as long as they could while the man beamed a smirk.
Back in the city, Roxas flew to the port on Dialga. I shouldn't have spent so much time looking for those three; they might already be at the island, not to mention, I wonder if Ash and May made it to the harbor safe.
As he rode through the skyscrapers with Dialga, Roxas spotted his Charizard flying his way. "Charizard, what are you doing here?" Roxas questioned his friend, who stopped in front of Dialga and him, making Roxas and Dialga stop.
The Fire-type leaned his head closer to Roxas and the aura user placed his hand on Charizard's head. He closed his eyes and began to see everything Charizard had seen since they left him. When Roxas finished reading Charizard's mind, the Fire-type pulled back and grinned.
"I'm glad they made it safe and caught up with everyone, why don't we head there together pal?" Roxas inquired.
Charizard nodded and Roxas got on the Fire-type. "Dialga, you fought hard today, return and rest," the raven-haired teen returned his Legendary Pokémon and quickly dashed off to the harbor.
Charizard blasted off at an amazing speed and they arrived at the harbor in a few minutes. When they arrived where Charizard left Ash and May, they were surprised to see no one was there.
Roxas raised an eyebrow and descended. "Well this is odd, you were here only a few minutes ago, how could have they vanished so quickly."
Roxas observed his environment and analyzed it carefully. He put on some special goggles that were in his black coat and searched for any traces. "Nothing," the teen sighed, but then spotted a camera on a wooden post.
"This must be the security cameras placed to protect the harbor if there's ever any crime, may be this will explain what happened," Roxas detached the camera from its post and took a look at the most recently recorded video.
He frowned when he saw Phantom and then a subship, which is something he had already been familiar with. His frown turned into a glare when he saw the grunts handcuffing his friends and allies and then forcing them inside the ship. After that, Roxas stopped the video and dropped it on the floor, "They weren't smart enough to make sure nothing recorded the event, guess I'll have to go after them now."
Roxas turned to Charizard and gave him a half-grin, "Charizard, you've also done a lot today, return and earn your rest too."
Charizard nodded and returned into its ball. Roxas then reached into his coat and pulled out another Pokeball and threw it. From the ball emerged Kingdra, who gazed at Roxas slyly. The sapphire-eyed teen got on its back and spoke, "Kingdra, swim us to Liberty Garden as fast as you can."
Kingdra nodded and jetted off with Roxas riding her. If Auro, Nate, and Rosa are inside the ship, the Majestic 12 won't have control over the ship for long, I'm certain of it, the teen thought.
"You know I'm getting kind of seasick," Bianca said and held back the urge to vomit.
"The ride is only 30 minutes, missy, you can hold it till we arrive," Charon told the blond-haired girl.
Charon turned to Ash and smirked, "What's wrong sonny, you don't look to happy."
"Your company isn't the most pleasurable one, Charon, I rather have Omega supervising us instead of you," Auro chuckled and smirked at the geezer.
The other teens in the room, including N laughed quietly at Auro's remark.
Charon's eyes widened with rage and he slapped the blue-haired teen, "Show some more respect or I'll be the one cracking jokes when you're dying."
Auro spit on the man's black shoes and Charon turned away that very instant, "Back in my day, children feared people my age," Charon murmured.
Charon's Plasma Guards watched the teens' movements with attentive eyes making sure no one tried anything. "Hey guard, are you here for the same reason Charon is? Because you're not respected or needed by your comrades?" Nate taunted the Plasma Guard on Charon's right.
"Wow, these guys sure know how to disrespect others," Ash whispered to May.
"I know, I'd hate to get on their bad side," May whispered back.
"Break him," Charon looked at the Plasma Guard who had gotten insulted.
The male Plasma Guard nodded and turned to Nate, grinning evilly. "Let me teach you something about manners," the Plasma Grunt picked Nate up by his collar.
"Let me teach you how to break a bone," Nate smirked and head butted the Plasma Guard, making him drop to the ground.
"Guard, get him!" Charon yelled.
The Plasma Guard charged at Nate with a steel pole and prepared to hit the brown-haired teen. "Nate, watch out!" Rosa screamed, but Nate winked at her and the brunette blocked the bash from the pole with his handcuffs.
The pole slashed through the handcuffs and freed Nate. The boy chuckled and spoke, "That's quite an arm you've got there."
The muscular Plasma Guard tried to hit Nate again, but the boy grabbed the pole and pulled it from the grunt's grip, making the guard's arm stretch out. Nate then went on to hammer arm the guard's arm, making him drop the pole because of the pain.
"My arm," the grunt groaned as he felt it vibrate.
Nate then said, "Suck it up," and spin kicked the grunt against the metallic wall before he could reach for a Pokéball.
"Darn, if you want to do something right, you have to do it yourself," Charon reached for a Pokéball, but before he could, Nate threw a pair of bolas that were in his ninja-like suit. The weapon wrapped itself around Charon and made the old man drop, not giving him a chance to call out his Pokémon to battle.
"Blast it," Charon groaned as he lay on the floor like a hogtied victim.
"It can't be done right if you can't even do it yourself," Nate chuckled and teased the Majestic 12 member.
"Hey Nate, do you mind freeing us from these handcuffs?" Hilbert called the brunette.
Nate raised an eyebrow and grinned sheepishly, "Right, I'm on it." Nate then reached into Charon's coat and pulled out the keys that would free his friends.
As Nate freed each his friends, Charon talked with a spiteful tone, "You won't get away with this; Omega will stop and obliterate you all."
After Nate freed all of his allies he walked over to Charon and sighed, "Yadda yadda yadda, we get it gramps, big bad Omega is going to blow us up." He then picked up Charon and threw him into a corner of the room, "Now stay," Nate spoke to the member like a dog.
"So what's the plan, Auro?" Looker questioned the blue-haired teen.
"Yeah, how are we going to get out of here?" N inquired.
"The only way out of this empty metal room is typing a password on the keypad so the door can open," Ash examined the room.
"And I don't think Charon is generous enough to give us the password," May looked over at the Majestic 12 member.
"You're darn right I won't," Charon tried to free himself as he spoke.
"Don't worry, we're always prepared," Rosa took out a detonator.
"What's that for?" Iris asked the brunette with confusion.
"It'll help us get out of this room along with this," Auro showed them an object that looked like C4.
Everyone's eyes widened when Auro showed them what he was holding. "Are you really going to use that in here?" Cilan laughed nervously.
"Is it safe?" Bianca laughed with a nervous tone.
"It doesn't look like the safest tactic," Trip told Auro.
"Isn't that…military equipment?" Ash gulped when he asked.
"Pika," Pikachu also saw the device as extremely lethal.
"Aaaax," Axew said, sensing the same thing as Pikachu.
"And wouldn't the device just blow this entire room up?" Looker raised an eyebrow, wondering what teens were doing with such weaponry.
"I don't like the sound of that," Hilbert grinned sheepishly.
"Neither do I," Hilda giggled nervously as she clung onto Hilbert, who blushed lightly.
"Will you all relax; we've done this with Roxas many times before, just watch," Nate assured them that everything was going to be all right.
"Yeah, no reason to be clinging onto our boyfriends right now," Rosa teased Hilda, who immediately separated from Hilbert and the two blushed.
Everyone in the room laughed at them and May elbowed Hilda in a teasing way while Ash winked at Hilbert, the Unova pair laughed nervously as their foreign friends teased them.
Auro placed the C4 on the metallic door and ordered everyone to step back. When I was these brats' ages, the only weapon I could carry around was a wooden slingshot, Charon thought as he gazed at the C4.
Rosa and Auro stepped away from the door as well and the brunette operative spoke, "Bombs away," and pressed the button on the detonator. All of a sudden, an explosion occurred in front of them and the door was blasted open.
The teens were surprised they were still in one piece after witnessing a strong blast. "What do you know, we're all still here," Ash chuckled and placed his hands behind his head.
"What did I tell you," Nate grinned at them.
"Let's get going, the blast has most likely alerted everyone on board," Auro told them and they nodded. The gang quickly dashed outside the room and began running through the metal hallways of the ship.
"Did you hear that?" Phantom questioned Zero as he stirred the wheel.
"I did, it sounded like an explosion," Zero answered and pressed a green button on the panel of the wall.
All of a sudden, a dozen Team Rocket and Neo Plasma Grunts appeared in the room, before the Majestic 12 member. "Commander Zero, how may we assist you?" a Team Rocket operative asked.
"I believe our prisoners have escaped, find them, recapture them, and bring them to me. I'm a fool for leaving them with Charon," Zero spoke with a vehement attitude.
"Yes sir!" the operatives answered simultaneously and dashed out of the room.
Meanwhile, in the halls of the ship, the gang lurked corner to corner and successfully avoided the sights of any henchmen. "The fact that no one knows we've escaped is a pretty good benefit," Nate commented as they hid behind the corner of the wall.
All of a sudden, the speakers in the halls activated and Zero's voice could be here, "Attention, we believe our prisoners have escaped and are freely roaming the ship, if you stop them, capture them, and bring them to me as soon as possible." Zero's demanding voice echoed in the halls and all of the henchmen became alert, as did the gang.
Rosa elbowed Nate and snapped at him in a whisper, "Way to go Nate, you just jinxed it."
Nate coughed when Rosa elbowed his gut and he laughed off the pain, "I didn't mean to."
"What are we going to do now?" Ash asked the three teens.
"Zero is aware that we've escaped, his men are looking for us now," May pointed out the obvious.
"Don't worry, I think I've got a plan," Auro grinned at them.
"What's that Auro?" N inquired.
"You'll see," Auro answered and closed his eyes.
"Is he going to use Aura?" Nate asked Rosa, who nodded.
Auro began to explore the room and detected five different auras; he quickly opened his eyes and turned to them, "There are five grunts on this floor, so here's the plan. Ash, May, you'll go distract one grunt and knock him out. Iris, Cilan, the same goes with you, Bianca, Trip, the same, Hilbert, Hilda, the same as well, and N and Looker, do the same too."
They all nodded, "Then we gather their bodies, store them somewhere and me, Nate, and Rosa will put on their clothes. When we do, you'll become our prisoners and we'll go to Zero since that's exactly what he wants us to do. There, we will make him believe you have been captured and when he least expects it, we'll take him down, Phantom must also be with him so we'll take the sword from that wannabe pirate in the process. Then we either escape the ship or take control of it, we'll decide when we have Phantom and Zero on their knees, got it?"
"Good, and one more thing, Nate, give them five Drowzee Darts, one for each team," Auro ordered and Nate nodded.
The brunette reached into his pocket and revealed five red darts. "You'll use these to knock out the grunts, just one throw of the dart, the needle will trespass their uniforms and inject a sedative liquid into their bodies, knocking them instantly," Nate informed them.
The teams each took one dart, with Ash holding his and May's dart, N holding his, Hilbert his own, Trip getting another, and Cilan receiving the last one.
"Ready, set, go," Rosa whispered to the group.
"Right!" they all responded and split up into the groups Auro assigned.
Trip and Bianca ran through the hall and found a grunt walking in front of them. "Get behind the corner," Trip ordered and they got behind it quickly.
"So who makes the shot?" Trip looked at the walking grunt from behind the corner and then turned to Bianca.
"I have terrible aiming, so I think you should do it, you allows good at the bow and arrow games when we were kids," Bianca gave him a sheepish grin.
Trip smiled at her and replied, "If you say so." The blond-haired teen then looked back at the grunt and threw the dart with force. The fast-moving dart shot at the grunt's back and went through the grunt's clothing, making him let out a groan when the needle injected the liquid automatically, making him drop.
Bianca and Trip then smiled at each other for their successful mission. On another part of the floor, Iris and Cilan were spying on a grunt who looked in the direction of the corner they hiding behind.
"What do we do, Cilan, we can't get spotted by that grunt," Iris looked at him with a worried face.
"Not to worry, I know who can help," Cilan reached for a Pokéball and called out, "Pansage, come out and help us."
Pansage leaped in front of Cilan, Iris, and Axew, greeting the trio. "Pansage pan," Pansage grinned.
"Pansage, I need you to use Flash on the grunt right past this corner, blind him so Iris may throw a dart and knock him out," Cilan ordered his Grass-type Pokémon.
"Pansage," Pansage nodded happily.
"That's a great idea Cilan, why didn't I think of that," Iris praised his idea.
"Just a quick idea that hit me, I guess," Cilan smiled.
Pansage tiptoed over to the corner of the wall and then jumped out to face the grunt. "Pan pansage," the monkey said and formed a bright ball of energy.
"What the," the Rocket grunt was blinded by the light and couldn't see.
"Now," Cilan whispered to Iris.
The wild girl nodded and jumped out of the corner and threw the dart like ninja style. The dart hit the grunt's chest and the liquid was injected into the man's body, knocking him out.
"Way to go," Cilan congratulated Iris and Pansage for their success.
"Axew ax," Axew praised its trainer.
"So, how are we going to hit the guard, he's walking this way," N stood behind his corner and whispered over to Looker, who hid behind the corner parallel to his.
"Watch," Looker smirked and pulled out a unique firearm with an empty chamber for cartridges. The firearm was high-tech in appearance and N raised his eyebrow in surprise when he saw it.
Looker placed the dart in the empty chamber and saw a reflection of the grunt approaching, walking over to their corners. Looker looked at N and showed him 3 fingers. The police officer then whispered, "3…2…1," each time lowering a finger and when he reached zero, he popped out of the corner.
The Plasma grunt's eyes widened with shock as the dart was shot at his leg, trespassing the cloth and injecting the liquid. The grunt closed his eyes and dropped to the floor while Looker and N stared at his body.
"That grunt is walking toward our corner, how are we going to get knock him out without alerting the whole ship?" Hilda asked Hilbert.
"Watch this," Hilbert winked at her, making her blush.
Hilbert peeked through their corner and saw the grunt walking over, but the boy threw his hat across the hall. "What was that?" the grunt mumbled.
"Hilbert, what did you do?" Hilda wanted to strangle him, but the brunette shushed her by cupping her mouth, annoying the brunette.
"Watch," Hilbert whispered.
The grunt reached their corner, but his head motioned to the direction the hat flew toward and walked over to it. "Where did this hat come from?" the Rocket grunt walked over to the hat and examined it.
Hilbert reached into his pocket and threw the dart, hitting the grunt's back and making the crook drop. "Told you it'd work," Hilbert chuckled and went over to pick up his hat.
"If the grunt had been smarter, he would have turned in the direction the hat was thrown from," Hilda crossed her arms and gave him an annoyed look.
"Well, what's done is done," Hilbert placed his hat and smiled at her, making her smile in exchange.
In another part of the room, a grunt had aggressively been searching through every corner of the hall. "Ash, he's going to get to our corner eventually," May told the raven-haired teen.
"I know we can't hide here forever, but I think I have a plan," Ash responded.
"What's that?" May gave him a puzzled look.
"You distract him while I sneak up on him, here, Pikachu will here to protect you, right pal?" Ash looked at his friend.
"Pi," Pikachu nodded.
May sighed, wondering what crazy idea her boyfriend had, but she gave him a soft smile, "Alright, let's hope it works."
"Catch you in a few," Ash winked and walked away and turned to another corner, on a different lane where the grunt wasn't inspecting.
"If I find any of those punks, Colress and Ghetsis are surely to give me a promotion," the grunt cackled with joy.
When the grunt walked forward, May popped out of her corner and glared at the grunt. "Stop right there," the sapphire-eyed girl frowned.
"Well, what do we have here, I'll make sure you're my reward when I show you to Zero, I'll have lots of fun with you," the grunt cackled louder.
May was disgusted by the ill mind of the grunt and glared at him, "He's behind you," the brunette spoke with a menacing tone.
"Who?" the grunt raised an eyebrow and turned around.
"Me," Ash glared at the grunt and stabbed the dart into the grunt's neck.
"Whoa, that feels…strong," the grunt said before he dropped to the floor and knocked out.
"You alright, May?" Ash grinned at her.
May smiled back at him and replied, "He was a creep, but I'm fine."
When the group reunited with Auro, Nate, and Rosa, they locked the grunts up in a storage room and the three teens now wore Rocket and Plasma outfits. "Well done guys," Nate congratulated all of them on their work.
"You could really be helpful on our missions," Rosa winked at them.
"We try," Ash placed his hands behind his head and laughed arrogantly, making May and Pikachu sigh while the others chuckled.
"Well now…it's time for phase 2 of our plan, take back the sword and defeat Phantom and Zero," Auro spoke and then covered his mouth with a black bandana.
They all nodded in agreement and prepared for a second showdown with the Majestic 12 members on the top floor.
This chapter was going to be longer, lol sadly…but I didn't want to make it as long as the last and I didn't want to keep you guys waiting any longer, so that was Chapter 21, I hope you enjoyed it and the next chapter is the conclusion of the Battle for Victini. I'm sure you guys can expect what will happen in Chapter 22. By the way, Nate, Rosa, and Auro are inspired by the game characters of the same names, except for Auro, whose name is originally Hugh, but I wanted a more unique name for him and I like the guesses you guys made regarding their origins. I'll explore their backgrounds in the later chapters, but I hope you are enjoying their appearances so far. Chapter 22 will mostly focus on Ash and May so stick around. Once again, I hope you enjoyed the chapter,especially the Ash and May scenes with Roxas, the next one will be up next week and remember to REVIEW! Seriously though review lol, the last chapter lacked the average number if reviews, but I guess some were busy like I was and didn't have time, but seriously guys, remember to review, I'd appreciate it. Till next time!