Chapter 22: Aggressive Expansion Pt. 3
"Sir, we have some grunts who have successfully recaptured our prisoners, they are outside, ready to hand them over to you like you instructed," a Rocket Grunt informed Zero.
"Good, let them enter," Zero smirked and looked over at Phantom, who controlled the ship while smirking at Zero as well.
The Rocket Grunt nodded and exited the room. Seconds later, three Neo Plasma Grunts entered with Ash, May, Pikachu, Bianca, Trip, Iris, Cilan, Looker, Hilda, Hilbert, and N, they were all handcuffed. The teens all glared at Zero when they saw him and the Majestic 12 member chuckled.
"Glad to have you back under our control," Phantom chuckled at them as he stirred the wheel of the military ship.
"Where are the other 3 punks though, they are highly dangerous so we would worry more about them than these children," Zero looked at the group and then at the grunts.
The male grunt between the other two stepped up and spoke, "Unfortunately sir, they got away, we were unable to detain them."
Zero sighed and gave them a blank look, "Well, I guess these guys will do. After all, we still have our honorary guests," Zero focused his eyes on Ash and May.
May and Ash groaned at the sight of Zero's devious eyes, but then Phantom interrupted, "You should feel lucky, you'll be riding with the big boys, enjoy the ride, admire the waters, we'll be arriving at Liberty Garden in just a couple of minutes."
The teens looked through the glass panoramic view of the ship and saw the blue water in front of them, with a small island in the distance. They had to admit that the sight was wonderful, but the fact that they were stuck with criminals in a very high-tech room wasn't very pleasant.
Zero's gaze turned to the grunts and spoke, "You may leave now."
The female grunt then reached for a small control inside her pocket and tapped a button. Suddenly, the handcuffs on the gang snapped opened and dropped to the ground. "I don't think so," Ash grinned slyly at Zero and Phantom.
Zero and Phantom raised their eyebrows, "What is the meaning of this?" Zero grinded his teeth after asking what was going on.
The Neo Plasma Grunts threw their clothes to the sides and revealed themselves as Auro, Nate, and Rosa. The trio grinned at Zero and Phantom, who were became very alert by their presence.
"Bet you weren't expecting that," May gave them a cunning smirk.
"You're time is up, now hand over the Sword of Victory and give in to the law," Looker frowned at them as he spoke with a tone of high authority
"Phantom, tap the emergency button and call in all operatives," Zero commanded with a stern voice.
Phantom nodded and tapped a button hidden behind the wheel, when he tapped it, the lighting of the room became red and loud emergency sounds ran throughout the ship.
"That won't work in this case, Zero," Nate laughed at the older male.
"We've knocked out all operatives in the ship as soon as we got a few uniforms, they won't be able to hear your cries for help with them unconscious," Auro taunted Zero and chuckled.
"So you might as well surrender, we've won," Rosa smirked at the senior member.
Zero sighed and gave them a blank stare, he raised his arms up and began to speak, "Very well, you have us cornered, and you've won."
"Glad that you see it our way," Iris stuck her tongue at the criminal.
Zero looked back at Phantom, who nodded and then the silver-haired crook smirked, "But first, try to actually capture us!" Zero yelled and quickly threw out a Pokéball.
"Get ready to battle!" Hilbert shouted as a bright flash of light blinded them.
"Phantom, get to the escape pod now!" Zero instructed.
Phantom nodded and rushed to a pod that was attached against the wall of the room. "Don't let him get away!" Cilan yelled as Zero's Pokéball still emitted a bright light.
N rushed over to the pod before Phantom could escape, but something slashed the leader of Team Plasma against a wall. The green-haired teen groaned and got up, luckily only his clothes had gotten slashed by the large claws.
"What was that?" Trip questioned and turned to the attacker, the flash of light had now faded.
Beside Zero stood a fearsome creature with a black color covering its back and most of the front, black skin covered its torso, tail tip, and thighs, and also had red talons and claws. It had large black and red scythe like tusks coming out of its upper jaw on the side of its mouth. It roared fiercely at the sight of the enemy and glared with intense red eyes.
"So long suckers," Phantom laughed at the group and entered the black pod. A large hole opened underneath the pod and the pod went right through, taking Phantom with it and shooting the outlaw out of the ship from the bottom of the ship.
"Say hello to my Shiny Haxorus, he is quite a frightful monster, isn't he?" Zero chuckled as Haxorus stood with an intimidating posture in front of the group.
"This is not good…" Bianca commented.
Rosa stepped up and confronted Zero, "I'll battle Zero, this should be finished quickly," the brunette stated and reached for a Pokéball.
"Rosa, I don't think you're strong enough to beat Zero," Auro warned her.
"Who says I was going to beat him," Rosa smirked, confusing Auro and everyone else.
"Go, Gardevoir!" Rosa released her Pokémon.
The ghostly green and white Pokémon hovered above the ground and gazed at Haxorus silently.
"Haxorus, use Slash on Gardevoir!" Zero called out.
Haxorus growled and lunged its claws at Gardevoir, but Rosa easily countered, "Gardevoir, use Teleport to dodge."
Before Haxorus could hit its target, Gardevoir disappeared that very instant, confusing the Dragon-type. "Now use Hypnosis!" Rosa extended her arm to the left when she made her command.
All of a sudden, Gardevoir appeared behind Haxorus and released a blue sphere of light in the pattern of a triangle. The energy hit Haxorus immediately and the Dragon-type closed its eyes and dropped to the ground, now asleep.
Zero stared blankly at his Pokémon and returned it. "That was fast," Ash stated, having expected a better fight from someone like Zero.
"She didn't even have to try," May was also shocked by the ease Rosa handled her battle against Zero.
"You put my only Pokémon to sleep, so you win, Rosa, this time I truly surrender to you. Sadly, your prime target is probably already at Liberty Garden, meaning, you've lost," Zero chuckled while the others glared at him.
"What are we going to do now?" Ash questioned Auro.
May looked to the right side of her and saw about a dozen escape pods, the sapphire-eyed girl then snapped her fingers and shouted, "I have an idea!"
The others turned to her and wondered what the brunette had planned.
7 minutes later…
The S.S Illuminatus was nearing the harbor of Liberty Garden and at the harbor waited Omega, Giovanni, Ghetsis, Colress, and their respective criminal organizations. Among the Majestic 12 members was Phantom, who held the Sword of Victory with a high and mighty attitude.
"Phantom, do you believe Zero captured those troublesome kids and Looker?" Archer asked him.
"There's no reason why he shouldn't have, I would like to have some captives. I was informed that when you arrived in Liberty Garden the locals had left?" Phantom asked.
Genesis approached Phantom and spoke as the ship neared, "The Rocket operatives had difficulty fighting against the International Police Force and they bought enough time to evacuate the island. At least Looker was smart enough to prepare for the attack on Liberty Garden."
"Yes, but he merely did saved pathetic people, the real prize is still lurking on this very island, Victini…I can sense its presence," Omega spoke and let the wind blow his shoulder-length hair.
The ship finally reached the harbor and stopped. Omega and the others watched silently as the entrance to the ship slowly opened. The criminals stood there, watching the entrance, waiting for someone to come out.
"Well, where are our beloved friends?" Colress inquired.
"Do you believe Zero lost control of the ship?" Giovanni asked.
Omega raised his hand at them as a way of telling them to keep quiet and watch. A few seconds later, Zero came out of the ship; the man in the black coat walked away from the ship and smirked.
"Zero, where are Ash and his friends?" Hunter J questioned him.
"They escaped, like according to plan," Zero smirked and approached Omega.
"Good, Rosa, Nate, and Auro are too smart to be stopped by a couple of grunts and two Majestic 12 members, after all, they have learned from the best. Are they heading through the route I predicted?" Omega inquired, surprising everyone that letting the teens escape was part of the plan.
"Yes, they are going to reach the lighthouse through the caverns," Zero informed the leader of the Majestic 12.
Ghetsis raised an eyebrow and spoke to Omega, "So let me get this straight, letting the brats escape was part of your plan?"
"That is right," Omega responded.
"Couldn't have Zero and Phantom easily defeated all of them," Ghetsis frowned in frustration.
"My friend, Zero and Phantom may be among the best battlers, but they are certainly no match for the combined forces of Rosa, Nate, and Auro, and even worse if they are with other skillful trainers like Ash, May, Hilda, and Hilbert. Trust me, this is the best way this mission could have been planned," Omega calmly explained to Ghetsis, who sighed and nodded in acknowledgement.
Omega turned to the crowd of Rockets and Neo Plasmas and spoke, "Attention, our common enemy is wandering the island as we speak. We need to divide and find them all, bring them back alive, especially Ash, May, and Roxas."
"Sir!" the grunts acknowledged and quickly spread throughout the island in search of the teens.
With his back facing his underlings, Omega spoke to them, "J, Cloud, and Silver, head to the lighthouse with Phantom scout the building for the children and stop them. We cannot let them reach Phantom or the sword."
"Of course, my lord," Hunter J acknowledged along with Cloud and Silver.
"The rest of you will come with me, Ghetsis, Giovanni, and Colress," Omega told the other members of the Majestic 12. His deep and intimidating voice reached his followers ears and they agreed.
"Nate, Rosa, and Auro should be taking the others the caverns like we planned. The road to the lighthouse is probably contaminated by scum at this point," Roxas said as he jumped off Kingdra and landed on the island where Victini resided.
"Return Kingdra, thank you for bringing me to the island," Roxas thanked his Water-type and returned it.
Roxas looked around and saw himself near the town located on Liberty Garden. He walked out of the woodland area of the island and examined the town carefully, "This town is empty. Looker played his part well."
The raven-haired teen walked through the ghost town with caution, houses and stores had broken windows, and some were about collapse because of the damage inflicted upon the structures. Roxas's sapphire eyes motioned in all directions as he walked, "They put up a fight from the looks of it though."
"And we'll put a fight with you punk," a voice answered Roxas and a Pokéball was held behind Roxas's head.
"I should have seen you guys coming," Roxas replied with a calm voice.
"Turn around slowly, any sign of aggression will be met with force, we have your Pokéballs directed right at you," the voice told Roxas.
"Very well," the black-haired teen sighed and turned around very slowly.
The sapphire-eyed teen now faced five Neo Plasma Grunts in front of him, they all glared at him and they were all aiming their Pokéballs at him. The one who had been instructing held the Pokéball just a few centimeters away from his face and like the others; he was obviously ready to fight if necessary.
"We've got you now, troublesome twerp," the grunt smirked at him.
"Do you?" Roxas grinned slyly and instantly grabbed the grunt's arm, twisting it and then making it snap when he slammed it against his shoulder.
The grunt cried in pain and dropped his Pokéball while the other grunts prepared to battle. They all summoned Liepard, Garbodor, Watchog, and a Sawk to battle Roxas, but the more experienced trainer acted swiftly. He reached for Kingdra's Pokéball and called out his faithful companion, "Kingdra, blast these guys away with Draco Meteor!"
Before the other grunts could react, Kingdra nodded shot out the most powerful dragon attack and within seconds, a shower of energy balls shot down on all of them. The sound of explosions echoed throughout the town and dust covered up most of the area. When it cleared, all the grunts and their Pokémon were knocked out.
Roxas and Kingdra nodded at each other and the raven-haired teen returned his loyal partner. His sapphire eyes focused on the lighthouse ahead and he spoke, "Now let's get going."
With that said, Roxas dashed off at the speed of an Arcanine, rushing towards the lighthouse to meet up with the others.
"I don't like the fact that Zero gave up without even a fight," Hilbert told the others as they walked through the dark caverns, with Looker's flashlight being the only source of guidance.
"You think he had this planned?" Hilda asked.
"Probably, an organization like the one Zero is in is always well prepared," Nate told them.
"But we also come prepared and we've got a counter measure against them if they sneak up on us," Rosa informed the two teens.
"What counter measure?" Iris inquired.
"Ax axew ax?" Axew was also curious to hear what they had to say.
"It's ahead of you," Auro told them, confusing the teens.
Iris, Hilda, and Hilbert looked ahead at the only people who were in front of the rest, Looker, Ash, and May.
"Looker, I was wondering if you know who these guys are," Ash talked to the police officer.
"I was wondering the same too, throughout this whole time, they seem to trust you," May mentioned.
"They're just recent allies of the International Police Force; they helped us coordinate this whole operation against Team Neo Plasma, Team Rocket, and the Majestic 12. The best way to label them is a hybrid of a spy and ninja," Looker explained to them.
"Apart from dressing like those guys, how do they know each other?" the auburn-eyed teen asked.
"That's difficult to explain, I guess they're just rival organizations with different beliefs, except, their rivalry seems to be on a different level, a dangerous level," Looker went into further depth about the ties between the two mysterious groups allying with the good guys and bad guys.
May placed her finger on her chin as they walked, "One thing that is making me wonder even more though is, why do Nate and Rosa look so much like Hilbert and Hilda and now that I think about it, Auro also looks familiar."
"May, didn't we already cover the topic of lookalikes earlier," Ash grinned embarrassingly, feeling like his words just went through the girl's head.
"Actually Ash, May has a reason to be suspicious. These guys have a resemblance to some of you, and it seems more than just coincidence. There might be more to it than we think, but for now, it seems like the relation is under question," Looker also stated that he was suspicious about the relation between these enigmatic heroes and them.
Looker's words left Ash, May, and even Pikachu, who had been listening, with even more questions. After walking through the quiet and empty cave, the group finally stopped in front of a rocky wall.
"Why did we stop?" N asked.
"Take a look," Looker pointed at a machine attached to the wall with a screen, the screen was glowing bright green.
"What is that device for?" Trip raised an eyebrow.
"What does it do?" Bianca asked.
"I think I know what it is for, may I Looker?" Cilan inquired and walked over to the detective.
"You may," Looker responded and Cilan nodded.
The green-haired teen placed his hand on the screen of the device attached to the wall. All of a sudden, a green line appeared on the screen and dashed horizontally and vertically, scanning Cilan's hand. Then the rocky wall beside the device slid upward and revealed a secret entrance with stone stairs.
"Just as I thought," Cilan smiled and removed his hand from the screen.
"How did you know it was a hand scanner, Cilan?" Hilbert asked.
"This machine is used in gyms to secure Pokémon and anything else in a room that criminals might try to steal. They are supposed to be exclusive for only gyms and they always require a certain handprint, so my question is why did this one reveal to us the entrance without asking for a specific person?" Cilan looked at Looker.
"Very smart Cilan; this is a device only seen in gyms, but because the lighthouse is home to a Legendary Pokémon, the people running the island decided to add a security system to ensure the safety of Victini. The reason the machine functioned without requiring a specific handprint is because the Majestic 12 now has the security system under their control. They must have disabled it completely in order to gain access to every part of the lighthouse," Looker clarified everything for Cilan and the others.
"So where is the security system located?" N inquired.
"It's in the town, but the whole island is infested with criminals. That's why we escaped in the pods, to make sure we didn't reach the harbor and get captured again. The cavern is the best way to reach the lighthouse if you're trying to infiltrate discreetly," Looker responded to N's question.
"So these stairs lead to the lighthouse?" May looked at the entrance.
"All the way to the top," Looker told her.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get going!" Ash smiled and prepared to run, but they were suddenly stopped when three figures came out of a dark portal, the three of them wore the common black coat they had seen before and their faces were very familiar.
"And where do you think you're going?" Hunter J smirked at Ash while she stood in his way with Silver and Cloud.
"Hunter J!" Ash yelled and grinded his teeth in frustration when he saw the woman in front of him.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu glared when he saw the evil female.
"Darn, not you guys," Nate groaned at the sight of their enemy.
"We'll pop up wherever you guys go, have it memorized, Nate? Honestly, when will you learn?" Silver taunted the brunette boy.
"What are you going to do to us?" Iris gave them a fearful look and Axew mimicked her expression out of fear as well.
Cloud approached Iris and the others and spoke, "We don't want any trouble and we can avoid that if you just surrender. Stay out of our plans or you'll have to deal with the superior."
Ash grinded his teeth and spat at Cloud, "Well tough luck Cloud, because that's not what we are going to do!"
Cloud sighed and nodded at J and Silver. "I warned you Ash, we didn't want to hurt, but you give us no other choice," the blond-haired teen reached for a Pokéball, as did Hunter J and Silver.
"We're not letting you hurt anyone, especially our friends," Auro got between Ash and the others with Nate and Rosa.
"You can stall time for them Auro, but their failure and deaths are imminent, get ready for your ruination," Hunter J chuckled and called out her Drapion, who cried viciously when he appeared.
Cloud and Silver called out Latias and Scizor to battle as well, while Auro called out a Ninetales, Rosa released Gardevoir, and Nate summoned his Samurott. "Looker, take everyone out of here. We'll handle these guys," Nate ordered Looker.
Looker nodded and spoke, "We have to go now!"
"But they need our help," Ash told Looker and looked at his three new friends.
"They can take care of themselves Ash, now c'mon," May assured her boyfriend and Ash ran with her and others up the stairs, past J and the others.
Hilbert and Hilda looked back and also felt concern for the teens they left behind. "I'm worried about them," Hilda told Hilbert.
"So am I, but we have to believe that they'll be alright, after seeing how they work, I'm sure they will pull through," Hilbert assured Hilda.
Ash and May looked at each other and held their hands together as they ran up stairs, the passage was very narrow, so May held Ash's hand from behind as Looker led the way.
"I'm getting tired of running, these spiral stairs are really taking out the last of my energy," Iris breathed heavily, mentioning the fact that the stairs were built in the circular, spiral form.
"Come on, Iris, I'll help you, we can't give up," Cilan held her hand and encouraged her to continue.
With that one gesture, Iris felt her energy come back and the girl smiled while bobbing her head. The pair then dashed to catch up with the others. Axew also couldn't help, but secretly laugh at her trainer's actions.
"Do you think we'll be able to reach Victini in time, Trip?" Bianca asked him as they ran.
"I'm relying on these guys to get it done, if they fail, I'm going to do everything in my power to stop those losers from reaching Victini," Trip replied.
'Wow, that's really brave of you," Bianca complimented Trip, who smiled at her and continued running.
"We're about to reach the first floor, just a bit more," Looker said as he ran beside N.
"What should we expect when reach the first floor?" N asked the leader.
"Hopefully nothing, but I fear the worst," Looker responded at the moment they reached the first floor.
They were all relieved when they arrived on the floor and gasped for air, after running for over 5 minutes straight. The room was empty and the floor was made of wood, the walls were of stone and it was empty and dusty.
"Talk about poor maintenance," May said.
"The lighthouse has been closed for years, no one is really allowed to enter, but it's supposed to reopen again in some months as a tourist site," Hilbert informed May.
Ash walked over to one of the few windows that gave a view of the town ahead, "At least the windows are clear enough to see through." The raven-haired teen wiped dust off the window with his hand.
"Pika!" Pikachu pointed in the distance.
"What is it, Pikachu?" Ash looked over his shoulder and saw the mouse pointing. He gazed at the direction his pal pointed at and focused his gaze on the distance. His eyes widened with shock and the boy felt his heart drop in fear.
"Guys, go to any nearby window, we have trouble coming this way," Ash frowned.
May rushed over next to Ash to see while everyone else ran over to different windows to take a look. They all gasped when they saw what Ash was seeing with May.
"They're coming this way…" May stated with fear.
"And they're bringing a small army with them," Looker glared at the approaching grunts led by Omega, Colress, Ghetsis, Giovanni, and the other Majestic 12 members.
"There must be at least a hundred of them," N watched with alarm.
"I can see Zero, meaning the ship got to the port and I can see the other Majestic 12 members, except for J, Silver, Cloud, and Phantom," Iris pointed out.
"Hunter J, Silver, and Cloud are downstairs battling with Rosa, Nate, and Auro. Where is Phantom though?" Cilan inquired.
"Phantom should be with the rest of the Majestic 12," Looker mentioned, but then looked up and saw the roof of another floor. His eyes widened and the man shouted, "If Phantom is not with them, then that means he's already inside the lighthouse, he must be nearing Victini!"
Everyone's eyes widened and Bianca spoke, "But how are we going to stop Phantom with Omega and the others getting close. We can't do both at once."
"Unless, we split up," Trip said with a stern stare.
"Yes, there's no other choice, but to split into two groups. One will hold off Omega and the others while the other group goes after Phantom. I'll hold off Omega, hopefully, I can buy enough time for you to stop Phantom," Looker said with a solemn voice.
"You can't do it alone, you'll need help. I volunteer to help you fight against my father and his friends," N told the police officer.
"Very well N, but don't think this will get you off the hook and the police can let you get away with your crimes. After this is over, we'll continue to hunt you down and bring your organization down as well," Looker informed N.
N nodded, "I wouldn't expect you to stop."
"I'm also helping," Trip volunteered.
"Make that two," Bianca also volunteered.
"You'll need all the help you can get, so Hilda and I will help out as well," Hilbert participated.
"That's right," Hilda made a fist and gave a confident grin.
Looker smiled at the teens' spirits, I hope one day all these kids work together and fight against evil with the same spirit they are showing me right now.
"Looker, I'm also coming," Ash told the police officer.
"Pikachu pi!" Pikachu also said he would participate.
"Me too," May volunteered with him.
Looker grinned at them, "No, I think we have enough volunteers, kids, and as much as I would like you to come and help, you three are staying in here with Iris and Cilan. The five of you will go after Phantom. Do you understand?"
Ash, May, Iris, Pikachu, and Cilan gave disappointing faces, they nodded, but they wished they could go with Looker and help him. Looker grinned at them and talked, "Good, now let's get going!"
They all smiled and shook their heads. "Let's go!" Ash jumped and then dashed up the stairs with Iris, Cilan, May, and Pikachu.
Looker and the other teens walked out of the lighthouse and into the outdoors. They stood on the hill where the lighthouse was located and they gazed at the approaching organization of criminals.
"Do you think we can take them?" Hilda asked.
"No, but we'll be remembered as heroes," Hilbert joked and smiled, making Hilda punch him in the arm.
"Don't worry about our safety, worry about our friends rushing up the lighthouse. We will make it through fine, but they will come across the greater part of the threat, Phantom is a perfect example of the fierce determination of the Majestic 12," Looker explained to them and they all wished for the well-being of the heroes inside the lighthouse, including Trip and N.
"How many floors is this lighthouse, I think we've already passed a hundred and we're not even halfway." May said as they ran up the spiral stairs.
"The lighthouse has ten floors; we are about to near the fifth one. Hopefully, Phantom isn't far," Cilan told the brunette.
"Looker and the others are counting on us to stop Phantom, we can't let them down, we have to keep going," Ash encouraged his friends.
"I think we're nearing the fifth floor," Iris said when she saw how close they were reaching the bottom part of the fifth floor or the ceiling of the fourth floor.
They all nodded and dashed to it. When they reached the fifth floor, they saw two Rocket Grunts and Phantom, like Looker had predicted. The trio stood in front of the group of five with stern stares and the Rocket Grunts had Pokéballs in their hands.
"Drat, I thought J would buy enough time for us to reach the top, guess not. You children have done well for coming this far, you been very strategic and ready throughout this whole fiasco, but now your time is up," Phantom chuckled.
Ash stepped up and spoke, "No Phantom, your time is up, hand over the sword and give up!"
"If you don't we'll take it from you by force," May glared at the man who once threatened the well-being of a Pokémon who was like her child.
"We're ready for whatever you've got!" Iris yelled at the ex-pirate.
"That's right!" Cilan shouted at Phantom as well.
"Blah, blah, blah, there are two types of people in this world, one of them refuses and the other accepts. I'm the type who refuses your demands, Rockets attack!" Phantom pointed at the teens.
"Watchog, use Hyper Beam!" both Rockets threw their Pokéballs and called out the same Pokémon and made the same commands.
"Pansage, come out and charge up a Solarbeam!" Cilan instructed while he released his green monkey.
"Pikachu, counter Hyper Beam with Thunder!" Ash demanded.
The pair of Watchog and Pansage emerged and they all immediately unleashed their attacks. Both Watchog released the highly powerful beam attack while Pansage charged up Solarbeam.
Pikachu braced himself and charged up electricity, sparks coursed through the mouse's body violently and the yellow Pokémon shot out Thunder while screaming angrily, "Pikaaaaaaaachuuuu!"
Simultaneously, Pansage released Solarbeam and cried out furiously, "Paaaaansaaaage!"
The super attacks collided with each other and a large explosion was produced in the room, filling it with dust and smoke. Ash, May, Pikachu, Pansage, Cilan, Axew and Iris covered their eyes from the blast.
"I think we used too much power, Cilan," Ash said as the air from the blast was pushed against them.
"We had no other choice," Cilan said, still covering his eyes.
When the dust and smoke cleared, the Rocket Grunts and their Pokémon still stood there with cool expressions on their faces. "Is that all of you've got?" the female grunt asked.
"We were expecting a challenge," the male grunt chuckled.
Ash ignored them and shouted, "Where's Phantom!"
"He took off in the chaos, you won't catch up with him now," the female Rocket smirked.
"That's what you think," May glared at her.
"How are we going to get past these guys now?" Iris frowned in anxiety.
"There's only one way…" Cilan said.
"How?" Ash looked at him.
Cilan closed his eyes for a second and then opened them, "Ash, you guys go ahead and stop Phantom. Iris and I will hold off these crooks," Cilan told the boy.
Ash, Pikachu, and May looked surprised when Cilan said that. "Pikapi!" Pikachu told Cilan, trying to argue with the Gym Leader.
"Pikachu's right Cilan, we can't just leave you," Ash frowned at the green-haired male.
"We won't leave," May crossed her arms.
Iris sighed and spoke, 'Please guys, you have to go stop Phantom. He could be harming Victini as we speak, we'll be okay down here, just go, and we'll meet up again in one piece, right Cilan?"
"That's right," Cilan smiled at them.
Ash and May sighed and looked at the stairs leading to the top of the lighthouse. Pikachu looked at Axew and Pansage, but the Dragon-type and Grass-type smiled and Axew spoke, "Axew ax ax."
"Pi…" Pikachu sighed and had no choice, but to accept going after Phantom and leaving their friends behind.
"Now go, quick!" Cilan ordered.
"Right!" Ash and May nodded and dashed off after Phantom.
The Rockets let them pass and they just laughed at Iris and Cilan. "Smart play for some airhead punks, but Phantom will still easily take your friends down," the male Rocket said.
"Enough talk, let's battle," Iris frowned and Axew got on the battlefield while Pansage braced itself.
The pair of Watchog also prepared itself for the second round of the battle.
Meanwhile, outside of the lighthouse, Omega and his allies were finally nearing the lighthouse. "This is it," Looker gave the approaching criminals a stern look.
Omega and the others spotted them and smirked with anticipation. "Time to battle," Hilbert reached for a Pokéball and prepared himself along with the other teens.
"No one is starting any battle without me," a voice said, alerting the group of six. Out of the trees in the hill dashed out a young man in a black coat.
"Roxas," Looker recognized the newcomer.
The others were also surprised to see the Ash-lookalike in front of them. Roxas smiled at them and spoke, "We're battling together, got that?"
Looker sighed and grinned, "Alright."
"Where are the others though, where are Auro, Nate, and Rosa?" Roxas inquired.
Before any of them could answer, someone else did, "They're probably being tortured by Hunter J at this point. No need to worry about them."
Roxas and the others turned to the source of the voice and saw Omega in front of them with Ghetsis, Giovanni, Colress, and their underlings. They were only a few meters away from them and they were all smirking at the party of seven.
Roxas's cool demeanor became a serious one and he glared at Omega. "Omega, you don't know how saddening it is for you to have gone through all this trouble to attain Victini, only to fail because of a handful of people."
"Silence boy, victory is in our hands!" Ghetsis spat.
"The only victory in someone's hands is in that of Ash and May's, they are putting a stop to your evil plan at this very moment," N commented.
"What N said is true, if there's anyone that will stop you from getting Victini, it's those guys!" Hilbert spat at the criminals.
"The jig is up," Hilda grinned slyly at Omega and the others.
"Give up," Trip spoke seriously.
"Because you've lost," Bianca frowned at them.
Roxas smirked at Omega and began to speak, "The jury has spoken."
"We'll just see about that," Giovanni chuckled and smiled.
"You fools will regret your intervention," Colress reached for a Pokéball.
"Time to illuminate you on what the meaning of triumph is," Omega reached for a Pokéball as well.
"The ends will justify the means," Omega and the rest of the Majestic 12 members said simultaneously, with the exclusion of J, Silver, Roxas, and Phantom.
Roxas glared at them and threw 6 Pokéballs into the air. From them emerged Lucario, Zoroark, Kingdra, Metagross, Charizard, and his most powerful Pokémon, Dialga. Looker and the others also called out their most powerful Pokémon, N summoned Archeops, Hilbert called out Samurott, Hilda released her Servine, Trip summoned his Servine, and Bianca called out her Emboar, Looker released an Aggron.
Omega and the others all called out one Pokémon each. The leader of the Majestic 12 called out his Tyranitar to battle against the opposition.
"Everyone, do not let any member of the enemy get passed this line, Dialga, take out anyone if necessary," Roxas ordered and told his Pokémon to defend the lighthouse.
"Here…we…go," Omega spoke slowly and when he finished, Tyranitar unleashed a Dark Pulse at Roxas, but was instantly countered by Lucario's Aura Sphere.
"Kill them," Omega commanded and at that instant, the followers and leaders of the criminal alliance battled against the Roxas and his allies. Within minutes, blasts, explosions, and shock waves were occurring all over the area of the lighthouse, some of Dialga's attacks were so powerful that ten Pokémon were knocked down at once and caused the earth beneath them to shake.
As Ash, May, and Pikachu were finally nearing the final floor, May almost lost her balance because the ground was shaking. "Ash, I'm going to fall!" May felt herself about to fall off the stairs and since there was no rail, she'd plummet to the bottom of the lighthouse.
"No way, May! You're not going anywhere!" Ash pulled her back before she could slip from the stairs and fall.
May held onto to Ash tightly and looked down below, the drop was extremely frightening from where they were now and May hid her face in Ash's chest for a second. The brunette looked at him and asked, "Why does it feel like the whole world is suddenly shaking?"
"I don't know, but it must be coming from outside, something big must be happening," Ash looked serious, the auburn-eyed teen wished he could find out what was going on outside.
"Well, let's keep going, we're almost there," May smiled sheepishly and Ash agreed while grinning back at her.
Pikachu was the only who could feel the seriousness going on outside, the mouse could hear the sounds of roaring, explosions, and yelling going on, and the mouse became worried more and more with every shake.
"Ash, when you think about everything that has been happening right now, you start to realize that there are really bad people out there in the world," May told the raven-haired boy.
"What do you mean?" Ash asked after the tower shook again.
"I mean, a whole city got destroyed, people died, and an entire island has become a battlefield just to capture a Legendary Pokémon. Are people really that evil? What sort of pleasure can come out of it?" the brunette asked her boyfriend.
Ash gave her a serious look and replied, "May, there are always going to be bad people in the world and some are going to be really cruel when it comes getting what they want, but you know what, where there is evil, there's a good. Wherever there's evil, there will always be good there to stop, like Looker for example, he's always where really bad people are up to no good, and he does everything he can to stop them. We're doing the same thing May, so even though things may look bad, evil will never dominate, good will always be there to stop."
The brunette got inspired by Ash's words, she had never seen him talk on such a wise level before and she was surprised to see this part of him. She reached for his hand and squeezed it; the girl smiled softly and responded, "Ash that was really wise…what you just said. You're right though, there may always be evil out there, but we can never let it win, there will always be good people out there to stop it, like us!" May formed a confident grin and made a fist with her free hand.
"Yep, that's right May, don't ever give up hope on anything, if things ever become bleak in any way, don't ever give in to the bad stuff happening," Ash encouraged her further and the two grinned at each other.
"Pikachu pi pika!" Pikachu smiled and cheered at them.
"You said it pal, never give up, never lose faith," Ash grinned at his partner as they continued running.
"Well then, let's hurry up; there are bad guys to be stopped!" May smiled and charged full speed.
The trio ran up the stairs as the tower continued to shake, but they finally made it to the top floor and saw Phantom there with the sword in his right hand, his back was facing them and he stood in front of rectangular stone that reached to his knees. Instead of stone walls like the other nine floors, the tenth floor was made up of glass and you could see the island, the ocean, and Castelia City.
"Phantom, stop right there, we have you now!" Ash yelled at the Majestic 12 member.
"Surrender to us now!" May shouted at him.
"Pika pika!" Pikachu emitted sparks from its cheeks.
"Surrender you say, surrender you say? My dear friends, there are two types of people in this world, those who surrender, and those who come out victorious. I am the type who comes out victorious!" Phantom yelled and stabbed the Sword of Victory into the middle part of the stone.
"No!" Ash and May screamed while Phantom laughed maniacally.
The stone began to glow red and a stream of fire shot out of the handle of the sword. The stream of fire began to travel across the lighthouse and then returned to the tenth floor and circled around it at an incredible speed. Ash, May, and Pikachu were all alarmed by the fire while Phantom smiled evilly. The stream of fire continued to circle the room until it shot at the handle of the sword, then at that sudden moment, a large flame covered up the entire sword and stone and the fire reached the roof.
The shadow of a small, rodent-like Pokémon and it had large, pointed ears shaped like the letter V. As the stream of fire enveloped the interior part of the lighthouse and the flames died out, the Pokémon revealed itself.
Ash, May, Pikachu, and Phantom were all fascinated by the sight of the Legendary Pokémon. It had two wings-like tails and a round head, which was comparatively large for its small body. Most of its body was cream-colored, while the tops of its ears, crest, and extremities were all orange. It hovered over the sword and it slowly opened its eyes, the little Pokémon had large blue eyes and when it fully opened them, it gave Ash, May, Phantom, and Pikachu a confused look.
"Vi?" Victini looked around the room curiously, wondering what was going on.
"It's so cute!" May clasped her hands together and admired the tiny Pokémon.
"Whoa, so that's Victini…" Ash also looked at the Pokémon with interest.
"Pikaaa…" Pikachu also gazed at it.
Phantom chuckled and grinned sinisterly at Victini, "Welcome back Victini, I hope you enjoyed your century old slumber."
"Victini?" Victini hovered over to Phantom and looked at him curiously.
"Victini, stay away from him!" Ash yelled.
"V?" Victini looked over at Ash and then turned to Phantom.
Phantom reached for a Pokéball and made a command, "Archeops, take down Victini with Shadow Claw!"
At that sudden moment, Archeops emerged out of its Pokéball and charged at Victini with astonishing speed. The small Victory Pokémon was quickly taken off guard and Archeops's glowing dark claws slash Victini against the wooden floor, making it cry in pain.
"Victini!" May cried.
Victini groaned and slowly got up, the Fire-type Pokémon then braced its body together and its whole body began to glow pale red. Its body then became surrounded in a teardrop-shape red flame. It also surrounded its body in a round yellow fire and it suddenly fired the flame from its body at the opponent, and it shot at Archeops like a spinning meteor. The Victory Pokémon cried, "Viiii," angrily as it unleashed its attack.
"That's a whole lot of power," Ash commented, amazed by Victini's power.
"Such a tiny thing is able to have that much power?" May questioned herself.
Phantom chuckled and spoke, "Fire attacks like Searing Shot won't work against Archeops, little guy. This is an effective move against Fire-types like you, Archeops, use Stone Edge!"
Archeops cried out violently and unleashed white shards of energy to counter Searing Shot. Stone Edge easily countered Searing Shot and bashed Victini ruthlessly, sending the small Pokémon flying against the glass wall, making it crack in the process.
"Lunge at it with Crunch!" Phantom shouted and then laughed.
Archeops jetted at Victini, who still hadn't gotten up, rapidly and bit the Psychic-type Pokémon. Archeops shook Victini brutally in its jaws and then slammed it against the floor, making Victini squeal in pain once again.
"What's the matter Victini, I heard Psychic-types enjoy a good Crunch," Phantom chuckled.
Ash and May grinded their teeth in frustration as they saw the just awakened Victini get beaten and battered aggressively by Archeops. "That's enough!" Ash shouted angrily and halted the battle.
Phantom and Archeops turned to Ash, while Victini lay on the floor panting weakly. "You'll pay for that Phantom, you'll pay for hurting Victini!" Ash yelled hostilely.
"Save it for later kid," Phantom ignored Ash and turned back to Victini, but just when he was about to make another command, a powerful Double Thunderbolt shot at Phantom and Archeops, making them both scream in pain.
Phantom and Archeops dropped to the ground while Victini shifted his eyes to Ash and Pikachu, who glared at Phantom. "May, get Victini and leave, I'm going to handle Phantom," Ash spoke sternly.
May nodded and glared at Phantom. The brunette then ran over to Victini to rescue the little Legendary Pokémon, but before she could reach him, 3 Archeops appeared in front of her without warning. May grinded her teeth in aggravation and asked, "What's going on?"
Ash also became surprised and turned to Phantom, who got up and smirked, "If it's a battle you want, it's a battle you'll get. Archeops's Double Team should keep your girlfriend busy, while you fight the real one," Phantom laughed and Archeops appeared by Phantom's side.
May and Ash quickly recognized how dire the situation became and prepared to battle the powerful Majestic 12 member. May looked at the 3 Archeops blocking her way to Victini furiously while Ash clenched his fists and glared at Phantom with Pikachu.
"Bring it," Ash and May said simultaneously and prepared to battle.
May called out Liepard to assist in the battle with the 3 Archeops while Ash used Pikachu. Phantom chuckled and spoke, "Archeops, use AncientPower."
Phantom's main Archeops shot out the sphere at Pikachu while the 3 copies released a triple one at Liepard. Ash grinned confidently and made a command, "Pikachu, destroy AncientPower with Iron Tail!"
"Liepard, use Iron Tail to counter!" May extended her arm forward.
Pikachu and Liepard leaped in the air with their iron-colored tails and smashed the rocks with sheer force, but Phantom remained calm, "Archeops, use Agility and then Rock Smash."
Before Ash and May could react, Archeops charged at sudden speed and directed Rock Smash at Liepard and Pikachu. The main Archeops took Pikachu off guard and bashed Pikachu, sending the mouse flying towards the floor while the other Archeops did the same, except the quick cat acted with her reflexes and dodged 2 out of the 3 Rock Smash. Unfortunately, the Rock Smash that hit the Dark-type sent her flying against the floor as well.
While Pikachu and Liepard got up, Phantom was already making his next command, "Archeops, use Stone Edge."
The Archeops cried and released glowing white shards at their opponents, leaving Ash and May uncertain on what to do. May grinded her teeth and said her command, "Liepard, use Assist!"
"Liepard," Liepard nodded and extended its claw out, releasing a barrage of colorful energy leaves directed at the Stone Edge.
"Petilil's Magical Leaf, that will do," May half-grinned. The Magical Leaf and Triple Stone Edge canceled each other out, saving Liepard from a devastating attack.
Ash clenched his fists as Pikachu braced for the Stone Edge, "Pikachu, dodge with Agility and then somersault to use Electro Ball!"
Pikachu nodded and dashed throughout the battlefield, "Pika," the mouse dodged a shower of stones, "Pika," the mouse dodged again, "Pika," Pikachu narrowly dodged another shower and then the somersaulted into the air, "Pikaaachu!" Pikachu unleashed Electro Ball, directing it at Archeops.
"Archeops dodge Electro Ball with Agility," Phantom and Archeops easily dodged the Electro Ball.
"Liepard, use Dark Pulse on all the Archeops!" May instructed and Liepard unleashed a spiral beam of dark energy powerful enough to hit 3 targets.
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt on Archeops!" Ash extended his arm forward.
"Use Aerial Agility Smash," Phantom crossed his arms and chuckled.
"What's that?!" May and Ash exclaimed with curiosity.
At that sudden moment, the Archeops braced themselves and then dashed across the battlefield at phenomenal speeds, successfully dodging Thunderbolt and Dark Pulse. Then suddenly, they dashed at Pikachu and Liepard with Rock Smash and sent the two Pokémon crashing against the wooden floor.
"Wow, that was fast," May became amazed by the superb speed shown by Archeops.
"But how?" Ash frowned.
"It's my triple combination of Aerial Ace, Agility, and Rock Smash. Agility already boosts the speed of Archeops, but with the speed from Aerial Ace added, Archeops becomes even faster and Rock Smash is the dealing blow part of the combo. Impressive, isn't it?" Phantom tormented Ash and May with his superior skill in battling.
Liepard and Pikachu were both dealt heavy hits by the combo and were groaning as they got up. Both of them were covered in cuts and bruises that noticeable to the naked eye. Phantom cracked his knuckles and laughed, "Now, here's the real kicker, Archeops, Stone Edge!"
The Archeops all cried and unleashed a barrage of glowing shards at their opponents. Ash clenched his fists and spoke, "Pikachu, dodge with Agility!" Sadly though, Stone Edge shot out much faster than before and Pikachu was unable to dodge, the Stone Edge quickly bashed Pikachu back against the floor.
"Liepard, counter Stone Edge with Assist!" May ordered. Liepard grinded her teeth and used Assist, but this time May hadn't been so lucky. The only thing that came out was Flamethrower and Stone Edge easily overpowered it. The shards then slashed Liepard and sent her flying against a glass wall, the impact making it crack.
Liepard and Pikachu struggled to get up from the hard blows while May and Ash felt like they were running out of options fast. While Phantom was busy defeating the couple, Victini watched the battle unfold with fear and confusion.
The little Fire-type wondered why these people were here, what did they want, why did they hurt him, why were they battling, were the raven-haired boy and brunette and their Pokémon trying to protect him? With every blow Liepard and Pikachu took, Victini became more frightened, it wasn't sure if it should help, but even the Legendary Pokémon felt weak after taking such a beating from Archeops.
"Vi…." Victini felt tears stream down its cheeks as Liepard and Pikachu squealed in pain while Ash and May yelled angrily and grew concerned about their Pokémon's condition.
During Ash and May's battle, other parts of the island saw other conflicts. Outside, down below the lighthouse, Roxas and his friends fought bravely against Omega and the allies. Dialga was constantly attacked by Giga Impact and Hyper Beam, but the Legendary Pokémon easily defeated his enemies, however, even the Dragon-type was becoming exhausted by the endless number of attacking Pokémon.
Colress had Trip and Bianca on their knees with his Beeheeyem. Hilbert and Hilda were running out of Pokémon to battle Giovanni with, N and Looker were barely able to keep up with Ghetsis's battling skills and even Roxas and his Pokémon were beginning to slow down with their battle against the Majestic 12.
Kingdra could hardly keep Vicious and Annie at bay, Dialga was having difficulty against grunts and Zero and Kodai, the men who led the assault on the Legendary Pokémon. Charon and Genesis had Charizard almost dying, Archer and Brodie were about to knock out Metagross completely. Lucario, Zoroark, and Roxas were having trouble against Omega's Tyranitar's unbelievable strength.
"Lucario, use Aura Sphere, Zoroark, use Focus Blast, fast!" Roxas yelled; sweat dripping from the sapphire-eyed teen's hair due to the stress of the battle.
"Tyranitar, show them a real attack, Focus Blast!" Omega extended his arm forward and Tyranitar unleashed the deadly blue sphere that countered Aura Sphere and Focus Blast.
"Now use Dragon Blast," Omega snapped his fingers and Tyranitar used Fire Blast, shooting in out like a large fiery "X". Then the Dark-type proceeded to shooting out Dragon Pulse, the two attacks then fused, with Fire Blast enveloping itself around Dragon Pulse like a cage.
"Lucario, dodge with ExtremeSpeed and Zoroark, dodge with Agility!" Roxas grinded his teeth when he made the command.
Zoroark and Lucario dodged the attack, but Omega remained cool and said something else, "Disperse."
All of a sudden, the fiery combination exploded and flames and energy shot out in every direction, hitting Lucario and Zoroark.
"Now kill two birds with one stone…Focus Blast," Omega spoke and Tyranitar shot out Focus Blast.
"Zoroark, Protect, now! Lucario, take advantage and use Heal Pulse!" Roxas instructed.
Before Focus Blast could hit the duo, Zoroark recovered from the attack and stood in front of Lucario. The Illusion Fox Pokémon then formed a large barrier around them and protected them from Focus Blast, saving them from the deadly attack in the process.
While Zoroark protected them, Lucario got up and used Heal Pulse on themselves to recover the lost energy. The aura of Heal Pulse covered both their bodies and several cuts and bruises healed, but Lucario didn't have enough energy to make them recover completely.
When Focus Blast faded, Lucario and Zoroark prepared to battle Tyranitar once again with nearly almost all of their power restored. "Ready for round two?" Roxas smirked at Omega.
"Ready," Omega smirked and chuckled.
"Ninetales, Flamethrower!" Auro commanded.
"Latias, cancel it with Dragon Pulse," Roxas coolly instructed.
The two attacks collided and caused a small explosion between the two. "Samurott, use Hydro Pump on Drapion!" Nate demanded.
"Drapion, counter with Hyper Beam," Hunter J ordered.
The two super attacks clashed with each other, but Hyper Beam overpowered Hydro Pump and sent Samurott crashing against the cave wall.
"Gardevoir, use Charge Beam on Scizor!" Rosa extended her arm to the right.
"Scizor, use Double Team and then X-Scissor," Silver smirked after saying his command.
Gardevoir unleashed the electrical beam, but Scizor easily dodged it by multiplying. The Scizor copies then released X-shaped attacks at Gardevoir and sent the Psychic-type crashing against the floor from the powerful attack combination.
"Give up, there's no way you can win, your Pokémon can't go on any longer while ours have barely tried in this battle," Hunter J taunted them.
"No way!" Auro, Rosa, and Nate screamed at the same time.
"Samurott, use Ice Beam on Latias!" Nate instructed.
"Gardevoir, use Hypnosis on Scizor!" Rosa commanded.
"Ninetales, use Dig!" Auro ordered.
"Scizor, protect Latias with Iron Head!" Silver demanded. Scizor became one being again and got between Latias and Ice Beam, the Steel-type's head turned into an iron color and it bashed through the Ice-type attack, canceling it out and protecting Latias.
"Drapion, defend Scizor," J ordered. When Gardevoir tried to use Hypnosis on Scizor though, Drapion shielded the Bug-type and the move had no effect.
"Ninetales, emerge now and take down Drapion!" Auro commanded with fury.
"Latias, counter Ninetales's assault with Psychic," Cloud demanded. When the fire fox Pokémon emerged from the ground, it prepared to hit Drapion, but Latias's psychic powers got control over Ninetales and bashed the Fire-type against a cave wall.
"Let's finish this," Silver smirked and leaned his head on his fist.
"Very well," J chuckled and said her command, "Drapion, exterminate Gardevoir with Shadow Ball."
"Scizor, X-Scissor and Double Team one more time on Samurott this time," Silver demanded.
"Latias, Mist Ball on Ninetales," Roxas crossed his arms when he said his instruction.
The three teens clenched their fists when they heard the commands and acted quickly, "Gardevoir, use Teleport to dodge Shadow Ball!" Rosa shouted.
"Samurott, counter the X-Scissor with Ice Beam!" Nate yelled.
"Ninetales, stop Mist Ball with Energy Ball!" Auro screamed.
When the six Pokémon's attacks and counters clashed, Auro, Nate, and Rosa became alarmed. The moment Gardevoir teleported away from danger, J redirected the Shadow Ball at Samurott, who was blasted unconscious against a cave wall. Scizor's X-Scissors were redirected at Gardevoir when she reappeared, the Psychic-type knocked out when it was repeatedly bashed against a wall by the X-Scissor and Latias easily overpowered Energy Ball and sent a devastating blow to Ninetales, knocking it out.
The 3 teens were in disbelief and returned their Pokémon without a word. They had finally lost after a long, hard fought battle against the powerful members.
"That's how it's done," Silver chuckled when he saw the three knocked out Pokémon.
"You fought well, but not well enough," Roxas gave them a half-smile.
"Now how are you going to stop us?" Hunter J approached Auro and laughed in his face, infuriating the leader of the 3 teens.
"Pansage, protect Axew with Solarbeam!" Cilan ordered.
"Watchog, Hyper Beam one final time!" the Rocket grunts commanded.
"Watchog!" the Watchog shouted and unleashed a Double Hyper Beam that formed a spiral beam.
Pansage frowned and countered with Solarbeam, releasing the powerful Grass-type beam. "Cilan, you can't handle both on your own!" Iris shouted.
"We're not strong enough to defeat them anyone, we might as well lose trying," Cilan gave her an apologetic look for their failure.
Iris looked down at the ground and gave him the same expression too. When the two beams made contact, Hyper Beam easily won and blasted away Pansage and Axew, sending the two flying back to the feet of their trainers.
"Oops, guess we over did it," the female grunt chuckled with the male grunt.
Cilan returned Pansage while Iris picked up Axew and they both glared at the Rockets. "Your friends at the top floor, in the caverns, and outside the lighthouse are all sharing the same fate as we talk right now, victory goes to Team Rocket and its allies," the two blabbered about their apparent victory while Cilan and Iris remained silent.
"Lucario, Drain Punch!" Roxas commanded.
Lucario rushed up to Tyranitar and punched the Dark-type, but the move didn't even send it flying, it merely maintained its face in the direction it was punched. Lucario gained some of Tyranitar's energy through the punch, but it was still confused as to why nothing else happened.
This move should have sent that monster flying, what's going on? Lucario thought in its mind.
"Fire Blast," Omega crossed his arms when he said his command.
Tyranitar faced Lucario again and smirked, the Rock-type then opened its jaw wide and blasted Lucario away with Fire Blast.
"Now take out Zoroark with Focus Blast," Omega instructed and Tyranitar unleashed the Fighting-type move.
"Zoroark, counter it with Focus Blast!" Roxas demanded.
The two Focus Blasts collided, but in the end, Tyranitar's proved stronger and it sent Zoroark flying.
Lucario and Zoroark groaned as they got up, their legs wobbled from the exhaustion and their bodies ached from the pain of the battle. Roxas grinded his teeth and thought in his mind, Damn, Zoroark and Lucario don't have enough power to protect or heal themselves anymore, they don't even have enough power to gain the upper hand on Tyranitar, there's only one thing left to do.
Roxas focused his eyes on Zoroark and Lucario, who were on their knees and struggled to get on their feet. Zoroark, Lucario, stay down, we've lost, he's too strong, Roxas spoke to his Pokémon telepathically.
Zoroark and Lucario turned to Roxas and Lucario spoke, What?! Zoroark and I can keep fighting; we're not even half through.
Enough Lucario, you know that's not true, stand down, not even Dialga can handle anymore, what makes you think you can. The next time we battle him though, we'll make him regret he was born, so for now, step down and let go of your pride, Roxas responded and closed his eyes.
Lucario and Zoroark grinded their teeth, but in the end they both dropped on the ground unconscious. When Looker and the others saw this, they were alarmed by the fact that Omega had defeated the most powerful trainer on the island that wasn't allied with the bad guys.
"I'm glad you see it my way, Roxas, now convince the rest of your friends and Pokémon to surrender," Omega ordered Roxas, who stood glaring at him, feeling like there was no choice, but to obey.
"Piiiiiikaaaaa!" Pikachu cried as he hit the ground.
"Paaaaaaard!" Liepard squealed in pain as she hit the floor.
May and Ash watched in disbelief as Pikachu and Liepard were battered against the floor repeatedly, nothing had worked against Phantom, his Archeops were too fast for them, they were nearly beaten.
Phantom couldn't help, but laugh and enjoy the suffering of his opponents, "This is what happens when you mess with us, and the only result is you end up losing, once I finish you I'll get Victini and the Majestic 12 will take over this pathetic region and then the world."
"No, we just can't lose, we can't give up," Ash clenched his fists and his sweat dropped to the floor. Pikachu got up and tried to Volt Tackle Archeops, but the bird nimbly dodged and sent the mouse flying with Shadow Claw.
Liepard tried to use Dark Pulse, but Archeops easily countered with Stone Edge and made the cat squeal.
"We can't give in to them like this, we just can't!" May yelled and tried to keep fighting like Ash, although both teens realized it was becoming futile.
Victini continued to watch the battle with fear and felt sorry for Ash, May, and their Pokémon. The Legendary Pokémon wished it could help, but it was only a baby and it wasn't sure what it could do.
Archeops sent Pikachu and Archeops flying against the glass with Rock Smash and made the two scream. "Noooooo, we're not going to give up!" Ash and May exclaimed and their Pokémon shared their determination, none of the 4 was planning on giving up.
"Why don't you just give up?!" Phantom was getting annoyed, but continued to grin evilly.
"Because we're going to protect Victini with our lives," May told the large man.
"We are not letting you or anyone hurt it, we're not going to let Victini or anyone done, we're going to beat you!" Ash yelled and Pikachu used Electro Ball, which was countered by AncientPower.
Victini managed to interpret the couple's words and connected them with their actions and that's when Victini realized what it could do. "Vi victini," the Fire-type could sense the good in Ash, May, and their Pokémon's hearts and began to close its eyes. The Psychic-type began to glow pale red and streams of pale red energy were emitted from its body and they were transferred to Pikachu and Liepard.
"Huh, what's going on?" Ash looked at Pikachu, who was also just as confused.
"Why is Liepard glowing like that?" May inquired, she and Liepard were also just as puzzled.
"Impossible, could it be?" Phantom turned around and saw Victini channeling its energy to Liepard and Pikachu. "That's it, that rat Pokémon is giving those Pokémon energy to beat me, well I don't think so, Archeops, crush it AncientPower!"
Ash, May, Pikachu, and Liepard were all surprised with what was going on, but they knew now wasn't the time for questions. When Phantom prepared to attack Victini, Ash took quick action.
"Pikachu, don't let Archeops hit Victini!" Ash yelled his instructions.
Archeops released the Rock-type attack at astounding speed, but Pikachu boosted its speed and bashed through the energy attack with Iron Tail, but then it felt itself being thrown at Archeops and it hit the Flying-type Pokémon, sending it flying against the floor.
"What was that?" Phantom's eyes widened.
"Pikachu, I think you overdid it," Ash was baffled by the amount of sheer force Pikachu applied to Iron Tail.
"It's Victini's power you fool, it's boosted Pikachu's power to new levels, and it's the rumored victory energy that the Majestic 12 wants. With that kind of power, domination is inevitable; Victini must be ours, Archeops, use Shadow Claw to get Victini!" Phantom went berserk and attacked Victini with the 3 copies of Archeops.
"Liepard, stop them with Dark Pulse!" May shouted.
Liepard rushed between Victini and the Archeops with phenomenal speed and blasted the copies away with Dark Pulse, making them vanish.
"Alright, way to go May!" Ash praised May for her triumph over the Archeops copies.
"Thanks Ash, but I think Victini's energy is stronger than we thought," May looked at the little guy who was still transferring energy.
Phantom grinded his teeth and glared at Ash and May, "Unbelievable, impossible, you were at my mercy a few minutes ago, this can't be. Archeops, take them down with Stone Edge, the four of them!"
"No, you don't!" Ash and May said at the same time.
"Liepard," May said.
"Pikachu," Ash said.
"Finish Archeops!" they both pointed at Archeops while yelling at the top of their lungs.
"Piiiiiiiikaaaaaachuuuuuuuu!" Pikachu unleashed a massive Electro Ball to counter Stone Edge and defeat Archeops.
"Liiiiiiiepaaaaard!" the cat cried and unleashed a large Shadow Ball to take out Archeops.
The two sphere attacks spiraled around each other and destroyed Stone Edge and ultimately hit Archeops, causing a powerful explosion.
"Noooooooooo!" Phantom screamed and twitched angrily.
Archeops dropped to the ground like a rock, unconscious and unable to battle. "My Archeops…defeated…" Phantom looked at his signature Pokémon.
"Way to go!" Ash and May high-fived each other and congratulated their Pokémon.
Victini opened its eyes and stopped channeling energy. It saw Phantom crying over his loss and saw Archeops knocked out on the ground, while Ash, May, Pikachu, and Liepard were celebrating.
"Vi victini v!" Victini flew into the air and grinned happily.
"Victini!" Ash and May smiled when they saw the Fire-type flying cheerfully.
"Vi v victi-," the Legendary Pokémon got cut by Phantom who shot out a gun-like device that captured Victini in a rhombus-shaped cage, similar to the one Team Rocket tends to use.
The cage shocked Victini and made the little guy cry, infuriating Ash and May once again. Phantom chuckled and spoke to them, "You idiots, this is still not over."
Outside of the lighthouse, Roxas and everyone else got forced to surrender to Omega and the leader of the Majestic 12 and his allies anticipated the final news from Phantom. "You have lost, you have failed, it was the most predictable outcome since the start," Ghetsis taunted the group, especially his son.
"Now, you'll become our prisoners and watch dominate the rest of the world like we have dominated you," Giovanni chuckled.
"Remember that you wrought this upon yourselves, all suffering will be because of your actions," Colress tormented them further.
"Roxas, you disappoint me, I thought you had this one all planned out," Omega smirked at his enemy.
"I didn't," Roxas smirked.
"Why are you smiling, you lost, and as a reward, we even received all of your Pokémon," Zero questioned the raven-haired teen and bragged about the fact that Roxas's Pokémon were now under the Majestic 12's ownership.
"Because I didn't plan most of this," Roxas chuckled.
"Then who did?" Genesis asked.
"Look over there," Roxas motioned his head in the direction of Castelia City.
Hilbert, Hilda, N, Trip, Bianca, Omega, Ghetsis, Giovanni, and Colress all turned to the direction Roxas referred to and saw a whole fleet of military ships with the initials I.P.F on the side. Helicopters were also approaching the island and submarines emerged from the water.
"What, how did we not see this coming?" Ghetsis's eyes widened and grinded his teeth in frustration when he saw the large military force approaching.
"Because you only checked my part of the agenda," Roxas smirked at them. Then the sapphire-eyed teen swiftly rushed up to Zero and snatched his Pokéballs. The black-haired teen then blasted the silver-haired member away with an Aura Sphere.
"But you never checked mine," Looker chuckled and laughed in Omega and the other leaders' faces.
Zero got up and threatened to kill Roxas, before Genesis stopped him and cooled the Majestic 12 member.
"Blast it, this operation took too long, we calculated wrong, we have to retreat," Omega said.
"But what about Victini?" Ghetsis asked the man.
"That's in Phantom's hands now," Omega replied.
"We can't leave the island without Victini," Giovanni looked at Omega.
"Do you want your entire organization arrested over one Legendary Pokémon? What good is a sword if there is no soldier to wield it?" Omega gave him a stern gaze.
Omega turned to Genesis and spoke, "Tell Hunter J, Silver, and Cloud to escape the island, tell them Roxas and Looker brought more reinforcements that outnumber us by hundreds."
Genesis nodded and spoke through the Xtransceiver, "J, Silver, Cloud, escape from the island at this very minute, reinforcements from Looker's part are arriving to capture us all, forget about Auro, Nate, and Rosa."
The three Majestic 12 members in the cavern glared at Nate, Rosa, and Auro. Hunter J gave Auro and the other two teens a dirty stare, "Looks like you came more prepared than we thought. You saved yourselves this time, but next time will be different."
"Hopefully, next time you'll be even stronger," Silver chuckled and gave them a half-grin.
"I'm looking forward to it," Cloud also gave them the same gesture as Silver.
"When we do beat you, the only thing you'll win is a prison cell," Auro joked.
The 3 Majestic 12 members then blasted off and took a ghostly, black form like in Castelia and escaped out of the cavern. "So did we win?" Nate inquired.
"No, not yet, if we had won, J, Silver, and Cloud would have been our prisoners and if we had tried to do that right now, we would've only gotten killed. Besides, we're not even sure if Phantom has control of Victini yet," Rosa informed Nate.
"Rosa's right, we should go rush to the top of the lighthouse right now, they might need us," Auro said and they agreed, the trio then rushed up the stairs to reach their friends.
"You may escape this time, Omega, but I'll still hunt you down along with every other crook lurking in Unova, and there will be no escape from me when I find you. Next time you'll be the one at my mercy," Roxas glared at Omega.
"Very smart of you to not try and do that now, you're fleet is only just arriving while our unit is leaving, I look forward to our next confrontation," Omega smirked and then took a ghostly, black form with the rest of the other Majestic 12 members and blasted off into the sky.
Giovanni, Ghetsis, and Colress were also escorted to the subships hidden on the other end of the island that led to the ocean. "Do you think your forces could arrest any of them before they depart?"
Roxas examined the area, now free of all Majestic 12, Neo Plasma, and Rocket Grunts escaped on jetpacks or dashed off into the woodland area. "Unfortunately no, these crooks have always been good at making a fast exit, if we can bring the battle to them next time, we can guarantee an end to their reign of terror," Looker replied.
"So are we just going to let them go off like that?" Trip frowned at Looker.
"That wouldn't be very smart," N added.
"Of course we are not just going to let them get away with it, this is still far from over, we'll just have to target them with a more discreet plan next time," Roxas told them.
"I hope we are prepared for the next time they attack though, we'll need all the help we can get if we want to capture them," Bianca stated.
Roxas and Looker nodded in agreement. "Speaking of capturing bad guys, I don't think I saw Phantom blast out of the lighthouse," Hilda mentioned as she looked up at the building.
"Do you think he might still be in there?" Hilbert asked with a concerned look.
Roxas looked up and closed his eyes; his aura traveled through lighthouse and sensed the presence of three human auras, one of them was a corrupted aura. He opened his sapphire eyes and widened them, "Phantom's still there!"
Auro, Rosa, and Nate were now at the fifth floor and found Cilan and Iris. "Cilan, Iris!" Nate and Rosa yelled happily.
"Hey, we're glad to see you in one piece!" Cilan grinned at them.
"Us too," Auro grinned at them.
"Where are Ash and May though?" Rosa questioned.
"We were attacked by Rocket Grunts led by Phantom on this floor, we decided to stay behind and hold them back while Ash and May went after Phantom. We lost, but before they could take us prisoner, they were told to escape the island because Looker's police forces were arriving on the island and disappeared after using smoke pellets.
"Well yeah, we also lost our battle against J, Silver, and Cloud, but they are also told to retreat. If they hadn't they would've been captured, all Majestic 12 members, Neo Plasma members, and Rocket members are reported to have left the island at this point," Nate told the pair.
"If they're all gone, then how come Ash and May down yet and what about Victini?" Iris raised an eyebrow.
"Auro, Nate, Rosa, can you hear me?" Roxas communicated them through an Xtransceiver.
"Loud and clear," Auro responded.
"We were climbing the lighthouse right now to see how things were going, we caught up with Iris and Cilan right now at the fifth floor, but Ash and May are still at the top," Nate informed Roxas.
"That's because Phantom is still in the building," Roxas gave them a serious look.
"What?!" they all shouted simultaneously.
"You have to reach them fast, there's no telling what Phantom will do and Victini has awoken and is also there, hurry, please, I'm counting on you," Roxas gave them a concerned gaze.
"Don't worry, we won't let you down," Rosa informed Roxas.
"Alright, Roxas out," Roxas said and disappeared from the Xtransceivers of the 3 teens.
"We have to hurry and reach the top," Cilan said.
They all nodded in agreement and rushed to the tenth floor as fast as possible.
"Here's a present for you," Phantom chuckled and threw a blind grenade at Ash and May.
May jumped out of the zone the grenade would explode, but Ash didn't react in time and was left blinded along with Pikachu and Liepard.
"May, I can't see," Ash rubbed his eyes in anxiety.
"Piiiii," Pikachu did the same and so did Liepard.
"Don't worry guys, it'll go away, I'll get Victini back from Phantom," May told as she got up and glared at Phantom.
"May, no," Ash tried to reach out for her, but he still couldn't see.
Phantom raised an eyebrow, "Women tend to be more persistent than men, but you are even more persistent than an ordinary woman, little girl. Your persistence ends here though."
"Give Victini back!" May ran over to Phantom and tried to pull the cage away from him.
"Victiniiiiiii!" Victini began to cry amid the chaos while may desperately tried to get the cage from Phantom.
"You're not going to take it from me, missy, there are only two types of people in this world. Those who give things up and those who keep them," Phantom chuckled as he pulled the cage away from May.
"I happen to be the type who chooses to ke-," but the Phantom was cut when May kicked him in his sensitive spot.
The Phantom dropped on his knees and breathed heavily while May got the cage, "My mother always told me to never hit men there, but for you I make an exception," May frowned at Phantom and stuck her tongue out.
"Why you little brat, now you've done it," Phantom got up and ran over to her.
"No, you don't!" Ash popped out of nowhere and punched Phantom in the face hard enough to get him to almost crash against the nearby glass wall.
"Ash!" May smiled at him.
"Got my vision back," Ash winked at her, making the brunette giggle.
Pikachu and Liepard also appeared next to Ash, whom had also recovered their vision. May looked at Victini, who was still in the cage, crying, "Don't worry Victini, we'll break you of there right now," she assured him.
Victini stopped crying for a bit and looked at the sapphire-eyed girl who giggled and smiled at it. "May, throw the cage in the air so Pikachu can break it," Ash told her, who nodded and threw it into the air with all her might.
"Pikachu, break the cage with Iron Tail!" Ash commanded.
"Pikaaaachu!" Pikachu leaped into the air and broke the cage, freeing Victini.
Victini dropped into Ash's arms and the auburn-eyed teen held him, "Hey there Victini, enjoy being free again?" the boy smiled at the baby Legendary Pokémon.
Victini looked at Ash with confusion, but then grinned happily and smiled even more when May appeared. "It's so cute," May smiled at it.
"You annoying little brats, you're going to pay for the humiliation done to me today, you'll pay with your lives," Phantom grinded his teeth.
The Phantom then reached into his black coat and threw a Semtex Time Bomb at the stone in the middle of the room. When it made contact with the stone, it began to beep and beep.
"That bomb will blow up this entire room in less than 20 seconds, there's no escape for you, nice knowing ya," Phantom laughed and disappeared by going through a dark portal.
"Ash, there's only ten seconds left, what do we do?!" May looked at him with a worried look.
"There's nothing we can do, we won't escape in time," Ash gave May a fearful look and the brunette was in a state of shock.
The pair and their Pokémon looked at the bomb with fear and counted down in their minds, 3…2…1…and the entire room blew up.
From outside, Roxas, and other's eyes widened with fear and shock as they saw pieces of the top floor fall down to the ground, the whole top was in flames at that moment and there was absolutely nothing left.
"Ash…May…" Roxas shook nervously while the others were dumbstruck by the destruction they had witnessed in the same room where there friends were.
On the inside of the building, Iris, Cilan, Auro, Nate, and Rosa, felt the building shake and the group also heard the explosion. Without wasting any more time they rushed up to the final floor and found it completely destroyed. The glass walls were entirely blown away and there was a large hole on the roof, everything inside the room was dead and destroyed, all except for the Sword of Victory, which was still stuck on the rock in the middle. There was wood and glass everywhere, they all walked around the damaged room silently, the five of them were in a state of shock. Then Rosa sees a large pile of black, broken wood that was from the ceiling and when she lifted up with the help of Nate and Auro, their eyes widened with shock, fear, and sadness filling up in their hearts.
Iris held onto Cilan's arm and felt like crying while Cilan clenched his fists in frustration. From the outside of the building, Roxas could also feel what was going on and disbelief filled his eyes, "No…" the raven-haired, sapphire-eyed teen whispered as the International Police Forces landed on the island.
That was Chapter 22 and the end of this part of the story. Yeah it was long, but at least not as much as the first part, I'm sure there are grammatical errors, don't know how but there were, so let me know about that and if you understood the chapter, btw talk about suspense and cliffhanger huh? I really hope you all enjoyed this chapter even though it was a bit gloomy. I don't really want to talk much about the future chapters because I feel like I might reveal something, but I do hope you enjoyed the battles, Advanceshipping scenes etc. Till next time guys, take care!