Chapter 48: Don't You Worry Child
"There!" Cheren pointed as Dialga sprang out of a portal that had abruptly formed right over the ocean.
"That island over there?" Ash pointed when he saw the only thing aside from the miles of water.
"That's right," Cheren nodded in response.
"What is on that island?" May inquired.
With his eyes focused on the body of land, Cheren spoke, "That Island goes by the name of the P2 Laboratory. It was formerly Team Plasma's laboratory until Team Neo Plasma and Team Rocket took it over. This lab was where Team Plasma conducted experiments on their creation, Genesect. We are certain Genesect is still in there, there wouldn't be any other reason for Ghetsis to be so focused on controlling the lab."
The gang shook their heads after Cheren finished his explanation. They all became rather stern as Cilan questioned, "So what's the plan?"
"Bust in," Cheren stated as they were much closer to the island while riding Dialga.
"Just bust in? No sophisticated plan?" Iris sounded rather surprised.
"There was no time for that, if we tried to setup a plan Genesis would have already activated Genesect and we would have arrived too late. Besides, it's very hard to keep a low profile when you are riding one of the dragons that rule the universe," Cheren explained to them.
"Good point," Ash agreed with the gym leader.
"Speaking of plans, brace yourself because look who's coming," Cheren frowned as they looked straight ahead.
Ash, May, Iris, Cilan, Victini, Pikachu, Axew, and Dialga glared when they saw what Cheren was staring at. "It's a bunch of Fearow and Mandibuzz," May said with a serious expression.
"And a bunch of Neo Plasma Grunts riding them," Iris said with a stern face.
"Dialga go," Cheren let the Legendary Pokémon strike them all down.
"RAAAAAWWWWR!" Dialga let out a battle cry as he flew at the two dozen Mandibuzz and Fearow.
"Fearow, use Drill Run!" a Neo Plasma Grunt commanded.
"Mandibuzz, attack with Bone Rush!" Another Neo Plasma Grunt instructed.
"Feaaaaar!" Fearow cried out and began spinning like a drill as their trainers hung onto them tightly.
"Maaaaaaand!" the Mandibuzz let out a piercing cry and swung their heads, sending the bones in their hair flying at Dialga like shurikens.
"Aren't you going to give a command Cheren?" May inquired with concern.
"This Pokémon isn't mine so I really can't command it; it was only lent to me for transport in case anything went wrong. Besides, with all the training Dialga has gone through and battle experience it has I'm certain it can handle these guys," Cheren informed the girl, who admitted that he did make a point.
Dialga let out a low growl as a freezing wind began to blow at their height. Before they knew it hail and snow was being carried by the wind as some clouds above the gang became grey. "This is Blizzard," Cilan realized.
"Wow, a Dragon-type using ice moves," Iris became astonished as did Axew.
The wind became extremely violent very fast and Dialga roared, sending the Blizzard at the enemy. Many of the Fearow soon stopped their offensive attacks and tried to retreat. Some were luckier than others, some Fearow managed to move out of Blizzard's course, but others were frozen solid by the Ice-type attack and dropped to the ocean.
Multiple bones that had targeted Dialga had been frozen solid and merely dropped to the ocean as the Mandibuzz's eyes widened in horror. Several Mandibuzz along with their trainers were also frozen and fell like ice into the water.
"What were they thinking sending us to battle a Dialga," a Grunt complained as he realized that a quarter of his men had been taken out by the Blizzard.
"Fearow, try Drill Run with Agility!" a man commanded and his Fearow fearlessly obeyed.
The pair quickly charged at a great speed while spinning like a drill. Others became inspired by the charge and followed behind the grunt with the same strategy. They all targeted Dialga from different directions which posed a problem, especially with their enhanced speed.
"What now, they are going to strike us from north, south, east and west!" May observed with worry.
"RAAAWWWR!" Dialga growled and lifted its head into the air; its powerful roar could be heard from miles away. Even the water quivered a bit by the roar.
A bunch of glowing rock-shaped objects appeared around Dialga and the gang like a ring. Then without wasting another moment they were fired in all directions. AncientPower took down some of the birds like stone, making them cry in pain as they dropped to the water.
Others were more daring and smashed right through the stone while sustaining heavy damage or if they were lucky, successfully dodged it. When Dialga noticed that AncientPower had not taken them all out it ascended higher as the Fearow gave chase.
Another unexpected result was the incoming Mandibuzz who used Feint Attack. "Dialga watch out!" Ash exclaimed as they flew upward, but Mandibuzz came charging right at them.
When Dialga saw the other flock of troublesome Pokémon it merely smirked and had an easy way to get rid of all these aerial fighters once and for all. Unfortunately for Dialga, before it could show off a bit more a volley of Air Cutter fired from behind and shot down the Fearow and Mandibuzz like sitting ducks.
"Where did that come from?" Cheren became shocked, turning around in the process.
"No way," the gang said simultaneously when they all spotted the ones responsible for the Air Cutter.
"Team Plasma," May said when she saw between three and four dozen of them flying to them with a bunch of Crobat.
"Looks we arrived just in time," Rood of the Seven Sages stopped beside Dialga as he eyed the fleeing remnants of the Neo Plasma aerial force.
"Are you here to stop us or something?" Cheren raised an eyebrow, suspicious of the criminals.
"Not today, today we battle common enemy together by orders of Lord N, we shall ally with you to stop Ghetsis's plans," Rood informed with an honest tone.
Cheren and the gang were a bit surprised by Rood's statement and remained suspicious, but Cheren gave them a response, "Very well old man, but we won't hesitate to bring you down that very minute if you turn on us."
"Nonsense, Team Plasma is an honorable organization, now come on. We cannot let Genesect be awakened," Rood replied and took off, leading his men to the island for battle.
"Think we can trust them?" Iris questioned.
"Don't know, if anything happens Dialga will be ready to take them all out," Cheren relied on Dialga's readiness to exterminate all enemies. Dialga gave a low growl in response and eyed the island with concern.
"Dialga seems rather worried," Ash looked at the Dragon-type's face.
"It senses the danger emitting from that island, come on, there's no time," Cheren told them as they took off towards the island at full speed.
They flew past the Team Plasma Grunts and led them to the island for the rest of the short ride. Since Dialga and Team Plasma had weakened Ghetsis's grunts there was no longer any aerial resistance and the rest of the flight was rather quick and smooth. However, once they came face to face with land they came across terrestrial forces.
"Get ready!" Cheren announced as Dialga dived into the barrage of Shadow Ball, Dark Pulse, Sludge Bomb, and Hyper Beam. The attacks were getting fired at quick rates, but it was nothing Dialga could not handle.
The Temporal Pokémon got unaffected by Poison-type attacks, Dark and Ghost type moves were ineffective, and the Hyper Beam were easily dodged. Close behind Rood and his forces also nimbly dodged the incoming attack thanks to the quick speed of their Crobat.
As Dialga descended rapidly to the ground, it extended its claws and countered any other incoming attacks with Metal Claw. In seconds, the Steel-type landed aggressively on the land, making it tremble for several seconds and roared angrily into the air while ignoring the useless attacks being fired at it. Then in the next second, it fired a Flash Cannon that took out a third of the six dozen forces trying to hold them at bay.
The explosion brightened the area and things got sent flying as a crater was left where Flash Cannon had it. "Wow," Ash and the others got amazed by the incredible power.
"So you just couldn't stay away," the leader of the forces resisting them came out of the crowd.
"Archer," Ash gritted his teeth when he saw the teal-haired Majestic 12 member smirking at them.
"With that Dialga we're obviously going to have a problem, but I still doubt you can come out victorious," Archer chuckled and extended his arm forward.
Suddenly, the Neo Plasma forces commanded their Pokémon to fire their attacks at Dialga and Team Plasma. "Team Plasma, attack for Lord N!" Rood commanded and about half of his forces leaped off their Crobat and released land Pokémon to counter their opponents.
"You guys, let May and I take care of Archer," Ash stood on Dialga's back as he spoke to his friends.
"That's right, we can take him," May stood up as well with a confident smile.
Their friends smiled at them, Iris and Cilan nodded at each other as they looked back at Ash and May. "We have full confidence in you guys," Cilan stated with a grin.
"Don't let us down, everyone is counting on you," Cheren smiled at them.
"Go give the Majestic 12 a piece of your mind with all that training we've done!" Iris exclaimed.
"Thanks guys," Ash beamed, "And we will!" the couple answered Iris's comment at the same time.
Ash and May leaped off with Victini and Pikachu who were also interested in some action against the Majestic 12 while Iris, Cilan, and Cheren stayed on the battlefield with Dialga to fight Neo Plasma Grunts.
As they ran and avoided all the crossfire, the couple and their small Pokémon reached Archer, who had been spectating in the back. As they got closer, some Grunts attempted to attack them, "Watchog, use Hyper Fang!" one grunt charged at the couple with its Watchog.
"Watch!" the Normal-type prepared to bite May as it jumped at her.
May smirked and grabbed a Pokéball, and then she threw it. "Pignite, Arm Thrust!"
"Pig!" Pignite came out while flexing its muscles. As it caught sight of Watchog it prepared its attack and without even hitting it twice, the Fire-type sent Watchog flying with its open palm Fighting-type move.
"Hoooog!" Watchog cried out as it flew back to its trainer and they both fell over.
As they kept running towards Archer, another grunt attempted to bring them down. "Magnemite Sonic Boom!" the male grunt ordered.
"Let's go Palpitoad, Mud Shot!" Ash smiled and threw his Pokéball.
"Pal!" Palpitoad smirked when it came out of its ball and swung its tail, releasing the mud balls.
"Mag!" Magnemite's eye widened when it saw the fast Ground-type attacking coming. Without any time to even use Sonic Boom, the Steel-type got struck down by Mud Shot while its trainer also got smacked by a ball of mud.
"Nice one," Ash chuckled as they ran passed the unconscious grunt.
Soon enough they caught up to the Archer who had watched the whole thing like a movie and shook his head sideways. "You've come this far and still you have learned nothing, this time I will have the pleasure of bringing you despair," Archer smiled, making no comment of anything except for his confrontation with couple.
"Palpitoad, get ready," Ash frowned as Archer reached for his Pokéball.
"Pignite, you too," May said as she glared at the Majestic 12 member. Victini and Pikachu were forced to watch from the sidelines, but were also prepared to do anything if anything were to go wrong.
"Rampardos take out the resistance," Archer threw the Pokéball in his hand.
From it emerged the extinct Pokémon and once it caught sight of Ash and May it stomped angrily. "Ram," the Rock-type roared as it prepared for battle.
"Zen Headbutt!" Archer pointed Ash and May's Pokémon.
"Raaaaaaam!" Rampardos let out a growl and charged with the top of its head beginning to glow blue.
"Dodge!" Ash and May ordered and their Pokémon leaped out of the way in different directions, but for some reason Rampardos continued charging.
"Silly children, your Pokémon aren't the target," Archer smirked evilly.
Ash and May's eyes widened as they realized exactly what Archer tried to do. "Pika-," Pikachu prepared to step in with a Thunderbolt, but May beat him to it.
"Pignite, Low Sweep fast!" May shouted as Rampardos charged at them at a quick speed.
"Piiiig!" Pignite's eyes widened when it took notice of the kind of battle this was and began to as fast it could. Once it gathered enough force it made itself slide on the earth with one its legs extended out.
Sliding at a rate equal to that of Rampardos's charge, Pignite kicked Rampardos right off his feet as the dinosaur Pokémon fell forward and Pignite continued sliding for a bit more. Archer grinded his teeth and frowned, "What, how were you able to react that fast?"
"Call it training," May playfully stuck out her tongue and winked at him.
"We're not the same opponents you faced at Castelia; you might as well start trying. Palpitoad, use Hydro Pump before Rampardos can get up!" Ash flashed a sly grin at Archer and made his next move.
"Paaaaalpiiiitooooaaaad!" Palpitoad took advantage of its opponent's fallen state and fired a Hydro Pump right at it.
Just as Rampardos was preparing to get on its feet, it felt a powerful blast of pressurized water hit its back and the Rock-type got sent slamming back into the earth.
"Rampardos, propel yourself up with Ice Beam!" Archer extended his arm out.
Abruptly, Rampardos fired an Ice Beam with its face still dug in the earth and out of nowhere it flew up into the air like some of rocket with Ice Beam propelling it. The Rock-type was almost 12 feet in the air and everyone watched with surprise as it glared down at the couple. "Hyper Beam!" Archer extended his arm to the right.
"Rampaaaaardoooos!" Rampardos fired the Normal-type attack at the battlefield.
"Palpitoad, propel yourself off the ground with Hydro Pump!" Ash exclaimed with haste.
"Pignite, you too by using Flamethrower!" May instructed.
Archer grinded his teeth, becoming frustrated over missing his attack as well as for Ash and May using his own trick against him. "Take out Ash and May!" Archer pointed at the couple.
Rampardos motioned its beam towards the couple as Palpitoad and Pignite flew in the air. Once again the pair got caught off guard and everyone prepared to step in to play the hero, this time it was Palpitoad who intervened with a Mud Shot.
The frog-like Pokémon swung its tail and released the Ground-type attack. The mud balls flew like bullets across the battlefield, getting between the couple and Hyper Beam successfully. Mud Shot and Hyper Beam canceled each other out, which resulted in an explosion.
When the dust and smoke faded away, Ash and May glared at an annoyed Archer. "What you're doing is not even fair!" May glared at Archer as she yelled at him.
"I got tasked with killing you, not playing with you," Archer crossed his arms as Rampardos landed on the earth, making it tremble for a moment.
"We've had enough of you, Palpitoad, use Supersonic!" Ash demanded.
"Pignite, you use Arm Thrust!" May ordered.
"No chance, Rampardos, Screech!" Archer glared at his opponents while making the command.
"Raaaaaaaam!" Rampardos screeched as Palpitoad and Pignite prepared their attacks.
Unfortunately for Ash and May, the screech was too powerful to ignore, causing Pignite and Palpitoad to stop their offensive techniques. They all gritted their teeth and covered their ears in annoyance while Archer chuckled.
"Head Smash," Archer smirked.
Rampardos halted his screech and charged with haste toward his enemies. Pignite and Palpitoad had no chance to recover as Rampardos stomped through the battlefield. The unfortunate one would be Pignite this time as Rampardos became covered in a blue energy coating its body.
While May and Ash were just opening their eyes after suffering the screech, the first thing May saw was her Pignite being bashed by Rampardos. The impact had been so powerful when Pignite crashed against the ground a crater formed around it.
"Ice Beam," Archer turned his attention Palpitoad, who like Pignite, was also just recovering from Screech.
Unlike Pignite, Palpitoad didn't even have a chance to blink and when Ash saw his Water-type, he saw it get blasted by Ice Beam, which sent it crashing against a tree trunk. The rampageous Rampardos released a prideful roar as it saw its opponents groaning in pain as they attempted to get up.
"No," May looked at her Pignite with worry.
"Now, take out Ash and May with Hyper Beam!" Archer smirked as he saw his chance to strike.
"Raaaaaaaaaaa!" Rampardos roared and fired Hyper Beam.
"Paaaaaaaaal!" everyone heard Palpitoad's cry and saw it weakly swing its tongue the farthest Ash had ever seen.
As Hyper Beam fired in their direction they noticed Palpitoad's tongue aiming right for Rampardos's legs. The Ground-type's tongue hit the dinosaur Pokémon's legs, which made it trip and fall on its back. At the same time, Hyper Beam also got redirected upward.
"Great job Pignite!" Ash's eyes glowed with happiness over Palpitoad's unwillingness to quit the fight.
"Impossible, Palpitoad should not have recovered so quickly!" Archer grinded his teeth.
"Awesome Palpitoad, Pignite, muster the last of your strength and use Arm Thrust!" May ordered while making a fist.
If its friend could recover after such a deadly blow then so could it. Pignite stood up with a smile and as Rampardos fell backwards it charged at the Rock-type with open palms. "Piiiiiiigniiiiite!" the pig Pokémon jolted forward and began to repeatedly hit the extinct Pokémon.
Each hit was a punch against Rampardo's face or midsection and each one sent Rampardos backward. "Pig pig pig," Pignite hit the Rock-type with all its force as the dinosaur kept squealing in pain.
"Piiiiig!" Pignite cried out and landed the most powerful thrust. The Fighting-type had exerted so much power into it that it sent Rampardos flying, breaking through several tree trunks.
"This can't be," Archer watched his injured Pokémon in disbelief.
"Nice job you two!" Ash cheered and made a fist pump.
"You guys were absolutely amazing!" May clasped her hands together with joy.
"Not for long," an unexpected voice said.
All of a sudden, a fully recovered Rampardos charged out of the bushes using Zen Headbutt. The attack was so sudden that everyone got caught off guard and the victim would be Pignite. The starter's eyes widened when it saw Rampardos, not understanding how it had fully healed, but the next it suffered was a deadly hit from Zen Headbutt that sent it flying.
"Piiiiiig!" Pignite oinked in pain as it flew backwards, causing everyone's eyes to grow.
"Ram!" Rampardos raised its head and grinned with pride.
"Sorry I'm late to the party," a man jumped out of trees and appeared on the battlefield.
"Brodie!" Ash gritted his teeth when he saw the man.
"I bet that Rampardos is actually his Ditto too, look what you did to my Pignite!" May said with anger, tears in the corner of her eyes.
"Cry me a river, build a bridge, and get over it. Save the boohooing for later because now you have two opponents to battle," Brodie chuckled as he stood beside the fake Rampardos.
"You could have gotten here earlier," Archer walked to his side with a stern expression.
"I had to make sure everything got set for our experiment," Brodie smirked.
"Pignite return," May recalled her unconscious Fighting-type Pokémon.
"Palpitoad, come back," Ash also recalled his Water-type even though it still had a little fight in it.
"Pignite, you were so incredible out there, thanks for the effort," May smiled softly at Pignite's Pokéball and put it away.
"You too Palpitoad, I'm very proud of you, thanks for saving us," Ash grinned at the Pokéball then put it away.
"That's a shame, I was hoping to fully beat down both your Pokémon," Brodie sighed.
"They've had enough, but we have other Pokémon willing to bring you down," Ash said as he and his girlfriend reached for other Pokéballs while frowning at their enemy.
"That won't be necessary," a stern voice said and a kunai appeared between Ash and May and Brodie.
"What?" Brodie raised an eyebrow as he picked up the kunai.
"That thing," May looked at it, trying to remember where she had seen it before.
At that abrupt moment, several bushes and tree tops began to rustle. Then a man popped out in front of Ash and May, an all too familiar man. "From this point you will be battling me. Someone who tries to kill the trainers and suddenly tag teams is a dishonest and dishonorable battler," the almost white blonde-haired man said with a stern tone.
"Wes!" Ash and May said when the man revealed himself.
"It's been a while Ash and May," Wes smiled at them.
"What are you doing here?" Ash had a giant smile across his face.
"After our encounter the Pokémon in the area became fearful and notified me of something evil brewing in Unova. I decided to investigate everything that has been going on in Unova, beginning with Team Neo Plasma. My leads eventually brought me here and by the looks of it, things don't signal anything good. A Dialga, formidable elite trainers, and hundreds of grunts clashing with each other tells me something is up," Wes spoke to them.
"Team Neo Plasma is trying to awaken a Legendary Pokémon that has the power to destroy Unova. It is being held at the lab just up this road. We were heading there, but some allies of Team Neo Plasma called the Majestic 12 came to stop us." Ash looked at the road just some feet away that led to the P2 Lab.
"I see. Are the Majestic 12 these clowns dressed in black coats?" Wes frowned at Brodie and Archer.
"Yeah, they are really strong trainers, but they are as evil as they come," May glared at Brodie especially.
"I understand it all now. Ash and May go with your Pokémon and stop that Legendary Pokémon from awaking. I will battle these fools," Wes said with a cold tone.
"Well this is going to be interesting. I heard of a strong trainer named Wes living in southwest Unova. I'm assuming that's you," Brodie chuckled, but Wes gave no response and just gave him a cold look.
"Go," Wes ordered the gang.
"Right, thanks Wes," Ash nodded and took May by the hand.
"Thank you so much," May also thanked him and dashed off with Pikachu and Victini.
"You can run, but you won't succeed," Brodie warned them and let them run off.
Running up the road, Ash and May continued encountering more grunts who tried to stop the couple. This time Pikachu and Victini personally took charge of getting rid of them, shock after shock, flame after flame, grunts and their Pokémon either fled or were left knocked out.
"Not much further," Ash saw that they were only just about 200 yards away from the P2 Lab, but their running eventually came to a halt when a Thunderbolt struck right in front of them.
"And where do you think you are going?" Genesis appeared out of the some cloud with a Rotom.
"So close," Ash gritted his teeth in frustration as he still held May's hand.
"Darn," May was just as annoyed, but even more by the fact that they were face to face with the second strongest member of the Majestic 12.
"Your victory streak ends here. We won't let you meddle in our plans," Genesis jumped back about 25 yards away from them. "Rotom, use Discharge," Genesis pointed at Ash and May.
"Sawsbuck, let's go!" May called out her Grass-type.
"Leavanny, you too!" Ash summoned his Grass-type.
Pikachu and Victini stepped back to let their friends have a turn at battling after having cleared the entire road to the P2 Lab. "Saws!" Sawsbuck proudly appeared on the battlefield and took the Discharge head on.
"Lea!" Leavanny happily took the stage, taking in Discharge.
After some seconds Discharge ended and the two Grass-types appeared only slightly affected, but barely any damage was done. "Clever, choosing Grass-types to battle my Electric-type," Genesis muttered.
"We defeated Archer, it won't be any different with you," Ash glared at Genesis.
"I will enjoy this, Rotom, Will-O-Wisp," Genesis extended his arm out to the left.
"Sawsbuck, use Camouflage," May instructed.
The fact that Sawsbuck instantly vanished left Will-O-Wisp with Leavanny as its only target. As the blue fireballs charged at Leavanny Ash remained calm, which confused Genesis, but May knew just what he was planning.
Seconds before impact, Ash made his move, "Move out with String Shot!"
"Leavanny!" Leavanny fired a String Shot at a nearby tree branch and reeled itself in, avoiding the Will-O-Wisp, which dissolved when it failed to hit Leavanny.
As Leavanny got reeled in like a yo-yo, Ash declared his next move, "Then use Razor Leaf!"
"Leav!" Leavanny released itself from String Shot and while in midair fired a barrage of energy leaves at Rotom.
"Ominous Wind," Genesis ordered.
"Tom," Rotom unleashed a purple wind that sent the Razor Leaf everywhere except in its direction, canceling out Razor Leaf.
"Energy Ball!" May took advantage over Rotom's focus on Leavanny.
Suddenly an Energy Ball appeared just a foot behind Rotom, surprising Genesis by how close the Grass-type had gotten. "Sawsbuck!" Sawsbuck revealed itself and fired Energy Ball.
"Substitute," Genesis instructed.
At that sudden moment, as Energy Ball fired a second Rotom appeared beside the first Rotom. The following moment, Energy Ball went right through the Rotom in front of Sawsbuck and merely exploded once it made contact with the earth.
"Thunder Wave," Genesis crossed his arms as Rotom spun around and released a weak blue bolt of electricity at Sawsbuck, making it groan in pain.
"Sawsbuck!" May gasped in horror, amazed by Genesis's quick thinking by using Substitute and then using Thunder Wave.
"With your Pokémon in place we won't have to worry about it sneaking up on us anytime soon," Genesis said with a cold tone and turned his attention towards Leavanny.
Ash took notice of this and proceeded with an attack, "Leavanny, Energy Ball!"
As Leavanny charged up the attack, Genesis had a different way to counter this Energy Ball, "Flash," Genesis ordered.
At that moment a bright white orb appeared over Rotom and shined like a sun, blinding everyone except for Genesis because he had his red helmet on. Flash forced Leavanny to pause its attack and that's when the Majestic 12 member made his next move, "Confuse Ray."
"Rotom!" Rotom laughed evilly and fired six orange orbs like Will-O-Wisp.
As everyone tried to recover their vision, Rotom proceeded with Confuse Ray and the six orange orbs quickly enveloped Leavanny. As Ash managed to fix his vision and prepared to counter Confuse Ray, he realized he was too late when the six orbs burst in front of Leavanny.
"Leavaaannyyyyy," Leavanny's eyes became swirled once the orbs disappeared and began to walk in a ditzy fashion.
"Ash, he has Sawsbuck paralyzed and Leavanny confused, what do we do?" May clenched her fist in frustration.
"We just have to keep fighting as hard as we can. Let's hope Sawsbuck and Leavanny can fight against it so we can pull a winner," Ash also clenched his fist. Victini and Pikachu became just as concerned with how the battle looked, Leavanny and Sawsbuck were now at Rotom's mercy and there seemed no way to fight back.
"May, would you say Razor Leaf and Aromatherapy depend on the wind for motion?" Ash asked his beloved with a serious tone.
May looked at him with a curious look, "I would say so. Leaves just don't float in the air and move like an arrow for no reason and a scent doesn't spread by itself without wind or air I guess. Why?"
"That's all I needed to hear. We're going to have to get Leavanny and Sawsbuck to fight as hard as they can against their paralysis and confusion first," Ash formed a confident smile, which suddenly gave May a confident feeling as well.
Whenever one of them gave a confident smile, then they would put their full faith in them. This wasn't Ash and May's first or last battle, they would overcome it together through teamwork and their faith in each other. Their hearts, minds, and souls were tied, when one was sad the other was as well, when one was happy so was the other. It was almost like if they were always double battling, they were facing everything together and sharing the same experience together.
"Alright Ash, let's do this," May smiled at him confidently and held his hand, with Ash squeezing it affectionately.
"Are you going to start giving it everything you have or may I just kill your Pokémon?" Genesis said coldly.
"No," Ash and May grinned confidently with the wind building up for some reason and their hair motioned because of it. Abruptly, a blue goat-like quadruped Pokémon jumped out from behind them and swung its head violently, releasing a blue-colored projectile that resembled an X-Scissor.
"Rotom, Substitute!" Genesis became surprised and extended his arm forward.
Rotom acted quickly and formed a copy of itself just in time to receive the sudden attack. The copy disappeared in an instant and the actual Rotom frowned over the unfair sneak attack.
The new comer landed in front of Ash, May, Pikachu, and Victini with a very proud appearance. It had its head raised high with two horns extending from its head and a white tuft under its neck.
"What," Genesis could not believe his eyes.
"Who is that Pokémon?" Ash and May shocked by the sudden appearance as well as Pikachu and Victini.
"That is Cobalion, the leader of the Swords of Justice. I don't know if Virizion ever mentioned him," a boy's voice informed them and they turned around to see Hilbert with Hilda.
"No way," Ash and May's eyes brightened joy over the appearance of the Unova pair.
"Tini v vi," Victini became surprised by their presence as well as Cobalion's arrival.
"Pika pi pikachu!" Pikachu got as delighted as the trainers.
"That mission Roxas had given us way back in Virbank City was to get Cobalion to side with us and then have it join us here to stop Genesect from awakening," Hilda explained to them.
"You guys, it's been so long since we've seen you," May said with a happy tone.
"We were wondering when we'd see you again," Ash also stated with a gleeful attitude.
"Same," Hilda and Hilbert said simultaneously.
"But how about we talk that over some food, first let's get rid of these guys from the island," Hilbert smiled, but his grin vanished immediately when he saw Genesis.
"Oh right!" Ash and May had forgotten about their current battle, but their joyful expressions vanished as soon as they gazed at Genesis.
"You, I was not expecting this," Genesis spoke to the Legendary Pokémon.
I've been sensing the disturbance you fools have brought. Now that I'm here, it's much worse than I could have ever feared. What are you planning to do with the Legendary Pokémon, I've learned many things from Virizion's investigation, Cobalion snarled at Genesis.
"You might as well retreat while you can Cobalion. We will make sure to catch you another day," Genesis made a shoo gesture.
Cobalion snarled at Genesis again, I'll make sure you don't succeed in whatever buffoonery you are planning. My land has suffered enough at the hands of men like you.
"Ash, May, you guys head to the P2 Lab. With Cobalion here I think we can handle Ghetsis," Hilbert said to the pair.
"What, are you sure?" May gave them a concerned expression.
"We feel like we should fight alongside you guys," Ash had a worrisome face on.
"No, you shouldn't worry," Hilbert assured them.
"We're going to hold Genesis enough as long as possible so you can stop the Majestic 12 and Team Neo Plasma," Hilda stated with a brave face.
Ash and May looked at them with uncertainty, but the Unova pair kept smiling and nodding at them. "Ok," Ash surrendered the argument and decided to head to the lab.
"Please be careful," May said and then bit her lip out of nervous, receiving a nod from Hilda.
With that said they ran off once more, but Rotom released a Thunder Shock before they could get far. Ash got in front of May and covered as the Electric-type attack threatened to painfully shock them.
No, Cobalion leaped between the Thunder Shock and the couple, raising its paw into the air and redirecting Thunder Shock with Metal Claw. The Electric-type move bounced off Cobalion's claw and hit the ground, canceling itself out.
Go now while you still can, Cobalion told them as he glared at Genesis, who was slightly disappointed over failing to stop the couple in their tracks. As Ash and May left with Pikachu and Victini, Cobalion took a battle stance, let's begin where the children left.
Genesis chuckled and nodded while Hilda and Hilbert became prepared to give Cobalion backup if he needed it.
"This is getting nowhere," Cheren sweated as he spoke to his Stoutland, who fired a Hyper Beam against a persistent Pawniard that had finally dropped unconscious.
"Don't you have any backup around?" Rood spoke Cheren after his Pokémon had taken out a Liepard.
Cheren panted as he ordered Stoutland to use Fire Fang on a Purrloin. He looked around and saw Iris and Cilan fighting just as hard with Axew and Pansage, but the sight only made him sigh, "No, I only have those two noble trainers."
Rood let out a deep breath and observed the countless sweating and yelling going on among the battling Plasmas and Neo Plasmas. "My men can't keep up forever, we're at a standstill and since we are in Ghetsis territory. They are bound to have more reinforcements arriving. Swoobat, Air Cutter on Garbodor!" Rood said and ended his statement with a command, successfully fighting off the Poison-type.
Cheren's eyes turned to Dialga who defeated countless Neo Plasma Grunts and was the only reason they were still alive, but even the Legendary Pokémon began to get exhausted. "We can't afford to lose," Cheren grinded his teeth as his Stoutland kept a horde of Pawniard at bay with a bunch of Tackle attacks.
"That's because we won't," a statement reached Cheren's ear and a powerful Flamethrower came from above that took out as much as a dozen Pawniard in one blow.
When Rood, Iris, and Cilan took notice of the figure, their eyes became surprised. Iris and Cilan's eyes however then glistened with joy. "I came to pick up Dialga and Pidgeot," Roxas descended with his Shiny Charizard.
"About your Pidgeot," Cheren felt uneasy telling it to him.
"I sensed what happened to my Pidgeot, we have a special bond. Not only did I arrive in time, but there's a bunch of targets I can get take my anger out on," Roxas eyed the multiple Neo Plasma Grunts.
"Welcome to paradise," Cheren smirked at Roxas as the sapphire-eyed trainer jumped off his Charizard and prepared to battle the evil Team Neo Plasma.
Right before entering the P2 Lab, May and Ash took a glimpse of the battle down below. The ground was filled with unconscious Pokémon and trainers with many others standing and battling persistently. The most notable thing in the distance was Dialga, who was roaring and firing as many Flash Cannons as it could.
"Time to go inside," Ash snapped his mind out of the sight and opened the door.
May also snapped out of it and nodded, "Right, let's go in."
When they entered they became surprised to find it was completely dark. "Oh boy, this feels a lot like one of Auro's missions," May remembered.
"I know I can feel the nostalgia sinking in," Ash observed the dark hallways.
"Where do you suppose we go?" May looked around.
As Ash examined the area he heard footsteps as well as light chatter. At one point he could've swore he saw a brief light, which sparked an idea, "Time to put this training to the test," he said to May.
May instantly realized what he meant and smirked at him. The couple along with Pikachu and Victini began to walk against the steel wall as they heard a man coming and by the light shining through the hall, they assumed he was carrying a flashlight.
"Come out Scraggy," Ash whispered and Scraggy appeared with a confused face. The boy kneeled down and filled him in, when he finished the Dark-type smiled mischievously.
"Liepard, time to play," May also said in low voice.
When Liepard came out and identified its surroundings, it easily knew what it was going to do, causing it to smile devilishly. As the guard's footsteps became louder and hallway became more illuminated, the couple braced themselves.
"1…2…!" Ash didn't count to three and walked around the corner. The man stood in front of him and just as he prepared to scream in fear, Ash covered his mouth. Scraggy climbed onto the grunt's shoulder and positioned its hand like a karate chop.
The grunt noticed May, Liepard, Pikachu, and Victini behind Ash. The man seemed rather frightened when he saw Liepard's face especially. Ash began to speak in a low voice when he eyed the grunt sternly, "We need to find the room where they are holding Genesect. Tell us and we won't have to feed you to the Liepard or let you become Scraggy's punching bag. If you shout or let anyone know we are here, things will be even worse than that. You choose."
Ash lifted his hand to let the man talk. "Please…let me go…I don't know anything," the grunt spoke with a scared voice.
Liepard smirked and extended its claws out. "You're lying, please don't be a fool, I don't want you to get yourself hurt," Ash whispered.
"Ok…ok…I only know its somewhere down this hall. Not even half of these grunts know what they are guarding or where it's being kept at, they wanted to make it as secure as possible," the grunt gave in.
"Is there anything else?" Ash asked.
"There's also a card key you need to get to gain access, only one of the grunts has it, I'm not that grunt please spare me," the grunt begged.
"Thank you," Ash smiled in the darkness and backed away as Scraggy knocked the grunt out with a karate chop on the neck.
"That was real good Ash," May complimented the boy.
"You think?" Ash raised an eyebrow, he never really saw himself as a person who made threats, but it was something he got forced to learn while training with Auro.
"Yeah, now let's go find the way to that lab and get the card key," May told him.
"Yeah," Ash shook his head and they moved through the darkness.
They quickly began a hunt for the key and answers. Helpless grunts were getting taken out one by one. Halfway through the hunt, May managed to get some answers. Sneaking up behind a grunt, she held him back and covered his mouth. The grunt's eyes widened in surprise and noticed a Liepard with sharp claws in front of him.
"You see that Liepard in front of you. It hasn't eaten anything all day; you can probably guess what it thinks when it sees you. Tell me where I can find the card key and where Genesect is being held and you won't become cat food," May lifted her hand from the grunt's mouth.
"I-I-I," the grunt wasn't sure what to say.
"Sweetie, you're no use to me if you can't say anything. I'm guess this is good news for my Liepard," the brunette whispered to him.
"Wait, I'm sorry I do know something. I promised on my life I wouldn't give it, but my life is at risk either way," the man was sweating.
"I like the way you think. Does that mean you have the card key?" May giggled.
"In my back pocket ma'am," the grunt said nervously.
"Good boy," May reached for his card key and took it out.
The sapphire-eyed girl let go of him, but before the man could even do anything Liepard leaped into the air and slammed its Iron Tail against the man's neck, leaving him unconscious.
"Impressive," Ash crossed his arms, grinning.
"Don't worry Ash, your day will come too," May whispered seductively in his ear, giving the boy chills and causing the Pokémon to chuckle.
As Ash stood there frozen, May giggled and they continued the search. After more time got killed by knocking out more clueless and useless grunts, the couple found the last piece of information they needed.
May snuck up on him from the back and Ash got him from the front. As the grunt prepared to make the turn, Ash covered his mouth and trapped him while May made sure he wouldn't escape by turning around.
"We're looking for Genesect, where is it? Lie to us and you won't have the muscle to talk anymore," Ash threatened.
"I recommend you also buy a wheel chair after this one," May spoke to him from behind, making the man sweat intensely.
The grunt tried to budge and resist, but he quickly stop when he felt something sharp dig into his flesh, which also caused him to moan in pain. "I'm sorry we had to do that, but you gave us no choice," May apologized with a sweet voice.
"Keep in my, the Liepard still has one other paw to dig in," Ash warned.
Ash lifted his hand and let the man speak, "You fool. It's behind me."
May and Ash raised their eyebrows in surprise. "May, can you check?" Ash whispered to the girl.
The brunette nodded and grabbed the flashlight from the man's hand. She aimed it behind her and much to their surprise, there was a door with the label "Top Secret".
"Thank you," Ash let go of the grunt, not caring what would happen next.
As the grunt prepared to run away and let the others know, Pikachu in front of him and used Iron Tail, knocking him out.
"Time to go inside," May said as they walked over to the door and had a scanner read the card, unlocking the door.
"It's time," Ash said as he opened it. "Ladies first," Ash made way for May.
"What a gentleman," May winked at him and walked inside. As they made their way inside, they saw a giant screen in front of them and two medium-sized ones on the sides. Below the screens were a bunch of panels and keyboards. To the left was an exit. The most shocking sight though, had to be the two scientists staring at the screens and Phantom staring at the middle one.
"Phantom," May said in a low voice.
"Pika," Pikachu easily remembered their last encounter with the evil man.
"Tini vi victini," Victini felt a great fire of anger burn inside it when it saw the man. This was the man responsible for its rude awakening and one of the reasons why there had been so much suffering in its home region.
"I should have expected this guy to be in charge of handling the Legendary Pokémon," Ash frowned as he stared at the man oblivious to their entry.
As May continued glaring at him, her eyes wandered off a bit to five containers with five strange-looking creatures inside. "Ash look," May pointed to the right side of the room.
Ash followed her pointing and raised an eyebrow, "Genesect?" the boy wondered.
"There are five of them?" May felt uneasy, four of them were purple and the middle one was red.
"One of the strongest Pokémon has five copies, that can't…" Ash stared in disbelief as he prepared to walk down to the level of the computers and where Phantom was.
Unfortunately, they caught their attention too soon when the metal creaked. "Ash!" May said nervously.
"I'm sorry, how was I supposed to know it was going to make a sound?" Ash looked at her apologetically.
"Huh?" Phantom heard the disturbance and turned around, a smirk forming across his face.
"There's been an intrusion!" one of the two scientists exclaimed.
"Sir, do we call for backup?" the other scientist asked.
"No, I'll handle this. I thought they were dead; I was ready to be glorified until I heard about their activities near Virbank and Flocessy. Now I will make sure they stay down permanently," Phantom chuckled evilly as he began to walk forward while Ash and May began to walk down, stern expressions on their faces.
"How nice of you to drop by with Victini too, I was waiting so long for this day and now it has come. There are two types of people in this world, those who perish in defeat forever and there are those who rise above the fire victorious, today I shall be the one who rises," Phantom gave them a sly grin.
"I figured after you got defeated you would have quit," Ash got off the stairs with May.
"Don't losers like you ever learn? Unfortunately, it never seems to be the case with you," May said with an annoyed expression.
"Shut it children, today I shall make the day of Phantom be known because I was the one who ended Ash and May's crusade to save the world," Phantom raised his arms and laughed manically.
"I've had enough, Blaziken let's go!" May called out her Pokémon.
"Pikachu, we need you buddy," Ash looked at his friend.
"Pi," Pikachu nodded and jumped off his friend's shoulder.
"Blaz!" Blaziken also appeared on the battlefield.
"Just like before huh, go Archeops!" Phantom released his Pokémon.
"Arch!" Archeops let out a cry when it appeared.
"Stone Edge!" Phantom ordered, causing Archeops to let out a cry and summon sharp stones that targeted the two Pokémon.
"Sky Uppercut!" May mimicked an uppercut.
"Blaz!" Blaziken charged forward with a glow fist and punched every bit of stone meant for it and Pikachu.
"You fell for it," Phantom laughed, "Aerial Ace!" The man quickly ordered.
"Don't take me for a fool," May smirked as Archeops began to charge with Aerial Ace at a pretty fast pace.
Blaziken and Archeops charged at each other at equal speeds, but right before a collision, May's Blaziken flipped over Archeops while delivering a Blaze Kick. Archeops may not have been very affected by Blaze Kick, but it still landed a hard hit and the Flying-type's eyes widened in surprise when Blaziken had avoided Aerial Ace.
"You fell for it Phantom," May laughed as she crossed her arms.
"Victini v vi," Victini gave Phantom a sly grin, telling it how it was about to get a taste of its own medicine.
"Pikachu, Electro Iron Tail!" Ash commanded from out of the blue.
"What?" Phantom's eyes widened.
When Archeops had dived down, it had forgotten completely about the mouse until Blaziken leaped over it and revealed the hidden mouse. Pikachu leaped into the air to meet face to face with Archeops and right before the attack, charged up a powerful Electro Ball at the tip of its tail while at the same typing using Iron Tail.
"Piiiiiikaaaachuuuuu!" Pikachu charged up the combination attack and once it was too late to react, the Electric-type hit Archeops with all its force.
An explosion formed in the air that caused Pikachu to flip backward and land coolly on the floor, but Archeops flew backwards and crashed against a computer model. "Arch," Archeops groaned in pain and as it tried to fly again, it realized it was too weak, eventually becoming unconscious.
Phantom's jaw dropped when he looked at his unconscious Archeops. He could not believe his eyes, the last battle they have they could barely handle Archeops and now…
"That's our distraction plan, it's a tactic whenever we battle jerks like you. We try to get the battler solely focused on one of us so that the other may devise an attack that will bring down the opponent, pretty clever huh?" May smirked at Phantom.
"You still have us to go through!" the scientists declared and prepared to summon their Pokémon.
"Blaziken, go!" May ordered.
"Ken!" Blaziken quickly mobilized, swiftly kicking the two scientists and taking their Pokéballs.
"Ow," one of the scientists had tears in his eyes while he held his stomach in pain as he fell on his knees. The other had gotten completely knocked out by the low sweep Blaziken had delivered.
"Blaziken," Blaziken returned to May's side and placed the two Pokéballs on the stairs.
"It's over Phantom," Ash crossed his arms.
"No, it can't be over. I'm supposed to win, not you!" His eyes then turned to the Genesect containers and chuckled. He ran over to a large red button on one of the keyboards, "Genesect time to wake up!" Phantom declared as he prepared to slam his hand on the button.
The pair's eyes turned to the containers and then to Phantom. "We have to stop him!" May's eyes widened.
"Pikachu!" Ash gritted his teeth, preparing to make the final move before Phantom could awaken Genesect.
Suddenly, an explosion went off and someone dropped from the ceiling above with what appeared to be a blue sword. In surprise, everyone looked up to see the figure. Phantom halted his actions as he saw the man. May and Ash quickly identified him, but they weren't sure how to react. Victini and Pikachu were relieved to see the figure as he dropped from the broken ceiling, but what he was about to do shocked them.
As Phantom prepared to run for his life, his eyes shrunk when he saw the blade made from aura. His mind wanted to run, but his legs were too frightened to run. Then in an instant the man felt something go right through his body.
Roxas's blade dug right through the thick man like paper. The color in his eyes left and his skin turned pale until it became as pale as chalk. Then as Roxas removed the blade, Phantom's body burst into black sparkles that spread through the room like dust.
"What just happened?" May was in disbelief.
"Is Phantom?" Ash wondered if he dared say it.
"He's no more," Roxas made his sword disappear into thin air.
May frowned at him and yelled, "Why did you do that? You don't just take life like that! What is wrong with you? Who do you think you are?!"
"The guy was a jerk, but you didn't have to kill him. What gives you the right to just take a life like that?" Ash also criticized Roxas for his action.
"We can discuss my lack of morality later, but now help me get rid of these Genesect once and for all," Roxas walked over to them.
Ash and May looked at him in disbelief, both of them wondering, is he serious?
"I don't think that can happen," a menacing voice said from the shadows then revealed itself.
Roxas quickly turned around to see Zero walking out from behind the giant computer screen. His eyes grew wide as Zero pressed red button Phantom had previously attempted to activate. "You see Genesect is vital to our campaign," Zero said with a cocky tone.
Roxas, Ash, May, Victini, and Pikachu froze in their spots as the containers holding the five Genesect began to crack. The eyes on the Genesect began to light up with a red color. "Genesect is only the beginning of the struggle," Zero explained while chuckling, taking pleasure from the noise of the Genesect being activated.
A very mechanical, robotic tone echoed through the room as all of the glass containers completely cracked and the wires attached to the Genesect were removed. "How are we supposed to win if you kill us off like Phantom and have Victini on your side? We begin the fair fight with the Genesect Army," Zero flashed a pure evil grin as the trio turned their eyes to the Genesect.
The Genesect slowly stepped off the platforms they had stood on for so long. With the first seconds of life, the first things they focused their senses on were Ash, May, and Roxas.
This chapter was going to be a bit longer, but I have school tomorrow, I can't afford to stay up another hour. It's been a busy weekend; sorry to everyone was hoping to read this over the weekend. Anyway hope you liked it. Phantom is dead, Ash and May seem to be very different from Roxas after all, the Genesect have awakened, just what will occur next, find out in Chapter 49! Remember to REVIEW, PM, ETC, FEEDBACK IS ALWAYS WELCOMED GUYS! For those of you who noticed, this chapter is clearly supposed to show the full extent of Ash and May's training. It was more action than anything, but after we get through Ch 49 I think, things will start to get humbler again. So see ya next time guys, take care!