Chapter 60: Dark Domination
"We made it!" Ash ran up to the entrance of Mistralton City.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu celebrated with his best friend.
"Felt like it took forever," May let out a sigh of relief as the friends approached the city where Ash's next gym battle would take place.
"Time to see if you have what it takes to beat Skyla," Iris stood next to Ash, recalling Mistralton's Gym Leader.
Ash raised an eyebrow, "Skyla huh?"
"That's right, she is an expert at using Flying-type Pokémon and you'd be wise not to take her lightly. She's likely to give you a run for your money," Cilan informed the Kanto trainer about his next opponent.
Ash smiled confidently, "Doesn't matter how strong they are or what Pokémon they use, I'll beat them."
His friends admired his confidence. When Ash took another step though, a dark portal appeared about a meter away. At this point, they had encountered the portals long enough to know it was a sign of trouble. Nonetheless, they were stunned to see who stepped out of it.
"We meet again at last," Omega spoke with authority.
"You!" May got beside Ash and scowled at their enemy. Victini, Pikachu, Axew, Iris, and Cilan also took defensive stances. None of them were sure of what to expect.
Ash glared at the villain. "What do you want this time?" Pikachu's cheeks emitted sparks while his trainer clenched his fists.
"Our war against you is about to reach its conclusion. I wanted to inform you that the end is near, and my victory is at hand," Omega spread his arms out, basking in his glory.
May raised an eyebrow, "As I recall, we've foiled most of your plans up until this point. How can you be so certain that you're going to win?" She would do anything to smack the smirk off Omega's face.
"Nate, Rosa, Auro, and Roxas are my prisoners now," Omega smirked, revealing his latest move.
"What?" the group exclaimed, dumbfounded by the news.
"That can't be true. That's impossible," Ash's glare became more intense. He believed Omega was bluffing to frighten them.
"Is it?" Omega looked at him like he was the biggest fool alive.
Suddenly, three more dark portals opened up. The Iron Masked Marauder, Grings Kodai, and Annie stepped out with three prisoners. The members of Omega's team dragged out Nate, Rosa, and Auro. What Ash and his friends witnessed left them speechless. Their friends were battered and beaten, held down by a dark aura that resembled the aura Drew was enslaved by ages ago.
May gasped, holding her hand over her mouth. Nate, Rosa, and Auro looked at their friends with apologetic faces. Nate mustered a weak smile and spoke, "Hey guys."
"Where's Roxas?!" Iris questioned aggressively, taking a step forward.
Omega crossed his arms. "If you want to save Roxas and your friends, you will have to visit us. We will return your friends to you in exchange for the Griseous Orb, which I know is currently not under the possession of any of you, so retrieve that first," the leader said, taking glances at his prisoners and expressing his terms.
"Don't do it guys!" Rosa shouted.
Annie slapped the heroine to silence her, "Quiet!" When they saw their friend get slapped, the teens gritted their teeth. They wished they could do something then and there.
"What do you want with it?" Cilan questioned with a serious voice.
"None of your concern" Grings Kodai answered for Omega.
"You won't get away with this," May felt her blood boiling the more she stared at her defeated friends.
"You invaded their land, destroyed their homes, and took everything they loved. They banded together to defeat you as guardians of their home, I know they can still beat you," Ash snapped at Omega, refusing to believe that hope was lost.
The orange-eyed villain appeared confused for a moment. "Invaded their land?" he said with confusion. He turned to Auro who lowered his head further out of embarrassment.
"They come from a land that worships Arceus as their hero for helping defeat Giratina when it went renegade," Iris elaborated on the backstory Auro had given them when they initially trained with their group.
Omega's minions laughed at what Ash and Iris claimed, accusing them of spitting nonsense. The teens were baffled by their reactions. "Auro, I think you overdid it by trying to add your own lore to the true story," Rosa sighed, remembering the night Auro told Ash and the others a bit about where they were from.
"Yeah, that whole Guardians of M…something…something was a bit much," Nate chuckled, managing to find some humor in their dire situation.
"Not my proudest moment," Auro admitted with defeat.
"Cover up?" May became even more baffled, realizing that their friends had not been truthful with them.
"If what we were told was a cover-up, what's the truth?" Cilan rubbed his chin.
Auro apologized to his friends for not being truthful. Before he could say anything else, Omega interrupted. "Just when I thought a bunch of kids couldn't get more ridiculous, they start making fairytales. Well, except for the part between Arceus and Giratina. There is some truth to that," the silver-haired male explained.
"Then what is the truth?" Ash gritted his teeth. He and his friends didn't care that they had been lied to, they felt that they must have had their reasons. However, they all wanted to know the truth of the mess they became entangled in.
Omega dropped his arms, "There is no faraway land that we invaded. My prisoners don't come from some magical land. They are from the future. I invaded their timeline and did destroy their homes, but they were just a band of misfits looking to get in my way. Nate, Rosa, and Auro are the children of some of your closest friends."
The revelation surprised Ash, May, and the others. Right as they were about to say something, Omega added another thing. "In that timeline, Ash and May, you had a son and a daughter. You were the pair that most ardently opposed me. Your children took after you in that regard. Your daughter died in the conflict, but your son lives. Your son is Roxas," he revealed.
Nate, Rosa, and Auro cursed Omega for spilling Roxas's secret. No one was as shaken by the news as Ash and May though. To learn that they had children was already a shock, but to learn Roxas was their son and having a dead daughter shattered their world.
"Roxas is our son…" Ash's face was pale and his eyes were wide.
"What was our daughter's name?" May fell to her knees, unable to stand from the shock.
"Sapphire," Omega answered.
"Pi…." Pikachu lowered its ears in despair, sensing the distress in Ash and May with Victini and Axew.
They were all at a loss for words until Omega broke the silence. "Now do you see the futility of your efforts? With my most powerful rivals either captured or dead, no one can stand in my way."
"My lord, watch out!" the Iron Masked Marauder screamed as they saw a black dragon in the sky fire a Thunderbolt. Omega didn't even raise his eyes, but he lifted his arm and used a technique similar to Protect to shield himself from the Thunderbolt.
Ash, May, and the others were blindsided by the assault and looked to the sky. "It's Hilda and Hilbert!" Iris announced with newfound hope.
"And Zekrom!" Cilan said with astonishment.
From behind Omega and his cohorts, a Flamethrower was released. Omega's allies formed a protective dome that held off the Flamethrower. "It's N too," May saw the Team Plasma leader descend with a white dragon.
"Reshiram and Zekrom," Annie gritted her teeth, seeing that the opposition was allied with the dragons of Unova.
"We won't stop fighting until you're defeated Omega, you still have to deal with us," Hilbert said as he and Hilda jumped off Zekrom once they landed.
"The Legendary Pokémon of this world won't let you destroy everything," N also got off Reshiram as they descended.
"A shame, I didn't think we'd have to fight today," Omega closed his eyes, speaking with disappointment. Two more dark portals appeared, revealing Hunter J and Zero. Not only that but J and Zero were accompanied by two Genesect. "Take care of them," Omega ordered as he retreated through his dark portal along with Kodai, Annie, Vicious, and their prisoners.
Zekrom and Reshiram tried to stop them from escaping with their attacks, but the Genesect countered their assault. In a blink of an eye, Omega and their friends were gone.
"Darn," Hilda glared at the J and Zero.
Still struggling to regain their composure after everything Omega told them, Ash and May remained paralyzed. Iris and Cilan grieved over their failure to save their friends. "Stand back everyone, we'll handle it from here," N told Ash and his friends. Hilda, Hilbert, and N stood in front of J and Zero, ready to battle the villains.
"Can't say I am surprised to see Zekrom and Reshiram with you. Even though Roxas lost, he played the game well enough," J smirked, delighted by the challenge.
"You're right. If it wasn't for Roxas's help in retrieving the Light and Dark Stone, Zekrom and Reshiram would likely be standing on your side today," Hilbert admitted.
"Nevertheless, they are here on their own accord. We didn't force them to fight in the way you've enslaved the Genesect," N reminded J and Zero of the difference between them.
Zero laughed, "How foolish. When you get the opportunity to claim power, you seize it. We will show you just how mighty the Genesect are under our control."
"You will try," Hilda smirked.
"You think they can win Cilan?" Iris asked her friend, noticing the shadow energy that amplified the Genesect's powers. Cilan believed that they could.
Reshiram and Zekrom flew toward the pair of Genesect, intent on ending the threat they posed to the region. "Genesect, Techno Blast!" Zero commanded as his Genesect fired an Ice-type version of the move at Zekrom.
"Metal Sound!" J ordered her Genesect to stop Reshiram.
J's Genesect stopped Reshiram from attacking due to the horrible sound of scraping metal while Zekrom countered Techno Blast with Thunder. The two dragons backed away from their opponents, which the Genesect took advantage of and went in for the attack.
"Zekrom, watch out!" Hilbert warned the Dragon-type. Zero's Genesect unleashed another Techno Blast at a closer range, but the dragon used Hyper Voice to cancel out the attack.
"Reshiram, Genesect is going to use Techno Blast!" N also alerted the white dragon.
Reshiram noticed J's Genesect closing and used Fire Blast to counter the Water-type Techno Blast. The clash resulted in a thick mist between the two opponents. J took advantage of the situation and ordered a Quick Attack. Reshiram failed to see Genesect and was hit by the Bug-type. While it didn't sustain significant damage, Reshiram roared in anger. Zero's Genesect kept firing a barrage of Techno Blast, but Zekrom was able to dodge successfully until Zero had Genesect use Lock-On. Zekrom could not do anything against the technique and once Genesect had its sights on the black dragon, it fired a Techno Blast that was super-effective.
Zero and J laughed. "Is that the best the legendary dragons of Unova can do? Pity, you'd do so much more on our side," J taunted the black and white dragons.
Hilbert, Hilda, and N clenched their teeth, knowing that the shadow energy possessing the Genesect made them much stronger than they thought. "This doesn't look good," Ash grieved over the situation, wondering how long Reshiram and Zekrom could hold their own.
"Tini…" Victini lamented the predicament as it stood on May's shoulder, wondering if it could do something to turn the tide of the battle.
As J's Genesect continued firing Techno Blast, Reshiram charged up its counterattack. The white dragon fired a Fusion Flare, which would be enough to overpower Genesect, but a Water-type Techno Blast was enough to stop the fireball.
"Genesect is a Bug and Steel-type, so fire moves should be extremely effective. Unfortunately for Reshiram, J's Genesect is using a Water-type Techno Blast for defensive purposes," Cilan said as he observed the battle.
"Offense is the best defense," Iris sighed, worrying over the dragons that were worshipped in her village.
Zekrom and Reshiram gazed at each other, knowing conventional methods would not work on the corrupted Genesect. The dragons flew toward each other, hovering side by side. They let out mighty roars that echoed across the land.
"What now?" Zero raised an eyebrow.
Reshiram and Zekrom became enveloped in their respective energies. J and Zero refused to allow the pair another opportunity to attack and had Genesect use Techno Blast. The Ice-type and Water-type Techno Blasts charged at full speed toward the dragons just as Reshiram and Zekrom intended.
Once they built up enough power, the dragons released Fusion Bolt and Fusion Flare. Much to J and Zero's surprise though, the two attacks merged into one. The giant sphere of energy was enveloped in fire and lightning. The combination attack was powerful enough to defeat the two versions of Techno Blast and charge at the Genesect. Fortunately for Zero and J, the Bug-types were fast enough to dodge.
"Clever," J clenched her teeth.
"They combined their attacks to defeat the Techno Blasts. Since fire is strong against ice and electricity is strong against water, they nullified the Techno Blasts together, awesome!" Hilda cheered.
"That's as lucky as they will get," Zero cursed the dragons. The villain commanded his Genesect to use Metal Sound on the two dragons so J would get an opportunity to strike. Zero's Genesect released a horrible sound that made the humans yell in pain, but Reshiram and Zekrom had already discovered a way around the troublesome technique. Zekrom countered the sound with Hyper Voice and canceled out the powerful sound.
"Let's do it together then!" J snapped and ordered her Genesect to use Metal Sound with Zero's.
The double Metal Sound was a formidable sound, but Zekrom and Reshiram were already a step ahead of them. The dragon duo unleashed a double Hyper Voice and canceled out the Metal Sounds. Not only that, but the Hyper Voice was strong enough to break through and damage the Genesect, sending the Paleozoic Pokémon back. Being Steel types allowed them to withstand the force, but Zero and J realized that Zekrom and Reshiram were figuring out their strategies.
"You may have figured out how to equal our offense, but it's still not enough to defeat the Genesect," Zero retorted.
Zekrom and Reshiram glared at the human, knowing that he was right. "Zekrom and Reshiram aren't interested in beating the Genesect to the ground, they just want to free them from the shadow energy. They'll need more power to do that," N said as he watched the fight with Hilda and Hilbert.
As the dragons and Genesect flew around the sky dodging and attacking each other, Victini continued to watch intently from the sidelines. "Vi," Victini said to May.
May looked at him with sad sapphire eyes, "You want to help them Victini?"
"Ti," Victini said yes.
"If anyone can turn the battle in our favor, I think it's you," Ash joined in the conversation, also speaking to Victini with sad eyes but mustering a smile.
"Chu, pika," Ash's Pikachu encouraged the Fire-type.
"Go do your thing Victini, show them how strong you are," May embraced the little Fire-type. She looked at the Pokémon's big blue eyes with her glistening eyes. She nodded and then let the Victory Pokémon go.
Victini flew over to the battle with all its speed as everyone else took notice.
"Ax?" Axew saw Victini head to the dragons.
"What is Victini going to do?" Iris worried about it.
"We're about to see," Cilan focused his eyes on it.
J and Zero noticed Victini approaching. "That little thing wants to help, how pathetic," J laughed.
"It's only going to get itself killed," Zero was amused.
Reshiram and Zekrom saw Victini come toward them and growled, telling it to stay back for its own protection. Victini defied them though as the Genesect noticed the Victory Pokémon and charged at it. The dragons tried to get the Bug types to come back to fight them but were ignored.
Victini glared at the Genesect and managed to freeze them in place with Psychic. The Fire-type clenched its teeth as it used all its power to hold them there, knowing that Bug-types were strong against Psychic techniques. All Victini needed to do was buy some time though. "Victini vi!" Victini shouted at the dragons.
"What is that pest up to?" Zero clenched his fist, realizing that it was holding its own against the Shadow Genesect.
Zekrom and Reshiram listened to Victini, amazed that it was holding off the two super-powered Pokémon. When the Fire-type expressed its intentions, they nodded at it. "Tini," Victini gave a weak smile, becoming exhausted from the power it was exerting. All of a sudden, a bright beam of energy fired from Victini and blasted the dragons. Reshiram and Zekrom glowed a bright yellow as they felt their power surging.
"It's amplifying their power!" J screamed at the top of her lungs.
Everyone was stunned and amazed by Victini's stunt. "It's giving them more power to defeat the Genesect!" Hilbert made a fist, finding hope in Victini.
"Go Victini!" Hilda cheered at the little savior.
Once Victini had given enough of its power, the Pokémon let out a breath of exhaustion and began falling to the ground. The Genesect were released from the Psychic and continued their charge toward it. Reshiram and Zekrom were fast enough to get in between them though and reminded the bugs that their fight was with them. May ran hurriedly toward Victini and caught it right where it would land. "Victini, are you ok?" May looked at the small Pokémon with concern.
"Tini," Victini smiled weakly.
Ash and Pikachu caught up with May and stared at Victini. "It just seems tired, good job Victini," Ash petted it, making the Pokémon smile.
"That's enough," J proclaimed.
"Genesect, finish this!" Zero instructed.
The two Genesect fired Techno Blast at the dragons with the power they had, hoping to end this. Reshiram and Zekrom stood beside each other once, but this time they did not use a fusion attack. Zekrom charged up a giant ball of yellow electricity and released the powerful beam called Bolt Strike. Reshiram built up a ball of intense blue flames called Blue Flare that it released with all its fury. The blue flames and the electricity combined into a single attack as they easily overpowered the two Techno Blasts. The combination attack came so fast though that the Shadow Genesect had no time to dodge. They squealed in pain as they felt fire and electricity consume them.
"That was absolutely amazing!" Iris clasped her hands in admiration.
"Victini's power allowed the dragons to unleash more of theirs," Cilan grinned with amazement.
"Impossible!" Zero and J shouted simultaneously.
"Now's our chance N!" Hilda reminded N.
"Right!" N shook his head and tossed a purified gem at Hilda and Hilbert.
The Genesect dropped to the ground unconscious as N, Hilda, and Hilbert ran towards them. Zero and J took notice of the gems in their hands immediately. "They are going to purify them!" Zero panicked.
"Not on my watch!" J declared and fired a dark Aura Sphere at them.
"Guys watch out!" May warned the trio.
N, Hilda, and Hilbert saw the aura sphere targeting them until Zekrom and Reshiram appeared before them. Zekrom easily destroyed the aura sphere with a Thunder Bolt. J and Zero became alarmed at their predicament and stared at the dragons with fear. Reshiram spread its wings and fired a Fire Blast at the evil duo.
"This can't be!" J felt herself turning into sparkly black dust as the fire consumed her.
"Nooooo!" Zero shouted in agony as the fires also turned him into sparkly black dust.
Everyone looked with shock as the two villains disappeared into nothing once the fire was gone. Ash and May remembered what Roxas had said about Omega's goons being nothing but shells of their former selves. The dark energy they had welcomed into their bodies had corrupted them, but now they were free.
Reshiram and Zekrom turned to the Genesect being tended to by N, Hilda, and Hilbert. They placed the purified gems on the ancient Pokémon, and they became consumed by the bright energy. Ash, May, Iris, Cilan, and their Pokémon watched with wonderment as the shadow energy that had possessed them disappeared. "They're free now," Iris said with a small smile.
The Genesect awakened and stood up, realizing that they were no longer under anyone's control. Genesect looked at Reshiram and Zekrom. The dragons could sense that the Paleozoic Pokémon were apologizing for their actions, but Zekrom and Reshiram understood that they were not in control of themselves. The Genesect looked at the humans and took their leave without another comment.
"What were those gems you used?" May asked the Unova trio.
"Purified gems, courtesy of Colress. When he saw the monster Ghetsis was becoming, he found a way to undo the corruption of shadow energy," Hilbert showed them another purified gem.
Ash, May, Iris, and Cilan were surprised to hear that even Colress allied himself with them. Then again, today was full of shocks and reveals. "Thank you for coming to our aid," Ash expressed his thanks as best he could since he was still upset over the news Omega had given them.
"Omega escaped again though and he has our son…" May grieved while still holding a tired Victini. Ash placed his hand on her shoulder to give some comfort.
N, Hilbert, and Hilda were caught off guard by May's statement, but they would save that discussion for later. "There is hope though," Hilda looked straight at May while placing her hand on May's other shoulder. The sapphire-eyed girl stared at Hilda with a weak grin.
"How were you able to awaken Reshiram and Zekrom?" Cilan asked them about their guests, who stared at the humans.
"Didn't a Darkrai escape with a Light Stone at the Relic Castle too? At least that's what we were told," Iris recalled.
N addressed Iris and Cilan's questions. "Roxas was in possession of the Dark Stone, so he had Hilda and Hilbert awaken Zekrom since the stone recognized them as heroes of ideals. With help from Genesis, Colress and I were able to intercept Omega's Shadow Darkrai and used a purified gem to free it, which allowed me to get the Light Stone. The stone recognized me as a hero of truth, so Roxas had me awaken Reshiram."
"That's amazing," Ash pictured their friends summoning the dragons.
"Luckily, the dragons agreed to join our fight," a familiar voice joined the conversation, and everyone saw Genesis walking to them with Silver and Cloud.
Ash and his friends were a bit surprised to see them, but after everything they experienced, they felt more comfortable around Genesis and his two companions.
"We really could've used your help earlier," Hilbert crossed his arms when he saw their former enemies.
"Omega had us tied with an assault from his army of Shadow Pokémon. Luckily, purified gems weren't short in stock. I am sorry we could not be here sooner," Cloud replied to Hilbert.
"Plus, it looks like you have everything under control…mostly," Silver looked at their allies but noted their grim faces.
"The important thing is that we are all here, and we live to fight another day," Genesis spoke through his red helmet as he looked at the majestic legendary dragons.
"Good thing that Team Rocket trio of yours helped us get information on the Light Stone's whereabouts before Giovanni or Ghetsis could huh?" Silver lightly punched Genesis on the shoulder.
"You mean Jessie, James, and Meowth?" May inquired.
"They're a useful bunch once you become patient with their buffoonery," Genesis chuckled. "Regardless, our strength doesn't come from the Legendary Pokémon. It comes from within us and right now the strongest out of all of us are you…Ash and May. You're our best hope." Genesis fixated his eyes on them.
"Us?" the couple pointed at themselves with complete bafflement. They both wondered, How?
