Chapter 63: Running Up That Hill

A body of dark clouds was spreading across the world of Pokémon. People looked to the sky in the early morning and saw that there was something sinister in the air. They felt as though a penetrating stare came from the clouds that covered the sky. Not even sunlight could break through. Trainers and Pokémon everywhere sensed it was more than just a cloudy day. The frightening clouds hovered over a tall, narrow, illuminating tower in one usually cheery and fashionable city that now felt eerie. In another corner of the world, surfers from an archipelago hesitated to enter the waters with the sky appearing so menacing; they wondered if their guardian deities would protect them. Somewhere else, spectators attending a Pokémon match in a regal, giant pink stadium became more focused on the thundering clouds above. In another part of the world, students from a towering cathedral-like academy were dismissed early out of fear of what the condition of the sky might mean. Soon many realized the phenomenon they were witnessing was worldwide.

Brock and Misty stood in front of the entrance of the Pewter Museum of Science when they focused their attention on the ominous clouds. While traveling on a Hoenn route, Max noticed many Pokémon were flying off in fear and others were desperately seeking shelter under a tree or a rock. Dawn and Paul sat in a Pokémon Center cafeteria watching a news reporter cover the story of the strange clouds that covered up the entire Sinnoh region. Professor Oak stepped outside with Tracey and Delia Ketchum to find Ash's Pokémon staring at the sky with concern; the Professor struggled to determine a reason for this strange occurrence. Something in the Professor's heart told him that Ash had something to do with it though.


"'It was not an easy decision to make, but we feel it was the best one to make in order to protect everyone. We cannot risk losing anyone else we care about in a fight that we believe is our own. You might hate us for leaving you like this, but please understand that we do it with your best interests at heart. We are going into this fight thinking about everyone and we will protect everything we have learned to love, no matter how hard we have to fight. You all deserve to live your lives in peace without worrying if tomorrow will come. We will make sure tomorrow arrives, we have to. No one else will die after today. I knew you wouldn't agree with our approach no matter how much we argued about it, but I promise that tomorrow will be better. Keep being the best versions of yourselves and never change. Best wishes, Ash and May.'" Iris finished reading the letter to the group, tears forming in the corner of her eyes. Cilan wrapped his arm around her to comfort her and Axew nuzzled itself against her.

"They took the Griseous Orb too," Genesis sighed, feeling stupid for not anticipating this move.

"Fools, we needed to go together. They've jeopardized the whole mission for heroism," Cloud clenched his fists.

"Ash and May were just trying to protect us. We should be there with them, but getting upset over it won't change anything," Hilda reminded Cloud. She was just as hurt as the rest but handled it as best she could.

"Ash, May…" Hilbert couldn't believe what was happening. The one thing that kept going through everyone's mind in that room was if last night was the last time that they saw the couple.

Silver heard a beeping noise and saw Genesis's device ringing on the table. "Here," Silver quietly fetched it and tossed it at Genesis. Everyone wondered who was calling him.

When Genesis saw the name, he became surprised. He remembered recruiting them for a special mission but didn't expect to receive a call now. "Talk to me," Genesis answered the video call, revealing Gary and Drew on the screen.

"Genesis, we have bad news," Gary said with a solemn tone.

"A lot of that going around this morning," Silver lamented, overhearing the conversation.

"The Legendary Birds that were originally captured by Omega in Kanto were used to secure the Legendary Psychic-type Pokémon we were tracking," Drew informed, he also spoke with a grave tone.

"No," Genesis could not believe their luck. Things were rapidly taking a turn for the worst.

Gary and Drew nodded with defeated faces. "They have Team Rocket's lab experiment," Gary sighed.

There it is, the trick up his sleeve, Genesis realized. "Thank you for the status update. We'll handle it from here," Genesis received nods from Gary and Drew, then he hung up.

"What did they mean with all that?" Iris questioned, she was becoming more afraid for Ash and May by the minute.

"There's no time to explain, we need to mobilize quickly," Genesis gathered things they'd need, and everyone scrambled to prep as well.

"What are we going to do? Are we going after Ash and May?" Cilan was just as concerned as Iris.

"How are we even going to catch up to them if they left last night? Time is against us," N said with frustration.

"We can't even shove everyone through a portal to get there. Your bodies aren't conditioned for it," Cloud said tensely, unsure of what to do.

"Luckily, I have just the Pokémon to get us where we need to be pronto. Let's hope we are not too late," Genesis took out a Pokéball.

"What Pokémon?" Hilbert hoped Genesis had something good.

Genesis threw his ball, "Alakazam, I need you!" The room was filled with white light as the Psychic-type stood before everyone, waiting for a command. "Let's go," Genesis ordered.


A few hours earlier.

Ash, May, Pikachu, and Victini flew across Unova through the long night. They contemplated the choice they had made and hoped their friends wouldn't be too angry with them once they found out.

"Are you still wondering if we made the right choice?" May sighed, resting her head on his back as she looked at the clouds they flew through.

"It was the only way we could protect them," Ash said, thinking about Iris, Cilan, Hilda, and Hilbert with sadness.

"We trained to be the strongest we could possibly be. When Genesis put us through the training, there were times when I wasn't sure if we would be enough. I had moments of doubt. I would cry not because I thought I was weak but because I wasn't sure if it would be enough to protect our friends and family," May looked back at her training. She recalled herself on her knees, defeated over failing to channel aura through Blaziken yet again. "I felt so meek," May admitted with a reflective attitude.

"We're enough now. We know we're enough because we chose to leave our friends behind and handle this ourselves. There were moments where I felt the same way you did May, but I knew the cost if we failed to control our aura. Our friends, our family, everything we've ever known wouldn't be the same if we had failed the training. I used to believe we were just Roxas's helpers, and he would be the one to stop Omega. I never imagined we would be the ones rescuing him and being positioned as the ones to end all this," Ash remembered the doubts he had as well, but now he felt prepared to rise to the occasion.

"We won't let him win. We can't. He won't beat us this time," May squeezed Ash's waist a bit harder out of affection. She thought about Future May and Future Ash. They never got a chance to ask what they were like or how strong they were, but she knew they would have given their best to stop Omega. Things would be different though; she was certain they could save their world and Roxas's. They had to.

"Lots of people we care about have suffered long enough because of him. Drew, Misty, Roxas, Sapphire, and so many more. He's not going to get away with it, not anymore. I promise May," Ash grabbed May's hand from his waist and kissed it.

"I am making the same promise to you Ash," May made an oath to defeat Omega. Then she kissed Ash's back.

Victini and Pikachu watched and listened quietly. They had never seen the trainers so laser-focused on something. It was almost like they had become different people when they got on Charizard. Pikachu understood where they were coming from though. The mouse had to endure a significant amount of the grueling training Genesis put them through. After training like that, it's impossible for someone's character not to change at least a bit. The world is hard, and Ash and May were exposed to just how hard it can be through the training. Whatever happens, Pikachu also swore to give this battle everything he had.

"We have a solid team backing us too," Ash noted with a smile. Thinking about the Pokémon they had on hand.

"I agree," May looked at Pikachu and Victini with a grin, then rubbed Charizard softly.

During their last day in the void, Genesis retrieved their strongest Pokémon from Pallet Town and Petalburg City thanks to help from Drew and Gary Oak. They were surprised to learn their rivals had already been doing missions for Roxas and Genesis. However, they remembered that Gary and Drew did hint at wanting to get to the bottom of what happened in Pallet Town that fateful week. Their desire to know more eventually led them to come face-to-face with Roxas and Genesis. It was a fateful encounter.

May felt the Pokéballs she had on her, thinking about the teammates they'd fight alongside today. "Once we finish this we can rotate back to our usual team," May wishfully thought about continuing contests after all is said and done.

"Definitely, we'll pick up right from where we left off," Ash thought about the Pokémon he had to send to leave behind for this battle. He would do everything he could to go back to Snivy, Dewott, Tepig, Roggenrola, Leavanny, Scraggy, Tranquil, and Palpitoad.

Ash could feel May resting her head on his back again. "Despite everything Ash, I am really glad we are doing this. I know you didn't want me to come along, but I think it's better like this. This way...no matter what happens we stick together," she confessed.

"Me too May. I was unsure about it at first, but I feel more at ease with you here. We're strong, but we're stronger when we're together," Ash grinned as he thought about it.

As they continued to quietly travel through the skies, they noticed that the clouds were getting thicker and darker. The light of day wasn't arriving and instead, it felt like it was getting darker. "Shouldn't the sun have risen by now?" May questioned.

"Something tells me we won't get to see the sun until this is over," Ash said with a pensive tone. He also noticed that the more east they flew, the darker the sky got. The pair knew it had to do with Omega. "We must be getting close," Ash started to focus his eyes on the ground below. As they drew nearer and nearer, the red lightning and thunder hiding within the dark clouds became more frequent and more powerful. Charizard had no issues dodging the red lightning bolts, but it made Ash and May more cautious.

"I can feel it, the dark aura…" May felt chills down her spine when Charizard began its descent.

"That must be it," Ash pointed down to a house that was completely isolated from everything else. It rested among the mountains, but none towered higher over it than Reversal Mountain. The clouds over the house emitted even more red lightning and they could feel a dark, powerful energy emitting from there. The source of all the darkness in the sky was coming from this house.

"Creepy," May commented as they continued descending.


Omega stood with arms crossed and eyes closed. When he sensed Ash and May approaching, he opened his eyes, "Our guests are here. Give them a welcome and retrieve the Griseous Orb."

"Yes, my lord," Annie bowed with Kodai and Vicious. Behind the trio stood three Genesect, whose eyes began to glow bright red.


As Charizard and its friends continued flying down, the thick clouds blocked their vision. None of them could see how close they were to landing. Then suddenly, an electric and fire attack shot at them through the clouds.

"Charizard watch out! Grab on tight," Ash commanded. May, Victini, and Pikachu tightened their grips as Charizard swirled 360 degrees to avoid the incoming attacks. When the fire starter pushed through the clouds, they finally had some visibility.

"It's them" May clenched her teeth. She saw Annie, Vicious, Kodai, and the trio of Genesect. Once they were at a decent enough height, the four of them leaped off Charizard. Ash and May landed smoothly on the ground with Victini and Pikachu. The couple stood up, glaring at their foes.

Kodai raised an eyebrow, "It seems you've gotten stronger." Omega's three goons could sense the changes in the couple. It was evident that they had changed significantly.

"No matter how strong they get, it'll never be enough!" Vicious shouted.

"We'll see about that," Ash frowned at the Iron-Masked Marauder.

Vicious ordered his Genesect to fire a Normal-type Techno Blast at the group. Ash quickly returned Charizard and threw another Pokéball. "Infernape, counter with Mach Punch!" Ash's Sinnoh Pokémon emerged with tenacity and delivered a Mach Punch that canceled out the Techno Blast.

"Snorlax, use Flamethrower on the Genesect!" May brought out her former Munchlax, which had evolved during her time away. The giant Pokémon came out and immediately released a stream of fire.

"Counter with Techno Blast!" Annie ordered her red Genesect. The Genesect fired a Fire-type version of Techno Blast, canceling out the Flamethrower.

"Snor," Snorlax glared at its opponents.

"Nape!" Infernape had its fists raised, ready for anything.

Annie let out a small laugh, "Impressive, let's keep going."

Pikachu and Victini remained at the sidelines, for now, to reserve their strength while Snorlax and Infernape took on the three Genesect. Kodai's Genesect tried to electrify the whole field, but Snorlax was able to nullify the strategy with an Earthquake. Omega's three minions were not expecting this much resistance.

"Quick Attack Genesect!" Vicious ordered his Genesect to strike Infernape.

"You do the same!" Kodai ordered his Genesect to assist Vicious.

Ash closed his eyes and became one with Infernape for a brief moment. While their aura was strongest with Pikachu and Blaziken, they had learned to channel aura through any of their Pokémon. Duck and slide left, Ash commanded his Infernape. Infernape saw the incoming Genesect and did as it was instructed. The Genesect missed their target. "Deliver a Mach Punch and Fire Punch!" Ash punched the air.

"Infernape!" the monkey yelled as one fist glowed blue and the other became inflamed. It struck both Steel-types, sending them back with pain.

"Genesect, X-Scissor on Snorlax!" Annie ordered her red Genesect.

"Metronome," May instructed. She closed her eyes the moment Snorlax seemingly disappeared, dodging the X-Scissor. The Normal-type had used Extreme Speed. "Now Fire Punch!" the brunette felt Snorlax near Genesect. The power of Extreme Speed allowed the tubby Pokémon to move incredibly fast.

"Stop it with Metal Sound!" Annie countered when she saw Snorlax just a foot away from Genesect. The screeching sound irritated Snorlax, delaying its strike.

"Resist Snorlax, switch to Flamethrower!" May opened her eyes and shouted.

Snorlax found the willpower to resist Metal Sound and released the fire. "What?!" Annie became surprised. She had Genesect immediately move away, halting its Metal Sound. It successfully avoided the Flamethrower thanks to its quick speed. May had anticipated it though, "You know what to do!"

Annie failed to guess what May meant, but when she saw Snorlax use Metronome it was too late. The Normal-type was once again near Genesect thanks to Teleport and this time it landed a Fire Punch. It sent the Paleozoic Pokémon crashing into the ground. Relying on Genesect's speed is pointless if that fat thing is able to randomly move fast using Metronome.

May and Snorlax were holding their own just as well as Ash and Infernape. Ash's Infernape swiftly dodged or blocked every strike the pair of Genesect threw at it. With its martial arts-like movement, Infernape dodged and blocked with incredible ferocity.

"Counter Shield!" Ash made his move and Infernape began spinning rapidly, creating fire whips around it. The improvised move took Vicious and Kodai off guard, blasting their Genesect with an intense barrage of fire. Infernape's counter shield allowed it to be in a defensive and offensive position at the same time.

Annie was impressed by Ash's move, so much so that she mimicked it. "Genesect, spin using Techno Blast!" Just when Snorlax was about to counter again with Metronome, the red Legendary Pokémon unleashed a similar ring of swirling fire.

Ash and May were surprised by the maneuver since Genesect had no trouble executing it for the first time. "Press on," May smiled confidently.

"Huh?" Annie gasped. Genesect may have used counter shield properly, but Snorlax charged forward and delivered another Fire Punch that sent the Bug-type crashing toward a boulder. "How is that possible?" Annie cursed her luck.

"Snorlax's Thick Fat ability gives it extra resistance to Fire-type attacks. Your Techno Blast is only going to give a tickle at this point," the sapphire-eyed girl mocked her opponent.

"How can they have gotten so strong? Our Genesect's power is amplified with Shadow Energy, they should be on their knees," Vicious clenched his teeth in frustration.

"It takes more than artificially raising a Pokémon's power to win. Our Pokémon depend on us, and we depend on them," Ash pointed out with pride.

"Together we've worked hard for a long time to get as strong as we can. Our bond is our power," May explained why a Pokémon's bond with its trainer could overcome any opponent.

The three Genesect were struggling to get on their legs after enduring multiple fire attacks. They were clearly running out of power, so Ash and May saw their opportunity. "Snorlax here!" May threw a purified gem at her Pokémon.

"Infernape, catch!" Ash threw two purified gems at his fire Pokémon.

The two Pokémon caught their gems and used their fast speed to approach the Genesect. "No!" Kodai yelled, preparing to intervene with Annie and Vicious but they became constrained by Victini's Psychic. Victini smirked at the trio, they had been defeated.

When Infernape and Snorlax prepared to apply the purified gems, they became constrained by psychic energy, and they were sent flying back with the purified gems falling on the ground. "What an embarrassment, time for someone else to step in," Archer descended with Shadow Mewtwo.

"It can't be," Ash clenched his fists, realizing they had corrupted Mewtwo.

"We were so close," May clenched her teeth in anger.

Mewtwo turned to Victini and fired a Shadow Ball that sent the Victory Pokémon flying back. "Victini!" Ash and May screamed. Annie, Kodai, and Vicious were relieved to be free and prepared to use their Genesect alongside Mewtwo.

"Standby," Archer told his teammates to wait. As Infernape and Snorlax recovered from Psychic, they glared at Mewtwo. They felt its power was far higher than any of the Genesect. Just as Ash and May prepared to make their move, Archer spoke, "Pin them." Mewtwo silently complied and used an even more powerful Psychic to restrict Infernape, Snorlax, Ash, May, Pikachu, and Victini. They were immobilized.

"Tiiiii!" Victini shouted, feeling incredible pain from the initial Shadow Ball and now Psychic.

"Pika," Pikachu clenched its teeth, not able to move a muscle.

"Ash…we need to do something," May struggled to speak.

"I know," Ash clenched his teeth, he felt paralyzed.

"I'll leave this to Mewtwo. Finish this in any way you please," Archer told the Psychic-type as he made his leave back into the Strange House. Shadow Mewtwo gave Archer a nod.

Annie, Kodai, and Vicious watched their enemies struggle to move with sadistic smiles. They felt they had won. Shadow Mewtwo's eyes began to glow blue and used its immense power to create a force field around it that began to expand toward Ash, May, and their Pokémon. The Genetic Pokémon was going for the killing move. "It's using Psystrike," Annie smirked with delight.

"Remember to keep the boy alive," Vicious warned Mewtwo, remembering a critical part of their mission. Ash and May overheard this, but there was no time to pay mind to it.

"No, we can't let it end like this!" May shouted as she saw the Psystrike approach. She damned herself for letting themselves get caught so easily.

"We have to keep fighting. Losing is not an option!" Ash barely made his arms budge. The raven-haired teen was disappointed at himself for failing to anticipate such a turn of events.

Infernape, Snorlax, and Pikachu screamed in pain as they did their best to break free from Psychic.

"Vi!" Victini looked at the approaching force field and then at its friends. He watched Infernape, Snorlax, and Pikachu try their best to no avail. Then it looked at Ash and May who helplessly watched the force field come for them. If that Psystrike hit the humans, it would all be over. All their efforts and victories would have been for nothing. Victini sighed and closed its eyes. It thought back to when it was first rescued by the couple from Phantom. It remembered how it fought against a giant Golurk alongside them. Then it remembered its training with Auro, Nate, and Rosa. The Victory Pokémon had grown a lot alongside its friends, more than it could have ever grown on its own. Victini reflected on its journey across Unova.

"Victini needs to get stronger even if it means getting hurt because what will happen if one day you are not around to protect it?!" Victini remembered how Rosa scolded May for not letting Victini unlock its potential.

"With practice, Victini will get stronger," the Pokémon remembered Auro's words.

"It takes more than brawn to win a fight. It also takes strategy and willpower," it remembered Ash's words when it saved his life from a Ghost Pokémon.

"There's no challenge Victini and us can't overcome," Victini remembered May's words last.

All of a sudden, the Victory Pokémon opened its eyes with anger. "Victiniiiiiii!" it proclaimed and became enveloped in fiery energy. The fire that grew around it was about twice the Pokémon's size and the Victory Pokémon yelled with an aggression never seen before. Its eyes began to glow a deep red as the fire became more intense.

"What?" Annie became fearful like her comrades.

"What's going on?" May felt Victini's power grow.

"It's unleashing its true power," Ash watched with astonishment.

Pikachu, Snorlax, and Infernape were also amazed by the energy Victini was giving off. "Viiiii!" Victini snapped and freed itself from Mewtwo's Psychic. The Victory Pokémon then dashed in front of the Psystrike and unleashed a Searing Shot that was about the size of Snorlax.

Shadow Mewtwo became surprised and added more force to Psystrike. "Tiiiii!" Victini's eyes continued glowing red as it added even more power. The Victory Pokémon would not let its family die, it wasn't going to let the world end. It would use every ounce of power that it had. Victini pictured Ash, May, Iris, Cilan, Pikachu, Axew, and all the Pokémon it traveled with one more time in its mind and shouted, "Tiniiiiiiiii!" Shadow Mewtwo could not hold the power back and Searing Shot broke through Psystrike, sending it flying. Ash, May, and their Pokémon were finally free upon the moment Mewtwo was struck.

"Phew," May let out a sigh of relief.

"That was too close," Ash stretched his body with relief.

"Impossible," Vicious's jaw dropped while Kodai and Annie began to feel a sense of dread.

Mewtwo struggled to get up, wincing in pain since it had been burned. "Give Mewtwo back up!" Annie commanded the three Genesect that had been observing the fight.

Victini's eyes stopped glowing red, but its fiery aura remained. It was willing to give everything it had to stop the three Genesect and Mewtwo. As Victini braced itself, a Thunderbolt and Flamethrower fell from the sky which sent the Genesect back. They all looked above and saw Reshiram and Zekrom descending.

"We're not too late," Genesis said with relief as he appeared with the rest of his group.

"Guys!" Ash and May screamed with surprise. With Alakazam's Teleport, they had arrived on the battle scene in the nick of time. Ash and May were disregarded for a moment as Genesis handed Cloud a purified gem.

Cloud dashed over to Mewtwo with aura and placed a purified gem over its chest, taking advantage of its debilitated state. "They've freed Mewtwo!" Kodai exclaimed, watching Mewtwo lose its shadow energy.

With the Psychic-type freed but exhausted, it fainted in front of the group. "One less thing to worry about," Silver noted as Mewtwo dropped to the ground.

"Send out your Pokémon now!" Annie ordered her two comrades. As a last resort, they sent out shadow versions of Misamagius, Haxorus, Archeops, Drapion, Beartic, and Espeon to join their three Genesect. The three villains also prepared to physically fight against Genesis, Cloud, and Silver.

"Attack!" Genesis commanded his team with Alakazam as his Pokémon of choice. Iris and Cilan brought out Dragonite and Crustle respectively. Hilbert called Samurott and Hilda released Serperior. N used Zoroark, Silver brought out Shiny Gyarados, and Cloud used Latias and Latios. Victini stood at the front with Zekrom and Reshiram, leading the team of Pokémon against their enemies.

Iris, Cilan, Hilbert, and Hilda looked at Ash, May, and their Pokémon briefly. "We're sorry we left you guys," May said timidly.

"We just wanted to protect you guys," Ash admitted shyly as well.

"It was stupid of you to think we'd sit back and let you do all the fighting," Hilda countered, slightly irritated but also showing she cared.

"This is our fight too. Our future," Hilbert reminded them with a smile.

"And we're going to back you all the way," Cilan added with enthusiasm.

"It's our choice to help you. You can't decide that for us. We'd do anything for the two of you, whether you like it or not. We'll never leave you alone," Iris said with the deepest sincerity.

Ash and May looked at them with touched faces. "Thank you," May smiled warmly.

"For everything," Ash also flashed them a warm smile.

Pikachu and Axew shook hands, vowing that they'd fight till the end. Ash and May's friends turned their attention to the fight at hand while N came to their side. "They will hold off the Genesect Army and the other Shadow Pokémon. Genesis says the three of us will go inside and they'll join us later. Reshiram and Zekrom will stay to back them up too," N informed them.

Ash and May nodded. They quickly returned Snorlax and Infernape, thanking them for their efforts. As the three ran toward the entrance of the Strange House they turned to Victini, who was fighting the red Genesect. The Victory Pokémon took a glance at them. There wasn't any more time to exchange words, but Victini gave them a thumbs up. Ash, Pikachu, and May returned a wink at it. They knew they'd see each other again. Kodai, Annie, and Vicious were powerless to stop Ash, May, and N's advancement to the Strange House because their hands were tied fighting Genesis, Cloud, and Silver.

The moment the trio and Pikachu stepped into the Strange House; the evil atmosphere was evident. They knew this was only the beginning of the end.