24- Against the Clock.
Everyone looked at the last ones to arrive with troubled looks, specially Dawn when she realized Ritchie was on Wheeljack's arms, and that he wasn't moving.
"Ritchie!" Dawn exclaimed horrified.
"Oh no!" Misty said.
"What happened?" Ash asked.
"We didn't see much, but it seems the kid was attacked somehow by that monster." Wheeljack answered.
"Protoform X." Optimus suspected.
"Who is that?" Predaking asked.
"An abomination created in our home world long before this war happened." Arcee responded.
"He's highly hostile. Even without provocation he attacks other cybertronians to devour them." Max explained.
"By the Allspark, such viciousness just for that. Not even we Predacons are that savage." Predaking expressed.
"What was he doing there?" Serena asked.
"That doesn't matter, right now our priority is assist our friend in need." Optimus reminded.
"Quickly, to the medical lab." Ratchet urged.
Wheeljack and Sideswipe followed Ratchet into the infirmary. There they placed Ritchie in a medical berth while Ratchet operated the terminal next to it.
"He's gonna be fine, right?"
"Fear nothing Dawn, Ratchet and I have prepared the lab for everything." Clemont reassured her.
"Exactly. Unlike previous times now we are equipped to treat even humans and pokémon. Thanks to the contribution of the pokémon rangers our medial expertise is not longer limited only for cybertronian biology. They collected all that information for situations like this one." Ratchet revealed as multiple appendages moved around Ritchie's berth.
"What's that?"
"That, Bonnie, was something Ratchet and I were working on once we finished installing everything on the lab." Clemont started.
"Based on the instruments and machines used on Pokémon Centers and hospitals. A combination of human knowledge and cybertronian technology. This machine possess data of all the treatments in existence for all known kinds of wounds, diseases and medical operations which affects pokémon and humans, including exposure to energon." Ratchet detailed.
"Whoa, science is even more amazing when you do that." Ash admired.
"And that will heal him?" Iris asked unsure.
"Right now we must identify what happened to him, so when it's done proceed with the most proper way of treatment." Ratchet explained as the machine started scanning Ritchie's body.
Meanwhile, everyone on the Nemesis saw their comrades' results: the Insecticons showed proofs of their encounter with the three birds, each one with signs of burns, freezing or zapping; Shatter, Nightbird and Roadkill have some parts of their armor damaged; Knock Out's looked completely covered by dust while Stinger was the only one who looked intact; the Predacons looked exhausted; Shockblast was covered by coral parts while Dropkick and Starscream had a few dents.
"From your looks words are unnecessary." Xiaxus deduced, surprisingly calm.
Not like Starscream, who looked really mad. "How...is...this...possible?! We all had perfect opportunities, greater than any human will ever have, to capture some of the world's most powerful pokémon, and no one has managed to bring back a single one?! I'm glad Galvatron is not currently here, because you all are a disgrace for the Decepticons!"
"Then that includes you too, sir."
"I'm with Stinger. You reply on us like if it's our routine, but you seem to not have accomplished better results." Roadkill supported.
"Honestly, I expected Starscream may fail since we were very used to it. But you Predacons, I had high expectations of you, and you have disappointed me." Xiaxus said.
"Yeah, you are supposed to be the ultimate hunters. What's your excuse?" Dropkick demanded.
"Predaking was there, we didn't expect him." Skylynx answered.
"But it was a human girl which made us eat the dust." Ser-Ket revealed.
That made Kickback laugh. "Beaten by humans?! Ha, how lame of you, you you."
"You wanna be hunted down, bug?!" Darksteel started before being stopped by his brother.
"Wait wait, you said Predaking was there, alongside a human. Was there an Autobot too?" Knock Out asked interested.
"Yes, a blue one which somehow managed to disappear into the walls." Skylynx detailed.
"That would be Smokescreen." Starscream recognized.
"We also faced Autobots accompanied by humans." Knock Out shared.
"Us too, except for the humans. If it wasn't for them we could have handled those birds without problem." Host added.
"Is anyone here seeing a pattern?" Nightbird said.
"Yes. It is like if they appeared there because they knew our intentions, and their knowledge of the environment was also remarkable." Shatter realized.
"How did they guess what we intended to do?" Hardshell wondered.
"The only logical explanation for their swift respond can only be a leak in our ground bridge targeting system, big enough for their systems to detect. But that would only detect a few." Shockblast theorized.
"Or somehow they managed to intercept our transmissions. That's the only way they could know all the marked destinations." Starscream figured out.
"If that's the case we don't know how they managed to find a point of entry in our frequencies. We'll check all systems and upgrade their security to prevent any future leaks." Xiaxus decided.
"Then I guess this has been a fruitless hunt, with nothing brought back." Stinger ended.
"Hum, not at all."
"What? What are you meaning, Starscream?" Xiaxus asked interested.
"Dropkick and I managed to recover the datacore of some kind of vehicle crash-landed near our searching location. From the looks of it and its mechanics must be the most advanced human vehicle of all. Almost resembling one of our starships." Starscream told as Dropkick pulled out some kind of black box. "We must expect the data storage inside can be of some use for us."
"Then it seems you have succeeded more than everyone this time, old friend. And that's something coming from you." Xiaxus complemented. "Shockblast, will you be able to access its content?"
"Once it's connected to the warship's network, its databanks should extract any data from it at once."
"Do it when you can, once you manage to take all that rubbish off you. You all should do the same, repair and rest."
"Huh? That's all?" Host asked surprised.
"You are not mad at us, because of failing?" Nightbird added.
"This time our failures have a valid reason, which we didn't see coming, but we must learn to ensure it doesn't repeat again." Xiaxus explained.
"Specially if we have intention of keeping the hunt of legendary pokémon. Prime and his allies caught us off guard this time, but they will not anticipate us again." Starscream added.
Back to New Iacon, everyone was worried for Ritchie's condition, Dawn the most.
"Ratchet, how is Ritchie?"
"It's still soon to know it, Elita. But the scanning should be done by now."
Then a beep noise sounded, sign that it was over.
"Alright, let's see what's do we have here." Ratchet said looking the screen.
"So, what's wrong with Ritchie? Is it bad?" Dawn demanded.
"According with the scanner it seems he has been poisoned. But...this is weird."
"What is it?" Clemont asked seeing it on another terminal.
"The good news is although the injection point was on his back it didn't reach the spine or any vital part of the nervous system. On the other hand, there's one thing which troubles me."
"Which one?" Bumblebee asked.
"Whatever poison was injected into Ritchie, it doesn't act as anyone I have ever seen before."
"What do you mean, doctor?" Ultra Magnus questioned.
"It doesn't behave like it should. Instead the toxin seems to act more similar to a living being, like a parasite." Ratchet told as he showed it to everyone. "It targets specific parts of the body like a pattern: first it paralyzed his feet and arms, stopping his locomotion. Now it seems to focus on the sensitive parts regarding his senses."
"And once it's done with them?" Predaking asked concerned.
Ratchet showed a worried face. "My biggest fear is that it may target a more vital system, like breathing, the stomach...or perhaps the brain or heart."
"If that happens it could be fatal for him." Tracey said.
"We need to do something." Bonnie followed.
"Ratchet, can we extract the poison within Ritchie's body?" Optimus asked.
"I can try some of the equipment's items, but when it comes to toxins normally the treatment consist on applying an antidote."
"We may not have that chance, so it's our better option." Elita encouraged.
"Initiating toxin's extraction, right now."
Ratchet operated the equipment. A couple of minutes passed until he hit the table in frustration.
"Scrap! It doesn't work. Just like I said, the toxin seems to be acting alive. Once I'm going to start extracting it seems to anticipate and moves to another way."
"Then I guess we have to return back to plan A." Clemont suspected.
"If only I was more careful, if I was more focused on him…"
"Sideswipe, enough. You all were caught by surprise. If that same thing happened to me because of Max I would be like this too. You need to calm down, we will find the way to help Ritchie." Bumblebee reassured him.
"But how are we going to heal him which such poison?" Misty asked.
"Hey guys, look." Max pointed.
For everyone's surprise, Manaphy seemed to notice Ritchie's state since it approached him, placed its antennas over his body and emanated a red bright which covered his body. That showed in the screen an improvement on his condition.
"His vitals, they look better I think." Moonracer saw.
"Well done, Manaphy. You healed him." May congratulated.
"Mana."
But when Ratchet looked the terminal, he sighed in depress. "No, he's not. It just only slowed down the toxin's progress."
"Well, at least it made something." Sideswipe defended.
"Will it help if we use antidotes as well?" Max suggested.
"We appreciate your contribution kids, but I'm not sure some substances made to counter venom from pokémon origin can help much against one which came from one of our kind." Blaster lamented.
That made Ratchet widen his eyes. "By the Allspark, that's it! You said Ritchie was attacked by X, don't you?"
"Right, why doc?" Wheeljack asked confused.
"That means the toxin is from cybertronian origin. Which perhaps may explain its weird behavior."
"Ratchet, I think no one here is following you." Smokescreen said.
"If X uses it as a weapon, perhaps its original purpose it's not to kill, but to paralyze, in order to allow him to catch his preys easier. But being inside of a human the toxin may be checking its compatibility by testing its effects on his body, which explains Ritchie's state."
"So the reason why Ritchie is so ill is because he's poisoned by a cybertronian venom? If you see it that way it makes sense." Bumblebee realized.
"That's interesting but it doesn't give us a clue about how to cure our friend." Hot Rod recalled.
"Normally when it comes to toxins the best cure is an antidote made by a sample of it." Clemont said.
"So the cure must come from the very disease, right?" May supposed.
"I think that's how medics do it to create vaccines." Serena reminded.
"Ratchet, would you be able to make an effective antidote for Ritchie by having an original sample of the toxin?" Optimus asked.
"By avoiding any contact with any outer element which may alter its nature, very highly. In fact, it must be storage inside a sample capsule like this one." The Autobot medic confirmed pulling out the capsule.
"That's the easy part, but how do we make it to take the sample from Protoform X?" Arcee asked.
"Since we are dealing with him, we don't have any other option but to employ brutal force: we will have to force him." Ultra Magnus answered.
"I say we inflict him as much damage as we can until he spills it for us. He may be invincible, but surely he will not like to feel pain constantly." Warpath suggested crushing his fists together.
"Optimus, I know we Autobots are not suppose to act like this, but surely we all agree there's not other way to deal with this monster. He will not surrender the toxin to us unless we make him do it." Elita reasoned with him.
"Besides, he did it on purpose. He will not bother if Ritchie gets worse or not."
"Hot Rod, dear, I agree. However we must not forget the fact we are dealing with the strongest opponent we've ever faced until now, besides Unicron. Attempting to obtain what we need to safe our friend may put others in risk as well."
"Let him to me." Predaking offered. "That monster may be tough, but I bet he didn't face a Predacon before."
"Wait, we are also missing another important detail: how are we supposed to locate him?" Misty pointed.
"She's right, most of times we ran into him by coincidence. We don't have any means to track him down." Tracey added.
"Until now." Ratchet said, earning everyone's attention.
"You...have a way?" Dawn asked hopeful.
"Previously we were unable to track him because our methods by searching life signals were useless, so the only way to detect him is by tracking some energy signature which only he possess, something almost impossible."
"But now that we have the toxin's chemical signal, we can use our scanners to pinpoint his position." Blaster ended as he started typing into a terminal.
"Like how some pokémon uses their smell to find their food. Smart." Max said.
"Try to start searching from the place we met it, at the lake near the Gracidea garden." Dawn suggested.
Blaster followed Dawn's advice and started around the area they went, and the map drew a line which continued moving.
"It works." Blaster confirmed. "According to this trail, Protoform X abandoned the Sinnoh region right after your encounter. But it seems it goes beyond the sea, right to...the Unova region."
"He's traveling through regions? Why would he cross so much distance?" Seaspray wondered.
"Perhaps he's looking for new places in search for food. Some pokémon do it, right?" Moonracer deduced.
"I think so." Bonnie nodded.
"No, not this time. When we met he mentioned looking for the most powerful pokémon to prove himself to be the strongest." Dawn recalled.
"So he's looking for adversaries to face." Predaking sensed.
"According to this if he continues with this trajectory he will reach Roshan City." Fixit calculated. "Are there any legendary or special pokémon which may draw his attention?"
That made Iris gasp his shock. "Did you said Roshan City? Is there a crater near where the city is?"
"Yes. In fact, it seems to be right at Protoform X's trajectory."
"Then that's it, that's where he's heading."
"Exactly why?" Blaster asked.
"Because we know which lair is that, right Ash?"
"He's going to battle Kyurem."
"Is that a legendary pokémon as well?"
"Not just any legendary pokémon Max. Of all dragon pokémon Kyurem is considered the strongest of them all. Protoform X must know that, so he's going to see if that's true by himself. But honestly I don't think he may be able to beat him, Kyurem has some surprises hidden when the situation gets serious." Iris revealed.
"But X could also play dirty. If he was so determined to hurt Dialga so seriously, Kyurem could be in danger as well." Serena reminded.
"We have to stop him, and also take the chance to get a sample of the toxin as well."
"Hot Rod, go with a team and prevent him from escaping. That fight could be our only chance not just to capture him, but maybe to obtain the only way to save Ritchie." Optimus instructed.
"In case that Kyurem is not enough for him, I will be most happy to battle him." Predaking said.
"I'll go with you. I have been there before with Ash, so I know how we can take advantage of the terrain." Iris volunteered.
"I'm going too."
"No Dawn. I think you should stay here with us. You've already exposed yourself to X." Serena advised.
"Ritchie is like this because of me!" She said dropping some tears. "I was supposed to be attacked by X, but Ritchie saved me. Is my turn."
"Pi, pi piplup." Piplup said with a determined face.
"We will make all we can to prevent Ritchie from getting worse." Misty said while May instructed Manaphy to keep helping him.
"And I'll make sure he doesn't repeat the same villainy."
"Are you sure, Sideswipe?" Moonracer asked.
"You may not be the most suitable for this mission since your judgment may be clouded." Elita reasoned.
"I swore to that monster he was going to pay for what he did. And I intend to."
Meanwhile, just like how Iris mentioned, inside of some kind of crater were the ruins of a former human installation of some kind. The debris were now hooked by some kind of pillars of ice, making a support to all the loosen parts. In that moment a metallic foot stood in front of it, and Protoform X looked at the bottom, illumined by the moon's light. The monstrous cybertronian descended with a single jump and started to examine the area, until he spotted a tunnel into the mountain. He stood in front of it, extended his arms and like taking a huge breath he roared the loudest he could. This was on purpose, because a few seconds after it ended another roar came from within the cave. Then, a figure walked out of it, revealing to be the one living there: Kyurem, the ice and dragon pokémon. Protoform X responded showing his claws, ready for use, as some intimidation. Kyurem took it as a challenge and responded with another roar, making X roar as well as acceptation before both opponents charged at each other. They seemed to be equal in strength, until X used the claws of his feet to hook himself to the floor, allowing him to push Kyurem backwards, but the legendary pokémon reacted at the moment by using Dragon Rage. For Kyurem's surprise, X attempted to use his claws to cut through the attack, and surprisingly for him it worked, so he decided to employ that strategy as he advanced to his rival. Kyurem decided to put more distance between them and jumped at a higher platform before X could strike, but the monster reacted as fast as it and went after it. They continued jumping around the place for a while, which was making X irritated.
"What's wrong creature, are you afraid of facing me? Where is that greatness of yours?" X mocked.
X's provocation worked, because Kyurem jumped next at him, pushing him back to the ground. With him pressed against the floor by its feet, Kyurem attacked next with Shadow Claw, hitting X's head. However, it seemed he received just a scratch.
"Is that the best you can do?"
Before Kyurem could strike again, X grabbed it by the arms and pulled from them, elevating it above himself before throwing it against a bunch of debris.
"It doesn't surprise me. How are you going to prevail with those little arms of yours?"
In the moment, an aura enveloped Kyurem, and when it was over it emerged from the debris with its form changed: now its arms were bigger and its color was a little darker, it changed to Black Kyurem.
Protoform X didn't look scared, instead he smirked. "Well look at that, looks like you have a few tricks under your wings. This is getting better by the moment."
Kyurem charged again against X, clashing their hands, but now they were more equal, specially when Kyurem started dragging X around the area, making him to crash against the wall a few times before throwing him against the floor. Next it started to concentrate lot of energy in front of it making a huge sphere: it was preparing to launch its signature move, Freeze Shock. Even if not knowing what exactly was going on, Protoform X sensed his rival was about to attack him in a big way, so he didn't hesitate to try to stop it by any way possible. He opted to pull a huge rock stuck in the floor next to him and launched it to the pokémon, just at the right moment it attacked. The rock was huge enough that when it clashed with Kyurem's attack it caused a huge explosion. Kyurem landed while the smoke cleared, searching any trail of his adversary to see if its attack worked. It found anything, just the remains of the rock scattered around the area. Suddenly it heard a roar before an entire wall of rubble was brought down, as X emerged from it in a jump and landed right on top of Kyurem. The abomination grabbed the pokémon's wings and started pulling from it as it was ridding a horse, causing the pokémon to move from one way to another. Being there prevented Kyurem from attacking him by any way or taking flight by the extra weight, so X took chance to hit it all he could. Meanwhile, a ground bridge opened and a group composed by Ash (carrying the same cybertronian weapon) and Pikachu, Iris an Fraxure, Dawn and Piplup, Smokescreen, Hot Rod, Arcee, Sideswipe and Predaking emerged.
"Is this the place?" Arcee asked.
"Kyurem's lair is right into the crater." Iris said pointing at the top.
"Come on, let's hope we are not too late." Sideswipe hurried.
By hearing rumbling sounds the group ran to the top. There they saw the fight between X and Kyurem still on.
"Is that...Protoform X? I didn't expect him possessing a beast alt form similar to mine." Predaking said.
"Oh no, that's Kyurem, in its black form." Iris corrected.
"That's X, the one who seems to be riding it." Hot Rod pointed.
"Looks like we arrived just in time. No one seems to have won yet." Ash observed.
"Pikachu."
"Which means he will not see us coming and we can catch him." Sideswipe suggested.
"I'm with you, we need to get that sample." Dawn supported.
"Piplup."
"Let's don't do anything reckless, we need to come up with a plan to immobilize him first. Since hurting him will not work I think our best option will be exhaust him, deplete him of all his energy in order to make easier to catch him." Arcee decided.
"I will take care of that. If he wants a worthy rival to face, then I will grant him." Predaking declared.
"We will try to support you by any way we can." Ash said.
"Also don't give him the chance of eat any metal nearby." Hot Rod added.
"Let's go, Kyurem seems to be in need, and that's bad if it's being outmatched on one of its alternative forms." Iris ended.
Back to the battle, X continued hitting Kyurem from above it, until it had enough and decided to return back to its original form. That surprised X, allowing Kyurem to grab him by one of his legs with the mouth and throw him against the floor. Next, it used Ice Beam, but X blocked it with his arms. That let them covered completely on ice, but he didn't bothered and removed it. When he centered his attention back on Kyurem, he got surprised at seeing it changed again, but now its appearance looked different: its wings were now attached to its arms, and now it was more white, it was White Kyurem. Once again the legendary pokémon took flight to put distance between them, but this time X reacted faster and used some big metal bars to swing like an ape to approach Kyurem from behind. The legendary pokémon was busy charging another attack with a flame on its tail, something that X noticed as well, so he grabbed a huge bucket-like object and jumped over Kyurem again, using the object to cover the tail completely, extinguishing the flame and stopping the charging. Next, he grabbed Kyurem by the wings and twisted it around, sending it against the floor. But he didn't end with that, next he used his claws to cut some supports, making some huge pieces of metal to fall upon Kyurem, trapping it, with only the head free. But not enough to keep fighting.
"How it feels to have been overcome by someone stronger than you?" X said as he grabbed a bar of metal and took a bite, before spitting it. "Too much rusty. Well, since you were considered the strongest of your kind, I guess that makes me the strongest of all. Bow before the new apex being of this world."
"The mightiest of all?! Oh please, you need to eat something of metal in order to keep in good shape. In other words, you cheat." Iris provoked.
"What?! Are you calling me fake?! And what are you doing here, human?! Have you followed me here?!" X demanded angry.
"Not just me."
In that moment, Fraxure jumped above Iris and attacked with Dragon Rage. Protoform X countered with his claws, but that was a distraction because the Autobots started to shot lasers at him, forcing him to cover himself with his claws. While Hot Rod and Bumblebee continued distracting him with their shots, Arcee and Sideswipe tried to damage him right on the head with their melee weapons, jumping at him at a time. This, alongside a Thunderbolt of Pikachu, Ash firing his weapon and a Bubble Beam of Piplup, made Protoform X explode in fury, ending slashing with his claws one way to another like a desperate one or a blind one, maybe because he didn't know where the attacks would come. That caused lots of remains and parts from the former facility were sent flying in all directions. Ash, Dawn, Iris and their pokémon were lucky enough to evade them and not end buried below them, unlike the Autobots, but they also got a little stuck. Before Protoform X could search for them for retaliation, something hard hit him from behind.
"Wow, I didn't know the Autobots brought some fresh metal."
"Now I see why everyone calls you Protoform X, your appearance talks for you. So, you are the one everyone fears?" Predaking questioned, making X nod with some kind of reverence. "For me you're just a true mindless beast, one who doesn't know about honor."
"Honor? What need do I have for that when I already prove what everyone knows with my actions?"
"Too bad for you monster, because know you'll have to face the one who hasn't been beaten by anyone yet: Predaking, the king of Predacons."
"Predacons? Never fought one of you before, I think."
"Then now you will have the chance to have a fight which you have never experienced before."
X chuckled preparing his claws. "I can wait for it. Don't disappoint me."
Predaking got his claws ready before charging at X, the same as him. Both were about to strike with their claws, but Predaking managed to dodge X's move in the last moment and hit him next. That gave him the upper hand to keep punching him with fast and strong moves, finishing by grabbing him with both hands, lift him up and throw him against a pile of rubble. Moments later, X emerged, but he looked excited than annoyed.
"Finally, a worthy opponent!" X said cheered.
X charged again, making Predaking imitate his action, ending both pushing each other backwards. Normally Predaking and X used to have the upper hand when it comes to strength against all opponents, but this time they were equal, so the only thing they could was stand their ground. X tried to use his jaws to bite Predaking's face.
"You're not the only one with a few hidden tricks." Predaking said nailing his claws on X's hands, making him shriek a little.
"We can both play that." X responded using the same trick with his big claws, making Predaking roar in pain as well.
Predaking managed to headbutt X, grab him by the arm and perform on him a wrestling move throwing him to the floor. Next he propped hard hits on his chest followed by a final stomp on his head, but X grabbed Predaking's foot with his claws and bite it, ruining his move before kicking him back hard. Predaking landed hard, but was forced to move aside when he saw X jumping at him with intention to finish him with his claws, which let him with his claws stuck on the ground.
"I admit it, you are not just strong, but also fast. I have never faced such opponent, almost as good as I." X complemented.
"I assure you we are nothing alike, I don't just depend on my instinct as you do, I also use strategy in battle. I have risen above my original nature, not like you."
"I don't need to change my nature: I accept what I am and I'm fine with it."
"Then you will keep making the same mistakes. Such as not matter how strong or unstoppable you are, you can't always prevail. Specially when you are outnumbered."
X didn't get what Predaking said last, until he sensed something was looking at him from behind. He turned and saw that Kyurem was free, still in its white form, ready for the next assault.
"Don't worry beast, you will have your turn. Once I'm done with you first." X said before tackling Predaking against a wall with intention of biting him.
But Predaking managed to grab him by the jaws and open them wide as he pushed him back. He changed one of his hand for a blaster and fired right into his mouth, making him to release him, coughing as if his throat was irritated. Predaking took the chance to transform to his dragon form, surprising X, not expecting him to perform such drastic change. Predaking roared before grabbing X with his mouth and toss him around, until he nailed his claws on his neck, forcing the Predacon to release him, but above himself. Next, Predaking hit him with the tail, sending him near Kyurem, who took the chance to strike him with Shadow Claw, sending the monster back between the two of them. Protoform X had now to deal with both the Predacon and the legendary pokémon, and like Predaking said now he was in a disadvantage: both dragons attacked him by turns, hitting him with the claws, feet, tails, even the wings. While this happened, the humans and pokémon managed to get out of the debris by climbing over it, being Iris the first one thanks to her agility. Suddenly she started to shiver at feeling something she didn't like.
"Uff, suddenly it feels so cold here. I hate cold." Iris said.
Then she heard someone else was doing like her. She saw Kyurem emanating some kind of mist of cold air which extended all around the area: one of Kyurem's signature moves, Glaciate. She saw Protoform X acting just like her.
"Arg, it's cold, I despite it." X complained while he tried to cover some parts of his body with his hands.
"Cold." Iris repeated, realizing of something. "That's it! That's his weakness!"
"Guys, are you okay?" Ash asked arriving with Pikachu.
"I think so." Dawn answered meeting with them alongside Piplup.
"Guys, listen! I think I have discovered X's weak point, the cold." Iris started.
"What?"
"Can you repeat that, Iris?" Sideswipe requested getting out of the rubble as the other Autobots.
"Look! The only thing that seems to truly affect him is cold, he's shivering. Like me it seems he's more sensitive to changes of temperature."
"If that's true we can use it to our advantage." Bumblebee suggested.
"I know how we can achieve it."
"Then we got a plan." Arcee nodded.
X was again between Kyurem and Predaking, although now he was distracted by the cold.
"Predaking, we know how to catch Protoform X, but we need to get to safety once Kyurem gets ready to act. Until then, we need to keep X occupied." Hot Rod transmitted by com-link.
At the same time, Iris approached the dragon and ice pokémon. "We have a plan to capture that monster, but we need your help."
Fraxure seemed to whisper something to Kyurem, who nodded. The team decided to put their plan to work: Ash fired at X from one side, while from the other Piplup fired Ice Beam. X saw it coming and blocked it with one of his hands, freezing it. Predaking launched a beam of fire which forced him to block it with his other hand. Pikachu assisted with Thunderbolt, trying to paralyze him. While all these happened, Kyurem was charging the flame of its tail again for its turn. After a while the Autobots made their move: Bee, Hot and Sideswipe charged at him in vehicle form, tackling his feet and making him trip over, followed by Fraxure using Giga Impact and Arcee kicking him hard in the back. Also, Iris instructed Excadrill and Gible to use Dig below X.
While they ended, Iris saw Kyurem elevating above them with a sphere of energy around it. "Guys, it's time already!"
"Everyone, fall back!" Hot Rod instructed.
All members of the team got the call and ran out of the place as fast as they could, even Predaking, who approached the children and pokémon to let them ride him. Protoform X just stood up trying to get his feet out of the holes the pokémon made, but he got distracted at hearing Kyurem roar. It looked right at him, and suddenly it unleashed a storm of beams which started to cover the whole place with ice: Ice Burn. Protoform X closed his five optics, and when he opened them also noticed he could move not just his feet, but his entire body too. He found himself trapped in some kind of prison ice, of the same texture as the rest of the covered surfaces, which just the head still free. That was also witnessed by the team.
"Woah, look at that ice. It looks beautiful." Dawn admired.
"Yeah, but a little cold for my liking." Iris objected shivering a little.
"And not just the whole area. Look." Bee said pointing to where X was frozen.
"Looks like your plan has worked." Predaking congratulated.
"Team, how's your progress?" Ultra Magnus called through com-link.
"We did it, we managed to trap Protoform X." Ash reported.
"Then you better get hurry and get the sample. Manaphy is tired of slowing down the toxin and Ritchie's condition could get worse anytime." Elita communicated.
"Clemont and Ratchet have all the instrumental ready to develop the antidote for when you're back, but we need it now." Optimus added.
"Understood, we will hurry up." Hot Rod nodded, ending the transmission.
But Sideswipe already went ahead, running at Protoform X with his fists ready, for when he reached him he started punching him continuously.
"This is...for what...you have...done!"
"Hey Sideswipe, enough!" Hot Rod shouted as they approached them, all while Kyurem landed near them and simply observed.
"That's enough young Autobot, he's ours. We finally caught him." Predaking stopped grabbing his arm.
"Remember that we need the toxin for Ritchie." Dawn recalled.
Despite not having unleash all his rage, Sideswipe knew that wouldn't be what Ritchie will want, not to mention what he needed.
"Why stop now? Having enough yet?" Protoform X mocked.
"You better watch your ugly mouth, monster. You are at our disposal." Arcee started.
"Yeah? And what do you intent to do with me? Torture me? Imprison me? Try to use me as a weapon perhaps?"
"Fortunately for you that's not our style." Hot Rod answered.
"But our friend is unwell because of you, and we need something from you to make him feel better." Ash continued.
"We need a sample of your poison. The one which sometimes you employ to hunt your preys. We're sure you know what we are referring to." Bumblebee added.
"You want my venom? Ha, forget it. I'm not going to give you my special weapon so you can have a way to counter it." X protested.
Predaking reacted by grabbing him by the neck. "You better cooperate and help us by hook than by crook."
"I'll never do it, no matter what you do to me."
"Seriously? Are you sure you can resist everything? Even cold?" Iris revealed, making him look at her worried as she looked to Kyurem, who nodded.
"What? How did you…? No, wait, not that. Everything except that."
X's voice started to sound like desperate, even begging. Kyurem started to use Glaciate again. The cold mist started to cover everything again, including Protoform X, who started to shiver a lot, while the humans and pokémon were covered by the Autobots. It lapsed some time until his face started to cover with frost, including some of his eyes.
"Fine, alright. I'll do it, but make it stop. I hate cold." X begged.
Kyurem stopped generating cold at once. Hot Rod pulled out the capsule and opened it. Meanwhile, X opened his jaws all he could preparing to pull out his proboscis. Predaking grabbed him by one of the jaws.
"Just to make sure." He said as he put the capsule into his mouth.
Immediately, X inserted the proboscis into it and started to leak out the toxin. He waited until it was almost completely full and took it out before passing it to Arcee to lock it.
"You have what you wanted, now it's your turn. Release me from this cold prison." X demanded.
Everyone looked themselves wondering if that's was the right thing to do.
"He's not a menace right now. He's tired and defeated, and surely not in condition of keep fighting." Ash reasoned.
"Besides, we already have what we came for and we are in a hurry. Ritchie needs this right now." Dawn reminded.
At the end they all agree and Predaking hit the ice very strong, breaking the ice. Protoform X was free, but too much affected by the cold to move normally, not even his wounds regenerated. Without warning Kyurem, now in his black form, grabbed X by the spikes of his back, dragged him with it in the air and used Dragon Rage to launch him far away from its lair. X landed on the floor hard, breaking some pieces around all his body. He tried to get up, but he was too weak and cold to move, so he simply lied there looking at the stars. Meanwhile, the team returned to New Iacon carrying the sample. Clemont and Ratchet started working, analyzing the toxin to make the antidote. Tracey gave some Sitrus Berries to Manaphy to restore his energy, the same as Misty's Azurril using Refresh so it could continue using its powers to stop the toxin. As they continued their work, the rest could only wait out of the lab. Some like Optimus simply stood there in calm, with Elita on his side, the same as Ash with Serena. Others like Max or Smokescreen were too nervous that ended walking from one side to another, while Dawn simply put her hands on the door awaiting for when they open. After a long time waiting, the doors finally open, with Ratchet and Clemont exiting.
"Is done." Ratchet reported.
"You're saying…?" Misty started.
"Ratchet's intuition was right." Clemont started. "Once he took a close look to the toxin he had no problem in making an antidote."
"It eliminated the toxin from Ritchie's body completely. Now we just need to wait for his body to respond." Ratchet told.
Dawn was the first one entering the lab, followed by Sideswipe. They saw Ritchie lying on the medical berth, with Sparky next to him with a worried face.
"Ritchie?" Dawn asked, with Sideswipe looking above her.
Suddenly, like response to a magical word, Ritchie's eyes started to open slowly. They looked right at them.
"Sideswipe?"
"Yes Ritchie, we're here. Thank the Allspark you made it."
"Hey Sparky. How are you doing?"
"Pikachu. Pika pika." Sparky said cuddling him.
"Dawn?"
"Ritchie!" She said hugging him. "Please, don't do that again. I was so worried."
"I didn't want anything to happen to you. I'm glad you're alright."
"Me too."
"Congratulations doctor, you made it again." Seaspray complemented before looking at Clemont. "Both of you."
"He's got a point, Clemont. It can be said you have participated on your first medical procedure. Maybe next time you could treat one Autobot by your own."
"Em, I'm not sure if I can still do that, Ratchet."
"Which all that cybertronian stuff you know? I'm sure it would be piece of cake for you." May supported.
What came next no one expected it: Dawn gave Ritchie a kiss on the cheek, which let him red and without words. But that was also witnessed by everyone when they came to check how their friend was. Almost everyone dropped their mouths.
"Sweet Solus Prime." Fixit said.
"I just saw what I think?" Clemont asked.
"Is this some kind of deja vu?" Bonnie wondered.
"I knew it! I knew there was something between you two." May confirmed amazed.
"And you didn't tell us?" Misty asked in disbelief.
"I have no idea about this." Moon said.
"I did, but I wanted to be certain before sharing it." Sideswipe revealed.
"I think it's obvious considering all the time those two spend together." Wheeljack expected.
"Aw, that's so sweet." Serena admired.
"I'm glad for you two." Ash congratulated.
"I guess we can count two couples already within us." Tracey said.
"We are all glad, but could you please do this when you are alone? This is a laboratory, not a hotel."
"I couldn't have said it better myself, Max." Ratchet appreciated.
"We are all glad we made it in time." Elita pronounced.
"I don't know what would have happened if we were too late. These humans are way very important."
"And it seems they have become that important for you too, Predaking." Optimus noticed, earning a smile from the Predacon king.
"Oh, by the way Optimus. We have very good news regarding Protoform X." Hot Rod started.
"Did you managed to prevent him from harming that pokémon?" Ultra Magnus asked.
"Not just that sir, we also discovered which his weak point is: he cannot endure cold, he's very sensitive to it." Iris announced.
"Hum, it makes much sense considering how it was contained in that pod when he arrived to Earth." Moonracer remembered.
"He doesn't like to be frozen? Ha, now we know how to put an end to his hunt." Warpath celebrated.
"I'm with him, we left him on a very miserable state when Kyurem expelled him from its home." Bumblebee added.
"We should capture him now that he's vulnerable." Smokescreen suggested.
"And lock him here on a cell adapted to his new discovered weakness." Hot Rod followed.
"I support your decision, soldiers. With that monster under our custody we will have one problem less regarding this world's safety." Ultra Magnus said.
But while the Autobots were debating about Protoform X, it seemed that someone already found him, still lying on the ground with his wounds not healed yet.
"Well well, what do we have here?" A voice said as a shadow covered X.
Moments later, a ground bridge appeared nearby and the Autobots emerged with weapons ready. Predaking even was in his alt form in case.
"Look, over there." Seaspray spotted.
They saw what seemed to be Protoform X being dragged into another ground bridge before it disappeared.
"Looks like someone got the freak before us." Wheeljack supposed.
"It didn't look like the Cons, for what I saw." Bumblebee said.
"There can only be other ones in that case." Optimus started.
"The Star Seekers got X?" Arcee asked.
"If that's the case, it is good or bad?" Smokescreen wondered.
"I believe it is bad...for the Star Seekers, I mean."
"I support your opinion, Sideswipe. Still weak, we cannot ignore the fact that the deadliest cybertronian of all the planet is now there with them." Elita reminded.