Raikou fired a psychic attack on the first Pokemon he saw. However, it suddenly swapped places with a Shedinja, meaning the Wonder Gaurd Pokemon knew Ally Switch. This was bad for the Legendary as not only did they seal away his electric attacks but also most of his other moves as well.
Key word being "most".
The electric legend rushed for the Shedinja with his fangs, attempting to use its one super effective move: Crunch. Yet Pinsir and Drapion slammed into Raikou's side, almost imbalancing the legendary. Normally, two Pokemon can't overpower a Legendary. But these were boosted by the power of the Dark Balls, making Raikou fly into a tree from the combined attack of the two. The Electric type got up to avoid a Hyper Beam destroying much of the surroundings behind him. Raikou didn't stop but glanced at where the attack came from. The Darkened Tyranitar roared as it gathered energy for another Hyper Beam without sign of any fatigue. Similarly, the other Pokemon were gathering energy for their attacks as well.
Yet, despite facing down overwhelming Pokemon with his moves sealed up, Raikou felt more amused and annoyed than worried.
Even he loathed the idea of fighting Shadow Pokemon again.
"Hand me back the Charizard!" Arlo screamed as he pointed forward. His Bisharp and Scolipede rushed ahead as his Crawdaunt launched a Bubblebeam as cover support.
Metagross clashed with the Bisharp while Umbreon blocked the path of the incoming Scolipede. Somehow, the Lycanroc sped past the Snagger's front liners and swiped at the blue-themed trainer. Yet, Espeon reacted in time, using a Psychic blast to ward away the incoming Accelrock user by making the Bubblebeam intercept the rock type.
Wes ran; his Pokemon followed him while fighting off Arlo's team. "How did you even find a Shadow Pokemon?"
Arlo's eyes briefly widened. "How do you know what a Shadow Pokemon is!?"
"I'm from Orre, four-eyes! We all know what Shadow Pokemon are!" Wes commanded Mismagius to launch a Shadow Ball that nailed Arlo's Crawdaunt.
"You're actually from that Arceus-Forsaken rock?" Suddenly, Arlo's mind started to go into overdrive with that information: the ability to steal other Pokemon and that Wes was from Orre. But the key was the device around Wes' left arm. "Wait a second! Could you be him!?"
"I," Wes felt an incoming headache. "Don't know what you're talking about."
Arlo went on, much to Wes' silent horror. "Of course! You're the one who destroyed Cipher! You're the one who single-handedly defeated an organization that had been controlling Orre for years! All those powerful trainers and Pokemon defeated by the one they called The Snagger! He stole back their Pokemon and robbed Cipher of their victory over the region!"
Against every fiber of his being, Wes looked to his right. Bea stared at him with mouth agape and eyes shining in severely unwanted admiration.
(Stop that,) The Snagger wanted to say but didn't as he focused on the battle. (Stop being impressed by me.)
"I have to admit, I'm impressed!" Wes narrowed his eyes toward Arlo after he said that. "But you'll find that Team Rocket is more than just some random hicks in a back-water region." As soon as he said this, Arlo picked up what looked like a robotic glove with an odd crystal embedded forcefully into the machine.
Wes acted fast, "Espeon, Psychic on that glove!" Yet, Arlo's Bisharp slid between his trainer, canceling the psychic energy with his presence. Arlo clenched his hand as the mechanical device started to pump energy into the crystal.
Bea and Wes prepared for anything.
They weren't expecting Arlo to start posing like he was in a model shoot.
The two trainers stared as the man made exaggerated movements before stopping with one knee down and hands in an upward flex.
...
"I can't believe I miss Orre." Wes' first coherent thought came out. Everything else vanished when the gem in the glove started glowing with energy before transferring to Arlo's Lycanroc.
"Continental Crush!" Arlo cried out.
The rock type howled with power as he dug his claws into the ground. Suddenly, the entire area started to shake in a way that made Earthquake look like a Magnitude 4 move. Wes and his Pokemon suddenly found themselves being thrown up in the air, along with the chunk of earth they were standing on. Said chunk rivaled the size of a skyscraper.
With a single bound, Lycanroc clawed to the bottom of the chunk he threw up. Still filled with energy, the rock type threw the massive boulder downward with enough speed to rival falling meteors. The attack crashed in the distance, making every battler shield themselves from the dust of the explosion.
"Sifu!?" Bea shouted in horror for the silver-haired Snagger.
Arlo laughed, as maniacs do when causing untold destruction. "You think I was only working on Shadow Pokemon? It took me a while to figure out how to power up Z-crystals outside the Alola Region. But even their power will help Team Rocket grow!"
Arlo's Scolipede and Crawdaunt looked behind their trainer while he boasted. The bug and poison type raced forward and created a Protect barrier while Crawdaunt rushed in to cancel another psychic attack launched behind the Team Rocket Leader.
"What!?" Arlo turned and saw Wes and all four of his Pokemon unharmed despite seeing them on top of the crux of the attack.
The Snagger was silently glad Phantom Force was a move that existed. He wished his surprise attack worked, but Arlo wasn't a slouch as his Pokemon kept their guard up. In fact, the Rocket Leader seemed happy to see a new target for his inventions.
"Unlike regular Z-moves," Arlo pointed the back of his glove towards Wes. "My gauntlet can channel more power into the gem, thanks to the Miracle Crystal!" The embedded crystal started glowing again, making Wes click his tongue. Arlo laughed as his opponent recognized the situation he was in. "Avoid all the Z-Moves you can: I only need to hit you once to win!"
If that wasn't bad enough, Metagross moved, using its claw to clash with a sudden blade aimed at Wes' Mismagius.
'I'm going to pay you back for that cheap shot!' Arlo's Ceruledge cried out as it backed off from the clash and snuck back into the shadows. Wes silently cursed as the opposing ghost Pokemon returned. It would narrow his chance to escape those giant boulders with Phantom Force.
"If the boss is bringing out the big guns," Atilla also took something from his pocket, putting on a metallic sash connecting to a black comet in the center. "I guess it's time to bring this bad boy out." The comet started to gather energy from the sash, but unlike the Z-crystal it was a darker red color. This energy was one that Bea recognized.
Atilla recalled his Granbull into his Poke Ball before it enlarged by the energy of the sash. He tossed it high into the air before the ball broke free, revealing a giant fairy type whose roar created shockwaves.
"Dynamaxing?!" Bea looked at her Dynamax Band, but unlike her opponent, hers barely shone. "How did you do that!? There's no power spot in any land that is not Galar!"
"What can I say? Technology is pretty amazing nowadays." Atilla smirked as he tapped his sash, signaling that the Miracle Crystal could power up a Dynamax Band without a Power Spot.
That wasn't good for Wes and Bea. Their opponent had access to unlimited energy of Super Moves that could re-make the entire map in an hour and had access to a giant powerhouse of a Pokemon. However, Bea was forced away from her thoughts as Attila's Granbull started to gather an alarming amount of super-effective Fairy energy pointed at her and her fighting types.
Meanwhile, Wes saw another hill-sized rock lifted in the air with the intent to crush him and his partners into finely made dust. "Out of everything that's failed to kill me, I refuse to bite the dust to a model reject doing poses," Wes muttered under his breath as he and his Pokemon prepared for another incoming Z-Move.
The Snagger was unaware that a heavily bounded Snag Ball in his belt loosened from the first attack...
Ash had some experience versus a Mega Evolution, which made him mentally thank Lt. Soap. ((Meanwhile, Lt. Surge wondered why he found himself glaring at the soap in his shower.)) But that was during an official battle. This Mega Beedrill had no qualms attacking him along with his Pokemon.
'Kachow! I am speed!' The Mega zipped around the area with speed barely anyone could keep up with. It moved to skewer Ash had El Almohada not erected a Reflect Barrier that halted the attack long enough for Ash and Pikachu to avoid the joust.
Prince Nidorino and Notus saw this. However, before they could run to protect their trainer, they were warded away by multiple empowered Shadow Claws by the Runerigus.
'Hold still, little pretties.' The upside-down Pokemon pulled back its shadow arms. 'I will give you a makeover you shan't forget!' The ghost and ground separated Ash's more battle-hardened Pokemon, leaving the trainer alone with El Almohada, a Pikachu, and—
"Jigglypuff!" Ash cried out as the puffball slammed the ground with Strength to rip a piece of the floor and use it as cover. However, the mega was true to its name as it powered through the steel floor like cardboard. Luckily, Ash and the Pikachu had enough time to bolt for the Miracle Crystal. Yet, Mega Beedrill quickly wondered where the other two were.
Jigglypuff, who hid behind the corner of his cover, lept at the Mega Beedrill in an attempt to ambush him. However, the Mega sped upward to avoid the Strength attack. It slowed to a stop above the puffball, with one of its lance arms retracted all the way back and pointed with the intent to see if his opponent was anything like a balloon to a pin needle. Again with speed reaching blurs, it raced for the fairy type. Jigglypuff looked like it couldn't avoid the joust. But that's where El Almohada came in from nowhere, eyes shining from the Rest move, and hit the Mega with a Reflect Barrier in the shape of a steel chair.
Or at least that was the intent. The Mega avoided the attack and flew up to the ceiling in the time of a blink with his arm reclined back before diving for the masked wrestler. The attack nailed El Almohada, pinning him to the ground—if Jigglypuff didn't tackle his friend out of the way.
Ash and Pikachu ran toward the Miracle Crystal while the rest of Team Luckless battled against their opponents. Ash figured if he could break the device, he could free all the captive electric types. When they got close, Ash pointed to the crystal. "Now, Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"
Quickly, the Pikachu gathered energy before unleashing an electrical charge at the giant crystal. 'Wait, you want me to do what!?' Okay, wait. No. She did not do that. Instead, she looked shocked over at the human teen.
Ash dropped his hand, even after feeling an odd nostalgia come over him saying the attack command. "You gotta break it so we can save your friends! You just gotta hit any of the machines holding this together?"
The raven-haired teen hoped he wasn't seeing the Pikachu break into a cold sweat. 'Y-Yeah! I-I can do that! I can totally do that!' She looked away. 'If you asked me 10 years ago.'
"What was that about 10 years?" Ash raised his brow high before he heard something coming in their direction. Fast. The teen looked up before bolting from where he was and scooping up the Pikachu. Hun crashed down ankle-first from an axe kick strong enough to dent the floor yet still standing with grace and poise that betrayed the thin frame of the Team Rocket agent.
"The Miracle Crystal is impervious to the strongest of Pokemon. If you think you can break it with the very type it's supposed to absorb, you're stupider than you look, which is an impressive feat already."
Ash put down the Pikachu before looking at Hun. "Give back Astro and the other Pokemon you've captured!"
"I stand corrected: you're even dumber than that." Hun grew tired of throwing words, so he threw kicks instead.
Ash ducked and weaved, panicking at the incoming speed of the older man's attacks before recalling that he had powers. He backed off and pushed his hand forward, causing a wave of psychic energy to push the Rocket Agent back. However, something underneath Hun's shirt started to glow, creating a barrier that parted the kinetic force.
"You didn't think we'd hunt Legendary Pokemon and not equip ourselves properly? Our gear prevents us from being hurt by Pokemon attacks, similar to the one that protects the Miracle Crystal." Hun fished his pockets, taking a cylindrical device before stretching outward with a swing. The item in question turned out to be a baton staff with a taser sparking to life at the end.
Hun was without mercy as he rushed back in, forcing Ash to use his powers to grab a loose pipe and wielded it as a makeshift weapon to knock the taser coming in his direction. But it didn't help in stopping Hun's assault with the intent of tasing the teen. If Ash didn't have powers, he would have been knocked out cold very quickly.
Pikachu watched in horror as her rescuers were pushed to the back foot. Prince Nidorino and Spearow struggled against the many hands of the Runerigus; Jigglypuff and El Almohada were unable to pin down the zipping Mega Beedrill; And Ash was too distracted by Hun to give proper commands to his Pokemon. The captive Pikachu felt lost and helpless. How could she not when she couldn't even use a Pokemon move for over ten years?
'H...y...p'
Pikachu stilled before she turned around to see the Miracle Crystal. For a second, she thought she heard a...
'Hypothesis: you are...not...' She heard the voice again. This time, Pikachu stepped back when she spotted the faint flicker of what looked like dots.
'You are not a Pikachu. Data: Incloclusive...must...test.' The voice sounded garbled, behind static and white noise.
'Look out!' The Pikachu heard the cry and turned back towards the fight: a chunk of ripped metal flew right at her head with unbelievable speed—
SPLAT!
Everyone stopped fighting for a moment to see what happened. Team Luckless widened their eyes as they saw the liquid splatter...before realizing the color was...
Pink?
The pink liquid, amazingly enough, returned to the Piakchu, filling the chunk where part of her head got knocked off. When it did, the body of the electric type started to liquefy into that pink substance until...
It was then Ash realized that the liquid substance was recognizable. How could it not be? Only one Pokemon could liquefy itself before forming into a different creature. "Pikachu?! You're a Ditto!?"
The once Pikachu groggily shook her head before looking at her form. She screamed and made her gelatinous body jiggle in panic. 'What happened to me!?'
'You turn into liquid. It happens to the best of us.' And from then on, Ash decided to ensure El Almohada was awake when trying to soothe other people.
Of course, this thought got pushed to the back of his mind as the teen's brainpower focused on the trained skinny man moving like a ninja trying to kill him. Similarly, fighting broke out again between Team Luckless and Hun's two Pokemon.
The former Pikachu looked at two stubs before she turned them back into Pikachu's hands. 'Is...is this why I couldn't use Thundershock again for all that time? I was wondering why I stopped being able to use electric attacks so early on...'
'Pokemon Ditto.'
The pink blob spun towards the Miracle Crystal.
'Period of escape/freedom/salvation is closing. Perform Transformation move on current target.'
'What!? You expect me to use a move when I haven't been able to in the past decade!? For your information, I thought I was an electric Pokemon my whole life!'
'Processing logical comeback. Please hold.' The voice corrected sternly despite being muffled by static. 'Emotional variability accounted: turn into me, and you can use electric type moves again.'
'What? Wait. Really?' The former Pikachu had to admit that today had been unbelievably confusing in the direction it kept dragging her in.
'Does user wish to take a chance with your captors? Your rescuers will not last long against their onslaught.'
Ditto turned back to see Team Luckless on the back foot of the fight. She didn't like being unable to help those that helped her, and she was similarly sick of being an outcast from her inaction. Spurred to finally do something, she turned to the voice. 'What do I have to do!?'
However, the only response she got was the sound of everyone else grunting in pain from the fights they had. The former Pikachu cried out again, but she heard only silence from the being in the crystal.
'Okay, wait. He said to use Transform. That's a Pokemon move, right? H-How do I do that? And which one did he say to use it on?' The pink blob shook her head. She stared hard at the crystal before she mentally told herself to screw it and just did what came to mind.
Huh.
Instinct was unexpectedly tingly.
A burst of light exploded from the area near the Miracle Crystal. Everyone turned to the source to see...traces of electricity?
'AAAAAHHHHHHH!?'
Thunder danced around the core of the building, blasting random parts of metal and machinery while making the fighters duck for cover. Ash saw what looked like the biggest bolt of electricity stop and form blue rings and several dots on what looked to be a face.
'I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON!' However, Ash did recognize the voice of the Pikachu-Ditto screaming out loud as a dangerous amount of electricity started shooting out from her new form.
The raven-haired psychic linked to his Pokemon to take cover before a flash of light enveloped the entire area.
The Iron Marauder looked up when a blast of electricity busted through the center of the Team Rocket Tower, knocking out its cloaking device.
"What in the Distortion World is going on there?" The Masked Rocket member looked over to the Alakazam and Astro. "You two go up there and help out Hun."
Without another word, the hypnotized psychic and fighting types blinked away with psionic energy. No sooner than the two did, the masked man heard the sound of...
"GAAAAHHHH!?" The Team Rocket agent didn't have enough time before being tackled into the dirt by some random hipster.
"Even if it isn't Suicuine, you don't deserve to capture one of the legendary Johto DogAAAHHK!?" Eusine didn't get a chance to finish as the man he tackled down moved his foot and kicked the Suicuine fan off him.
Both men got up from the ground.
"You think because I don't have Pokemon, I can't defend myself?" Then the man recalled who tackled him and laughed. "I don't think the same can be said for you, buddy."
As he closed the distance, Iron Marauder screamed as he threw a punch that held all his weight at Eusine. The blow connected, and the caped man fell—until his foot slid back, keeping himself from buckling. Eusine used the moment to throw his own punch: one that struck the neck of the muscled man. The Iron Marauder gasped as he staggered back, falling on his knees as he gasped for air from the strike.
Eusine spit blood out from his mouth. He tightened his gloves, and a memory from earlier today inspired him to say, "A little girl hits harder than you."
"And I'm getting those Pokemon back." That was what Eusine said before grabbing his opponent's head and ensuring the thief's face connected with Eusine's knee at full force.
Ash coughed as he fanned away the dust from the attack. (Guys, are you alright!?)
(What happened!? ¿Why can I not veo?) (Where did that come from?) (Yay!~ Everyone's alright!) (I can do that if I wanted to!)
Ash heard the sound of cackling energy nearby him before he spotted a noticeable glow. As the dust settled, he saw...living energy?
'What'sgoingon!?EverythingissuddenlysuperslowandIcan'tstopmoving!OhmyArceusWhatDoIdo?!WhatdoIdo!?'
Ash didn't know what was going on, but he could feel as if the Pokemon in front of him was the Ditto that was a Pikachu. But what did she turn into? Not the point right now—she needed help!
(Hey, it's alright! We won't hurt you!) Ash fished for his pockets and picked up his Pokedex. Dittos copied whatever Pokemon they saw; Ash noticed the former Pikachu looking at the Miracle Crystal before her transformation. Was there a Pokemon in there the whole time?
"Unrecognized Pokemon. Please patch in more data." The Pokedex said.
A Pokemon Professor Oak didn't know about? Well, it was at least an electric type. The new form of the Ditto seemed to slow down to a stop. Its arms(?) lying on the ground as if absorbing electricity.
(There's so much.) Ash heard the voice of the Ditto. ( I could never use electricity, and now there's so much! I can't handle it!)
The raven-haired teen felt himself caring for the Ditto. He reached a hand out and linked to her. (Hey. Listen to me. Okay? Focus on me. Breathe...? Or focus. You're going to be alright.)
The energy Pokemon faced Ash, and she calmed down as the electricity of her body started to stabilize.
Ash turned back to see the rest of Team Luckless hurrying over to him. "Guys! You're alright!" Then, Ash felt it. A familiar presence in the area. Just like in Sabrina's Gym, he felt something akin to a reverse sonic boom: a feeling he associated with teleportation.
It didn't take long for the dust to part, revealing that Runerigus shielded his trainer and Mega Beedrill from the electrical attacks. But standing in front of a blasted hole in the wall were two figures: an Alakazam.
And a costumed Riolu.
"Astro," Ash gasped as he and the rest of Team Luckless stiffened themselves for another fight.
"I wasn't expecting the Ditto to copy the Pokemon trapped in the Miracle Crystal!" Hun got up and narrowed his eyes towards Ash and his mons. "You're too unpredictable to let live. Go! Take them down!"
Team Luckless looked on with shock as Astro moved with the other Pokemon, obeying someone else besides Ash. But it didn't stop them from protecting their friend and trainer. Prince Nidorino continued to fight against the Runerigus, especially for insulting his magnificent clothes. El Almohada panicked as he caught the attention of Eusine's darkened Alakazam. Notus sped around, trying to catch the elusive Mega Beedrill making sounds as if he was a race car. Which left Jigglypuff against the brain-washed Astro. But if Team Luckless struggled on a 2v1, splitting into four proved they were woefully unprepared for the fight ahead.
Ash's eyes widened as he saw Hun running towards him with his taser. With a lunge, the Team Rocket member pushed the weapon toward the teen. Only to get intercepted by a tendril of electricity. Ash turned to see the Ditto, its body seemingly sapping all the energy from the taser before moving faster than a blur.
Ash thought that the four-on-four stacked against them. But it looked like Ditto found her equilibrium in her new form as she started moving as lightning personified. She struck the Alakazam with an Electric Move that Ash never saw before and outsped a surprised Mega Beedril. Unfortunately, that was all she could do as Astro had learned Detect to dodge attacks he wouldn't have seen coming. And Runerigus was obviously part ground type since being nailed by multiple electrical attacks didn't phase the ghostly painting.
(This body! It-It's amazing! I can use Moves again!) The former Pikachu cried out as she retreated near Ash. Electricity gathered around in front of the dots before expanding to the size of a car. She unleashed the attack on Hun. But Runerigus phased up through the floor between his trainer and the attack, tanking the hit that split in half yet opened two more holes.
(WOOHOO! I've never imagined using moves this powerful!) The Ditto started to skip happily at the destructive power she performed.
As the dust settled, Hun put his hand down. "How is that Ditto able to use electrical attacks!? The Miracle Crystal should still be absorbing all of them!"
The raven-haired teen recalled something when he was looking at Ditto. As he watched her new body of energy skip and hop, his brown eyes spotted the "legs" of the being absorbing energy whenever it bounced. He also realized that must be why the Miracle Crystal was so good at gathering electricity: the Pokemon's natural ability was being forcibly used against its will.
Suddenly, Ash had an idea. That Team Rocket Member said no single Pokemon could free the Miracle Crystal.
What if he just... hit it really, really, really hard... with everyone?
(Guys! Break the Miracle Crystal! Use Strong Style Moves!)
Team Luckless turned toward the crystal floating in the center of the battlefield. Without waiting, they raced for the prison.
Yes, Team Rocket tested the Miracle Crystal. It could withstand some of the strongest attacks Pokemon had available. But those were also very orthodox: something that Ash's Pokemon had proven they were not. El Almohada launched both Prince Nidorino and Jigglypuff with his Reflect move. The two charged Horn Attack and Strength in Strong Style. At the same time, Spearow dove in with her version of Strong Style Aerial Ace, and El Almohada threw a Reflect barrier not unlike a chair. The Ditto didn't want to risk touching the prison in case it would absorb her.
All empowered attacks coalesced into a sizeable crack in the Miracle Crystal, but it still held.
Hun's eyes widened when seeing this. "Stop them! Stop them from attacking the Miracle Crystal!"
Eusine's Alakazam yanked the three away from the prison with psychic force. Ash clicked his tongue as they just needed one more hit. The former Pikachu couldn't do it since her Electric attacks might get absorbed back. And Ash's only other Pokemon...
Astro somehow dropped from the ceiling, catching the Ditto off-guard with a powerful Force Palm, smacking her towards one of the holes she made.
Unfortunately, Ash remembered that while Ditto's had the ability to copy the power and moves of a Pokemon, they lacked the stamina to maintain most forms. He ran towards the bulb of energy that fluctuated while Team Luckless covered their trainer from being attacked.
(Are you alright!?) Ash asked as he got close to the Ditto transformed.
(Oww. That hurt more than I thought it would.) Ash figured out that the force and speed of this Pokemon got offset by its weak defenses.
But that was beside the point. They needed one more hit to free the Pokemon in the Miracle Crystal, but Astro was still mind-controlled! How could he get out of this situation?
Eusine half-wondered how he got into this situation as he took another hook to the face. Luckily for him, he rolled with the hit, lessening its power before counter-attacking. Iron Maruader felt his toes crushed under Eusine stomping on his shoe before slamming an elbow into his ribs.
One would think that the taller, heavier, and more muscular man would win in a fistfight. Yet, Eusine seemed to have the upper hand. Sure, the Iron Maruader had power over him, but Eusine ducked and weaved most swings he threw at the man.
But Eusine made one mistake, even after he landed a blow to fell his larger opponent: The Iron Marauder had no intention of fighting fair. The masked man grabbed sand after he fell; he jumped back up and threw it right into the face of Eusine, blinding him. That gave the large man enough time to unleash a haymaker into the caped man before pinning him down with a chokeslam loud enough to catch the attention of Raikou down below. Because of the difference in weight, the Suicune Fan felt his world blur for a fraction of a second before reaching the brink of utter darkness.
Yet, for some reason, his mind played a memory. Back in Johto, he searched and heard of the Legendary Dog Trio early in his adventures. He heard of a plot by one of Johto's gym leaders: to bring Lugia and Ho-oh together in order to summon Celebi. The event he orchestrated eventually made the Legendary Dog Trio look for humans to help aid them. Eusine heard of this but felt downtrodden when he heard that Suicune chose someone else to support them.
Suicune chose someone else when he had been chasing after the water type for who knows how long? Suicune chose a human, and it wasn't him?
No matter how many times he tried to convince himself it was temporary, the fact left a scar. Now here he was, hearing that someone caught Suicune. Someone else found, fought, and earned the right to be Suicune's proper trainer before him! But as if it was the ultimate slap to his face, Wes wasn't interested in getting Suicune and its siblings, despite their rarity.
Eusine tried to palm the ground as the Iron Marauder picked him up and punched him again. The Team Rocket Grunt may have been a literal version of his life: punching and kicking him while he was already down. But when Eusine fell down again, he spotted—if a bit blurry—Raikou, fighting valiantly despite being cornered.
Sure, it wasn't Suicune. But after another punch, Eusine stole a glimpse of Wes avoiding another giant rock.
Perhaps it was the head trauma, but Eusine couldn't help but notice that he and Raikou... shared the same look. Even under these horrible odds, they were still fighting. None of them were giving up despite seemingly losing their fights.
Was that it? The secret to catching a legendary Pokemon was not to hunt them down... but to earn their respect?
In that case...maybe defeating this man isn't the path to victory.
It didn't stop Eusine from finding a second wind. His leg jerked upward, kicking the Iron Maruader in the chin enough for him to let go of the bruised man. Full of adrenaline and not much else, Eusine yelled as he tackled the Team Rocket agent. Unfortunately, the Iron Marauder held his ground, grabbed Eusine, and tossed him towards the cliff overlooking Raikou's fight with the darkened Pokemon.
"You're a real piece of work." The man exclaimed as he rubbed his mouth. However, the Team Rocket grunt felt off, lighter for some reason. He looked down, and behind his mask, the Iron Marauder gapped in shock. His Dark Balls were stolen! The Team Rocket agent looked up to see Eusine holding four of them, smiling before tossing them toward the fight.
"Raikou, aim for these!"
The Dog of Thunder looked up before unleashing a wave of psychic energy using its Extrasensory. The four dark balls crunched—not unlike tin cans before—exploding.
At that moment, the Shedinja, Orbeetle, Houndoom, and Pinsir's dark aura faded, and they were confused before realization came across their face: they were free!
"Drat, I was hoping one of them was Alakazam's..." Eusine exhaled as his body slumped from the pain he received.
"Y-You!" The masked agent yelled as he rushed towards a weakened Eusine with the intent to turn his head into red paste.
The fan kept a smirk as the attack came in. Luckily, a powerful orb reached the speed of a bullet and slammed into the Masked Marauder, sending him flying back. Eusine wondered what happened until Raikou jumped in front of him as if protecting him from his attacker.
Raikou turned to him. 'Thank you.' A noble voice spoke in telepathy.
Eusine may have been beaten up, but he had enough energy to smile at the praise. It was then he heard two loud roars and saw the Tyranitar and the Drapion fighting off the freed Pokemon. The Tyranitar in question saw him and started to charge a Hyper Beam.
Luckily for Eusine, Raikou knew what to do now. With another Extrasensory, the electric legend destroyed the remaining four spheres, snapping the Drapion and Tyranitar out of their stupor.
By destroying all four of the remaining Dark Balls, it also freed two other Pokemon.
In the tower, Ash saw the dark aura vanishing around Astro and Alakazam.
"What!?" Hun looked between the two Pokemon. "What happened to Iron Marauder?!"
At that moment, Alakazam turned to the Runerigus with a Shadow Ball charged up. 'This is for stealing me away from Eusine!' He cried out before unleashing the super effective move at the ghost and ground type, dealing damage unlike any it took the entire fight.
'A-Ash!' Astro started to get teary-eyed. 'I'm so sorry! I couldn't do anything!'
Ash only sighed in relief. "It's okay, buddy! You came back!" At that moment, Mega Beedril came in to attack both Ash and Jigglypuff.
Astro spun on his heel and fired an Agile Style: Focus Blast with enough speed to blindside the Mega. Sure, Astro's attack was weaker, but just like the Ditto's form, it couldn't handle even a normal hit. Ash smiled as he looked back at his target. "Astro! Break the Miracle Crystal! Use Focus Blast Strong Style!"
It felt good to say that, and better as Astro charged an even bigger orb of energy before launching it toward the Miracle Crystal. With Alkazam on their side, the psychic pinned down Hun's two other Pokemon as the empowered attack hit the crack and exploded the crystal.
What happened next was something only the Ditto could see. She felt like everything slowing to a stop. The only thing that looked to be moving was the energy that was inside the Miracle Crystal. It coalesced into the same form the Ditto stole. Yet, it moved much faster than the Ditto when she assumed the form.
The being closed the distance between them while everything else still looked frozen.
'Declaration: Do not be alarmed. This unit has increased capacity speeds back to 80% efficiency. Your mental capacity is not programmed to handle speeds of this caliber... yet.'
The Ditto tilted her form.
'This unit, Regieleki, thanks you for its freedom. Now, allow this unit to return the favor.'
Only the Ditto perceived the being known as Regieleki moved at the speed of its typing. Its seven dots tagged multiple targets, two of them being Lycanroc and the Dynamaxed Grandbul. It stole back the energy their items siphoned from Regieleki and created seven Zap Cannons aimed at their targets.
In reality, one second passed before something escaped the Miracle Crystal and unleashed a torrent of electrical energy on Arlo and the rest of Team Rocket. Wes, Bea, and their Pokemon wondered what had happened before a flash of light made them look up at the floating Regieleki.
'Command,' The Electrical being turned towards Alakazam. 'Teleport those on your side away from the tower.'
The Psychic type didn't need to read minds to know it was best not to refuse a Legendary Pokemon. He raised his spoons and gathered energy before teleporting Team Luckless out of the tower. Hun ordered his Runerigus to get them out of the area before Regieleki gathered energy and zapped the power with electricity that maybe not even Raikou could output.
The tower used Regieleki like a battery; now it was Regieleki's turn to control the machine. The electric Pokemon's energy coursed through the building, activating its computers. The energy commanded the computers to disengage and open up all cells for the electric Pokemon caught inside. Not only that but some of that energy used in the machine was transferred back into the captured mon, giving them their energy back.
What was the first thing electric Pokemon did when they were released with energy to fight back again?
Here's what they didn't do: leave in a quiet and orderly fashion.
As Alakazam teleported Team Luckless out of the area, many watched as the tower got blasted from the inside out by electrical attacks. Chunks of metal, debris, and items flew everywhere until a mass of Pokemon raced out of the exits, both naturally and made by the riot.
Ash and the others looked over to see Raikou and an injured Eusine. The teen looked worriedly before he ran up to Eusine. "Whoa! Are you alright?!"
Eusine felt like he really was a hobo from the beating he got. However, he couldn't help but feel content. "F-Feel like a million bucks."
Wes, Bea, and their Pokemon came to them soon. "Well, I don't know what happened, but it's great not to have giant rocks thrown at me anymore." The Snagger sighed as he saw the teen moderately safe. Honestly, Ash was proving himself worse than Rui. At least Rui always stayed on the sidelines instead of throwing herself head-first into danger.
It didn't take long before Regieleki zapped itself toward the group.
'Gratitude: This unit expresses thanks, mortals. Had you not intervened, my odds of survival were minimal. However, this unit has expended the last of its reserves in allowing the other Pokemon to escape. Please, allow a period of recharge.' The being spoke before noticing Raikou. 'One of Ho-oh's agents. An unexpected outcome.'
Raikou stepped forward. 'What brings you so far from where you and your kind usually reside?'
'This unit hypothesizes we have the same suspicion of this area due to odd signals.'
Bea and Wes raised their brows. "What does he mean by that?" Wes looked to Raikou.
'Huh. I wasn't aware you'd be able to understand that.' Raikou responded.
"You think this is over!?" Everyone turned as they spotted a dirty Arlo standing a fair distance away from them.
The Snagger pointed a thumb behind him as he fought the urge to roll his eyes. "We literally have an angry mob of Electric Pokemon and two Legendaries after breaking all your annoying toys." If he wasn't a jerkwad and trying to kill him previously, Wes would admit his persistence was something, if not utterly annoying. "I seriously don't think you have good odds here."
Arlo gasped as he used his knees to support him. "If," He breathed again. "If you think I'm just going to take defeat lightly, you've got another thing coming!"
Eusine gave a deadpan look. "I'm the one beaten up, but did that guy get hit in the head?"
"Let's just take him dow..." Wes was about to say until Arlo brought something up.
"During our fight, I saw you drop this!" In the Team Rocket's hand was a Master Ball. Wes quickly looked inside his jacket, and his eyes widened when seeing a broken latch where a ball should have been tightly bound. Arlo continued, "And I'm willing to bet this has what I think it is!"
Wes and Raikou acted fast. "Use Psychic! Get that back now!" The others quickly noticed the usually laid-back and stoic Wes order with utter panic in his voice. It was the same with Raikou as it fired off an electrical attack with urgency they didn't see before.
However, Arlo's Lycanroc came in and slammed the ground, creating a Stone Edge attack as a barrier to the incoming attacks. It eventually broke from the combined pressure of the two attacks, but the rocks bought enough time for the Team Rocket leader. Arlo smiled as he put his hand back and threw the Master Ball down.
It was odd. As always the case with Poke Balls, there was always a flash of bright light whenever they opened. However, this one didn't explode with light. Instead, a miasma of pure darkness spread quickly as the Master Ball opened up, fogging the ground in dark shadows.
"Oh, this is NOT good." Wes started to sweat as he tensed.
"What's going on?" Eusine asked as he was lowest to the ground. It felt... chilling to even be in this dark fog. He didn't like how the smoke rose up to his shoulders.
"So it was real!" Arlo began to laugh to unleash a laugh that came more from elation than common sense. "The notes said that Ein created the Ultimate Shadow Pokemon! He dubbed it: Project XD-000! Come forth, XD-000! Destroy the trainer that sealed you away!"
"Idiot!" Wes shouted as he swiped his arm. "That thing doesn't listen to anyone!"
Arlo raised his brow when he heard that. However, everyone saw the smoke rise behind the Team Rocket leader and continued to tower over him. They saw a baleful red eye glow before a roar powerful enough to create shockwaves blew away Arlo and his Lycanroc before shadowy hands grabbed them and stole them away. It looked like Hun was still around gathering the last of the Team Rocket Members.
Yet, that only left the terror with everyone else.
It was a Tyranitar—that much they could tell by appearance—but there was something utterly unnatural about it. It was larger than a regular one, especially since people could compare the size with the recently freed Tyranitar caught by the Iron Maruader. But the most noticeable thing about this Tyranitar was that it was pure black. Aside from its red eyes, everything about the creature was darker than a starless night sky.
And then it turned its gaze—and snarl—towards everyone.
"Move!" Wes shouted before the creature unleashed a Hyper Beam that was the same color as it. The beam trailed and cut the ground in front of it, even slashing the rocket tower in two. One second passed before explosions rose from where the Hyper Beam struck, causing many to take cover even as bits of debris and firey items fell from the sky. (Astro felt a spike of odd energy as he felt something fall among the debris but focused on protecting the others.)
At that, the freed electric Pokemon instinctively attacked the black Pokemon. A multitude of voltage rivaling the worst storms assailed the shadow monster.
The area exploded from the combined power of the mob of Pokemon, and dust flew up to the sky.
No normal Pokemon would have handled all that combined power.
Yet only Raikou, Wes, and his Pokemon were on guard as a beam of dark energy shot out of the smoke and exploded into a large chunk of the electric Pokemon. As dozens of Pokemon fell from one hit, the Black Tyranitar walked forward without even a hint of a scratch.
The monstrous state of the Ultimate Shadow Pokemon caused a majority of the Electric Pokemon and even Iron Marauder's previous Pokemon to run away in fear at the imposing force. What was once an army against one was now a select few against an unstoppable force.
Bea saw her chance as she pointed forward. "Machamp, Dynamic Punch!" Her trusted Pokemon rushed towards the black titan before unleashing a punch that created a shockwave enough to part the black smoke emanating off the Tyranitar and send it sliding back. Machamp and Bea's eyes widened when the Rock and Dark type Pokemon showed not even a hint of damage on the obviously powerful blow Bea's Pokemon landed on something that should have been quad-effective against.
"It's gonna counterattack!" Wes yelled.
XD-000 turned its gaze down on the fighting type. The dark aura around it flared before a storm of dark wind circled around the monster and exploded forward, sending Bea's Machamp flying even as it tried to block the brunt of the attack.
Ash and Bea, with the rest of their Pokemon, run up to the mighty fighting Pokemon. However, they're all surprised as Machamp hisses in pain as his arms look like they're being burned off by dark energy.
"What's wrong!?" Bea asks as she tries to help her trusted partner.
"That's the annoying thing's powers!" Wes yelled out. "That specific Pokemon has something called Shadow Moves: every move it unleashes is super effective against all types! Not only that, it's impervious to all attacks!"
"What!? That's impossible!" Eusine shouted before Raikou and Regieleki rushed in. They charged energy before unleashing a powerful bolt of combined thunder at the being. The being didn't flinch before striking the ground and unleashing a wave of dark spikes erupting from below and toward the legendary Pokemon. Raikou avoided the attack, but even for the Legendary, it looked like it was sweating profusely. Regieleki flew up and gathered energy in its limbs before firing an impressive cage of electricity around the dark being. Voltage sparked inside the Thunder Cage, but even though XD-0 got pelted by raw lightning from a multitude of different angles, it looked more annoyed than hurt. Darkness gathered around the Shadow's form before it rushed towards the end of the cage, shattering it like glass under its mad dash before the darkness coalesced in front of XD-0's maw and turned into an orb. It then unleashed a beam that forced the being of energy to dodge. Yet, the beam hit a cloud that grew and quickly darkened the skies.
"Crap baskets!" Wes cursed aloud as he put on his visor and turned to a stunned Eusine.
"Look, I saw that thing take on all three Legendary Dogs and win! The only reason we won was because we distracted it long enough for me to get close and chuck a Master Ball while it wasn't looking!"
Ash heard this and fished his bag. "Wes! We still have a Master Ball!" He motioned to the gift they received from the CEO they saved in Saffron.
However, it seemed as if Ash's good intentions backfired on him. As he shouted, the Black Tyranitar turned to him and instantly saw the same purple sphere that trapped it. Anger and red light flared in its eyes before another beam of darkness shot from its maw. Ash's Pokemon and Bea's moved quickly, tackling and pulling the teen away before XD-0 erased an area off the map. But that was only the beginning; the Prototype wrapped itself in shadows before rushing after the trainers and their Pokemon with a speed that betrayed its heavy and bulky form.
Wes' eyes widened when seeing the monster that was his responsibility chase after his new—and he'd never realize this again until later, let alone say it aloud—friends. He looked to Eusine. "Stay here! It's too dangerous for you to fight the way you are!"
"W-What!? After what I?" Eusine tried to say before his entire body felt pain. His Alakazam worryingly went towards his trainer.
The Snagger gave a look to Eusine, one that held a sign of respect. "You already did great. It's our turn this time." That was all Wes said as he chased after the raging shadow.
Eusine did calm himself, feeling content that a trainer who captured all three Legendaries showed him respect. As he relaxed, his adrenaline finally declined, making him slump as his Alakazam used his powers to catch and care for his trainer.
Bea and Ash's Pokemon attempt to ward away the incoming beast. The party split up as the creature ran through them, decimating a boulder with as much effort as walking through water. With its shadowy aura lessened, Bea's Grapploct weaved its way in, using its flexible body to coil around the giant beast and restrain its arms and upper body. The Galarian Gym leader didn't hesitate, ordering her Hawlucha to use High Jump Kick. The fighting and flying type posed before dive-bombing into the face of the XD prototype. However, it looked as if Hawlucha was the one that took damage as he screamed when his leg smashed into the head of the creature. Seeing its chance, the Black Tyranitar flexed and unleashed a shadow pulse with a roar. Its power knocked away Bea's two other fighting type Pokemon before Notus and Jigglypuff came in to catch Hawlucha and Grapploct, respectively.
'Hold, tiny being!' Prince Nidorino stood his ground despite being injured in the earlier fight. 'You now face the future king of Mt. Moon!'
Seeing even Legendaries and powerful Fighting Pokemon unable to damage the amalgamation, what chance did a weakened poison Pokemon have? The future King of Mt. Moon held his ground before charging forward. The monster gathered darkness around the tips of his claws before he swiped ahead, creating a rend of shadows thick enough to cut the air itself. But Prince Nidorino ducked and weaved the two cuts before his Life Orb started to glow against the rising darkness.
The ground beneath the black Tyranitar lifted up. An empowered Rock Tomb shot up and slammed the side of the falling foot, causing the Shadow Pokemon to get imbalanced. Prince Nidorino jumped, empowering his feet with Strong Style Double Kick and slamming his hind legs into the creature as it lost balance, causing it to buckle and fall down. Bea's Machamp saw this and rushed forward, putting his energy into a Dynamic Punch sent it on the fallen Pokemon's face. Without proper footing, the abomination slid much further than before. Not only that but for the first time in the fight, it looked like they had damaged the seemingly indestructible creature.
At that moment: a wave of psychic energy lifted nearby trees and boulders before dog-piling hard on the downed Shadow Pokemon and began to compress into it. Wes ran up to the others while Espeon, Metagross, and Mismagius used a combined Psychic attack to pin down and condense nearby objects to slow down their opponent. "Ash, I need that Master Ball!"
As the teen tossed the violet ball toward the Snagger, darkness started to overpower the psychic force surrounding the containment. A shockwave of darkness erupted from the containment, knocking everyone off their balance and sending all but the two Electric Legendaries flying.
'This...' The true Regieleki bounced, although it was obvious to anyone else that its movements were more cautious. 'Our chances of survival drop with each passing second.'
Raikou lowered his stance as the Ultimate Shadow Pokemon turned its glowing red eyes toward the two of them. 'There is still hope! We must hold it off until the others find the Master Ball!'
Among the scattered debris that Wes' Pokemon slammed into XD-0's prison, one was a metal box with Team Rocket's symbol on it. It tore open from the previous explosion, revealing a collection of odd marble-like jewels.
One of them sparkled in a way that caught XD-0's attention. However, the darkness surrounding the shadowy Pokemon condensed and lifted the glowing marble-like object...
A Megastone: Tyranitarite.
Without warning, XD-0 swallowed the orb before shadows exploded with all the force of a dozen of geysers. The air became thicker, and darkness further suffocated what little light remained in the area. If that wasn't bad enough, little flakes of darkness started to fall from the skies, causing a burning sensation to anyone that wasn't tainted with darkness.
Yet, all that paled with the cocoon of darkness faded, revealing XD-0... had Mega Evolved.
Mega XD-0 towered even larger than its previous form, darkness seeping from it like waterfalls that obscured the area and seemed to drain the bright colors. It unleashed a roar that sounded more like primal hatred uttered by demons of loathing than a living being before turning its red eyes back at the two remaining and soon-to-be-forgotten Legendaries.
'Our chance of survival has now dropped below 0.001 percent.' 'I loathe how that number seems too generous.'
That was all the two Legendaries could banter about before Mega XD-0 unleashed its empowered attacks on them.
Ash, Wes, Bea, and their Pokemon woke up in pain as the dark flakes seared their exposed skin. They could barely see over the overwhelming darkness that grew thicker and made suffocated oxygen. However, they could see the blasts of electricity futilely trying to stop an evolved version of the monster they barely could hold back.
"Today is just—yowch!" Wes yelped as he felt the shards of darkness burn his skin. He shook his head before looking around. "Where's that Master Ball!?" He shouted but was too far from Ash and Bea's team.
Because of the darkness XD-0 exuded, they could barely see anything below their knees. Pokemon lower than knees—most of Team Luckless—had to climb their trainer or float upward. The former Pikachu still held the form of Regieleki. While she didn't quite know how to use the power of a Legendary, her body acted like a lighthouse in the dark, making everyone else glance in her direction.
Ash could barely see anyone else aside from the former Pikachu. However, he remembered how he connected to his Pokemon. Maybe he could try...
(Wes? Bea?) (What?! Ash?! How did you...) (So you can connect telekinetically? I can't shout over the fighting between Raikou and that other Pokemon and that stupid Tyranitar! We need to find the Master Ball!)
Ash turned to—what was under all intents and purposes at the moment—the glowing lightbulb. (Can you shine a light to find the Master Ball!?)
(Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh?) Despite feeling pain from the dark rain, the former Pikachu attempted to get brighter. Lucky for her, the electricity around her and Team Luckless did make things easier to see.
The downside was that it caught the attention of Mega XD-0. Being struck by so much electricity, the Mega Shadow shot a bolt of dark thunder, a Shadow Bolt, at Ash and his Pokemon. The true Regieleki sped in and fired its Zap Cannon to counter the attack. While the Regi's electrical power was destructive, the problem was that it still barely reached the same power as the Mega Shadow.
Prince Nidorino instinctively created a Protect barrier as the two attacks created a large explosion. The Prince's shield held. However, Team Luckless saw the true Regieleki slam into their energy dome before bouncing back and slumping on the ground.
XD-0 stepped forward before Raikou pounced behind the Mega, charged with electricity and an Aura Sphere ready to fire at point-blank range. Following that, Wes' and Bea's Pokemon charged in from both sides. The two teams may not have been able to injure the Mega Shadow. But they had more coordination and mobility to keep circling XD-0, even if his attacks encompassed large areas and were more destructive.
That left Team Luckless a moment to check on Regieleki. The former Pikachu panicked. 'A-Are you alright!?'
'This unit is now at 4% energy and dropping.' The being's energy dimmed as the darkness surrounded them. It didn't help that the Shadow Sky continued to rain darkness and weakened everyone further.
Ash thought back as he looked around. "We need to find that Master Ball!" The teen cried out as his Pokemon tried to look around but couldn't see past the thick shadows obscuring the ground.
'It is no use. The darkness will not lift until that...thing is defeated.' As Regieleki said this, XD-0 landed a clean hit on Misdreavus and Hawlucha. The force of the attack knocked both Pokemon out and forced Bea and Wes to cry out their Pokemon's names before focusing back on the losing battle at hand.
Ash saw this and moved to help as he usually did. However, he stopped after his first step. His mind trailed back to Sabrina, who scolded him repeatedly for being reckless, and to Mary, who was always worried for him. He still was being reckless even now, wasn't he?
The raven-haired psychic paused as he tried to take in his surroundings. (Astro, can you sense where the Master Ball is?)
(No? It's not alive! Even if it was, this thick black aura prevents me from even seeing the others as they fight that thing!) The Riolu held on to his hat to shield himself from the specks of raining darkness.
Ash turned to the former Pikachu, still in the form of Regieleki. (Can you look around? Try and find that purple sphere?)
'O-Okay! I can try! I'm pretty fast!' The Ditto said before speeding around the area. Electricity danced around the area in the span of a blink, signaling the copycat Pokemon was getting more used to the form she copied. It didn't take long before the Pokemon appeared in front of Ash, holding something with her electric limbs.
'Are these it?' The teen saw something sparkle...wait... two sparkles? He grabbed the items and was surprised to see a Key Stone etched into the top of a right-hand gauntlet and a Mega Stone?
'Hey!' Astro looked at the Mega Stone before looking forward and pointing towards Wes' Pokemon. 'That marble has a similar aura to Wes' Metagross!'
However, once Astro did this, XD-0 caught and nailed Espeon and Umbreon with Bea's Grapploct and Falinks in a devastating Shadow Blast. The attack left Wes with Metagross and Bea with Machamp; both Trainers and Pokemon heavily injured and tired from all the fighting they'd been doing previously.
'W-Wait! Is this not it? I couldn't see well and just picked up anything shiny I could see!' The Ditto cried out.
Yet, spurred by their allies' defeat and lowering numbers, Team Luckless, except El Almohada, raced off and attacked XD-0, taking attention away from Bea and Wes while coordinating with Raikou.
But even with Ash's Pokemon joining the fray, fatigue from all the fighting wore even Ash's energetic Pokemon down as they moved slower and weaker. Only Astro moved the easiest in the growing darkness, but as long as this horrible weather was up, it was only a matter of time before he fell.
Ash saw this and turned to the false legendary, "Can you try and find it again!?" However, as he said this, the true Regieleki forced itself back up.
'A new path to victory has opened itself...expending leftover auxiliary reserves.' The former Pikachu watched as the Regieleki stole the items from Ash and sped to Wes and Metagross. It used its powers, latched the gauntlet over Wes' right hand, and magnetized the Mega Stone to the Metagross.
'What are you doing!?' The former Pikachu cried out as she was the only one fast enough to react to the Legendary.
'Giving us a fighting chance.' The electrical Pokemon glowed brighter as it shot electricity in two directions, none of which pointed at XD-0 but at Bea's Dynamax Band and Ash's Battle AR. After that, the Regieleki slowed to the point where XD-0 spotted and attacked the electric type. Darkness blasted the bright spark of light before an explosion swallowed the legendary... leaving behind several blue rings.
Everyone was horrified to see the Shadow Mega take down a Legendary Pokemon so easily. However, Regieleki had done his job. Three new lights shined in the darkness. Bea saw her Dynamax Band shine; Wes noticed the glowing Key Stone on his right hand; And Ash saw his damaged Battle AR spark to life with a prompt: "Activate Synergy Burst? Y/N?"
The three trainers raced for their devices before three flashes of different lights exploded and expelled the surrounding darkness.
Among the wreckage of Team Rocket's tower, a random radio sparked to life from the rising three energies, playing Myths And Adventures [2023 Remake] (Epic Adventure Music).
Metagross gathered light from the Keystone and the Mega Stone on top of him, reaching a form that was believed to be the apex of evolution of his kind. An odd but immense power enlarged Bea's Machamp changing his form as it did so that even his arms cracked and fizzled with excess energy. A noble but glory-seeking energy wrapped itself around Astro, returning some of his lost strength while boosting his aura in a way the Aura Line never imagined.
Ash, seeing this, smiled as he gripped his fist and shouted, "Astro, Force Palm Strong Style!"
Faster than even the fighting type realized, Astro closed the distance and unleashed an empowered fighting type move into the face of the Mega Shadow. Unlike everything before, the attack caused the rampaging monster to reel in pain as the traces of Astro's rainbow aura seemed to sear and burn off the darkness around the creature. XD-0 turned, eyes flashing red as darkness gathered around it.
"Meteor Mash!" Like Astro, Wes' Metagross blindsided the great shadow. Empowered by a new strength, hidden power, and the momentum of Astro's first strike, the Metagross unleashed torrential steel energy that cut through the surface of Mega XD-0's skin.
For the first time, Wes and everyone heard XD-0 scream in pain as if it had never felt it before. It thrashed wildly, making Astro and Metagross avoid a beam of condensed darkness that blew up more trees. XD-0 was blindly thrashing and attempting to hit both Pokemon that it utterly neglected the energy rising looming above it.
Bea inhaled deeply, feeling calm as the energy of Dyamaxing surrounded her ace Pokemon. She stomped into a fighting stance, her eyes brimming with a fire that will never be quenched. "Monster of darkness! You will not defeat us nor our fighting spirits!" She punched the air. "Max Knuckle Barrage!"
Machamp gathered energy in all of his hands before unleashing a storm of empowered fists that rained on the Ultimate Shadow Pokemon.
Yet, even though an assault like that would down even Legendaries, a spark of darkness exploded, causing the giant Machamp to step back and yell as his fist burned with dark fire, cackled with shadowy thunder, and got encased in black ice.
The attack Machamp's Gigantamax form did more damage than any of them realized. The group saw the Shadow Mega hunched over, its darkness starting to lessen, and even the glow of its red eyes flickered. However, it unleashed a roar before gathering all remaining darkness towards it like a black hole. It was a desperate move, but leftover rocks started to float up from the density and power output that the Mega was about to unleash would likely make people wish they were about to die instead.
Yet, Ash, Bea, and Wes all turned to each other. Three unlikely people from corners of the world shared a wordless stare before all nodding once in unison.
"Astro!"
"Metagross!"
"Machamp!"
They shouted as all three of their empowered Pokemon gathered energy. Feeling a second wind from the momentum shift, the other fallen and tired Pokemon of the trainers gathered the last of their strength for the upcoming clash!
XD-0 unleashed an inhuman sound before firing a giant beam of darkness that threatened to erase all in its path.
Yet, in its path stood three trainers and their Pokemon. Defiance and Perseverance shined from their souls as they shouted...
"STRONG STYLE: FLASH CANNON!"
"G-MAX CHI STRIKE!"
"FOCUS BLAST UNITE STYLE!"
The three unleashed their empowered attacks into the beam of energy, with all other Pokemon assisting in tandem with their own. The attacks clashed, causing a shockwave that even the fleeing electric Pokemon from a while ago felt as they looked back. Eusine and his Alakzam were in awe but afraid as the psychic erected a barrier to protect his injured trainer from the shockwaves.
Anger... and... and... fear spurred the XD prototype. With a desperate push, it poured itself into its attack, causing it to grow larger and push back the trainer's combined attacks.
Yet the trainers stood their ground even as the winds blew against them. The three yelled in unison, causing their Pokemon to feel and push back with everything they had! Their burst of energy surpassed that of XD-0 as the strength behind the combination of attacks overpowered and overwhelmed the beam of shadows. The Ultimate Shadow screamed before the torrent of multiple bond-evolving energies burned a light that swallowed even its outlines before exploding.
Everyone gasped for air as they saw the cloud rise to the sky, but the area was no longer drenched in dark shadows. Wes couldn't believe it. Inside a crater was the invincible Apex of Cipher... beaten at last when it took a miracle to steal victory the first time.
The Snagger found himself walking up to the downed XD-0. The thing was a creature of pure hatred and destruction, but there was a sense of sadness from the Savior of Orre as he looked down on it.
Wes sighed as he charged a Snag Ball with a simple Poke Ball. "I'll find a way to cure you. I promise." The silver-haired teen said as he tossed the ball at the downed creature. From the beating XD-0 took, it had no strength to struggle against a simple Poke Ball as the sphere completed its capture.
Wes turned, seeing a confused look on both Ash and Bea's face from watching him act the way he did with XD-0 after it nearly killing them. The young man rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, I steal Pokemon. In my case, I stole them from the bad guys to prevent more of... this," He motioned to XD-0 before continuing on. "I helped heal the stolen and turned Pokemon. But this one? ... They did something I couldn't undo. So... I keep it around and hope one day I'll be able to turn it back to normal."
"You carry such a heavy burden..." Bea crossed a hand over her chest as her eyes lit up in a way that Wes really didn't like. "Yet you press on with it and carry such strength and purpose! Truly, I have made the right decision to make you my new Sifu!" Bea then punched her hands together and bowed in front of Wes.
"That's not what I was trying to do," Wes flatly said before he had another horrible feeling and looked over to see Ash's eyes wide with wonder before turning to...him.
Crap.
Ash gasped before he pointed. "WES!? You're a SUPERHERO!?"
"How did you get that idea!?" Wes cried out in annoyance.
"You're like Golbat-Man! A defender of justice who carries a dark and heavy burden! You even got a cool cape jacket! Did you ever think of turning it black and purple!?" The teen's eyes shined in a different but equally annoying way to Bea's.
"He's not a superhero!" Imaginary Rui said to Wes' right. "He's a Knight in shining armor here to save the day no matter what!"
"Please, Sifu," Bea raised her head, but it did not lessen the awe—read as 'annoyance' for Wes—in her eyes. "You must teach me to carry strength the way you do!"
Wes breathed deeply, wishing he was in Pallet Town with every passing millisecond.
Raikou only smiled before he slowly made his way and picked up Regieleki's rings. He glanced once over to Eusine and winked at him before taking the other Electric Legendary away into the forest as three trainers began to speak in circles.
"You feel better, Eusine?" Ash asked as the man helped himself with a metallic crutch pieced together by Wes and their psychic Pokemon.
"Honestly? It wasn't Suicune, but earning Raikou's favor isn't a bad thing." The fanboy of Suicune sighed deeply. He turned over to the Pokemon that indirectly helped them. "Now... about your friend over there..."
Ash turned to the female Pikachu... who kept transforming to and fro between that form and that of a Ditto.
The raven-haired teen saw this and kneeled down to the copycat Pokemon. "Thanks for your help. We wouldn't have won without you."
'Well, I wouldn't have found out I was a Ditto if not for you guys...' The then Pikachu shook her head. 'I was wondering why I could never use electrical attacks for so long!'
"So, are you returning back to your family and friends?" Ash looked outward. "Cause they have a pretty big head start... wherever they went."
The fake Pikachu looked around. 'Oh. Huh... well, even if I returned, I still don't know how to use my original body well. So that electrical thing might come up again. I heard stories of Pokemon growing stronger with Humans, and that fight a while ago proved that rumor right. So... can... I...?' She shyly put her hands together and glanced sideways at Ash.
"Welcome to the team!" Ash put his hand out as the fake Pikachu reached out her hand to shake with Ash's. "Do you want a new name? Cause I don't know whether to call you Pikachu or Ditto."
The copycat Pokemon thought about it before she turned back into her Ditto form. 'A while back, I saw this other Pikachu who looked amazing! I never forgot what she looked like...' It took her a second to reform, turning into a Pikachu with an elegant blue dress. 'I would like to stay in this form if it helps!'
Ash recognized the dress. Mary had shown him a magazine of Pokemon Fashion before. In particular, the issue presented a slew of Pikachu Costumes, and the one the fake Pikachu currently wore was called a Belle Dress.
Wait.
"How about," Ash began as he recalled Mary talking about battleships later that had a similar name. "We call you Belfast? Are you alright with that?"
The false Pikachu swooned after hearing the name before she curtsied with her dress. 'It sounds splendid! My new name is Belfast!'
And so, Team Luckless gained a new member: Belfast the (Ditto) Pikachu!
Sabrina didn't know why there were injured Team Rocket members in her Gym Office, and it took a large amount of self-control not to break the walls and turn them all into red paste within seconds.
"Forgive us, Agent Sabrina," Hun said as he kneeled at her. "We had to retreat when we were outed by trainers."
"Three top agents and a Go Leader defeated by random trainers? Who were they?" Sabrina seethed as she leaned into her chair.
"They were an odd group. One is believed to be the trainer who took down Cipher, the other was a Gym Leader from Galar, but the 3rd one was an old raven-haired child with budding psychic prowess. That last one had bizarre Pokemon with him as well."
At the mention of that, Sabrina's hair flew as psychic energy spiked in the room. The Team Rocket elites were shocked to see her angry but did not know why.
Meanwhile, in Sabrina's mind...
(HOW IS THAT CHILD STILL CAUSING ME GRIEF WHEN HE'S GONE!?)
If it gave Sabrina any relief—(Unlikely)—there was someone else who had similar feelings. Little did the rescuers know that the Electric Pokemon did return to the field after they left. Seeing how Regieleki somehow manipulated the tower before it broke, some curious Pokemon tested something.
Professor Oak woke up one night to the sound of heavy machinery right outside his laboratory.
"I thought I convinced the Clafairy Conclave not to turn the windmill into a space rocket..." Professor Oak missed the days when a sentence like that would never have been thought, let alone uttered by his own mouth. However, as he opened his window, he didn't see a ufo but a large, poorly-patched-up mechanical tower with electric Pokemon hanging around from the many holes and limbs with makeshift balconies and etc.
'Come on, lads!' A loud Electabuzz with war paint pointed a patched-up sword forward. 'Onward! They may take our lives, but they'll never take... OUR FREEDOM!'
The Electric Pokemon all clamored as they made their way into Professor Oak's 'farm'.
"... It's too late for this." Professor Oak closed the window and tried to go back to sleep.
It proved to be an arduous task as the tower suddenly blasted bag-pipe music until dawn.
{Author Notes}
So, I felt like explaining a bit. But the Black Tyranitar/XD-000 is a combination of several things. The first is a reference to the Manga, where there is indeed some superpowerful Black Tyranitar that apparently even an army of fighting Pokemon couldn't put down. The second is obviously a reference to Pokemon XD Gale of Darkness XD-001 Shadow Lugia. In this timeline, Cipher was the one who captured this odd Tyranitar and was able to advance their Shadow Pokemon process while still in Wes' era. I thought that these two different mediums have the potential to connect, which is why it's now a Shadow Pokemon, or rather the alpha series of the XD Shadow Pokemon Project. And because it's an XD Shadow Pokemon, Wes doesn't have the resources to purify this one.
Next, we meet Ash's sixth Pokemon! Meet Pikachu-Ditto! Belfast! (Brownie points if you know what game anime character I referenced with her name.) I was wondering what Pokemon to give the guy, and when Pokemon was finally retiring Ash, I wanted him to get Pikachu again, for old-time's sake. But it didn't really fit the mold of what I wanted, so I realized there was a Pokemon that could work to suit my story technicalities and nostalgia: Ditto! I know they're technically Genderless, but this one identifies as female. (And I kinda wanted to balance Ash's team a bit, as they're males; even Notus/Spearow sounds like a male despite being female.)
I also surprised myself with Eusine. I wanted to make him a bit more comedic, but I ended up giving him a hardcore moment against Iron Marauder. It's really wild to see how this story is shaping up with all these random interactions.
Also, sorry for the late update. This was a hard chapter to write, and I was busy. But I had a lot of fun towards the end.
Sabrina: (Looks at Professor Oak.) Ash Ketchum?
Professor Oak: (Nods) Ash Ketchum.
I thought it would be fair to return to that running gag and maybe even add Sabrina into the mix somehow. But I am so glad this chapter is over; it was harder to write than I thought. Thanks again for supporting this, and I hope to see y'all soon!