"Finally, my master plan is nearly complete." The Masked Man said, crystals growing from the archway as his staff was attached to it.
"Hold it!" Ash shouted, as Lance's Dragonite blew open a hole from the wall.
"You're too late child, my master plan has already come to fruition." The Masked Man said.
"Not if we have anything to say about it! Pikachu use Zap Cannon!" Ash called out.
"Ash wait!" Lance exclaimed, only as Pikachu already shot a massive blast of electricity at the archway, shooting right through the center of it.
"Ahh, so close, too bad that move has such poor accuracy. You hit your target in the dead center, and yet you missed it completely." The Masked Man said.
"Wait, that voice." Molly said in shock, as she, Casey, and Meowth appeared from another entryway.
"It can't be." Casey said.
"It's him!" Giovanni said in shock.
"Pryce?" Lance asked in shock.
"I didn't miss." Ash said, as he and Pikachu hopped down to join Molly and Casey.
"It doesn't matter, when I'm through none of you will be strong enough to stop me!" Pryce argued.
"Dragonite get him!" Lance called out.
"Persian get the staff!" Giovanni exclaimed.
"Ah, ah, ah." Pryce said, as a Piloswine froze Dragonite in a single hit, while his Swinburne countered Persian. "For years I have had to hold back, pretending to be feeble old Pryce, too weak to even walk in the public, but the truth of it is, I am far stronger than any of the rest of you could ever hope to be!"
"Maybe, but I'm guessing it wasn't all a lie!" Ash said, rushing forward, kicking Pryce's leg, causing him to drop to the ground.
"You and that blasted Totodile, you ruined my plans all those years ago, never had I imagined you would have made it to the present just as wily as ever, unfortunately for you, while you only grew marginally stronger since our first encounter, I have had decades to grow my craft!" Pryce said, grabbing the staff. "Piloswine send him to the Ice Age! Use Blizzard!"
"Beedrill now!" Giovanni called out, as he and Lance got down.
Giovanni's Beedrill quickly flew forward, pushing Ash back to safety with the girls and Meowth.
"Tyranitar, Gyarados! We need to break that portal!" Lance called out. "Double Hyper Beam!"
"Ariados use Spider Web!" Pryce called out, the spider shooting out massive amounts of silk, trapping the mighty beasts.
"Come on Twerp, don't you got some sort of master plan?" Meowth asked.
"Right! Pikachu use Quick Attack!" Ash called out.
Pikachu raced forward, slamming into the Ariados and knocking it backwards, only for Pryce's Swinub to retaliate and send Pikachu tumbling back.
"Maybe something better?!" Meowth asked worriedly.
"Get out of here, its too dangerous!" Lance called out.
"No! We're not leaving!" Ash argued, trying to come up with a plan.
"You're right. No one is leaving!" Pryce said, grabbing the staff, firing it at Lance, Giovanni, and their Pokemon, encasing them all in crystals.
"NO!" Molly exclaimed, seeing the champion stopped in a single move.
"Now to tie up the loose ends. I don't know how you escaped last time, but I'll make sure you'll never be freed again." Pryce said, firing a beam at the kids and Meowth.
"MIRROR COAT!" Ash called out, swiping at a Pokeball.
The beam collided, but never struck or froze, stunning everyone but Ash, as the girls opened their eyes to see Wobbuffet holding back the attack before launching it straight into the air, blowing a hole in the roof before collapsing.
"Pikachu use Thunder Punch!" Ash called out while Pryce was still stunned.
Pikachu leapt forward, striking the staff, and knocking it out of Pryce's hands before once again being knocked back by Swinub.
"I'll give you this, you are certainly resilient." Pryce said angrily, rubbing his wrist as his Ariados brought the staff back. "However your trick only worked once, and I know for a fact none of your remaining Pokemon can stop this attack again."
'Be calm child, we are here to help.' A voice rang through Ash's ears on the wind.
"We, who's we?" Ash asked looking around.
"What are you rattling on about now?" Pryce asked, grabbing his staff. "No matter, this ends now!"
Pryce fired a beam, striking the ground around the group, crystals creeping up their legs as Ash grabbed Pikachu and Meowth out of desperation.
"It appears my ride is here." Pryce said, grabbing the GS Ball as a portal appeared in the archway. "I'd say we will meet again, but once I'm through, none of you will have ever existed."
"I'm sorry guys. I tried everything, I don't know what else we could've done." Ash said.
"You could let me go!" Meowth said, before noticing more crystals all around them. "Just my luck, I get to die in the arms of a twerp."
"Maybe someone else will be able to stop him, maybe it's not too late." Molly said hopeful.
"Face it, we knew he was here, we had a plan and we still failed." Casey sighed. "Anywhen he goes, he has an advantage now."
'Hold still child this will be tight.' The voice on the wind said.
"There it is again." Ash said, as a breeze passed through.
"What, so there's a breeze, your blue boy did a number on the ceiling, are you really surprised?" Meowth asked, looking at the passed out Wobbuffet.
"No, everyone don't struggle!" Ash said, as the crystals grew past their wastes.
"Easy for you to say." Meowth remarked as a bolt of lightning shot through the room, with Casey disappearing in it and into the portal.
"CASEY!" Molly exclaimed, before a surge of flames engulfed her and went through the portal as well.
"We've gotta get out of here twerp! LET ME GO!" Meowth said, struggling only to be face to face with Suicune.
"It was you Suicune, you told me not to struggle or worry, right?" Ash asked, shocking Meowth with that statement.
Suicune nodded, before easily pulling Ash, Pikachu, Meowth, and Wobbuffet from the crystals, giving Ash the chance to return the psychic type before leaping into the portal as crystals grew over it.