Chapter 23

So he knew. But how had he found out?

"You can't hide yourself from me forever," The Dark Ball expanded in Nigel's hand. "Haven't you read the prophecy? Only a wish can save you now Latius, and Hoenn is far away from here."

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Ash, "but I won't let you win!" He quickly returned Latias to her Pokeball before surrounding himself in a bright shower of light as he transformed into Latius.

Nigel smirked and threw his Dark Ball "Go Ho-Oh!"

Ash gasped as the Dark Ball opened, revealing the Rainbow Pokemon. Like the other Dark Pokemon, it was covered in Dark smoke and its eyes were emotionless and lifeless. Unlike the others, however, Ho-oh radiated an immense power unlike any Ash had ever felt, even in legendaries like Mewtwo and Lugia.

"How did you capture Ho-oh?" He demanded.

"I threw the ball and caught it," replied Nigel nonchalantly, "did you really think I sent my grunts to Tin Tower for nothing?"

Meowth jumped in surprise. "Da twerp's a Pokemon?"

"And he has to fight that thing?" said James.

"What Pokemon is that?" asked Jessie.

After a moment of silence, James pulled out his handbook and flipped through the pages until he found the one he was looking for. He gulped. "That's Ho-oh, the legendary Rainbow Pokemon, legends say this Pokemon flies the world's skies on its magnificent seven-colored wings."

"I think da twerp is a legendary too," said Meowth hopefully, "maybe he can win?"

The trio stood, rooted to the spot, before Jessie broke the silence. "Well don't just stand there! We need to help the twerp! James, Meowth, finish loading the cannons! I'll get the nets!"

"Right away!" coursed James and Meowth.

"Whew, that was a close one," said Professor Oak, looking at the crumbled remains of the bridge.

"Too close," panted Brock as he set the ball on the ground, "What now?"

"We're almost there," said Professor Birch, looking at his map, "it's just down this way,"

The group walked down the cave, beaming their flashlights over ancient pillars and avoiding the occasional Zubat or Geodude.

Misty stopped as her flashlight shone on a reflective surface. "Hey, there's another message over here," said Misty, pointing to a rusty metal plaque nailed to one of the walls.

You did well to pass the test,

Your work is almost at a rest,

But before you proceed, before you go on

Solve this final code, and don't get it wrong.

Solve it quickly, be honest and true,

Hurry, the Chosen relies on you.

If you decode it fast, and make your wish quick,

You just might make the time in a nick.

You must find 8 numbers, and use them on the door,

To help you find them, we give you clues four;

The numbers are letters, hiding words two,

Each has four letters, which is your first clue.

The first word you know you can trust,

It describes that which contains no falsehood or lust.

The second word lies in two whom you know,

They guard a city of water, and themselves rarely show.

This final clue you may not understand,

It's the start of a story, before the first action lands,

Before 'some people', even the 'hello',

Some people, though not you, will see this and know.

"The numbers are letters… what does that mean?" asked Misty.

"I've seen that before," said Professor Birch, "It's referring to the order of the alphabet. 1 for A 2 for B, and so on,"

"Judging by the clue, I'm pretty sure the second word is about Latios, and Latias," said Brock, "but their names have six letters, not four,"

"Maybe it's just Lati?" suggested Misty.

"That's possible," said Professor Oak, "but slightly too straightforward."

"Maybe the first word will give us a clue," said Professor Birch, "what describes something we can trust?"

Before any of them could answer, however, they were engulfed by a bright light as the cave vanished from right under their feet. For a moment, they saw nothing but darkness until the area around them lit up, giving off a light that seemed to go right through them. Their attention was diverted by the Pokemon on the battlefield a few feet away; an orange Latios on one side and a Ho-oh on the other.

"What's happening?" asked Professor Oak.

"I think this is sight-sharing," said Brock, "It's a special ability of Latios and Latias,"

"But who's doing it?" asked Misty, "I don't see either of them,"

"Quiet," interrupted Professor Birch, "I think we're looking at something important."

The group stopped talking and listened to the conversation between the Latios (who they recognized as Ash) and a strange man in a black suit with a purple V.

"How did you capture Ho-oh?" Ash's mental voice sounded.

"I threw the ball and caught it," came the reply, "did you really think I sent my grunts to Tin Tower for nothing?"

Ash prepared himself for battle. This was it, just him against Nigel and Ho-oh. He took a deep breath, it was all or nothing. "Dragon Pulse!"

"Phantom Force," Nigel commanded.

Ash's attack passed harmlessly over the spot where Ho-oh had been as the Rainbow Pokemon phased into the ground.

Ash closed his eyes and concentrated, trying to predict where Ho-oh would come out. After a few seconds, he was able to make out a faint outline of Ho-oh directly below him. At just the right moment, he put up a Protect as soon as Ho-oh shot out of the ground. Ho-oh was backing up for another attack when a thought occurred to Ash and he secretly used Future Sight. Why? He didn't know.

"Sunny Day,"

Ash was about to try to stop the attack when he felt a surge of unfamiliar energy. Beams of sunlight began to stream through the room, but instead of attacking, Ash began to sway back and forth. Just as Sunny Day reached its full brightness, the sun suddenly faded and was covered by small dark clouds that began pouring down rain. Ash stopped moving. Was that Rain Dance? But… he didn't know that move. Shrugging, he turned his attention back to the battle.

"Have it your way then, use Thunder," said Nigel.

To Ash's surprise, he found himself launching a Thunder of his own but instead of colliding in the air as he expected, however, the attacks simply bypassed each other, striking both Pokemon with powerful bolts of lightning. Ash gritted his teeth as the attack hit him, but to his surprise, it didn't hurt very much. Ho-oh, on the other hand, didn't take the attack nearly well and almost fell out of the air from the super-effective attack.

"Roost." Nigel didn't hesitate to recover Ho-oh's health.

Ash tried to launch another Dragon Pulse, but instead, his body faltered as it crackled with electric energy. With horror, he realized he had been paralyzed.

Nigel had realized this too, as he gave an especially nasty smirk. "Calm Mind."

Thankfully, Ash found himself able to move again as another strange feeling came across him. Shrugging, he went with it again and found himself charging at Ho-oh with a bright white energy.

Whatever Nigel was expecting, it was not a blur of orange feathers smashing Ho-oh to the ground. "Roost again!"

Facade. But he didn't know that move either… Ash's thoughts were interrupted as Ho-oh shot a Hurricane at him. Ash knew he couldn't dodge it so instead he quickly launched a Dragon Pulse at it. The two moves collided, canceling each other out, and launching dust and rain in every direction.

"Calm Mind again."

Ash knew he had to end this fast, otherwise Ho-oh would easily overpower him. Praying the paralysis wouldn't take effect, he charged at Ho-oh with a Dragon Claw.

"Flamethrower,"

Ash brushed aside the temptation to dodge and braced himself as he charged straight through the stream of fire. Pushing aside the immense heat, he flung himself directly at the Rainbow Pokemon's chest, slamming it into a wall.

Ash prepared for a counterattack, but instead of ordering one, Nigel pulled a crystal orb from his pocket and threw it at Ho-oh. Ash shielded his eyes as the crystal glowed and crystal-like beams shot from the ground, covering Ho-oh. After a few seconds, the crystals burst into fragments, revealing a very different Ho-oh. Its body still glowed with dark energy but appeared to have been crystallized. The most notable feature, however, was a crystal heart with two wings made out of gems that sat on Ho-oh's head. Ash felt a sense of dread as Ho-oh gave a battle cry, fairy-type energy emanating from the crystal on its head.

And... we got another chapter!

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