Chapter 50:

Omegaggedon, Part I

Silverport Town

"Good morning everyone!" Serena said as she entered the Pokemon Cafeteria, and sat next to Ash and in front of Clemont and Bonnie.

"Good morning," Ash replied, the two of them sharing a quick kiss on the lips. "I see somebody sleep really well today!"

"Yeah. You usually don't sleep in as much," Clemont observed. "Especially since we went to bed early yesternight."

After their detour on the Labyrinth, the group took the very last ferry of the day, and they arrived at Silverport Town at night. As usual, a sign was there to welcome them:

Welcome to Silverport Town

A fresh sea breeze brings new promise!

Feeling exhausted, especially Serena, they decided to just get to the Pokemon Center, leave their Pokemon under Nurse Joy's care, have a quick dinner and head to bed early.

"What can I say? I slept so well tonight!" Serena beamed, as she stretched her arms above her head. "I don't remember the last time I had such a nice sleep. The perks of no longer being worried about what you are going to do with your rebellious Pokemon."

"Yeah, when my Charizard finally stopped disobeying me I also slept a little better," Ash replied. "It feels good, isn't it? Like you make such a huge breakthrough as a trainer."

"You have no idea how right you are, Ash," Serena said, before directing her gaze at the Lumiose siblings in front of her. "Say, since yesterday's training was cut short, how about if we spend the day in this town and resume our training? We still have a lot of time until the Grand Festival, and from what I saw Snowbank Town isn't that far away from here."

"Oh, sure, training, that's what you call it now?" Bonnie asked teasingly as her mouth curved into a taunting grin.

Serena, however, rolled her eyes. "Yes, I do plan to take the opportunity to go out with my boyfriend," sweet goodness, it felt so good referring to Ash with that word. "But when I said training, I mean it. I didn't have the chance to train Oblivicorn after she evolved, so we'll have a lot of catching up to do until she's at the same level as the rest of my team."

"Oblivicorn looks pretty strong. I'm sure she'll catch up in no time," Ash optimistically assured, making Serena smile.

Once they finished their breakfast, they headed towards the reception counter, where there were already several trays with pokeball, as well as Pikachu and Dedenne, waiting for them. As soon as they got close, Pikachu quickly jumped onto Ash's shoulder and Dedenne took his place inside Bonnie's bag, while the trainers took their pokeball.

As they were about to head to the currently empty battleground just outside the Pokemon Center, a pair of teens walked through the doors.

"Aw man, I thought I almost had it this time!" one of the teens, a blond boy, complained.

"Well, better luck next time," his companion, a girl with black hair styled on a long braid, replied. "Hopefully I will catch it myself the next time we see it."

"That's if nobody else catches it first," the boy replied. "Though, with so many people trying to catch it, I don't know why it is still around here."

"Maybe it's looking for a worthy trainer," the girl guessed.

"In that case you shouldn't even try, you're the suckiest trainer I know," the boy said with a teasing smirk.

"Says the one who failed three times in two days to catch it," the girl fired back.

The two of them disappeared behind the door that led to the cafeteria, leaving Ash and his friends pondering what they were talking about.

"I see people are still failing to catch that Jerbolta," Nurse Joy commented.

"Huh? A Jerbolta?" Clemont repeated.

"Yes, but not just a normal Jerbolta, but a shiny one. Naturally, such rare Pokemon are sought out by many trainers. It arrived a few days ago and has been hanging around the town's outskirts for some time," Nurse Joy added. "Unsurprisingly, a lot of trainers tried to catch it, but it always managed to evade them and run away. Though he always returns to the town for some reason." She looked pensive as she put a finger under her chin. "Honestly, I wonder where it came from. Jerbolta aren't native to this area, so it has to be from a trainer. Maybe it's looking for its trainer, but he or she doesn't seem to be here anymore."

"A shiny Jerbolta," Clemont repeated, as he shot his friends a worried look, while Serena pulled out her tablet and began to tap at the screen. "Do you think it may be... Leona's?"

"Well, shiny Pokemon are rare, but I'm sure that there are more shiny Jerbolta out there," Ash reasoned. "Leona didn't strike me as the kind of trainer who would abandon her Pokemon like that."

"Guys, there was a contest in this town three days ago," Serena said, as she held her tablet facing the others so they could see the screen. "Look who was the winner."

There was a picture of a smiling Leona lifting a ribbon above her head, with all her Pokemon around her, Jerbolta included.

"So... it may be hers," Bonnie said, sharing her brother's worry. "Then why is it still around this town? Did something happen to Leona?"

"Only one way to find out," Ash decided. "Let's go find that Jerbolta and ask it directly," he looked at Serena. "Hopefully it will remember you and won't try to run away."

Everybody nodded as they followed Ash outside the Pokemon Center.

Moments later, the group was outside the center, Luxray, out of his pokeball in order to help with the search.

Hopefully, it wouldn't take too long to find the unusually colored rodent. While certainly not a small town, Silverport Town was still not particularly big. It was built at the edge of the slopes of Mt. Lantanite, surrounded by trees and snow.

"Lu, luxray!"

And as expected, Luxray managed to track the Pokemon in question pretty quickly, leading the group to one of the houses at the northernmost edge of the town, where Jerbolta was hiding behind a pile of firewood.

"J-Jer!" Jerbolta cried upon seeing the group of humans running towards it, ready to flee.

"Wait, Jerbolta!" Ash called.

"Pi, pikachu!" Pikachu called as well.

"Jerbolta, don't you remember me? I was a friend of Leona!" Serena said, hoping to make the Sand Mouse Pokemon remember. "You fought against my Pancham on that ship!"

"Bolta?" Jerbolta asked and stopped as it heard Leona's name. "Jer, jerb?"

"Yes, we're Leona's friends," Serena repeated. She then turned towards Ash. "Ash, the PST, quickly!"

The raven haired teen nodded, and quickly pulled the translating device out of his backpack.

"Jerbolta, you have nothing to be afraid of, we aren't going to try to catch you," Serena assured the shaken Electric and Ground-type. "What happened? Why are you here all alone? Where is Leona?"

"Jer, jerb, bolta!" Jerbolta began. [My trainer and the others! They were kidnapped by evil humans! We tried to fight against them, but the horrible monsters they sent against us were too strong!]

There was a collective gasp upon hearing Jerbolta's words. Leona, kidnapped? Who could have done that?

"Evil humans? What kind of evil humans?" Clemont asked.

"Jer... jerbo, jer, bol," Jerbolta replied. [They... they were dressed in a strange way, I couldn't see their faces... oh! I remember there was this symbol drawn on their chests!]

Jerbolta then drew an Omega symbol on the ground with its hand.

"Team Omega," Ash darkly said, clenching a fist. "It's always them. At this point I shouldn't be surprised."

"Bolta, jerbol, jerb!" Jerbolta continued. [She told me to run and ask for help, but I was unable to... anytime I got close to this place, a human tried to catch me! Oh, thank goodness I found you! Please tell me you'll help me find her!]

"Of course. You don't even need to ask," Ash said, his voice full of resolve.

"Uh, Jerbolta, what do you mean by 'horrible monsters'?" Bonnie asked, bringing attention to a detail others had not paid attention to in the wake of the kidnapping. "Didn't they just use normal Pokemon against you?"

"Bolta, bol, jerbolta!" Jerbolta cried, agitated, as if the memory of the battle caused him distress. [They were Pokemon, yes, but not like me or Pikachu or Luxray. They were... they were wrong, twisted...]

"That... sounds like Nuclear Pokemon," Clemont said after weighing those words. "Team Omega managed to capture a lot of them during the attack on Bealbeach City, but how were they able to tame them...?"

"It doesn't matter. What matters now is finding Leona and rescuing her from the hands of those criminals," Ash stated.

"Yes, but, how are we going to find her?" Serena asked, worried. "Even if they have a base around these parts, it wouldn't be out in the open. Remember how well hidden their base was in Kevlar? And we had the help of Pokemon who had escaped from such a place in order to locate it. We don't have such a thing now."

"Hmmm..." Clemont hummed, his arms crossed and his expression focused. "I think I have an idea that may work. Jerbolta, can you take us to the place where Leona was attacked."

The Sand Mouse Pokemon nodded.

Twenty minutes later, Jerbolta had led the group out of Silverport Town and into Route 16, surrounding Mount Lanthanite, on a place surrounded by short cliffs that, according to Jerbolta, was where Leona was attacked by the Team Omega grunts that used Nuclear Pokemon. The place had several craters, cracks and burnt marks spread around it, signs that there had been a battle not too long ago.

"So, here we are," Ash said, looking around at the rocky and barren scenery. "What are we looking for?"

"Do you think the attackers left visible tracks when they returned to their base?" Serena asked.

Clemont shook his head. "The terrain here is too hard for actual footprints. However, there's a different kind of footprint I can track and follow. Clemontic Gear on!"

From Clemont's backpack the Aipom Arm pulled the Hidden Clues Tracker and Analyzer, that device modeled after a Hoothoot that the inventor had used to find clues about the aliens that turned out to be Sheldon's S-51 harassing people on the Wheatfields.

The thought that said area was now an irradiated death zone full of vicious Nuclear Pokemon filled Serena with apprehension.

"What do you plan to do, Clemont?" Bonnie asked, this time not making some biting comment about her brother's inventions' propensity to explode. "How is that thing going to help?"

"Remember that the Hidden Clues Tracker and Analyzer is able to detect all kinds of radiation, nuclear included," Clemont said, switching the mechanical Hoothoot on. The device hummed to life, its red eyes glowing as it began to scan the area. "Even if it happened a few days ago, I'm sure there are still traces of nuclear radiation left by the presence of Nuclear Pokemon, as well as potential Nuclear-type attacks used."

"That sounds nice, but how is that going to help us find Leona?" Ash asked a little impatiently.

"I will get to that right now!" Clemont assured him. The mechanical Hoothoot dinged. "Aha! Just like I have predicted, there are still some radioactive residues in the area. Weak, but enough for what I want to do," Clemont said, as he began to fiddle with the device's controls. "Now, as far as we know, there are no wild Nuclear Pokemon in East Tandor, right?"

"As far as I know, no," Serena replied. "There's only one power plant on this side of the region, and is to the south of Venesi City. And that plant never suffered any accident that may result in Nuclear Pokemon."

"Exactly! Meaning that, if we scan the area for more radiation that matches the one found here..."

"We will find the hideout of the kidnappers!" Ash said in realization, his mood considerably improving. "Science is so amazing, and so are you, Clemont!"

"Hehe, thanks!" Clemont bashfully took the compliment. The mechanical Hoothoot beeped again. "And look at that, we have a coincidence! There is a source of radiation that's almost identical to those emitted by Nuclear Pokemon two kilometers and three hundred meters to the east along the coast!"

"Awesome! Lead the way, Clemont!" Ash eagerly said.

After more walking, they reached the area where the signal allegedly came from. And indeed, there was a plain looking building near a cliff, about two stories tall with opaque glass windows and a few satellite dishes on its roof, making it look like some kind of laboratory or research center. The building was surrounded by a tall wire fence.

"So, that's where the signal comes from, huh?" Ash asked.

"Doesn't look like a Team Omega base," Bonnie observed. "And it's out in the open."

"I disagree. It may not be hidden like the other lair, but it's both discreet-looking, far from towns or cities, and heavily guarded. Looks like the perfect hideout to me," Ash replied.

"There's one way to see if that's the place we're looking for or not," Clemont said, a pokeball in hand. "Luxray, come out!"

The capture device opened, sending Clemont's pure Electric-type Pokemon.

"Lu, luxray!" Luxray cried upon materializing.

"Luxray, see that place over there?" Clemont pointed at the apparent research building. "Can you use your X-ray vision to see what's inside?"

"Luxray!" The Gleam Eyes Pokemon nodded in affirmation, before staring at the building in question.

His eyes began to glow red as he scanned it, while Ash took out once again the PST in order to translate. After a few minutes of scanning, Luxray had his answer. "Lu, ray, lux, ray-lu!" Luxray said. [That building is much bigger on the inside than it appears, as it extends deep into the ground. It's also crawling with the same kind of uniformed criminals we fought on that sunny city some months ago.]

The revelation was met by a collective gasp from everybody else.

"So, they have another base here," Ash said, as he opened his Pokegear. "I'm going to send a message to the Rangers so they come and raid this place."

"Wait, what about Leona?" Serena asked, as she showed Luxray the picture of Leona after winning the Silverport Town Contest on her tablet. "Can you see if a girl that matches this description is there?"

"Jer, jerbo!" Jerbolta agreed, bobbing its head.

Luxray hummed something, and went back to scan the building.

A few minutes later, he spoke. "Luxra, ray, luxra!" Luxray cried. [Yes, the girl in the picture is inside, locked inside a cell. Not just that, but I also found two humans who are friend of yours, Alain and Mairin, locked as well.]

"A-Alain and Mairin are also there!?" Ash almost shouted. "No wonder Sycamore couldn't get them to pick up their holocasters!"

"Alain is an exceptional trainer. How did Team Omega manage to capture him like that?" Serena asked.

"Maybe they kidnapped him and Mairin where they were sleeping, or they were led to a trap." Clemont guessed. "Though that's not important now. We need to decide what we are going to do until the Rangers show up."

That moment, Ash's pokegear pinged. The raven haired teen looked at the screen and frowned. "The Rangers have answered."

"That doesn't look like it's good news, does it?" Bonnie asked.

"No. It says that with all the troubles on West Tandor with the power plant meltdowns and the Nuclear Pokemon, they had to send a lot of Rangers to the west part of the region as reinforcements, and lack the numbers to come here and raid this place. They're trying to recall as many Rangers as possible, but they don't know how long it's going to take," Ash told the others. "They also told us not to do anything dangerous or risky."

"Je, jerbolta!" Jerbolta desperately pleaded. [But, but, we can't leave Leona there! We have to save her!]

"And we will," Ash firmly stated, as he glared at the fenced building.

"My common sense tells me that we should just wait and let the Rangers handle this, but I can't stand the thought of leaving Leona, Alain and Mairin to their luck," Serena said, grasping her blue ribbon.

"We don't need to shut down the base or anything. Just get in, release Alain, Mairin and Leona, and get out," Ash said in a way that made the plan sound way more simple than it was. "Then we let the Rangers do the rest."

"First we need to find a way to enter that place," Clemont said. "I have the feeling that their security will be far tighter than a mere wire fence."

"Aside from the entrance we used to get in, the Team Omega base near Kevlar Town also had a back door that they used to send and receive cargo. I'm sure they have something like that here as well," Ash told them.

"Luxray, have you seen such a 'back door' when you scanned the building?" Clemont asked.

"Lu, Luxray, ray, lux," Luxray cried while nodding, much to their relief. [Yes, but said entrance is at the very bottom of the cliff. It is only accessible either through sea or by air.]

"An underground port. Makes sense, given that Team Omega has a submarine," Clemont stated. "So... how are we going to get down there?"

Ash merely smirked.

Ash imagined that most Team Omega members assigned to watch the port that day believed that their day would be dull and uneventful. Of course, said belief would have been shattered with extreme prejudice the moment two dragon Pokemon barged into the place, the entrance to the port being thankfully big enough to that neither Dunseraph nor Coatlith needed to dive underwater, probably because they wanted the port to be accessible not only by the submarine, but normal boats as well.

Needless to say, the Team Omega grunts present weren't expecting an attack coming from such a place.

"Eh?" one grunt asked.

"What the...?" another said.

"Dunseraph, Dragon Pulse!" Ash commanded.

"Coatlith, Dragon Rage!" Serena followed.

Both dragons took a deep breath and released a stream of dragon-shaped, purple and amethyst energy and a torrent of swirling flames of similar colors, forcing the grunts to scatter around the area.

"We're under attack! Defend yourselves!" a grunt said, the first one to snap out of the shock, two pokeballs in hand. "Go Gargryph and Tofurang!"

"Go, Nimflora!" another one said.

"Come out, Dearewl and Cometeor!" others followed.

"Attack, Floatzel!" a fourth one said, with more following, and soon the port was filled with all sorts of Pokemon.

"Attention, there are intruders in the port! It's... Ash Ketchum and his friends!" A grunt said, while tapping his helmet. "Send reinforcements, quickly!"

"Drats, they alerted the rest of the base!" Bonnie complained, as she, Serena and Jerbolta hopped off of Coatlith.

"We knew it was going to happen," Serena said, pokeball in hand. "Delphox, go!"

"If we can get to a control room quickly enough, not only I'll be able to find where Alain, Mairin and Leona are, but I'm sure I'll get a lot of information on both this base and Team Omega as whole!" Clemont said, taking a pair of pokeballs out. "Go Luxray and Nucleon!"

The battle began, and as with most other times they had faced Team Omega grunts in battle, it went in Ash and his friend's favor.

Delphox blasted with Flamethrower a pair of incoming Gligar, while Coatlith smacked with Drill Peck a Tanscure that had tried to bite her.

Luxray, coated in electricity, smashed against a group of Trawpint, Primeape and Felunge, taking them down like a bowling ball scoring a strike, while Nucleon protected his partner from an Eshouten diving from above with Gamma Ray.

Even Bonnie was battling, commanding Jerbolta – the Sand Mouse Pokemon was desperate enough to rescue its trainer in order to follow the commands of a practical stranger as long as they aligned with its goal – into bombarding the enemy Pokemon with Electro Ball, with Dedenne helping with a few Thundershocks.

As the battle progressed, the Pokemon fighting for the Team Omega grunts were knocked out over time, and were recalled before their trainers fled. However, the first batch of reinforcements arrived, and sent more Pokemon to replace those they had been defeated by.

"Guys, we can't let them stall us here," Ash began. "You guys get into the base and find that control room so Clemont can do his thing! I'll stay here and keep them busy!"

"I know you're strong Ash, but will you be okay being alone against so many enemies?" Serena asked, a little worried.

"You've seen that these guys aren't much of a threat. Now go! Archilles, I choose you!" Ash said, sending a second Pokemon to help Dunseraph. "Archilles, Dunseraph, use Flamethrower and Ancient Power in order to cover Serena, Clemont and Bonnie!"

"Arch!"

"Seraph!"

As Ash's friends ran towards one of the two doors that led to the rest of the base, Archilles breathed a stream of flames while Dunseraph launched golden boulders at whoever tried to get in their way. Soon, they crossed the door, disappearing from Ash's sight.

"Alright guys, let's finish this up quickly so we can rejoin the others!" Ash told his Pokemon.

"Pi-pika!"

"Chilles!"

"Dunse!"

"Everybody, go stop the other intruders!" a new male voice ordered. "I will take care of Ketchum!"

Looking in the direction of the voice, Ash saw Zebos, the Team Omega captain he had fought on the base north of Kevlar, what it felt like a lifetime ago. He was followed by another Team Omega grunt shorter than him.

"Yes sir!" the grunts said at once, wasting no time to recall their Pokemon and going after Ash's friends. Some looked relieved, no wonder because they believed that dealing with Serena and Clemont would be easier than Ash.

Oh well, better let his friends show these people how wrong that line of thinking is.

"Well, well, look who decided to drop by," Zebos cackled as he walked towards Ash. "You didn't learn your lesson the last time you showed up to one of our bases uninvited, did you?"

"What are you talking about? The last time we fought you ran away with the tail between your legs," Ash fired back.

"Pika!" Pikachu agreed.

The bald man scowled. "Because you had the luck of those bikers showing up to get you out of the mess you were in. If it weren't for their interruption, things would have gone very differently. In fact, you didn't even fight me alone, you had the biker head honcho helping you. Had it been a fair fight, I would have crushed you!"

"That's rich, a criminal talking about fighting fair," Ash retorted. "I'm pretty sure you managed to kidnap Alain by 'fighting fairly' against him and Mairin, didn't you?" Ash said, narrowing his eyes at the Team Omega captain. "Because I know Alain, and he would have wiped the floor with any of your despicable lot."

"You better watch your mouth, you dumb hick!" the grunt snapped at Ash.

His voice was familiar, but Ash was unable to recall when he had heard such a voice. "Your voice rings a bell. Have we met before?"

"Have we met- for goodness' sake, is your brain so tiny you forgot about me already?!" the grunt said, removing his helmet, revealing to be a brown haired boy the same age as him. "You and your little girlfriend stole that Selkid from me!"

That piece of information jogged Ash's brain into remembering the grunt's identity. "...Maury?"

"Bingo," Maury said, his voice full of venom, as he put the helmet back on. "And now I'm getting a second chance to fix my mistake. Your girlfriend still has that Selkid, doesn't she? I'm taking it back, plus every other Pokemon you have as an added interest."

"Why don't you try then?" Ash said, spreading his arms in a taunting manner. "After all, I'm all alone here and no one is coming to help me. I should be easy pickings."

"Oh, you're going to regret those words, brat! Go, Lucario!" Zebos said.

"You too, Lucario!" Maury added.

As father and son threw their pokeballs, the two Aura Pokemon materialized in front of them. They would be impossible to tell apart if it wasn't for the collar Zebos' Lucario was wearing, with a Mega Stone embedded on it. There were no signs of performance-enhancing gadgets this time around. It seemed that after the Muscular Enhancer became the catalyst of their defeats, they learned their lesson.

"So, Maury's Riolu evolved. And Zebos got a replacement for the Muscular Enhancer," Ash said, taking notice of the enemy Pokemon.

"Lucario, Aura Sphere on Archilles!" Zebos ordered.

"Water Pulse, also on Archilles!" Maury followed.

"Lu, cario!" the two Lucario cried at once.

The two Lucario brought their paws together and formed two spheres of blue light; one of pure aura, the other of swirling water, before throwing both of them at the Fire Raptor Pokemon.

"Counter with Flamethrower, and Dunseraph, join in with Dragon Pulse!" Ash ordered.

"Ar, arch!" Archilles growled, as he opened his jaws, letting a torrent of flames pour from them.

"Dun-SE!" Dunseraph cried, sending a dragon-shaped purple and amethyst energy blast.

The four attacks converged in the middle, resulting in an explosion that made the port shake, followed by a cloud of smoke.

"Now, Flame Impact and Sky Fall!" Ash ordered.

The fire on Archilles's body parts roared and spread in order to encompass all of his body in a fiery cloak, while pressurized air swirled all around Dunseraph. The two Pokemon then launched themselves forward, parting the cloud of smoke in two, before slamming into the two Lucario, who were unable to dodge the attacks and were blasted backwards.

"Lucario!" Maury cried.

"Come on, get up!" Zebos yelled, as both Aura Pokemon jumped to their feet. "And use Bone Rush on Archilles!"

"Archilles, parry it with Dragon Claw! And Dunseraph, Dragon Pulse one more time!" Ash said.

"Not so fast! Lucario, protect dad's Lucario with another Dragon Pulse!" Maury ordered.

Zebos' Lucario generated a bone-shaped staff of green energy and dashed towards Archilles, who raised his arms, covered in a vibrant glowing green claw-shaped aura. As Lucario and Archilles traded blows and parries with their generated weapon and empowered limbs, respectively, Dunseraph breathed another dragon-shaped stream of energy, which was countered by an identical attack.

"Now, Lucario, Water Pulse on Archilles!" Maury ordered.

"Dodge it with Flame Impact! And Dunseraph, Sky Fall!" Ash countered.

"We won't let you! Lucario, Rock Slide over the two of them!" Zebos ordered.

Maury's Lucario formed between its paws yet another sphere of swirling blue water before launching it at Archilles, The Fire Raptor Pokemon, however, coated himself in a cloak of flames, dramatically increasing his speed, and blitzed towards the Aura Pokemon while dodging the Water-type attack just as Dunseraph flew above him in the same direction, cloaked in pressurized air. Unfortunately for them, Zebos' Lucario summoned a rain of boulders above them.

"Dodge them, quickly!" Ash ordered.

Thanks to its enhanced speed, Archilles was able to zigzag around the area in order to dodge the falling rocks, but Dunseraph, with his huge size and slower speed wasn't so lucky, and several rocks smashed against his body.

"SEEEEEEE...!" the angelic dragon cried in pain.

"Dunseraph! Hold on!" Ash pleaded.

"Finish that snake off with Ice Punch, Lucario!" Zebos ordered.

"Cario!" Lucario cried in agreement, clenching its paw into a fist which was quickly covered in a freezing aura. The bipedal canine leapt at Dunseraph, ready to smash its cold fist into him.

"Archilles, Flamethrower!" Ash ordered. "Dunseraph, Ancient Power on the other Lucario!"

"No!" Zebos cried.

Dunseraph followed the order, summoning a ring of spinning golden rocks around him, before launching them at Maury's Lucario. The Aura Pokemon crossed its arms in front of its face in a protective manner, the golden rocks smashing against it, causing little damage but preventing it from interfering.

Meanwhile, Zebos' Lucario was engulfed by a torrent of flames that came from Archilles' open jaws, blasting the Aura Pokemon away from Dunseraph, and landing in front of Zebos, its body covered in burns.

"Lucario!" Zebos snarled, before looking at his son. "Don't stay there bewildered like an idiot! Help me!"

"Y-Yes! Lucario, Heal Pulse!" Maury said.

Maury's Lucario thrust its palms towards its counterpart sending a pink energy wave. As the pink light washed over the senior Lucario, all its wounds quickly disappeared. Reinvigorated, Zebos' Pokemon jumped to its feet, ready to resume the fight.

"You're starting to get on my nerves, brat!" Zebos said, as he pulled out something from a compartment of his armor. Ash wasn't surprised to see it was a Keystone. "We're going to crush you with a force beyond your imagination! Lucario, Mega Evolve!"

Tendrils of light shot from both Keystone and Mega Stone, binding trainer and Pokemon. Lucario's body shone with a bright light as it transformed, acquiring a fiercer form. Once the transformation was complete, the helix of Mega Evolution flashed over it.

"You stand no chance against us now! Come on Lucario, Aura Sphere against Archilles!" Zebos ordered, throwing a hand forward.

"Luuuuu...!" The Mega evolved Pokemon began as it formed yet another orb of energy, this now substantially larger than the ones fired prior, before launching it forward. "CARIO!"

"Archilles, counter with Flamethrower!" Ash replied. "And Dunseraph-"

"Lucario, Dragon Pulse on Dunseraph, don't let him interfere!" Maury interrupted.

Ash gritted his teeth. "Dunseraph, counter with Ancient Power!"

Archilles took a deep breath and released a massive stream of flames towards the coming sphere of destruction, while Dunseraph summoned yet another ring of spinning golden rocks and launched them at the incoming dragon-shaped energy blast.

Unfortunately for Ash, while Dunseraph was able to stop the Dragon Pulse – and the additional effect triggered, making Dunseraph overall stronger – the empowered Aura Sphere tore through the Flamethrower until it reached the fire dinosaur, exploding in its face and launching him backwards, smashing against a pile of small crates.

"Archilles!" Ash cried.

"Don't give him time to breathe! Lucario, Meteor Mash!" Maury ordered.

"Counter with Sky Fall, Dunseraph!" Ash replied.

The angelic dragon and bipedal canine launched at each other, the former covered in swirling currents of pressurized air, the latter glowing with a blue aura as its raised fist was shining brightly with a silvery light. The two Pokemon clashed in the middle, struggling against each other for a couple seconds, and after an explosion of compressed air Dunseraph won the struggle, launching Maury's Lucario backwards.

"Seraaaaaaaph!" he cried in victory.

"Archilles, are you okay?" Ash asked his seemingly downed Pokemon now that he had managed to win a little time to breathe.

"Chilles!" Archilles hissed as he emerged from under the pile of now broken crates, hurt but still ready to battle, piercing Mega Lucario with an intense glare.

"Good! Okay, it seems that Mega Evolved Lucario is going to be a problem," Ash said, holding his shuriken necklace. "So in that case, let's even the odds! Come on Archilles, let's do it TOGETHER!"

The process started again, tendrils of light shooting from Keystone and Mega Stone binding trainer and Pokemon, causing the latter to grow and change, the helix of Mega Evolution flashing briefly over Archilles as the process finished.

An artificial sun appeared close to the port's roof, illuminating everything and raising the temperature.

"What the- he can Mega Evolve his Pokemon too?" Maury asked, his voice cracking.

"So what? Our Pokemon are still better!" Zebos said, unimpressed. "Plus, this is good news! We can sell that Archilles alongside its Mega Stone as a package deal for a much bigger prize!"

"There's a saying where I come from, 'don't count your Pidgey before they hatch'," Ash told the greedy man. "Archilles, Flamethrower!"

Archilles took a deep breath and exhaled a massive torrent of flames towards the two Fighting and Steel-type Pokemon who looked understably worried at the sheer magnitude of attack, which would make dodging it rather difficult.

"That's nothing for you, Lucario! Deflect it with Bone Rush!" Zebos ordered.

"And get behind, Lucario!" Maury followed.

Zebos' Lucario summoned yet another bone-shaped green staff of pure energy, this one noticeably larger and thicker, and spun it in front of it like a helix in order to disperse the incoming flames. Despite the maneuver being successful, the extreme heat the flames were radiating was causing Lucario to sweat.

"Now Dunseraph! Fly over it and use Dragon Pulse from above!" Ash commanded.

"Not so fast! Lucario, counter it with a Dragon Pulse of your own!" Maury ordered.

Two dragon-shaped energy beams flew towards each other from opposite directions, one a little bigger than the other. However, unlike the first time they clashed, the second time Dunseraph's attack overpowered Lucario's, and was able to hit the Mega Evolved Pokemon. Zebos' Lucario was unable to keep the Flamethrower at bay anymore, and the roaring flames washed over the Fighting and Steel-type, while Maury's Lucario jumped aside in order to avoid the raging inferno.

"NO!" Zebos cried.

"Lucario, quickly, heal dad's Lucario with Heal Pulse!" Maury quickly commanded.

"Intercept it with Flame Impact!" Ash replied just as quickly.

Just as the baseline Lucario was forming a pink energy aura between its paws, a cloak of flames spread over Archilles' body. The Mega Evolved Pokemon rocketed forward, leaving a trail of flames in his wake, getting between the two Lucario as Maury's fired the healing energy wave. However, rather than its partner, it was Archilles the Pokemon who was healed by the move.

"NO!" Maury shouted.

"You... you stupid kid!" Zebos shouted, a vein in his forehead pulsing with anger. Ash couldn't tell if he was talking to him or Maury. Not that he cared that much.

"Thanks for the cure. Now Archilles, Brick Break, followed by Flamethrower!" Ash commanded. "And Dunseraph, Sky Fall on the other Lucario!"

Archilles' tail glowed again with a white light, delivering a powerful swipe at Lucario's face and sending it tumbling backwards. He then took a deep breath and released yet another torrent of flames before the Aura Pokemon could do anything. Meanwhile, Dunseraph, covered in a cloak of pressurized air, slammed into the Mega Evolved Lucario, who was barely able to stand on its feet, sending it flying next to its partner.

Neither Lucario was able to get up after those attacks, and Zebos' returned to its base form.

"N-No...! This can't be happening!" Zebos shouted, grabbing the sides of his head with his hands.

"T-This guy is too strong! We need to fall back and ask for help!" Maury said, as he returned his defeated Lucario.

"Yes! There's no way he can defeat every trainer in this facility!" Zebos agreed, returning his Lucario, before he and his son turned back in order to run away.

"Arch!"

"Seraph!"

Unfortunately for them, Archilles and Dunseraph quickly intercepted them, blocking the way.

"You're crazy if you think I'm going to let you! Frosthra, I choose you!" Ash said, sending his Ice and Bug-type Pokemon. "Frosthra, bind them with String Shot!"

"Fro, frosthra!" The Frost Moth Pokemon buzzed in agreement, shooting a thread of sticky web that wrapped around Zebos and Maury's upper bodies, tying them together. He then fired a pair of additional blobs in order to seal their mouths off.

"Well done, Frosthra," Ash said, as he walked towards the now immobilized and silenced duo, and removed their earpiece and helmet, respectively. "This is to make sure you won't be able to call for help. Now be good and stay put until the Rangers arrive and take you away."

"Mmmmmmph! Mmmmmmph!" both Zebos and Maury impotently protested, their yells muffled by the sticky thread gag.

Ash then looked at the angelic dragon hovering above them. "Dunseraph, do you think you can carry these two to the Ranger Station we saw in Silverport Town?"

"Dun, dunse!" Dunseraph cried in affirmation, and before Ash could say any other word the God Snake Pokemon swooped in, grabbed the defeated Team Omega duo and flew out of the port's exit.

"That takes care of it," Ash said, as he returned his other Pokemon. "Well done. Now, time to join with the others."

And with that, Ash left the port through the same gate his friends had crossed not that long ago.

As Ash fought against Zebos and Maury, Serena, Clemont and Bonnie fought their way through the hallways of the base against multiple Team Omega members, While individually they didn't pose much of a challenge, their numbers made up for it. Even then, it wasn't enough to slow down the determined teens.

"Delphox, Psybeam!"

The Fox Pokemon fired a multicolored beam of psychic power from her eyes, blasting a Firoke and a Lombre away.

"Luxray, Swift!"

The Gleam Eyes Pokemon released a barrage of golden stars that pelted a trio of Owten.

"Jerbolta, Electro Ball!"

The borrowed Sand Mouse Pokemon launched an electric sphere from the tip of its tail against a Palij, knocking it down.

"Shit, how can these kids be so strong!?" A female Team Omega grunt said, as she recalled her defeated Owten.

"They don't pay me enough for this!" a male grunt said, who ran away after recalling his knocked out Pokemon.

The rest of the grunts soon followed his example.

"Good job guys. Though, stay alert, I'm sure more enemies will show up soon," Serena warned the Pokemon.

"Del, delphox!"

"Ray!"

"Bolta!"

"So, where now, brother?" Bonnie asked.

"Let's try this room," Clemont said, pressing a switch that opened a sliding door. The inventor grinned. "Yes, at last!"

Upon peeking inside, Serena could see it was some kind of control room, with plenty of security monitors and a large computer terminal in the middle.

"This is weird. Shouldn't somebody here be taking care of this?" Serena asked, as she and Bonnie followed Clemont inside.

"Maybe there was somebody, but decided to leave their post and join the battle when the alarms went off," Clemont said, as he sat on the only chair and began working on the security terminal. "The Captains appear to be pretty efficient at their jobs from what I saw of them, but the grunts don't seem to be anywhere near as disciplined. Whoever was here didn't even bother to log off or put up any kind of security."

"Do you think you can find where Leona, Alain and Mairin are being kept?" Serena asked.

"I'm one hundred percent sure of it. But first..." Clemont plugged in an USB flash drive onto the terminal.

"What's that?" Bonnie asked.

"A little something I've been working for just in case we found ourselves inside another Team Omega base. With our luck, I knew it was only a matter of time," Clemont said, as a window appeared on the screen. Clemont's fingers danced over the keyboard with practiced ease. "It contains a computer virus of my own creation. It will copy every file they have on their servers and store them on my servers at the Prism Tower, while also sending a copy to the rangers. It can also disable all their firewalls and shut down any attempt at wiping out their servers clean."

"Wow," was all Serena could say. "No wonder you were spending so much time on your laptop whenever we had some spare time."

"And that's far from the only thing I've been working on in case we found ourselves in such a situation," Clemont said without taking his eyes away from the screen. "And I'm in! Alright, let's see... prisoner block... bingo! I found them! They're on the level right above us." Clemont hummed as he studied the map in front of him. "Getting there won't be easy, but unless we run into one of the captains, it should be doable."

"Can't you open their cells from here?" Serena suggested.

"I believe I could, but it wouldn't be any good," Clemont replied. "Team Omega probably took their Pokemon away, and without them to fight they wouldn't go far before they're recaptured. Freeing them won't do any good until one of us is there with them."

That moment, the automatic door hissed open, causing the trio and their Pokemon to turn towards it, startled.

"Guys!"

Fortunately for them, it was Ash.

"Ash!" Serena said, beaming with joy. "You spooked us for a second there!"

"How did you know we were here?" Clemont asked.

"I had Pikachu track Dedenne's electrical signature," Ash replied, patting the electric rodent.

"Pi, pika!" Pikachu proudly cried.

"Nenene!" Dedenne cried as well.

"What about the baldy? Did you beat him?" Bonnie asked.

Ash smiled at her. "That rotten guy and his son won't bother us for the time being. Frosthra left them pretty tied up," Ash told them, before walking towards the computer terminal and taking a look at the screen. "So, how's everything? Have you guys found Alain, Mairin and Leona?" Ash asked a little impatiently.

"Yes. Clemont had located them and we were planning their rescue," Serena told Ash. "So far we've been doing so good, but we can't lower our guard. We're deep in enemy territory, and if we make a mistake we will be the ones needing rescue."

"Yeah. As much as I want to rescue Alain and the girls, we can't just rush in," Ash thankfully agreed with her. "Any suggestions on what we should do? Clemont?"

"Given that I have access to the whole base from here, maybe I should stay here and help you navigate it. I can also watch the cameras for potential enemies and open any locked doors," Clemont explained, as he began to dig into his backpack, before producing several earpieces. "Here. With these, we'll be able to stay in contact. I made sure they're impossible to jam."

"Great work, Clemont! You're irreplaceable!" Ash said, as he and everybody else put on the earpieces.

"Once you leave, I'll lock this door to make sure no Team Omega member can enter. Oh, given that Bonnie will want to go with you..." Clemont said, before picking two of his pokeball. "Geigeroach, Bunnelby, come out! Go with Bonnie and keep an eye on her. Also follow her orders if there's a battle, but make sure you don't stray away from her."

"Bu, bunnel!" Bunnelby nodded.

"Roach!" Geigeroach agreed.

"Whoa, really?" Bonnie asked, a little shocked. "I thought you'd want me to stay here with you."

"And I want that, but Ash and Serena are going to need some of my help from my Pokemon, and I can't be in two places at once," the inventor explained. "Plus, in a few months you'll be old enough to legally be a trainer, so I think you're ready for this."

Bonnie smiled at her brother earnestly. "You got it right. Between these two and Dedenne, no Team Omega idiot will stand in our way!"

"One last thing," Clemont said, as he started digging inside his backpack once again. He then produced a pair of black devices, smaller than a TV remote, and handed them to Ash and Serena.

The device had a single red button with the Omega symbol on it.

"I call it the Omega Disabler," Clemont said. "If you find a Team Omega member whose Pokemon carry a Muscular Enhancer or a Shield Generator or something like that, press that button and the device will send a pulse that will destroy those gadgets."

"That will be of a lot of help. Great job, Clemont!" Serena praised.

"A great help indeed. Very well then. Come on girls, let's go! We have three people to rescue!" Ash said before he, Serena and Bonnie left the control room.

Meanwhile, in Professor Larkspur's office, the leader of Team Omega was working on his desk as usual, unaware of the commotion that was going on in his main base. Or at least, that's what appeared to be the case.

An alert warning him of an incoming video call popped on his screen. Frowning a little, he clicked on 'Accept', and a new window opened with Alina on it.

"Uh, sir? We have a problem. There are intruders on the base," Alina told him, a bit uneasily.

"Yes, I'm aware, I heard the alarms," Larkspur said, his tone carrying an edge of annoyance. "I assume they're still at large, given your demeanor and the fact that you haven't told me that they've been dealt with."

"Huh, I know, sir. You see, according to our sources, Zebos included, the intruders are Ketchum and his friends," the teal haired woman said.

This gave the professor pause. "Ketchum, you say?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. The gears in his brain started to work in order to unveil the how and why Ash Ketchum and his friends were here. "I see. If I remember correctly, he and Alain were acquaintances. Maybe Alain was able to deliver a message before our men caught him and his companion."

"Yes but... how were they able to find our base?" Alina asked. "They didn't even enter through the main door, but the port at the bottom of the cliff."

"That's not important now. While other people might see it as a problem, it's also an opportunity to finally get our hands on him and his Pokemon. Especially that Greninja of his," Larkspur said, relishing on the idea of said Greninja being finally in his power. "Tell Zebos to lead a squad after him. I'm sure the man will be eager for a rematch."

"Uh... sir, Zebos already did that, and we've been unable to contact him ever since. I'm afraid that those kids might have beaten him and his men again," Alina told him.

Larkspur had to suppress the urge to sigh. When this was over, that man would be lucky if he was only demoted to do menial jobs. "Alright, this is what we're going to do: given that Ash is here, we're going to assume that the location of this base has been compromised. Fortunately, the Rangers had to transfer many of their men to the Western part of the region in order to deal with the nuclear disasters, so we'll have time to purge our servers and evacuate the base before they arrive.

"But first, I want Ash Ketchum and his friends neutralized and contained. We might have lost Zebos, but we still have you and your sister, as well as Darren," Larkspur told her. "So go and find them and don't contact me again until you complete this mission. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," Alina obediently said before ending the call.

Now that his minion was no longer seeing him, Larkspur took a moment to lean back and his chair and let out a sigh.

"Okay, I better get ready," he said, as he began to type on his computer.

He knew that the possibility of both the twins and Darren failing to stop Ash and his friends were high; not only had he personally seen that boy in action, but he had also watched many videos of his League battles, and he knew that Ketchum wasn't somebody to be trifled with, despite his youth. Ash had probably fought and defeated trainers way stronger than them, plus he had his friends to help him.

However, one way or another his Captains would wear the intruders down. Which would allow Larkspur to deal the finishing blow and claim his prize.

After all, he'd been dying for an opportunity to put his latest acquisitions to test.

Moments later, Ash and his friends were fighting their way up through the Team Omega base. They encountered a few grunts along the way, but they were as easily dispatched as the ones they faced before.

"Kinetmunk, Discharge!" a Team Omega grunt ordered.

"Dodge it with Quick Attack, Splendifowl!" Ash ordered.

The electric chipmunk fired a barrage of lightning bolts at the Paradise Bird Pokemon, who blitzed at it with his wings folded, leaving a trail of white light behind. Splendifowl expertly maneuvered around the electric bolts that fell around him, before slamming into Kinetmunk, sending it crashing against a metallic wall.

"Pangoro, Thunder Punch!" Serena shouted.

"GORO!" Pangoro roared, slamming his electricity-cloaked fist into an unlucky Inflagetah, knocking it out instantly.

The grunts looked at their defeated Pokemon with incredulity, before staring at the trio of intruders with fear in their eyes.

"You should run away now while you have the chance," Serena warned them, while Pangoro punched his open palm menacingly.

After recalling their defeated Pokemon, the grunts decided to wisely take Serena's advice and left the scene.

Ash tapped his earpiece. "Alright Clemont, we're in front of the door, but it appears to be locked, and you need both a card and a password to enter."

"Give me a sec..." Clemont said through the earpiece, the sound of his voice mixed with the faint noise of keys being tapped.

There was a buzzing noise as the door in front of them clicked open.

"Great job, Clemont!" Ash said, not wasting a second to open the door and entering inside, followed by the two girls and the Pokemon.

Ash found himself inside a very large room with eight cells, of which only three of them were occupied. The people inside the cells, Alain, Mairin and Leona, quickly looked through the bars to see the newcomers.

"Ash?" Alain asked, his voice sounding incredulous.

"Serena!" Leona shouted, who unlike Alain was more happy than surprised.

"You know them too?" Mairin asked Leona.

"Clemont, we found them," Serena said while tapping her earpiece. "You can open the cells."

Almost instantly, the doors of all eight cells clicked open, and the prisoners wasted no time to leave them.

"Are you guys okay?" Ash asked them

"As well as we can be. I can't help but wonder how are you guys here and how did you know we were being held in this place, but I think I'll save it for later," Alain said, shaking Ash's hand in gratitude. "For the time being, I'm just glad you're here."

"Well, you can thank this little guy for guiding us here," Bonnie said while pointing at Jerbolta.

"Jer!" Jerbolta cried as it leaped at Leona.

"Jerbolta!" the Alolan trainer squealed in joy, catching the Sand Mouse Pokemon between her arms. "Oh, you did it! You brought help! I'm so proud of you!"

"We can't leave just yet. Not without our Pokemon," Mairin stated.

"It's okay. Clemont said your Pokemon, as well as any personal effects that they took away from you, are being stored inside a locker in the next room," Serena said, pointing at one of the exit doors.

"Let's not waste anymore time then. Time to get our Pokemon back and leave this place," Alain said, as he entered the room Serena had mentioned with a resolute step, with everybody else following him.

Indeed, like Clemont said, the room was filled with a series of lockers with electronic padlocks – thankfully, Clemont had already unlocked them, if the green light was any indication.

"My Pokemon!" Mairin beamed with joy as she recovered the pokeballs with her Pokemon inside.

"And mine!" Leona said, just as happy. "Even Jerbolta's empty pokeball! Hey, wait a minute..." she said, as she started to look through the now empty locker. "My Z-ring isn't here!"

"Neither is my Mega Ring," Alain gravely said as he pocketed his recovered pokeballs. "And Charizard's pokeball is missing."

"What?" Ash asked.

"Maybe it's around here, in another locker?" Serena suggested, as she began to inspect the other lockers.

The others imitated her, but the rest of the lockers were just as empty. Alain's Charizard wasn't there.

Alain looked at Ash with barely contained anger, though thankfully it was obvious the taller boy's ire wasn't aimed at any of the present. "Listen, I'm very thankful for you guys to come here to save us, so I won't ask you anything more of you. But I won't leave this place without Charizard, even if I have to fight all the people here on my own."

"Well, good for you, I was already planning to stay and help you without having to ask me," Ash said, tapping his earpiece. "Clemont, we have a problem. Alain's Charizard isn't here."

"What? That can't be right," Clemont replied, his voice followed by the soft sound of keys being pressed. "Alright, I'll be looking where they could be keeping it, though I may take some time..."

"What if Charizard isn't here anymore? Remember that those guys said that they planned to sell Charizard to the highest bidder..." Mairin wondered, her voice carrying quite some worry.

Alain weighed his companion's words. "Guess there's only one thing we can do: scour this place to find it, or find somebody who knows where Charizard is."

"I'm pretty sure one of the Captains knows something," Ash said. "Man, if I had known that I would have asked Zebos after beating him..."

"Don't beat yourself over that. Come on, let's search this place," Alain said, leaving the storage room and walking through the prisoner's block's exit door, with everybody else following him.

The exit door led to another hallway, this one devoid of any people. However, rather than a single door, the hallway split in two parts.

"Uh, where to?" Bonnie asked, looking at the two bifurcations.

"Charizard could be anywhere in the base," Alain reasoned. "I suggest we split in order to cover more ground and force the enemy to split their forces."

"I'm okay with that. I believe we should have two groups, one with me and another with Serena. That Zebos guy had a Pokemon capable of Mega Evolving, so I wouldn't rule out if any other captain had access to Mega Evolution too. The two of us each have at least one Pokemon capable of Mega Evolution to counter theirs, and we both have an earpiece to contact Clemont," Ash suggested.

"How about if I take Bonnie, Mairin and Leona while Alain goes with Ash?" Serena suggested.

"Even if I'm missing Charizard, I don't think anybody here could stand before Ash and I fighting together. The two of us are more than enough for any of the criminal scum roaming these halls," Alain agreed.

"Still, if you guys are in trouble, don't hesitate to ask for help, you hear me?" Serena told them.

"That goes double for you, Alain," Mairin added.

"Don't worry. I promise you that we will all get out of this mess in one piece," Alain firmly stated.

Before the two groups split, Ash and Serena shared a quick kiss on the lips.

"Good luck," Ash whispered. "And take care."

"You too," she replied, before turning to the rest of the girls. "Come on everyone!"

And thus, the boys and the girls went their separate ways, all of them wondering what kind of foes would be waiting for them, and if they would find Alain's Charizard or if it was too late...


Author's Note: It all looked like it was going to be a clean rescue, just in and out, but nope. The "part I" should have clued you that it wasn't going to be as simple. Now, the raid continues as the group splits up in hopes of finding Alain's Charizard (as well as Alain's keystone and Leona's Z-ring)

What's better than seeing a Lucario being dunken on? Why, two Lucario being dunken on, of course!

Also, I remember that many people complained (not without reason) that Ash let Maury escape the first time the two of them fought, and looking back I admit I should have written Maury's escape differently. Though, I can assure you that this time around Maury and his old man are not going to avoid justice. While it wasn't seen, Dunseraph was able to bring them to the Ranger Station without trouble.

Thanks to bansalarina, Fox McCloude, MegaSalamence64, MarcusDarkus87, hirowriter and Jose4Andres7 for reviewing the last chapter, and special thanks to Viroro-kun for betareading this chapter, whose edits and suggestion made it so much better.

Next chapter, even more non-stop action as Ash and his friends take on Team Omega's full might. In the meantime, don't forget to drop a review with your thoughts on this chapter ;)