Chapter 19

"What are we doing here again?" asked Misty, eyeing the dark walls of the tunnel.

"Keep it down," said Brock, beaming his flashlight at a few odd-looking rocks, "we don't want to cause a cave-in,"

Professor Oak nodded, "I believe we're getting close, what do you think Birch?"

The Hoenn professor glanced at a blinking device in his hand. "Just around this corner… Ah, here we are,"

As they turned a bend, they found themselves in a large cavern. Jagged rocks protruded out from the ground.

"What's that noise?" asked Misty. A soft humming noise had filled the cavern as soon as they had stepped in.

"This place is very old," said Professor Oak, "they say an ancient power resides here."

"Do you know where it is?" asked Professor Birch.

"I believe so," Professor Oak beamed his flashlight on one of the walls, revealing an old door covered with rust. "Here we are,"

"You really think doing this will help Ash?" asked Misty.

"Positive," Professor Birch turned the rusty handle, causing the door to creak open.

"How come no one has been here before?" asked Brock.

A rumbling noise from the far corner of the room cut off Professor Oak's answer. The door behind them slammed shut with a bang.

"Who are you?" asked Ash.

The voice chuckled. "Well, I guess it would be polite to introduce myself." The caped man tossed his hair back and threw off his cape, revealing a black suit with a purple 'V' on it and black, athletic-like pants. "My name is Nigel. Also known as the leader of Team Void." He smiled a not-very-friendly grin. "You must be Ash Ketchum. I've been waiting for you."

"That's right," Ash tensed, preparing for a fight. "I've come here to stop you! You won't get away with what you're doing to these Pokemon!"

"Pika-chu! (Yeah!)" Pikachu agreed, cheeks crackling.

"I see," Nigel snapped his fingers. A giant screen lit up on the side of the room. Ash recognized the familiar battle screen. "Then I'll give you a fair chance. If you win, I'll surrender and free all of the Pokemon. But," an evil smile played on his face, "if I win, you and your Pokemon will serve me. What do you say?"

Ash grimaced. Everything was at stake. Himself, his Pokemon, the shadow Pokemon, and the world. He only had one option. "I accept,"

"Good," Nigel clapped his hands. Five Pokeballs lit up on each side of the screen. "Just to make things fun, this will be a five-on-five battle."

Ash looked at Pikachu. "Ready buddy?"

Pikachu's cheeks crackled. "Yeah, this guy is going down!"

"A Pikachu huh?" Nigel smirked. "Go Dugtrio!"

Nigel threw out a Pokeball and the three-headed ground type appeared. However, it was not the Dugrtio Ash was used to. Instead of the black eyes of a normal Dugrio, it had grey, empty eyes. Its face (or faces) were completely expressionless.

Ash cringed. Besides the Magikarp, there was only one time he had seen a Pokemon like this before. Thinking of what happened to Celebi always brought back bad memories. "Pikachu, use Electro Web!"

"Use Mud Bomb!"

"Dodge it!" Pikachu moved out of the way just before a large glob of mud hit the ground where he had been moments before. Unfortunately, his Electro Web missed Dugtrio and hit the ground behind it.

"Electro Web again!"

Nigel shook his head. "How foolish, I thought someone like you would at least know how types work. Use Dig."

The Dugtrio buried itself underground as Pikachu's Electro Web hit the spot where it was.

Ash looked around. "Pikachu, watch out for Dugrtio!"

Pikachu nodded, perking up his ears.

"Ash, remember, you can sense Dugtrio," telepathed Latios.

Ash nodded. "Right, thanks," He closed his eyes and concentrated on the battlefield. He could see Pikachu's outline clearly but there was no sign of Dugtrio. He looked more closely, and noticed a faint outline under the ground. It was much too faint for a normal Pokemon, but for a dark Pokemon… "Pikachu behind you! Use Iron Tail!"

Pikachu lept out of the way just in time to avoid a direct hit from one of Dugtrio's heads.

"Take this!" yelled Pikachu as he slammed Dugrtio with his tail.

"Bravo, bravo," Nigel smirked. Just as he suspected. "but I think it's time to end this. Dugrtio, use Explosion."

Ash could only watch as the three-headed Pokemon blew itself up, causing both it and Pikachu to faint.

"What did you do that for?" asked Ash, picking up Pikachu and laying him down outside the battlefield.

"I prefer to make things more interesting," said Nigel.

Ash gritted his teeth and threw one of his Pokeballs. "Go Skye!"

The Eevee let out a cry as she turned to face Ash. "Time to crush some evil dudes?"

Ash smiled. "You bet!"

"Very well," said Nigel, "Go Houndoom!"

"Skye, water, use Hydro Pump!"

Skye's amulet glowed as she switched to her Vaporeon form and sent a blast of water at the fire and dark type.

"Use Dark Pulse,"

The Houndoom sent an equally powerful blast of dark energy at Skye but remained expressionless. The two attacks collided in mid-air, sending a cloud of dust over the battlefield.

James stepped to the side to avoid some dust. "Hey Jessie, what are we supposed to do?"

Jessie glanced at the ongoing battle. "Uh… Meowth?"

Meowth shrugged. "Don't ask me, looks like da twerps got it covered."

"Then what do we do?" said James, "We can't just stand here,"

"Wait a minute," said Jessie. The trio bent down as she whispered something to them.

"That's a great idea Jess!" said James.

"Then what are we waiting for?" asked Meowth, "Let's get to it!"

Brock ran to the door and tugged at the handle. "We're locked in!"

"I think we'll be ok," Professor Birch pointed to an illuminated part of the wall.

The letters, written in glowing unknown symbols read:

Your entrance has been sealed,

Your exit lies ahead,

If you wish to yield,

You may go back instead.

If you cross this chamber,

You must go until the end.

If you don't wish to face danger,

Tap the door three times instead.

Only you can choose,

So before the time runs out.

Make haste, lest you lose,

Everything you care about.

Whew! Finally got a new chapter in!

As always, be sure to leave a review whether you liked the chapter or didn't like it, I'm always happy to hear things I did well or things I can improve!

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Thanks for reading!