Chapter 29

Nigel cursed under his breath as he picked out a few pieces of fur from the site of the explosion. Pikachu and Eevee fur, to be exact. If only those idiots who called themselves Team Rocket hadn't gotten in the way… It was fine though, he had already sealed every exit to the base. It was only a matter of time until he found them.

Security camera footage showed Nigel exactly how Pikachu had escaped but, unfortunately, the cameras couldn't keep up with Latios and Latias' speed or track them when they were invisible. He made a mental note to talk to the 'security' grunt later.

Before he went anywhere though… he took out Ho-oh's Pokeball and returned to his machine. Just as he predicted, enough power was left to make one more powerful Dark Ball. Nigel leaned back in his chair and put the rest of his Dark Balls inside the healing station. All he had to do now, was wait for his machine to do the work. He smiled as he brushed his hand over the nameplate he had installed on it, 'T.V.M. (The Void Machine)'

"Where are we going?" Ash asked Latias as they flew down hallway after hallway.

"We're trying to get out of here," said Latias, "I know you might not remember much Ash, but we can't stay here." She came to a sudden stop. "Wait one second," "Have you found a way out yet?" she telepathically asked her brother.

"No sis, it looks like all the exits are blocked." replied Latios, "We'll have to find a different way out of here. Stay there for a second, I'm coming over to you,"

"What should I do about Ash?" said Latias.

"Keep him with you. Just talk to him or something, maybe he'll get some of his memories back,"

"Okay, but please hurry,"

"Will do sis!"

Latias sighed. "So, what do you remember Ash?"

"Not much," Ash replied sadly, "but I do remember talking to Latios after we had some kind of battle I guess… and I remember talking to you about at the Pokemon Center, I think it was about traveling together or something."

Ah, that conversation. Latias smiled at the memory. "Do you remember what battle we had before you talked to Latios?" She prodded, trying to resurface another memory.

"I… We were fighting an Azumarill and… a bunch of other Pokemon… Oh yeah, there was this guy named Apex and… um…"

"Bell Tower?"

"Yeah! That's it, we were fighting Apex at Bell Tower!" exclaimed Ash, "Wasn't Apex part of Team Void?"

"Yep!" said Latias, just as happy as Ash was.

"And then-" Ash drooped his head. "I can't remember anything else,"

Latias put her paw on Ash's shoulder. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll remember soon,"

"Really?"

"Promise,"

Ash smiled. "Thanks, Latias,"

"Misty," said Brock, "I think we need to do this together."

"Why?" asked Misty.

"Because we've traveled with Ash for almost two years now," replied Brock, "we've watched Ash grow and we've grown with him, if we're going to make this wish, we need to do it together."

Misty nodded. "Alright, ready when you are,"

"Jirachi, we're ready," said Brock.

"Go ahead," Jirachi's second wish tag began glowing.

"We wish," said Brock, "That Ash and his Pokemon would have courage,"

"And that they will triumph over Team Void," continued Misty.

"That they can free the innocent Pokemon,"

"And they have everything they need to do it,"

Jirachi's remaining two wish tags glowed, and a flap on his belly opened, revealing Jirachi's third and true eye. Misty, Brock, Professor Oak, and Professor Birch shielded their eyes as a blinding flash of light flooded the room. Instead of pure white light, however, this light flashed every color of the rainbow as it danced off the reflective crystals in the chamber. After a few seconds, the light gathered itself into a ball and shot out of the cave, causing several Zubat to fall off the ceiling in confusion.

Jirachi smiled. "Good luck, and thank you," The Wish Pokemon then wrapped himself back in his shell of purple crystals. Before any of them could do so much as say thank you, the crystal ball had already set itself back on the floor of the cave.

"Thank you," repeated Misty.

"Yes, thank you," said Brock.

The crystal gave off a pulse of light as if to say, 'You're welcome' before it stopped glowing. The other crystals in the room followed suit, leaving only Brock's flashlight still shining.

Nigel took his new Dark Ball and grabbed the rest of his balls from the healing machine. It was time to track down Latius. But first… he threw Ho-oh's Pokeball into the air. The ball hovered in the air for a second, crackling with dark energy, before it opened, revealing the Rainbow Pokemon crackling with dark energy. Nigel took in the flying and fire type for a moment. It was perfect. He laughed as he took in the sight. No more flaws, no more weakness in the darkness. He could only imagine how powerful he would be when he fully controlled the mythical Latius. Nigel was tempted to try out a move, but decided against it, knowing it could easily cause a cave-in.

After returning Ho-oh, Nigel went back to the security cameras. Sure enough, he found Latius along with his all Pokemon in one of the unused rooms. With an empty Dark Ball in his hands for Latius' re-capture, he sent out all of his Pokemon, minus Ho-oh.

The 4 Dark Balls opened, revealing a Dugtrio, a Houndoom, a Kangaskhan, and a Pinsir who looked at Nigel with red, expressionless eyes.

Nigel pointed to the image of Ash and his Pokemon on the screen. "Find them and lock them up, but leave the orange one for me."

"Ash!" exclaimed Pikachu. Inwardly he breathed a sigh of relief, his trainer was ok. Sure, he could sense a bit of dark energy coming from Ash, but he could tell it was fading.

"Hi?"

Right, the amnesia part. "Ash, remember me? You know, your partner, Pikachu, your best bud!"

Pikachu… Pikachu, Pikachu! Ash's mind suddenly shot him a memory, then another, and another. Of, course, Pikachu! His partner, his best friend, the Pokemon had stuck by his side since the beginning, the one who had remained faithful to him, no matter what. How could he ever forget?

As he whizzed over all his memories with Pikachu, the dots finally connected. Latios, Latias, Altomare, The Soul Dew, The Ruin of Eons, Skye, The Silver Conference, Team Void, Nigel, Everything. He rushed to hug his partner as the last shreds of darkness flew off him and faded into nothing. "Pikachu!"

Ash smiled and gave his Pokemon a determined look. "Alright guys, I'm back!"

Latios, Latias, and Skye cheered and rushed to hug their trainer, relieved that Ash was back to normal. Ash felt like he could stay here forever, embraced in the arms of his Pokemon.

CRASH!

The group sprang apart as a Kangaskhan charged at them, smashing through the wall.

Ash turned around, only to find a Houndoom blocking his path. A sudden yelp came from Skye, who was jumping around, trying to dodge attacks from a Dugtrio. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Latios fending off a Pinsir. There was no escape, they were surrounded. The only option was to fight. Despite this, Ash gave a small smile if there was anything he was good at, it was Pokemon battles.

"Pikachu, Electro Web! Trap Dugtrio underground! Skye, help Pikachu! Latios, Aura Sphere on Kangaskhan! Latias, use Dragon Pulse on Pinsir!" commanded Ash as he turned his attention to Houndoom. He grinned. It was good to be back.

Chapter complete!

I know it needs editing, but I'm not going to edit it until the book is done to make sure I finish

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