Chapter 31

"Yes!" Ash celebrated as a final Aura Sphere took down Houndoom. He turned to his Pokemon. While it seemed like they had the upper hand, Ash could tell they wouldn't last much longer. The day's events had taken a toll on them and one miscalculation could mean the end for them. Time to change that.

"Pikachu, spin and use Iron Tail Drill! Skye, electric, use Thunderbolt on Pikachu! Latios, Dragon Pulse to your right! Latias, Aura Sphere to your left!" Ash commanded.

All his Pokemon smiled, glad to have him back.

Pikachu gave Dugtrio a smug look as he implied Ash's new tactic. With his tail glowing with steel-type energy, he began to spin. Skye's amulet glowed as she used Thunderbolt on Pikachu. Just as Ash expected, Pikachu was spinning so fast that the electricity circled around him instead of damaging him. After a few seconds, the electricity had accumulated so much that it was attracted by Skye's Volt Absorb ability. This caused Pikachu to hurl toward Skye at a speed of well over 100 miles per hour. The brilliance of the plan? Dugtrio was right between them.

Dragon Pulse to the left? That didn't make any sense… Latios shrugged and fired his attack anyway. It must just be part of Ash's plan. Hopefully it worked soon though, Kangaskhan looked like it was going in for the finishing blow.

Latias fired her Aura Sphere, trusting Ash to take care of the Pinsir charging straight at her.

It must not have been a good day for Kangaskhan and Pinsir. I mean, would you like your opponent to not only let you recover but also fire their attack in a completely different direction, only, just as you're about to deal a decisive blow, to get hit by a different attack directly in the face? In case you're wondering, they didn't.

Ash smiled as his Pokemon easily finished off Nigel's Pokemon. This was why he loved Pokemon battles so much. The sense of trust he got from his Pokemon when they fought together was only attainable by working together toward a common goal. Whether that was a casual battle against a friend or one that determined the fate of the world, knowing that he could trust them and that they trusted him was the greatest feeling in the world.

"Great job guys!" Ash praised, giving all of them a high five. "We did it!"

Pikachu smiled, "We couldn't have done it without you Ash,"

"Yeah!" said Skye, "You helped us take down the evil dudes!"

"It's great to have you back," said Latios, "for a moment there, I was really worried about you,"

"I was really worried too," said Latias, "but thanks for being here for me- I mean, us!"

Latios and Pikachu shared a laugh as Latias blushed slightly and glared at them. Ash and Skye glanced at them, wondering what was going on.

"Is something funny?" asked Ash.

"Oh don't worry," replied Pikachu, "it's nothing,"

"Yep, nothing to see here," said Latios.

"Ok…" Ash trailed, "Anyway, I know you guys want to leave, but we need to go back,"

"Why?" asked Skye.

"Because," said Ash, "we're going to free all of the shadow and dark Pokemon, starting with these."

"But how are we going to do that?" asked Latias.

"I know we can do it," said Ash, "I freed Ho-oh earlier, so I just have to remember how I did it,"

"Freed Ho-oh you say?" came a familiar voice.

"Nigel," said Ash, "stop this right now, you said if I beat you you would give up, and I defeated you."

"Wrong," said Nigel, "I defeated you Latius, you fell straight into my trap. Your pesky Pokemon have only delayed the inevitable. You thought you freed Ho-oh? Well, think again!"

Nigel threw the Dark Ball into the air releasing Ho-oh along with a cloud of black fumes. "Sacred Fire, finish them!"

"Skye, Dig! Pikachu, Eletro Web! Latias, Mist Ball! Latios, Protect!" said Ash, using every tactic he could think of. There was no holding back now if his assumption was correct Ho-oh would be much more powerful than before. Ash knew he had to think fast. How had he freed Ho-oh the last time? He thought back to his battle with Nigel. Right before he defeated Ho-oh, he remembered hearing all of his friends, both human and Pokemon cheering him on. Then it dawned on him. That was it! The only way to free Ho-oh from the Dark Ball was to give Ho-oh the exact opposite of what the Dark Ball contained. The Dark Ball represented hate, pride, and loneliness. Ash needed to give love, kindness, and family. He was done fighting fire with fire. It was time to fight fire with water.

"Hurricane,"

Despite his Pokemon's best efforts, they were no match for Ho-oh. One by one they fell to the powerful winds until only Ash was left standing.

"Just you and me again," said Nigel, "how fitting for our final battle. It's a pity I'll be the only one to remember it."

Ash ignored Nigel and instead concentrated his entire being on one final move. His most powerful move, one made of pure love, kindness, and, most of all, family, the three most powerful weapons against evil.

Nigel prepared his own final attack. He grabbed a crystal from his pocket and snapped it into a bracelet on his arm. It was his greatest invention yet, a crystal that would produce the most powerful move a dark Pokemon could ever use; Void Vengence.

"I can't believe we failed da twerp," said Meowth.

"Now he'll probably be stuck there forever," said James, "we'll be out of a job,"

"That stupid, big-headed, ugly, hideous man!" yelled Jessie, "How dare he-" Jessie was cut off as a blinding flash of light caught the trio's eyes. A rainbow ball of light was flying across the sky, headed straight for them.

"Duck!" yelled James.

The trio dived for cover as the ball of light shot past them leaving a trail of glowing particles behind.

"What was that?" asked Meowth.

"I don't know," replied James, he looked in the direction the ball had gone. "But it looks like it's headed straight for where the twerp is,"

"So you mean he might have a chance?" asked Jessie.

"I don't know, but I sure hope so," said James.

'Well, this is it,' thought Ash. Concentrating on the attack as much as he could, he launched it. This time, Ash got a better view of his attack. The move glowed with pure white light, flowing out like a stream of water and looping around itself as if dancing along to an unsung rhythm.

"Void Vengence!" yelled Nigel, holding the crystal high in the air. Beans of black energy shot toward Ho-oh, giving it a huge power boost. Almost immediately, Ho-oh shot a jagged stream of darkness toward Ash. Unlike Ash's move, Void Vengeance zig-zagged with sharp, pointy edges, giving off rays of chaos and vengeance.

The two moves collided with an ear-splitting bang. The entire room was immediately leveled, all objects instantly being obliterated into nothing but ashes. The ceiling collapsed, crumbling into tiny bits of rock and dust, and letting sunlight stream in. The two attacks struggled in the middle, almost as if they themselves were alive and fighting.

Ash poured every ounce of his strength into his attack, thinking of every happy moment he had, every challenge he had faced with his Pokemon, and how, together, they had overcome.

Nigel wasn't holding back either, pouring out every bit of hatred and anger he had. All the times he had been defeated, humiliated, and bullied were brought to the front of his mind and poured out as dark energy.

Despite their tremendous efforts, neither side was backing down, and the attacks were locked in a stalemate. Neither one was able to overpower the other. They struggled for an entire minute before Ho-oh's attack started pushing towards Ash.

Ash watched in horror as his attack was slowly overpowered. Taking every good memory he had, he shot them all at Ho-oh's attack. It wasn't enough. The attack was ten inches away.

Nine.

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One…

Well, hope you liked the chapter :D

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