No, folks, I'm not dead. Although, there were moments in the past year where I thought I would be. You see, my health took a serious turn for the worst and for the past year I have been dealing with getting it back in a manageable state. There have been ups and downs, but hopefully things will work out in the end.
Chapter 54: A Cry in the Dark
"Alright, Pikachu! This is the moment we've been training for!" Ash spoke with great enthusiasm. "Today is the day we win the Legenda League!"
"(Yeah!)" the Mouse Pokémon agreed. The two of them had worked incredibly hard to reach this moment, and now they were on the verge of competing in the finals of the Legenda League.
"And now, all the way from Pallet Town in the Kanto region, please welcome… Ash Ketchum!" Upon hearing his name called and the roar of the crowd that followed a wave of excitement shot through his body.
"Let's go, buddy!" With Pikachu hot on his heels Ash charged out into the stadium… only to find it completely empty.
"What the… this place sounded packed just a minute ago," he commented. Despite how it sounded mere moments ago the stadium was completely empty, save for them. In fact, it appeared as though the stadium hadn't been used in years.
"I don't know about you, Pikachu, but there is definitely something strange going on here," Ash stated. It was at that moment that Ash realized Pikachu had been quiet for quite a while.
"Pikachu? Is everything okay? You've been rather…" Ash turned around, expecting to see his loyal Pokémon companion. What he saw instead caused him to gasp in shock…
Or rather, what he didn't see, made him gasp.
"Pikachu?! Where did you go?!" he shouted. He frantically looked around, but no matter where he looked he couldn't find his faithful Pokémon companion.
"Pikachu! Where are you?! Can you hear me?!" he called. Unfortunately the only response he got was his own voice echoing back to him. Ash's concern continued to grow with each passing moment he couldn't find Pikachu.
"Where are you, buddy?" Ash wondered worriedly.
"Help me…"
"Huh?" Ash whirled around to try and find the source of the voice that just called out to him. However, just like before, he was still all alone.
"Who was that? It didn't sound like Pikachu," he mused.
"Help me…" This time the voice was noticeably louder.
"Hello? Who's there?" Ash asked. He waited for a response, but after a while it appeared as though he would get none. But then a shadowy figure rose up from the ground in front of him. Ash was already nervous enough without Pikachu by his side, and now this new development added to his nervousness.
"W-Who are you?" he asked. The figure was still for a moment before two red eyes appeared. Ash was frozen in place as it felt like the eyes were staring directly into his soul.
"Help me!" Those were the last words spoken before the shadow lunged at him. Ash's eyes grew wide in fear as a shout escaped his mouth.
"Let's have a round of applause for our Top Coordinator!" The entire stadium erupted in cheer and applause. And standing in the center, soaking it all in, was Nikki and her Pokémon.
"We… We did it. Guys, we did it!" she shouted. Looking down at her Pokémon Nikki saw all of them looking back at her, each one with a huge smile on their face. As Nikki basked in the glory with her Pokémon she was alerted to footsteps behind her. Turning around she saw Mr. Contesta approaching her, a smile on his face and a large golden trophy in his hands.
"On behalf of the Contest committee, in recognition of your spectacular performance here today, it gives me great honor to present you with the Ribbon Cup. Congratulations." Nikki could barely hold back her tears as she accepted the trophy.
"All our hard work… all our sacrifice… it's all lead to this moment," she said. "I am so proud of each and every one of…" Nikki's words immediately caught in her throat, for when she turned to praise her Pokémon she discovered that they were no longer there.
"Hey, where did you guys go?" Nikki called. "Buneary? Shinx? Swablu? Ninetails?! Persian?!" As time passed she grew more and more worried. Soon that worry gave way to panic.
"Guys, where are you?! Answer me, please" she shouted.
"Help me…"
"Who's that?!" Nikki said, looking around frantically for the source of the mysterious voice.
"Help me…" This time the voice was much louder.
"I-If this is your idea of a joke, Ash, t-then it's not very funny!" Nikki stated. Despite saying this she had a feeling that Ash wasn't behind this. Her suspicions were proven correct when a shadowy figure appeared before her. She instinctively backed away in fear as a pair of red eyes gazed at her.
"W-What… a-are you?" she asked.
"Help me!" Before Nikki could respond the shadow lunged at her. She screamed as she was engulfed by the darkness.
Both trainers bolted upright in their beds, breathing heavily with looks of pure terror on their faces. After taking a few moments to try and calm their nerves the two trainers glanced at each other.
"You too?" Ash questioned, to which Nikki nodded.
"I don't know what that dream was all about, but I hope I never have another one like that again," Nikki stated.
"I know what you mean," Ash agreed. "My dream started out great, but then things just went downhill, and that strange shadow didn't help matters." The final statement Ash made caught Nikki's attention.
"Wait… shadow?" she inquired.
"Yeah. Towards the end of my dream there was this strange shadow that appeared," Ash explained.
"I wonder… Was the shadow pleading for help?" Nikki asked.
"Y-Yeah," Ash answered, surprise clear in his voice. "How did you know?"
"Because the same thing happened in my dream," Nikki replied. This bit of information surprised both trainers and had them wondering if there was more to the strange dreams they had.
"Do you think a Pokémon could have been responsible?" Nikki wondered.
"Maybe. Let's ask Zachary and Agatha about this in the morning and see if they can help us figure this out," Ash suggested.
"Good idea," Nikki agreed. The two trainers settled back down for the night, both hoping that their sleep wouldn't be plagued with any more nightmares.
That morning Ash and Nikki recounted their from the previous night. Everyone listened intently as they spoke about the nightmare they hard and the mysterious shadow that appeared before them.
"(How did we manage to sleep through that?)" Pikachu wondered.
"Both you and Buneary were out like lights. To be honest I think you two could have slept through a Tauros stampede," Ash joked.
"But getting back to the topic at hand, do you two know of any Ghost Pokémon that could have been responsible for our nightmares last night?" Nikki asked.
"I'm sorry, dear, but I don't know of any Ghost Pokémon capable of such a feat," Agatha answered.
"Neither do I. The only way I know of something like that happening is through the use of a Pokémon move," Zachary added. The group fell into silence as they thought on the situation.
"(Well… what if it wasn't a Ghost type?)" Everyone looked at Buneary upon hearing her statement.
"You may have a point there," Agatha said.
"You don't think it was a Ghost type?" Ash asked.
"I can't be too sure, but it is a possibility we can't ignore," Agatha explained.
"So if it wasn't a Ghost type that caused your nightmares last night, what was it?" Zachary wondered. The group once again fell silent as they thought.
"What if was a Dark type," Nikki suggested.
"That's a good guess," Zachary commented.
"And if it was a Dark type then there's only one I can think that it could have been," Ash added.
"(Darkrai,)" Pikachu concluded.
"Bingo," Ash confirmed.
"You two have met Darkrai before?!" Nikki gasped.
"A few times actually," Ash replied.
"(But it's been so long since we last saw him. What makes you think he's around here?)" Pikachu questioned.
"Well, Darkrai creates nightmares for anyone who goes to sleep around him. Maybe that's what happened to us last night," Ash explained.
"(Makes sense,)" Pikachu agreed.
"So all we have to do is find Darkrai, make him leave and we won't have to worry about having any more nightmares," Nikki assumed. "Well then, let's get looking. The sooner we find him the better." Everyone else was in agreement with her as they all got up and headed outside to begin the search for the Pitch-Black Pokémon.
It was much later in the day by the time everyone made it back to Zachary's home, yet despite their efforts they had found no trace of Darkrai.
"All that time searching and we didn't find any trace of Darkrai," Nikki groaned as she collapsed on one of the chairs.
"(No one said it would be easy,)" Buneary commented.
"Even so I figured we would have found something," Nikki replied.
"Even with all of our Pokémon helping with the search we didn't find Darkrai," Zachary said.
"A Pokémon like that is very adept at hiding. If he does not wish to be found then he will not be found despite our efforts," Agatha explained.
"Then that means we'll more than likely have another nightmare tonight," Nikki sighed.
"Maybe, maybe not," Ash spoke.
"What do you mean?" Nikki questioned.
"Well, the fact that we didn't find Darkrai might mean he's no longer in the area," Ash explained. "And if he's no longer in the area then…"
"We won't have to worry about having any more nightmares," Nikki finished. "Well, that makes me feel a lot better about not finding him." As soon as she finished speaking a loud yawn escaped her mouth.
"(Seems like someone is ready to call it a day,)" Buneary commented before yawning herself.
"I think all of us feel like calling it an early night," Ash said. Everyone agreed with him as they all let out yawns of their own.
"I'll whip us up a quick dinner," Zachary offered. The group made their way into the kitchen, eager for a nice meal followed by what they hoped would be a good night's sleep.
"Oh no… not again." Despite his earlier assumptions Ash found himself in the familiar scene of a nightmare. All around him he saw nothing but black.
"I guess we didn't look hard enough for him," he commented.
"Ash? Is that you?" Spinning around Ash was surprised to see Nikki standing right behind him.
"How did you get into my dream?" he wondered.
"Your dream? I thought this was my dream," Nikki responded. "This is… this is weird." The two of them looked around as they tried to make sense of what was happening to them.
"Okay, so just how in the world did we end up sharing a dream?" Nikki wondered.
"(This… was my doing.)" The two trainers spun around to face the new voice. Just like the previous night the two found themselves face-to-face with a shadowy figure.
"Not that shadowy thing again!" Nikki shrieked. Just when it looked like a repeat of the previous night the shadow began to take on a form. It slowly took on a more humanoid form, though it was clear the being was not human itself.
"Is that a… Pokémon?" Nikki wondered. She reached for her Pokécomm so she could scan the mysterious being, but found that the device was missing.
"Huh? Where's my Pokécomm?" she asked in a panic, only for her to realize soon after what happened.
"Oh, right. This is a dream," she said. She was a bit discouraged that she wouldn't be able to discover the identity of the creature before them, but Ash would soon shed light on the mystery.
"So it was you, Darkrai," the Kanto native said.
"That's Darkrai?" Nikki questioned.
"(I am. It pleases me to see that you remember me,)" Darkrai replied. When he spoke it sounded as though his voice was coming from everywhere.
"You're not exactly easy to forget," Ash admitted. "But what are you doing here? I thought you were going someplace where your nightmares wouldn't haunt anyone."
"(That was my intention, but I was captured and brought her against my will,)" the Pitch-Black Pokémon explained.
"You were captured? It must have taken one exceptional trainer to accomplish that," Nikki praised.
"(You misunderstand. I was not captured as trainers do with wild Pokémon,)" Darkrai stated.
"You weren't?" Ash asked.
"(No. My captors assaulted me with vast numbers and overpowered me,)" Darkrai said.
"That doesn't sound right," Nikki commented.
"No, it doesn't," Ash agreed. "Darkrai, do you remember what they looked like?"
"(I do,)" he answered. "(Their attire was all the same: grey uniforms emblazoned with a crimson 'C'.)" Upon hearing Darkrai's description of the ones who attacked him Ash and Nikki gasped.
"Ash! T-That's…" Nikki stuttered.
"I know. Team Cerberus," Ash finished.
"(I see you are familiar with them,)" Darkrai surmised.
"We've dealt with them in the past," Ash responded. "To be honest I was hoping we'd seen the last of them."
"Me too," Niki agreed.
"(I tried reaching out to you in your dreams last night, but my efforts were unsuccessful,)" Darkrai told them.
"Oh, they were successful, believe me," Nikki assured him. "We just don't respond too well to nightmares."
"We want to help you, but we have no idea where you are," Ash said. "We searched all day without finding anything."
"(They have me concealed in a cave not far from your location,)" Darkrai said.
"I don't recall seeing any cave when we were searching," Ash spoke.
"(The cave itself is well concealed. Without a thorough search it is easy to overlook,)" Darkrai explained.
"Looks like we've got another search on our hands," Ash said. "Don't worry, Darkrai. We'll find that cave and rescue you. You have my word."
"Mine too," Nikki added.
"(I thank you.)" With those words Darkrai vanished, leaving Ash and Nikki alone.
"At least we know what we have to do now," Nikki stated.
"Yeah," Ash agreed. "Once we wake up we'll need to ask Zachary if he knows anywhere nearby that might be able to conceal a cave. Hopefully we'll be able to find it and rescue Darkrai before anyone else has to suffer through any nightmares."
"Or worse, should they decide to move him," Nikki added. Despite still having most of the night to go neither trainer had sleep on their minds. All they could think about was Darkrai's predicament, and their urgent need to rescue him.
It was still early in the morning when the group resumed their search, only this time they had more of an idea on what to search for. Despite this the search was going slowly, as it seemed the cave they were searching for was very well concealed. Even with their Pokémon aiding in the search they were no closer to finding the cave than they were when they first started.
"Who knew a cave would be this hard to find," Nikki groaned.
"We can't give up. Darkrai is counting on us," Ash urged.
"I'm sure we'll find the cave he is being held in. There are too many of us searching for it to remain hidden for much longer," Agatha assured them. As soon as she said that Staraptor flew down towards them.
"Did you find anything?" Ash asked.
"(I believe so. There's a heavily wooded area not far from here that appears to have what looks like tire tracks leading into it,)" the Predator Pokémon reported.
"(That sounds like it's worth investigating,)" Pikachu said.
"It does," Ash agreed. "Okay, Staraptor. Lead the way." With the Predator Pokémon flying overhead the group followed him to what they hoped would lead them to Darkrai.
"Well, this certainly looks suspicious." Just as Staraptor has said the group soon found themselves standing in front of a dense wooded area that had tire tracks leading into it. The only thing they did not see was a way through.
"So, where do we go from here?" Nikki wondered. "There isn't exactly a clear path through."
"But there has to be. These tire tracks show that someone's been passing through here," Zachary responded.
"But where do they go from here? The tracks just lead into the brush, but from what we can see it doesn't look like anyone's been going through there," Nikki pointed out. "It's almost as if whoever's been coming here drove right up to the trees and vanished into thin air."
"But how is that even possible?" Zachary questioned.
"It's not, which means that there is something here that we're overlooking," Agatha said.
"Then let's keep looking as see if we can find it," Ash suggested. The group scanned the area, searching for anything that would tell them where to go next. During this Agatha took a close look at the bushes the tire tracks seemed to stop at. Upon closer inspection she noticed that the tracks continued on underneath the bushes rather than stopping.
"What have we here?" she commented. She then looked closely at the bushes themselves. At first glance there didn't appear to be anything out of the ordinary, but the elderly woman knew better. She reached out and pushed aside the bush, revealing a well-concealed pathway.
"You found a way through," Zachary announced, getting everyone else's attention.
"These bushes were only placed here to conceal this pathway," Agatha explained. "Whoever came this way clearly didn't want to be followed."
"Then it's clear that someone's hiding something this way," Zachary assumed.
"My guess is Team Cerberus," Ash spat.
"(Which means we'll more than likely find Darkrai if we follow this path,)" Pikachu added.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go," Nikki urged. They recalled their Pokémon and proceeded down the path. The path itself was well-worn, meaning that whoever had been using it had been doing so for quite some time.
"Do you think we'll find Team Cerberus and Darkrai?" Nikki wondered.
"We'll know once we reach the end," Ash answered. The path continued on for quite a while, leading some of them to wonder just when they would reach the end. They soon got their answer when the path opened up into a clearing at the base of a rock wall. And built into that rock wall was the mouth of a cave.
"Looks like we found that cave Darkrai told us about," Ash said.
"Yeah," Nikki agreed.
"There's no telling who or what we'll run into in there, so I suggest we proceed with caution," Agatha advised. Everyone agreed with her as they entered the cave.
One of the first things the group noticed was how deserted the cave felt. Normally caves like this were home to Pokémon such as Zubat and Diglett, but so far they hadn't seen a single Pokémon anywhere.
"I don't know about any of you, but all this silence is a little unnerving," Nikki said.
"I know what you mean, but as long as we stay together then we'll be fine," Ash assured her.
"(Just how deep do you think this cave goes?)" Buneary wondered.
"Hopefully not much deeper. If Darkrai is in here then I'd get to him as soon as possible," Nikki answered. "I can't imagine what Team Cerberus has planned for him."
"I'd rather not think about it," Ash commented. They pressed on deeper into the cave, wondering when they'd reach the end. Eventually the cave began to brighten. They also heard some voices.
"Be on alert, everyone. Whoever's been using this cave is just up ahead," Zachary said. Making as little noise as possible they proceeded forward, ending up in a large cavern. Looking around they spotted large pieces of equipment scattered about, most likely brought in by truck.
"That would explain the tire tracks we found," Nikki said. Along with the equipment were numerous people dressed in similar grey uniforms sporting a crimson "C".
"Team Cerberus," Ash spat.
"So they were behind this," Nikki said. As they watched one individual caught their attention. Ash frowned, for he instantly recognized him.
"Ares," he seethed, memories of their last encounter repeating themselves in his mind.
"(Look! There's Darkrai!)" Pikachu quietly exclaimed. The Pokémon in question was being held in a large cage in the back of the cavern.
"How are going to get him out?" Nikki asked.
"I feel a battle will be inevitable," Agatha spoke.
"I think you may be right," Zachary agreed. "Even so, I think we can take them."
"Don't underestimate them. They can be pretty tough, especially Ares," Nikki warned.
"No kidding, but as long as we stick together I know we can take them," Ash said. "No matter what we have to stop them."
"In that case I think it's time we got down to business," Zachary announced. All of them gripped a Poké Ball as they prepared to confront Team Cerberus.
Ares looked around the cavern in satisfaction. After his earlier failure in the Chrono Woods he was pleased to have things progressing smoothly. He glanced over at the cage holding Darkrai. The Pitch-Black Pokémon remained quiet, seemingly resigned to his fate.
"Commander Ares, sir." Turning his attention away from the captive Pokémon he turned his gaze to an approaching soldier, a clipboard in his hand.
"We are ready to proceed with the next phase," he reported. Ares quickly looked over the contents of the clipboard.
"Do it," he instructed. "The sooner we move on to the final phase of our plan, the sooner we'll be the ones in control." He once again turned his gaze to the captive Darkrai.
"Once we have complete control of Darkrai's Bad Dreams ability we'll use it to inflict the entire Legenda region with horrific nightmares. Eventually this will bring the region to its knees, allowing us to move in and take control. Once that happens the rest of the world will soon follow," he mused. "Team Cerberus will soon control the entire world!"
"Not a chance!" Ares spun around towards the sound of the voice. He scowled once he saw who the voice belonged to.
"You!" he seethed, locking eyes with Ash.
"Let Darkrai go, now!" Ash demanded.
"You're in no position to be making demands, boy," Ares sneered. With a snap of his fingers the other Team Cerberus troops surrounded them, each with a Poké Ball in hand.
"Well, we were expecting this," Nikki commented as she and the others prepared to call on their own Pokémon.
"Just remember to battle smart," Zachary said. "As long as we stay smart we can win."
"Crush them!" The cavern was flooded with light as numerous Poké Balls opened. Ash, Nikki, Zachary and Agatha sent out their own Pokémon to counter them. As the battle got underway Nikki soon found herself facing a pack of Mightyena, Buneary and Shinx standing between them and her.
"Okay, Shinx! Use Flash!" Nikki called. The Flash Pokémon smirked at the Mightyena before letting loose a blinding flash of light, stunning them momentarily.
"Now use Charge Beam! Buneary, help her out with Hidden Power!" Nikki instructed. Shinx and Buneary let loose their attacks on the stunned Mightyena pack. Once they were done none of them were left standing.
"Alright! Great job, you two!" she praised. Meanwhile, Zachary and Agatha were handling their own opposition, Gengar and Spiritomb proving to be too much for them.
"Shadow Ball!" the Ghost trainers shouted. A massive volley of Shadow Ball attacks flew from the two Ghost types, blanketing the opposing Houndoom and Golbat in a painful assault. Within a few seconds all of the Team Cerberus Pokémon were defeated.
"(Not bad. Your Shadow Ball has gotten stronger,)" Gengar praised.
"(Of course it has. It's the move that's going to defeat you, after all,)" Spiritomb stated. The two Ghost types looked at each other and smirked as they waited for the next round of opposition. With Nikki and the others taking care of the numerous Team Cerberus troops this left Ash alone to face off against Ares.
"I think it's time for me to finish what I started in the Chrono Woods," the Team Cerberus commander declared.
"The only thing that's going to happen here is you releasing Darkrai," Ash countered.
"Darkrai isn't going anywhere, and after this battle neither will you!" Ares hurled a Poké Ball out onto the field, summoning his Jolteon.
"Go, Pupitar!" Ash shouted, calling on the Hard Shell Pokémon. Ares sneered at his opponent, Jolteon sharing in his trainer's disgust.
"It'll take more than a type advantage to defeat me, boy! Double Kick!" The Lightning Pokémon surged forward, intent on ending the battle with one move.
"I plan on bringing more than that!" Ash countered. "Sandstorm!" Despite Jolteon's incredible speed Pupitar was able to conjure up a sandstorm before the Lightning Pokémon could strike. Both Jolteon and Ares were forced to shield themselves from the powerful attack momentarily. When the attack finally died down Pupitar was gone, a hole in the ground being the only indication as to where she had vanished to.
"Where is his Pokémon hiding?!" Ares growled. Both he and Jolteon were looking around frantically to try and determine where Pupitar would surface from.
"Now!" Ash called. Moments later Pupitar exploded from the ground right beneath Jolteon, sending the Lightning Pokémon high into the air.
"Stone Edge!" Ash shouted. With Jolteon airborne there was nothing he could do to defend himself from the many razor-sharp stones Pupitar hurled his way. Shortly after the attack Jolteon fell to the ground, unconscious. Ares growled in annoyance as he recalled his defeated Pokémon.
"Now let Darkrai go!" Ash demanded.
"Never!" Ares refused, tossing out another Poké Ball. The ball opened, releasing a Fearow onto the battlefield. Though he still had a type advantage Ash knew he still needed to approach this battle with extreme caution.
"Okay, Pupitar! Use Sandstorm again!" Ash instructed. Once again the Hard Shell Pokémon summoned a sandstorm.
"Blow that little dust cloud away!" Ares ordered. With one flap of his massive wings the Fearow easily dispatched Pupitar's Sandstorm.
"Now use Agility!" Ares ordered. His Fearow became nothing more than a blur as he relaxed his body, instantly doubling his flight speed.
"Steel Wing!" Ares called. With the added speed from Agility Fearow's assault was vicious and savage as he struck Pupitar with repeated Steel Wing strikes. Ash and Pupitar could barely mount any kind of defense as Fearow continued his relentless assault.
"Quick! Use Sandstorm to defend yourself!" Ash shouted. As quickly as she could Pupitar surrounded herself with a Sandstorm, temporarily halting Fearow's attack.
"Now use Stone Edge before he can recover!" Ash called.
"Block it with Steel Wing!" Ares commanded. Pupitar's super-effective attack was completely blocked by Fearow's Steel Wing defense, rendering it useless. Ash grunted in frustration at this turn of events.
"Now attack with Steel Wing!" Ares ordered. Fearow resumed his assault, striking with a Steel Wing that knocked the Hard Shell Pokémon onto her back.
"Face it, boy! You can't defeat me! Your victory over me in the Chrono Woods was nothing more than a mistake, one that will not be repeated here!" Ares declared. Ash wasn't paying any attention to him. His attention was focused on Pupitar, who was struggling to right herself.
"Come on, Pupitar! Don't give up!" he urged. Even though pain was coursing through her body Pupitar managed to right herself.
"Well now, we can't have that," Ares commented. "Knock her down again! Steel Wing!" Fearow was nothing but a blur as he sped by, flooring Pupitar with yet another Steel Wing.
"No!" Ash cried.
"And that, boy, is the difference between the two of us," Ares declared. "I can be as ruthless as needed to accomplish my mission. You, on the other hand, are too soft. "You're too concerned with the safety of your Pokémon to do what is needed to win."
"There's nothing wrong with showing some compassion!" Ash argued.
"It is a sign of weakness!" Ares retorted. "It is the very reason why you will not win here!"
"It's not weakness!" Ash yelled. "My care for my Pokémon is why they stay by my side no matter what!"
"And tell me, boy. What good is your compassion doing here and now?" Ares challenged. "Your Pokémon is down while mine is still airborne." Ash grit his teeth in anger as he looked on. Ares' Fearow hovered overhead while Pupitar once again struggled to right herself.
"Come on, Pupitar! Get up!" Ash urged. Pupitar was doing everything she could to get back up, but at this point that was easier said than done.
"I believe in you! Please!" Those words sparked something inside the Hard Shell Pokémon. Hearing Ash say he believed in her always meant something, but now it meant so much more. With a sudden surge of strength Pupitar sprang back up.
"Alright! I knew you could do it!" Ash cheered. But Pupitar wasn't done yet, for with a loud battle cry her body began to glow.
"P-Pupitar?!" Ash cried.
"No! This can't be happening!" Ares yelled. Pupitar's body began to grow immensely in size. At the same time arms, legs and a tail began to form. Once the light faded Ash was staring in amazement at his newly-evolved Tyranitar.
"Oh yeah! Now it's time to turn things around!" Ash cheered.
"I don't think so! Evolved or not you still can't win here! Steel Wing!" After shaking off the surprised of Pupitar's sudden evolution Fearow was once again on the attack, charging in with a Steel Wing. The attack appeared to make contact, but another look showed that Tyranitar managed to catch the attack, despite Fearow's speed boost from Agility. Her claws were locked tightly around Fearow's wing, keeping him from going anywhere.
"(Not this time!) she roared. With Fearow immobilized there was nothing he could do to protect himself from Tyranitar's next attack. She opened her mouth wide and bit down on his wing, eliciting a cry of pain from the Beak Pokémon.
"Sweet! You know Crunch now," Ash praised. With Fearow's wing still in her mouth Tyranitar decided to put an end to the battle. The Beak Pokémon could do nothing but look on in horror as he was soon blasted by Tyranitar's Stone Edge, rendering him unconscious.
"No! Not again!" Ares screamed.
"Last chance! Release Darkrai, now!" Ash demanded. Ares looked around and saw that the remainder of his forces were quickly being defeated, leaving him with only one option.
"Retreat!" he announced. Immediately some of the other Team Cerberus agents released a horde of Koffing who proceeded to use Smokescreen.
"What the?! I can't see!" Ash shouted. The Smokescreen dissipated quickly, but by the time it did Ares and his troops has vanished.
"They're gone!" Nikki exclaimed.
"They used the Smokescreen to cover their escape. I must say they are nothing if not crafty," Agatha commented.
"I still can't believe we let them get away again," Ash said, obviously disgusted by what transpired.
"At least we managed to save Darkrai," Zachary stated.
"And you got an awesome new Pokémon," Nikki added. That seemed to put a more positive spin on what happened. With nothing else to do the group returned their Pokémon and got to work freeing Darkrai.
The evening sun had cast an orange glow across the sky by the time the group exited the cave. Team Cerberus had left no trace of themselves outside the cave, giving them nothing to follow to try and fins the evil organization.
"One day… One day I'm going to put a stop to them," Ash vowed.
"I have no doubt you will," Agatha said.
"(Nor do I,)" Darkrai agreed. "(I must once again express my thanks to you for rescuing me. Had you not come I shudder to think what would have become of me.)"
"Well thankfully we don't have to worry about that," Zachary stated.
"(Where will you go now?)" Pikachu asked.
"(Where I will not be found again. Farewell.)" With those parting words Darkrai faded into the shadows.
"I hope Team Cerberus doesn't find him again," Nikki said.
"I doubt they will. Darkrai knows about them now and knows to stay hidden when they're around," Ash stated. At that moment a loud yawn escaped Ash's mouth, followed shortly thereafter by one from Nikki.
'I think we all deserve a nice long rest after that," Zachary commented. No one argued with him as everyone headed back to the mansion for a well-deserved, and now nightmare free, rest.
Ash and his friends managed to put an end to another Team Cerberus plot, saving Darkrai in the process. But now the question is what comes next for the group. Find out in the next chapter of Search for Power!
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