I'm not great at writing full on battles where there's chaos so hopefully you all find it ok.
Chapter 47
Frank was sitting down on the Bullet train on his way to Goldenrod City furiously trying not to rage at his long time friend Koga.
"It will be dealt with Frank," Koga said, knowing what was going on in his mind.
"The flu!" Frank said no longer able to contain himself. "That's her excuse? The bloody flu?"
"She could very well have the flu." Koga said looking at the empty seat next to him where the Steel Type Elite Four trainer should be sitting and wasn't.
"She better be dying" Frank said shaking his head in disgust "for all her talk about being proud of her heritage she's done a fantastic job of shitting on it with this. Our Champion is leading the charge against the scum and she has the sniffles?"
"Like I said she could be ill," Koga said.
"You know good and hell well she's not sick" Frank said "I mean Grady turned up and he's not overly happy about this either! I've a good mind to go and ask that girlfriend of hers what the hell she thinks she's playing at."
"We can't do that to Katie" Koga said calmly "her girlfriend's choices are not hers Frank."
"I know" he said "and I'm not suggesting she's at fault at all. But the shit will hit the fan once the board finds out a senior member of its team abandoned the rest of us when they needed them the most."
The rest of the journey was done in silence as they contemplated what was to come. It would be an absolute miracle Koga thought if everyone made it out alive but he really hoped he wasn't leading his daughter to her death.
Katie was sitting in her carriage with her apprentices trying her best not to cry. She knew her girlfriend had her issues with people from Johto but she thought she'd at least show up to support her. As it was she had left on the Bullet train, at 3pm on the dot and Laura was nowhere in sight. She had asked Koga for a delay of just ten minutes but the driver vetoed that. He was under instructions to leave at 3 and every second counted for Ash to receive their aid. Laura hadn't replied to any of her calls or messages either so she was as clueless as the rest of them but the only thing that stuck in her mind was that her girlfriend had abandoned her and Kanto. There wasn't any coming back from that and it would be something which would follow her around for the rest of her life. Katie was trying to think of any solution which could make this better but couldn't. There wasn't one because Laura wasn't here when she should have been. She let out a small sob and wiped the angry tears away hoping no one saw them.
The journey wasn't long really but it felt like it was due to the thoughts that went through everyone's minds. It couldn't be helped really as they were literally going to war and while it might not be a full scale one they all knew on some level this could be the last time they all saw each other. Many of their friends had decided every now and then to walk up and down the train to stretch their legs and to take their mind off the situation but it didn't help much.
The driver coming over the tannoy to announce they were ten minutes from Goldenrod City made the atmosphere incredibly tense and they all looked around nervously.
The last stretch of the journey was in complete darkness as the Bullet Train headed underneath through the mountain range that was the spine of Johto and emerged from underneath the ground into daylight actually in Goldenrod City. It was a very strange layout but it made the convoys arrival virtually undetectable until they were actually in Goldenrod Station where a guard had secretly disabled the turnstiles leaving them wide open. The instructions had of course come from Ash to do this via the driver in Kanto and the Johto attendants were more than happy to oblige. So you can imagine the surprise on the two members of Team Rocket that had been instructed to make sure the station was emptied when the Bullet Train entered the station, with its windows blacked out very quietly. Warily they approached the opened doors and immediately regretted it when they were grabbed by two huge hulking men and knocked out.
"Good stuff Master Wong, Master Rey" Richard said nodding his approval to his second in command and his apprentice. "Take their Pokéball belts from them and keep ahold of them."
Stepping onto the platform they filled the station and waited for Frank and Koga to issue instructions.
"This is it guys and girls," Frank said "we are not going to worry about who is not here, The fact is you all stood up when it counted. I want to thank each and every one of you for volunteering at such short notice, your contributions to Kanto will not be forgotten. Now, the moment you step foot outside this building I want you to be on guard as we've had word that Ash, Lance and the G-Men have stormed the city and encountered hundreds of trainers and their Pokémon. There has been significant strides made on the Southern side where a makeshift hospital has been set up near the Pokémon Daycare. The Eastern side has been captured completely and they have secured key buildings under the control of Elite Four Member Karen but beware the patrols of Charizard there. At the moment the High Street is out of bounds until we have secured every exit to the city and we will converge as one from all sides on the street, pinning them in. Good luck to you all."
Releasing his Raichu he nodded to it and led the procession out of the building not seeing two extra people step off the train having hidden in the drivers cabin.
Ash
Ash couldn't tell you how long he'd been battling grunts and Pokémon but he knew it felt like days. He hadn't had the chance to have a breather since they engaged Team Rocket grunts at the start of the skirmish but he had quickly lost track of where everyone was and had let himself be led down several side streets trying his best to clear the area for his comrades. The fighting had been ferocious, with both sides seemingly giving no quarter whatsoever and he had given up counting how many battles he'd been in, or how many grunts he'd disabled or how many attacks he'd dodged because it had just been relentless. Trainers seemed to be pouring out of houses to either attack him or support him and it had been hard going not to hurt someone who was aiding him. He had caught himself several times issuing instructions to Pikachu who wasn't there and had to dodge attacks because of his lapse in concentration. It hurt him, Ash felt every time he realised that his partner should be here with him but was instead getting prepared to have major surgery and he should have been there with him. His decision to leave Pikachu would always haunt him, he had abandoned his best friend in his hour of need. Nia had told him that it was necessary for him to get the surgery as soon as possible to alleviate the pain, and while it was true it hasn't really changed his mind on the situation.
He sent out a quick pulse and found Nia was way on the other side of the city now along with several of his Pokémon. He had never said it out loud that he wanted her protected but several of his Pokémon knew that she was incredibly important to him and had split off from him early on, in fact the only Pokémon that were with or near Ash at the minute were Sneasel and Machamp who hadn't left his side and Venusaur who was helping create barriers every few hundred yards with the other grass type Pokémon in one of the main streets. The actual high street was off limits for now as more than two hundred and fifty grunts, led by several Admins had set up shop in various places and were defending it ruthlessly with their Pokémon. No one dared fly over the inner city just yet as they had stationed Fire Blasting Arcanine snipers, along with rock types that knew Smack Down on the rooftops along with several flying types to intercept anyone who tried. Unwittingly though Ash was getting nearer and nearer to the high street with every person he and his Pokémon beat until he walked around a corner and quickly withdrew to hide behind the corner, peeking out cautiously as the high street was in view, with seemingly no one anywhere near him.
"Sneasel" Ash whispered to his ice type, nodding to the street "we seem to be somewhere near the middle of the high street, near the department store. I need you to do something I thought I'd never ask of you. I need you to get as close as you can to the back of those grunts and use Sheer Cold but then immediately retreat back to here. We'll then go back the way we came."
Sneasel nodded, knowing Ash had hated instructing him to use that attack. He had sworn when the Mahogany Incident had settled that he would never ask his Pokémon to use that move in a battle setting, but they would learn it as a last resort. Sneasel was in his element though using the shadows that had draped across the backstreets, and with the bins and streetlights being his ally he managed to get within thirty feet of at least thirty grunts who were milling around, seemingly unconcerned about anyone approaching. Even their Pokémon that were sitting by their side were basking in the sun, not paying attention.
"Any plans for the weekend Bob?" a woman asked sitting down outside a café as if it were a normal day for them, just slightly away from the rest of her team.
"Alexa, good to see you alive, especially after the fiasco this morning. How the hell did you survive that?" Bob asked surprised but very happy to see his supervisor before looking up confused as he could have sworn he felt snow falling.
"I didn't go" she said smirking "I'm not suicidal Bob. I know he's not going to be happy but fuck him, I'm not wasting my life needlessly like that. So, any plans?"
"Not really," he said looking around. "I mean, we're likely to be here aren't we? What's with this weather though?"
"It is quite strange," she said looking up as clouds began to gather and drops of snow began to fall. Ignoring it she continued "at least this time your wife knows you are actually away on business, unlike the fifty or so times you've not been."
"It was business" he said lecherously wagging his eyebrows at her eliciting a giggle. "Tough business but the outcome was very rewarding for all involved."
"It was very good business," she replied, chuckling "I wouldn't mind negotiating with you again, as the last time went on for a long time."
"Negotiating eh?" he said laughing before looking around and leaning in to her. "I'm sure we can find somewhere to negotiate, Nancy struggles to believe me when I tell her you are a tough nut to crack."
"When I'm negotiating I like to make sure I get what I want" she said haughtily buffering her nails on her blouse. "If that means squeezing every last drop that I can get out of my advisory then so be it."
"Well, who am I to disappoint a lady…" Bob began before he convulsed slightly, eyes rolling backwards and his head fell forwards onto the table eliciting a shriek from Alexa drawing the attention of everyone else as sticking out of the back of his head was an icicle. Frantically she looked around to see two more icicles shoot out of the growing snowstorm hitting two others in the head instantly killing them.
"Someone use Sunny Day and get rid of this bloody snow!" she shrieked as a feeling of dread overcame her.
Before anyone could though they all felt the temperature drop in the area and through the snowstorm came a rush of white, accompanied with sleet and snow as a gale, colder than anything they had ever felt before swept down the street, hitting everyone who was in the area instantly freezing them. Out of the thirty or so grunts that were in the middle of the high street only two would survive that day as they were guarded by their Arcanines who used their hot bodies to cover them. Alexa didn't stand a chance as the sub-zero temperature hit her first, instantly freezing the blood in her body before moving down the street inexorably, uncaringly and without prejudice.
Sneasel had instantly retreated to where Ash was panting harshly as that move took a lot out of a Pokémon.
"Good job" Ash whispered knowing that soon there would be hundreds of Team Rocket members converging near the department store.
"Pssst" a voice said, drawing their attention. Ash looked across the street and saw a man who looked very familiar frantically waving at Ash to get inside his house. Recalling Machamp and Sneasel, Ash rushed across the street and into the house, not pausing as the door slammed shut behind him and a plank of wood was drilled to the wall, blocking his exit.
"Oh thank god it's you" a woman said rushing out of her kitchen wringing her hands with worry. "We've been trapped in here for days now."
"Who are you?" Ash asked warily.
"Oh I do apologise" she said "Kira Sonezaki at your service."
"Artemis Sonezaki" the man said as he walked past Ash and sat down heavily.
"Oh your Bills mum and dad!" Ash said relieved "You had me bloody worried then. I'm glad you are ok, Bill will be relieved. He never told me that you were still living in Goldenrod City."
"Oh that boy" Kira said, sounding worried "we have never left and don't intend to leave. He knows this."
"That would explain his desire to come here and help me" Ash mused aloud.
"Bill is here?" Artemis asked, sounding hopeful "he never calls that boy."
"He's busy dear" Kira said sitting on the arm of his chair "he's very important."
"He's not too important to remember to ring his mum and dad" Ash said, earning a satisfied nod from Artemis. "I never stop talking to them. In fact in my first year of travelling I called my mum at least twice a week."
"See, Ash gets it," he said, shaking his head. "Anyway, how is the insensitive pillock?"
"Artie!" she said, batting his arm.
"He's good," Ash said "he's actually on the hill near the southern entrance to this city. He worked all night to get this radio blackout sorted. He's currently in Karens bed asleep as he was up for a few days trying to fix it and we managed to get it fixed this morning."
"Karen?" a voice asked from the stairs. Ash saw a very pretty woman walk down, with long flowing red hair that reached her back, grey eyes wearing blue jeans and a tank top.
"Yeah" Ash said puzzled before remembering "Diana right?"
"Diane" she corrected him, nodding before looking at her parents, "at least he talks about us pa."
"Yeah, just not to us." he groused "anyway, who is this Karen?"
"Elite Four Karen" Ash said, getting raised eyebrows.
"Not Tanya's girl?" Kira asked.
"Mum, she's not a little girl anymore," Diane said, chuckling and sitting down on the bottom step. "She's 26."
"Never mind that" she said waving her statement away "I knew it! I knew they would get together!"
"Bill and Karen have known each other since they were six years old and attended school together" Diane clarified "in fact they even started their journey at the same time, him with an Abra and her with an Eevee but they separated not long into it as Bill had always had a different destiny. Bill took an apprenticeship in Kanto, Karen went on to be successful in Johto and I don't think they've seen each other since. Bill gets all shy whenever she was brought up and would quickly change the subject, but we all knew he fancied her."
"I did wonder why he never mentioned dating anyone" Ash mused "every time I visited him there have always been signs but I put it down to him being a nerd, we're quite shy like that. Their meeting and interaction yesterday makes so much more sense now."
"Oh he is shy" Kira said fondly "painfully at times. Get him talking about a computer or any other gizmo and he won't shut up but talk about him dating and settling down and he clams up. So tell me, did he at least say hello to her?"
"I believe his first words to her were 'you're beautiful', she just stopped talking and blushed when he said that." Ash said chuckling "I hope she survives this, for both their sakes. Anyway, thank you for aiding me but I need to get back out there and help. I need to finish that bastard Silver off for good before he escapes and this happens again."
"You won't get very far going back down that street" Artemis said "honestly I've no idea how you managed to get onto this street in the first place without traversing the High Street."
"I've no idea either" Ash said "to be honest it's all been a blur since we attacked and I didn't know I was anywhere near the High Street. That was the last place I wanted to end up. Our last intel told us there were over 200 grunts waiting for us on that street so it was our end game to reach Goldenrod Radio Tower."
"Silver isn't in there" Diane said, confusing Ash "If you mean the man that was on the TV at your final he left there days ago. He's in the Plaza building next to it now, in the directors room. We saw the director escorted out not long afterwards by a man in a metal suit, looking like he'd been beaten to a pulp."
"Shit" Ash said, closing his eyes in anger as he recalled looking at the building as he flew over yesterday. "The bastard would be able to see everything we did from up there too wouldn't he?"
"Yeah" she said nodding "his office can see for miles in every direction."
"Damn" he said before steeling himself "Hang on, you said metal suit? From head to toe?"
"Yeah" she said nodding "it looked pretty hi-tech actually with all those buttons on his chest."
"It doesn't matter anyway, I still need to get to him." Ash said after a moment to take that in too.
"A full frontal attack on your own would be suicide" Kira said looking worried before whispering something to Artemis who nodded.
"This way" Artemis said, getting up from his chair, grabbing some strange looking keys out of a cupboard and leading a confused Ash into his back garden. "Now the first thing you need to know about Goldenrod City is that underground is just as expansive as up top. Centuries ago, when the civil war happened in Johto the dictator captured Goldenrod and used it but needed a place to hide should they be overrun so he had the entire city ripped up and alongside the sewers he created an underground warren of tunnels each with their own entrance. Now over the years most of them have been blocked up or built over but there are still a few that remain open." Cautiously they walked down the entry way at the back of his house and they came to what looked like an outhouse with a rusted iron door barring entrance. Placing the key in each of the two holes it creaked loudly as it swung open. Looking around Artemis was relieved that the noise hadn't attracted any attention. "I really need to oil this. Anyway, this will lead you directly to a few places. First left is the Goldenrod Plaza Tower basement where all of Team Rocket are holed up. The first right will lead you to the basement of Goldenrod Department Store, carry on and you'll reach another fork. Those lead to the train station to your left and the gym to your right. The exit is the next right after that, the left has long since been blocked off."
Ash looked thoughtful as he processed the information he had been told. Looking at his Pokégear he saw it was 3:45. Had it really been only forty five minutes since they started the attack?
"Ash," Artemis said nervously, looking around.
"Yeah, sorry" Ash said nodding "thank you. This is most helpful. I have reinforcements arriving soon so hopefully in the next few hours this will be all over with." Walking down the stone steps he paused as the doorway slammed behind him leaving him alone in the pitch dark, trusting that a man he had never met before in his life was the person he said he was.
As the door slammed shut Artemis pulled out his phone and sent a quick message. "AK on route to your location alone. Reinforcements arriving to back him up anytime now."
Silver
Silver looked out the window to the South when he saw snow beginning to fall and frowned. The sun was cracking the flags not too long ago. He watched bewildered as a huge white wave streamed down the street where he knew a great many of his underlings were located. "What the hell?" he muttered. Looking around he saw that his enemies were nowhere near the high street just yet so what was that?
A noise from his phone brought him out of his reverie as he received a message and frowned at the information he had just received. Turning to James he asked "is the Assassin still on site? If so, get him up here."
The Assassin as he was known was currently trying to find information about Jessica McGill before he left. He had no plans to be here when Ash confronted Silver but he knew that the information he was seeking could possibly help him in the future. Silver wouldn't order a kill on sight without being wary of said person so just who was Jessica McGill and why was she so important? He had been searching the Rocket database for hours now and still had come up with nothing. He had even asked James for help but he had had to leave not long ago as the boss wanted him for something.
The Boss. He had no idea why he called him that as Silver certainly wasn't his boss yet to stay on his good side and get close to him he had gone along with the moniker. He despised the part he was playing at the moment, hanging around sycophants and yes men but looking at the Pokébelt that was on the table next to his helmet he smirked as working for Team Rocket certainly hadn't been too much of a waste of time. The money helped as the cheques cleared every week but it was the Pokémon currently housed in a purple ball on his belt that made it worth every penny and kept him calling Silver the Boss.
His phone ringing gained his attention. "Yes" he said.
"The boss requires you at your earliest convenience." James said before hanging up.
'Earliest convenience'. He said shaking his head and standing up, putting his helmet back on, locking it into place near his neck and grabbing his Pokébelt. "What a joke he really is."
A few minutes later the Assassin strode into the room and stopped in front of Silver waiting expectantly. Handing the phone to him the Assassin read the message impassively before handing it back to Silver.
"Find out how, immediately" Silver said before turning around and looking back out of the window. The Assassin didn't even bother responding before leaving the room.
Ash
Ash was in a quandary as he came to the first fork in the road. He was desperate to head left and into the Plaza but he knew it would be tantamount to suicide to do so. He didn't think heading right would do anything either as the Department Store, while also under their control, had nothing he needed. Remembering the time he carried onwards and took the first left coming to a dead end but there was a ladder fixed to the wall that had a metal grate at the top, some thirty feet up. He was thankful that his aura skills were so complete as to be able to see perfectly in the dark and even more thankful as he began to climb as there were several rungs missing or snapped off that would have sliced his hands open or made him slip. Reaching the grate he put his shoulder to it and it began to move ever so slightly creaking as it did. If this was what waited him at the Plaza tunnel entrance then he would arrive and be heard very easily. Hopefully the basement was empty when he arrived there later. Eventually he managed to push against the grate and it fell backwards slamming against the floor as it did so. Wincing at the noise Ash climbed out and looked warily as he was just at the end of the train tracks, buffers in front of him and to his shock the bloody Bullet Train slowing down right in front of him. Hurriedly he climbed out and jumped onto the left hand platform and was therefore hidden from view, but could see all of the right side from his vantage point. Wondering how he was going to get there he paused when he heard Frank speak.
"This is it guys and girls. We are not going to worry about who is not here, The fact is you all stood up when it counted. I want to thank each and every one of you for volunteering at such short notice, your contributions to Kanto will not be forgotten. Now, the moment you step foot outside this building I want you to be on guard as we've had word that Ash, Lance and the G-Men have stormed the city and encountered hundreds of trainers and their Pokémon. There has been significant strides made on the Southern side where a makeshift hospital has been set up near the Pokémon Daycare. The Eastern side has been captured completely and they have secured key buildings under the control of Elite Four Member Karen but beware the patrols of Charizard there. At the moment the High Street is out of bounds until we have secured every exit to the city and we will converge as one from all sides on the street, pinning them in. When you leave here we will all head left and spread out from there. Good luck to you all."
Who didn't turn up Ash wondered as he felt hundreds of trainers auras exit the station, cheering and screaming war cries as they did. Cautiously he jumped down onto the track and leaped over the buffer before stopping as he felt three more auras exit the train. What the hell were they doing here?
"Frank certainly has a way with words doesn't he?" A young teenager said hopping into the platform.
"He's always been like that" an older man said to him "Frank doesn't beat around the bush."
"I wonder who didn't turn up." The younger man asked.
"Someone who will be dealt with harshly" the third man said "if not by Ash then certainly by Frank. He has no love for people who claim they're patriots but won't stand up for their region. I'm surprised he managed to keep a lid on it to be honest."
Ash, who had so far been keeping a tight reign on his aura to not be detected, released it in anger immediately drawing the attention of the tall man with silver/grey hair.
"Ash?" He said "why are you hiding there?"
"Never mind that" Ash said hopping up onto the platform, "why are you here and not at home? Does mum know you're here?"
"Yes she does" Red said looking Ash over briefly "she practically ordered me to come here to make sure you're ok."
Ash looked at him appraisingly wondering if his father was lying to him.
"It's the truth," Blue said, interjecting between the tense father and son moment.
"I don't particularly care if you believe me or not" Red said "we have more pressing matters to deal with. Namely that prick Silver who has holed himself up in the Radio Tower."
"He's not there," Ash said remembering the information from Artemis, digging out his Pokégear and dialling a number.
"Ash" Lance shouted, sounding breathless "I'm kind of busy."
"I know" Ash said "I'm just letting you know that Silver is not in the Radio Tower, I repeat he's not in the Radio Tower. He's in the Plaza next to it."
"What?" Lance said "how do you know this?"
"I met Bills family." Ash said "they told me he was there very briefly before he took the directors office in the building next to it to oversee everything. He's been able to see everything we have been doing the whole time because of that bloody window there."
"Shit!" Lance said "ok, well it doesn't really change much as we need to get to that building anyway. Have you told Karen?"
"No, I was just about to after letting you know." Ash said.
"GET DOWN" Lance shouted making Ash pull the phone away from his ear "Sal, deal with that fucker on the rooftop will you before he brings the fucking building down on us all! Ash I need to go."
"No problem" Ash said "oh before you go, Frank and the Kanto back up team are here and should be heading to you anytime now. I've told Frank and Koga that you're their first port of call and are under your orders once they reach you. I'll ring Karen now."
Lance hung up without saying anything so Ash rang Karen who sounded much better than Lance. Informing her of the information received a few choice words but also words of thanks.
"Oh, tell Bill to call his parents. They miss him."
Hanging up Ash looked at Red, Blue and Gary. "Come on, while I'm mad you're here I'm also bloody happy to see you guys. This way."
"We're not following them out of the station?" Red asked.
"No," Ash said "I've been told of a secret underground entrance into the Plaza Tower. Now be careful climbing down these ladders, some rungs are missing so test each step before you go down. I'll go first."
It took a good ten minutes to get down because despite Ash's guidance it was still pitch black down in the underground tunnels. When they were all down though Gary and Blue looked around and couldn't even see each other because it was that dark.
"Oh sod this" Gary said releasing his Umbreon "Umbreon, Flash."
Umbreon nodded and the rings on his body glowed emitting a faint light that stretched a few feet in front of them.
"Good choice" Ash said leading them back down the tunnel where they came to a fork. Heading right Ash walked on letting the three know what had happened since he saw them last. "How did you know about the Bullet Train though?"
"I'm still acting Champion Ash" Blue said chuckling "I have access to everything you do."
"And I was on the phone to him when he received the email from your secretary," Red said.
"And Gary?" he asked.
"He was at home with me" Blue said as they followed the path.
"So," Red said after a few minutes walking "how was your meeting yesterday?"
"Unproductive and confrontational" Ash said as he explained what had been said, "I mean I can get being proud of your heritage but to put the entire blame on Johto members of The Elite Four when it was the Kanto Board that made the decision seems wrong to me."
"That's because you weren't there," Blue said darkly, "Believe me, you'd have a different opinion if you were grown up at that time. Kanto was weeks away from having a civil war Ash. Team Rocket proclaimed to be liberators and the good guys trying to retake Kanto for Kantonians, the Elite Four led by your father and Lance proclaimed that they were the good guys trying to keep the peace and live together as one. The Kanto Board were quiet and ineffective, saying all the right words but doing nothing, the Johto Board were starting to place restrictions on travel to there for anyone with a Kantonian passport until the Civil War was resolved. It was an extremely dark and confusing time, with no one knowing who to trust."
"Why haven't we been taught any of this when we were growing up in school?" Gary asked.
"It was deemed too harrowing to teach to young children" Blue said "and by the time you were old enough you no longer went to school as you became a trainer but had you gone to High School you would have been taught this."
"I knew a lot of it because I read everything Sam owned in his ranch" Ash said "and I also had access to most of his files once he made me Junior Professor but I know from experience that reading about incidents and living through them are two very different things."
"You've had it mild compared to most people my age" Red said, making him pause "believe me Ash, I wouldn't wish it on anyone."
"So what swung it then?" Gary asked "if people were so anti Johto why were Lorelei, Bruno and Lance allowed to stay?"
"Because they were Elite Four" Ash said "it's an iron clad contract you sign when you become one. You essentially gain part citizenship for the duration that you're Elite Four and it can only be severed in a handful of ways. Dishonouring the position, refusing commands in war time, illegal activity, refusing to do the role fully, etc. Basically anything that puts the League in a poor light. The main one though is by being beaten and your position offered to the person who won. They, by doing nothing in the public domain, did nothing wrong."
"The Cinnabar Incident is what swung it into their favour" Blue said "The public thought they were letting the situation unfold as there had been silence for months when in actuality behind the scenes they were investigating Team Rocket, trying to find proof to sway the public and they did just that."
"September 2nd 1998" Red said, making Blue pause in his stride and look at him sharply.
"Yup" Blue agreed, shaking his head to try and clear away the memory as he carried on walking.
"That was the day Agatha discovered the bodies of the failed experiments in the research facility on Cinnabar Island." Red continued "Mewtwo blew it up the day prior, exposing the whole thing and with it Team Rockets credibility disappeared when she released the pictures to the media behind Lance's back a week later. He was furious but he couldn't do anything as it was out in the public eye now, and he couldn't sack her as I was Champion, not him. And like hell was I sacking Agatha for doing the right thing immediately and not sitting on the information. Agatha just laughed in his face, I backed her and we had a massive argument about it and didn't speak for a good few weeks. I don't think he realised at the time how important it was that it was either Agatha or myself that released them and not him like he wanted. The public wouldn't likely have believed it had it been the other three, such was the animosity about them. But Agatha didn't care either way, she was fed up with Lance and his need to keep control of everything."
"Lance was and has always been a control freak" Blue said nodding "even after I took over he neve changed. He challenged me twice for the position of Champion in the following months and failed."
"I didn't know that," Red said, frowning at his best friend. "You beat him fairly the first time and it was only a fluke that you lost against me so he should have known better."
"I think it was his way of letting me know that he wasn't going anywhere soon" Blue said wryly "and he was still furious that it was us and not him that found and nearly captured Silver. He treated me like a child until I threatened to punch him in the face. After that we started to get on better until he became a good friend but it wasn't great in the aftermath of your disappearance."
"Whoa" Ash said, halting both them and the conversation as in a little indent in the wall was a door, slightly ajar that blended in so well with the wall with a small shaft of light coming from behind it. "How did I miss this coming here, and why is it open now and it wasn't before?"
Cautiously he looked through the gap and paused as there was a long tunnel that sloped upwards leading away from the door.
"I take it this isn't the way into the Plaza?" Red whispered as they moved the door so the tunnel could be fully seen.
"No" Ash said "I wasn't told there was a hidden door down here, just several branches that were blocked off over time. He didn't mention anything about secret doors. Blue, Gary can you two fight? I mean hand-to-hand."
"I can" Blue said "I sparred with your dad when we were growing up and while I'm a little rusty from my leg being mended I can still hold my own. Why?"
Ash looked at Gary who shook his head. "It's not just Pokémon battles that have been happening up there. Most of the people that have been injured are by being mobbed by the grunts. Gary, stay by your dad. My dad and I will take lead and we'll all three of us protect you as best we can but if you find yourself in a situation then do whatever you can to survive. I don't care if you have to bite or scratch them. Use your car keys if you have them on you but as far as you're concerned everyone is an enemy until proven otherwise. Ok?" Gary nodded suddenly looking less confident than he was five minutes ago. He had been so wrapped up in the conversation on politics and history of Kanto that he had temporarily forgotten why they were here. Walking along the dimly lit corridor Ash released Sneasel.
"We have no idea where this leads, Sneasel can you and Umbreon be on guard?" Nodding he trotted over to his fellow Dark Type and they took the lead as they carried on until the corridor tapered off until they became single file only. Eventually they came to a set of steps that led upwards with two hand rails on either side which was a good thing as the steps were really steep. Eventually, after a long climb they came to a very short corridor that had a grey door at the end of it that was also slightly ajar.
"I suspect we've been led here" Ash said grimly as they cautiously opened the door, peering into what was an extremely well lit changing room. Looking around he saw that they had come through what was supposed to be a locker but the back was missing. Stroking the side of the wall Ash saw that the back had simply slid sideways into the wall but would likely slide back into place when needed. Looking around Ash spotted a door wedge on a shelving unit that also had a few t-shirts and pants and strangely enough a tool box. Grabbing it he placed it into the small gap in the floor, so they could escape back down the tunnel later on. The others had used this time to adjust their vision and began to make their way to the only door that led presumably into wherever they were.
Red peered out of the door signalling with his hands for the others to wait and began to make his way out when he heard voices rushing his way. Quickly he flattened himself against the wall as two people in black uniforms rushed past.
"...don't know how they let him disappear."
"If the boss finds out he'll kill us so let's find him quickly."
"It's a bloody maze down here, how are we supposed to find him when we're lost ourselves?"
Ash nodded to his dad and seamlessly they quickly slipped out behind them and grabbed the two people, quickly pulling them back into the locker room, closing the door behind them and throwing them against the lockers. Groaning the two grunts slowly gained their bearings and nearly shit themselves when they realised just who was looking at them.
"Oh shit" the left hand grunt said. He was a small man with blonde hair and brown eyes.
"You got that right" Blue said, bending over something they couldn't see before kneeling down in front of them so he was eye level and grinning at them "so boys. We're going to play a game. It's called 'I'll ask you a question and if you don't answer I will cut off a finger until I run out.' Does that sound good?" He finished this by holding up a pair of tin snips that he had found in a tool box.
"You're supposed to be the good guys" The blonde said concerned.
"See that's the thing" Red said, grabbing a hammer from the box and then also kneeling by Blue. Looking between the two he grinned. "We have never once said that we are. There is a reason we were so feared in the last war with your little club and it wasn't just because of our battling skills. By necessity we became experts in getting information."
"You wouldn't dare…" the man's partner said before a sickening crack was heard and a loud scream as his knee bone was shattered by Red swinging the hammer.
"You see boys, your boss tried to take me away from my family and tortured me for over ten years." Red said seriously before swinging the hammer again onto his partner's other leg. Putting a hand on Blues shoulder he continued, "He also threatened my friend and his son last year so we're not feeling very charitable right now. So, let's play Blues game shall we?"
Warily the blonde looked at his partner who had fainted from the pain and gulped before nodding.
"Pathetic" Blue said standing up not long later and wiping his shoes on the passed out grunts leg. "He didn't last two fingers."
"People are attached to them mate" Red said throwing the hammer onto the floor "well, he was anyway. We got what we needed from them."
Looking round he spotted Ash looking at him appraisingly and heard a retching sound as huddled over a bin Gary was throwing up his dinner. Chuckling Blue walked over and stroked his sons back, whispering something neither Red nor Ash could hear.
"Poor Gary" Ash said before looking at his fathers handiwork "You two are very messy though."
"He should have answered Blues questions properly" Red said shrugging his shoulders unconcerned "anyway, as we heard the Director of the Plaza is currently hiding down here and us two have an advantage no one else has. Shall we? Blue, we'll go and find him. It shouldn't be too difficult but if we're not back in twenty minutes you two need to carry on to the Plaza and do what you can there."
"It's down the tunnel and the next right" Ash said pointing back to where they had come out of.
"Ok" he said, nodding knowing that Red and Ash could find someone much easier than he could. Pulsing out his aura Ash got a bead on where there were several life forms in the tunnels and they headed down the corridor in silence. It wasn't long before they came to another tunnel where there were three grunts at the end. Fortune smiled on them though as there were several cargo boxes that opened outwards to hide behind to plan an ambush. Cautiously Ash opened one box and climbed inside, his father doing the same in the other box and they listened.
"...still haven't returned yet. Where the hell are they?"
"Well they can't have gotten lost. The tunnels lead straight back here no matter which way they're going. And without the keypass they're not getting any further than us."
"What was the order again?"
"Honestly I don't know why I'm left to deal with you two. It's 3,2,1 as you bloody well know. That opens the sliding doors in the right order to reach the basement."
"Well now I know again."
"Grrr you two go and find out what happened to them."
"No way. I'm not being set upon down there."
"There's nothing down there you moron. There is our locker room and nothing else. The bloody tunnel loops around and heads straight back here."
"Then why don't you go and look and we'll wait here?"
"And find you two pissed off for lunch? No bloody chance. Now do as you're told and go and bloody find them. If they're sleeping I'll kill them."
Grumbling Ash heard footsteps as presumably the grunts followed their orders. Pulsing his aura he received a brief one back from his dad who was waiting for the right moment himself. Ash let the two grunts pass them by before quickly opening the crate and sent two Aura Lances into the grunts' heads. They dropped like marionettes with their strings cut and Ash and Red quickly caught them before they fell and stuffed them into the crates.
"Easy" Red muttered, wiping the blood from his clothes with his hands and onto the grunts in disgust. "This stuff never washes out. Dee will be furious."
"To be fair I suspect she'll burn our clothes anyway" Ash muttered "I once got a bloody nose during my first year of travelling and she made me burn the top I was wearing when I used it to stem the flow."
"She's squeamish," Red said, "she always has been. She can't stand the sight of blood, which is weird given she works in a kitchen where accidents happen all the time. Anyway, shall we?"
Nodding Ash and Red rushed forwards causing the grunt to look up in alarm but before he could say anything Red had swung his foot connecting with the man's jaw and knocking him into the wall with a sickening crunch where he slid down bonelessly. Rummaging in his pants Red pulled out a swipe card and grinned.
Heading through the door they came to a huge cavernous room with what looked like sliding doors preventing them from going any further but they could feel a few auras dotted around. On the wall though was a strange set of contraptions that looked like pull down switches only they were huge, easily the width of a person with lights over them. Looking around Ash saw nothing else that indicated what they were.
"Well there's three of them" Ash said lowly "didn't the guards mention a code?"
"Yeah" Red said nodding and running his hand over one of them "3,2,1 but which one is which? Is it 3 being the closest from the doorway or 3 being the furthest away?"
"We'll just have to guess" Ash said seeing that they had no way of climbing over the walls as while they didn't fully reach the ceiling they were close enough to prevent people of their size from climbing over.
"Here goes then" Red said making a decision and pulling the one furthest from the door down, then the middle and finally the one closest to the door. With each pull down the light lit up green briefly before fading but they heard a brief noise at what seemed like doors opening. In fact when they pulled down the first one two of the three sliding doors they could see opened before shutting again when the second one was pulled down. Finally though as the last one was pulled down a door opened again and the switches all lit up green and more importantly stayed lit.
"I think that answers your question dad" Ash said as he peered around the open door and walked through it when he saw no one was there. Quietly they made their way through what was a few sets of open doors until they came to another door which had PAC access. Using the card Red swiped earlier it thankfully opened and they were in another tunnel.
"Christ these never end do they?" Ash asked as they walked down the corridor and stopped at an innocent bit of wall on the left. Sighing Ash knocked on the wall and waited. Knocking again he patiently looked up to the low ceiling before glancing at his dad who shrugged his shoulders. Closing his eyes in resignation he closed his fist and tapped into his aura once more and prepared to punch the wall when it opened slightly with a hiss.
Wrenching it open Red and Ash quickly walked in as it hissed closed behind them and they found themselves in a room full of CCTV cameras and a work desk. At the desk though was a man holding his ribs, with bruises all over his face and arms looking slightly scared at the two intruders.
"What do you want?" He asked "you look vaguely familiar. Who are you?"
"Red and Ash Ketchum" Red said looking over the man "you wouldn't be the director would you?"
"Possibly." He said warily "that depends on who's asking."
"We are," Ash said, shaking his head and walking over to the man who yelped. Ignoring him he ran his aura briefly over him eliciting a soft moan as his injuries and pain lessened. "We know you're him. The question is why have you been helping us?"
"I haven't." He said, looking wary again.
"Pull the other one" Red said looking at his watch and seeing fifteen minutes had passed from when they left Blue "all the way here the corridors have been suspiciously empty and several doors have been opened that ordinarily wouldn't be. We're not stupid, so tell us, why have you been helping us?"
"I received a message" he said uncertainly "from an acquaintance of mine informing me your son was on his way to help only he didn't see the signs I had left leading him here. I was told you were heading to the Plaza to confront the head of Team Rocket but you won't get past his army of grunts." Grunting himself he painfully stood up and walked to the cameras "There's two hundred or so on the streets still and about sixty inside the building. On top of that there's some strange guy in a metal suit that did this to me a few days ago before they dragged me down here and left me in the hands of those idiots out there. I managed to get free and hid here, they don't know this exists but I can't stay here forever, I've not eaten in days."
"Right, well you're coming with us" Ash said decisively "we're clearing out the Plaza today."
"But…" he said.
"We don't have time for your objections" Red said, grabbing the man by the arm and starting to pull him out of the door.
"Wait" he said as he wrenched his arm out of Reds grip and headed back to his desk where he picked up a few items and put them in his pocket. "Ok, let's go."
After securing the door the three of them walked back down the hallway and into the sliding door room again. This time though the director pulled out his own card and placed it on the keypad and the door locked. At the same time the sliding doors opened creating a straight path to where the pull switches are. Hurrying through them they reached the other side and he placed his card again on a panel and the doors shut and then they heard them all lock with frantic, muffled voices being heard from within several of the rooms.
"They're not getting out of there until I let them out." the director said viciously. The trip back to Gary and Blues room was also met without incident but when they arrived there they found the room empty. Looking at his watch Ash saw that it had been well over the twenty minutes so they had likely gone back down the tunnel.
"Dare I ask what happened to those two?" the man asked as he took in the two passed out and bloodied grunts leaning against the wall.
Ash and Red said nothing as he opened the locker again revealing the staircase. Ash however paused as something had only just occurred to him. Going around the room he pulled various lockers open to check their contents. Finally he hit the jackpot when he found what he was looking for.
"Here" he said to the director as he passed him a torch "It's pitch black down there so you'll need it."
"Won't you two need one?" he asked concerned as he tested it out and saw it worked.
"No" Ash said simply before leading the way through the secret door. The journey was quite slow given they had to be single file and the director was still clearly in a lot of pain but finally it widened out and they reached the other end where the door had been left open. Heading left they followed the tunnel towards their destination. Ash could feel Gary and Blue faintly up ahead and whistled hoping they'd hear. The noise was extremely piercing and echoed for seemingly ages. Finally they came to the next fork where they'd need to head right.
"Go straight ahead" Ash said "it leads to another metal door that opens from the inside with a bar. You should be safe on that street as it's an entryway to the houses on the South-Western side of Goldenrod City."
"I know the place," he said, "my acquaintance lives close by."
"I'm not going to ask" Ash said, having a feeling he knew who it was. "How did you stash a phone on you?"
"They never checked me for it" he said, shrugging painfully, "once they had access to my room that's all they needed as the master controls are in there. Here, you'll need this. If you can find yourself in the building and near the elevator use this card, it'll bypass every floor until it reaches mine but be careful, it's a choke point for the unwary as it's a straight corridor to the main room."
"Thanks," Ash said, pocketing the card "that will definitely come in handy."
Evidently the director was a man of very few words as he shuffled off in the direction Ash had pointed him to leaving and amused Red and Ash to carry on following Blue and Gary who they felt were not actually too far away now. They soon caught up to them because they weren't being slowed down by the injured director and informed them of what had happened when they reached another set of ladders. Doing the familiar climb up it was Blue who led them up and he reached another square metal grate only this one was much easier to move and thankfully didn't squeak. It did make a very loud thud though as it crash onto a wooden floor.
Ash and Red immediately felt their aura flood them as soon as they were above ground. It had been muted slightly while they were in the tunnels as whatever the caverns were made of absorbed aura. They could still use it but they expended more of it focusing on finding their way through the dark passages so when they reached an open floor they sagged in relief. It was like breathing soup, Ash thought as the oxygen level hit them too. Looking at his clock he saw it was nearly 6pm, the fighting had been going on for over three hours now and he hadn't been a part of it for over two of those hours.
Taking out his Pokégear he was relieved to get a signal again and rang Lance.
"Ash, where are you?" he asked as soon as he answered.
"We're in the basement of the Plaza" Ash said "we rescued the director from a hidden room underneath the building. He's safe and sound now but we're about to head directly to the director's office to confront Silver."
"Who's we?" Lance asked.
"My father, Blue and Gary" Ash said "apparently they stowed away on the Bullet Train and our paths crossed. How's it going out there?"
"We have control of the outer part of the city" Lance said "we have barricades on every street except the High Street but we were waiting for news from you before we converged on that street. At the minute we're just tending to our wounds, having a few minutes rest before the final push."
"I managed to kill around forty of them on the High Street earlier on" Ash said "so there's less than before now, however there's apparently around sixty members inside this building who may try to help them out. We're going to do our best in taking them all out as soon as we can."
"Good luck Ash" Lance said heavily "be careful. We've already lost too many as it is." Hanging up Ash looked at the picture of himself and Nia he had as his background and sighed. Closing his eyes he steeled himself as he put the Pokégear away and looked at the others.
"This will be where we'll likely split up" Ash said "we have a key to the directors office but it bypasses every floor. Do you think you two could prevent anyone from leaving on your own?"
"Possibly" Blue hedged "but there could easily be reinforcements from outside that see us battling and come in to help. We'll have no chance being pincered."
"I suggest then that we take each floor out starting with the fifth floor. That way we only have a few floors that could aid them from below, without alerting those outside and hopefully if we take them out quick enough we can progress upwards." Red said, getting nods.
"We'll finish this together then" Ash said nodding. Looking around he saw a doorway that presumably led upwards. It did and soon they found themselves on the ground floor, coming out of an employees only doorway. The ground floor was completely deserted which was strange to Ash but he didn't question it. He was due some luck. As they silently hugged the wall furthest from the door and past the reception desk Ash had an idea.
"Guys, behind here" he said as they ducked behind the desk. Carefully Ash crawled to the nearest computer and paused. Taking out his phone he dialled another number.
"Ash?" the voice asked, "I'm glad you're alive."
"Bill" Ash said quietly "I don't have much time. Are you still in control of the servers here?"
"I am yeah why?" he asked.
"If I give you a serial number do you think you could remote access a computer here?" Ash asked.
"Piece of cake" Bill said "Give me a minute to load it up. Ok, go ahead."
Ash read off the serial number behind the tower and Ash smiled when he clicked accept on the screen with the mouse.
"Ok, what do you want with this Ash?" Bill asked.
"I need you to remotely lock the front doors to the Plaza building. They're on the system and I want to prevent anyone coming inside here and helping their mates out."
The four of them watched as various files were opened and numbers flew across the screen, gibberish to everyone but Ash. They heard a thunk as the front doors closed and a metal bar fell down across the back of it.
"Done," he said.
"Great," Ash said, pleased with his idea. "Oh while you're in can you disconnect the feed to the cameras near the elevators. I don't want anyone knowing we're on their floor until we get to them."
"Easy," he said.
"We're going to go now that they can't get in nor escape" Ash said "speak to you later Bill."
"Where do you come up with these ideas?" Gary asked bewildered.
Ash just smirked as he led them to the elevator and pressed the button.
"Ok, if it gets too much we all agree to get to the basement and use that as a retreat" Blue said as they pressed number five on the panel. "Good luck guys."
Silver
"Report" he said immediately as the Assassin appeared.
"Nothing to tell really" came the heavily changed voice through the mouthpiece. "A Pokémon lined them up and took them out."
"That's it?" Sliver asked "that's all there is to report?"
"Well what else did you want me to find out?" Came the reply "you asked what happened, I found out and just told you."
"I want to know who it was that took out a fifth of my army on that street in one go!" Silver said slamming his hand on the chair arm.
"We're being attacked by nearly four hundred trainers and you want me to find an individual Pokémon and ask it if it attacked us?" The Assassin asked chuckling. Turning to the other Executives who were watching the interaction wife-eyed he shook his head and said "it's no wonder you're all going to die."
"I'd be mindful of who you're talking to boy" Silver said, standing up and glaring at him, "I could out you in seconds."
Immediately Silver rose in the air as he was psychically gripped.
"And I could kill you just as easily" The Assassin said before releasing him, making him fall to the floor. Silver scrambled to his feet looking furious but before he could say anything there was an almighty crash against the building making them all fall to the ground. Warily they rose to their feet looking around before they saw an Arcanine falling off the top flailing as its body fell a hundred feet to the ground. Shocked, they all moved to the window and looked down as another one fell down too.
"What…" Silver began to ask before scrambling backwards as a very familiar Salamence lowered herself until she was looking directly at them before they all as one dove underneath the nearest tables as the Southern window was bathed in flames before it abruptly cut off and she was no longer there.
Silver, tried his best to appear unruffled as he smoothed down his hair and straightened his blazer before looking around and saw the Assassin readjusting his gauntlets before shaking his head. Trust Ash and his Pokémon to ruin a moment. "Go and kill that bloody thing" Silver said to him making him snort before walking out and up the steps rather than down until he came to a door that led to the roof. Blasting it open with his psychic powers he walked out onto the rooftop and took his first look at the air where several battles were still going on. Releasing his Tyranitar he ordered it to use Smack Down on the nearest Charizard who went tumbling down to the ground and out of sight. The Crobat that it was fighting breathed a sigh of relief as it was horribly outmatched in that fight but it lived to fight another day, the same couldn't be said for the Charizard though who crashed into a building and hit the ground with a horrible thud.
The Assassin felt a very powerful presence settle down on the rooftop opposite and turned around to see Ash's Salamence fold her wings. Tyranitar and The Assassin moved forwards until they were standing on the edge of the building, the wind swirling around them not affecting them whatsoever. The Assassin raised his arm and Salamence felt a psychic grip try to take hold before she let loose her menacing aura and broke the hold before it could begin. The Assassin frowned when he realised his plan had been foiled before it could even start and lowered his hand frustrated. How the hell had Ash taught his Pokémon to utilise Aura so effectively? Tapping Tyranitar on its arm he nodded before stepping back and the Armour Pokémon grinned ferally as he screamed his name to the heavens and started to glow black as sharp rocks appeared from nowhere before launching them the sixty feet across the gap. Salamence though looked unconcerned as a blue dome appeared around her protecting her from the attack. When the attack finished she let the shield drop and grinned as flames started to build up in her mouth and shot forward bathing Tyranitar in fire. When the attack finished she saw that he was glowing purple which confused her until she saw just behind him The Assassin had his hand raised.
It was Queenies turn to frown as she had often heard from Ash that psychic attacks had no effect on Dark types.
"Miracle Eye" a voice said from behind Tyranitar making The Assassin and Tyranitar spin around at the noise to see another familiar Pokémon landing exuding a terrific amount of heat making him sweat uncomfortably in his metal suit.
"Two against one is unfair" he said grinning underneath his helmet as he plucked another ball from his belt and released a Pokémon Charizard had been hunting since it dared invade his territory. Entei, the younger one, didn't make a sound as it was released, staring at Charizard impassively.
"There you are" Charizard growled, flaring his wings before taking a step forwards, roaring and issuing a challenge. Entei took a slight glance at his owner before launching himself forwards much to the surprise of The Assassin who hadn't ordered a move. Charizard twisted out of the way sending a Dragonbreath at the back of Entei who growled as he started jumping onto the various buildings. Charizard flapped his wings and followed taking the battle away from everyone else. The other flying types and even the few snipers that remained seemed to make their own executive decisions and stay well clear of that one as there were flashes of fire and purple balls smashing into buildings, doing a lot of damage.
The Assassin grimaced as he didn't plan for this and had to quickie dive out of the way himself as a Fire Blast hit his Tyranitar causing it to roar in pain Queenie had decided to take the battle to Tyranitar in order to make sure Charizard had the chance to take down the Entei.
Silver looked out of the window in disbelief when he saw the Entei sprinting across the rooftops being chased by Ash's Charizard. "What the hell does he think he's doing? I told him to not use Entei in this city, he's going to destroy the place."
Down on the ground Lance was also frowning as he saw the Entei make its appearance, dislodging roof tiles as it sprinted being chased by Ash's Charizard. He couldn't say he was very happy to see that Pokémon either as Lance felt it was exacerbating the situation and needlessly damaging the property and buildings in the city. Especially when they were about to siege the High Street to converge on the Plaza. He shook his head not wanting the distraction.
"Dragonite" he shouted, getting his starters attention "go and help Charizard pin down that Entei! Herd it out of the city if you can."
"Lance" Lacey said walking up to him looking like she'd been through hell, which likely wasn't far off. She had long since ditched her coat in battle because it restricted her but that lack of clothing had allowed for a few cuts and bruises which were forming already "we need to take advantage of that!" she said pointing to the Legendary battling on the rooftops "the grunts are distracted watching them, we need to attack now."
"Agreed" Lance said before instructing his various generals to gather the rest of the people and prepare to attack.
"Sir look" one of them said, pointing to the battle that they could see crystal clear from their place at the southern end of the High Street. They watched in amazement as Entei landed heavily on the path having taken a Dragon Rush to the flank and started charging down the street, uncaring of who it barrelled into taking out many of Team Rocket's grunts in the process before it leaped again using windows as springboards before landing onto a nearby house and disappearing from sight.
"Attack now," Lance shouted, seeing how scattered the grunts were.
Silver was absolutely shaking with rage at what he was seeing. His army had been decimated by his own man's bloody Pokémon and he had a huge heart in the mouth moment when it used the building he was in as a springboard cracking the glass in the process. There was a reason that he had specifically ordered Entei to not be used as he was still unsure of its allegiances given there had never been a Legendary caught against its will and been loyal. They were notoriously fickle but he had been very pleased to hear that the Masterball they had procured from the trainer that had finished in the top four of the Indigo League a few years ago had worked. He had no idea how she came to be in the possession of an item his people had failed in stealing the blueprints for but he finally had one in his possession. They had quickly discovered they couldn't reverse engineer the Masterball despite the threats he had made. However he still had a Masterball in his possession, one that was untested on Legendaries but he knew from analysing the routes of the Johto Beasts that testing it would be simple enough. Beating the Legendary was pathetically easy as it had been trapped and thought it could fight its way to freedom. It had quickly been dissuaded from that when the forty grunts Pokémon battered it. Throwing the Masterball at it time seemed to stop as it rocked before amazingly it dinged and quieted.
"Excellent" he said as he picked it up and climbed back aboard his helicopter and mused on what he was going to do with the Legendary now he had one in his possession. He had captured and lost too many over the years because of the ineptitude of the people that worked for him so there was no way he was going to let this one out of his sight. Which was why it was so unreal that he willingly handed it over to The Assassin a few weeks later. He had no idea why he did so but he had and The Assassin had paid that forward over the last few months by doing all sorts of jobs that no one else could pull off. The last few weeks though The Assassin had begun to behave very strangely. Beforehand he had simply nodded and accepted his orders but lately he had been questioning, sometimes refusing to do certain jobs and he didn't know why. He had reluctantly picked up the book Ash had written about Legendary Pokémon and read about the assumptions and facts about their role in the world and while he didn't believe they were equals as Ash did, he knew enough about Pokémon to know there was certainly a hierarchy and a reason they were here and most of all feared and respected. So it was only in the last week that he had figured out what was going on. It was Entei. Entei had influenced him to give him away and was influencing The Assassin without them even realising it.
Now though he could only look on in growing anger as he watched the Legendary steamrolling his way through his own allies and doing damage to a city Silver now owned. An attack on the building he was in startled him out of his reverie and he realised he would likely die here today if he didn't leave.
"James, with me to the roof. Bring your Alakazam," he said as he headed to the door. Opening it though his face paled and he backed up, tripping and falling onto his back as he came face to face with someone he never hoped he would ever see in person again.
"Going somewhere?"
Ash
The fighting over the last half an hour had been ferocious, sometimes borderline ridiculous but the four of them had steadily made progress up the floors and had finally reached the floor below the directors room. Ash could feel many auras still around but he had had to mute it somewhat because of the battles going on outside as if he wasn't careful he could overload his brain. That all changed though when he felt the presence of something enormous above him making him pause.
"Dad, we need to get up there quickly" he shouted over the melee as he ducked a knife and it went into his comrades chest before he punched the man in the face knocking him out. Uncaring of what may happen he created an aura bubble and charged forwards, barrelling people out of the way as he made it to the stairs on the opposite side, taking them two at a time as he did. Seconds later he had to grip the rail as something big impacted the building shaking it but he picked himself up and walked down the corridor, past the elevator and walked up to the door just as it opened.
"Going somewhere?" Ash asked as he walked in and shut the door behind him without looking. Casting his gaze around he saw a few people looking wide eyed at the sight of the Kanto Champion who looked crazed with his shirt ripped and cuts all over his face but it was eyes that nearly caused them to faint in fear as they were glowing a dark blue, flashing every now and then.
"Well well" Silver said standing up carefully "You're still alive it seems."
"Yes" Ash said "but in the next few minutes that will not be something someone states about you."
Sneering Silver walked back to his chair and pressed a button. Ash however was unconcerned as he quickly realised the only threat in the room was Silver himself.
"I'm afraid you have it backwards Ash" he said smirking "It will be you dead at my feet very soon. But first I must know how you managed to evade my cameras, after all no one in my team here mentioned seeing you."
"I have a very good friend who is amazing with technology," Ash said, wondering if he should actually continue with this chat. He knew Silver wasn't going anywhere so he decided to play along for now.
"Ah yes, William" Silver said distastefully "I'll be having words with him when I'm done with you."
Ash was about to respond when he felt his instincts kick in and he twisted to the side, kicking out and catching Persian flush in the stomach as it tried to Slash him, sending it flying into the window which smashed, unable to take anymore damage. Silver looked on in horror as his starter scrambled to try and find purchase using its claws as it dangled out of the window but when it did it was a rug which followed it out of the window and out of sight.
Ash shook his head in sadness as the cat fell to its death. He had not meant to kick out that hard but given his life had been on the line constantly for the last few hours he couldn't allow himself time to feel much sympathy. It had attacked him first after all.
"Persian" Silver whispered, growing furious and grabbing several Pokéballs, releasing a Feraligatr and an Alakazam.
Ash however instantly became wary as he was in a very confined space, with an unhinged man whose starter he had just killed with no Pokémon of his own to aid him.
"Kill him" Silver said icily as they converged on him. Ash had to use every bit of skill he had to to stay out of the way of those vicious claws and teeth of the water starter as it tried to take his head off, combined with dodging flying debris from the Alakazam using Psychic on everything in sight. Silver had used this distraction to try and quickly get to the door but that stopped when Ash dove out of the way of a chair that crashed against it. Ash's dive though had left him in a very vulnerable position as he was near the open window. Jumping to his feet Ash looked back and saw he was only a few feet away from certain death. Feraligatr and Alakazam moved to cut him off from moving anywhere and Silver, seeing his nemesis being at his mercy with nowhere to go, laughed evilly.
"I told you Ketchum that it would be you, not I who would die this day." he said "but you didn't listen. Your own arrogance has cost you your life but don't worry, your family and friends will soon join you in death."
Ash couldn't do anything but grit his teeth in anger before suddenly a vaguely familiar presence began to appear just in front of him. It was its eyes first, glowing bright orange before a purple flame created a slight silhouette around it.
Silver had no idea what was going on as the eyes were focused entirely on him and with speed he had never seen before the purple flame shot forwards, straight through Feraligatr whose eyes rolled into the back of its head as it collapsed into a heap, rebounding off it and into Alakazam who started bulging as though it was filling up before shockingly exploding into wisps. Silver watched with growing horror as the purple flame started to take shape as the orange flames became eyes, the purple flames became a mane around a pale translucent body. Ash however couldn't believe what he was seeing. He didn't think it was possible yet it was actually unfolding before his eyes.
Ash had to quickly move away from the window though as from nowhere a purple wind started to pick up from around the ghost sweeping everything up into its path, sending debris flying into the windows at great speed as a haunting scream echoed through the room. Those that were still fighting on the street stopped as the noise reached the pavement and as one both Team Rocket and the G-Men led by Lance looked up wondering what was happening before from nowhere bits of debris began raining down on them causing them to have to dodge out of the way.
On the roof The Assassin wasn't having a good time as his Tyranitar had been decimated by the Salamence who liberally used Hydro Pump to counter any attacks. He had also gone through three more members of his team before he decided retreat was a better option. That all stopped though when the haunting screech reached his ears causing him to cry out in pain. Quickly taking his helmet off he panted harshly as the screech echoed through the city but he managed to release Alakazam who read his mind and they disappeared in a flash, arriving at his home in Mt Mortar where he collapsed onto the ground with the screech still echoing in his mind.
Silver by this point knew it was over. He wasn't getting out of here alive, especially with his starter and teleporter killed by Ash and the mysterious ghost. Fighting to get to his feet through the wind he spotted Ash trying to move away from the window and made his mind up. Staggering towards Ash he pulled out a knife from his shoe and charged, screaming as he did. Ash had to quickly put up his arm, screaming in agony as it went straight through to the other side, lodged there. On reflex he used an Aura Lance with his free hand and Silvers eyes rolled into the back of his head as it pierced his brain killing him instantly.
As the screech died down so did the wind and Ash fell to his knees. With his vision blurring he held up his injured arm as if to reach out to the ghost but a flash of purple blinded him temporarily. A few seconds later another flash happened and Ash, his eyes rolling into his head knew no more.