Chapter 65:

Attack on the Hazard Zone

The day of the attack had finally come.

Ash and his friends, as well as Natalie, Vitor and Theo, alongside the Rangers and the rest of the trainer volunteers, boarded several ships that would take them back to the edge of the Wheatfields (now temporarily renamed the Hazard Zone), where a base had been built half a kilometer away from the irradiated land.

Due not being completely recovered, Kellyn and Cameron would stay behind, coordinating everything remotely from the Ranger HQ in Bealbeach City.

The journey by ship was quiet and uneventful, only lasting a few hours. Once they were approaching land, Wendy, the Ranger that led the current group, called everybody to the ship's main conference room so everybody could be briefed on the mission. The room was large and had many chairs for everybody to sit. A huge screen was hanging on the opposite wall.

Over ten minutes, the seats inside the room began to fill little by little. Ash as his friends were among the first, and as they waited for everybody else, they began to notice that among the trickle of people walking into the room there were some familiar faces they haven't seen in quite some time.

"Hey, isn't that Davern?" Ash asked, as he looked at the man with his distinctive yellow hard hat.

"So it seems. And that's Rosalind, and behind her comes Sheldon," Serena replied.

"The Gym Leaders are coming too?" Lilia asked.

"Of course. It's the duty of a Gym Leader to help the people of their region in the time of crisis," Clemont told her. "We Kalosian Gym Leaders gathered to fight against Team Flare when they attacked Lumiose, so it's only natural that the Gym Leaders of Tandor provide their help to fight against one of the worst crises to befall the region."

"Yes! With how strong each Gym Leader is, if they all fight together those nuclear creeps won't know what hit them!" Bonnie cheered, pumping a fist up.

"Nenene!" Dedenne happily agreed.

Shortly after every chair was taken, a green haired female Ranger Ash and his friends had seen many times before switched the screen on, and after flickered to life for a few seconds, displayed Kellyn inside his office on the Ranger HQ.

"Is everybody here, Wendy?" Kellyn asked.

"As far as I can tell, they are," the green haired woman replied. "You may begin the briefing."

"Excellent," he said, before clearing his throat. "My fellow Rangers, as well as all the trainers that have volunteered to help us undertake this perilous endeavor, time is of essence, so I'll try to be concise. The goal of this mission is to neutralize the individual known as CURIE, as well as her main Pokemon, Urayne."

A picture of the two appeared on the top right corner of the screen. The crowd began to murmur among each other, while some people frowned or shifted in their seats uncomfortably. Ash could tell that Hinata and Kaito were among them.

"Some of us already met and fought them, and experienced firsthand the sheer power they command," Kellyn said, his eyes avoiding the screen for a moment. "That's why it's imperative to make sure such a threat to the region is dealt with as swiftly as possible. As far as our intelligence has discovered, the targets turned the ruins of Nuclear Plant Zeta into their stronghold and base of operations. It's unlikely that we'll be able to make them come out in the open, so we'll have to fight our way to the very heart of her domain.

"Now, I know what a lot of you are probably thinking. The Hazard Zone is heavily irradiated, and even if that wasn't a problem the Nuclear Pokemon crawling it are without number. However, we have the means to tackle this problem."

A picture of a strange, bulky machine with a satellite dish appeared on the bottom right corner of the screen.

"This device is called the Cerebral Relay Disruptor, and it's being installed on the base as we speak. We believe it has the power to stop CURIE from controlling Nuclear Pokemon, which will make them more disorganized, and thus easier to fight. You may thank the young genius Clemont for being the brain behind this machine."

There was a round of applause, much to the inventor's embarrassment, with his friends and Bonnie cheering the loudest.

Once the applause ended, Kellyn continued. "To thin their numbers, all of you will be provided with copious amounts of Nuclear Balls which you'll use to capture the defeated Nuclear Pokemon. Said Balls will be teleported to several safe storage houses the Rangers have across the region.

"As for the intense radiation levels, we will use this," Kellyn said, and the two previous pictures disappeared, and on the top right corner of the screen appeared a picture of a black and yellow armor, which looked like an astronaut suit. "This is the Hazard Suit. It completely shields your body from radiation fallout, and it has a communicator and geolocator which will let us track your movements and communicate with you at any time.

"As for your Pokemon, we will protect them from the radiation with this," Kellyn explained, and in the bottom right corner of the screen appeared a picture of something that looked like a fire extinguisher, except it was dark blue rather than red. "This compound, developed by Orangics per our request, will create a protective film at the Pokemon's skin level that will not only shield it from the radiation, but soften the damage from Nuclear-type attacks. The protective film will only last for a couple days, but I believe we will be done by then.

"Now, the mission will be in two parts. Phase One will be the cleansing of the Hazard Zone of Nuclear Pokemon. CURIE won't be defeated unless we take her army out. Then, we will proceed with Phase Two, an assault on Nuclear Plant Zeta. We will defeat what little Nuclear Pokemon she has left, and lastly our Gym Leaders will confront her and Urayne directly in order to take her down.

"That will be all. With the Twin Gods' blessing, we will avert this catastrophe with minimum losses. Good luck, and stay frosty," Kellyn finished.

Once the briefing was over, everybody in the room was led to another part of the ship, a storage space that had many Hazard Suits. Some Rangers were already inside and putting on the suits, with some of their companions helping them get into the armor-like costumes.

"These suits take some time to put on, plus you'll need some help as well in order to ensure everything's in their place and every part is properly assembled," Wendy explained as she led the group inside. "So make sure you help each other out to put on the suits. If you have any trouble, call any of us and we'll be happy to help!"

People split into smaller groups and began to help each other put on the suits. With Ash and his friends naturally helping each other out, and in no time they were clad in the radiation-proof power armor, with only the helmet left.

"Hey, somebody can help over here?" a male voice asked. "I think this thing's jammed."

Ash turned around, and saw that it was no other than Davern, who was struggling with a fastener. He quickly went over to provide some assistance.

"Here, let me help you," Ash said as he walked towards the cave maniac.

"Hey, Ash!" Davern lit up, instantly recognizing him. "I wasn't sure if I saw you among the crowd back then, but guess it was you after all. How have you been?"

"Pretty well, if we ignore all the stuff with the nuclear Pokemon," the Kantonian replied, as he slowly and delicately began to fix the fastener. "How about you?"

"Eh, same as usual. You know how the life of a Gym Leader is. Though sometimes events like this happen that take you out of the routine," Davern quipped. "I guess you have all the needed badges already?"

"Your guess is a right one," Ash said, as he finished fixing the fastening. "There, now it works!"

"Thanks! Heh, you don't look like someone who would have a hand for these things, but you know what they said about books and covers, huh?" Davern joked, as he continued putting on the rest of the suit.

"To be honest, I had the same trouble and Serena fixed it for me," Ash replied, chuckling as well, while rubbing the back of his head. "She's the one who's into clothes, not me."

"Well, you learned something from her, at the very least," he chuckled, as he finished putting on the rest of his suit. "Though, given how long ago we fought, I hope to see you and your Pokemon in action when we go to battle those nuclear freaks. I'd like to see how you'd compare now to how you were when we had our Gym battle."

"I hope both me and my Pokemon will meet your expectations," Ash told him.

Clemont and Lilia were among the first to finish putting on their suit, since apparently the two of them weren't strangers to such costumes. Once they were done, they left the room so as not to take space, waiting for Ash and Serena to join them. They stood there, in quiet silence, though Clemont looked a bit restless, constantly shifting in the spot.

"Clemont?" Lilia asked. "Are you okay?"

He exhaled. "A little nervous, not gonna lie."

"Me too, not going to lie either. The battle on Nuclear Plant Omicron went so badly, and this one will be even more intense..." Lilia began, before forcing herself to smile. "But I'm sure that as long as we stay together, everything will be fine!"

"Yeah, I guess so..." Clemont said, looking at his feet, before taking a deep breath. "As long as we're with Ash, there's nothing to fear."

"I didn't mean just Ash, but all of us," Lilia pointed out, trying to instill some optimism in Clemont. "We're a team that works the best when we fight together!"

"I thought this would get easier by now, but it never does..."

Lilia tilted her head. "What are you talking about?"

"This," Clemont said, spreading his arms around him. "These kinds of situations where there's these dangerous foes and risk of dying... I lived through quite a few of them already, both here and in Kalos. I thought I would be used to them by now but... but I'm not. Any time I think of what we have to do, what we're about to face, my blood freezes with fear."

"Clemont..." she said, placing a h-nd on her shoulder.

"One thing I always admired about Ash is how brave and bold he is, no matter the danger in front of him. He's so cool and inspiring..." Clemont began. "When Urayne was trashing Hinata and Kaito's Pokemon like they were nothing, and then it took down Cameron's Yatagayru, and CURIE ordered it to kill them... I was there, paralyzed with fear and horror, while Ash never hesitated and jumped to action, saving their lives.

"But no matter how many dangers I fight alongside him, the idea of facing more always fills me with fear. Sometimes I wish I could have Ash's resolve."

"Clemont, I'm pretty sure that Ash is afraid too. He's simply better at hiding it," Lilia said. "In fact, I doubt that not a single person on this ship that plans to take part in the coming battle isn't quivering on the inside. But the fact that they're still not running away, but move forward and fight to protect their land and loved ones, that's what makes them brave. And that includes you, Clemont."

"Brave? You think I'm brave?" Clemont asked in surprise, blushing a little.

"Of course! After all, all the crazy situations you told me you went through, such as the Kalos crisis, the Anthell, all the attacks from Nuclear Pokemon, Team Omega... weren't you there, fighting alongside your friends, watching their backs?"

"I... yes, I guess so," Clemont said.

"Because you're a good, brave friend. If you weren't, you would have run away and left them to fend for themselves," Lilia said, getting a little closer. "And in the end, you also joined Ash. If it wasn't for Geigeroach intercepting that Proton Beam, who knows how much damage an attack of that caliber could have done."

Clemont bashfully chuckled. "I... I guess you're right."

"So I don't want to hear nonsense from you anymore about not being a brave person, okay?" she said, in a mildly chastising tone. "We're going there, we're going to fight, we're going to win, and everything will be okay."

"Yes, it will be," Clemont replied, nodding slowly, before smiling earnestly at her. "Thank you Lilia, I really needed that."

"Anytime," Lilia replied, smiling back, before looking away. "Though... despite what I say about how everything's going to be okay..." Lilia sounded hesitant, as her voice betrayed her growing nerves. "I feel that there's something I should do now, just in case there are... problems with the mission."

"Oh, and what is it?" Clemont asked.

Lilia didn't say anything, merely walked towards Clemont, lifted his glasses up, and most shockingly, pressed her lips against his. The kiss wasn't too long, but for Clemont, it felt like it lasted hours.

"I'm really glad that I got to see you again, Clemont," Lilia said, as she began to slowly walk away from the room. "Let's make sure the two of us come out of this in one piece, so that way I can kiss you some more... if you want it, that's it."

Clemont spent a few more minutes alone, as his mind, now a chaotic twister of thoughts and emotions, tried to process what had just happened.

It took about half an hour since they all got the Hazard Suit on for the ship to reach its destination. All the ship's passengers quickly disembarked and entered inside the building the Rangers would be using for the command center at the operation. However, before the assault could begin, the Cerebral Relay Disruptor needed to be installed and activated, though according to Clemont, it wouldn't take much time.

Both Ash and Serena had been a bit nervous. In Ash's case, rather than manifesting in the form of restlessness or jittery, it was silence. The boy from Kanto was silent, and looked as if he was deep in thought about something. Serena decided that it was for the better to leave him be. Once the action began, everything would be different.

While Clemont and Lilia were helping with the Disruptor, Ash and Serena took Bonnie to the control room, where she'd be staying for the duration of the mission. The place, a large area littered with computers, folder wardrobes and giant screens hanging from the walls would be the perfect place for her to be, since it would allow her to see what her brother and the rest of the group would be doing whole being under the watchful eye of the Rangers stationed there. The Kantonian boy and Kalosian teen girl were exchanging a few words with the lemon blonde before they would head out.

"...and remember, no matter what happens, stay here, okay?" Serena told the lemon blonde. "According to the Rangers, the Nuclear Pokemon won't get close to this place."

"I know, I know. Where I'm supposed to go, though?" Bonnie said, crossing her arms. "It's not like I have an anti-radiation suit like yours."

"If something happens for some reason, you can always ask a ranger for help. Some of them will be staying here protecting the base," Serena reminded her.

"Attention everyone, the Cerebral Relay Disruptor has been activated!" a voice said through the base's intercom system. "The Cerebral Relay Disruptor has been activated! All Rangers and trainer volunteers, prepare to enter into the Hazard Zone!"

"That's our call. Come on Ash, let's go," Serena said, turning around ready to walk away, but Ash didn't leave his spot. "Ash?"

"Once sec. There's one thing I need to do," Ash said, sounding unusually solemn, before picking Pikachu, perched on his shoulder as usual, and placing him on the ground. "Pikachu, I want you to stay here and protect Bonnie just in case something happens."

"Pi...pika!?" Pikachu asked in alarm. "Pika, pi!"

Ash sighed. "Listen Pikachu... what happened at the ruined nuclear plant... that was a massive close call. You just got out of recovery, so I don't want to risk all that and go back to square one. Or worse."

"Pi, pichupi!" Pikachu protested, angrily shaking his arms at his trainer.

"I'm not going to change my mind about this," Ash firmly stated. "You're going to stay here with Bonnie, and that's final. You may hate this decision, but it's for your own sake. The Rangers said the radiation levels are too intense, and I'm not going to put you at such a risk."

"Pikaaaaa!" Pikachu insisted.

"I will be fine. I have my other Pokemon with me. I promise I will be back and we'll tackle the league together like we always have done," Ash assured his starter, cracking a small smile. "So please, stay here and be patient, okay?"

Pikachu glared at his trainer, his brow deeply furrowed, before sighing and lowering his head in defeat. "Piiiiii..." he groaned, and walked to Bonnie's side.

"Nene!" Dedenne happily cried, as he jumped onto Pikachu's head and hugged him.

"I knew you'd understood. Don't worry, I'll make it up to you," Ash promised, before looking at his girlfriend. "Shall we go?"

"Uh, sure," Serena replied, as the two of them left the room, leaving Bonnie and Dedenne with Pikachu.

The roof of the Ranger's forward base opened up, and a large satellite dish raised above it. Aiming in the direction of the ruined power plant, the satellite dish began to emit radio waves. The effect was instant, and the Pokemon that were patrolling the area quickly broke formation and regressed back into a feral state. Some of them even began to battle among each other.

"The Cerebral Relay Disruptor is working! The Nuclear Pokemon are in disarray! Everybody, now's your chance, go, go, go!" a Ranger inside the control room said through a radio channel to all who were listening. "Let's remove every single Nuclear Pokemon in the area!"

Seeing the Hazard Zone for the first time was quite the shocking experience for Ash and his friends. While the place used to be a vast expanse of green and yellow, with plants, trees and many crop fields, now it was a desolate place, a mocking reflection of it was before, with its many dead plants, wilted grass and crops, and an air so thick that it made difficult to see what was just a few meters in front of you.

"Come out everyone! Time to battle!"Ash said, tossing all his pokeball at once into the air, an action that was mimicked not just by his companions, but by every other trainer as well.

Numbers were going to be needed in order to win this battle, and an open field had plenty of space for a large number of Pokemon to fight without getting in each other's way. The flying Pokemon quickly took off into the sky, ready to both provide aerial support for their landbound companions as well as to protect them from the threats that would come from above.

Though not all battles took place in the open, as many Nuclear Pokemon had taken over the abandoned farmhouses and barns and needed to be routed out. Those battles required a little more finesse in order to keep damage to a minimum.

Still, with how disorganized the Nuclear horde was combined with the great numbers and coordination from the Rangers and Trainers, and the leadership and power from Tandor's Gym Leaders, the number of Nuclear Pokemon quickly began to thin.

"Metalynx, to your left! Night Slash!" Ash warned.

"Metaaaa!" Metalyx growled, delivering a powerful swipe with her left claw, covered in a shadowy aura, hitting a Baashaun and a Costraw that were going to attack her.

"Nuclear Balls, go!" Ash shouted, throwing the capture devices.

The modified pokeballs hit the Nuclear-type Pokemon, sucking them in, and falling to the ground. After a couple seconds of shaking, they both dinged before teleporting away.

"Oblivicorn, Sudden Strike!" Serena called. The mare let out a loud neigh before slamming at super speed against a Corsoreef, which was sent crashing against a nearby Gligar. "And Pangoro, Dark Pulse!"

"Paaaang!" Pangoro cried, thrusting his cupped paws towards the two Pokemon, blasting them with a stream of dark power.

"Nuclear Balls, catch them!" Serena said, mimicking Ash's action from a few seconds ago. And just like Ash did, the two Pokemon were captured and teleported away. She looked around, trying to locate more enemy Pokemon to battle and catch, but she couldn't see any. "Guys, do you see any more of them?"

Ash was about to reply when a rustling noise drew his attention. Turning to the left, he saw a flash of yellow and bright green speeding out of a wilted bush, disappearing behind a cluster of rocks. Ash couldn't see it properly, but he swore it was a Pokemon.

"Over there!" Ash said, pointing in the direction of the blur.

"Huh? Where?" Lilia asked, as she, Serena and Clemont looked in the direction Ash had pointed out.

But there was nothing.

"Weird. I swore I had seen something there. It ran away, but I couldn't see it," Ash explained.

"Don't fret over that. With this toxic mist in the air, it's hard to see what's in front of us," Serena told him.

Ash decided not to press the issue, but he was sure that it wasn't just his imagination playing mind games with him.

"A Nuclear-type? It's the only kind of Pokemon who could survive here," Ash thought. "But it didn't look like anything I had seen before..." he pondered.

"Negative," Clemont's voice replied. "I think we may be done in this area."

As if on cue, a message from HQ was broadcasted through their radio comms: "Attention everyone, our radar shows that most Nuclear Pokemon in Sector 1 have been captured! All teams proceed to Sector 2. A few Rangers will stay behind to hunt down the stragglers. Be careful though, since Sector 2 is further into the Hazard Zone, the influence of the disruptor might be smaller, so stay frosty and don't lower your guard."

Nodding to each other, the group and their Pokemon kept pushing forward, alongside the rest of the trainers and Rangers, and in no time they found more Nuclear Pokemon ready to face them in battle.

Power Plant Zeta, CURIE's Inner Sanctum

To say things had taken an unexpected turn would have been an understatement.

She wasn't worried when she saw the Rangers arrive and launch a ground invasion with a respectable force that included many of Tandor's Gym Leaders. Sure, they had quality, but CURIE's army was without numbers. Directing them to wear down the invaders until they couldn't fight anymore would be child's play.

After all, this land was her domain, and she was its queen.

But then, something unexpected happened. Her connection to her minions, to most of them at the very least, was suddenly cut. As if her trusty suit was somehow malfunctioning. Of course it wasn't the case, given that the suit was a technological marvel without flaws, but she decided to double check just in case, and naturally, she found that there was nothing wrong with it.

Still, her inspection of the suit did yield some results: there was, apparently, a signal being broadcasted that interfered with her suit's own ability to control Nuclear Pokemon through the emission of psychic waves. The effect of the disrupting wave was less severe in the plant and its immediate surroundings, but much stronger the more she looked to the east, locating its origin in the base the Rangers had built on the port of Route 8.

But the bad news didn't end there. During the time she spent tracking down the origin of the signal, a good chunk of her forces, no longer under her control, had been captured by those pesky interlopers, and were pressing forward, no doubt with the intention of breaching her fortress.

Even if she hated to admit it, both the plan and the device used to facilitate it were pretty ingenious. She had clearly underestimated the Rangers.

But no more.

"Urayne," CURIE hissed, looking at her Pokemon, standing a few paces from her, still as a statue.

"YES, MOTHER?" the obedient Nuclear-type replied, its eyes locking onto hers.

"I have a mission for you."

"Archilles, Flamethrower! Frosthra, Bug Buzz!" Ash ordered.

"Aaaaar...!" Archilles took a deep breath, before exhaling a stream of flames over a trio of Baaschaf. "CHILL!"

"Frooooo!" Frosthra chirped, sending destructive soundwaves towards the bipedal sheep by making high-frequency vibrations with his wings.

"Nuclear Balls, go!" Ash said, sending three balls at once, hitting their targets and sucking them in, before disappearing.

As soon as that battle was done, Ash set his sights on his next target, this time a pair of Nuclear Gliscor. But as soon as he reached the suit's pouch where the Nuclear Balls were stored, he found it empty.

"Guys!" Ash yelled, looking back to the rest of his friends, also battling Nuclear Pokemon. "I'm out of Nuclear Balls! How many do you have left?"

"These two are my last!" Serena said, reaching for the aforementioned devices. "Syrentide, Sing!"

The mermaid quickly began to intone an harmonious melody, creating ethereal musical notes around a pack of Nuclear Tancoon lead by a pair of Nuclear Tanscure, which quickly fell asleep. Wasting no time, Serena used her last two Nuclear Balls to capture the two evolved Pokemon, but was forced to leave the unevolved ones free, even if asleep.

"I'm out of Nuclear Balls as well," Clemont said, using his last one to catch a Nuclear Nupin.

"Same," Lilia followed. "It seemed like they underestimated the number of Pokemon crawling this zone."

Such a problem would be a massive hurdle for their mission, so Ash decided to contact headquarters to see what they were planning to do about it. "Hello, HQ? This is Ash, do you copy?"

"Loud and clear, Ash," a female Ranger replied. "Let me guess, ran out of Nuclear Balls?"

"Er, yes. Is there a way you can send us more?" Ash asked.

"Don't worry, Ash, you aren't the only person who had this problem. Several boxes containing more Nuclear Balls are being airdropped as we speak. If you check the map on your suit, you can see the marked spots where the boxes will be dropped. Go there in order to replenish your supply of Nuclear Balls," the Ranger informed him.

"Understood. Over. " Ash said, ending the communication. "Good news! More Nuclear Balls are on the way! Let's go get some!"

"That's nice and good, but what are we supposed to do with all these Pokemon in the area?" Serena asked.

As if on cue, several Nuclear Balls were tossed towards the sleeping Tancoon, capturing them before disappearing in a flash of light. Turning towards the direction said Balls came from, Ash saw two people wearing Hazard Suits coming towards them, followed by a menagerie of familiar Pokemon.

"Don't worry, we will take care of this area!" one of them said, revealing himself to be Vitor.

"We just got a fresh batch of Nuclear Balls, so we have plenty to spare!" the other said, who turned out to be Natalie, unsurprisingly. "So go and get some!"

As the Nuclear Pokemon in the area reacted to the newcomers, Vitor and Natalie's Pokemon quickly formed a circle around their trainers, ready to fight.

"We've got this! Now go!" Vitor urged.

"Understood. Thanks for the assist," Ash said, before turning towards his friends. "Come on everybody!"

Leaving the twins to deal with Nuclear Pokemon in the area, Ash led his friends towards the nearest drop point. After fighting several enemies that got in the way, the four humans and their Pokemon reached the designated area just in time to see a large metal box with a parachute slowly falling to the ground. Removing the parachute out of the way, Ash opened the electronic lock and opened the heavy lid, revealing dozens upon dozens of Nuclear Balls.

Soon more people, both trainers and Rangers alike, quickly gathered on the same spot in order to replenish their stock.

"Try to pick as much as we can carry," one of the Rangers advised. "There are enough for everybody here, and in case they run out HQ will airdrop more."

As they filled their Hazard Suits' pouches with the coveted Balls, there was a loud rustle coming forward, followed by a loud, guttural roar. Turning around, everybody saw several Nuclear Pokemon menacingly coming towards them, chief among them being a Nuclear Gyarados.

"A Gyarados? What is it doing so far away from the water?" a Ranger asked.

"CURIE must have ordered a few of them to move here. Despite their physiology and natural habitat, Gyarados are more than capable of moving on dry land," Clemont explained.

"I'll take care of them!" Ash said, taking two steps forward, his six Pokemon forming around him. "Frosthra, Blizzard!"

"Fro, froooo!" Frosthra buzzed, flapping his crystal wings to blow a powerful chilly wind with chunks of ice and snow, blowing the Nuclear Pokemon backwards and covering them on snow.

Some Nuclear Pokemon were knocked out, but others still had some fight in them, like a Tanscure and a Kinetmunk, the former with its jaws wide open, the latter with its body coated in electricity.

"Metalynx, stop that Tanscure with iron Tail! And Archilles, block that Kinetmunk's attack!" Ash quickly ordered.

"Metaaaa!" Metalynx growled, her tail glowing with a silvery light, before swinging it at the incoming Tanscure. The jaws of the frenzied Pokemon closed over Metalynx's tail, but it failed to do any damage.

"Mu-muuuuuunk!" Kinetmunk screeched, as blue electricity was fired towards Ash.

"Les!" Archilles cried, shielding Ash with his own body, his natural immunity to electric attacks allowing him to weather it unharmed.

"Now Dragon Claw on that Kinetmunk, and Splendifowl, Air Cutter on Tanscure!" Ash ordered.

Archilles' arms glowed with a green claw-shaped aura, before lunging forward and delivering a pair of swipes at Kinetmunk, while Splendifowl beat his wings as strongly as he could, sending a pair of crescent-shaped blades of compressed air at the Tanscure, the two attacks knocking their targets out.

"Gyaaaaa!" the Nuclear Gyarados roared, choosing that moment to attack with its jaws wide open, its fangs covered in sharp ice.

"Greninja!" Ash quickly called. "Block that with Night Slash!"

"Gre!" Greninja croaked, summoning a katana of dark power between his hands, and used it to parry Gyarados' Ice Fang.

"Metalynx, Energy Ball, and Frosthra, Bug Buzz!" Ash ordered.

Metalynx formed a sphere of emerald light between her open jaws, while Frosthra flapped his wings as quickly as he could to produce a destructive high frequency soundwave, both attacks blasting the Tanscure and Kinetmunk, knocking them out.

"Great!" Ash said in satisfaction, his attention moving to Greninja, who was still trading blows with the Nuclear Gyarados. "Now Greninja, use-"

However, before Ash could finish the line, the ground under Greninja exploded, launching the amphibian backwards, as a Nuclear Tofurang burst from underground. While Greninja was able to regain balance mid air and land on his feet, the newly arrived Pokemon charged forward. The Ninja Pokemon jumped out of the way just in time, but unfortunately, that left him wide open for Gyarados, which sent him flying backwards with a powerful Slam.

"G-Gre...!" splayed on the ground, Greninja croaked in pain

"GYAAAAA!" Gyarados roared as it lunged towards Greninja.

"Greninja!" Ash yelled

"Eshouten, Air Slash! Herolune, Bone Rush!" a new but familiar voice called.

An Eshouten came from above, and flapping its wings, sent a barrage of blades of compressed air at Gyarados, making it flinch and forcing it back. It was then followed by a bipedal canine Pokemon with light brown fur, with its mane and tail being a darker shade of brown. It wore red gloves and boots, a golden chestplate with a red crescent moon insignia, a golden mask and a golden cape. The Pokemon, Herolune, created a bone-shaped energy staff and used it to smack the Nuclear Gyarados even further.

"Need some help?" another person wearing a Hazmat Suit walked towards Ash, but the Kantonian quickly identified him.

"Theo!" Ash beamed in joy.

"It looked like you were in a pickle. Thankfully I didn't arrive too late, did I?" the redhead asked.

"Not in the slightest," Ash assured him, before looking at the Gyarados, who was recovering from the sudden attacks of Theo's Pokemon, and then towards the Tofurang who had ambushed Greninja. "Let's finish them off! Greninja, Ice Beam on that Tofurang! Freeze it solid!"

"Eshouten, Ominous Wind! Herolune, Close Combat!" Theo ordered.

"Greeee-NIN!" Greninja thrust his cupped hands forward, shooting a beam of chilling energy at Tofurang, encasing the Nuclear and Poison-type inside a block of ice.

"Esho-ooooh!" Eshouten howled, flapping its wings in order to produce a ghostly, purple wind that buffeted Gyarados even further.

"Hero!" Herolune barked as it leaped towards the still reeling Gyarados, delivering a brutal and swift barrage of quick and powerful punches at the Nuclear Pokemon, knocking it out for good.

"Nuclear Ball, go!" both Ash and Theo said in unison.

The Nuclear Balls hit their targets, sucking them inside, before falling to the ground. After a couple shakes, multiple dings confirmed the capture as successful, before teleporting away.

Now that the zone was devoid of Nuclear Pokemon, at least for the time being, Ash allowed himself to breathe in relief. "Thanks again, Theo. Nice timing!"

"I saw that Gyarados, and thought that whoever was fighting it would appreciate the help," Theo said, grinning proudly. "I hope this makes up for the time I abandoned you and your friends on Comet Cave when that giant Terlard showed up."

"Don't fret about that. You were a different person back then," Ash said. "The past Theo wouldn't be here, giving his all in order to save the region."

"Hehe, thanks..." Theo said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Coming from you, that means a lot."

"By the way, what Pokemon is that? It looks like a Lunapup... did yours evolve?" Ash asked.

"Yup! You're looking at Herolune! One of my heaviest hitters!" Theo proudly said.

Spurned by his usual curiosity, Ash pulled out his Pokedex and scanned the evolved Pokemon.

"Herolune, the Vigilant Pokemon, and Lunapup's evolution. Ground/Fighting. It rises with the moon to do battle with its sworn nemesis, Vilucard. It has a strong sense of justice and will protect those who cannot defend themselves." The Pokedex explained.

"Heh. Now that's the kind of Pokemon we need in a situation like this," Ash said.

"Ash!" Serena said, as she, Clemont and Lilia quickly joined him. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Things got a bit ugly there, but thankfully Theo was there to lend me a hand," Ash said. "What about you? Did you get more Nuclear Balls?"

"Way more than what we started with. Hopefully they will last longer this time around," Lilia said.

Clemont huffed in exhaustion. "It's hard to believe that with all the Nuclear Pokemon we caught, there are still so many of them left."

"Come on, don't give up. With each Nuclear Pokemon we catch, we're a little closer to end this for good," Ash assured Clemont, patting him on the shoulder. "If we all work together, we can-Huh?" Ash suddenly stopped, as he looked at something behind Clemont. "Over there! Look!"

Everybody turned around just in time to see a small, yellow Pokemon with a row of green stubs running down its back disappear behind a grove.

"What... what was that?" Serena asked.

"The Pokemon I saw before!" Ash said, as he quickly went after it.

"What kind of Pokemon was that?" Theo asked, before looking around. "If it's running around these parts, it must be a Nuclear-type. But it didn't look like any of the Pokemon here..."

"Exactly. That's why we should see what it is, and catch it if possible so the Rangers can study it," Ash stated. "If we let CURIE blindside us again, the entire mission might crash and burn. Theo, can you stay here and watch the Nuclear Ball boxes to make sure there are no more attacks while other people restock on them?"

"Of course! You can count on me," the redhead eagerly said.

"Great. In that case, everybody else, let's go!" Ash told them.

Ranger's Command Center, edge of Route 8

Bonnie was doing something extremely unusual for her: sitting down quietly without bothering anybody in an attempt to quell her mounting boredom. Sitting on a chair inside the command center's control room with Dedenne on her bag and Pikachu on her lap, she silently listened to the communications going on between the Rangers here and all the people outside fighting Nuclear Pokemon.

"We need to airdrop another box of Nuclear Balls!"

"A flock of Nuclear Owten and Eshouten is coming from the north! Rangers Patricia and Mason, move to the north and provide support to the people there."

"Another part of Sector 2 has been cleared. Also, trainer Ketchum and three of his friends located an unknown Nuclear Pokemon and are in pursuit."

Now that drew Bonnie's attention. "Did Big Brother find a new Pokemon? Hope it's not too dangerous."

"Piiiika," Pikachu grumbled, crossing his arms.

"Don't worry, I'm sure Ash and the others are doing great," Bonnie assured the yellow rodent under her care. "I know you'd like to be out there with Ash, but he was right. It would do you no good if you got sick again after how long it took you to get healthy, right?"

"Pi..." Pikachu begrudgingly agreed.

"Say, we've been sitting here waiting for a few hours already. How about if we get something to eat? I'm sure the Rangers must have some food here," the lemon blonde suggested.

"Nenene!" Dedenne happily cheered, a reaction that didn't surprise Bonnie in the slightest.

"Chu," Pikachu agreed as well, but with not as much energy.

"Hey... what's this?" a Ranger asked in a concerned tone. "There's a radiation spike... right outside the base!"

"Wait, what?" Another Ranger asked. "That can't be right."

"It is! It seems it comes from a Nuclear Pokemon, a powerful one! Quickly, somebody check the cameras on the outside!" the first Ranger urged. "The radiation levels are rising!"

Another Ranger typed a few keys, and one of the screens switched to the cameras on the entrance. Everybody paled upon seeing what the screen was showing.

About fifty meters away from the building was Urayne. And it wasn't just standing around, but gathering energy between its oversized hands. Then, it thrust both arms forward, releasing a beam of atomic energy that disabled the camera even if it wasn't the intended target.

A loud booming noise was heard, as the entire building violently shook. Then, the lights went off, sinking the command center into darkness followed by the humming noise of computers shutting down due lack of power.

"Wha-what's going on!?" Bonnie yelled to no one in particular.

"Status report! What did Urayne hit?" a Ranger demanded.

"Our main generator! That monster destroyed it!" another Ranger said in an understandably panicked voice.

Pikachu suddenly perked up, his ears twitching, his body tensed.

"Pikachu...?" Bonnie asked.

Before she could ask what was going on, her unsaid question was answered by several screams of panic followed by multiple roars and growls unmistakably belonging to Pokemon.

"Nuclear Pokemon have breached the base! Repeat, Nuclear Pokemon have breached the base!"

Meanwhile, Ash and his friends made their way through a seemingly neverending cluster of trees and bushes, trying to find the mysterious Pokemon that the Kantonian had seen before. Despite the fact that they lost its trace, Ash continued to press forward. Eventually, they managed to leave the thick vegetation behind and entered a clearing.

As everybody got out, they quickly spread out and looked around, trying to see if they could find any hint of the mysterious Pokemon. It was then when they noticed something peculiar about the area they were in.

"Hey... is the air different here? There doesn't seem to be any radioactive fumes floating around," Serena said, making everybody realize the truth behind her words.

"Not just that. Look at the grass and the trees..." Lilia noticed. "They appear to be much healthier than those we've seen so far. As if somebody came here and somehow purified this zone of radiation..."

"You're right. In fact..." Clemont began to check the area on the device on his suit's wrist. "...radiation levels are almost nonexistent here, and the air is completely breathable!"

"It is? Let me check it, then," Ash said, and before anybody could tell him not to, he removed his helmet and took a deep breath. "Yes, you're right! The air is so clean and pure!"

His gesture was followed by his friends, who all took their helmets and breathed the air.

"But... how can this be possible?" Clemont asked in shock.

"Perhaps those guys have something to do with it," Lilia said, pointing at something in the distance.

Looking in the direction Lilia pointed at, they saw some toxic mist in the distance. However, there was also a multitude of tiny yellow creatures that were seemingly vacuuming the toxic fumes. Carefully approaching, the group saw the small creatures were Pokemon, which looked like armless dinosaurs with stubby legs and a row of green spikes running down their backs and tails. Their yellow skins, zipper-like markings running down their bellies and faces obscured behind gas masks (which they used to vacuum the radioactive fog) made them look like they were wearing hazmat suits.

"It's them! That's the Pokemon I saw before!" Ash yelled.

"Haz?"

His shout didn't go unnoticed by the strange Pokemon who quickly turned around and looked at the group, who quickly fell silent in an attempt to not to scare them into attacking. They held each other's gaze for a few, interminable seconds, before the Pokemon seemingly decided the humans weren't a threat and turned back to continue what they were doing.

"Are... are those Pokemon doing what I think they're doing?" Serena asked.

"Only one way to find out," Ash said, pulling out his Pokedex.

"Hazma, the Overcoat Pokemon. Nuclear. They appear in the aftermath of nuclear fallout. They feed on radiation and can clean an irradiated area over time."

"They feed on radiation," Clemont repeated. "So that means..."

"That this place is like an All-you-can eat buffet for them?" Ash suggested.

"Not the words I would have used, but yes," Clemont agreed. "But didn't you hear what the Pokedex said last? They can clean irradiated areas! Look what they did here! This Pokemon might be the key to restoring the irradiated zones back to normal!"

"True," Ash said, taking a good look at them. "They appear to be friendly, like Nucleaon and Geigeroach. Do you think we could convince them to come with us?"

"I believe we could. Maybe we could use your Pokemon to help-" Serena was about to say.

"SKREEEEEEE!"

A loud, high pitched shriek startled both the humans and the pack of Hazma, all of them turning around to the source of the strident noise just in time to see a Nuclear Palij diving towards them. The Hazma quickly scattered in order to evade the charge.

"Another Nuclear Pokemon!" Ash said, his hand quick to reach a pokeball. "We need to help the Hazma!"

"Ash, wait! Look!" Lilia called.

Because just as the Hazma regrouped, a single one separated from its brethren and prepared to face the corrupted parrot. The Nuclear Palij opened its beak and fired a string of bright green energy rings at Hazmat, an attack everybody identified as Half-Life. Hazma made no attempt to counter or even dodge the attack, letting the move strike it, and much to the human's surprise, it had no effect.

"Whoa! It didn't even react!" Ash said in astonishment.

"Could that Pokemon be like Geigeroach...?" Clemont pondered.

"It is!" Serena confirmed, Pokedex in hand. "Here it says that Hazma's ability is Lead Skin, which explains why they're unaffected by Nuclear-type attacks!"

Seeing that its first attack had no effect, the Nuclear Palij dived downwards once again, its wings glowing with a white light as it prepared a Wing Attack.

"Haz!" Hazma growled upon dodging the move, letting Palij fly past it. Then, turning around towards its foe, its eyes began to glow a bright green before firing a yellow beam of energy surrounded by a spiral of green light, smacking the Nuclear Palij. The Nuclear Pokemon made a sound as if something exploded from inside its body, followed by green fumes coming from its entire body, quickly covering it in them, before falling down and hitting the ground with a thud.

"It beat that Palij in one move! What attack is that?" Lilia asked. "Last time I checked, Nuclear Pokemon resisted other Nuclear-type moves, but that one did a number on that Palij!"

"Here it says that Hazma has a unique Nuclear-type move called Expunge, which is extremely effective against other Nuclear-type Pokemon," Serena explained, still reading from her Pokedex.

Just as Serena talked, a few of the Hazma that stayed away from the battle surrounded the fallen Palij and began to vacuum the cloud of green gas that its body had expelled upon being hit by Expunge.

"What... what are they doing?" Ash asked, worry creeping into his voice. "They aren't going to... to eat that Pokemon are they?"

The Hazma took no time to completely vacuum the green cloud, revealing the Palij. Except instead of the dark blue and bright green coloration of the corrupted Nuclear Pokemon, it was red, green and white, as normal Palij were.

"P-Pa?" Palij squawked, as it recovered its senses. The bird looked confused and disoriented, as if it just woke up from a psychedelic dream. Or a nightmare. "Pa, pali?" it squawked again, before quickly taking off and disappearing into the sky.

"They... they restored that Nuclear Pokemon to normal!" Clemont shouted. "This... this is incredible! Not only do these Pokemon possess the power to heal the land, they can also undo the effects radiation exposure had on Nuclear Pokemon! We need to take them with us!"

"Hazma, listen to me, please!" Ash shouted, falling to his knees in a pleading pose, drawing the attention of the small Nuclear Pokemon. "We're having a really big trouble here, as I'm sure you saw. A very powerful criminal caused untold damage to this region, both to the land and its Pokemon. You, however, have the power to undo that damage. Will you please come with us? You're our only hope to restore this region to how it used to be, to how it should be! Please!"

"If you could come with us, you'd do this region a huge favor. Only you have the power to make things like how they were, like how it should be," Serena added.

Ash and Serena's heartfelt plea was followed by a long moment of silence. Then, the Hazma formed a circle, and began to growl and whisper among each other, as if debating whether to listen to Ash or not. For a few more moments that felt endless, the group of Overcoat Pokemon reached a consensus as they broke the circle and turned towards the humans.

"Ha, Hazma!" one of the Hazma said, nodding.

"You will help us? Yes! Thank you, thank you!" Ash said, his voice overflowing with emotion.

"Let's contact HQ to tell them about this discovery," Clemont said, as he pressed a button on his suit. "HQ, this is Clemont, do you copy?"

"Loud and clear," Kellyn's voice said. "Anything to report, Clemont?"

"You have no idea. We found a bunch of Pokemon. They're Nuclear-types, but they aren't hostile. Though, the most amazing thing about them is that they feed off radiation. That means they have the ability to both purify the land and Pokemon of nuclear radiation," Clemont said.

"Wait, really?" Kellyn asked.

"We're in an area of the Hazard Zone that it's completely devoid of radiation. Even the air is clean!" Clemont added.

"In that case, such Pokemon cannot be ignored. Do you plan to capture them?" Kellyn asked.

"It won't be necessary. Ash was able to convince them to help us of their own free will. We will only need to herd them back to the command center," Clemont replied.

"Understood. In that case, that task should be done by just one of you. The rest of you are needed elsewhere. There are still plenty of hostile Nuclear Pokemon that need to be captured," Kellyn said.

"I will do that. I'm the one with the least amount of Pokemon among the four of us. You three will be more useful here," Lilia offered.

"Great. Lilia will escort the Hazma to the command center, while we will return to the battle," Clemont said.

"Oh, and once Lilia is there, have her contact me. It seems like there's some problem with the command center. We lost contact with them ten minutes ago. It might be just some technical problems, but... well, you never know."

"Don't worry, Head Ranger. I'll contact you once I get there and see what's the problem," Lilia assured, before pulling out three pokeball. "Lopunny, Haagross, Skelerogue, come out!"

Lilia's Pokemon materialized next to her, waiting for orders.

"See those Pokemon? They're Hazma, and they're very important right now. We need to escort them to the command center, so let's make a good job protecting them, okay?"

"Lop!" Lopunny nodded.

"Haaa...!" Haagross wheezed.

"Ske, skele!" Skelerogue cried, making a mock salute.

"Let's get going then!" Lilia said.

"Good luck, Lilia. Come on guys, let's go back. There are still plenty of Nuclear Pokemon that need to be captured!" Ash said.

"Finish it off with leaf Blade, Metalynx!" Theo ordered.

Theo's Metalynx, in its Mega Evolved form, leaped forward, the blade on its left arm glowing with a green light, before delivering a powerful swipe at a Nuclear Baariette, the Hard Horn Pokemon falling before the power of the Grass and Steel-type Pokemon.

"Nuclear Ball, go!" Theo shouted, tossing the specialized pokeball at his fallen foe, which was sucked inside the device before wiggling a couple times, sealing the capture with a ding, and finally disappearing. Theo let out a sigh of relief. "Okay, that was the last one around these parts. Return, Metalynx! We might be done here, but the battle is far from over, and I'll need you later!" Theo said, recalling his trusty starter back to its pokeball.

Looking around, Theo made sure that there were no more Nuclear Pokemon around, and nodded in satisfaction upon seeing that there were indeed none.

"Alright, the coast seems to be clear. HQ, this is Theo, can you direct me to a zone that still has Nuclear Pokemon in them?" Theo asked through the suit's communicator. However, he got no response. "HQ? HQ, do you copy me?" Theo repeated. "Just great, my communicator doesn't work!"

"Oh, it works just fine, child," a familiar, chilling voice said from behind. "Let's say that your HQ is dealing with some problems of their own."

"What the-"

"Urayne, seize him!"

Meanwhile, not far away from there Vitor and Natalie were struggling with a similar trouble to Theo in that they were unable to contact the command center.

"Still nothing?" the girl asked.

Her brother shook his head. "Perhaps that Disruptor device is interfering with the communications?"

While the idea had merit, Natalie discarded it. "If that was the case, we wouldn't have been able to contact the others from the get go. And our communicators work fine, since we can talk to each other."

"What do you suggest then?" Vitor asked, crossing his arms.

"Perhaps it's a matter of location? You know how Pokegears sometimes lose connectivity in certain places but get it back when you move? Maybe we're too far away from HQ, or there's something here that is blocking longer transmissions," Natalie explained. "Let's try that. You go in that direction and I go in the opposite one. Maybe we can contact HQ that way."

"Understood. Let's do it then. But let's not drift too far apart. Even if the area is devoid of Nuclear Pokemon, more can come at any time," Vitor warned her.

The two of them walked in opposite directions as they tried to contact HQ, while Natalie also kept her eyes peeled just in case a wild Pokemon got the jump on her.

"HQ, this is Natalie, do you copy? HQ, can you hear me?" Natalie asked, before a frustrated huff escaped her lips. "Nothing. How about you, Vitor? Any luck?" she asked, but got no response. "Vitor, do you hear me?"

She turned around, and found herself facing a towering Nuclear Pokemon that she had only seen in pictures: Urayne. And the worst part was that it was carrying the unconscious form of her brother under one of its arms.

"I'm afraid your brother is a bit indisposed," an unknown voice said. "But fear not, you'll join him very soon. Get her, Urayne."

Before she had the chance to call for a Pokemon, she saw a bright flash of green light, and her entire world turned to darkness...

Hazard Zone, Ranger's Command Center

While the Rangers weren't stupid enough to leave their command center completely undefended, the fact that said center was located outside the Hazard Zone and the fact that they would need most of their forces to fight CURIE in her home turf meant that it was only left with only the barest amount of protection. Most of the personnel there were non-combatants, such as technicians, researchers and medics, and only a few Rangers to act as security.

So naturally, the moment several Nuclear Pokemon broke into the building, everybody inside was overwhelmed and ran away in terror from the terrifying, violent nuclear beasts, as the few combat-capable Rangers that were still there struggled to keep the invaders at bay.

And in the middle of all this chaos was no other than Bonnie, ironically left there so she would be safe.

One moment, Bonnie was quietly sitting in the control room, listening to the Rangers there receive and issue transmissions from the people on the Hazard Zone, and the next, there was a noise coming from the roof before the lights went out. Then, several Nuclear Hagoop fell from above and started launching attacks left and right, sending all the people there, Bonnie included, running away in every direction.

"Come on... come on...!" Bonnie hissed as she ran, looking at her pokegear which was currently dialing Clemont's number. But all she got was a message that the device she was trying to contact was either offline or disconnected. It was then when Bonnie realized that Clemont and the others had to take their pokegears off in order to wear the Hazard Suit, which had its own communication device incorporated.

Then again, she realized that even if she could contact Clemont and the others, they might not be able to get back in time, especially with all the hostile Nuclear Pokemon around them.

"Pi, pika!" Pikachu shouted, drawing Bonnie's attention.

"Uh?"

Looking up, Bonnie saw a trio of Nuclear Tancoon closing in on them, angrily snarling. One of them roared as it leaped towards Bonnie.

"Eeeeeek!" Bonnie squealed, shielding her face with her arms.

"PIKA!"

However, before the frenzied Pokemon could reach the lemon blonde, Pikachu intercepted it, and sent it crashing backwards with a powerful Iron Tail. While the other two Tancoon didn't appear deterred, Pikachu's intervention not only saved Bonnie's life, but also snapped her out of her brief fear-induced paralysis.

"Yes! Well done, Pikachu!" Bonnie said, as she watched the other two Tancoon charge forward.. "Take down those two meanies with Thunderbolt!"

"Pikaaaaa-CHUUUUU!" Pikachu yelled, releasing a yellow lightning bolt from his body, instantly zapping the two Dark and Nuclear-types.

"Nice job," Bonnie said, looking at the unconscious bodies of the Tancoon trio. "Come on, we need to find somebody who can help us."

"Pi, pika!"

"Nene!"

Meanwhile back at the Hazard Zone, Ash and his friends continued fighting against the hordes of Nuclear Pokemon infesting the place.

"Where is everybody?" Ash asked.

...or they would be, if the area they were in wasn't completely devoid of them.

"This is odd. The last reports said that this zone had a heavy concentration of Nuclear Pokemon," Clemont said, looking around.

"Perhaps they hid to prepare an ambush?" Serena weakly offered.

Ash shook his head. "In my experience, that's not something Nuclear Pokemon would do, even those controlled by CURIE. Clemont is right, there is something going on, something we aren't even aware of."

"HQ, this is Clemont, do you copy?" Clemont asked through his suit's communicator, but to no avail, as he got no answer. "This is Clemont, HQ, please respond! Is anybody there?"

"Now HQ isn't responding? This is starting to smell fishy..." Ash said, his body posture tensing as if expecting an attack to come from anywhere at any time.

"I'll try to contact Kellyn," Serena said, using her communicator. "Kellyn, this is Serena, do you copy?"

"Loud and clear Serena," Kellyn's voice said, mixed with some static but thankfully recognizable. "Before you ask, yes, we've lost contact with the command center some minutes ago."

"So it's not just us. What happened? A technical problem? Or... something else?" Serena asked, worry seeping in her voice.

"We don't know. We keep trying to keep contact with them, but to no avail," Kellyn said.

"Have you thought of sending somebody there to check what's wrong?" Clemont suggested.

"We did, but all our men are too far away from the command center. Plus, this may be a trap to split out forces, given that the Nuclear Pokemon are behaving in an odd way," the Head Ranger explained.

"Odd? Odd in what way?" Ash asked.

"Our satellite readings show that all the remaining Nuclear Pokemon are gathering around the ruins of the Nuclear Plant Zeta," Kellyn told them. They could hear him letting out a heavy sigh. "We don't know what CURIE is planning, but it can't be good."

"That explains why there are no more Nuclear Pokemon here," Serena said in realization.

"Wait, that doesn't make sense," Clemont said. "The Disruptor should stop CURIE from commanding that many Pokemon. There's no way she could have regained control as long as it is active."

Another heavy sigh coming from Kellyn, which didn't fill the teens with confidence. "Unfortunately, it seems like the Disruptor is no longer emitting its signal."

"What!?" Clemont shouted.

"According to our readings, the disruptor stopped working around the same time we lost contact with the command center, which means they may have major technical difficulties," Kellyn surmised.

A moment of heavy silence fell upon the teens as the Head Ranger's words sunk in.

"Those technical difficulties..." Ash finally said. "Do you believe it was an accident, or... something else?"

While the words were unsaid, everybody understood the real mening behind that last question. They desperatedly hoped it would be the former, given that Bonnie was inside that command center. If something happened and she was caught in the middle...

"We don't-bzzzzzz... it could-zzzzzz... per-ksssssss...BZZZZZ!"

"Kellyn? Kellyn! We're losing you!" Clemont panicky said, tapping repeatedly his communicator in a vain attempt to recover the signal.

"First the command center and now this! Why are all our comms going down?" Serena frustratingly asked.

"Greetings to all the Rangers and all of you helping them invade my domain," a new, chilling voice said through their comms, a voice that they had heard before. "Do not adjust your devices, and make sure to listen, for I have a very important message to deliver."

"C-CURIE!?" Ash asked in shock.

"First of all, I must commend you on the number you did on my minions. But your attempts at playing hero ends here. That's it, if you value the lives of the three hostages in my power," CURIE announced.

"Hostages? What hostages?" Serena asked.

"Three of your people are currently in my power. Two of them are the Head Ranger's twin brats," CURIE continued, drawing a collective gasp from Ash and his two friends. "The other is the son of that detestable man who not only dared to deprive me of my prize at Nuclear Plant Omicron, but also attacked me as well. If you don't believe me, go ahead and try to contact them once this transmission is over."

"Vitor... Natalie..." Serena cried.

"Theo..." Ash said, clenching his fist in anger.

"You know what I want: Tandor's remaining uranium reserves. If they're not in my possession in the next forty eight hours, well, let's say that a fate worse than death awaits these three children currently under my care," CURIE threatened. "I'd warn you against trying to rescue them by force but... deep down I know that's not going to deter you. If you didn't notice yet, I'm sure you'll learn that I recalled my remaining minions back to the power plant. Between them and the intense radiation levels, I doubt you'd be able to get too far before you meet your ends, but come on. I dare you to prove me wrong."

There was a clicking noise, followed by silence. Ash, Serena and Clemont looked at each other, wondering if CURIE's message was over.

"...Kellyn?" Ash asked. "Kellyn, are you there?"

"...yes, I'm here," Kellyn said. His voice sounded unsurprisingly weak and defeateated.

"So, what's the plan?" Ash asked.

"Plan?" the Head Ranger repeated lamely.

"To save Theo and the twins," Ash said. "We aren't going to leave them at the mercy of that psycho, are we?"

"Of course not! Don't you think I want my children and Theo safe and sound!?" Kellyn shouted. "But you heard her. We were counting on the Disruptor to eliminate all the Nuclear Pokemon on the outside so we could safely get inside, but now that we don't have the disruptor and she's onto us, breaching that place will be next to impossible."

"Kellyn is right. CURIE must be very confident in her chances if she dared us to stage a rescue attempt," Serena regretfully agreed.

"In that case, let's use that confidence against her," Clemont interceded, drawing his friends' attention. "I have an idea of how we can get inside the power plant without her suspecting anything. It will be hard and it may not work, but I believe it's our best chance."


Author's Notes: And thus, the attack on the Hazard Zone begins!

If you played the game, you'll notice that I made a significant number of changes. First of all, the Gym Leaders will be taking part in the operation (because I see no reason for them not to). Second, there are enough Hazard Suits for everyone, not just the player character. And third, I also came up with a way to shield the Pokemon from radiation as well, somthing the original game overlooked.

I felt that after what happened at Nuclear Plant Epsilon, I don't feel like Ash would be comfortable with bringing Pikachu again into a radiation-heavy zone.

It was obvious that CURIE wasn't going to stay idle as she watched the good guys invade her turf and dismantle her army. And while Theo is the only one she kidnaps in the game, I decided to throw the twins as well with him to increase the stakes.

Thanks a lot to Fox McCloude and hirowriter for reviewing the last chapter.

Next time, Ash, Serena and Clemont will face CURIE in a battle for the fate of Tandor. In the meantime, don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on this chapter!