Chapter 8 – Burn out!

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-Team Shadow’s Arch Angel – May’s Room-

May lay awake in her bed, staring wistfully at the white, metallic ceiling. The darkness in her 
small room only illuminated by the desk lamp next to her laptop, which was used to create 
reports, check emails, and other miscellaneous things. Compared to the other agent’s rooms, 
hers was very empty. She didn’t have a TV, radio or even any video game equipment. 
However, May found her room to be her own little sanctuary after coming home from a mission, 
a nice, quiet place where she could recollect her thoughts and relax.

It had been a full day since she had completed her most recent mission, but several days since 
she had seen Ash, which disheartened her a little. Team Shadow was an underground 
organization that was made to go above the law to save those in need while taking down the 
corrupted and evil. It wasn’t exactly the occupation she always dreamt about, but life as a Team 
Shadow agent was actually pretty fulfilling. It was as though she was doing charity, which 
consisted of dodging cops, lurking in the shadows, and even going as far as assassinating head 
leaders of a gang or mafia. A busy life it was, but at least she was surrounded by those she 
could call a family, especially Clair, Melody and Duplica. However, no matter how close they 
were, no one could take the place in her heart that she reserved for Ash. If only she could travel 
with him again, maybe then she would have the courage to tell him how she feels.

Knock, knock, knock!

“The door’s unlocked!” May answered, recognizing the rhythm of knocks. The metal door slid 
open, revealing her two partners, Melody and Duplica. Soon after May joined Team Shadow, 
she was assigned to Melody and Duplica’s group as team leader. The three had been great 
friends ever since.

“Hiya lazy!” Duplica chimed, being her merry self.

“Hey guys, what’s up?” May asked.

“We came to tell you that Clair wants to have a talk with us, but first…” Melody took a seat on 
May’s bed, along with Duplica, both staring down the brunette. “You gotta level with us, how 
did you feel about seeing Ash again?”

May blushed, but also tossed them a slightly irritated look. The main problem about having best 
friends was they were always nosy. “Probably the same for all of us, surprised. And just why is 
it you guys are prying into my love life?”

“Because it’s fun!” Both Melody and Duplica answered.

“Yeah, for you guys. Anyway, rather than sticking your noses in my business, let’s go and see 
Clair.” May got off the bed and headed towards the main meeting room. There, the three met 
with their team commander, Clair.

“Good morning girls.” Clair greeted.

“Morning Clair!” The girls saluted.

“I heard you wanted to see us?” May inquired.

“Yes. As you know, Ash now has possession of not only the GS ball, but a few shards of the 
Final Destiny. Some of the higher ups feel that this responsibility is too big for someone so 
young, and they want us to handle the situation. This mission is considered high priority, and it is 
to get the GS ball and shards away from Ash. But, there is a problem with that. We all know 
Ash, especially about how stubborn he is. I doubt he would just give us the items, especially if 
he had any contact with Team Nova. This gives us only two options: We steal it or take it by 
force.”

“Wait. By force, you don’t mean…”

“There’s no easy way to say this so I’ll be blunt. We might have to kill Ash.”

May gasped at the thought. “That’s insane! Team Shadow is a group that exists to protect 
people! Killing Ash just for some stupid ball and diamonds is ludicrous and against those 
beliefs!” She exclaimed, angered by the thought.

“I know how you feel, but you need to take a look at the full picture. A lot of people are trying 
to get their hands on those things. There have been reports that people have died because of the 
items Ash has in his possession. The longer he holds onto those items, the more people will be 
involved, which means more fatalities. I’m not saying we have to kill Ash, but if it comes down 
to that, we might not have a choice. According to the reports, Ash was last seen heading 
towards the Viridian forest, which happened to be about 4 days ago. We are a few hours away. 
Now, I’ll ask you this, since it will be your responsibility. Will you accept this mission, knowing 
that killing Ash might be an unavoidable option?”

May thought hard on the question. If she refused, she might never see Ash again, and people 
will be constantly involved in the struggle to obtain Final Destiny. However, if she accepts, she 
will be able to see him again, but might have to resort to assassinating him. Both choices were 
almost impossible to make. Either way, she would lose something. There was only one real 
choice to make. “I…accept the mission.”

“Are you sure? Once you accept, you cannot turn back.”

“Yes.”

“…Alright. We will be arriving near the Viridian forest in a matter of hours. Suit up and prepare 
for deployment.”

“Yes, Madam Clair!” The three girls saluted before turning and heading off to the armory.

Clair sat in a chair, releasing a heavy sigh. She knew fully well about May’s feelings towards 
Ash. No matter how much emotional training the girl had, there was no way this mission was 
going to be easy. “I hope you know what you are doing May…”

Inside the locker room area, May was getting dressed and putting on her equipment in silence. 
Melody and Duplica shot May a worried glance, unsure if whether May was really okay with 
the decision. It was a very tough call.

“May?” Melody called, worried for her friend.

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be alright.” May reassured, smiling for them. Melody and Duplica 
glanced at each other and said nothing more as they continued to get dressed. Though May was 
smiling for them, inside, she was in turmoil. She could only hope the worst case scenario didn’t 
occur.

-Viridian Forest – Day 4-

Ash, Misty and Brock had been traveling in the Viridian forest for what seemed like an eternity. 
Brock and Misty were shooting Ash a dangerous glare, all for one reason.

“Ash, you know as well as I do that we’re lost.” Misty sighed.

“No we’re not. As a matter of fact, we should be out of here any minute, so relax.” Ash 
assured, feeling confident.

“How can you be so sure?” Brock asked.

“It’s quite simple. If you look down here, you’ll see footprints of the past travelers. All we have 
to do is follow them until we get out of here.”

Upon closer inspection, Misty’s eyebrow furrowed in slight agitation. “Ash,” She started slowly, 
“What can you tell us about these footprints?”

Ash stopped walking and knelt in front of the prints. “Well let’s see, there are six prints, 
meaning that the party was a group of three. If you take a good look at the depth, their weight is 
a lot similar to ours. They all wore sneakers apparently. That’s about all I can tell, why do you 
ask?”

Misty knelt in front of Ash and placed her hands on his shoulders. “Well, I gotta admit, you’ve 
certainly learned a lot about footprints and such, but there’s only one problem…THESE ARE 
OUR FOOTPRINTS YOU MORON!!” She began to strangle the navigationally-challenged 
Ash. It took all of Brock’s strength to free Ash of his impeding doom.

“This is supposed to be my distant relative? Just how badly was the gene pool 
contaminated during my absence?” Satoshi grumbled.

“Hey, Satoshi, is something on your mind?” Ash asked.

“Well, besides trying to find a way to kill you and still manage to exist, there was 
something about that dog boy, Leon. I can’t put my finger, but there’s something about 
him that’s familiar.”

“Ah, so you noticed too?” Kasumi asked. “I wonder if he’s a…no, that can’t be right.”

“Huh?” Ash felt something vibrate in his pocket. It was the Pokédex. It detected a shard 
nearby! “Awesome! There’s a shard of the Final Destiny nearby! Let’s try to find it!” Ash and 
the group followed the beeps of the radar, which slowly started to grow faster as they got closer 
to the shard. 10 minutes into the search, something caught Pikachu’s eye. The mouse jumped 
off Ash’s shoulder and shot after the source.

When Pikachu approached the object, his eyes brightened in surprise. “Pikapi! Pika pikachu!”

“Found something Pikachu?” Ash went towards the object Pikachu found. “Alright! It’s a 
shard!” He exclaimed. Excited, he knelt down to pick it up…only for another hand to snatch up 
the shard he was about to get. Surprised, slowly looked up in surprise. A well built, dark 
skinned man was standing before Ash, wearing a black muscle shirt and long shorts. His hands 
and feet were wrapped in a black cloth which was ragged from age and battle. The man’s 
chiseled yet handsome face was partially hidden by his sunglasses and bandanna, covering his 
eyes and thick red hair. A small backpack held onto his back, and behind that was a thick 
sword that was a little taller than him. A thick, reddish sash with black tiger stripes was 
wrapped firmly around his waist.

“Hm? Well, isn’t this a surprise. I didn’t think someone else was after these things.”

“I can say the same for you.” Ash said, eyeing the man cautiously.

“I wonder…why is it that you look so familiar?” The tanned man leaned towards Ash’s face, 
scrutinizing him carefully. His eyes soon lit up in surprise. “I can’t believe this! Is that you 
Satoshi? What are you doing with this look-alike?”

“Ah! You can see him?” Ash gasped, along with everyone else.

“Of course. Satoshi, it’s been awhile. Don’t you recognize me?”

“Unreal! You’re Soma, the Fire Vizier!” Satoshi exclaimed, shocked. Upon hearing the name, 
Kasumi’s eyes widened, in both shock and fear.

“What’s a Vizier?” Ash asked.

Satoshi’s expression scrunched up with worry. “Long before my time, there existed 17 
beings who were the embodiment of the elements. Fire, water, steel, and many others you 
would identify as the Pokémon types. It was there combined powers that created us 
guardians. It’s just our luck that we have to face the Fire Vizier, one of the most 
fearsome warriors of my time.”

“So, your memory hasn’t diminished over time after all. That’s good. I did hear something about 
you guys traveling with kids from Leon. I’ve also heard about you guys trying to get your hands 
on the Final Destiny, just like us.” Soma said.

“You know Leon huh? That must make you our enemy then!” Ash took a guard pose, along 
with Misty and Brock.

Soma raised an eyebrow, curious yet interested. “Enemy? I’m guessing you had a run-in with 
Leon then. Heh, talk about sloppy. You guys don’t even look injured!” The Vizier dug into his 
backpack and slipped on a pair of heavy, red metal gloves with metal plates and compartments 
all over it. When the gloves were equipped, he slammed his fist together, creating a sharp, metal 
clashing sound. “Looks like I’ll have to change that. Be sure to give me a good fight. I haven’t 
had one for the last few days, and I’m just itching for a battle.”

“Hmph, if you’re anything like Leon, then I think I can take you on, especially with this new 
equipment! RAH!” Ash ran towards Soma and lunged at his face.

“Ash, STOP!” Satoshi yelled, but it was too late.

Soma swiftly caught Ash by his shirt and lifted him towards his face. “Slow down boy, I didn’t 
even say go yet!” With a flick, he sent Ash flying a few feet before landing roughly near his 
friends. Ash was both insulted and amazed. Those gauntlets looked heavy, yet Soma was able 
to toss him with the flick of a wrist. “Alright, first off, I’ll make a bet with you guys. If you 
manage to defeat me, I’ll give you guys my respect. However, if I beat you guys, you’ll give me 
all your shards, cash…and that thing.” Soma pointed to the hat Ash was wearing.

“My cap!? Never!” Ash denied fiercely, holding onto his cap protectively. Everyone sweat-
dropped.

Satoshi shook his head in shame. “…He has some personal issues to work out. Please, just 
ignore him.”

“Oh, shut up!” Ash barked.

“That’s no fair!” Misty yelled, “If you win, we lose all of our stuff, but if we win, we only get 
your respect! That isn’t a very fair trade off!”

“Oh, but it is. For one, you guys got the advantage. You guys have Pokémon, I don’t. There’s 
more of you guys, I’m alone. Hell, I’ll even give you guys a small handicap.” Soma took out his 
sword and stabbed it into the earth and away from the battlefield. “You can use any means you 
want to defeat me, but I prefer something challenging. As a matter of fact, I’ll even give you 
guys the first hit. Give it your all, or I’ll be disappointed.”

“So, you’re giving us the first strike? We can use anything we want?” Ash inquired slyly.

“Yep. And don’t worry, I’m not going to use any tricks. I prefer nice, clean, brutal battles over 
tricks.”

“Alright, you ask for it! Pikachu, use Thunder!” Ash called out. Pikachu powered up to use his 
most powerful attack. He was about to unleash the attack when Soma stopped them.

“Hold it!” Soma stepped away for a moment and took off his backpack. After placing it on the 
ground, he pulled out a small boombox and pressed a button on it, playing heavy, blood-
pumping Boss Battle music. Ash, Misty, Brock and Pikachu face-faulted.

“You made us wait so you can play music?” Ash exclaimed.

“Of course! You can’t very well fight at your best without some sort of motivating Boss Battle 
music.” Soma walked back in position to receive Pikachu’s attack. “Alright, now go for it!”

“Okay! Pikachu, use Thunder!”	

“Pi…ka…CHUU!!” Pikachu let loose a devastating wave of electricity and sent it flying 
towards Soma. The Fire Vizier didn’t even bother to guard as the attack struck him.

BOOM!

The dust on the ground exploded in the air, covering Soma’s features completely. “Alright! We 
got him!” Ash cheered.

“Got what?” Soma inquired, stepping forward from the smoke. Everyone gasped with fright. 
Soma’s body wasn’t harmed at all! “You throw a pathetic attack like that at me and expect it to 
actually hurt? Tch, talk about insulting. I can’t believe Leon could disgrace us Viziers like that. I 
will show you all what real power is like! HAA!” When he charged towards Ash, the earth 
trembled under his steps. He dove towards Ash and prepared an uppercut strike. “Blazing…” 
With an uppercut, Soma sent Ash flying into the air. He jumped up with him and charged up his 
fist, which was engulfed in flames. “BRINGER!!”

SMASH!

“ARGH!” Ash was sent crashing into the earth, a small burn spot on his stomach. Those two 
punches knocked the wind out of him, and his stomach felt like it was on fire thanks to the 
Vizier’s fist. “Ack…what is with those gloves?”

“Ah, so you noticed. These aren’t your average gauntlets. These were especially made for me. 
With these, I can condense my power and use it to incinerate my opponent. Care to test it?”

Misty jumped in front of Ash and took out three of her Pokéballs. “Politoed, Starmie, Corsola, 
use Water Gun!” After summoning her three Pokémon, they shot a powerful stream of water 
towards Soma, which combined to create one powerful blast of water.

Soma aimed his fist at the water attack and tightened it. Suddenly, the metal plates on the side 
of his wrist and on the back of his hand opened up its hatches. “Gun Flare!” Suddenly, the 
hatches fired off a hail of fire bullets, beating its way towards Misty’s Pokémon and through the 
water attack! The water evaporated while some of the bullets struck the Pokémon. Through the 
smoke, Soma charged towards Misty and lifted her up by the shirt. He drew back his fist to and 
powered it up.

“Onix, use Headbutt!” Brock called out. The giant snake roared as it rushed towards Soma.

“HM!” Soma tossed Misty high in the air and pulled back his fist, aiming at Onix.

POW!

“RROOAARR!!” Onix’s head was knocked upward, temporarily stunned. Soma jumped 
above Onix and slammed his armored fist downward on the rock Pokémon’s face. The 
Pokémon fell to the ground, dazed from the crushing blow to the head.

Soma glanced upward at Misty, who was beginning to fall back down towards his direction. He 
aimed his fist at Misty and opened the hatch. “Gun Fla—”

“SHADOW KICK!”

SMACK!

“ARG!” Soma staggered from the force of Ash’s Shadow kick to the face.

“I gotcha Misty!” Ash leapt to catch the water Pokémon trainer just in time, landing on his feet 
with a slight skid. “Are you alright?”

Misty staggered a little as she slowly regained footing. “Yeah, just a bit dizzy from the fall. We 
can’t rest yet. Let’s take him down while he’s off guard.”

“Right. Go, Snorlax! Pick up Onix by the tail!” Ash commanded, summoning his giant 
Pokémon.

“Onix, use Iron Defense!” Brock called. As Snorlax gripped Onix’s tail, the stone snake 
toughened its stone skin.

“Now swing Snorlax!”

The huge, overweight Pokémon spun in a circle to build up momentum. When the speed was 
high enough, Snorlax slammed Onix against Soma, who luckily guarded. The Vizier was sent 
flying through the forest, knocking down trees and breaking through boulders in the process!

“Ooh, now I know THAT had to hurt!” Brock commented, wincing.

“I don’t care how powerful that is, that attack had to at least leave him unconscious. I hope it 
didn’t kill him though…” Ash thought worriedly.

“Anyway, let’s get out of here before he—AH!” Misty gasped as he suddenly saw something 
burning brightly in the distance, where Soma was sent flying. Something big was coming, and 
fast!

“BURNING RAVE!!” Soma yelled out. He was flying towards Ash and the others, fist first and 
his entire body engulfed in a bright ball of flame. As the Vizier flew past trees and debris, they 
were either set on fire or incinerated due to the extreme heat.

Satoshi’s eyes widened with fear, remembering that attack. “GET OUT OF THE WAY!!”

“Brock, Misty, jump out of the way!” Ash cried. Brock reacted and lunged out of harms way, 
but Misty was frozen with fear, unable to send the message to her legs to move. Ash growled 
when he noticed her frozen. “Damn….MISTY!!” He lunged forward and shoved Misty out of 
the way.

CRASH!!

“GUH!” Ash was stuck on the stomach with the full impact of the attack, getting tossed off his 
feet. With the boy still on his burning fist, Soma spun around to gain momentum and slammed 
Ash on the ground, successfully breaking many of his bones. Soma stood up and stepped back 
and away from Ash, trying to get his second wind.

“ASH!!” Misty immediately dashed at Ash’s side and knelt next to him. When she tested to see 
if he had a pulse, it was extremely weak and starting to fade quickly. Ash was about to die. 
“No…there’s got to be a way to save him! If only I wasn’t so stupid and moved, he wouldn’t 
be in this condition. NO!” She slammed her fist on the ground angrily, small droplets of tears 
falling down her face.

“There’s one way to save him that I can think of! Hurry and concentrate all you can on 
me. I’ll do the rest!” Kasumi instructed.

“Alright.” Misty closed her eyes and focused as much as she could on Kasumi. Suddenly, a 
warm, yet powerful feeling started to grow from within. It soon enveloped her body in a bright, 
yellow light. When the light faded, her skin was tanned and she had silver hair. Misty had 
successfully performed her first spirit-sync with Kasumi!

“Good, now place your hands on Ash’s stomach and say Regenerate!”

Misty nodded and did exactly as she was told. She gently placed her palms on Ash’s injured 
stomach. “Regenerate!” A small, yellow aura glowed from her hands and over the wounds. A 
full minute passed until the glow stopped. 

Ash’s eyes flashed open in surprise. The searing pain of his wounds disappeared almost 
magically. “Satoshi, what happened to us? I thought we were going to die a minute ago.”

“Our wounds are healed. This could only mean that Misty used Kasumi’s power of 
healing. She saved us.” Satoshi answered.

Ash looked up at Misty, who smiled gratefully at him. “Thanks Misty, I owe ya one.”

“No, if anything thing. We’re even. Sorry for being in the way again.” Misty cast her eyes 
downward shamefully. “If I had just moved out of the way, you wouldn’t have 
nearly…nearly…”

“But I didn’t, and that’s what counts.”

“Um…guys…?” Brock called weakly. He was bruised badly and being held up by Soma. “If 
you guys could back me up here, I would REALLY appreciate it!”

“Brock!” Ash and Misty called in surprise. They had forgotten about the fight for a moment!

“So, you guys are finally done chatting?” With a single thrust, Soma punched Brock and sent 
him flying to a tree. The battered Breeder fell unconscious. “Hm…interesting. Satoshi, since 
when did you ally with your enemy?”

“This is only a temporary truce. I have no interest in being allied with a Raikeizian for 
long. Since I’m only a spirit now, there is nothing I can do.” Satoshi scoffed, glaring at 
Soma.

Soma directed his attention to the spirit-synced Misty and grinned when he noticed Kasumi’s 
spirit. “Ah, Raikeizian guardian Kasumi, it’s been a few thousand years since we’ve last met. 
How have you been?”

“Tch, enough with the small talk Soma!” Kasumi spat venomously, “You know fully well we 
were enemies. Tell me, how is it you Viziers lived for so long? Even with your abilities, 
the maximum lifespan was around 200 years. Also, what happened after our souls were 
locked by that sorcerer?”

Soma smirk turned wicked. “Wouldn’t you like to know, little Kasumi-chan?”

Misty tossed Kasumi a curious glance. “-chan? What does that mean?”

“It’s ancient Luminarian talk. Often, we could have honorifics added to our names 
whenever someone addressed us. The –chan is used to address females who you have a 
close acquaintance with. However, Soma is using it as sarcasm.”

“Your memory of our old tongue hasn’t changed one bit, neither has your attitude. But enough 
talk, how about we begin round two of our bout?” Soma loosened his fist and took on a battle 
stance. He stood on the balls of his feet and held his hands out in front of him. “I hope you guys 
are a little now stronger, because if not, you’ll all surely die.”

“We’ll see about that!” Ash challenged.

“Feh, that’s big talk coming from someone who nearly died.” Satoshi huffed.

“Now’s not the time Satoshi!”

“Hang on Ash.” Misty said, stepping in front of Ash. Her eyes burned with fury as she tossed a 
murderous glare at Soma. “He nearly killed you not too long ago. I’m going to make him pay 
for that!”

“But Misty…” Ash began to reason.

“DON’T INTEREFERE!” Misty snapped, making Ash jump back in shock. Even Satoshi was 
surprised with her outburst.

“Oh, so now the little girl wants to take me on, huh? So be it!” Soma dashed at Misty swiftly. 
When he thrust his fist at Misty, he was surprised to see that she dodged it smoothly. “HA! HA! 
HA! HA! HA!” His fist flew at her at an incredible rate, but Misty was too fast for him to catch.

“Interesting…just as I thought.” Satoshi pondered.

“What’s up?” Ash asked the spirit.

“It’s Misty. Didn’t you notice anything special about her last night when Team Rocket 
attacked us with that contraption?”

“No, what was it you saw?”

“That woman has some amazing agility. While she isn’t very strong physically, her speed 
and reflexes is top notch, and because her spirit fused with Kasumi, it increased to far 
new heights. While you may be physically stronger than her, she could probably run 
circles around you without breaking a sweat. Of course, with Kasumi’s added abilities…” 
Satoshi grinned, excited, “I’m infinitely intrigued to see what that girl can do against an 
opponent like Soma.”

“Hm…” Ash continued to observe Misty as she moved around Soma swiftly while dodging his 
blows. Speed isn’t everything, and he, along with Satoshi, could only hope Misty would have 
something up her sleeve.

SMASH!

Soma’s fist smashed into the earth, causing the ground to split under the force. Misty saw this as 
a small opening.

“HA!” Misty held onto Soma’s embedded arm as support and performed a thrust punch

“Not so fast!” Soma yelled as he caught Misty’s arm.

“Nice try!” Misty brought rammed her knee into Soma’s forehead.

“Gah!” Soma pulled his submerged arm out of the ground and stepped back, rubbing his 
forehead. Even if it was slight, he felt that blow! “Heh, you’re impressive, I’ll give you that 
much. But…!” He aimed his fist at Misty, opening the hatches of the glove. “You still need a lot 
more training! Gun Flare!” He shot a flurry of red hot projectiles at Misty. While Misty dodged 
a majority of them, a few struck her. While she was stunned, he ran up to her and threw a few 
jabs at her, knocking her down.

“Misty,” Kasumi called, “You only have one minute before our spirit-sync wears off! 
There’s nothing more we can do at this point!”

“No…” Misty stood up weakly, coughing up blood. Those punches from Soma took a lot out 
of her, and her wounds from the Gun Flare attack were starting to wear her down. “I will not 
give up, not until that man is defeated!!” She charged wildly at Soma, aiming to punch him in the 
face.

“It’s time to end this!” With a spin into a crouch, Soma uppercuted Misty hard in the stomach, 
making her gasp in pain. “Blazing…” With another punch in the same spot, he knocked her a 
few feet in the air and jumped with her. “BRINGER!!”

SLAM! CRASH!

Misty was tossed onto the ground, creating a small crater in the earth. Her eyes slowly started 
to close, her spirit-sync wearing off and leaving Misty with little to no power left. “I’m so sorry 
Ash…I’ve…failed…you…” She soon fell unconscious, defeated by Soma.

“MISTY!” Ash was about to run to her aid when Soma stepped in front of him.

“Hey, our battle is not done yet! I’m still waiting for a good fight, and I’m going to get one, even 
if I have to beat you down to get it!” Soma cracked his knuckles and quirked his neck, 
preparing to beat Ash into oblivion.

“Well, at least I’m still synched with Satoshi! I have a chance to fight back!” Suddenly, Ash’s 
hair and skin returned to normal, along with his special powers. “What…what happened!?”

“Gah…idiot…” Satoshi panted. His voice sounded worn out. “You should’ve cancelled the 
spirit-sync while watching Misty fight! Because of that, we ran out of time!”

“Err…uh oh…” Ash swallowed hard as he stared up at the towering Fire Vizier. “Damn…I 
REALLY wish life had save points…”

POW! BAM! THACK! SLAM!

Ash was getting pummeled left and right by Soma, who wasn’t even breaking a sweat. But then, 
Soma realized something strange. ‘Wait a minute…’ He thought, “Didn’t he have Pokémon out 
earlier? That means…’ He turned around just in time to see Snorlax swinging Onix towards him. 
“Heh, the same thing won’t happen twice! RAAAH!”

SMASH!

The force of Soma’s punch canceled out the force of the attack, but the damage done to Onix 
was enough to knock it out. Snorlax then released Onix and jumped high in the air and towards 
Soma, preparing to body slam him. “Gotcha! BURNING RAVE!!” Soma was engulfed in 
massive flames and jumped towards Snorlax.

WHAM!

The force of the attack injured the Pokémon to the point where it was knocked out in one hit. 
The massive creature crashed onto the earth in defeat, rumbling the ground.

SPLASH!

A wave of Water Gun attacks struck Soma in the chest. However, this didn’t even make the 
powerful Vizier flinch as he walked towards the three water Pokémon. When he was halfway 
there, he noticed something bright behind them, a charge of electric energy preparing to strike. It 
was Pikachu! But wait…if the three Pokémon were using Water Gun, and Pikachu was 
preparing an electric attack…uh oh… “Dammit, a trap!”

“Pi…ka….CHUU!!” Pikachu unleashed a powerful Thunder attack on Soma, and with the 
combination of the Water Gun attacks, which were effective against the Vizier’s element, the 
attack was actually affecting him now!

“ARGH!” Soma was starting to struggle as he pushed on against the heavy current of electrified 
water. “Grr….RRAAAAHH!!” In an explosion of rage, his strength seemed to double as he 
charged through water current, which was beginning to wane due to fatigue. “BURNING 
RAVE!!” Soma’s powerful attack easily pierced the water/electric attack and struck Pikachu 
and the other Pokémon, knocking them out. When his attack ended, he glanced at the 
destruction he caused, and saw only one person standing.

It was Ash.

“My, you are quite resilient, but enough’s enough. You are going well beyond your limit as a 
human. You cannot beat me.”

“Well you’re human too! And just like every other human, you must have a weakness 
somewhere! HIYA!” Ash ran at Soma and put all of his strength into one punch. But it was then 
Soma’s thick sash stopped his attack and wrapped around his hand! “What…how can your 
sash move!?”

“Hehehe…who ever said it was a sash?” Soma chuckled lowly. “Let me show you just why you 
can’t win.” He removed his shades and bandanna, flailing his thick, dark red hair around. When 
he opened his eyes, Ash gasped with a start, truly surprised. The thing that was wrapped 
around his arm wasn’t a sash…

It was Soma’s tail!

“This is why you humans can never defeat me…” He stared Ash down with his yellow eyes, 
which was shaped like a tiger’s eye. His tiger-like ears twitched with the excitement of battle 
adrenaline. When he bared his teeth, Ash could see his tiger fangs, which were concealed 
earlier. “It’s because I’m not human”

SMACK!

“ARG!” Ash was sent flying and skidding across the ground. He was about to get up when 
Soma pounced on top of Ash, pinning him down.

“I’m going to show you how to properly fear a Vizier!”

“AAAAHH!” Ash screamed as Soma started beating him down.

Little did both know, the GS ball that was in Ash’s pocket fell out during the struggle and rolled 
towards Brock, who was still unconscious. When the ball came into contact with Brock, the ball 
opened, releasing a green, bright sphere of light that shot into Brock’s chest.

Brock’s Unconscious Mind

“Huh…? What’s going on?” Brock looked around a strange room, which was simply a green 
void. “Am I dead? Dreaming? In limbo? Just what’s going on here?”

“Actually, I think limbo is the more precise term for where you are.” A deep voice similar to 
Brock’s spoke.

“Who’s there!?” Brock whipped around, only to step back and gasp in surprised. There stood 
an older, tougher, and taller version of himself with dark green hair. The look alike wore dark 
green clothing that consisted of a cloth that was wrapping around his knuckles and feet, a style 
similar to Soma’s, and a thick, long haori with a light chest plate over it.

“Hello there!” The man waved.

“Who are you, and just where is this place?”

“This just happens to be your subconscious mind. I must say, gotta love the shading. And the 
name’s Takeshi, pleasure to meet you Brock.”

“How did you know my name?”

Takeshi held his chin thoughtfully. “I dunno, you just have this air about you. You got that 
“Brock” look to you. But that’s beside the point; you seem to be in trouble.”

“Ah, that’s right! I—”

“…Need to save your friends, right?”

“Whoa…how did you figure that one out?”

“Well, your face just has that “I need to help my friends since I got pwned in the fight earlier” 
kind of look. It’s actually a very common thing these days. However, your level of 
consciousness isn’t enough to awaken yourself yet. However, in this kind of situation, I can take 
over for you and help save your friends. But, this is only if you will allow me. What do you 
say?” Takeshi offered Brock a friendly smile as he extended his hand.

“Hm…why not? I mean, who couldn’t trust a guy with a face like that?” Brock grasped 
Takeshi’s hand. Suddenly, a bright green light enveloped to two.

Center of the Viridian Forest

“RAAAH!”

SMASH!

Soma swung Ash around by the foot and slammed him hard on the ground. With that move, 
Ash lost consciousness. The tiger humanoid released Ash and huffed in disappointment. “Tch, 
what a shame. Just when I thought these kids would give me an actual challenge, they proved to 
be weak, just like most humans these days. Perhaps I should just finish off these kids…”

“Or, you could give them a chance to get stronger.”

“Hm?” Soma turned around grinned with surprise. “Takeshi! It’s been too long!” He took off 
his metal gauntlets and approached Takeshi. The two exchange greetings with each other. 
“Man, I surely didn’t expect to see you! How’s it been?”

“Boring. I’ve been asleep the entire time.” Takeshi answered flatly.

“Now, what was it you were saying earlier about giving them a chance?”

“I’ve had a small chat with the owner of this body. The boy you just totaled is Ash Ketchum, a 
boy who holds great promise. I don’t know much about the girl, but from the short bit I’ve 
heard about the boy, I think he could be a very capable opponent for you. He just needs 
awhile. So, why don’t you let us go for now and come back when he’s stronger? I’m sure 
you’ve caught a glimpse of what these kids can do.”

“Hm…you have a good point. But tell me, how can you be so sure that these kids got the 
potential it takes to take me on?”

“…Are they still alive?”

Soma glanced back at Ash and Misty, who were both battered and bloody, but still breathing. 
“…Yeah, but barely.”

“Then they definitely have potential.”

“...Too true. Alright, I’ll let them live for now. But first, I gotta collect my earnings.” Soma 
walked towards Ash and took away all of his shards and money. Lastly, he took the cap off 
Ash’s head and placed it on top of his own. “Heh, how do ya like it?”

“Looks spiffy.” Takeshi answered, giving him the thumbs up.

“Hm…I don’t know what it is, but it’s something about this hat that makes me want to do 
something…” Soma glanced down and saw a rock. He picked it up and imitated Ash’s victory 
cheer. “Alright, I caught a Pokémon!”

There was a moment of silence.

“…”

“…”

“…Soma?”

“…Yeah?”

“…What the hell was that?”

“…Not a clue. I know I should feel stupid, but it must be the hat. I feel cool yet dumb at the 
same time. GAH!” Soma hurriedly took off the hat. “This thing must be cursed!”

“Well, keep hold of the stuff for now. I’m sure the boy will feel more motivated with it missing.”

“Meh, I guess I’ll hold onto it for now. I just hope it doesn’t make me stupid or something. I 
swear, the boy’s lack of style scares me.”

“Me too.” The two nodded in agreement. Takeshi glanced upward at the sky, which was 
beginning to turn into nightfall. “You should probably get going. I’ll watch over these kids and 
make sure they stay alive. I’ll catch you later.”

“Alright, see ya Takeshi!” Soma bided farewell as he picked up his huge sword, boombox and 
backpack and left the decimated area. Takeshi sighed with relief. There was no way he could 
fight Soma by himself with the current level of strength. In the past, he and Soma were equal in 
strength and ability. They weren’t rivals nor allies, but people who respected each other’s 
strength.

“Whew! It’s been awhile since I’ve walked around. Now let’s see, I just gotta get these guys 
away from this area to a safer environment, and then set up camp. That shouldn’t be too hard. 
Well, time to get to work!”

Hours later, a camp was set up in another area and everyone was sound asleep. The Pokémon 
were back in their respective Pokéballs and Ash and Misty were in their own tents, giving them 
time and space to recover.

However, inside Ash’s tent, a woman in a black stealth suit and mask slipped in, crawling on 
her hands and knees. She didn’t stop until she was directly over Ash. Taking off her mask and 
goggles, she revealed herself to be May from Team Shadow! She was surprised with the 
amount of bandages that was over his body. Whatever happened to him must have been brutal. 
Nonetheless, she had come to do a mission, and she was going to do just that.

But…she felt herself melt a little when she saw his face, which thankfully wasn’t too scathed. In 
a trance-like state, she leaned forward to his face, closing her eyes. Her lips were mere inches 
above his when she shot her head back up, shaking it furiously. ‘No, no, no! I have to keep 
focus and do this! It’s for the sake of the mission!’ 

Hesitantly, she unsheathed her combat knife and held it high above Ash’s head. She grasped the 
knife’s handle with both hands, feebly trying to stop the trembling. Though she clenched her 
eyes tightly, she couldn’t prevent the tears that escaped. 

‘I’m sorry Ash, but…goodbye!’ She thrust the knife downwards, targeting Ash’s head…

-------

Oooh, a cliffe! Well, sorry for this long awaited chapter. I’ve been busy and stuff, so I didn’t get 
a chance. I hope you found this battle chapter exciting. I promise there will be more good ones 
coming in the future! So stay tuned and please review, seeing that I’ve had a bit of a lack from 
the last chapter.

Song for Ash and co. Vs. Soma – Those who fight further – Final Fantasy VII, Advent children

P.S. I made a small oops recently. I thought Zap Cannon was Pikachu’s strongest attack, but 
now I know Thunder is his strongest attack.