Pokemon

REVELATION OF THE MASTER

 

 

Disclaimer: I do not own pokemon, never have and never will. I writing this because I love pokemon and I’m making no money off it whatsoever so don’t sue me!

A few things you should know before reading. This fic takes place several years in the future of the TV series, Ash has completed the Johto League and won it as well. He has also just finished competing in the Indigo League again, winning this time. Several other things have happened as well, through events that I don’t go into detail about Ash and Misty have admitted their feelings for each other and are dating, all of Ash’s pokemon have returned and evolved except for Pikachu (duh.) Several of Brock, Misty, and Tracey’s pokemon have evolved as well, all the Legendary Pokemon are known about and have been encountered by the group and everyone has regained their memories of Mewtwo and New Island. I’ve also given Ash the team Red has in GS. I’ve tried to stay true to the show but as I don’t know about everything that has happened in the series in Japan (they are much further ahead of us episode wise) there are bound to be some differences. Any of these inevitable differences can be explained simply by saying this is an alternate dimension where things happened slightly differently. This fic will get a bit violent and (hopefully) tear jerking towards the end but I doubt its anything that will offend you. Even so very young children might not want to read this. I hope you like the fic. Any praises or flames can be sent to ashmidt@flash.net.

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Part 5: Clash of the Titans

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The sky was growing darker and the air was deathly still as the dust around the remains of Dr. Fuji’s laboratory slowly settled. Some of the Rocket members and scientist lay scattered about on the ground, rendered unconscious by flying debris. Otherwise there was no sign of life, however things were very different below the surface.

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Ash raised his head to look around but it was too dark to see. "Pikachu use Flash," he ordered. Pikachu obeyed and the whole room was lit up with a bright flash of light from Pikachu’s body. Ash smiled, seeing that all his pokemon were all-right, his idea had worked. Espeon, Noctowl, Butterfree and Lapras sat close together, their bodies pulsing with psychic energy, enough to keep the thousands of pounds of dirt, rock and metal above them from collapsing into the twelve foot high by thirty foot wide space that now occupied them. He knew they couldn’t keep it up forever however and so implemented part two of his plan.

"Kingler, Snorlax, use your Hyper Beams to blast us out of here," Ash hoped that Espeon and the others would be able to maintain the resulting tunnel long enough for them to escape. Snorlax and Kingler stepped forward and charged up, Snorlax drawing a massive amount of energy into its mouth and Kingler creating a large orb of similar energy inside its large claw. Kingler threw its claw forward; releasing the beam just as Snorlax opened its mouth to do the same. The two beams of intense energy combined into one and blasted a tunnel straight to the surface.

"Good works guys now lets go!" Ash yelled as he and the others ran to the surface, Espeon, Lapras, Butterfree and Noctowl going last to make sure the new tunnel didn’t collapse. If anyone had been awake to see it they would of thought it quite an imposing sight as Ash, followed by his pokemon, slowly walked out of the dust rubble (think the scene towards the end of MSB.)

"Well what do we do now?" Ash asked himself. He was completely at a loss to answer heck he still didn’t know where the guy who was doing all this was. He surveyed the rocky, hilly, small canyon dotted land around him and noticed atop a few hills away a small temple-like building similar to the one where he had placed the three treasures of the titans. He wondered what it was for. Further in the distance was the Indigo Stadium. Ash’s pondering was stopped cold however when a telepathic female voice boomed into his mind. It was Lapras.

"It’s not over," she told him in a worried tone.

"What do you mean?"

"The pokemon, I can sense they’re awakening and it seems we didn’t succeed in stopping the brainwashing, it must have been too far along. Team Rocket now has complete control of them."

Ash looked on; he was worried beyond description. "Just great," it wouldn’t be long before the Legendaries broke through the few dozen feet of rock and steel that separated them from the surface and then they would be an incredible force to be reckoned with. He came to a decision and turned to his pokemon. "Listen, I’m going to stay and try to stop them. I don’t know how but I’ve got to try. This isn’t going to be an ordinary battle, some of us might not make it out so I want any of you who wants to to get out of here as fast as you can. I would never force any of you into a fight like this."

Ash was hardly surprised but still moved when Pikachu ran forward and clamped onto his leg in a tight hug. "Pika-pi, chu-pika [Ash, Lets stop them together.]"

Lapras slid toward him, her face warm and voice comforting. "Ash, you are our master and our friend. We stand by you, now and forever."

Charizard agreed as it stepped forward, spreading its wings and issuing a battle cry. Noctowl flew over and perched on Ash’s arm, giving him a salute with its wing. One by one all of Ash’s pokemon declared their allegiance and lined up, ready to fight.

"All right, let’s do it," Ash declared, trying to choke back his tears as he pulled his hat backward in determination.

As if on cue the remains of the laboratory began to shake as huge beams of energy shot from under the ground. Bit by bit the rubble began to rise from the ground some of it being blown to microscopic bits seconds after. Soon the whole area in front of Ash looked like a tornado of rubble and white, pink green and blue psychic energy. It soon began to die down and through squinted eyes Ash could see several large shapes levitating up in the middle of the funnel. What was left of the rubble fell back to the ground as quickly as it had risen and as the psychic energy dispersed Ash beheld his soon to be opponents gathered together at the surface.

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"My equipment just sensed a huge energy surge near Indigo," Prima told Lance in a panicked voice.

"We’re too late," Lance said through clenched teeth. They were only minutes from Indigo Plateau.

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"All systems check out normal," Butch reported as he examined the reading on the various pokemon his equipment controlled, "how about yours?"

"Everything is in perfect working order. It looks like the internal stabilization devices we placed in the Legendary Birds are keeping the weather from coming unbalanced. Now I’m looking forward to some nice wholesome carnage," Cassidy replied with an evil grin. "That twerp is going to regret he ever crossed us."

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Ash was in pure awe as he beheld something he never thought would see happen and for that matter perhaps something that had never happened. All the Legendary Pokemon of the world gathered into one place. The three legendary beasts Entei, Raikou and Suicune were lined up side by side in front of the others. Looking ready to burst into action at any moment. Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres flew in small circles about fifty feet above the ground occasionally bursting out a blast of ice, electricity or fire in their excitement. In the midst of them Lugia and Ho-oh floated, their bodies bathed in light. In front of them were Celebi and Mew also hovering in mid air. Mewtwo floated above all of them, even from this distance Ash noticed there was something different about it. Its eyes seemed even colder then usual. It looked back and forth; surveying the area then looked directly at Ash and smirked.

"Well, I expected a more prestigious welcoming committee but I guess you’ll have to do. Your pokemon are quite powerful, they should provide an adequate warm up for my new army."

*Mewtwo’s voice is now a combination of Giovanni and its own. For simplicity sake I’ll say that Mewtwo is talking when Giovanni is talking through him and use the word Giovanni when he is speaking to Butch and Cassidy, Persian or himself from the suit. He is sort of in two places at once now. Also because Mewtwo has now become an evil monster I will be calling him "it"*

"Ash, I sense something strange about Mewtwo," Lapras told him sounding a bit confused. "It’s as if there are two minds in it and one of them is human."

"You mean someone’s controlling it from the inside?" Ash asked, even more confused.

"That is a very crude assessment but essentially correct," Mewtwo interjected. "My real mind and body is some distance from here safe underground but thanks to a psychic link I am now able to see, control and experience everything Mewtwo does."

"Well then we’ll just have to stop you and free Mewtwo and the others," Ash shot back confidently.

"You little fool," Mewtwo replied eerily, "do you have any idea of what you’re facing? I am one of this worlds most powerful Pokemon Masters and now that I have merged with the most powerful pokemon on the planet I am practically invincible.

"Nothing’s invincible and we’ll prove it! I won’t let you get away with taking control of these pokemon!" Ash yelled to the creature.

"I don’t recall mentioning that you had the slightest choice in the matter," Mewtwo replied and raised his hands before throwing them forward. This caused the rest of the Legendaries to move forward and attack raining down huge beams of electricity, fire, ice and psychic energy.

Pikachu, Noctowl, Espeon and Meganiums eyes all glowed brightly as they activated a combination of Reflect and Light Screens that made a brief, huge dome all around Ash and the other pokemon, completely absorbing the first round of attacks. Taking the opportunity Pikachu ran forward and fired a huge bolt of lightning at Lugia high above. The attack was enough to cause Lugia to turn away from its present attack but not much else. Charizard, Typhlosion, Lapras, Blastoise and Feraligatr all fired their own elemental streams of energy back at the Legendaries, forcing them to step back or put up shields to avoid the attacks.

Mew flew straight at Pikachu as he got an idea. "Pika-cha-chu-pi! [Butterfree quick lets combine powers!]" Butterfree nodded and swooped down, Pikachu jumping on his back just as Mew reached them. Using Butterfree’s psychic abilities and Pikachu’s Light Screen the two created a pulsing bubble of energy around their bodies similar to the one that now was charging around Mew except instead of pink it was yellow. They rose into the air and faced each other.

Mewtwo smiled and held up his right hand stopping the other Legendaries from attacking. "Hold!" he commanded both there and in the underground control room, "this could be amusing. Let’s see how it turns out."

Ash saw Pikachu’s plan and decided to go with it, "Pikachu use Zap Cannon!"

As they hovered Pikachu’s eyes glowed bright yellow and a large sphere of electricity grew about a foot in front of it. "Pika!" it screamed as the attack shot forward, straight at Mew. Ash’s eyes widened in shock as Mew formed the same attack and launched it at the incoming orb canceling both attacks out in a huge explosion of light and electricity.

"How?" Ash asked in total disbelief.

"You see dear boy while Mew was in our possession we found it had the ability to learn almost any attack. Of course the number it can know at any given time isn’t infinite, however through a little tinkering of its genes we still added significantly to its attack repertoire, we did similar things with the other legenderies as well" Mewtwo explained. "Much easier then going through the trouble of having them learn new abilities through experience don’t you think?"

"Butterfree, Pikachu be careful!" Ash called to his pokemon as they prepared to attack again. They flew forward as did Mew slamming into each other again and again, waves of energy flying from their collisions. Mew’s eyes glowed brightly and it then used Ancientpower, sending about a dozen large boulders in a row flying toward them. Butterfree managed to avoid it by Teleporting itself and Pikachu out of the way then reappearing behind Mew.

"Use Stun Spore!" Ash called to Butterfree. He lowered his shield and flapped his wings sending a large amount of the paralysis causing scales on them flying toward Mew. However the shield around Mew completely nullified any effect of the attack. Seeing that this wasn’t going anywhere Ash called for Butterfree to use Whirlwind. It once again flapped its wings but much harder this time causing a gale force blast of wind to slam into Mew and pushing it back several feet as it tried to push against the attack with some effort. Pikachu saw an opening and fired a large Thunderbolt straight through the tunnel of wind hoping that Mew wouldn’t be able to block both attacks. It could however and after the Thunderbolt had been absorbed Mews eyes began to glow brightly as it collected all the wind around it and shot it back at Butterfree. They completely unexpected the attack and Butterfree was blindsided by a Take Down by Mew as he tried to stabilize himself in the sky. The shield broke apart from the hit and Pikachu fell from Butterfree’s back landing safely. Butterfree was still disoriented however and barely got a shield up in time to block another Zap Cannon fired by Mew. He struggled against the orb of electricity and seemed to be overcoming it when Mew Teleported behind it and fired yet another Zap Cannon. Butterfree couldn’t handle both powerful attacks coming at it from both sides at once and after holding on for a few seconds its shield shattered and the two attacks hit it, enveloping the butterfly in a huge explosion of lightning. As the electric energy dissipated Butterfree floated slowly, lifelessly to the ground.

"Butterfree!" Ash called to his first pokemon after Pikachu as he ran to the creature and cradled its charred, battered body in his arms. "Its still breathing," Ash breathed a sigh of relief, "but we need to get it to a Pokemon Center fast."

Mewtwo floated to Ash and looked down on him. "I’m afraid there will be no healing for that pokemon. It is but the first of many that will fall this night and in the coming days."

"That won’t happen!" Ash spat at him as he gently placed Butterfree back on the ground, "I won’t let it."

"You won’t let it hmm?" Mewtwo asked giving Ash a mocking smile. "Boy it wouldn’t matter if you had twice the number of pokemon you do, you would still not stand a chance."

"My friends are coming and they’ll bring help," Ash shot back trying to sound as confident as possible.

"And if they don’t?" Mewtwo asked cocking his eyebrow.

"Then I’ll still fight to my last breath to stop you. What you’re forcing these pokemon to do is horrible. You have no right to treat them this way and I won’t allow it."

"Foolish words from a naïve child, nothing more," Mewtwo replied dismissing Ash’s argument and moving to attack when it suddenly stopped as though it had sensed something.

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"Hmm, it seems the boy was telling the truth," Giovanni said to himself back underground. "The Elite Four are coming and I sense they are bringing several other trainers with very powerful pokemon with them. I am certain we can handle them all but it will be more enjoyable defeating them a few at a time." "Raise the shield," he commanded to Butch and Cassidy.

"Yes sir," they replied simultaneously.

"And just to put the odds even further in my favor…" Giovanni said as he pressed a button near the suit. Up above on the side of a rocky hill a hidden door opened, releasing his best pokemon, save Persian.

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On the outskirts of Indigo Plateau the Elite Four and the other trainers had assembled on the ground.

"We’ll attack from here," Lance told them. "Release your pokemon."

Misty raised her hands and threw her Poke Balls just as Brock and Tracey did.

"Golduck, Staryu, Seadra, Politoed, Togetic go!"

"Forretress, Graveler, Crobat, Rhyhorn lets do it!"

"Azumarril, Venomoth go!"

"What about Scyther?" Misty asked questionably to Tracey.

"It’s so old I don’t want to risk it in this fight," Tracey replied. "Although it did make me promise that I’d call it out if I got in real trouble," he finished with a smile.

"Now its time for the rest of my pokemon to show their stuff," Gary remarked.

Tyranitar, Nidoqueen, Umbreon, Nidoking, Alakazam let’s go!"

Prima raised her Poke Balls as her glasses flashed over her intense gaze.

"Dewgong, Clowster, Jynx, Lapras, Slowbro I choose you!"

Bruno stepped forward and brought out his own.

"Hitmontop, Hitmonlee, Hitmonchan, Machamp come out!"

"Let us begin," Agatha said softly.

"Crobat, Arbok, Haunter, Misdreavus come forth!"

"I choose you, Gyarados, Charizard!" Lance finished.

Misty, Brock and Tracey immediately ran ahead, their pokemon following close behind. Gary followed after.

"Wait! It is best if we stay close together," Lance yelled to them when the ground suddenly shook slightly and the air in front of them shimmered as Gary and the others turned back in surprise and a huge dome-shaped barrier formed over the entire plateau, more then a mile high and twice as wide. Of Gary’s pokemon only Tyranitar and Arcanine were on the inside of the barrier when it activated. All of the Elite Four and their pokemon were left on the other side.

"What is this?" Bruno asked as he walked up to the shield and pressed against it. The shield shimmered and then pushed back with twice the force knocking Bruno head over heels backward where he hit the ground on his back slightly stunned.

Lance looked at Bruno to make sure he was okay and then looked to Dragonite. "Dragonite use Hyper Beam. Break through that barrier." Dragonite did so, charging up the beam and firing it from its mouth. The huge beam shot straight into the barrier, which shuddered and flickered then returned to normal.

"No good," Prima explained as she looked at the data her computer was giving her. "That energy barrier isn’t like anything I’ve ever seen. It reflects physical blows and absorbs energy blast of any type. The more we fire at it the stronger the barrier gets."

"What if we dig under?" Bruno asked as he got up rubbing his sore head and looked to Onix.

"That wouldn’t work," Prima replied, "according to my readings if we go anywhere underground the generators producing this shield will self destruct, taking us with them."

"We could Teleport through," Agatha suggested.

"I’m afraid the shield is resistant to that to. It’s impossible to Teleport."

"Then what do you suggest?" Lance asked crossing his arms.

"It’s just a theory but its possible that if we fire enough energy into the shield we can overload the generators and the shield would collapse. It is dangerous however and I can’t guarantee it will work."

"Well if it’s our only option then let’s get to it," Lance concluded and then turned to Misty and the others across the shield. "In the mean time it seems you are the only reinforcements we’ve got. I certainly hope Professor Oak’s faith in you is justified."

"Do you really think we stand a chance without you guys?" Brock asked a bit nervously.

"I don’t care how much the odds are against us!" Misty said forcefully, "Ash needs us and we can’t let him down." Brock looked at her for a moment seriously and then nodded.

"Be careful, don’t take any unnecessary risks," Professor Oak instructed.

"Remember if you can get to the Master Ball even if you aren’t the one in the prophecy you may be able to release the Legendaries from Giovanni’s control. If you can do that we might stand a chance. It would also be good if you can find a way to disable this shield," Lance told them.

"You can count on us sir," Gary said confidently.

"Misty?" Delia asked as she walked up to the edge of the shield.

"Yes Mrs. Ketchum?" Misty replied and walked up to the other side of the barrier.

"Please, bring my Ash back safely," she said, her eyes worried and nervous. "I… I just don’t know what I’d do if something happened to him."

"I promise," Misty said in a comforting voice and then smiled. "He means a lot to me too and besides he still hasn’t paid me back for my bike." Delia smiled, slightly relieved. She knew Misty loved Ash just as much as she did and would do everything she could to protect him.

"All right guys, if its all the same to you I’ll go this way," Gary said pointing to the East Side of the plateau, "that way if one group is stopped the other may still have a chance."

"I’ll go with you since you’ve only got two pokemon with you," Misty declared.

"Alright then me and Trace will take the West Side," Brock decided.

"Watch yourselves guys," Tracy told them.

"You too," Misty said as they turned to leave.

Gary turned to his pokemon on the other side of the barrier. "Alright everyone do whatever Lance tells you to," the pokemon nodded.

"Lets get started," Lance ordered as Gary and the Elite Fours pokemon charged up their attacks. Charizard used Flamethrower, Gyarados, Aerodactyl, Dragonite, Dodrio, Nidoqueen, Nidoking and Dragonair all fired Hyper Beams. Prima’s pokemon all used Ice Beam including Jynx who shot it from her mouth. Alakazam fired a Psybeam while Umbreon, Misdreavous, Haunter and Gengar used Shadow Ball. Onix and Machamp used Rock Slide while the "Hitmons" punched and kicked at the shield hoping to make it shatter faster.

Lance watched with a grim look on his face, "I hope this works…"

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Back at the battle site Mewtwo looked to his army and quickly spoke.

"Go, some of the trainers have gotten through. Find them and eliminate them, I will handle this idealistic upstart."

"We’ll make you eat your words!" Ash shouted as the other Legendary Pokemon ran or flew off in various directions. Before he could order an attack however Ash noticed another group of pokemon coming toward them. They consisted of a Rhydon, Alakazam, Machamp, Kingler, Clowster and Golem; Ash recognized some of them as the same pokemon he had battled in the Viridian Gym some years ago. Thinking quickly Ash gave his commands.

Pikachu, Espeon, Charizard, Blastoise, Venusaur, Snorlax, Heracross, Pigeot you stay here and help me fight Mewtwo," he ordered some of his most powerful and experienced pokemon. "The rest of you fight those other pokemon or try to get to Misty and the others to help them," Ash trusted that his pokemon would be able to decide amongst themselves of who would fight right there or go to help his friends.

"Do you really think you stand a chance?" Mewtwo asked, "you are but a pebble on my road to glory!"

"Shut up!" Ash shouted back. "Snorlax, Body Slam!"

Snorlax ran at Mewtwo and leaped high above it intending to crush Mewtwo under his immense weight but as Snorlax fell toward it Mewtwo raised its right hand and its eyes glowed with psychic energy. Snorlax stopped in mid air and with one flick of its hand Mewtwo sent it flying hard into the ground where it lay stunned.

"Pigeot, use Sky Attack! Venusaur Solarbeam! Pikachu, Thunder!" Ash yelled hoping a barrage of his pokemons strongest attacks would be more then Mewtwo could handle.

Pigeot rose high into the sky where it began to glow brightly as Venusaur positioned itself behind Mewtwo and aimed its cannon-like flower at it, solar energy already filling the bloom. Pikachu got in front of Mewtwo and charged up its body until all that could be scene around it was electricity and huge rays of excess energy shot from it in all directions. Pikachu attacked first sending a huge amount of electricity toward Mewtwo who raised both hands and within seconds disintegrated the attack leaving bits of energy still sparking around it. Venusaur fired moments afterward sending a beam of solar energy straight at Mewtwo. Mewtwo once again raised his hands in front of him and formed a wall of psychic energy in front of itself. It blocked the attack as well although Ash thought he saw its face strain briefly while doing so. After a moment of doing this it let out a roar of rage and spread its arms wide, breaking the beam in half straight down the middle and sending it in opposite directions. Then with another wave of its hands it sent Pikachu and Venusaur flying head over heels a good thirty feet. With incredible speed he turned around, arms raised, and blocked Pigeot, now a firebird, as it rammed into his barrier with intensive force. With a countering wave of its own intense energy Mewtwo sent Pigeot flipping backwards until it hit the ground where its body returned to its normal appearance. Pigeot, Venusaur and Pikachu all got back to their feet and stared defiantly at Mewtwo.

"You are only delaying the inevitable," Mewtwo scoffed and then turned his head to look at Espeon who was yelling at him from a nearby hill. "So little one, you challenge me?" Espeon responded by surrounding her body with so much psychic energy that she looked like she was engulfed in purple fire. Mewtwo smiled as it rose high into the air and its body was surrounding by similar but blue energy, "very well, though I don’t see what you intend to accomplish by this foolish act."

Ash gasped, Mewtwo and Espeon were about to use the strongest form of the Psychic attack, a massive wave of psychic energy would soon shoot from their bodies and Ash doubted the effect would be the same as when Mew and Mewtwo had accidentally used theirs on him and he turned to stone. That only reason that had happened was because the combined powers of Mew and Mewtwo caused the abnormal reaction. "Espeon what are you trying to do? You can’t beat it on your own!"

Espeon's energy was building up even more, the ground around her beginning to crack and break apart then rising into the air and disintegrating. She turned to Ash and sent him a telepathic message; he was surprised as Espeon had only just began learning how to speak telepathically at a distance like Lapras and Mewtwo. "Ash, I know I can’t win but want to do everything I can. If I can even weaken Mewtwo a little it’s worth it. Tell the others to attack as soon as I’m down, it will probably take a moment for even Mewtwo to charge back up. Please don’t worry about me, I know you’ll find a way to save us. You always do." She then smiled warmly at Ash and turned to Mewtwo. All the other pokemon stepped back as the energy increased beyond any Psychic attack Espeon had ever used. Finally the psychic fire over Espeon’s forehead exploded and surged forward in a huge stream of power. Mewtwo pulled its arms straight out in front of its body and spread them slightly releasing an equal sized attack from around its chest. The two beams collided and swirled around each other, growing into a larger and larger orb of countering energies.

"You are powerful," Mewtwo complimented," but no psychic is greater then Mewtwo." It then spread its arms wide, doubling the size of the beam. Espeon struggled for several seconds and then cried out as all the energy poured down on her. She was surrounded in an explosion of power that formed a huge, round, swirling mass of energy. When it finally dissipated Espeon was still standing but her eyes were vacant. She let out a soft sigh and fell to her side, bits of energy still floating around her. Ash was in shock but could sense she was still alive. He still wanted to run to her and comfort her but knew he couldn’t and decided to fulfill her wishes.

"Charizard, Blastoise attack together! Pikachu, Venusaur attack when you get an opening. Heracross get ready." Charizard and Blastoise had already positioned themselves on either side of Mewtwo and began to fire their Flamethrower and Hydro Pump attacks. Mewtwo raised its hands and blocked both attacks then swung them forward as if they were cymbals causing the streams of fire and water to collide along their entire length and annihilating both attacks in a cloud of steam.

"Heracross Mega Horn now!" Ash shouted as the mighty beetle flew forward, his horn glowing brightly as he rammed into Mewtwo’s shield with mighty force.

"Why do you persist in these futile efforts?" Mewtwo asked when suddenly its eyes widened in surprise. Heracross was moving forward! Breaking through layer after layer of the shield and coming within a few feet of Mewtwo. With all its might Mewtwo sent a wave of countering energy out of its body that shot Heracross back like a bullet and straight into the side of a hill where he didn’t get up.

"Heracross no!" Ash yelled as he tried to get to it but was stopped in his tracks as Mewtwo floated down in front of him.

"At this rate all your pokemon will be beaten in less then a hour," it then smiled evilly at him, "even faster if they don’t have a trainer to command them." Before it could do anything however Venusaur ran at it in a Take Down. Mewtwo swatted him aside just in time to meet a Hydro Pump from Blastoise. Mewtwo blocked the attack with its left hand and then shot a black orb of energy straight through the water obliterating the attack and hitting Blastoise in the stomach exploding and knocking him on his back, down but not out. It then turned to see Charizard flying straight at it. He shot a tongue of flame at it Mewtwo leaping up into the air and completely dodging the attack. Charizard reacted quickly and ascended to Mewtwo’s level. He then shot out a Fire Blast. Mewtwo blocked the attack with one hand and while still holding back the fire with its right used its left hand to throw another energy orb. With incredible speed Charizard dodged it and then flew past Mewtwo, Slashing it across the face. Charizard turned and hovered some distance from Mewtwo, the dragon smirking as blue blood flowed from the three lines now cut into Mewtwo’s left cheek. Mewtwo glared angrily at it as the wounds quickly healed and vanished. "You will pay for that you insolent lizard! I’ll make you wish you were never hatched!" It then surrounded Charizard in psychic energy and sent it straight towards the ground. With intense effort Charizard broke free and landed safely. "Your pokemon have strong wills but they can not resist me forever," Mewtwo stated undaunted.

Before Mewtwo could say anymore a huge bolt of lightning shot straight into its chest. Pikachu had managed to completely surprise it and was now shooting all the Thunderbolt energy it could into the creature’s body. Mewtwo yelled in pain for several seconds before teleporting away, reappearing nearby holding its smoking side.

"Your Pikachu is even stronger then I thought. If I did not possess the power I do now I would be quite interested in having it for myself." Mewtwo’s eyes glowed for a moment as it spoke and the injury vanished. "It may take some amount of my power but I am going to get rid of all of you in one fell swoop. Your interference ends now!" It began to build up its energy again as Charizard, Pigeot, Snorlax, Pikachu, Venusaur and Blastoise all gathered around Ash.

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Muk, Primeape, Feraligatr and Meganium had stayed behind to fight Giovanni’s pokemon while the others went in search of Misty, Brock, Tracey or whoever else they could find. Primeape faught Machamp, the two dodging and taking each other’s punches. Muk took on Kingler while Meganium faught Clowster. Feraligatr faced Golem and Rhydon.

Primeape leaped forward and slammed himself into Machamp knocking the creature on its back stunned. It recovered quickly however and grabbed Primeape, who was standing on its chest, legs with its lower pair of arms and began to pummel it with its upper fists. It then threw the smaller Fighting type over its head Primeape turning about and managing to land on his feet, digging in his heels before skidding to a stop.

Feraligatr knocked out Golem with a powerful blast of Hydro Pump before it could even attack but was then punched hard by Rhydon who then grabbed him from behind the head keeping him from being able to use water attacks. Meganium dodged an Ice Beam from Clowster then quickly defeated it with a strong Solarbeam from her mouth, she then turned to Feraligatr to help. Meganium pulled Rhydon off with her vines and slammed the Rock/Ground pokemon onto the ground. It stood back up and prepared to attack again but was immediately hit with a combination of Razor Leaves from Meganium and Water Gun from Feraligatr. It was soon unconscious. The two pokemon then high fived each other with vine and claw.

Primeape leaped backwards just dodging a Karate Chop from Machamp, he then, eyes glowing, used Rock Slide levitating then launching boulders from above and below the surface of the ground straight at the gorilla-like creature. Machamp canceled out the Rock Slide with its own but as it was preoccupied doing this it failed to notice Primeape running towards it. The pig-monkey rammed Machamp in the gut then leaped a good twenty feet into the air with it before slamming it into the ground with Seismic Toss leaving a crater. Primeape then raised his arms in triumph as he stood over his defeated foe.

Giovanni’s Kingler leaped at Muk and slammed its large claw into him with Crabhammer. Muk’s thick slimy body easily absorbed the hit and he quickly launched a Sludge Bomb knocking the huge crab back. Kingler then fired Bubbles at Muk, which also mostly bounced off as the creature slid effortlessly forward. With great surprise Kingler watched as Muk charged up its body with electricity and fired a Thunderbolt at it, fainting the Water pokemon. In all its years of fighting for Giovanni the Kingler had never seen a Muk use an electric move. Muk meanwhile cheered for itself and longed for someone to hug.

Giovanni’s Alakazam stood behind a rock watching the battle closely. Its master had taught it just what to do in a situation like this, let your enemy wear itself down on other opponents then attack without mercy, and it saw a perfect opportunity in Muk. Teleporting to him the Psychic pokemon pummeled Muk with repeated blast of its Psybeam, a large beam of psychic energy fired from its eyes. Muk couldn’t take it and seemed to melt as he fainted but Alakazam continued to attack intending to kill the creature. Seeing his friend in danger Primeape ran toward them to help but didn’t noticed Golem beginning to wake up. Using the last of its energy the megaton pokemon began to glow before exploding, taking Primeape with it. Meganium tried to see if she could wake up Primeape but failed while Feraligatr ran to help Muk. Alakazam saw him coming and formed a shield but Feraligatr Slashed right through it and then Crunched Alakazam shaking it about in his jaws before dropping the fainted creature. Meganium and Feraligatr knew there was nothing they could do for Muk and Primeape at the moment and so ran off to find reinforcements.

______________________________________________________________________________________

"You will soon regret the day you decided to become a Pokemon Trainer!" Mewtwo yelled as the psychic energy around it continued to build. Mewtwo rose higher into the air as the hill it was floating over began to break apart and rise with it. Soon Mewtwo had taken the entire hill apart and floated, arms raised high, amidst the hundreds of huge pieces of rock and earth that levitated around it. "This will finish it!" Mewtwo threw its arms forward, eyes glowing brightly, as the tons of rock and earth fell toward Ash and his pokemon.

Pigeot, wings raised and Snorlax stood in front of Ash ready to shield him with their bodies while Charizard and the others got ready to block what they could of the aerial landslide with their attacks. Ash instinctively closed his eyes and put his hands over his head despite how little protection they would offer. He then waited… But after several seconds nothing had happened. Ash slowly opened his eyes and stood awestruck with his pokemon at what he saw. In front of them towered Lugia, its wings raised and a huge barrier shielding them from the landslide as it bounced or slid off the shield. Ash was nearly speechless. "Lugia…"

Mewtwo was similarly wide eyed. "What is this?" it asked as it floated stunned and temporally drained.

______________________________________________________________________________________

"Alert! Alert!" the computer voiced beeped mechanically as various warning lights flashed about the equipment in the underground room. "Three pokemon are no longer responding to commands."

Giovanni cursed under his breath as Butch and Cassidy frantically attempted to find out what happened. "That accursed boy must of interfered in the final part of the brainwashing sequence allowing some of them to break free," he surmised. Dr. Fuji had once told him that if even a few of the minute robots failed to be put in place then the pokemon’s minds would eventually be able to override and destroy the others. "Who is no longer under our control?"

"Uh," Butch started, his voice quivering in fear, "Zapdos, Lugia and Mew. All the others are perfectly stable."

"It does not matter!" Giovanni spat, "I still control most of the Legendary Pokemon and the Elite Four cannot get through my barrier."

"What should we do now?" Cassidy asked.

"I don’t care what it takes everything that resists us must be destroyed!"

______________________________________________________________________________________

Zapdos and Entei charged up to attack Tracey and Brock while the other Legendaries searched for anyone else who had gotten through the barrier. Entei attacked first, releasing a huge stream of Flamethower. Brock had no real way to counter this but luckily Tracey did. Leaping forward Tracey ordered Venomoth and Azumarril to block the attack with combination Psybeam and Bubblebeam. The two attacks obliterated the Flamethrower but by this time Zapdos was over them. It shot a gigantic Thunderbolt at them but Brocks Onix, Graveler and Rhyhorn blocked the blow by leaping in front of Tracey, Brock and the other pokemon. They succeeded in blocking it but were still blown back despite their resistance to electricity. Zapdos was very fast and had soon fired another bolt of lightning, hitting Azumarril and Venomoth and fainting them. While Tracey tried to see how badly injured they were Brock faught Entei.

"Rhyhorn Take Down now!" Brock ordered as the thick-skinned creature charged at Entei smashing through huge boulders that were in its way. Entei lowered its head menacingly and began to draw bright energy into its mouth.

"That light," Brock gasped, " I don’t believe it its using Solarbeam! Rhyhorn get out of the way!"

But it was too late. When it was about ten feet away Entei fired the beam. Rhyhorn was engulfed in the light and blown backwards before lying to rest on the ground unconscious.

______________________________________________________________________________________

 

"I won’t let you kill them!" Tracey, standing protectively in front of his pokemon, shouted as Zapdos charged up another Thunderbolt. Suddenly a light shot out from Tracey’s clothes as Scyther released itself from his Poke Ball and flew toward Zapdos.

"Scyther don’t!" Tracey cried as the bug warrior rammed into Zapdos’ stomach, amazingly staying conscious despite hitting the electrified aura around the bird. The Skull Bash caused Zapdos to fire right over Tracey’s head instead of at him. Zapdos turned and attacked Scyther with a vengeance-shooting Thunderbolt after Thunderbolt at it. Scyther dodged them all with it’s Agility and Double Teaming and Slashed Zapdos across the chest. Feathers flew but it only seemed to make Zapdos angrier. It swung about and spun its whole body like a corkscrew hitting Scyther with Drill Peck. The mantis pokemon fell like a stone Tracey just managing to catch it.

"Scyther," Tracey whispered, his voice breaking as he cradled the creature in his arms, "you didn’t have to do it." Scyther gave out a weak sigh and gently wiped a tear from his Masters eye with on of its scythes before falling limp in his arms. Up above Zapdos was charging another Thunderbolt when a look of recognition suddenly flashed across its face. It shook its head as though trying to clear its mind then looked apologetically to Tracey before slamming the Thunderbolt it had charged right in front of Entei the ground under it exploding and sending it flying, then rolling down an embankment where it lay to rest apparently unconscious. Zapdos then turned and faced Raikou who had just come on to the scene. The two began to fire bolts of electricity at each other, Zapdos drawing Raikou away from the humans and their pokemon.

"Come on Tracey," Brock said putting a comforting hand on his friends shoulder. "The only way we’ll be able to help Scyther and the others is if we get to that temple, we have to go." Tracey nodded and laid Scyther down.

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Misty and Gary stood stunned. Only a few seconds ago Mew and Celebi had been racing towards them with blood on their minds when suddenly Mews demeanor changed and it rammed into Celebi knocking it away.

I guess Giovanni didn’t get full control of all the Legendary Pokemon after all," Misty said happily.

Gary nodded, "yeah, we might win this yet. Misty you go ahead I’m going to see if I can help Mew. Tyranitar, Arcanine, ya with me?"

Before Misty could reply Gary had already started running towards where Celebi and Mew were now fighting, Tyranitar and Arcanine close behind. "Oh well," she decided, "Celebi is part Grass type so I guess he would be more help then me against it. Let’s keep moving," she commanded to her pokemon.

______________________________________________________________________________________

"I will not allow you to take our world so easily," Lugia’s telepathic voiced echoed to Mewtwo. Lugia then turned to Ash. "Thank you Chosen One. To live under this madman’s power would be a worse fate then death. Now go, activate the Master Ball, I will fight Mewtwo."

"The Master Ball? What are you talking about?" Ash asked more confused then ever.

"It is the one power that may save this world now that the prophecy has been set in motion. Go to the temple, I trust you will know what to do when the time comes, I will tell you more if there is an opportunity now go." With that Lugia floated into the air to face Mewtwo.

Ash wasn’t certain how Lugia had been freed from the brainwashing and didn’t frankly care. He trusted the ancient creature with his life. He saw Tauros running to him in the distance and after calling it over and hearing what the others were going through he decided what to do.

"I’ll ride Tauros and try to get to that temple," Ash said pointing to the structure a good half mile away. "I want the rest of you to hold the other Legendaries off and help the others." The pokemon, even Pikachu (knowing this was no time to argue) nodded and got going.

______________________________________________________________________________________

 

Mewtwo and Lugia floated a good hundred feet off the ground facing each other.

"So it has come to this, I must say that boy has caused me more trouble then I could have ever imagined."

"Do not presume to think things would have been easier if I remained under your control Giovanni" Lugia replied. "You and you alone are to blame for what is about to transpire not the boy. His heart is gentle yet strong, his spirit unbreakable. He and his pokemon would have faught you to their deaths regardless of whether I was freed or not and you know as well as I do that you intended on destroying most of the Legendary Pokemon including me eventually anyway. The only difference is now we will fight back."

"You certainly are a powerful psychic," Mewtwo complimented impressed that Lugia had so quickly found out who he really was and what his motives were. "But you must admit my way would have been simpler. I was hoping I could fulfill the "Titans shall clash" part of the prophecy by simply having you fight Pokemon Masters but it seems it has resulted in legendary fighting legendary after all. Which is fine by me but what about you? It seems to me this will be a rather unfair fight. You are certainly powerful no one can deny that but do you really think you stand a chance against not only the most powerful pokemon on Earth but an experienced Pokemon Master as well?" Mewtwo cocked its eyebrow arrogantly.

"I may spend most of my time beneath the sea human but I have had my share of battles in the past. Only this time there will be no holding back!" With that Lugia’s white, circular shield shimmered to life and it rammed into Mewtwo who swiftly activated its own shield just as Lugia hit. Mewtwo shot backward some distance then righted it self, slowly flipping backwards as it deactivated its shield.

"Then let the clash of the Titans begin!" Mewtwo shouted. It then raised its hands forming a dark sphere of energy in-between them before throwing it straight toward Lugia. It immediately formed another and shot it as well.

Lugia watched the target approach and at the last moment shot it down to the ground under it with one mighty slam of its right wing. It then immediately spun around, knocking the other orb away with its tail. Facing Mewtwo again it fired a huge attack from its mouth that looked like a beam mixed with wind. Mewtwo’s shield blocked the attack but it was still knocked to the ground by the force of it. Mewtwo regained its equilibrium inside the bubble-like shield and then looked up at Lugia.

"So that was the legendary Aeroblast. Impressive, now let’s see what else you’ve got."

Lugia didn’t bother to answer its taunt and charged at it again. Shields raised the two circled about rising higher and higher into the sky, dodging and ramming into each other whenever there was an opportunity. Lugia then floated backwards, its eyes shining brightly as it used its psychic abilities to lift a huge boulder from under the earth and fling it at Mewtwo. Mewtwo raised its right hand in front of its body and with one flash of light from its eyes shattered the boulder into hundreds of pieces. As the pieces of boulder fell in front of it Mewtwo’s eyes shined even brighter as it attempted to slam Lugia into the ground with its mind. The two pokemon’s powerful minds faught against each other for several seconds before Mewtwo gave in realizing that it couldn’t fight Lugia that way, much like it couldn’t fight Mew in that manner either. Lugia began to charge white, fiery psychic energy around its body.

"So you can perform the Psychic attack as well," Mewtwo commented as its own body was surrounded by blue energy, "let us see whose is stronger." Once charged the two fired the massive beams of psychic power which met in the center and swirled around each other growing large and larger but not being pushed in either direction as the equal powered attacks expanded. Within seconds the orb had grown so large that Lugia and Mewtwo were hit by the edges of it and pushed backwards forcing them to stop the attack. Lugia flew through the dissipating energy; it’s mouth wide open as bright yellow energy gathered within it. The Hyper Beam it proceeded to fire was so strong that Mewtwo was shot straight up into the clouds by its force, though the shield still did not break. Lugia hovered… waiting… Finally out of no-where a half dozen black orbs shot from above the clouds and straight at it. Lugia bolted and managed to avoid them. Just then Mewtwo broke out of the cloud cover, its eyes glowing red in anger. It threw both arms into the air forming another orb in each before throwing them down at Lugia. It spread its arms and more shot from in-between its hands. Lugia flew swiftly, low to the ground veering side to side to avoid the grenade-like attacks. Despite its incredible speed and agility one eventually struck it in the back and exploded. Lugia lost control and hit the ground hard, flipping and skidding for over a hundred feet as well as making a sizable trench before coming to rest. Mewtwo sped towards the stunned pokemon intending to finish it quickly when a large Flamethrower struck it in the side. Mewtwo turned to look to the cause of the annoyance, an Arcanine, young boy and Tyranitar on a nearby hill. Celebi and Mew were still fighting in the distance.

______________________________________________________________________________________

"Well if it isn’t the arrogant youth who challenged me all those years ago," Mewtwo said to Gary as it floated closer to him. "Your Arcanine seems to remember me," it commented as the dog pokemon crouched and growled menacingly at it.

"I’m ready for you this time," Gary shot back confidently, "no Psychic type has ever gotten past my Tyrannitar. Tyranitar, Arcanine, Crunch attack!" The two powerful pokemon leaped at Mewtwo, their jaws surrounded by an aura of dark energy and bit into Mewtwo’s shield. It shimmered for a moment then broke apart like a cracked eggshell sending Mewtwo landing hard on its back on the ground. Mewtwo immediately leaped back to its feet and dodged an Extremespeed attack by Arcanine.

"You little fool!" Mewtwo yelled at Gary, "do you really think that in all the time Mewtwo trained at my gym it learned only Psychic attacks?" Mewtwo proceeded to prove its point as Tyranitar ran at it again. Spinning around and around in a Submission attack Mewtwo knocked Tyranitar off its feet defeating the creature in one hit. It then raised an energy orb to Gary and Arcanine who stood protectively in front of his master, "and now for you two." Suddenly Mewtwo detected a surge of energy; Lugia had gotten back up, Recovered and was now heading their way. Mewtwo looked to them and grimaced as it reabsorbed the orb, "luckily for you I have more pressing matters to attend to." It then flew off.

Gary wasn’t sure what happened but decided to count his blessings. He ran to Tyranitar and checked on it as the creature moaned in pain. "Don’t worry," he said in a reassuring manner, "we’ll get you to a Pokemon Center as soon as we can, just try to hang in there." Looking to Arcanine he stroked the creature gently, "Arcanine we have to keep trying. We can’t give up," the wolf-like pokemon nodded. Gary took up Tyranitar’s Poke Ball and looked at it for a moment before shaking his head. "As it stands now that Tyranitar can’t fight the Legendary Pokemon will probably ignore it so it will be safer here then with me," He then continued in Celebi and Mews direction.

______________________________________________________________________________________

It was well into the night now as Mewtwo rose to meet Lugia again, the full moon shining brightly behind it.

"Quite a glutton for punishment aren’t you Lugia, do you wish to be beaten into the ground again? If so all you had to do was ask."

"Your arrogance will be your downfall Giovanni, I will stop your puppet one way or another even if it means my own end."

"You don’t know how outmatched you are do you? Even if we were equal in power you would still lose because I have abilities you don’t seem to know about yet." Mewtwo proceeded to bring its arms forward creating a slightly different orb them usual in-between them. This one was yellow and rippled with electricity. As Mewtwo threw the attack the orb came apart becoming a Thunderbolt (think how Poliwrath used Ice Beam in "Charizard Chills.") The lightning struck Lugia hard in the chest electrifying its whole body and sending it crashing into the ground. Mewtwo floated over, another electric orb charging in its hands as Lugia got back on its feet.

"I admit that you have an advantage but I will not lose to a lowly criminal," Lugia spat as its eyes flashed white, the scorch marks from the attack disappearing as it used Recover.

"Lowly!" the mutant screamed. Apparently enraged by the word it started to make the orb larger and larger and raised it over its head, eyes glowing blood red. "I am the leader of the worldwide organization Team Rocket! I am the commander of the strongest pokemon on Earth and soon I will be the most powerful man to ever exist!"

"However…" the creature started as it aimed the orb now nearly as big as its body, "tonight I will gladly play your executioner." Mewtwo fired the huge amount of electricity straight towards its target. Lugia waited and at the last second leaped above the attack and into the air with one mighty push of its legs.

"You are still nothing more then a manipulative monster to me," Lugia spoke as it rose above Mewtwo and threw its head back then forward, releasing huge torrent of water from its mouth that might more aptly be called a mini river then a Hydro Pump attack.

Mewtwo raised both hands and with great effort blocked the attack then destroyed it with a huge wave of psychic energy from its body. Lugia was no where to be seen. Sensing something Mewtwo looked up just in time to see Lugia crash down on top of it feet first. The Sea Titan was in free fall with Mewtwo caught in the powerful grasp of its legs it intended to slam its foe into the earth with as great a force as possible but it was not to be. A few seconds before hitting Mewtwo Teleported out of its grasp. Lugia had just managed to stop its descent and level off when Mewtwo began attacking again from behind it. As Mewtwo fired Thunderbolt after Thunderbolt at it Lugia was forced to test its defensive abilities to the limit dodging, spinning and whirling through the sky. Lugia knew full well it couldn’t keep this up forever and quickly formulated a plan.

Just as Mewtwo fired another Thunderbolt Lugia raised its shield sending the attack back at it. Mewtwo simply swiped the electricity away but the split second diversion was all the Legendary Pokemon needed. Spinning its body about at high speed while expelling some water from its mouth Lugia surrounded itself in a Water Spout-like covering before drilling into the earth headfirst. Looking to where the Whirlpool attack had just been used Mewtwo only saw a large hole that Lugia had tunneled and shook its head.

"And what exactly do you intend to accomplish by this my friend? With my psychic abilities it will be a simple matter to find your location and bury you," Mewtwo’s eyes suddenly widened in fear as it tried to search out Lugia’s location. "No this cannot be! It’s using its own psychic powers to shield itself, I cannot sense it."

Off to the side the ground suddenly erupted as a giant column of water twisted its way toward the genetic pokemon. The front of it rammed into Mewtwo and then slammed it into the side of a high tower of rock. The tower broke in half where Mewtwo had hit and fell apart and onto where Mewtwo had, burying the creature. The rope-like Whirlpool continued upwards and then bulged at the top before Lugia exploded from it majestically.

______________________________________________________________________________________

 

Typhlosion, Noctowl and Meganium were trying to find Ash when they came upon the unconscious body of Entei. They began to walk (or fly in Noctowl’s case) past it when the creatures eyes suddenly shot open and it pounced on Typhlosion.

"Typhlosion! [Go! I’ll hold it back.]" Typhlosion growled as it struggled.

The two looked uncertain for a moment but then continued on. "Nium-mega-nium! {please be careful, we’ll get help as soon as we can!]" Meganium called back to him.

With all his might Typhlosion threw Entei over his head sending the creature landing in a heap behind it. Entei got up immediately and roared in challenge at Typhlosion who had positioned himself about thirty feet in front of it. Returning with a roar of its own Typhlosion prepared to fight as fire erupted from its back. The two pokemon started by firing Flamethrowers. As the flames swirled around each other and exploded Typhlosion ran forward and through the diminishing flames before slamming its electrified fist into Entei’s right leg in a Thunder Punch. The beast roared in pain and anger and swiped its opponent away with one powerful paw. Typhlosion flipped through the air and landed on its feet just in time to dodge a Fire Blast from Entei. The two ran at each other again and butted heads Entei proving stronger and knocking Typhlosion back. The volcano pokemon landed on his feet again and then slammed his front legs into the ground launching an Earthquake at Entei. The fire lord leaped away from the attack with incredible speed and rammed into Typhlosion again knocking it into the rock face of the hill that were fighting under. Typhlosion still had some fight left in him and was starting to get up when Entei fired a Hyper Beam at the ledge above it causing it to collapse partly burying Typhlosion. The pokemon exploded from the landslide like a volcano but his energy was too low and he collapsed on the ground seconds after, the flames on his back slowly dying out. Entei walked forward silently and nudged Typhlosion’s unconscious form with a paw to make sure he was out. It then turned and walked away, its long mane flapping majestically in the wind.

______________________________________________________________________________________

Lugia hovered a good hundred feet above the ground where Mewtwo had been buried, once again waiting. It could sense the creature was still alive though it had been injured and was taking time to recover. All of the sudden the ground erupted in a column of bright light (think the scene where Mewtwo destroys the laboratory in MSB) and when it had cleared it left Mewtwo floating a few feet above the ground, breathing heavily but no injuries being apparent.

"Do you really think you are so clever that you can outwit me!" Mewtwo roared as it shot forward at incredible speed, light trailing from its body like a comet. Lugia could neither flee no defend itself as Mewtwo shot past it time and time again ramming into the Titan with devastating force. Every time it would come from a different direction, ramming into and past Lugia’s neck, stomach, back and head. Despite this pummeling Lugia managed to stay in the sky and within a few seconds had worked out the pattern to the attacks. It turned and prepared to block as Mewtwo shot straight towards it but this time Teleported away a moment before impact. Lugia had not expected this and so before it could turn all the way around Mewtwo had reappeared behind it and delivered a devastating kick across its face. Lugia hit the ground hard on its back just as Mewtwo landed on its neck and prepared to fire a blast at close range. Lugia had a similar idea however and opened its jaws wide a brilliant yellow orb charging up right in Mewtwo’s face. The creature leaped away just as Lugia fired the Hyper Beam straight up from where it was laying then arced its way down, Mewtwo avoiding it once again. Lugia charged back into the air and released an Aeroblast, Mewtwo shooting to the side and avoiding it as well while at the same time charging an orb of Thunderbolt energy and shooting it at Lugia. Lugia raised its shield just as the attack struck but was knocked back to the ground (though on its feet this time) by the force of the attack. With another mighty push of its legs the resilient pokemon got back into the air again and, shield raised, sideswiped Mewtwo hard knocking it aside. After flying a bit of distance Lugia turned and faced it another Hyper Beam charging in its mouth. At the same time Mewtwo built up a huge Thunderbolt orb and held its right arm back aiming and preparing to throw it. The two launched their attacks at roughly the same moment but instead of colliding, the beam and orb shot past each other both hitting their targets. Mewtwo was enveloped in the beam and fired backwards hundreds of feet and then into the ground while the Thunderbolt orb hit Lugia squarely in the chest shooting it backward and downwards into a vertical rock face on the side of a hill. As it fell forward several large rocks dislodged from the hill and struck it in the skull causing it to hit the ground unconscious. Meanwhile Mewtwo erupted from the earth in another burst and light, angrier then ever and flew toward Lugia its feet skimming the ground and leaving a trench in its wake from the energy pulsing from its body. Mewtwo intended to ram into the helpless creature and crush it, no matter how many times it had to strike.

______________________________________________________________________________________

From his place on Tauros’ back Ash watched with horror as Lugia fell from the sky. He knew what the creature had told him about going to the shrine but it would have been against his nature to not do what he was about to. "Come one Tauros we got to help Lugia." Tauros mooed a reply and raced toward where they had seen the sea titan fall.

______________________________________________________________________________________

Mewtwo was swiftly bridging the gap between it and its victim. Its face twisted in hate and anger as it prepared to hit. "Your time is over Lugia!"

______________________________________________________________________________________

"Tauros Earthquake!" Ash shouted as the bull, Ash still atop it, leaped from the cliff edge over Lugia and slammed all four hooves into the earth with all his might. The ground in front of them ripped apart and surged forward like an ocean wave. The seismic energy hit the oncoming Mewtwo full force forcing it to stop as the attack went around its shield and continued some distance behind it. Mewtwo still several hundred feet away lifted its head and met them with a menacing gaze as it spoke into their minds.

"Is there no end to your meddling?" it asked as it threw an energy orb at them. The attack hit the ground in front of Tauros exploding, knocking Tauros into the rock face and Ash from his back. Ash landed hard on his side and attempted to get up when his body became surrounded by a psychic aura as Mewtwo, now right in front of him lifted him psychically to his eye level. Ash struggled to break out of its invisible grasp but to no avail.

"It is strange isn’t it?" Mewtwo asked as it stared at Ash, a satisfied expression on its face as it began to lecture. "A strong pokemon attack can shatter stone or destroy a building and yet when used against a human being or another pokemon they usually result only in slight injuries. It seems that even the most devastating pokemon attack is designed only to weaken. Quite an obstacle for someone wishing to use them for terrorism, even Mewtwo suffers from this, what I like to call ‘design flaw’. However as I’m sure you know if used in the right way or if the opponent is already weakened many attacks can prove quite deadly."

As it spoke Mewtwo forced Ash to watch pokemon being taught how to kill other pokemon and people by channeling Giovanni’s memories into Ash’s mind. For instance an Alakazam being trained to use its psychic abilities to lift a knife and throw it at the target. It was painful to watch but as the images ran by Ash began to feel a different pain, a physical one. Ash could feel it more every second and it was ever increasing, his heart, his skin, even his bones all began to feel as though they were being cracked and stretched to the point of tearing. He gasped in shock and fear as he realized what was happening, Mewtwo was going to tear him apart from the inside out. He tried to resist the psychic energy invading him but could barely even slow it down. Mewtwo did seem to notice his efforts though.

"Boy why are you trying to resist? You are only prolonging your own suffering. Let it go and this whole nightmare will be over."

"Never!" Ash hissed back, his teeth and fists clenched. "Go ahead, rip me apart if you can! My friends, my pokemon… they’ll stop you!"

"I’m afraid that isn’t possible. According to the legend the only one that can stop me from fulfilling my version of the prophecy is the greatest pokemon master that will ever live," Mewtwo then narrowed its eyes and smiled ever so slightly, "and I don’t see anyone here who matches that description." Ash screamed as Mewtwo unleashed even more power, he didn’t know how much more he could take. All of the sudden a huge blast of cold wind filled with hundreds of small icicles shot at Mewtwo who still managed to raise a shield as the Blizzard attack bombarded it.

Ash fell to the ground, his whole body ached and he was unable to get up but he still managed to turn his head to the source of the blast. "Tauros…"

Tauros stood, mouth open, firing the Blizzard attack with all his considerable might. Mewtwo had its arms crossed in front of it, shielding it from the attack but unable to do anything else for the time being. Tauros strained to keep the attack up but eventually stopped, dropping to one knee completely exhausted. Mewtwo spread its arms obliterating what was left of the ice around it then formed an energy orb and aimed.

"Your Tauros is very powerful," it remarked, "too bad it was on the losing side." Mewtwo fired the orb and it hit the bull squarely in the chest, exploding and knocking him into the rock face, he didn’t get up this time.

"Tauros no!" Ash cried as he began to crawl toward him. Mewtwo hadn’t broken anything but the teenager was still in a lot of pain. He didn’t frankly care right now though.

Mewtwo aimed another orb this time at Ash. "Now, you die." Ash turned his face just in time to see the psychic bomb hurtling towards him. The orb struck an energy barrier before it could get to him however and Ash looked up to see Lugia standing next to him its left wing held protectively in front of him.

______________________________________________________________________________________

"It seems your death is delayed once again boy," Mewtwo said to Ash as it watched Lugia take on a battle pose in front of him.

"Thank you for holding it off until I recovered Chosen One," Lugia said sincerely.

"Recovered?" Ash was confused by this, "but I thought you could only recover your strength when that flute was played."

"Those were different circumstances," Lugia explained, "under any others I can use the move Recover like any other pokemon." Lugia then noticed Ash looking sadly to his badly injured Tauros. "I will attempt to keep Mewtwo away from your pokemon while we battle but you must reach the shrine or everything you’ve done for me will be in vain. Now go Ash, gather your allies but regardless of what happens you must reach the shrine."

Ash was a bit aghast at Lugia calling him by his name but obeyed and began to run as fast as his aching body would allow in the direction of the shrine. The trek was made all the harder by the huge trenches and large areas of ground that had been churned up and piled together by the fight. It was tough to get through around or over them.

______________________________________________________________________________________

"Isn’t this getting rather redundant?" Mewtwo asked sarcastically as Lugia turned and stood to face it again. "How many times will I have to defeat you before you stay down?"

"Nothing less then death will stop me until you have been defeated."

"Fine by me. As you said I planned on killing you and the other Legendaries anyway and after I have done that your precious Chosen One will be next."

Lugia roared in anger and charged at Mewtwo. Both had their shields up as Lugia rammed into the mutant pokemon causing it to shoot backwards a few hundred feet before Mewtwo could regain its balance and stood ready to continue the fight.

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Lapras cried out in fear as huge streams of Flamethrower and Ice Beam rained down around her. In her panic she fired an Ice Beam of her own but Moltres and Articuno dodged it easily. High above the clouds Ho-oh hovered, waiting to attack when most needed or if there was a good opportunity.

Lapras continually slid back and forth on the ground to avoid the attacks but as she was not very agile on land she was getting badly burned. Suddenly Charizard dropped out of the sky and landed beside her. Lapras smiled glad that help had finally come. The two faced the oncoming birds and fired their attacks just as Moltres and Articuno did, countering Ice Beam with Ice Beam and Flamethrower with Flamethrower. The massive streams of countering energies collided creating a huge energy blast and cloud of smoke above them forcing the birds to turn away momentarily.

"That’s not the way!" they heard Ash’s voice suddenly shout and turned to see him yelling as loud as he could from a nearby hill. "They’re too powerful, go with your type strengths or you’ll never win!" The two pokemon knew what this meant and obeyed, Charizard shooting a Flamethrower right into Articuno’s chest. The bird turned and fled Charizard in pursuit. Lapras fired a huge blast of Hydro Pump from her mouth, striking Moltres hard, the firebird screeched in displeasure then turned about to fight elsewhere.

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Ash smiled, glad that Lapras was safe but then frowned as he looked into the distance to see bright streams of Flamethrower and Ice Beam shooting across the dark sky. He couldn’t, wouldn’t let Charizard fight all alone and so ran to help it.

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Raikou and Zapdos Thunder attacks collided with immense power as the two thunder pokemon faught. Nearby Snorlax confronted Suicune and charged at it, fist raised and surging with energy in a Mega Punch. Suicune was more agile and leaped over the bulky pokemon causing him to smash his fist into the ground where it had stood. Suicune turned around and shot an Ice Beam at Snorlax whom tried to take it but was overcome and frozen.

Zapdos blocked a Thunderbolt from Raikou with its Light Screen and then charged at it. Raikou ran at it and leaped into the air on top of the birds back causing it to crash into the ground where they rolled about several times until Raikou kicked the bird into a rock face where it lay unconscious. The two legendary beasts then left to search for other victims. Unbeknownst to them Snorlax’s eyes had begun to shine yellow in rage and the ice block surrounding him began to crack…

______________________________________________________________________________________

Charizard had thought he had Articuno on the run but it turned out the ice bird was just goading him on. Now he was engaged in the battle of his life as the two performed impressive aerial displays of dodging and maneuvering in their deadly dance hundreds of feet above the earth, slowly getting closer to the ground all the time. After a while of this he reacted a split second too late as Articuno found an opening and shot an Ice beam straight into his chest and not letting up as the beam rocketed Charizard into a high ledge where it crashed in a mess of debris, and frozen rock.

Charizard erupted from the rubble like a phoenix from fire and issued a roar of rage that would cause most men to fall to their knees trembling and yet one small hand placed on his arm was enough to stop the dragon from carrying out his rampage. The dragon looked to Ash, who had managed to get to him via a path carved on the side of the hill, to see why he had stopped him.

"Charizard if you let your anger control you then you won’t stand a chance fighting it on your own. You got to keep a cool head and fight smart," Ash instructed gently. "Now I’m going to ask you to trust me like you’ve never trusted me before will you do that?" the dragon nodded. "Good then I want you to fly out there and get as close as you can to Articuno then get behind it where it won’t be able to defend itself."

Charizard growled in agreement with the plan and spread his wings preparing to fly; he then looked at Ash as if confused. Picking up on the reason Ash placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Listen old friend you’re going to need to really maneuver while you’re out there and I don’t want to weigh you down in the least. I want to be with you but if it hurts you then I could be of more help directing you from the ground. I know you can do this. I believe in you. Now," Ash started as he swung his arm forward and pointed to Articuno, "go!" Charizard issuing a battle cry then took to the air where Articuno waited. As soon as he was in range the bird began to fire Ice Beams again Charizard dodging left and right with phenomenal speed as they shot past and he got ever closer to his target. "That’s it!" Ash called in encouragement, "just keep going!" The dragon continued to dodge.

"Now use Rock Slide to cover your advance," Ash recommended. The mighty dragon spread his arms wide as a few dozen boulders levitated from the ground far beneath them and flew upward surrounding Charizard before the creature threw his arms and wings forward causing the rocks to fly toward Articuno. The bird was just as agile as Charizard and deftly avoided the multiple boulders only getting hit once. That boulder slammed into Articuno’s left shoulder causing the bird to veer off course and lose altitude before it shook off the attack and started to fire at Charizard again.

Charizard had gotten very close when Articuno had gotten lucky and clipped him with an Ice Beam, freezing his right wing and some of his right side. Ash watched in horror as the dragon plummeted toward the ground.

Charizard strained against the ice with all his might as Ash’s words of encouragement echoed in his mind. As it always had it gave him strength; he wasn’t about to let Ash down. With a loud roar and one last great strain the ice shattered leaving his wing free. A roll in mid-air, a quick turn and a few flaps and Charizard was heading straight up toward Articuno more determined then ever.

Ash sighed in relief and then yelled to his friend, "that’s it now get behind it and use Slash!"

Charizard obeyed and after avoiding another Ice Beam he shot up behind it and Slashed Articuno across the back making feathers fly. Articuno cried out in rage and turned around firing an Ice Beam at Charizard, only Charizard was no longer there. Before it could react Charizard slammed into Articuno’s back, locking his claws into its feathers and biting into its neck several times as the bird wheeled about wildly in the sky. Eventually it shook the lizard loose but Charizard managed to stay in control and shot a strong Flamethrower into its side as he fell off. Articuno, now slightly scorched, flew about fifty feet away and shot an Ice Beam straight at Charizard who countered with a Flamethrower. The very different energies exploded and Charizard immediately flew through the cloud to continue attacking, his eyes lit up with the thrill of battle. Again it spat a powerful and long stream of Flamethrower into Articuno who screeched in pain.

"Now Charizard use Fire Spin!" Ash commanded now so in sync with his pokemon that he could communicate easily with Charizard despite the distance separating them.

Charizard shot a stream of fire at Articuno who flew straight up to avoid it. The flames stopped advancing once under their target and began to swirl upward in a circular pattern growing larger all the time. The tornado of fire continued to ascend as Articuno tried to escape. Just as the flames began to engulf it Articuno increased its speed and shot out of the top of the fire column, taking a position high above Charizard both now looking quite tired and frustrated.

______________________________________________________________________________________

Butch slammed his fists onto the computer screen, his eyes crazed; Articuno’s energy had been depleted by more then half. "That little punk isn’t going to get the best of me again, not this time! Articuno Blizzard!" he yelled unnecessarily as he typed the command on the computer.

______________________________________________________________________________________

Articuno hovered high in the sky looking down on the approaching Charizard. It spread its wings wide and let out a loud screech. Right in-between it’s wings a small orb of ice blue energy began to form and grew as cold air swirled around and into it.

"It’s going to use Blizzard," Ash breathed as he tried to figure out what to do. The icy orb continued to grow and Articuno seemed to be in pain. Ash realized that this Blizzard it was being forced to produce would be far larger then usual, possibly the biggest ever. Because of this it was unlikely that Charizard could avoid the attack or get close enough to stop it as was evidenced by Charizard as he attempted to fly to Articuno only to be blasted back by the huge amounts of cold wind now blowing about the bird.

"Charizard I want you to charge up the biggest Fire Blast you possibly can then fire it at Articuno when I tell you," Ash called to his friend hoping the type advantage and Charizards high level of strength and experience would be enough.

Charizard opened his jaws wide as a ball of fire began to grow in his mouth. The ball grew larger and larger as Charizard strained to both keep the flames from firing and stay in the air. Articuno’s own attack was still growing and was now as big as its body, it didn’t look like the attack could be contained much longer.

"Don’t give up! Just keep focused on charging that Fire Blast. It’s going to have to be your strongest ever!"

Charizard continued to charge until it could no more and then waited for Articuno to attack, using what strength it had left to contain the attack. At last with a loud screech Articuno released the attack. A huge amount of cold, hurricane force winds spread from the orb, followed by thousands of shards of ice. Charizard hovered and waited for Ash’s command as the wall of ice, hundreds of feet high and wide, came toward him.

"Now! Fire Blast!" Ash ordered. Charizard released his attack. The giant ball of flame, bigger then Charizard itself rocketed forward like a missile Charizard following the hot path it left behind now understanding what Ash’s plan was. As the fire hit the wall of icy wind it bored through it gradually taking on the more normal X-like shape of most Fire Blast. It continued on towards the target Charizard following and not being harmed by the ice nearly as much because of the tunnel of ice-free air the Fire Blast left behind. Articuno saw the attack coming too late and although now smaller then when it had started the Fire Blast was still strong enough to get through the rest of the Blizzard attack and slam into Articuno’s chest. The Titan of Ice rocketed backward, propelled by the Fire Blast, before it struck the cliff-like side of one of the hills where the fire exploded. A huge amount of dust was thrown into the air where Articuno hit and it was some time before anything could be seen. As the dust at last began to settle Articuno was revealed at the bottom of the hill, unconscious and partially buried in a landslide.

Charizard, now nearly exhausted flew to a rock pinnacle near where Ash was and let out one of his characteristic roars of victory before flying to Ash who hugged him tightly.

"Do you realize what you’ve just done?" Ash asked, stepping away from Charizard and looking him in the eye, a huge smile on the young trainer’s face. "You just defeated a Legendary Pokemon all by yourself!" Charizard shook his head and then placed a hand on his masters shoulder smiling. "Char-zard-izard. [No, we did it together.]" Ash only got teary and hugged the dragon all the tighter.

The tender scene didn’t last long as Charizard sensed something and raised his head to the sky, Ash noticed it had suddenly gotten warmer. The clouds above them evaporated before their eyes as Ho-oh descended its eyes ablaze with fury. As it continued toward them Ho-oh spat a thick stream of flames from its mouth which spun around the huge bird and grew in size. With a flap of its wings the multiple streams of fire separated and sped towards the ledge in the form of dozens and dozens of large fireballs.

"Sacred Fire," Ash though aloud as he watched the rain of fire come towards him many of the fire balls coming together as Ho-oh somehow focused the entire attack on one point. On impulse he stood in front of Charizard in an attempt to protect it. Charizard in turn grabbed Ash and laid him on the ground on his back before placing himself over him and spreading his wings, shadowing Ash in his large frame. "Charizard what are you doing?" Ash asked though he already had a fair idea. Charizard’s face remained stony and unmoved as he watched his master struggle to free himself and begged him not to do what he was about to. He had to do this, there was no other way, he simply didn’t have enough strength left to fly them both away. Just as Ash had made a tough decision when he left him in the Charicific Valley knowing that it was for the best so he was doing so now.

Charizard stayed still as the torrent of fire rammed into his back. The fireball was the size of a house and enveloped the whole ledge, indeed it was now more like a wall of flame. Charizard stood firm straining to keep himself from crushing Ash who lay below him. Even with this protection Ash could feel his skin being burned from the intense heat around them. However all that mattered to the trainer now was the terrible sight of his pokemon, in pain and straining beyond anything its body could handle. The attack was made all the worse as Ho-oh had sent several other Sacred Fire attacks, already forced to be larger and deadlier by Butch and Cassidy, after the first one causing them all to join together into on overwhelming inferno. After what seemed an eternity the flames around them diminished, the attacks power used up. Charizard looked Ash in the face. "Char-charizard? [Are you alright?]" Ash couldn’t find his voice as the creature let out a painful moan and fell to his side unconscious but still breathing… for now. Ash looked his pokemon over, trying unsuccessfully to hold back his tears. He was surprised as he examined its skin. Charizard, a pokemon that could swim through a volcano’s lava with ease, had been burned.

Ash heard a loud angry cry from above and looked to see Ho-oh approaching at high speed, intent on finishing what it had started. "I’ve got to keep it away from Charizard," was the only thing on his mind as he stood and ran along the ledge-like path on the hill. Ho-oh ignored Charizard and went after the moving target shooting several huge Fire Blasts at him. Ash kept ahead of the first two which exploded behind him but saw that the next one would surely hit him, unless… there was several pinnacles of rock near the cliffside that looked to be in jumping range. As the X-like shape of fire raced toward him he leaped from the ledge, avoiding the blast, and landed on his feet on the flat surface of the hundred foot tall stone formation. Ho-oh changed direction and shot another Fire Blast at the rock columns base, Ash leaping to the next one just as it started to fall. Ho-oh knew it was only a matter of time, Ash only had one other to jump to. The next Fire Blast hit the base of the rock pinnacle and caused it to fall as well, Ash barely making it to the final one. Ho-oh’s eyes became as cruel and crazed as Butch as it fired one last blast.

______________________________________________________________________________________

Ash watched silently as the explosive fired destroyed the tower base and the structure began to fall. As he fell through the air he kept his eyes open, hoping that this was all some bad dream, it couldn’t end like this. As he neared the ground he closed his eyes, if this was a dream he would soon find out. At the last second a large form shot down and under Ash, picking him up and going back up with the same great speed. Ash opened his eyes to find himself clinging to the soft feathers of his Pigeot’s back; he was now flying high in the clouds. "Thanks Pigeot," he said with great relief as he scratched the bird’s crest Pigeot responding with a happy cry.

Suddenly a huge amount of fire shot through the clouds from below, Pigeot just managing to dodge them. They were followed by Ho-oh as it flew up behind them madder then ever (reflecting Butch’s emotions) and began to shoot tongues of flame at them in rapid succession. Pigeots Agility was great however and he continually dodged the attacks. Ash however noticed that Ho-oh was quickly gaining on them and that Pigeot could be flying faster then he was. "Do you have a plan?" Ash asked as Pigeot dodged another burst of flame by mere inches, the bird nodded. "Alright I trust you but increase your speed some, Ho-oh’s faster then it looks." Pigeot cawed in reply and started to fly faster, Ho-oh still right behind them. Ash knew they needed something to slow Ho-oh down and upon spotting a small lake down below got an idea.

"Pigeot dive down toward that lake and get as close as you can to the surface before you head back up, maybe we can weaken Ho-oh by submerging it in the lake." Pigeot cried out in agreement as his current plan couldn’t work with Ho-oh so close behind them, maybe this could at least get them enough of a space cushion for the water bombardment he had planned with Noctowls help. Folding his wings Pigeot dropped straight down like a stone Ho-oh following. Ash hung on with all his might and almost blacked out as they neared the water. At the last possible instant Pigeot spread his wings, leveling their descent and heading back up. Ho-oh attempted to do the same but being so much larger could not level off in time and crashed into the water. However the desired effect did not occur. Instead of falling in the water the liquid appeared to part around the bird in a bowl shape, steam flying everywhere. It was then that Ash noticed the air around Ho-oh shimmering with heat, evidently it had somehow heated the air around it so much that it had created a shield that evaporated the water before it could make contact with the birds body.

"This isn’t good," Ash said as Ho-oh flew toward them again.

______________________________________________________________________________________

 

"Tracey you okay?" Brock yelled to his friend as Moltres released another Fire Blast, blowing a huge crater into the ground near where Tracey was sheltering behind a rock. Moltres had ambushed them and Tracey was separated from the group as it began to rain fire down on them.

"I’m alright just go one without me!" Tracey called back.

"No way," Brock yelled steadfastly, "we’re not beat yet and I’m not abandoning anyone unless we have no other choice. Crobat go! Onix give it some cover, Rock Slide!"

Crobat flew forward at great speed, dodging many Flamethrowers before Onix released the levitated rocks around it. Most of the attack struck Moltres, weakening it. In anger it swiped at Crobat with a Wing Attack the bat once again dodging but still being injured by the embers that flew from the firebirds wings.

"Crobat use Protect then Confuse Ray!" Crobat obeyed and flew closer to Moltres getting right in the path of an incoming Flamethrower. Crobat completely nullified the attack with its Protect shield and then shot an orb of pulsing, ghostly energy from its mouth. The orb struck Moltres in the chest and seemed to be absorbed directly into its body. The bird’s eyes glowed red and it began to fly and fire Flamethrowers in random directions obviously confused.

"Now’s our chance, Graveler, Forretress, Explosion!" Brock commanded as Onix used its coils to throw them high into the air towards Moltres. Moltres was enough out of its confusion by now to see them coming and fired a Flamethrower straight into them. Despite this they continued forward, taking a lot of damage in the process, and struck Moltres in the chest exploding on contact. Even it couldn’t take the combined force of the powerful attacks and fell backwards hitting the ground hard on its back and lying there completely unconscious. Graveler and Forretress lay on the ground their energy at the bare minimun but they were safe for now. "Graveler, Forretress!" Brock called to them from the hill, "we’ll get you some help as soon as we can just hang in there!" the two pokemon nodded and Graveler raised its hand in a thumbs up sign to show it understood that the others had to keep going.

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"Are we getting closer," Ash asked as Pigeot dodged another blast of fire from Ho-oh. Pigeot nodded and looked down to a canyon-like area they were approaching. It was a dead end canyon that looked to be a few hundred feet long with sides at least fifty feet high as well as a high drop-off near the entrance that consisted of a rather steep hill covered in large boulders. Ash also noticed the shrine to be within running distance of the canyon. "So that’s it," Ash surmised, "quick let’s get down there," Pigeot screeched in reply and dove some distance before it leveled out. Now flying only a few feet above the ground he maintained his speed and headed for the canyon entrance. Ho-oh surprisingly was just as adept at flying low to the ground and continued behind them still shooting flames and Swift attacks but now it was far enough behind them for Pigeot’s plan to work.

The two shot past the entrance, Ho-oh only a few seconds behind them but that was all that was needed. As soon as Ash and Pigeot were clear four huge streams of water and a bolt of electricity fired from the canyon and struck Ho-oh in the side. The mighty bird screeched in pain as it was pushed off course and crashed into the ground making a large trench. Pigeot turned about and entered the canyon. Ash was happy to find many of his pokemon there. Pikachu ran over and jumped in his arms crying a happy "Pika-pi!" Ash looked up and saw the others who had attacked. Feraligatr and Blastoise had used Hydro Pump, while Kingler shot a Water Gun and Noctowl used Mirror Move to copy their attacks. Meganium and Venusaur stood behind the others.

"You gathered them all here and planned this all by yourself?" Ash asked. Pigeot nodded and blushed but Noctowl flew over and pecked him on the head uttering some choice phrases before Pigeot admitted the clever owl had helped. Ash congratulated them both but then stopped and turned around as a loud and angry screech reverberated through the canyon walls. Ho-oh had gotten back up, its eyes fiery with rage. Still on the ground the phoenix raised its wings and released a huge torrent of fire from its mouth.

"Attack now!" Ash ordered as his Pokemon got in position and fired a retaliating wall of water. Feraligatr and Blastoise used Hydro Pump, Pigeot and Noctowl copying it with Mirror Move. Kingler meanwhile used Bubblebeam. After several seconds Ho-oh stopped and stood there apparently calm as the water pokemon tried to reload quickly. "Now’s our chance, attack again before it does." The pokemon obeyed and shot out their attacks again but this time Ho-oh made no attempt to attack back. It simply stood there and spread its wings. The powerful streams of water continued forward then suddenly disintegrated with great burst of steam about ten feet in front of the bird. "Its using that heat shield again," Ash said to himself as his pokemon attacked again but still to no avail. Ho-oh fired its flames again, the water attacks only barely keeping it back this time, and continued to fire with no signs of tiring. Pikachu released a Thunderbolt but just as Blain’s Magmar had once done the heat blocked that as well. "We’re going to need a lot more water power," Ash murmured, not sure what to do then heard a familiar and welcome voice call to him from up above.

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"Did someone mention water?" Misty asked with a cocky smile as she surfed down a less steep part of the canyon ledge on Starmie, her other pokemon following close behind. "Never fear Mighty Misty’s here!" She proclaimed as she posed with her pokemon in the background.

"Misty! You’re alright," Ash cried happy to see her. "Of course I am stupid!" she shot back. "I don’t take foolish risk unlike some people I know." Ash was about to think up a come back when Misty’s eyes got emotional and she ran forward and hugged him. "I was so afraid something happened to you," she whispered in his ear. Ash took her face in his hands gently, "hey it’s like I told you, we’ll be fine just wait and see." Misty took his hands and smiled then turned serious, "Ash I have to tell you about the legend now."

"Well it will have to wait until after we beat Ho-oh," Ash replied sternly as he looked to his pokemon who didn’t look like they could keep up their attacks much longer.

Misty nodded, "alright everyone Hydro Pump now!" All of her pokemon lined up and fired huge blast of water towards Ho-oh; even Togetic did by Metronoming a Hydro Pump. Ho-oh was still blocking the attacks of Ash’s pokemon when it spotted the other Hydro Pumps and raised its wings increasing the heat shield even more. "Everyone full power!" Misty commanded. Instantly the streams of water increased in size, width and force as her pokemon put everything they had into the attacks. Upon seeing the even larger torrent Ho-oh shot another blast of flame which was quickly destroyed by the water which then struck the birds heat shield. Huge clouds of steam shot everywhere as Ho-oh tried to keep the water at bay. It then let out a screech of rage as it was finally overcome, the water getting through the barrier and slamming into its body like a ton of bricks. What followed looked like an explosion of water as the liquid circled over what was left of the heat shield and crashed onto Ho-oh’s body before the majestic phoenix let out one last mighty screech and hit the wet ground unconscious.

Ash and Misty stood stunned at the sight until Ash sighed and turned away. "Well what do we do now? What’s this temple have to do with anything?"

"Well first of all I’ll tell you what’s going on here," Misty replied giving him a look that showed it was important for him to listen. "Now for starters this is all part of an ancient legend and if we don’t win the Elite Four say the world will be plunged into darkness so we have to get the…"

"The Elite Four are here?! Where?!" Ash interrupted in a quite giddy way.

"Yes they’re here on the other side of that forcefield," Misty said and pointed to the edge of the shield in the distance, "now quit interrupting me!"

"Okay, okay" Ash replied raising his hands defensively but before she could say anything else huge bolts of lightning began to rain down on them. The two dove for cover and then spotted the source at the top of one canyon wall. Raikou. The beast charged up and shot a huge amount of electricity in a Thunder attack down into the canyon. Misty’s pokemon got in front of her and took the blast as did Feraligatr, Kingler and Blastoise, the bird pokemon managing to dodge it and Pikachu, Meganium and Venusaur managing to endure it. Ash and Misty watched in horror as their Water pokemon collapsed defeated. Misty bent down crying and hugged Togetic, now the only one of her pokemon still conscious. Ash watched as Raikou jumped agilely from ledge to ledge, landed and then leaped at him with such speed that Ash had no time to react. Pikachu did however and fired a Thunderbolt, striking Raikou in the side and knocking it away from Ash, the beast landed on its feet, barely fazed and now blocking the entrance to the canyon. Pigeot flew at Raikou in a Quick Attack but was knocked back by Raikou’s own before it fired a Thunderbolt knocking out the bird and sending it crashing down in front of Ash. "Meganium Light Screen!" Ash called just in time as he cradled Pigeot. Meganium ran in front of them and erected the Light Screen just as Raikou fired another Thunderbolt; she strained against the force of the blow but managed to hold the shield. Ash was trying to think of what to do next when a large ball of sludge struck Raikou in the face and blew apart all over it temporally blinding the creature. As Raikou pawed at its face attempting to remove the sludge Ash spotted some welcome shapes coming down the side of the canyon that Misty had.

"Need some help?" Tracey asked as he and Brock slid down on Onix. "You’re just in time," Misty and Ash cried simultaneously." "Alright let’s take this guy down," Brock said as he and Tracey leaped off Onix. "Onix Earthquake attack!" he ordered as the rock snake slammed its tail into the ground sending a seismic wave at Raikou. "Meganium help it, Earthquake!" Ash called as the grass type ran forward and slammed her feet into the earth adding more energy to the Earthquake. Raikou had gotten the sludge out of its eyes by now and leaped away holding onto the vertical side of the canyon and thus escaping the attack. It then leaped at Misty jaws open. Togetic jumped in the way and Metronomed a Twister attack to save its master/mother. Raikou spun about several times in the Twister before seeming to tear the tornado apart with its jaws and claws and landing on its feet.

Togetic got ready to attack again and looked at Ash quickly. "Toge! Toge tic! [Daddy! Take care of mommy!] Togetic then flew at it, body covered with energy, in a Double Edge attack, Raikou knocking it back with a Quick Attack and then crushing the young pokemon in a Crunch attack before dropping the unconscious Normal type at its feet, the poor creatures shell cracked in several places.

"Togetic!" Misty screamed and tried to run forward but Ash and Tracey held her back. "You can’t help it!" Tracey yelled as he tried to hold the fiery red head back. Misty broke loose and turned to them, "I don’t care if that thing is controlled by Team Rocket I’m not going to let it kill my little Togetic!"

Ash was about to try to reason with her when Raikou raised its head and let loose a loud roar, Pikachu looked fearful and ran to Ash’s side. "What is it?"

Pika-pi-pik-pikachu! [Ash it’s calling for Suicune to help it!]"

"Then we have to defeat it fast, Noctowl use Confusion!"

"Right!" Brock agreed, "Crobat use Sludge Bomb again!"

The two pokemon raced at Raikou, Crobat being a much faster flyer attacking first. It spat a large sphere of sludge from its mouth but this time Raikou blocked it with its Reflect then fired out a Thunderbolt Crobat just managing to dodge. Noctowl’s eyes glowed as it was surrounded by a psychic aura and used it to lift several large rocks and fling them at Raikou. The Thunder Pokemon swatted them aside easily and tried to Crunch him, Noctowl dodging this by inches as well.

The group turned at the sound of another loud roar and saw Suicune as it leaped down on the dead end side of the canyon. With the entrance blocked by Raikou they had nowhere to go. The water monarch attacked Onix first, releasing dozens of large bubbles from its mouth that blew apart with great flashes of light as they struck. Onix took the Bubblebeam head on and crashed to the ground unconscious and weak.

Noctowl flew at Raikou again and released another Confusion attack. This time it surrounded the beast in a psychic aura lifted it a good twenty feet into the air then sent it flipping to smash into the ground. It was then that a huge beam of ice shot into its back ramming the golden owl into the side of the canyon before it crashed to the ground partly frozen and defeated.

"Venusaur Razor Leaf now!" Ash commanded as the large Grass type released dozens of spinning razor-edged leaves from under its fronds and sent them flying at Suicune. Suicune released a blast of Icy Wind from its mouth completely stopping and freezing the leaves. It then spotted Crobat charging at it in a Fly attack and shot another Ice Beam knocking the already tired bat from the sky and hard into the ground near Onix. Brock ran to them frantic and knelt beside them to see if he could get them to wake up.

"Ash, Misty behind you!" Tracey shouted as the duo turned just in time to see Raikou bearing down on them while Meganium and Venusaur continued to battle Suicune. Pikachu leaped in front of them and fired a Zap Cannon knocking Raikou back. The beast wasn’t effected much however and fired a huge amount of electricity from its body straight at the electric rodent. Pikachu responded with his own stream of lightning and the two energies struck each other in a great burst of light. The two then stood firm and kept their attacks up neither one making much headway.

"Pika-pi-pika-pika {Ash, Misty get out of here fast]" Pikachu struggled to speak as he continued to block the huge attack with his own. Before they could respond though the sounds of titanic battle were heard above and they spotted Lugia and Mewtwo still going strong, the light from their collisions illuminating the whole sky.

Lugia smashed Mewtwo into the ground near the canyon with a strong strike of its wing and then flew toward it, feet first, and hit the ground in front of it launching a huge Earthquake attack. Mewtwo slammed its fist into the ground, its eyes glowing, forcing the seismic wave to pass far under it and resurface where the others were fighting. The result was a huge upheaval of earth and rock that left Brock, Onix, Crobat and Tracey on the same ground they were on but about thirty feet higher. As rocks rained down from the canyon walls Ash raced forward and grabbed Noctowl just before a large boulder would have fallen on it. Luckily none hit Pigeot who was too big for them to move easily. With another blast of its Hyper Beam Lugia shot the shielded Mewtwo back into the sky and safely away before following after it. Amazingly Raikou and Pikachu had managed to maintain there footing and continued to fire their Thunderbolts.

"You guys alright?" Ash called to Brock and Tracey from their new perch.

"We’re fine but you better go on without us, it will take us too long to get down from here without Onix’s help," Brock replied as he helped Tracey up.

Meganium shot another Solarbeam at Suicune as did Venusaur but the creature was simply too fast and agile for the bulky Grass types and leaped away from both beams. Suicune crouched and prepared to release an Ice Beam at them when rope-like bolts of lightning shot down from the sky and enveloped it. Zapdos hovered above maintaining the Thunder Wave and keeping Suicune locked in paralysis.

"Solarbeam now!" Ash, still holding Noctowl, yelled to Meganium and Venusaur who responded in turn. The twin beams of light shot into the paralyzed Suicune who howled in pain and frustration as it tried to endure the hit. At the same time Zapdos released a Thunderbolt, the combined attacks were too much for even this Water pokemon and it collapsed to its knees and then its side, defeated.

"Thanks Zapdos!" Ash cried, Zapdos responding with the biggest smile something with a beak can make. At the same instant unfortunately it was hit with a huge blast of flame from the ground and knocked from the sky. Entei had returned. It walked up to the injured and weakened Zapdos and Headbutted it knocking the bird unconscious. Entei then leaped from the canyon top straight to the bottom and stood in front of Ash and Misty. It blew a stream of flame separating the two with a wall of fire then went after Ash deeper into the canyon.

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Pikachu wanted to protect Ash but if he let up on the Thunderbolt then he wouldn’t be able to do anything for them. He began to sweat and moan in pain such was the strain on his body to keep this power level up. If there was any consolation it was that Raikou also seemed to be losing energy.

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"That Pikachu’s power is incredible," Cassidy said in shock as Raikou’s energy graph fell quickly.

"Yes," Butch agreed, "but it will definitely fall before Raikou does."

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Meganium and Venusaur ran at Entei who quickly dispatched them with twin Fire Blast and a large shot of Flamethrower. The two Grass types fell on their sides among the dying flames, unable to get up. Ash looked on in horror and stood his ground, futile as it was; there was nowhere to run. Entei opened its jaws and fired a Flamethrower, Ash just managing to get out of the way, then leaped at the boy. Ash ran forward causing Entei to overshoot and land behind him. The creature roared in frustration and leaped again this time hitting Ash with a hard swipe of its right paw and sending the boy crashing into the canyon wall then the ground where he rolled several times then came to rest stunned, scraped and bruised. Entei stood over him and with a menacing growl lifted its right paw high over its head to crush him…

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Notes:

 

Hope you enjoyed the chapter and I hope you found the battles entertaining… man they’re a lot more exciting in my head then written down!

Next time the conclusion of the clash of the titans and Giovanni’s true plans are revealed.