“Whispers in the Dark”

Chapter 8: Thunder of God

By: Crichton55

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Disclaimer: Aww, no author’s note? Damn, there’s only this needless disclaimer saying rather annoyingly “Crichton55 does not own Pokemon!”

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Reality flooded her vision once more. The sounds of the countless machines buzzed relentlessly in her ears. Her thoughts were out of control, ravaging her brain like wildfire. Misty leaned over to Ash and whispered in his ear. “Ash, Is ‘Ketchum’ your mother’s maiden name?”

Ash was caught off guard by her inquiry, but restrained himself from making a sudden movement that would likely draw Giovanni’s attention. “No, it’s not,” he breathed. “She married when I was four. I think I overheard her once talking to a friend about a guy she almost married around fifteen years ago, but she got pregnant with me and left him. I’m not sure what her maiden name is. I wanna say it’s ‘Clearwater,’ but I’m not positive. Why?”

Misty’s mind exploded. She couldn’t believe it. No, she didn’t want to believe it. All the evidence had to be lying to her. The initials D.C. couldn’t possibly stand for “Delia Clearwater.” The more she tried to convince herself otherwise, however, the more she began to realize that there was no other explanation. She couldn’t think of anyone else that fit the initials.

Her mind continued to skim through the information for the umpteenth time, Ash’s curiosity regarding her random question forgotten. Ash just had his fourteenth birthday around three months ago, she thought to herself. So Delia must have gotten pregnant with him roughly fifteen years ago. The guy she left must’ve been Ash’s biological father. The initials on the patches I saw on her dresser a few years ago at Ash’s house had to have been the two’s initials, and each had gotten a copy of the two patches. One of them had D.C. and the other had G.R. Giovanni had been the Viridian City Gym Leader, which would explain the Earth Badge and the letter “G” as the first initial. That could only mean one thing. Giovanni is Ash’s real father.

Misty shuddered as the thought tore through her brain with the momentum of a dump truck, but she knew she didn’t have much time to reassess the possibility. She leaned over to Brock, nudging him in the side to attain his attention. “Ow, what?” he moaned quietly. “Brock, be ready to use Onix.” Brock grunted in understanding, though he failed to understand how it could make any difference. “How the hell is that gonna help us,” he whispered back. “The most that’s going to do is just piss him off more!”

Giovanni turned his attention to the Rocket controlling the computer behind Ash, Misty, and Brock. “Dr. Raymond! How's our little lab rat doing?” he inquired from across the room with a slight chuckle that sent a shiver down the trio's spines. The Rocket technician, busy with the computer, looked up from his machinery. “He's showing some resistance, sir, but nothing Ol' Bessie here can't handle,” he replied calmly, patting the tangled mess of wires rather affectionately.

Brock noticed the strong Southern accent the Rocket possessed. He didn't come from a very southern-oriented background as much as others, but all the new trainers that had wandered into his Gym over the years made the accent extremely difficult, if not impossible, to rid his mind of. He had eventually learned how to mimic it, though due to all the various trainers that had pounded it into his head during his leadership of the Pewter City Gym, he had grown to hate it.

Giovanni's booming voice jerked Brock out of his thoughts. “Very good! Bring him up to maximum power output,” he ordered. The Rocket, who had been typing so fast that his fingers were blurs, gave Giovanni a skeptical look, his hands no longer flying across the keyboard. “But sir, wouldn't that overload the frequency generator?”

Giovanni's lips curled into a slight smirk. “Oh, this'll be all over before that happens. Do it, now!” He nodded his head at the Rocket, who pushed a lever up as far as it could go.

The lights dimmed slightly. If there was any slight aura that had surrounded Mewtwo, whatever the Rocket did had intensified its glow. The Pokémon hovered beside Team Rocket's leader, bathed in a cocoon of red energy. His eyes shone blood red.

“Mewtwo,” said Giovanni ominously. Mewtwo's expression did not change, nor did his gave divert from the trainers before him. “Make sure they never bother us again. Shadow Ball attack, now!”

They were defenseless, completely unprotected against Mewtwo's destructive attacks. Ash, Misty, and Brock watched in terror as a dark ball of crackling energy swelled in the psychic Pokémon’s hands. Ash wrapped his arms tightly around Misty, knowing that a hit from one of the attacks would have devastating results. As though he were throwing a baseball, Mewtwo chucked the Shadow Ball at the trio.

There was no possible way Ash could have expected it. Seemingly from nowhere, a large bolt of electricity slammed into the psychic attack, knocking it off course and forcing it to crash into a wall. Ash spun around, looking in the direction the electric attack had originated.

He felt like he had just been hit by a bus. The sensation that felt like his stomach had just gotten shocked spread throughout his body as he stared at Pikachu, who stood on all fours, glaring at Mewtwo as electricity crackled around his cheeks.

Ash stood rooted to the spot, confusion rippling through him. This didn't make sense. He had deposited Pikachu into his PC Box to keep him safe before he had Mewtwo Teleport them all to Mt. Silver. How did he get out, or better yet, how did he get to Mt. Silver?

Something in the doorway moved slightly, drawing his attention. He saw the dark outline of Jessie, James, and Meowth shift in the shadows, and immediately he understood. The trio knew that Pikachu was one of his strongest Pokémon. They must've seen him deposit Pikachu in the Goldenrod City Pokémon Center, and withdrawn him at the one he remembered seeing a few miles away from the mountain. The logic made perfect sense, for he was sure that the Center was close enough to have a few Rockets working there instead of the trademark Nurse Joy. The trio's Team Rocket uniforms would have been the perfect cover for them to walk over to the computer and hack into his Pokemon Storage account. Nodding with agreement, an action which the former thieves appeared to understand before vanishing into the darkness, Ash returned his attention to Pikachu, who was growling loudly.

A slow and ominous, yet familiar, clapping noise echoed through the large room. Giovanni’s smirk intensified as he addressed the small electric rodent. “Well done, Pikachu, well done. Your power is impressive, exactly what I value in a strong Pokemon. You would be a very valuable asset to Team Rocket,” he praised in a fake compassionate voice that caused a surge of anger to erupt in Ash’s mind.

Pikachu’s growl increased in volume and the electricity that flowed from his cheeks jumped erratically around his yellow body. “I don’t buy that!” he roared in his own Pokemon language. “You can never turn me away from Ash!” Ash felt a rush of affection as he watched Pikachu’s stance become even tenser.

“Don’t be so naïve, Pikachu,” said Giovanni in the same soft voice that continued to disgust Ash. “You are a strong Pokemon, yes. Your loyalty is immeasurable and unwavering. Your power is difficult to overcome, but I can help you become powerful enough to defeat any opponent. I can make you so strong that the planet itself will quake in fear! You would be able to destroy a thousand armies with a single bolt of lightning! Mewtwo here would be no match for you!”

Ash noticed that Pikachu’s stance was deteriorating, the crackling energy around his body dissolving. He knew that his buddy was losing his sense of reason, and if he didn’t do something in the next few seconds, he would lose Pikachu. He glanced at Misty, who, despite her horrified expression, nodded in silent agreement.

“Pikachu!” Ash and Misty’s combined shouts echoed around the room, grabbing the electric rodent’s attention. “Don’t listen to him, Pikachu,” Ash yelled. “He can never train you to be like that! You’re already stronger than he could ever hope to make you! Don’t give in to him!” He looked over to Misty, who took his hand momentarily and gave it a slight squeeze. “We all believe in you, Pikachu!” she shouted.

Pikachu seemed to have been wrenched from his hypnotized state, for he shook his head and growled once more, the electricity once again engulfing his body. “You bastard, Giovanni! I will never become your little chess piece!”

Giovanni chuckled slightly. “Very well,” he said calmly. “Mewtwo, give him a little appetizer of what power he can possess if he joins Team Rocket!” Mewtwo’s eyes glowed blood red, the aura that surrounded him flickering like fire. Pikachu strengthened his stance, bracing for another Shadow Ball attack.

But none came. An explosion of immense pain erupted within Pikachu, spreading through his body like a tidal wave. He no longer knew where he was; he only knew the burning pain that plagued him. He began to lose control of his limbs, for they began to twitch and jerk uncontrollably.

As quickly as it had come, the pain vanished, and he became aware that he had been screaming. He got up and resumed his battle-ready posture, ignoring Ash’s scream of terror. “Ha! Is that the best you got, Mewtwo!” he taunted, a spontaneous wave of energy flowing through him.

Misty glanced at Brock, who nodded. He raised his arm to throw the PokeBall that contained Onix, but Pikachu’s shrill screech made him stop. “Brock, no! Using him won’t do anything! Let me handle this!” Frowning solemnly, Brock returned the PokeBall to his pocket.

Mewtwo’s expression did not change as he launched a Shadow Ball at Pikachu, an attack which the mouse dodged without much effort. “What the hell’re you shootin’ at?” he laughed maniacally.

Mewtwo attacked once more, the dark purple energy sphere missing Pikachu, who jumped again, by mere millimeters. “Oh, you can’t hit nothin’!”

As soon as Pikachu had started to fall from dodging the Shadow Ball attack he realized his mistake. A third attack slammed into him with sickening force, which sent him spiraling out of control. He collided with the wall and fell to the floor, landing in a crumpled heap.

“PIKACHU!” Ash ran over to his friend, but Pikachu spoke up. “NO! Don’t try to help me, Ash! Get yourselves out of here while you still can! I’ll take care of this!”

Ash stopped, shaking his head furiously. “No, I won’t! I’m not leaving you!” he shouted. Pikachu got to his feet and shook the dust off his fur. “Dammit, Ash, stop trying to be the hero! Leave now, before it’s too late!” Pikachu began to growl once more.

Ash ground his teeth in suppressed anger. “No, I refuse to leave you here, Pikachu!” he boomed. “If there’s anything you’ve taught me it’s that you never abandon your friends!” He’s right, Pikachu thought.

He averted his attention to Mewtwo. “Fine! Do what you want! Just get out of the way. This could get pretty ugly!” Ash obediently returned to Misty’s side as Pikachu marched forward toward Mewtwo. All my training has prepared me for this moment, he thought.

“Sorry, Mewtwo. ‘Filleted Mouse’ has been removed from the menu…”

Pikachu jumped swiftly to avoid another volley of Shadow Balls, but the curse of fatigue and the pain of being tossed around like a rag doll was too much for the small electric rodent. One of the basketball-sized spheres of psychic energy slammed full force into his face, sending him spiraling across the control room. He crashed into the wall with a sickening thud.

The small Pokemon ignored his trainer's scream and rose slowly to his feet and shakily walked to the middle of the room. The pain of the numerous cuts, scrapes, and bruises was excruciating, but Pikachu forced himself to ignore it. He knew he had to keep Mewtwo, who glared at him with glowing red eyes, from attacking Ash, Misty, and Brock for as long as he could. He knew that he did not have the ability to withstand another Shadow Ball attack; he had to act now while he still could.

A final option fluttered across his mind, but he mentally cringed at the idea. He did not want to use it. He didn't even want to try. Pikachu had always known that the attack was legend amongst electric Pokemon, that no Pokemon in living memory had been able to reproduce the attack that had destroyed half a city centuries ago. No-one knew how the old Pikachu had done it. Stories told of him being on the verge of death, and of a hundred foot wide pillar of light wiping out anything within a half-mile radius. They never found the old Pokemon after that night. Some Pokemon believed that he sacrificed his life to defeat the gargantuan Dragonite, while others say he scampered off and died a natural death in the forest a few days later. Regardless of what became of the old mouse, Pikachu knew that the body of the Dragonite continued to lie were it fell for months.

Pikachu wobbled as he stopped in the center of the room. He turned to face Ash, who stood twenty feet away with a horrified expression plaguing his face. He nodded his yellow head grimly before directing his attention to Mewtwo. Legend or not, I have to try. I must protect Ash. The thought steamrollered through his weak mind as he breathed what he was sure to be his last breath.

The lights in the control room dimmed. Pikachu's eyes began to glow brightly as a white aura surrounded his beaten body. He began to rise into the air, his arms outstretched. He opened his mouth, a low yet loud rushing sound rippling through the large room. Everyone was unable to move, eyes transfixed on the small electric rodent.

There was a colossal explosion. Ash, Misty, and Brock were blown backwards as a gigantic pillar of crackling light crashed through the ceiling as though it were nothing, encasing a glowing Pikachu in a bath of radiant electricity. The cylinder of light grew in brightness exponentially, ejecting huge bolts of lightning in every direction.

Ash had never seen this kind of power before. He had never seen Pikachu being capable of producing anywhere near this kind of energy. He watched in awe and horror, mouth wide open, as the intensifying bolts of electricity blew apart any computer or piece of machinery that was unfortunate enough to be in their way.

Pikachu let out the loudest bloodcurdling screech Ash had ever heard him made. Another loud blast rent the air, and as though it were being channeled through a large pipe the pillar of electricity changed direction. The immense bolt of lightning crashed into Mewtwo with the force of a bomb. The psychic Pokemon screamed in pain as the energy steamrollered through his body.

But it seemed Pikachu had suddenly lost control of the force he was dictating. The crackling bolts spiked in intensity, the cylinder of energy beginning to move in an erratic pattern, destroying anything that got caught in its wake. The countless computers that decorated the room were quickly and unceremoniously blown apart.

The beam of light passed across the central computer, and the horrified Rocket, still tethered to the unending rope of wires, screamed in immense pain. The computer exploded violently, sending twisted scraps of metal and wiring careening through the air.

As quickly as the pandemonium had started, it came to a screeching halt. The pillar vanished and Pikachu fell to the floor with a sickening thud. “PIKACHU!” Ash's scream of terror echoed off the ruined walls as he ran to Pikachu's side.

The small electric rodent lay motionless in front of him. The vast majority of his yellow fur had assumed a dark tinge of black. His whole body was smoking slightly and giving off an odor similar to that of burnt dryer lint. His eyes were glued shut.

A small tear formed in Ash's eye and fell to the floor. No, he thought numbly. Pikachu can’t be…but he could not allow the thought to formulate in his mind. He reached out his hand to run it through the blackened fur and retracted it quickly. Pikachu’s body was hot to the touch.

Movement out of the corner of Ash’s eye gripped his attention. Turning his head, he saw Mewtwo floating towards him, surrounded in a rippling blue aura.

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A/N: I hope you liked this chapter, as it was more fun than usual to write. I hope I wasn’t too hard on asking for reviews last chapter. Please review, even if you have anything bad to say about this fic. Tell me something I’m screwing up or doing wrong, I don’t care. Keep telling me, because it wouldn’t be near as much fun to write this without being critiqued. Oh, and before I forget…The idea with Ash being recovered by Mewtwo wasn’t originally my idea, I must confess. I can’t remember the fic name or the author or where I read it, but it was their idea; I just tweaked it. I give them full credit for it. Bye bye!