******** Pokemon, Asylum of the Damned Chapter LVIII Saga XII- Exodus Saga Chapter V- ...And His Name is Moltres ******** Tom's jaw was still gaping open. Porygon Two stood absolutely still in awe. "It's a Mmuh... Muh..." Tom weakly stuttered, his tongue tripping over itself. "It... can't be..." Porygon Two murmured. "Well, he is," said Senai coolly. "Tom, you're a bright lad. Anyone else I knew would have paid that story your Porygon told you no mind." Blazing wings of fire slowly flexed in and out from the bright body of the giant inferno of a bird before them. Tom felt the temperature rise with every flap, feeling another drop of sweat roll down his forehead. "A Moltres!" Tom finally gasped. "Indeed he is," Sensai commented. The mere sight of the legendary Pokemon made Tom weak in the knees. The Moltres glared at the three of them, but mostly kept his eyes on Tom. "I knew it!" Tom cheered, "There was a legendary Pokemon on this island!" Tom quickly grabbed a Pokeball on his belt. Moltres suddenly screeched and shot out a blast of fire at Tom's hand. Tom yelped as he dropped the Pokeball to the ground, flicking his wrist madly. Tom looked back at the Moltres, who glared back at him angrily. "What's he doing here?" Porygon Two asked. "We don't know," said Sensai. "Tropius and I found him here one day, and for some reason, he refuses to leave." Tom looked at his singed Pokeball on the ground, and then he noticed Moltres was staring holes through it. "If you knew there was a Moltres here, why didn't you tell me?" Tom asked. "When put into the wrong hands," Sensai, "A Pokemon this powerful could be disasterous. I can't keep him here forever, even though he refuses to leave... or even eat." Tom noticed a pile of fruit, like the ones dangling from Tropius' jaw, sitting at Moltres' feet. "I fear he would starve to death first before he thought of leaving this cave, so I needed someone to take him back into the outside world. I had to test you, Tom, to see if you could handle a Pokemon like this." Tom looked at Moltres and began to ponder. "Any idea why he won't move?" Tom asked. "Tropius and I have tried to talk to him, but he just won't listen. He's intent on staying in this cave, and there's nothing I can do about it." Tom paused and rubbed his chin. "Wait a second. Porygon, remember when we were in the Safari Zone?" "Yeah?" "Remember how you used that psychic link between me and Kangaskhan?" Tom cut his words off there. "Well, I suppose I could do that again," Porygon Two said, glancing at Moltres. Porygon Two drove up to Moltres and looked him straight in the eyes. As soon as they made eye contact, Porygon Two's eyes began to glow. The two remained motionless for minutes on end until Porygon Two finally stirred. "Now that's a story," Porygon Two muttered as his eyes returned to normal. "What?" Tom asked eagerly, "What happened?" Porygon Two glanced at Moltres again. "Should I let you two talk to each other?" it asked. Tom looked at Moltres again, who glared back at him. "May as well," said Tom. Porygon Two's eyes began to glow again, and immediately, Tom felt his thoughts become linked with Moltres'. "What do you want?" Tom felt Moltres growl at him. "Hey, I just want to talk," Tom thought back. "Talk is cheap," Moltres snorted back at him. "Actions speak louder than words, human." "What did I do to you?" Tom asked. "You tried to put me in that... Pokeball," Moltres growled with disgust. Tom looked down at his feet, looking at the charred Pokeball. "Sorry," Tom thought, "Impulse." "You wanted to add me to your little collection, didn't you?" Moltres sneered. "Alright, I said I was sorry," Tom thought. "Would you care to know what it's like inside a Pokeball?" Moltres asked Tom. "Imagine being trapped inside something with your body in millions of pieces." "Well, okay," Tom weakened, "I know that some Pokemon don't like them," Tom agreed, "But Moltres, you can't just stay in here." "And go back to being hunted by any fool with a Pokeball?" Tom paused. "Porygon, sever the link," he said. Porygon Two's eyes returned and Tom felt his mind become his own again. "Porygon, how much do you know about Pokeballs?" Tom asked. "If it's anything electronic, I can learn it quickly," said Porygon Two. "Porygon, you know how modern Pokeballs create an thin electromagnetic field around the Pokemon they've captured?" Porygon Two nodded. "So thin that it's vitrually non-existant? Yeah," it said. "That's just a mechanism to repel other Pokeballs." "Did you hear that, Moltres?" Tom asked. "If I put you in this Pokeb-" A blast of flames shot between Tom and Porygon Two. "Just hear me out, please!" Tom pleaded. Moltres grumbled and setteled back down. "If I put you in a Pokeball, that field will shield you from every other Pokeball. No other Pokeball but the one you were put in will ever hold you again." Moltres glared at Tom again and muttered. "He says he won't trust you," Porygon Two said, "Not if it involes being put inside a Pokeball." Tom pondered some more. "Hey Porygon," he asked, "Do you think you could upload yourself into this Pokeball?" Tom asked, picking up the burnt Pokeball. "Of course I can. Why?" "You know how when the return beam fires, it deactivates and then regenerates the electric field?" "Yeah? So?" "I was thinking," Tom mused, "Maybe you could alter the Pokeball so that if I fire the return beam at Moltres, it would put up the field around him?" Porygon hemmed and hawed. "I dunno," it said, "I s'pose I could try." Tom held the Pokeball in front of Porygon Two, and Porygon Two was suddenly sucked inside through the ball. Tom, Sensai and Moltres waited in silence as Tom held the ball steadily in his hand. Tom tapped the ball gently once, and still nothing happened. Suddenly, Porygon Two warped back outside the ball and beside Tom. "Did you have to tap it?" Porygon Two asked, greatly irritated. "Sorry," Tom squeaked. "Anyway, I've rigged it just like you asked, Tom," said Porygon Two, "But, there's a little problem." "What?" "I rebuilt the return beam so that it would put up the field around Moltres, but the one catch is that," Porygon Two turned to Moltres, "The Pokemon it's used on has to be willing." Tom looked up at Moltres. Moltres looked back at Tom. The two stared silently at each other before Moltres finally groaned. "He says he'll do it," Porygon Two translated. "Let's hope this works," Tom muttered, raising the Pokeball to Moltres. The Pokeball suddenly shot out a beam of red light, covering Moltres completely. The beam continued to project itself upon Moltres until Tom felt a funny vibration come from the Pokeball. The beam faded out, and the Pokeball became still. "I guess that was it," Porygon Two said. "But how do we know it works?" "Only one way to find out," said Tom, taking out another Pokeball in his other hand. Tom gave the Pokeball a quick chuck with his wrist, and the ball glided towards Moltres. The ball simply hit Moltres, bounced off, and lay on the ground. "It worked!" Tom cheered. Moltres looked at the Pokeball, and Tom could tell that if Moltres could smile with his beak, he would. "You see that, Moltres?" Tom asked with a wide grin, "This is the only Pokeball that will ever hold you." With that, Tom dropped the charred ball to the ground, where he smashed it with his foot into thousands of tiny pieces. -End ********