Yvan drew in a deep breath, his chest rising as he looked down toward Blue and the Doctor. "Doctor Ignore the Kirlias and focus on getting out of here. We'll do the same," he ordered firmly, then turned his head back to the pilot. "We're getting out of here! Take us to Lab 1 as quick as possible!"
The pilot gave a sharp nod and pushed the controls forward. The helicopter rattled under the sudden shift, its rotors screaming as the machine fought against the stormy winds.
Blue's hand slid into her pocket, her expression calm but sharp. She pulled out a Poké Ball, her eyes glinting."Nido cover the helicopter with Thunderbolts! Don't let them escape!" she commanded, throwing the ball high into the air.
A burst of light split the sky, and a towering Nidoqueen emerged. Her scales were a gleaming blue streaked with pale white, her body lined with jagged spikes running from her crown down her back. She let out a guttural roar, her massive hands already crackling with electricity. With a swing of her arms, she launched the gathered power into the clouds above.
The sky answered back and within seconds bolts of lightning began raining down, one after another, smashing into the ground with deafening force. The helicopter was instantly surrounded by a cage of furious lightning, its frame shuddering from the shockwaves.
The Doctor looked up at the storming clouds and let out a nervous, almost hysterical laugh. "You've got to be kidding me!" he barked, his grin tight and twitching.
The pilot struggled with the controls, wrestling the helicopter to keep it steady as arcs of electricity crawled dangerously close to the rotors. Both Charlotte and Yvan clutched their seats, wide eyed, their faces pale with terror.
Blue tilted her head, her grin cutting across her face like a knife. She slid a pair of handcuffs from her belt, letting the metal glint under the stormlight. "Now," she said sweetly, "how about you get down so we can handle things more peacefully?"
The Doctor's lips curled into a twisted smile as he reached inside his pocket. He pulled out three Poké Balls, their surfaces glinting with red light. "I guess I won't be able to take these with me," he said before tossing them high into the storm.
Blue's eyes narrowed. With a flick of her wrist, she pulled out another ball from her pocket and hurled it to intercept.
Four Poké Balls spun through the air, clashing midflight before bursting open in a flash of blinding scarlet light.
The sky rumbled as three figures materialized in front of the Doctor.
First came a Hitmonlee, its entire body ablaze. Its legs burned with living fire, every movement scorching the air itself as it flexed its long limbs, heat distorting the cold air around it.
Beside it, a Hitmonchan landed with a heavy thud. Its body was rough and earthen, its arms sheathed in stone like gauntlets that looked carved from mountain rock. Its protruding head gleamed with sharp edges, cutting the very air as it turned.
And then, spinning gracefully, a Hitmontop dropped low to the ground. Its conical steel head gleamed like polished metal, its armored plates covering its lithe martial form.
From Blue's Poké Ball burst forth a titan. A massive Blastoise landed with earth shaking weight, his shell gleaming brown against his muscular blue frame. He exhaled slowly, a mist escaping his nostrils, his necklace swinging with the rhythm of his heavy breaths.
Blue and the Doctor locked eyes, neither willing to move first. The storm crackled around them, tension stretched to its breaking point.
Inside, the Doctor's thoughts were boiling, twisting into obsession.
"So that's him… The Blastoise that was given to her by Oak himself. The one that fought legends, the one that stood against Gods and Trainers alike. I want it. I want it! I WANT IT! I WANT IT! I WANT IT! I WANT IT! I WANT IT! I WANT IT! AHGG HE'S SO BEAUTIFUL—!"
His mind spiraled into madness until Blue's voice snapped through the storm.
"Blasty use Flash Cannon on Hitmonchan! Go!"
Blastoise lowered his head, his twin cannons sliding out from the shell with a metallic grind. Silver energy gathered, humming with power, until the light burst outward in a devastating beam.
"Hitmonchan, don't even try to tank it! Dodge!" the Doctor shouted, throwing a punch into the air as if commanding the Pokémon with his own body. "Hitmonlee, Hitmontop attack from two sides! Don't give that beast a chance to attack!"
Hitmonchan ducked low, the silver beam scorching the air where it had stood while Hitmonlee darted forward, leaping high before slamming a blazing kick down toward Blastoise.
"Blasty lower your head use SkullBash! Now!" Blue barked.
Blastoise snapped his head back into his shell. The fiery kick slammed into his armored shell, sparks and flames bursting across the surface.
"Now attack!"
Blastoise's arm shot out, seizing Hitmonlee's leg in an unbreakable grip. With raw power, he yanked the fighter down and slammed him into the deck with his head, the ground shattering with the impact.
But there was no time to recover. From the side, Hitmontop spun into range, his steel armor glowing with a blue aura. He unleashed a flurry of punches, each strike blurring into the next, hammering Blastoise at blinding speed. The impacts rang out like gunfire, giving the him no room to breathe in Close Combat.
The Doctor grinned, watching the chaos unfold. His eyes darted briefly toward the Nidoqueen who was creating the lightning cage. He knew Blue's attention was locked on the fight she hadn't noticed the plan.
But sadly for him the Arias didn't care about the plan.
With a ghostly cry, the entire sea of clones shimmered, their forms bending space itself as they teleported into position. In a blink, dozens of them surrounded the lightning cage that pinned the helicopter in place.
The Doctor bit his lip hard, fury and desperation twisting his expression beneath the mask. "For fuck's sake!" he roared.
Without hesitation, he leapt from Crobat's head, boots slamming against a line of stacked containers with reckless speed. His hand dove into his pocket, pulling free a small glass vial filled with a strange orange liquid, and a lighter glinting in the stormlight
"Let's hope this works," he muttered through clenched teeth. With shaky precision, he poured the liquid over Crobat's leathery wings, the acrid smell filling the air. He pressed his forehead against Crobat's head, giving it a rough, almost affectionate pat."You did it before… so please do it again."
He flicked the lighter. A spark, then flame.
The instant fire licked across the liquid, Crobat's wings erupted in blazing fury. Crobat shrieked. A piercing, unnatural cry tore through the sky, a sound so sharp it made the very sunlight above shimmer and tremble. Fire licked across its wings, turning them into blazing crescents of orange and violet flame.
The Doctor took a step back as he watched Crobat change its form before he threw his head back and started to laugh like a maniac, the sound ragged beneath his mask. "HAHAHAHAHA IT WORKS! Oh, Batlord! You've become so beautiful! NOW GO! BURN THOSE BASTARDS TO ASH!"
With a single beat of its burning wings, Crobat vanished in a streak of fire, reappearing in an instant before the swarm of Arias. Its speed blurred the air itself as it cut through them like a living inferno.
Blue froze, her eyes widening at the sight. "What the hell… is that?" she thought, her jaw tightening. But there was no time to linger. Blastoise was still locked in combat, pummeled from both sides by the Hitmontop and Hitmonchan duo.
"Blasty playtime is over!" Blue's voice cracked like a whip across the battlefield.
Blastoise nodded before he let out a roar and slammed its heavy feet against the ground, shaking the ground beneath them. Its thick arms shot out, seizing both Hitmonchan and Hitmontop by their heads. With a brutal twist, he hurled them skyward like rag dolls.
Blue's hands were already moving. She yanked her sleeve up, revealing a wristband strapped tight around her arm. Inset in the band gleamed a rainbow colored Keystone its facets pulsing with energy that resonated with the blue and brown stone hanging from Blastoise's necklace.
The connection sparked instantly, a wave of raw power surging between Trainer and Pokémon.
Her voice rang out across the storm.
"BLASTY MEGA EVOLVE!"
The stones flared to life, resonating in a cascade of rainbow light.