Chapter 13
Ash could only watch as Latias and Scizor swayed on the battlefield. Both looked ready to collapse at any moment. Neither he nor Gary called an attack; it wasn't worth it. The battle would come down to which Pokémon could hold up longer.
"Latias and Scizor are both out of energy! Which one will come out victorious?"
Just then, Scizor lost its balance and fell onto the field with a loud thud. Latias remained in the air.
"Scizor has been defeated! The winner is Ash from Pallet Town! It was a long and fierce battle, and in the end, Ash emerged victorious! It was something to see!"
"I won…" Ash mumbled. "I beat Gary."
"That was awesome!" said Misty.
Brock nodded. "You hung in there, Ash."
Ash's attention was on his Pokémon. "Latias, you were awesome!" But before he could get to her, she suddenly fell to the ground. "Latias!"
"Is she okay?" asked Latios.
Ash rushed over to her. Her body was covered with bruises, but a quick rest in the Pokémon Center would fix those. "She's fine." Ash pulled out her Pokeball. "Thank you so much, Latias. Have a nice long rest."
~~~
The day's battle had exhausted Ash, both physically and mentally. But for some reason, he just couldn't sleep. Again.
"I'm going for a walk; I should be back soon." He told his Pokémon.
"Can I come with you?" asked Latias.
"Sure," said Ash, "Pikachu? Do you want to come?"
"Nah, I'd rather get some sleep." The electric-type eyed Latias. "I'll leave you two alone."
Ash still didn't understand the smirk on Pikachu's face or the glare Latias shot back. He shrugged. "Alright, I'll be back soon."
"Want to fly?" asked Latias once they left the Pokémon Center.
Ash shook his head. "I just need to walk right now."
"Still thinking about the battle?"
"Yeah. I know I've wanted to beat Gary for a long time, and now that I have, it all feels… like a dream."
"Well, it doesn't to me." Latias giggled.
Ash grinned. "I know. And you were amazing!"
"Thanks, but I couldn't have done it without your help."
They were nearing the lake, and Ash saw someone standing on the shore. "Hey Latias, turn invisible for a sec." Ash squinted, trying to make out the figure, and soon recognized it.
"Gary?"
"Oh, hey Ash, thanks for coming to see me."
Ash blinked. "You asked me to come here?"
"Didn't you get my message?"
"No?"
Gary chuckled. "And you happened to come anyway."
"I guess I did." Ash shrugged. "So, what's up?"
Gary reached his hand into his Pocket, revealing half of the Pokeball they had fought for so long ago. "This."
"Huh?" Was Gary asking for a rematch?
"Here, take it." Gary pressed it into his hand. "It belongs to you; you earned it."
"Really?" Ash stared at the broken Pokeball in his hand. It was much more than just that. It was the beginning of his entire rivalry with Gary. He closed his hand over it and smiled. "Thanks."
Gary smiled back. "That battle today of ours was awesome; I don't even feel bad that I lost. You see, Ash, when we tied long ago, I felt like a failure, but today, you totally beat me fair and square."
Gary was right. Their tie over the Pokeball had left Ash unsatisfied and tense, but the battle had relieved all that tension. "You know, I feel like I got a whole lot stronger by battling you today."
"Me too," said Gary, "I'll cheer for you in your second match!"
"Thanks." Those words meant a lot to him.
"By the way," said Gary, "What was that last Pokémon you used? I've never seen it before."
Ash grinned. "Want to meet her yourself?" He nodded for Latias to drop her invisibility. "Say hi to Latias."
Three Days Later…
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the semi-finals of the Silver Conference!"
Cheers erupted from the stands. As Ash stepped onto his side of the battlefield.
"Today, on the left side, we have Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town, and on the right side, we have Harrison of Littleroot Town!"
"Good luck!" Ash had been looking forward to this battle. He and Harrison had become friends before the conference, but that wasn't going to make either of them hold back.
"You too!" replied Harrison.
"After spectacular performances in their first rounds, Ash and Harrison-" The announcer suddenly cut off.
A deep, raspy voice thundered over the speakers. "This stadium has been taken over by Team Void. Remain where you are. Anyone who tries to stop us will be exterminated."
"I thought Arceus said they would come after the tournament," Ash telepathed.
"I guess they showed up early," replied Latios.
Latias shuddered. "What do we do?"
"We don't have much of a choice, do we?" Latios flew in front of Ash. "Should we attack them now?"
"Wait just a second." Ash turned towards the speakers, where several more men in black and purple outfits were grouping together. "What do you guys want?"
"We're taking all the Pokémon here, obviously." The man speaking rolled his eyes. "Just don't put up a struggle, and no one will get hurt."
Ash sighed. He should have known. "And if we fight?"
"You'll lose." The man snapped his fingers, and each of them threw out a Pokeball. A large variety of Pokémon came out, ranging from Aipoms to Azumarills, but these Pokémon weren't normal. Their eyes were red, narrow slits, and a cloud of purple gas streamed out of them.
"Evacuate the stadium!" Ash yelled to the crowd as Pikachu jumped off his shoulder, cheeks crackling.
"Latios, Latias," telepathed Ash, "stay invisible and use psychic on as many of their Pokemon as you can."
"Pikachu!" yelled Ash, "Use Thunderbolt!"
Harrison ran up to Ash. "I can help too!" He threw one of his Pokeballs. "Blaziken, Use Blast Burn!"
Ash nodded his thanks and put his concentration back on the battle. His human form didn't have as much power as his Latius form, but it was enough to prevent any of the bystanders from getting hurt.
The Team Void grunts all commanded their Pokémon to attack, and Pikachu quickly darted out of the way and back to Ash. "This isn't right, they shouldn't be this strong."
Ash frowned. No doubt it was the work of the purple gas. "Are you okay?"
Pikachu nodded. "Yeah, but I don't know how much longer we can handle them."
"Then we'll have to end this fast." Ash reached out to Latios and Latias with his mind. "Harrison and I are going to launch an attack on them. When they try to blast it back, use Psychic to turn their attack back on them."
Ash quickly relayed his plan to Harrison and counted down in his head. Three, two, one...
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"
"Blaziken, use Blast Burn!"
As Ash expected, every member of Team Void focused their attacks on Ash and Harrison. But to their shock, the attacks stopped mid-way towards the two teens, being held by an invisible force. Slowly, the attacks turned back on them and combined with Pikachu and Blaziken's attacks, knocking them all out.
Officer Jenny pulled up to them. "Thanks for getting everyone out safely. Are you two ok?"
"We're fine," replied Harrison.
Officer Jenny nodded. "I'm glad. The good news is that no one got hurt. Unfortunately, because of Team Void coming, we will have to put the conference on hold until further notice. I'm sorry, but your battle will have to be delayed until further notice."
Harrison turned to Ash. "Well, I look forward to whenever we battle."
Ash shook his friend's hand. He was even more determined to stop Team Void now. "Me too."
~~~
"So how are we planning to defeat them?" asked Pikachu. "We don't know anything about them or where to find them."
A brilliant blash of light cut off Ash's reply as he found himself in a white void. Pikachu, Latias, and Latios were still beside him, and a large Pokémon with a golden ring around its middle stood in front of him.
Latios and Latias bowed. "Lord Arceus."
Ash blinked. "Who?"
"Welcome, Ash, Latios, Latias, and Pikachu," said Arceus, "To answer your question Ash, I am Arceus, the creator of this universe."
Ash racked his brain. Regigigas had mentioned something about being Arceus' chosen one, but he didn't remember much else. "But why did you bring us here?"
"For a very specific purpose," said Arceus, "As you know, Team Void has been attacking the Johto region for a long time now, and as Latius, I'm counting on you to stop them. To do this, you will need to accomplish several things. First, you will have to use your Mega-stones. This can only be done when a powerful bond has formed between the trainer and the Pokémon. Once that has been accomplished, you can activate Mega-evolution by pressing the stone on your wrist while in battle."
"Secondly, you will have to locate Team Void. This will not be too hard if you look for clues. I suggest you pay attention. Thirdly, you will have to get into their base and take down their leader. I suggest bringing your strongest team, as most of Team Void is much stronger than those grunts you fought recently. Finally, you will have to find a way to purify the shadow Pokémon. You will have to figure this out by yourself. Do you have any questions?"
"Is our bond strong enough to use Mega-evolution?" asked Latios.
"Not quite," replied Arceus, "remember, you three just met a few weeks ago. It will take some time to develop the bond required for Mega-evolution. Anything else?"
"I think that's all," said Ash.
"Alright," said Arceus, "I will send you back to start your mission. Remember, the sooner you get it done, the better." With those words, and another flash of light, Ash, Latios, Latias, and Pikachu were back in their room at the Pokémon Center.
~~~
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