Chapter 20
Ash racked his brain as Skye blocked a Flamethrower with a Water Gun. Anything could help, even… was that a pipe on the wall? "Skye, Aqua Tail! Launch yourself up!"
"Use Crunch."
"Grab the pipe and swing!"
Skye latched her tail on a metal pole and used it as a pivot point, causing Houndoom's Crunch to hit nothing but air.
"Now Water Gun!"
Still in mid-air, Houndoom couldn't dodge and was struck down by the super-effective attack.
"You think that's enough to defeat Houndoom?" Nigel smirked. "Use Sunny Day."
Ash frowned. Sunny Day boosted fire-type moves while weakening water-type moves, which would leave Skye at a huge disadvantage. "Quick, Water Gun!"
The Water Gun hit its mark, knocking the dark and fire type to the ground again. But before Ash could relax, he was greeted by bright rays of light streaming from the ceiling.
It was time to switch tactics. "Skye, electric! Use Thunderbolt!"
Skye's amulet glowed as she switched to her Jolteon form before firing a lightning bolt at Houndoom.
"Fire Spin."
The blast of fire ripped through the Thunderbolt and shot toward Skye.
"Quick, dodge!"
Skye leaped to the side, narrowly avoiding the boosted fire-type move.
"Lock on."
Houndoom focused its eyes on Skye, forming a red and white target around her.
"Hey!" said Ash, "Houndoom can't use that move!" Or at least, from what he had read before.
"My dark Pokémon don't follow the rules of regular Pokémon," said Nigel, "What may be impossible for your Pokémon, is very possible for mine." He smirked. "Time to end this. Houndoom, use Flamethrower."
An idea hit Ash as the fire-type move shot toward Skye. "Skye, normal! Use Dig!"
Skye quickly switched to her Eevee form, tunneling down just before the attack would have hit.
"You've only delayed your defeat. Use Nasty Plot,"
Houndoom stood still as it charged up energy, increasing its attack power.
"Alright, Skye, come out from the wall. Once you hit Houndoom, dig straight back into the ground," said Ash telepathically.
A few seconds later, Skye shot out straight from the wall, ramming into Houndoom before it could react and leaping back into the ground. Before Houndoom could recover, it was hit by another blur of brown fur and another, and another. The dark type roared, shot a defiant Fire blast, and slumped over, its strength nearly gone.
"What should we do?" Misty warily eyed the wall.
"We need to keep going," Brock stepped forward. "If what it says is true, Ash could be in grave danger."
"Does this mean Ash won't be able to defeat Team Void by himself?" asked Misty.
"I can only say what I think the prophecy says," Birch flipped through some photos on his phone. "I don't remember all of it, but part of it says:
The Chosen has the power to win,
But be warned, the battle is not won.
As evil's greed commits a sin,
The Chosen alone cannot shun.
Before the world can be saved,
Before the Chosen saves.
A careful wish must be made,
In Hoenn's ancient caves."
"But how are we going to make a wish?" Misty shone her flashlight over the words, wondering if it would do anything.
Brich eyed the patterns on the walls. "I may have an idea how to do it."
"You know where the Wish Pokemon is?" Oak's eyes widened.
"Yes, I think it lives somewhere around here," Birch scanned the room. "The question is where…"
"It looks like we're going to have to get through there first," Professor Oak gestured to a stone maze on the other side of the room. "Shall we?"
Brock nodded. "If it's the only way to help Ash, I'm in."
"Same here," Misty put an arm around the Pokémon in her arms. "You ready, Togepi?"
The little Pokémon trilled happily. "Toge-pi!"
"Be quiet, James!" Jessie glared at him. "You'll ruin our surprise!"
"But the twerp's Eevee got dirt all over me," James continued to brush dust off his hair and clothes.
"What do you expect?" Meowth wiped a bead of sweat off his forehead. "We're underground, so obviously da twerp's going to use that to his advantage. With a little digging, that Eevee can come out of anywhere."
"Did I see it evolve twice?" said Jessie. "I'm pretty sure Eevee can't do that."
James pulled a small book out of his pocket and flipped through the pages, stopping on one that showed a picture of an Eevee. " It says here that Eevee can evolve into 8 different forms: Vaporeon, Jolteon, Flareon, Espeon, Umbreon, Leafeon, Glaceon, and Sylveon. However, like any other Pokémon, Eevee can only evolve once." He shut the book. "I think that amulet has something to do with it."
"Did you see it glow?" said Meowth.
The trio looked at each other.
Jessie smiled. "Imagine what we could do with that amulet,"
"We could give it to the boss," said James.
"And he would say 'Ah, what I wouldn't give to those three who gave me this wonderful amulet,'" Mewoth sighed.
The Team Rocket members stood, dreamy-eyed, imagining how Giovanni would reward them.
"Hold up, we're supposed to be helping the twerp right now!" Jessie snapped.
James nodded. "And if we don't stop Team Void-"
"There might not be an amulet to take!" Meowth finished.
"What are we waiting for?" James pulled out his tool bag. "Let's get back to work!"
"Wobbuffet!"
"Skye, Water! Use Water Gun!" Ash knew he needed to finish Houndoom fast.
Skye leaped into the air and shot a volley of water at the dark and fire type.
"Flamethrower."
The large burst of flame instantly dried up the water, forcing Skye to leap out of the way before the attack could hit her. Sunny Day was doing its job.
"Flamethrower again."
"Use Hydro Pump!"
Despite Skye's efforts, the Flamethrower easily broke through the water.
"Skye!" Ash ran to Skye. Her body was covered in burn marks, and she had switched back to her Eevee form. "Are you alright?"
Skye slowly opened her eyes. "I-I'll be ok," She wobbled for her moment, but her legs buckled, and she slumped to the ground.
"You did amazing, take a nice long rest," said Ash, returning Skye to her Pokeball.
"Ready, Latios?" asked Ash telepathically.
"Let's do this!"
"Alright, go Latios!" said Ash.
Latios turned visible in a shower of light and flew forward, letting out a battle cry.
Nigel smirked, "I've been waiting to fight one of your legendaries. Houndoom, use Explosion."