Author’s Note:
Hello Poliwags, hope all is well. We’ve got Chapter 19 here today, so hopefully you enjoy things heating up here. If you missed the last one, you can catch it here. Hope you enjoy!
Serena hopped off of Noivern's back in front of the Geosenge Town Pokemon Centre. She looked up at Pikachu on her shoulder and smiled. They were finally here and they had made it in great time. She held out Noivern's pokeball and recalled him back into it, thanking him for his great flying. She looked into the sky to see Bonnie and Clemont flying with Pidgeot towards where they were meeting Officer Jenny.
"Well, Pikachu," Serena said, "I guess we should get you and the others a quick checkup. Unfortunately I think we'll need to all be ready for a fight."
"Pika!" Pikachu nodded.
Serena walked into the Pokemon Centre, pulling out her pokeballs and also the belt that had Ash's. She'd been holding onto it, although she'd left Pidgeot's with Clemont since they were flying together. She walked up to the desk and towards Nurse Joy.
"Hello there," Nurse Joy said happily. "Would you like me to check up on your Pokemon?" she asked nicely.
Serena smiled. "Hi Nurse Joy. Yes, please." She handed over all the pokeballs. She was evasive in explaining why she had Ash's, just saying her friend was busy and asked her to bring them. Pikachu also hopped over onto the tray that Nurse Joy had put the pokeballs on.
"Alright, I'll check all of them out. You can relax by the TV over there." She pointed to a couch which was under a TV near the front of the lobby.
"Okay, thanks Nurse Joy," Serena said, turning around.
Serena walked over to the couch. She wasn't really interested in watching TV, but she thought she might as well see if anything interesting was happening on the news. Maybe there was something about Team Flare. She picked up a remote that was on a table next to the couch and clicked through the channels until she came to a news channel. She wasn't surprised to see it was just a regular kind of story. A reporter was talking to a Pokemon trainer who had won his town's battle tournament. It was a really snobby trainer, with spiky blonde hair and a dirty looking tracksuit and Serena became irritated by him quickly. Ash would beat this guy easily, she thought, as they played highlights of the battles and she noticed the trainer doing many things that she knew Ash would easily have overcome.
Serena was starting to lose interest and was about to turn off the TV when all of a sudden a breaking news alert came on. The interview with the snobby trainer cut off quickly and the screen cut away to a reporter who was standing in front of the Lumiose City Airport.
"I'm here live at the Lumiose International Airport,” the reporter said. "We've just gotten word of a very peculiar incident. No need to worry right now, it seems, but the situation was very odd just a few hours ago."
Serena's eyes widened when the screen cut to a video of a landing plane, with two Pokemon on the back. Just as it landed, one of the Pokemon, a large, flaming, monkey-like Pokemon jumped onto the back of the other Pokemon, a larger, orange, lizard-like Pokemon with a flaming tail. The lizard-like Pokemon immediately flew off the plane and started flying high into the sky.
"It appeared as if the two Pokemon were an Infernape and a Charizard," the reporter narrated. "The plane, coming from Pallet Town, in the Kanto region, had been operating normally the entire flight, according to the pilot." The reporter laughed. "Right now it seems as if the two just wanted a free ride to Kalos."
The screen cut to two news anchors, a dark haired man and a red haired woman. The man laughed in response to the reporter. "Yes, well can you blame them? Kalos is lovely this time of year."
The woman laughed as well. "Of course. And, since they didn't cause any harm, we'll forgive them for not paying for their tickets. At least they've provided us with an interesting story."
The male anchor nodded. The screen then split so that on one side it had the reporter at the airport and the other had the anchors in their studio. "So, Harry, do we know anything about why a Charizard and Infernape were hitching a ride here? I mean, it can't just be the Kalos weather."
The reporter, Harry, laughed. "Well, it almost seemed as if the two of them were on a mission. They did seem to be in a rush. I guess we should just be happy their mission wasn't causing any damage to Lumiose City. We had enough of that with that Garchomp."
The female anchor smiled. "Yeah, that Garchomp was something else. Although, I think we can all agree that Charizard looked a lot more intimidating than Garchomp. The Infernape looked pretty scary as well."
Serena continued watching, but she just muted out the rest of what the reporters were saying. Wow, Ash, you've got amazing Pokemon, she thought to herself. She smiled. She was now beginning to realize that they had some strong reinforcements coming to help Ash.
The bell to announce that Nurse Joy had finished checking up on the Pokemon went and Serena got up. She went over to the counter and collected the pokeballs and clipped Ash's to his belt and then Pikachu hopped on her shoulder.
"Everyone's in perfect health. I gave Noivern an Oran Berry as he was a little tired, but now he seems to be full of energy," Nurse Joy told Serena.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu agreed happily.
Serena smiled. "Thanks a lot, Nurse Joy," she said.
As Serena started to walk out of the Pokemon Centre, she looked one last time at the TV. They were showing an image of Charizard flying into the air, with Infernape on his back. She marveled at the picture. The two fire-type Pokemon looked so determined. She just hoped that they'd be able to make it in time.
Ash and Mairin were interrupted once again, a little while after Nurse Joy had left. Ash heard the lock click and watched as the door opened to reveal Lysandre. He walked in and then closed the door. He looked at Ash for a few moments, not saying anything.
"What do you want?" Mairin asked angrily. She looked alarmed when Lysandre gave her a dark stare.
Lysandre turned back to Ash. "I'd like you to come with me, Ash. I'm going to show you the next step in our Zygarde research."
Ash narrowed his eyes in confusion. "Why is it so important to you to show me this stuff?" he asked.
Lysandre smiled and it was an evil smile that freaked Ash out. "I think you know, but I'll explain to save us time. The evolution stages of Zygarde are very similar to Mega Evolution. The only difference is that it has a ten percent, fifty percent and also the complete evolution. Our research on it and our ability to control its evolution is going to allow us to do great things in this world."
Ash glared at Lysandre. "Meaning destroy it or take over it."
Lysandre shrugged. "Destroying some of it will be inevitable, yes. And of course, we will control much of it. Anyways, we have managed to get the evolution of our Zygarde to its fifty percent form, but only by maxing out the power levels of our controls."
Ash held up his hands as if to show he wasn't holding a secret Mega Evolution stone in them. "How am I supposed to help?" he asked. "Not that I will,” he added quickly.
Lysandre smirked. "Oh you'll help. See, by examining what happens when your Greninja evolves without a stone, we will be able to duplicate that in our control of our Zygarde."
Ash laughed, which surprised both Mairin and Lysandre. "You can't duplicate how Greninja transforms. It's only because of the bond he and I share."
Lysandre shook his head. "You'd be surprised what science can do."
Ash glared back. He had a weird temptation to say 'science is so amazing', but managed to control it. "Well, you're not getting Greninja."
Lysandre waved his hand as if to dismiss the subject. "Come with me." He turned to the door and opened it. He looked back at Mairin. "You're staying here." He walked out into the hallway.
Ash got up and approached the door. Just before he left the room he looked at Mairin. "Be ready," he said quietly.
Ash followed Lysandre down the hallways and they stopped before the door with the scanner which Lysandre swiped his card through. They walked in and Ash felt sickened by the sight before him. The Squishy-like Pokemon was now completely covered in some kind of metal, machine-like covering.
Lysandre noticed Ash looking at it. "Yes, that's one of our new inventions. It just got finished today. See, it fits itself as the Zygarde changes form. So, when he becomes larger, it won't break off. We haven't been able to test its full ability, of course, as we haven't been able to fully evolve it."
"You're twisted," Ash said angrily.
Lysandre just smiled. "And soon, you're Greninja will be over there." He pointed to a glass cylindrical cage. It had cables all over it, which presumably connected to a Pokemon. "We'll hook him up to those cables and then we'll test his body signals as he changes form. Then we can use those tests to configure our settings on our control of the Zygarde and have him fully evolve."
Ash was just about ready to leap at Lysandre, but he got the feeling the Team Flare boss was trying to provoke him. He had to stay calm. "So are you going to get on with showing me what else you wanted to show me?" he asked bitterly.
Lysandre nodded. He collected the remote to control the Zygarde from one of the scientists and then he walked forward and pointed it at the Zygarde who was on a rock. He clicked a button and then twisted a dial and the Zygarde glowed and then appeared in its dog-like form. Lysandre once again clicked a button and twisted a dial and the Zygarde glowed again and this time it had a snake-like appearance and was much larger. The metal body suit was perfectly fitted around its green and black body. It was an extremely intimidating creature.
Ash gulped. "That's not even its strongest form?" he asked, his anger and resistance now overwhelmed by fear.
Lysandre looked pleased. "No, but not to worry, we'll have that soon enough." He handed the remote back to the scientist. He then gestured to Ash to follow him. "I have something else to show you."
Ash followed, confused. Lysandre led him out of the lab and down another hallway. He stopped in front of a door and again scanned his card through a scanner. The two of them walked in. Ash's jaw dropped when he saw all of the monitors, displaying all kinds of images of Geosenge Town.
"See, Ash? I'm prepared for anything. Your friends," Lysandre pointed to one of the monitors which showed Clemont and Bonnie talking with Officer Jenny, "are trying to find a way to infiltrate my lab. However, they are completely unaware of the trap I have set for them." He pointed to another monitor. On this monitor Ash could see six Team Flare members, waiting with their Pokemon by what he assumed must be a route to the lab. A route that Lysandre must have known that his friends were planning to take. "They'll be ambushed," Lysandre said.
Ash had gone pale. He looked at some of the other monitors and then his eyes locked onto one of the Pokemon Centre. He saw Serena sitting on a couch, watching the news, apparently waiting for the Pokemon to be checked on by Nurse Joy.
Lysandre had noticed where he was looking. He laughed with what Ash thought was the most evil and despicable laugh he'd ever heard. "So she's a little more special to you, then? That might come in handy."
Ash was so furious he could barely speak. His voice was quiet as he spoke. "If you touch her...even one hair...you'll pay."
Bonnie and Clemont landed gracefully with Pidgeot in front of the Geosenge Town police station. Clemont slid down and then helped Bonnie down, using his Aipom Arm. Bonnie sighed in relief, looking at the police station. She was hoping that they could have Ash rescued soon. She just wanted to get back to travelling normally.
"Thanks for the ride, Pidgeot," Clemont said. He pulled out Pidgeot's pokeball and recalled him into it.
"Ready to go?" Bonnie asked her big brother.
Clemont sighed. "Yeah," he said. "I hope Officer Jenny has made some progress. Maybe she'll have figured out where we can look."
The two siblings walked into the police station. It was fairly quiet, which Bonnie was relieved about. She had been a little nervous about seeing mean and nasty criminals. Clemont led them to a desk which had a female secretary in a blue uniform.
"How can I help you?" the secretary asked.
Clemont looked a little nervous. "Um, I'm Clemont and this is my sister Bonnie. We had the Officer Jenny from Ambrette Town contact Officer Jenny here. It's about Team Flare."
The secretary nodded seriously. "I'll get her right away."
Bonnie and Clemont waited on a bench near the desk as the secretary went to go get Officer Jenny. Clemont looked at Bonnie, with concern. "You look nervous," he said.
Bonnie tried to put a confident look on her face. "I'm not nervous," she said defiantly. "I'm gonna help you save Ash."
Clemont continued with his concerned look. "Bonnie, you don't need to be involved with this. It's dangerous, so it's actually better if you stay here at the station."
Bonnie rolled her eyes. "We went through this already, Clemont. I agreed to listen to you and Serena. I told you, if you leave me here, I'll end up wandering off on my own. Would you forgive yourself if that happened and I got caught by Team Flare?" Bonnie was surprised at her own conniving and manipulative monologue.
Clemont also appeared quite surprised, but he managed to get a serious look. "Fine, but you really do have to listen to me. These people are really dangerous."
The two siblings waited for a few more minutes and then finally the secretary appeared with the blue haired police officer every town had, known as Officer Jenny. She was accompanied by her Manectric, a blue dog-like Pokemon with yellow tufts of fur and a mane of yellow on his head.
"Clemont and Bonnie?" Officer Jenny asked the two of them. They both nodded and stood up to greet her. "So, your friend Ash has been taken by Team Flare, and you managed to figure out that he's in Geosenge Town?" Jenny asked.
Bonnie nodded. "You're going to help us, right?" she asked nervously.
Jenny smiled kindly at the young girl. "Of course I will." She looked at Clemont, apparently deciding he was the one to relay the information to. This irritated Bonnie a little, but she let it slide. As long as she was involved, she would allow them to treat her like a little kid. "So, it's actually very interesting that you've called me about this. I've been investigating Lysandre Labs for awhile now. I believe that Lysandre is the leader of Team Flare."
Clemont's jaw dropped. "But, he's created so many amazing inventions that have helped so many people and Pokemon. How could you think he's part of Team Flare?" Bonnie realized that Clemont probably idolized Lysandre and his inventions.
Officer Jenny looked seriously at Clemont. "Trust me, he does more to hurt people and Pokemon. He's got a lab here, but he's cut it off from public view ever since I started to poke around there."
Clemont took a deep breath. Bonnie felt a little bad for him. She realized this would be like her realizing Diantha, the Kalos Champion, was actually an abusive and violent Pokemon trainer. Clemont managed to continue talking. "Okay, so if Lysandre is leading Team Flare and if Ash has been taken by Team Flare to their Geosenge Town base, then I guess he'd be at Lysandre's lab."
Jenny nodded. "Exactly what I've been thinking." She smiled. "And I've got our raid all planned out. This is probable cause to go in and investigate, so he can't hide behind us not getting a search warrant anymore."
Bonnie jumped in joy. "So Ash is gonna be safe?"
Officer Jenny was careful not to say yes, but she did smile at Bonnie. "We've got a good plan in place. We've planned to enter through a path leading through the forest. We expect him to fight back. Once he realizes the police are going in, he's going to reveal his true colours. Obviously we'll give him a chance to surrender, but I expect resistance." She looked at Clemont. "I suppose you're not going to let me keep you and your friends here while the police go in?"
Bonnie answered. "Of course not. Ash is our friend and we're gonna be part of any fight." Bonnie noticed Jenny give Clemont a look as if to say this girl is definitely not going. Bonnie was about to say something, but her brother defended her.
"We're all going. Serena, Bonnie and me." He looked at Bonnie. "My little sister is going to be more of a pain than Team Flare if we try to keep her here."
Officer Jenny looked irritated, but nodded. She looked at Bonnie. "You're going to have to listen to us, okay? Everything we-"
Bonnie interrupted. "I've already made my promises. I'll listen, but if anyone tries to keep me here, I'm going off on my own. You'll feel bad if I'm kidnapped, right?"
The blue haired, veteran cop looked at the little girl in surprise. She gave Clemont a bit of a nervous look. Bonnie smiled as her older brother laughed. "My little sister is a lot smarter than she should be for her age,” he said. Bonnie was pleased to hear a note of pride in his voice.
A Team Flare guard shoved Ash hard and he fell into the room, stunning Mairin. He heard the door slam shut and then the lock clicked. Mairin rushed to Ash to make sure he was okay. He could hear her talking, but he didn't register anything she said. There was a loud ringing in his ears and he felt like he was going to be sick.
"Ash!" Mairin yelled, finally breaking through Ash's ringing ears. "Ash, are you okay? You're all pale and you look like you're sick."
Ash stared blankly at the younger trainer. He tried to speak, but his vocal chords wouldn't work. He closed his eyes and immediately regretted it. Again, he saw the images of the monitors displaying exactly what his friends were doing. Exactly what Serena was doing.
Mairin grabbed Ash by the shoulders and shook him. "Ash! Listen to me. You need to tell me what happened. I can't help you if I don't know."
Ash opened his eyes. He took a deep breath and looked at Mairin again. She was looking back with wide, concerned eyes. "Serena..." he managed to say.
Mairin squinted in confusion. "What? Your girlfriend? Is she here?"
Ash shook his head. He felt tears coming to his eyes. His heart was pounding and it felt like it was going to explode out of his chest at any minute. Ash had never felt fear like this before. "Lysandre...he has monitors. He's watching the whole city."
Mairin's mouth opened in surprise and realization. She glanced nervously at the door and then looked back at Ash. "He knows where your friends are…" she said in realization. Then she sighed. "Where Serena is."
Ash's breathing sped up and just before it happened, he realized he was having something like a panic attack. Everything went quiet, except for the loud thundering of his rapidly beating heart and the sounds of air quickly entering and exiting his lungs. His vision went black, but he was still awake. He was still overcome with the feeling of terror.
Finally, Ash's breathing calmed and his heartbeat became regular again. He opened his eyes and realized he was lying down on the floor. He had a pillow under his head. Above him, Mairin was staring at him with wide eyes. "Sorry," he said to her.
Mairin shook her head. "No, don't be sorry. I understand." She glared at the door and then looked back at Ash. "I think you had a panic attack."
Ash took a deep breath. "Never had one of those before," he said, with a weak voice. "Have I been out long?"
"A few minutes. I got one of the pillows so you wouldn't hit your head on the floor. You were shaking pretty badly." Ash noticed Mairin's voice was shaking. He could tell she was pretty freaked out by what had just happened.
"Thank you, Mairin." Ash said after a couple of minutes. He sat up and tried to regain his composure. He looked at the door and then back at Mairin. "We've gotta get out of here." He looked over at Chespie. "Do you think we can move him?"
Mairin looked at her Pokemon in concern, but then she narrowed her eyes in determination. She looked at Ash and nodded. "He's not getting better by staying here."
Ash smiled. He took a deep breath and put one hand on the bed, holding on as he pulled himself into a standing position. The dizziness he felt was like nothing he'd ever experienced before. He started to fall, but luckily Mairin grabbed him just in time and held him up. "Thanks," he said, grabbing the wall to steady himself.
Mairin let go, but appeared to have her hands ready in case he stumbled again. "Are you gonna be okay?" she asked nervously.
Ash nodded. "I'm gonna have to be," he said with a forced laugh. He took a deep breath. "Okay, we're doing this now." Mairin nodded and Ash continued. "You've still got your Flabebe, right?"
"Yeah." Mairin released Flabebe from its pokeball. "Bebe, you ready?" Bebe the Flabebe nodded.
Ash smiled. "It's a good thing Team Flare underestimates their enemies." He looked at Bebe. "Bebe needs to be ready to attack as soon as that door opens." He nodded to the door and Mairin nodded. "Alright, you're gonna yell that something's happening. Maybe say Chespie's acting up. That'll get them to send Nurse Joy. Remember, we can expect her help. Then the guard will open the door. That's when Bebe attacks."
Mairin nodded. "I guess that's as good a plan as we're gonna have." She took a shaky breath. "I can't remember the way out of here."
Ash waved his hand to dismiss Mairin's concerns. "Don't worry, Nurse Joy will show you."
Mairin's eyes widened and she looked at Ash with realization. "You're not seriously staying here, are you?"
Ash put his hands on her shoulders. "You're getting out of here, that's all you need to worry about right now, okay?"
Mairin pursed her lips and looked worried, but she still nodded. "But, what are you planning on doing?" she asked quietly.
"I'm going after Lysandre," Ash said with determination flashing in his eyes.
Mairin had a skeptical look on her face. "Without any Pokemon?"
"I'll figure it out." Ash smiled. "I'm good at that kind of thing." He took a deep breath. "Okay, ready?"
Mairin nodded and they were ready to put their plan into motion, but just then a loud alarm started blasting through the speakers. "Intruders!" the alarm called. "Intruders on Lysandre Labs property!"
Mairin looked at Ash with terror in her eyes, but Ash smiled. "That means things aren't going as planned for Lysandre and his Team Flare pals." He nodded, pleased. "Let's get going."
Author’s Note:
And the battle begins! Looking back, this chapter probably could’ve merged with the last way back when I wrote it, but oh well. It seems to set up the fight pretty well.
If you want to join the discussion, head here. Chapter 20 will be here on Monday. See you then!