D stood in the haze, Muk's sludge still coiling lazily up his sleeve like it had all the time in the world. The others… weren't so lucky.
Enid's Ursaring lay groaning against a toppled section of bleachers.
Domino's Weavile was pinned under a thick web of sludge.
Sayoko's Absol limped, breathing hard.
Jay's last Meowth, Tod, was crouched low, fur bristling, but too winded to lunge.
Helena clutched Stephen's Poké Ball, with Stephen trying to stay floating.
The group looked like they'd been through a hurricane, and were barely still up. D looked like he'd finished a light jog. He rolled his shoulder, then stretched his arm across his chest, casual as if he'd just gotten out of bed.
"Truly… so pathetic," he said, shaking his head slowly. "I thought you could at least entertain me. But in the end… you're all just worthless."
The words hung in the smoke like a slap.
Enid's hands curled into fists as she bit her trembling lip, but she didn't move. Jay glanced sideways at her but didn't say anything,his Meowth were barely able to stand. Domino shifted her stance, ready to throw herself between D and the others if he rushed them.
Behind the front line, Owari's hand slid discreetly into his coat pocket, thumbing his comm device. He angled his body slightly away from the group, voice barely above a breath.
"Owari to Arlo. Status on the breach?"
Static crackled faintly in his earpiece before a clipped voice replied, but it wasn't Arlo's voice. It was Annie, "[Yeah, um, so I don't know how this works. Arlo and Oakley are working on it, but I don't know how much longer.]"
On the other side of the group, Anabel had quietly turned her shoulder as well, her own comm pressed against her ear, "Anabel to International Police tech division, how far along on the override?"
A different voice came back through, "[Seventy percent complete. But there seems to be some kind of signal jammer making the tracing harder.]"
Neither Owari nor Anabel noticed the other making their call, they each assumed the other was just trying to catch their breath. To them, the other one was just a 'civilian' in over their head.
D watched them. And he did hear them. Under the mask, he smiled, looked like they were doing exactly what he needed them to do. So he went ahead and sent Porygon-Z to give them a little care package. Now all he needed to do, is give them some time
D's boots scraped softly against the cracked concrete as he advanced one slow step at a time.
Enid swallowed hard. "D… listen, I don't know what they've done to you, but this isn't you."
D tilted his head. "Oh? And who exactly is 'me,' Enid? The weakling you kept on the sidelines? The one you called a 'background extra' in your little main-character fantasy? The one you said wasn't your friend?"
"That's not—" Enid started, but her voice faltered.
"Well," D said, holding his arms out, "you're right. We've never been friends, and we've never been equals. Enid, when I said what I said, that wasn't a contest, I meant it. You're never going to be better than me. Like I said, you are a walking consolation prize."
Enid's breath caught, her fists tightening until her knuckles went white. But she didn't deny it. She just looked down and muttered what sounded like, "I'm sorry."
Domino stepped in. "D, listen to me, you're not thinking straight. This isn't you. We've been through too much together for you to just—"
"Oh, that line again." D sighed dramatically. "If I had a Pokédollar for every time someone tried to 'talk me back to my senses,' I'd buy out Silph Co. and replace all the elevators with trapdoors."
He took another step forward, eyes locking on Domino. "You remember the last time you got in my way? I do. Remember, I had to save you from that robot. Maybe I should have let it crush you, would've saved us all the trouble."
Domino flinched, biting her lip and clenching her hands, but she didn't back down. She couldn't. She refused to believe the same guy who had saved them all was the same one standing here now, spitting venom at them.
Sayoko's Absol hobbled forward, planting itself between D and the group despite its limp. Sayoko's voice trembled, but she forced a smile, "Take the mask off, D. Come back to me, uh, I mean us. We can fix this."
D stopped. The air went cold, "You think there's a mask, Sayoko?" His voice dropped to a low, icy tone. "There's no mask. This—" he gestured to himself "—is what I've always been. And maybe… it's time you saw it up close."
"No, it's not!" Helena shouted, clutching Stephen. "The D I remember would never say that. The D I know does care, no matter how much you try to say you don't!"
Anabel's eyes flicked toward Helena, then she stepped forward as well, "And the D I remember," she said firmly, "was the same one who promised me one last dance. So, D…" her psychic aura flared as her Pokémon struggled to stay standing behind her, "…I think you owe me that dance."
Under the mask, D smiled. Oh, this was way too fun. Tilting his head, he answered, "Ok then, 'Sweetheart' Let's see what you can do."
Anabel narrowed her eyes, that was all she needed to hear, that isn't the D she knows, and now, she found herself hating the nickname 'Sweetheart' way more than 'Darling'
–
{Meanwhile, back in the Ilex Forest}
Ethan, Kris, Silver, and Lyra were locked in a desperate struggle against Ho-Ohtwo and Lugiatwo. Survival meant dodging more than fighting, rolling, scrambling, diving out of the way before the next blast scorched them alive, waiting for an opening that never seemed to come.
Because even though these were clones of the real legendaries, that didn't make the battle fair. Far from it.
Ho-Ohtwo's wings flared, the air around it shimmering with blistering heat. Beside it, Lugiatwo reared back, a spiraling orb of white-blue energy swirling between its beak.
"They're charging together again!" Lyra shouted, shielding her face from the glare.
Ethan's eyes widened. "Wait, that's Lugia's [Aeroblast]… it's fueling Ho-Oh's [Sacred Fire]!"
"You just now figured that out?!" Kris snapped, making Ethan scratch the back of his head sheepishly, before snapping back to focus.
Silver clenched his fists. "Then we stop them before they finish charging, now!"
"Easier said than done!" Lyra yelled, as Lugiatwo's eyes flashed and the cyclone of wind and light roared to life, funneling into Ho-Ohtwo's talons. The golden flames along its wings burnt higher, now swirling with concentrated energy.
The combined [Aeroblast–Sacred Fire] tore forward, a hurricane of searing light ripping across the trees. Ethan dove aside, rolling behind a jagged piece of rubble as the blast annihilated the spot where he'd been standing. The shockwave sent dust and embers spiraling into the night sky.
"We can't keep dodging forever!" Kris shouted, hurling her next Poké Ball. "Feraligatr, [Aqua Tail]! Hold that fire back!"
Feraligatr slammed its tail into the ground, conjuring a towering wall of water that clashed against the incoming inferno. Steam hissed violently as the two forces collided, but even the torrent wasn't enough. The blazing storm punched through, heat curling the edges of Kris's jacket as she braced against the wave of fire and wind.
Silver narrowed his eyes, already calculating. "They're too in sync. Ho-Oh uses the wind boost for range and power, Lugia gets its fire shielded from dispersing."
"So… we split them up," Ethan finished as he reached down to his belt and grabbed his Typhlosion's Poké Ball.
As he said that, the four collectively got an idea and looked at each other. Silver sighed, and Ethan started grinning as he finally threw out his Typhlosion, "Exbo, time to shine!"
Typhlosion leapt onto the field as its back flared, releasing a thick wave of smoke that filled the arena. Lugiatwo's [Aeroblast] cut through the haze, but when it hit where they had been standing, they were gone, nowhere to be seen.
Lyra jumped from her hiding place behind a tree and pointed up.
"Meganium, use [Vine Whip] to yank Lugiatwo back!"
The vines shot out from the trees, wrapping around Lugiatwo's wings. With Meganium hidden in the treeline, they couldn't tell where the vines were coming from.
Lugiatwo let out a piercing, metallic cry, thrashing violently against the binds. The air around it warped as psychic energy surged from its body.
"Hold it, Meganium!" Lyra shouted, her voice strained. The vines creaked, tightened—
Ho-Ohtwo wheeled around, catching sight of its ally's struggle. Its golden eyes blazed. With a single beat of its wings, embers scattered like a storm of fireflies before igniting mid-air into a volley of burning meteors.
"Silver, now!" Lyra yelled.
"Honchkrow, [Night Slash], cut those meteors apart!"
Silver's Honchkrow dove through the smoke, slashing apart the meteors one after another. Each strike scattered sparks harmlessly across the forest floor. Silver shot Ethan a look.
Ethan grinned through the chaos. "Exbo, [Smoke Eruption] (Smokescreen + Eruption)!"
Typhlosion dug its claws into the earth, pumping heat into the ground. The forest floor cracked open, vents of thick, choking black smoke spewing upward, covering the battlefield and blocking Ho-Ohtwo's view. Its cry was half-anger, half-surprise, as it staggered mid-flight.
"That's it! Kris, Silver, now's your chance!" Ethan called out.
Kris nodded and pointed upward. "Feraligatr, [Ice Fang] on Lugiatwo's wing!"
Silver shouted his command as well. "Do the same on the other one!"
Both Feraligatr charged forward, leaping into the air and clamping down hard on opposite wings. Ice crackled outward along Lugiatwo's feathers, the sudden cold forcing it into a spiral away from Ho-Ohtwo's position.
"They're separated!" Silver barked. "Don't let them regroup, press them from both sides!"
Ho-Ohtwo screeched, banking hard through the haze to reach Lugiatwo, but Ethan was already moving, "Exbo, cut it off! [Flame Charge]!"
Typhlosion became a streak of fire, colliding with Ho-Ohtwo mid-turn and forcing the golden bird to beat its wings wildly to regain altitude. Heat shimmered off its feathers, but Exbo held its ground, snarling.
Kris didn't waste the opening. "Feraligatr, [Hydro Pump] full power!"
A roaring column of water blasted across the clearing, smashing into Lugiatwo's side before it could stabilize. The clone crashed through a stand of trees, the psychic hum around it flickering erratically.
"Keep it rattled!" Lyra yelled. "Meganium, [Solar Beam], charge and fire!"
Meganium's flower glowed brilliantly through the smoke, a beam of green-white light lancing into Lugiatwo's chest, knocking it deeper into the forest.
Silver's voice cut sharply through comms. "Don't give Ho-Ohtwo the chance to counter, Ethan, with me!"
Ethan nodded. "Alright, best buddy."
"Don't call me that!" Silver snapped as they continued.
The two of them sprinted through the swirling haze, the ground still trembling from the last impacts. Ho-Ohtwo's cry split the air, a deep, resonant note that rattled their teeth. Its wings blazed brighter, the heat so intense that the nearby tree bark began to char and curl.
"Honchkrow, Feraligatr, back up that Typhlosion!" Silver shouted.
Honchkrow dove, wings glowing like polished blades, striking Ho-Ohtwo across the flank. Feraligatr blasted a torrent of water straight into the clone's face, staggering it. But with a snap of its beak, Ho-Ohtwo unleashed a ring of fire that exploded outward.
Ethan ducked low, the flames hissing overhead. "Exbo, [Flame Wheel], stay on it!"
Typhlosion erupted into motion again, rolling through the fire like it was nothing, smashing into Ho-Ohtwo's side and sending sparks flying. The golden bird staggered, one wing dragging through the dirt before it flared upward again.
Meanwhile, in the distance, Kris and Lyra weren't letting Lugiatwo recover.
"Feraligatr, [Crunch] its tail, don't let it get airborne!" Kris commanded.
Feraligatr's massive jaws clamped down, muscles bulging as Lugiatwo thrashed in fury. Lyra's Meganium darted in from the other side, vines snapping forward to tangle its legs.
Lugiatwo's psychic energy flared violently, the air around it crackling.
"It's about to blow!" Lyra yelled. "Meganium, get away!"
But before Lugiatwo could unleash the blast, Silver's voice rang across the battlefield. "Ethan! Now!"
Ethan grinned, already knowing what he meant. "Exbo [Eruption]!"
Exbo's flames roared into a blinding pillar, the temperature spiking as fireballs burst skyward before crashing down onto Ho-Ohtwo and Lugiatwo, engulfing them in explosions.
The four of them paused to catch their breath. Lyra looked around at the others. "Did we get them?"
The smoke cleared. Both birds were still there, hurt, yes, but far from defeated.
And if that wasn't enough, a slow, mocking clap echoed through the haze, "Not bad. But in the end, it's useless."
They all turned toward the sound. From above, the Masked Man descended, riding another Ho-Ohtwo. Behind him came a second Lugiatwo, its rider a blue-haired man wearing a mask of his own.
They recognized him instantly. They had seen the Masked Man on the broadcast, after all.
"You! You're the one doing this, aren't you?" Ethan shouted.
But the Masked Man ignored him, speaking as though addressing the group at large.
"Not bad. I can tell if you four had more time, a few years, perhaps, you might have done something. But in the end…"
Silver's eyes narrowed as he looked at Archer. "You… what are you doing? What is your goal?"
The Masked Man didn't answer right away. Instead, he began laughing, "Hmm… oh, Silver, what's wrong?" He tilted his head, gaze locking on him. "I guess you're still the same little boy you were four years ago~"
Silver's eyes widened as the realization hit him, and he grit his teeth, grinding them, "It was you… you're the one that did that…"
"Oh, you mean trying to kidnap you? To make you somewhat useful in your pathetic life? Yes, that was me," the Masked Man said.
Ethan, Lyra, and Kris looked confused, but from Silver's expression and the weight in his voice, they could tell this was serious.
Silver looked ready to explode as he clenched his fists, "You're the one that sent them. You're the one that tried to take us. And… you're the one that made my BIG SISTER CRY!"
Silver thrust a finger upward as if to push the air itself aside and roared, "Honchkrow, [Air Slash]!"
Honchkrow obeyed instantly, wings slicing the air as it launched razor winds one after another toward the Masked Man.
But the villain looked unimpressed. Ho-Ohtwo spread its blazing wings and blocked the attacks effortlessly as he kept advancing, "Oh? Did I strike a nerve there? Green, was it? She's sacred to you, isn't she?"
Silver's teeth clenched tighter. "Keep her name out of your mouth!"
The Masked Man's mocking laughter echoed across the forest as Ho-Ohtwo's wings scattered sparks down onto the canopy. Lugiatwo floated menacingly just behind.
Ethan balled his fists. "Man, you just don't shut up, do you?!" his usual carefree attitude gone.
Silver's glare didn't waver. "You think you can just toss her name around like a toy? You don't even know her!"
The Masked Man leaned forward in his saddle, voice a snake's hiss, "Oh, but I do. The girl who screamed and begged and cried when my pets went after her." He tilted his head mockingly. "Tell me, Silver, she still thinks about it, doesn't she? She's still just as scared as ever, isn't she~?"
"SHUT UP!" Silver roared, his voice cracking with rage. His fists shook so hard Ethan had to grab him from behind to keep him from charging blindly.
The Masked Man's shoulders shook with amusement. "How predictable. You're just a child throwing a tantrum."
Then, another voice cut through the smoke, "Funny. I don't remember asking you to narrate my life story."
The sound was light. Teasing. And Silver recognized it instantly.
From the smoke, a vine shot out, coiling around Ho-Ohtwo's throat and yanking it backward into Archer and the second Lugiatwo, sending them both crashing together. The Lugia clone caught Ho-Oh awkwardly, but then the trees themselves moved, roots and branches twisting, tangling, binding the two clones to the ground.
As the smoke cleared, Green stood tall beside her Mega Venusaur, commanding it forward to keep the birds pinned.
She looked at the Johto gang and winked. "...Miss me?"
"Green!" Silver blurted out.
The Masked Man leaned back in his saddle, tilting his head with false curiosity, "Well, well. The prodigal sister returns." His tone grew sharp, mocking. "And here I thought you'd still be hiding from the big, bad birds that scared you off all those years ago."
Then, without warning, his gloved hand lashed out, his arm stretching impossibly far. He grabbed Green by the throat and yanked her close, jerking her chin upward toward him, "You're still as scared as you always were, aren't you? Go on, take a look!"
Silver's heart nearly stopped. "GREEN!"
Her eyes widened, her body going rigid. For a moment, she looked utterly small, her lips trembling, fear flickering in her expression like firelight on glass. Her voice broke to a whisper, "…Please… not again…"
The Masked Man's laughter boomed, triumphant, cruel, "Yes. That's the look. The same look you had when Ho-Oh's flames licked at your heels. When Lugia's wings dragged you screaming into the dark. Pathetic. Broken. Still a crying little girl."
Silver's fists shook so violently he was digging his fingernails into his palms, "Let her GO!"
But before anyone could move
Green's trembling stopped. Her lips curved upward, just slightly, into a sly smile. She blinked up at the Masked Man, her voice sing-song sweet, "…Just kidding~."
She tilted her head forward, not to hit him, but to knock her hat loose. The brim fell, tumbling, until something clinked free, a hidden Poké Ball, bouncing once before spinning across the ground.
The Masked Man's eyes widened. He felt it before it even opened, the air growing hotter, suffocating. Instinct screamed at him to get away.
He leapt back, but too late. A flaming wing slashed upward, slicing his icy body clean in half. His head tumbled free but reformed with the rest of him, fury in his narrowed eyes.
Because standing before Green now was none other than Moltres.
The Masked Man steadied himself, body knitting back together. His hand clenched. The Ho-Ohtwo and Lugiatwo clones in the sky swooped down behind him, while the others tore themselves free from Venusaur's vines.
"Even still… so what? You think that changes anything? You are still outnumbered!" he spat, raising his hand to order the attack.
But before the clones could move, thunder cracked. From the side, Entei and Raikou slammed into the birds, driving them into the ground. Suicune landed before Archer, its crystalline eyes locking on him, blocking his path.
From where they'd come, Misty, Surge, and Blaine stood together, glaring down at the Masked Man, "No," Misty shouted, voice fierce. "Not anymore. We're here to stop you!"
The Masked Man narrowed his eyes from beneath the mask. He reached for a Poké Ball, only to sense something barreling toward him. He twisted left just in time as an Arcanine blazed past in a [Flare Blitz], flames ripping across his body and tearing away the mask's right side.
Gary vaulted from Arcanine's back, landing in a crouch beside Green, "Well, looks like you guys started the party without me," he said casually, before smirking at her. "Nice bird. Sure it doesn't come with trauma?"
Green rolled her eyes. "You can thank Ash for this one."
"I'm not even gonna ask how he let you meet Moltres," Gary muttered with a blank stare.
The Masked Man seethed, regenerating as if being ignored was the worst insult of all. One of the Lugia clones broke free from the legendary beasts and shot upward to attack, but a comet-like streak of yellow crashed down from the sky, slamming it into the dirt. Dust burst outward, and when it cleared, a Dragonite stood with its claws around Lugiatwo's throat, choking it into the ground.
The Masked Man reeled, caught off guard and didn't notice the shadow until it was already on him.
From above, Ash dropped into view, leaping high, as he covered his fist in Aura turning it royal blue
Ash's fist slammed straight into the Masked Man's mask. At first, he tried to brace himself, his frozen feet digging trenches into the dirt, to try to not go flying
But Ash only grinned, and doubled the output
The Masked Man's resistance crumbled. With a roar of energy, Ash pushed through, sending him rocketing backward until he smashed into a tree with enough force to shatter it to splinters.
Ash landed lightly, dust swirling around him. Pikachu and Vee appeared at his side in a crackle of light, standing firm and ready. He flashed a lopsided smile at the others, "Hey there. Miss me? Sorry, had to take care of a few things first."
Misty's eyes widened. Her voice trembled, but relief softened her words. "You…"
"Heh. Kid, not bad at all," Surge barked, impressed after witnessing that punch.
Gary tossed him a Poké Ball with a roll of his eyes. "Took you long enough. Good to see you're not dead."
"Yeah, I still have to yell at you for forcing me in the situation you did!" Green said, slightly more upset with Ash, but in the end, she wasn't mad,
Ethan covered his face with both hands, half groaning, half laughing. "Did you seriously just punch him in the mask?! That's so cool! …Man, I should've thought of that first."
"And kinda hot, not gonna lie…" Lyra mumbled under her breath.
Ash glanced at her, smirking faintly. "We can talk about that later." Then his gaze shifted back toward the rising dust cloud where his enemy had fallen.
There, scattered across the ground, lay fragments of the broken mask.
Ash's smile hardened, "We're not done here… are we?"
From behind, the two pairs of cloned Ho-Oh and Lugia screeched, wings beating. The smoke shifted, and the Masked Man emerged. His cloak was gone, leaving his icy body exposed, jagged and reforming.
Ash straightened, eyes narrowing, "You really thought we'd just sit by and do nothing, didn't you? Guess in all your contingency plans, you didn't account for us… isn't that right…"
The last of the smoke curled away, revealing the truth, "…Gym Leader Pryce."
And there he sat, perched atop the head of the towering ice golem, his gaze shadowed and dark.
The real battle was about to begin.