{A while ago}
Back with Yellow, she was breathing heavily on the boat, while on the other side Wilton was also watching. In the center, all of Yellow's Pokémon were breathing heavily and beaten, but next to them Wilton's Pokémon were knocked out again.
Yellow let out a sigh of relief. "I did it! That means you can't stop me, Uncle Wilton!"
"Hmm, yeah you did. However, aren't your Pokémon too injured to take you to the mainland?" Wilton asked, not mockingly, but to see what she would do.
But Yellow had had enough of being the scared one, the one that wasn't sure of herself. She looked at Wilton and smiled. "You should know better by now." Her hand glowed as she pointed it towards her Pokémon, and also Wilton's Pokémon. Immediately, their bruises began healing, and they all stood up.
Yellow pulled out the Pokéballs and returned everybody except Chuchu and Kitty. Then she looked at Wilton and smiled. "Uncle Wilton, thank you for everything. But this time I know what I want to do. And as someone taught me, 'you can't stop me.'"
Wilton looked at her for a moment, then laughed. "It's about time."
Yellow smiled back. "Yeah, I guess it took a while, but better late than never." As she said that, Chuchu jumped on her shoulder and Kitty flew behind her, grabbing onto her back. "I'm going back, and I'm going to help everyone. And I want to do it my own way."
Wilton smiled once more. "I knew I wouldn't be able to protect you forever." He walked up and put a hand on her shoulder. "Yellow, you've become a splendid Pokémon trainer, and an even better person. I'm just happy you can finally see that now."
Yellow smiled and gave Wilton a hug. "Thank you for everything. You'll always be my family, Uncle Wilton."
"And you'll always be like the daughter I never had." Wilton patted her head and placed her sun hat back on, making sure the feathers he had put in it were still adjusted tightly.
"Now get out of here. Your friends need you," Wilton said, as Yellow took a breath and nodded.
As she did, she turned on the boat and, with a running start, jumped off. Kitty grabbed on tighter, flapping his wings as they lifted into the sky with her holding on. As Wilton watched her fly away, he chuckled to himself. "Looks like she's finally growing up…"
—
As Yellow was flying through the air a while later, she didn't really know how long she had been flying. What she did know was that she was somehow constantly making Kitty stronger, that's how he was moving as fast as he was, and seemingly wasn't getting tired. She was already back in Johto and flying towards the stadium.
Now, one thing she didn't understand was that Chuchu had been acting differently. Well, not recently, but it had been happening for a while. If she had to put a number on it, probably ever since they went to Pryce's Gym.
Chuchu hadn't been moving as well, and she'd had weird appetites, cravings for odd things. For example, she had started eating ketchup, and Chuchu used to hate ketchup before. Not to mention, one day Yellow found her vomiting, but Chuchu insisted she was fine. Still, Yellow was worried.
At first it was just a few things, but now it was getting worse. And she didn't know why. But hey, she wasn't going to pry.
Anyway, while she was lost in thought, Kitty suddenly saw something and jerked downward, pulling Yellow out of her thoughts. Yellow was startled, trembling slightly from the surprise. When she looked over to see why Kitty had done that, she saw Ho-Oh and Lugia (or at least their clones) firing blasts wildly. One nearly hit them, but Kitty saved them just in time.
And the ones they were fighting against were Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres, with Ash, Gary, and Green riding them and joining the battle.
As they saw the final beam from the legendary birds, she was about to fly over, but then she heard the sound of crystals breaking. Looking down, she saw what looked like a broken dome. Someone was flying away, but she wasn't worried about that, she saw, in the rubble under the crystal, Misty, Surge, and Blaine. They weren't getting out.
Without thinking, she told Kitty to fly her down. As she did, she went to Misty first. She saw Misty's eyes fluttering as she struggled to keep them open, and when Yellow landed, she realized why, it was harder to breathe down here. The air was heavy.
She ran over and jumped down beside Misty. "Quick, Kitty, [Gust]! But gently, please."
Kitty nodded, flew up, and beat his wings, shooting out soft winds that blew the heavy air and smoke away from the three of them. But the damage was already done.
Yellow dropped to the ground and helped lift Misty's head. Her hands started glowing, she didn't care about keeping it a secret anymore.
By this point Ash, Gary, and Green had flown down and landed. Ash saw Yellow and gave a small smile. "Heh… good to see you made it back, Yellow."
"Ash…" Yellow said. She wanted to say more, but she didn't. Instead, she focused on Misty. "Come on, Misty. It's okay. Everything's gonna be okay."
By now, the Johto gang, Ethan, Silver, Kris, and Lyra, managed to run over. Their eyes widened when they saw Misty, Surge, and Blaine on the ground, and Suicune struggling to stand.
As Yellow's hands glowed, trying to heal Misty, Misty weakly raised her hand and pushed Yellow's away. "No… Suicune… heal Suicune first…"
Yellow's eyes widened. "But Misty—!"
"Please…" Misty begged. "Suicune needs it more… it got hit with a [Curse]…"
Yellow's jaw tightened as she looked back and forth. Normally, she would have asked someone, maybe Ash, what she should do. And maybe she should have. But not right now. She gave Misty a reassuring nod. "Okay. I understand."
Ash ran over, carefully took Misty's head from Yellow, and set his bag down. "Don't worry, I've got her." He reached into his bag and pulled out Clefairy's Pokéball, then looked back. "Green, a little help?"
"Right." Green jumped down, grabbed Clefable's Pokéball from her belt, and ran over to Misty. The two Fairy-types began healing her, though not as well or as quickly as Yellow could.
Meanwhile, Yellow turned toward Suicune. She took a breath and held her hand out. "Suicune… please, hold still."
Suicune was still shivering as it suffered from the [Curse]. When it turned and saw Yellow approaching, it didn't resist. Yellow placed her hand on its head, and her glow spread into its body.
After a moment, Yellow pulled back and let out a shaky breath. "Ha… that took more out of me than I thought… I don't think I can do that again without a nap."
But Suicune stood tall, its body no longer trembling. It looked at Yellow and gave her a nod before turning toward Entei and Raikou as they approached, as if the three of them were silently deciding their next move.
Meanwhile, with everyone else, Clefairy and Clefable finished healing Misty and moved to Blaine and Surge. Misty's bruises had faded, but that was only the surface damage. The smoke the Masked Man had released, and the lack of air, was still affecting her badly.
While she would be fine, and so would Blaine and Surge, they wouldn't be able to move for at least thirty minutes. And that was the best-case scenario.
"Guess this is where I have to stop, huh…" Misty said with a humorless smile. "Serves me right. How could I think I could have made it to the final battle…"
"Misty, don't say that," Ash said, moving her over to a tree so she could sit up. "You did more than enough."
"You're just saying that. But in the end…" Misty looked down again. "When am I ever the one who solves our problems? That's always you. I'm just on the side… always."
"That's not true," Yellow said. "You've always been important, so please, don't say that."
But Misty wasn't going to believe it, not right now. I mean, look at the state she was in. She couldn't even walk, much less go to the final battle. And every moment they spent with her was a second wasted. "Please… just go. You're both more important than I am."
Before anyone could say anything else, Misty turned toward Suicune. "I'm sorry, Suicune… I can't keep going with you." Struggling on the ground, she reached out, and Suicune leaned down, letting her rub its head.
"Please choose someone else to finish this. I know it's your mission, right? It's better if I don't hold you back…" Misty said with a bitter smile, holding up Suicune's Poké Ball.
Suicune looked down at her, then gently took the ball in its mouth. It turned away, scanning everyone there, until its gaze stopped on Kris. Slowly, it walked toward her.
Kris froze, startled as Suicune came closer. "I-I… Suicune, you're choosing me?"
Suicune said nothing, only dropped the Poké Ball at her feet. After a moment's hesitation, Kris picked it up.
"Suicune…" Her hands shook as she tried to hold back tears. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Suicune, I'm so sorry…" She broke down, apologizing for what she had done last year, when she had attacked it.
Suicune looked down at her, then lifted one of its flowing ribbons and brushed the tears from her eyes.
Kris let out a trembling laugh through the lump in her throat. She clutched the Poké Ball tightly against her chest. "I… I won't let you down again."
Nearby, Surge forced himself upright. Even with Clefairy and Clefable supporting him, his problems were more than just bruises. "We can't go either, much as I'd like to."
Blaine nodded, glancing from Entei and Raikou to the Johto squad. "We might not, but you can."
"Eh? Us?" Ethan blinked a few times.
"Yeah, kid. Catch." Surge tossed his Poké Ball at Ethan, while Blaine did the same toward Silver. Ethan fumbled but barely caught his, while Silver caught his cleanly.
Ethan looked down at the ball and grinned. "Oh yeah! Now we're the cool guys with Legendaries!"
"I… no. I-I can't take this. Not after… everything I've done. I can't." Silver shook his head, staring at Entei's Poké Ball. "You should find someone else."
But Entei walked right up to him. Silver tried to hand the ball back, but Entei shook its head and pressed the Poké Ball against his hand, refusing to let him give it away.
Kris smiled softly. "Looks like even Entei thinks you should. Guess that means you can't say no, huh~"
"I-uh…" Silver mumbled, staring at the ball. "I just…"
But before he could finish, Ethan threw an arm around him with a big grin. "Come on, best buddy! Now we're together, and we can beat these Masked losers!"
"Don't," Silver said as he sighed, then looked over to Green, who was giving him a double thumbs-up. He sighed again. "Fine… but only because we need each other to stop all of this."
"Yosh, that's great!" Lyra clapped her hands, then deflated a little. "Too bad I didn't get chosen…"
"Uh, guys? Hate to be the stick in the mud here, but can we hurry this up?" Gary said, getting everyone's attention. "We still have an evil Gym Leader we need to stop from doing whatever he's doing."
"Right, we need to move. Everybody, get on!" Kris said as she jumped on Suicune.
"Yeah, good point. Come on, Yellow, hop on," Ash said as he jumped back onto Articuno and held his hand out to help Yellow up.
"O-Oh, y-you want me to go?" Yellow said as she looked back, then glanced down at Chuchu. She took a breath, then looked up and grabbed Ash's hand. "Alright!"
Ethan jumped on Raikou, and Silver mounted Entei. Then Lyra ran up and hopped onto Suicune, grabbing Kris from behind. "No way you're leaving me behind! I'm going too!"
"Uhhh… why are you like this…" Kris mumbled at her sister's antics, though she didn't push her away. "Fine. But if you do something stupid, I'm telling Mom."
"Oh, please no…" Lyra muttered.
"Alright, we can do this! Let's be as annoying as we can and ruin his plans once and for all!" Green said as she got onto Moltres.
Everyone returned their Pokémon to their Poké Balls. Pikachu and Vee climbed onto Ash, except for Clefairy and Clefable, who stayed behind to take care of Misty, Blaine, and Surge. Dragonite was still flying in the sky, looking grumpy that she wasn't the one Ash was riding on.
"Everybody, let's hurry!" Kris shouted as the beasts raced across the ground and the birds soared above, all heading after Pryce to end this once and for all.
—
Pryce moved through the forest. Delibird couldn't fly him the whole way, and although he didn't want to admit it, that fight against Misty, Blaine, and Surge had done more damage than he thought.
He needed all his Ice Pokémon still standing in case he had to use his last resort. If they went down, he might not be able to complete his plan. Because of that, his main "Masked Man" team was almost finished, they had sacrificed themselves to take most of the damage so his Ice Pokémon could remain strong.
But that didn't matter. It was almost time. He was going to win, right here, right now, and it was all thanks to this: the GS Ball.
Yes, he had managed to create one. As the golden Poké Ball rested in his hand, he clutched it tightly. He didn't know why, but holding it made him feel stronger, like maybe it was making his old body just a little younger. He could feel the strength returning to his arms.
And now it was time. As he walked with his Ice bodyguards, he found what he was looking for: the Ilex Forest shrine. He smiled as he stepped forward, clenching the golden Poké Ball. But just as he was about to take another step, a blast of electricity shot in front of him, forcing him to stop.
He looked toward the source, and there they were. All eight of them. Ash, Gary, Green, Yellow, Silver, Ethan, Kris, and Lyra, standing alongside Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, Suicune, Entei, and Raikou.
Silver was the first to step forward, pointing as he glared at Pryce. "It's over! Your mad ambitions end here. You can't defeat all of us!"
Pryce narrowed his eyes through the cracks of his broken mask. "You brats think you can stop me? You're nothing but a bunch of misfits. You'll never stop me!"
"Oh yeah? Then try this, [Thunderbolt]!" Ethan shouted.
Raikou obeyed, charging up electricity before firing it toward Pryce. Pryce grit his teeth, raised his hand, and pointed forward. Delibird stepped in, creating an ice shield that blocked the attack, but cracks spread across it, and with a sharp shatter, the shield broke apart.
"An ice shield?" Kris mumbled. "I guess it only makes sense… he has more experience with Pokémon than all of us…"
But Pryce wasn't done. Smiling coldly, he opened his Poké Balls, releasing his Pokémon once more: Mamoswine, Cloyster, Weavile, Abomasnow, and Walrein. Though they were tired, they all prepared for his final contingency plan.
The air grew colder as countless ice clones began forming from the moisture in the air. Pryce covered his face with another ice mask, so now they couldn't tell which one was real. The sheer number of clones blocked their view of the enemy Pokémon.
"You haven't even seen a fraction of what I can do! I've had enough of you misfits trying to ruin my plans, now I'll stop playing nice!!" all the ice clones said in unison.
"Tch. Looks like things aren't going to be as easy as we thought…" Gary muttered, bracing himself.
"So what? As long as we stick together, there's no way we can lose!" Green said confidently.
Ethan nodded. "I'm with her, let's do this!"
As they charged forward, Gary called out first. "Zapdos, [Drill Peck]!"
Zapdos shrieked and dove, its wings crackling as it speared through three ice clones at once. They shattered instantly, but for every one destroyed, two more began to form.
"Great. So it's that kind of fight…" Silver muttered, climbing onto Entei's back. "Fine. Entei, [Sacred Fire]!"
Entei roared, flames bursting from its mane. A blazing wave swept through the clones, melting a swath of them into water. Steam hissed in the frigid air, fighting against the spreading frost.
"Raikou, back him up, [Thunder]!" Ethan shouted. Raikou leapt high, lightning splitting the heavens as it fried the advancing wall of duplicates.
Kris grit her teeth, holding tight to Suicune. "If they're endless, then we can't waste time! Suicune, [Aurora Beam], clear a path!"
Suicune's horn glowed, firing a prismatic ray that carved through the icy army. But even as the clones fell, Pryce's laughter echoed from every direction.
Ash narrowed his eyes, focusing his Aura. Through the chaos, he could sense six distinct auras, five belonged to the Ice-types maintaining the clones, and one was Pryce himself. But the dolls were closing in fast, making it harder to pinpoint him.
"Listen up!" Ash shouted above the roars and shattering ice. "Gary, Ethan you're left, far right! Silver, Green, top right! Just hit those spots!"
Gary didn't even hesitate. "Zapdos, [Thunderbolt]!"
Electricity cracked through the swarm, frying several clones before striking the hidden Cloyster. It cried out before collapsing, and with it, a large cluster of ice dolls dissolved instantly.
Silver's eyes lit up. "Entei, [Extreme Speed]!"
Entei became a blaze of light, tearing through the clone lines until it slammed into the hidden Weavile, sending it flying into a tree. Pikachu followed up with a fierce [Thunderbolt], finishing it off and wiping away even more dolls.
"Two down!" Green shouted. "Alright, Moltres, [Sky Attack], cut them open!"
Moltres dove like a comet, bursting into white-hot flame that melted an entire corridor of clones. But it wasn't just clearing space, it was hunting. As it tore through the frost, its talons struck Abomasnow square in the chest. The giant toppled with a groan, crashing into a tree before slumping unconscious. The ice dolls it had been sustaining crumbled with it.
But the cold only surged back harsher. A blizzard howled around them, and Pryce's real voice roared from within:
"Do you think you children can overcome decades of experience?! Walrein, [Sheer Cold]!"
The temperature plummeted as a wave of frost and wind blasted outward. Zapdos faltered in midair, Suicune staggered on the ground, and even Entei's flames flickered weakly under the crushing chill as they shielded their Trainers.
Yellow gritted her teeth, stepping forward. "No, not this time!"
Her eyes glowed gold. Zapdos, Entei, and Suicune pulsed with light as she was trying to out heal the snow strom
"I can't hold this for long, please, hurry!" Yellow cried, already trembling, her sweat on her head was already freezing as she struggled to keep her eyes open.
Kris nodded sharply. There wasn't time to ask questions. "She's buying us time, then let's finish this! Suicune, [Mirror Coat]!"
Suicune gleamed with prismatic light, reflecting Walrein's frigid attack back with doubled strength. Walrein howled, the backlash slamming it into the snow with a thunderous crash.
"Enough games!" the front-most Masked Man growled. With a snap of his wrist, Mamoswine thundered forward from the rear, tusks glowing with [Ice Fang] as it barreled toward Ash and Yellow.
"Not happening!" Ethan shouted. "Raikou, [Extreme Speed]!"
Raikou blurred, colliding head-on with Mamoswine. The ground quaked under the impact, both Pokémon skidding back across the snow. As Mamoswine tried to recover, Vee leapt from Raikou's shoulder, wreathed in fire. With a blazing [Sizzly Slide], it slammed into Mamoswine's chest, forcing the beast back into the ground, defeated.
Now only Delibird remained at Pryce's side. One last Masked Man staggered forward, icy form crumbling.
"Ash, your call!" Gary barked.
Ash's eyes narrowed. "Articuno, [Ancient Power]!"
Articuno shrieked, conjuring boulders of glowing stone that smashed into the Masked Man's limbs. First its legs shattered, then its arms, leaving only a torso writhing on the ground. And unlike the others… this one pulsed with Aura.
Everyone tensed, but none of them looked horrified. They knew the limbs were just ice, only the torso mattered.
Ethan jumped down confidently, brushing snow from his jacket. "Well, looks like it's game over, loser." He stuck out his tongue as he grabbed the Masked Man's torso by the back and yanked him upright. "Now, how about we unmask him once and for all?"
Gary blinked. "Dude… we already know who he is?"
"Be quiet, I've always wanted to do this," Ethan said, striking a pose. He turned back with his best dramatic voice: "And now… let's see who's really behind the mask!"
Lyra bit her lip, trying not to laugh. "Wait, if we're doing Scooby-Doo… then who's our Scooby?"
Yellow tilted her head. "Um… does that make me Scooby?"
Chuchu squeaked indignantly. "Chu!!" She puffed her cheeks in protest.
"Fine, fine," Ethan said quickly. "Chuchu's Scooby. Yellow can be… uh…" He tapped his chin thoughtfully. "The wholesome background character who secretly saves the day but doesn't get enough screen time."
Green tilted her head, "That… strangely fits."
"Ethan, hurry up!" Silver snapped, his face red with embarrassment but too caught in the bit to walk away. "Just unmask him and let's get this over with!"
"Right, right." Ethan grinned. "Alright, the moment of truth!" he declared, yanking the headpiece off with a dramatic flourish.
But instead of Pryce's weathered face, the mask clattered to the ground, revealing… a Swinub.
The tiny Ice-type blinked, eyes wide, and let out a squeaky, "Swi—!"
"…Eh?" Everyone, even Ash, froze, baffled. Ash had seen six Auras earlier, and this one had talked. None of it made sense.
Then, from the Swinub's mouth, a small device tumbled out, spinning on the ice.
"Mwa-a-a-a-a—" it crackled before fizzling into static. A recorder.
Silver scowled, "Wait, then where—?"
Before he could finish, the ground shook as icy walls surged upward, encasing the group in a crystalline prison. The sudden formation cut them off from their Legendary partners, trapping them in a confined space.
"Damn it!" Gary slammed his fist against the ice. Everyone was trying to break the Ice,but it was too hard and they couldn't let out there Pokemon there was no room for them, the only ones that could do anything where Pikachu, Vee, and Chuchu, and they didn't have many good choices that wouldn't hurt everyone
Ash clenched his teeth, drawing on his Aura. He raised his fist, as his fist was slightly glowing blue, he could break the ice but it would take a few seconds to charge up
From the shadows, a cloaked figure rolled forward. Pryce. His wheelchair glided over the frozen ground, and beside him slid his last Pokemon, his Lapras, La Glace.
"You really thought I would fight you directly?" Pryce's voice was a venomous rasp, cold as the ice itself. "Foolish children. I only needed to buy time. And now…"
From his cloak, he produced a pocket watch. Its hands ticked in unnatural rhythm, and behind him, the shrine began to glow with eerie green light.
"It's time."
The shrine pulsed brighter and brighter, until from within, a figure emerged, small, glowing, almost dreamlike. Celebi.
It floated out gently, eyes half-lidded as if waking from a long nap. It blinked around in wonder, gaze soft and childlike. Everyone, even Pryce, was struck silent by the sight.
Celebi looked first at Pryce… then tilted its head, curious, and floated right past him toward the trapped Trainers.
Their eyes widened in hope.
But Pryce snapped from his trance with a snarl. He hurled an empty Poké Ball. It struck Celebi in the back, stunning it. The ball split open, sucking the Legendary inside.
The capsule hit the ground.
One roll.
Two rolls.
Three rolls.
Ding.
Silence fell.
Pryce's hand trembled as he rolled forward and scooped up the ball. His lips curled into a shaking grin.
"I… I did it…"
His voice broke into a manic laugh. He thrust the Poké Ball high, eyes wild.
"HAHAHAHA! I DID IT! THIS–THIS IS MY ULTIMATE VICTORY!"
The shrine's glow dimmed behind him, as now the pocket watch in Pryce's hand, stopped, then started ticking backwords