Green and Ash were walking through the cave. In Ash's hand, he had his phone, where he had 3 blinking dots all at the same place.
Green whistled, "Look at that, guess that whole plan with that Lovrina chick was useless, huh?" She said, then she got a cheeky smile, "Or maybe you just enjoyed playing the hero~"
Ash rolled his eyes, "Not necessarily. For one, we know the path she took, and another thing, I don't think it was entirely useless, but we can figure that out later. For now, we've gotta deal with this, and we can even get Gary."
"Oh yeah, the trio just isn't complete without our Gar-bear," Green said, putting her arms behind her head, "Hey, do you still have his Pokémon?"
"Yeah, why?" Ash said, putting his phone down.
"I wouldn't happen to be able to convince you to let me use them for a bit, would I~?" Green said with a smirk.
"Gary will kill us both in our sleep," Ash said matter-of-factly.
"Nahh, besides, you'll protect me, won't you, Ashy~?" Green winked, which had no effect on Ash.
"Anyway," Ash changed the subject as they rounded a corner, and Ash, Green, Pikachu, then Vee peeked around the corner, seeing Cipher grunts walking around.
"So, Green, any bright ideas on how we get there?" Ash asked.
Green smirked and went into her bag, pulling out 2 full Cipher uniforms, "I already have them ready. Don't worry, Ashy, I already fitted this one with your measurements."
"Aight, thanks," Ash said as he took the bigger one. He didn't even question how Green had his measurements. Ever since that one time when they were kids and he was put in a maid costume, he stopped questioning things like this.
As they put on the uniforms, Ash looked over, "By the way, where did you leave Yellow and Rui?"
"Uhhhhh," Green started.
—
{Meanwhile - Outskirt City}
Yellow and Rui were sitting in a café after they finished their smoothie. Yellow revealed to Rui that she actually had a note in her hat, and that alone made Rui almost fall over and bury herself in the sand.
Basically, written in the same green Sharpie, it told her that Ash was okay and that he would meet up with them, so they should go over to Outskirt City and wait for him. Love, Green.
So Yellow immediately believed it and took off. After all, it was from Green, her friend. If she told her something, it must be true, even if that idea was almost foreign to Rui. But seeing as Yellow was now her best bet for a bodyguard now that Ash wasn't here, she had to follow. After all, she didn't have any Pokémon.
So they came to the town, and immediately when they got there, they saw people marching, which was weird enough on its own. But then, when they started asking around, everything became even stranger.
People were either saying how great their lord and savior Cipher was, or saying morbid things, like more morbid than usual. One guy said that his brother said he didn't believe in Cipher, and he hasn't seen him since yesterday.
Which was morbid enough on its own, but then when Yellow and Rui got a little hungry, they went to this café. It was nearly empty, actually, scratch that, it was completely empty other than one girl wearing a maid outfit who looked scared.
When she saw Yellow and Rui, she immediately had a spark of hope go through her eyes. Seeing as she didn't recognize them, they must be from out of town.
She served them what they ordered, then when she brought the food out, she gulped and made sure no one was coming in. Then she asked them if they were out of town. When they confirmed it, she immediately dropped her professionalism and started begging.
"I need to leave this town. They'll eventually find out I'm not a believer. I'm in danger. Please help me," she said.
Yellow and Rui were immediately shocked, and Rui was going to reject her, seeing as that's what everyone usually does here in Orre. But Yellow, being the good person she is, immediately nodded.
"Okay-um...sorry, who are you and what's going on?"
The woman's eyes lit up, "Ah, thank you. My name is Mercy, not that anyone here cares," she sighed, then she sat down across from the 2 girls and began to explain what happened in this town.
A few months ago, a man who claimed to be a pastor came to town, and he started speaking about the real lord and savior, Cipher. That Cipher would save them all and bring them peace and safety. At first, no one listened to him, but slowly, something weird started happening. People started joining.
Then it started taking over, until almost all of the town was converted. Those that weren't Zealots were allowed to stay normal as long as they converted, and if they didn't, they would get taken away and no one would see them. Sometimes they would come back, but chained. Their smiles would be too wide, and they would be too happy, saying that Cipher made it all better, and sometimes they wouldn't come back.
And that's why, currently, no one was here in the café. Everyone was getting ready to go to the sermon that was required to attend, and they should also go, otherwise they would get punished.
As Rui and Yellow heard Mercy explain, they looked at each other and immediately thought the same thing, 'Oh my Mew, it's a cult.'
And as Mercy led them, she continued speaking, "I don't know where to go, but I'll be happy to travel with you for a while until I find a place I like!" she said, trying to sound as non-difficult as she could. She was scared that if she asked for something unreasonable, they would change their minds and she would be stuck in this town.
But anyway, Mercy led them to the central plaza where people were standing, and Mercy led them to the very back, where they could stay inconspicuous.
Then Rui immediately noticed something as she sat there, looking around with her power. She saw that some people around here were covered with the dark aura that Shadow Pokémon had, invisible to normal people but visible to her.
And actually, Yellow could see them too, but she didn't know what this was. This was technically her first time seeing this, I mean, unless you count Shadow Mewtwo, but that one was different. But she saw Rui looking at the people that had those dark auras, so she tapped Rui and whispered.
"Do you know what that is?" she asked quietly.
For a moment, Rui felt her heart drop as she looked at Yellow with wide eyes. As far as she remembered, she was the only one who could see them, but Yellow was saying she could too?
She was going to ask Yellow more, but then the chatting around them stopped, and a man stepped onto the platform.
When Rui and Yellow looked at him, their eyes widened, seeing that he had the darkest Aura around him, even while he kept a smile.
The people around them began chanting, "Curse the sinners, for they are not worthy! Bless the unseen, for he is the ruler of all! Bless Cipher, for he truly rules us all!"
Then the man who called himself Father Carl started the sermon, and again, just like they thought, this thing was 100% a cult. It didn't take a genius to know who was behind it: Team Cipher.
They somehow brainwashed people into believing them and used that for funding. That must be where they got their money from, and there was no telling how many other places were like this too.
Speaking of that, when it was over, Father Carl asked to collect the offerings. At first, Rui and Yellow weren't planning on giving anything, but then someone in the front row said he didn't want to give anything.
People stood up and immediately grabbed him, dragging him away, even as he begged, saying that he'll pay.
But Carl just used it to warn them all that this is what happens to non-believers. So Yellow and Rui quickly pulled out a little money and added it to the offerings, then it was over and everyone dispersed.
Yellow really felt bad for that man and wanted to go after them to help him, but Rui and Mercy both stopped her, telling her that was a bad idea. As long as this town was like this, if she did that, she would be called a heretic and be taken away.
So Yellow understood one thing from that, "So what you're saying is we need to save everyone in this town!" Yellow said, looking seriously.
"Wha-how did you get that out of what we said?" Rui asked, looking exasperated.
"Yeah, we want to help too, but it's too dangerous. It's better if we leave while we can," Mercy agreed with Rui.
But because Yellow spent 2 years with Ash, she also developed somewhat of a hero complex, and she had an idea, "Don't worry, I have a plan."
—
{Back to the cave}
Green thought about it and shrugged.
"They're probably fine. I mean, Yellow is there. Does anything really bad ever happen to Yellow?"
"Fair enough," Ash shrugged as he put on the helmet, "Let's move. Looks like Gary is coming in."
"Aight, let's hope he wasn't too lonely without us~" Green winked, then she put on the helmet too.
—
In the room with the monolith, Gary was led in by Evice. Since the important memories that he cared about were already here, well, except for one person. Walking in behind him was Nascour.
Gary meanwhile looked pretty bored. He was making popping noises with his mouth as he let himself get led into the room. His arms were tied with chains, but even if they weren't, he wasn't looking scared.
"So..." Gary finally said, looking over at Evice, "You guys really need to redecorate. The whole place screams 'evil secret organization.' Have you considered adding a window?"
No one answered him.
Gary sighed dramatically, "See? This is exactly what I'm talking about. Zero customer service."
Nascour pinched the bridge of his nose, "Would you be quiet?"
"I could," Gary admitted, "but then I'd be bored."
They stopped in front of the massive stone monolith, and Greevil slowly stepped forward, "Gary Oak."
Gary looked at him, "Yeah?"
"I've heard much about you," Greevil said slowly.
"I've heard absolutely nothing about you," Gary said truthfully.
That made everyone in the room feel like they got hit in the face. After all, this was Cipher's Grand Master, and Gary was talking to him like he was a senile old man.
Honestly, if he wasn't the only one who could read the monoliths, they might have killed him already.
But unfortunately for them, Gary was valuable, and Gary knew that. Without him, they couldn't do anything, so he could pretty much do whatever he wanted.
Gary looked around the chamber again, then let out an exaggerated sigh, "You know...I expected more."
Greevil raised an eyebrow, "More?"
"I don't know." Gary shrugged as much as the chains allowed, "Bigger statues. Maybe lava. A giant throne made out of skulls. Evil organizations are really falling off these days."
They didn't say anything to that.
Gary clicked his tongue, "See? No sense of humor."
Nascour rubbed his forehead, "Just begin."
"Oh?" Gary tilted his head, "That's it? You're not even going to threaten me?"
"We have no need to."
Gary grinned, "Right...because you need me."
A few of the Cipher Admins frowned. Gary looked around the room one person at a time, making sure everyone understood exactly what he meant.
"You can't touch me." He smiled wider, "Because if I stop reading your funny little rocks..." He nodded toward the monolith, "...your entire operation comes to a screeching halt."
"You know, as I'm saying it out loud, it makes you guys sound even more pathetic than you are," Gary chuckled, "If I stop reading your little rocks, you guys can't do anything, and you guys are so stupid you couldn't even catch my friends to threaten me with them. Not that it would work. I'm pretty sure Ash would sell me out for a crisp handshake."
They all looked at Gary, and Wes, who was in charge of getting Ash, looked away. They all remembered his failure with that one.
Gary continued, "By the way, how is that Black Primeape treating you? I hear that it lost. Almost as pathetic as you guys are." Gary kept going as he made himself comfortable.
Ardos narrowed his eyes, "I'll shut him up. Please give me the order, Grand Master."
"You will do no such thing." Greevil's calm voice stopped him instantly.
"But Master—"
"I said no."
Gary whistled, "Huh, talk about family drama."
"Read the monolith," Greevil continued, then he opened his yellow eyes, "If not, I'd hate for anything to happen to your grandfather, Professor Oak."
Gary stopped. Then slowly, he turned to him, everyone thought they finally got Gary to cooperate.
But then Gary burst out laughing so hard he fell to the ground and started rolling around laughing, "Ha-ha-ha! You really think, ha-ha, you're worth the dirt on his coat?" Gary laughed so hard he was crying.
Meanwhile, outside the doorway, where there were probably 50 Cipher Grunts who were supposed to be standing guard, they were all lying on the ground unconscious after Green and Ash dealt with them. It really wasn't hard.
Speaking of them, they were both peeking into the room, watching the scene.
"Man, what's so funny? I feel left out," Green pouted.
Ash rolled his eyes, "We can ask him after. For now, we should get some of them out of there."
Here was the thing, Ash was 100% confident he could beat all of the people in that room right now, especially if he had Green and Gary with him.
However, there were 2 problems, 1, the place was small and it was a cave. They might get caved in if he goes all out, 2 If he just did that, he wouldn't get the full story.
After all, with this, he confirmed that both Greevil and Evice were working together, but he needed more. Like solid proof and also the location of where they were making the Shadow serum.
Since he wanted to get rid of Shadow Pokémon for good, and there were admins missing here, meaning if he captured the leaders, those admins that were still out there would continue.
Green knew Ash's plan. He told her about it, but then she got a smirk and looked at Ash, "Leave it to me~"
Ash sighed, "I hope Yellow is having an easier time than us."
—
{Meanwhile}
Yellow, Rui, Mercy, and Chuchu were holding onto Dody for dear life. Behind them, they had Carl tied up on a rope and tied behind them.
But behind them was a giant mob of people and Pokémon, all of which were covered in Shadow energy.
Rui held on and yelled, "Yellow, what are we doing?!"
"Trust the process!!!!" Yellow yelled back.
—
After Gary finished laughing, they were going to try to find some way to get him to talk.
Nascour walked up to him, with his hair fluttering, but before he got to Gary, a rock came out and hit him on the head. A small line of blood started falling, and he and everyone looked back at the entrance.
There was Ash, leaning against the wall, holding a rock, "Hey guys, starting the party without me? How dare you. You know I'm the life of the party," he winked.
Greevil closed his eyes, "We have an intruder. Capture him." And as he said that, Ash took off running.
Immediately, Nascour, Gonzap, and Wakin turned and immediately ran after him.
Lovrina hesitated for a moment as she clicked her tongue, "You idiot." Then she ran after them too.
That left Gary with Greevil, Evice, Wes, Ardos, and Eldes. But the Ash that took off, a second Ash let go of the ceiling where he was holding onto and landed. This was the real Ash, as for that other one? Who do you think it was? It was Green.
But now Ash was here. He walked in and put his hands on his waist, "Wow, I'd hate to be that guy."
They realized they got played. Greevil grit his teeth and raised his hand, immediately, Ardos, Eldes, and Wes stood in front of him, Evice, and Gary.
"You don't know what you are doing, child. Leave."
But Ash smirked, "Nah, not when you're all too weak to actually make me get serious." Ash said as he put his hands behind his head, "So you're the Grand Master. I knew Evice was too stupid to have actually broken out on his own, so you're the mastermind behind all of this."
"Brat," Evice grit his teeth.
But Greevil didn't correct him, "I cannot allow your interference. My Shadow Pokémon plan is nearing completion." He held his hand out to the 3 trainers in front of him, "It seems like the others can't be counted on at all. I am giving you the responsibility of dealing with this child."
But as he said that, Gary took the chance and got to his feet. Then he used the chains around his arms and got behind Greevil, using the chains to wrap around Greevil's neck and he started pulling, "No, I think it's about time we changed things." he said while Greevil was being suffocated right there
Immediately, Ardos, Eldes, and Wes turned back and saw that. Ardos and Eldes immediately got furious, and they called out their Pokémon, "Get your hands off the Grand Master!"
They threw out a Shadow Marowak and a Shadow Electabuzz, sending them to take Greevil out of Gary's hands.
But Gary already did what he needed. Because as he grabbed him, Gary slipped the tracker that was on him onto Greevil.
Then he threw Greevil to the side and rolled behind Evice. Evice panicked as Gary tackled him in the back, pushing him forward and using him as a human shield for the Electabuzz's [Thunderbolt]. The attack hit, making Evice light up.
But then, when Marowak's [Bone Club] came in, Ash whistled. Pikachu appeared, clashing with a [Iron Tail] and sending the bone flying back into the Marowak.
That gave Gary enough time to slide back over with Ash, where Pikachu reappeared next to them and used another [Iron Tail] to cut the chains on Gary's wrists.
Gary rubbed his arms, "Took you long enough," he muttered.
"Hey, be grateful I came back for you at all," Ash said as he grabbed Gary's Poké Ball belt and tossed it back to him.
Gary caught it, then looked it over and clasped it back onto himself, looking at Cipher.
Across the room, Greevil slowly climbed back to his feet while Evice pushed himself up, smoke still rising from his clothes after tanking Electabuzz's attack,
"...Enough." Greevil's voice echoed through the chamber, "You will pay for that."
Ardos and Eldes stood glaring at them, and Wes still looked unimpressed. He was more focused on glaring at Ash.
Ash whistled, "Look at that, a 2 on 3. Not very fair, huh~"
"Hmm, guess not," Gary yawned, "Guess we have to even those odds, don't we?"
"I couldn't have said it better myself, boys." Green's voice said this as she slowly walked into the room, standing next to Ash with a smirk.
As for how she was here when she was supposedly being chased by the admins? She had a bunch of Dittos. All those admins were out there chasing nothing but cheap copies, meanwhile the real thing was here.
Even still, Cipher didn't seem to understand the danger they were in. They even looked like they were going to bring out more Pokémon.
But Gary smirked, "Oh right, you wanted this, right? Here you go."
He turned toward the monolith, "Beast of Darkness hiding eternal power. Show your form to this vast world! Descend, Black Flygon!"
The monolith behind them began to glow as light started shooting out, a Flygon with black and purple across its body came out and stretched its wings. It looked around, saw the gang, then saw Cipher.
Unlike Primeape, who still acted somewhat like a normal Primeape due to how weak it was compared to all the other Black Pokémon, Flygon was the 3rd strongest.
Therefore, without being subdued, it would not listen. Instead, it would move like a wild animal. Meaning, since Team Cipher was closer to it, it would attack them first.
So they were stuck, on one side, they had Black Flygon, one of the 8 Pokémon of destruction. And on the other was Ash, Green, and Gary, reunited and looking ready to kick their teeth in. And right about now, it was starting to hit them just what kind of situation they were in.
Greevil grit his teeth and called back to Ardos, Eldes, and Wes, "Take care of them. Me and Evice will handle the Black Flygon."
"We are?" Evice asked, still a bit charred from the electricity.
But Greevil didn't give him a chance to object. Together, they brought out their first Pokémon a Shadow Tauros and a Shadow Slowking respectively.
Meanwhile, with the other battle, Ardos and Eldes already had their Pokémon out, and Wes chose to let out his Umbreon and Espeon. They were the only Pokémon between them that wasn't Shadowed yet, but only Ash could tell because of Aura.
"Well, looks like it's time to have some fun," Green smirked, "I call the red one."
"Yeah, I've been meaning to get some payback on these guys. The food was terrible," Gary said, looking annoyed, "I'll take the blue and ugly one."
"Guess that leaves Wes for me," Ash smirked.
Together, they threw out three Pokémon. Now again, this was a cave, so unfortunately, while Ash would have liked to bring out something like Metagross or something, it was too big and could make the place collapse on them.
So instead, Ash, Gary, and Green threw out Swampert, Electivire, and Gengar respectively.
Of course, Pikachu and Vee were just watching. This was beneath them. They could tell how weak these guys were.
The only reason Gary and Green were using Electivire and Gengar was because those were generally just what they had on hand right now. If they could, they would use this to train up some other Pokémon that weren't even a joke.
Ardos and Eldes spoke in unison.
"[Shadow Rush]!"
"[Shadow Blitz]!"
The Marowak and Electabuzz exploded forward, while Umbreon vanished into the darkness with [Quick Attack], and Espeon circled around the side with [Psychic].
"Ash!" Green called.
"I know." Ash snapped his fingers, "[Wide Guard]."
Swampert stomped the ground. A massive wall of Aura erupted in front of the trio just as the combined Shadow attacks slammed into it.
BOOOOM!!
The cave shook violently, but when the dust settled, none of them had even been touched.
Swampert simply snorted through its nose.
"...That's it?" Gary asked.
Electivire laughed, slamming one fist into the other.
Across the room, Ardos' eye twitched, "Impossible..."
"Just who the hell do you think we are?" Ash smirked, then he pointed, "Gary."
"On it!"
Electivire disappeared and reappeared in front of Electabuzz, delivering a gut punch with enough strength to send the Pokémon flying back and slamming into the wall, knocking it out in one hit.
Meanwhile, Marowak swung its bone downward at Gengar.
But Green already put her hands in front of her, making a square, "Give him a show."
Gengar simply phased into the floor. The bone passed harmlessly through where its head had been. Marowak looked confused.
Green snapped her fingers, "Now."
Two glowing red eyes appeared underneath Marowak as Gengar used [Shadow Sneak], jumping up and grabbing Marowak from behind before slamming it into the ground hard. So hard it got knocked out instantly.
Between them, Swampert was blocking incoming attacks from Wes' Umbreon and Espeon, and he slowly turned to look at his friends, "Yeah, I think you guys overdid it."
Green raised her hands playfully, "Hey, it's not my fault they are so weak."
"Unfortunately, I'm with Green on this one," Gary sighed.
Ash sighed too, then gave them a look with his eyes, telling them to remember the plan. They couldn't win this too fast. Besides, making them lose hope was more effective when it was slow and drawn out. And Ardos and Eldes were foolishly bringing out their next Pokémon.
–
Meanwhile, over with Greevil and Evice as they were fighting against the Black Flygon:
"Tauros, [Shadow Rush]!" Greevil ordered.
"Slowking, use [Psychic]!" Evice yelled.
The Tauros charged forward, its body surrounded by black energy, while Slowking lifted its hands, trying to grab Flygon with psychic power.
But the Black Flygon simply looked at them, then it vanished dodging the attacks
"What?!" Evice shouted.
A second later, Flygon appeared above them, its claws glowing with dark energy as it slammed down with [Dragon Claw].
BOOM!
The ground cracked underneath them as both Tauros and Slowking were thrown backward.
Evice gritted his teeth, "This thing is too strong!"
Greevil narrowed his eyes, studying the Pokémon, "Interesting..."
"Interesting?!" Evice yelled, "That thing is trying to kill us!"
Greevil ignored him, his eyes still locked onto the Black Flygon, "All the more reason we must capture it. Then we can use its power for our own goals."
The Black Flygon let out a low growl, its wings spreading as it stared down the two men.
Evice took a step back, clearly less confident than before, "You say that like we can just catch it. This thing is completely out of control!"
"Then we will force it under our control," Greevil said calmly.
Evice looked at him like he had lost his mind, "You really don't know when to stop, do you?"
Greevil ignored the comment, Evice sighed and continued, "Slowking, use [Water Pulse]!"
Slowking raised its arms, gathering water between its hands as it prepared to fire. But before it could release the attack, a bright yellow bolt shot across the battlefield. The [Thunderbolt] slammed directly into Slowking, causing the Pokémon to freeze before collapsing backward, completely knocked out.
Evice froze, slowly, he turned his head toward where the attack came from. Standing on a rock near the edge of the battlefield were Pikachu and Vee. Pikachu had his arms crossed, while Vee was sitting beside him. Both of them were casually whistling, looking anywhere except at Evice.
Evice felt his eye twitch, he wanted nothing more than to rip out the little hair he had left. Things were really not in their favor anymore.