Dragonite and Latias carried the group, flying under the night sky. At the speed of these two Pokémon, most of the city passed by in a flash.
In just a few minutes, they arrived at the cathedral. The two Pokémon landed in the plaza in front of it, but before Natsui could get a clear look at his surroundings, several Pokémon lunged at them from the darkness.
A closer look revealed they were the revived Aerodactyl and Kabutops they had seen in the Dream Projection!
In the darkness, it was impossible to see how many there were. They could only sense shadows flickering all around them, and pairs of pale eyes watched them coldly.
It seemed all the fossils had been revived by the power of the Soul Dew.
In that instant, several Kabutops were already rushing forward, swinging their sharp scythes. But before they could attack, Gengar threw several Shadow Balls, forcing them back for the moment.
Taking this chance, Natsui, Erika, and Ash quickly jumped off Dragonite and Latias.
Assessing the situation, Erika took on the task of providing cover. "Leave this to me," she said. "You guys hurry and save Lorenzo and the others!"
Ash hesitated slightly. Facing so many Pokémon, even if Erika was a Gym Leader, it was too dangerous to leave her here alone.
Natsui, on the other hand, out of mutual understanding and trust, didn't try to stop her. Instead, he took a few Poké Balls from his pouch and handed them to Erika.
"Let these guys help too!"
Although he knew the situation was urgent, he couldn't possibly let Erika face this danger alone.
Erika didn't stand on ceremony and took the Poké Balls. She then took out her own and released both of their Pokémon together.
As the blue light faded, Erika's Pokémon appeared: a Leafeon, a Vileplume, and a Bellossom. She didn't send out the other Pokémon she had caught since coming to Johto, as they were inexperienced and not well-trained.
Then came the Pokémon Natsui had given her: his Crystal Steelix, Tyranitar, and Scizor!
These Pokémon were tough and sturdy, perfect for the role of tanks. Paired with Erika's Grass-type Pokémon, they were more than enough to handle the situation.
Most importantly, Natsui's Pokémon knew about the ambiguous relationship between their trainer and this woman, so they had no reluctance in following her commands.
By this time, Natsui, along with Dragonite, had started running toward the cathedral entrance with Ash and Latias.
An Aerodactyl tried to attack them, but it was knocked aside by Dragonite as soon as it got close.
But there were too many fossil Pokémon around. Just as they repelled one, two or three Kabutops leaped at them.
Pikachu quickly used Thunder Shock. Normally, this would have dealt double damage due to Kabutops's Water type, but under the influence of the Soul Dew, the attack wasn't as effective as expected.
This surprised not only Ash but also left Pikachu stunned for a moment.
After a brief moment of pain, the three Kabutops continued their attack, using their downward momentum to bring their sharp scythes down on them. Just then, Ash felt something flash before his eyes. When he looked again, the three Kabutops had been sent flying by a massive force.
He turned his head and saw Natsui's Crystal Steelix slowly retracting its tail. It had just saved him.
It turned out that although Erika was commanding the Pokémon from a distance, she was also keeping a close eye on Natsui's situation.
"Don't let your guard down," Natsui yelled to Ash as he moved toward the entrance. "These guys are affected by the gem's power. They're definitely different. Send out all your Pokémon!"
Ash nodded and threw his Poké Balls, releasing his Totodile, Bayleef, Cyndaquil, and his shiny Noctowl. Protected by these Pokémon, the two of them fought off the continuous attacks from the fossil Pokémon and finally reached the cathedral's main door.
Sharp iron hooks also protected this entrance. After a nod from Natsui, Gengar formed a Shadow Ball and shattered them with brute force.
Bang!
Iron fragments flew backward. The Shadow Ball's momentum didn't slow, and it destroyed the lock on the cathedral's main door as well.
Natsui kicked the door open, not caring about preserving the building at this point. He rushed into the cathedral first, heading straight for the room where the device was located.
Just as he had seen in the Dream Projection, Lorenzo and Bianca were tied up with silk threads. When they saw Natsui and the others burst in, a glimmer of hope appeared in their eyes. Unfortunately, their mouths were also covered by the silk, so they couldn't speak. They could only wriggle their bodies, as if trying to tell them something.
In front of the device, Latios was bound in a contraption made of a dozen iron rings. Its power was being continuously drained through this device.
"It's you meddling kids again!" The blonde thief, Annie, saw Natsui's group enter and stood in their way. "But you won't be able to stop us this time!" she said sharply.
As soon as she finished speaking, a dozen more revived fossil Pokémon rushed over from the side. Seeing this, Natsui could only sigh. It seemed the two women had rounded up all the fossils in Alto Mare; otherwise, they couldn't have gathered so many Pokémon.
Moreover, these fossils were precious relics with significant research and exhibition value, which made Natsui and the others hesitate to attack them with full force.
But right now, the most important thing was to rescue the captured people and Latios.
Facing the attack of the fossil Pokémon, Natsui took out his Poké Balls and released his Gardevoir and Jolton.
His and Ash's Pokémon immediately began to battle the fossil Pokémon. Meanwhile, Latias took the opportunity to fly to Latios and repeatedly ram the device that was restraining him.
"It's useless," Annie said, glancing at Latias. "Your power is no match for the Soul Dew. You were lucky we didn't catch you the last two times. I didn't expect you to walk right into our hands this time!"
With a wave of her hand, her Corsola and Ariados charged at Latias. While no one was watching, Natsui's Gardevoir suddenly used Teleport and appeared in front of Lorenzo and Bianca.
From the very beginning, Natsui had not forgotten that rescuing the hostages was the main objective.
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