Chapter 16
A voice echoed through the clouds of dust. "Dissappointing, to fall for such a simple trap."
Ash coughed, pulling his shirt up to his mouth so he didn't breathe in too much of the dust. As it settled, he made out the outlines of several men, each with a Pokémon in front of them. He didn't even need to ask who they were. The narrow red slits in the Pokémon's eyes told the whole story.
"Pikachu, use Thunder Wave!"
"Protect!" Pikachu's attack was blocked by a transparent barrier that shimmered in the air for a moment before fading away.
One of the men stepped closer to Ash. "There's no need to be hasty, I'm nicer than that idiot Crypto,"
Ash frowned. "What do you mean?" He reached for Skye's Pokeball, just in case.
"Crypto was too hasty, too impatient," said the man, "I didn't expect much from him. I, on the other hand, am willing to make accommodations." He stopped several feet away from Ash. "My name is Apex, commander of Team Void's squadron Delta."
"What kind of accommodations?" Ash didn't trust this man at all. "If you're trying to get me to join you, the answer is still no."
"Our boss expected you would say that," said Apex, "but think about it, no more attacks on the people of Johto ever again. Innocent people wouldn't have to be hurt."
"Crypto already offered me that." Ash tightened his grip on Skye's Pokeball. "But I don't see why you need to attack anyone in the first place. And even if you did, how would having me make you stop?"
"Crypto is more incompetent than I thought," Apex muttered. "We only need to attack people because we need their Pokémon to experiment on our research. Having legendary Pokémon would let us finish all of our experiments without taking any more Pokémon because they could withstand all of our tests, unlike normal Pokémon."
Ash felt a surge of rage from Latios and Latias as he realized what Apex meant. "You're killing them." It wasn't a question.
"The unfortunate cost of furthering the human race," said Apex, "of course, if you joined us, we wouldn't need to do that anymore.
Ash had had enough of this. He threw out Skye's Pokeball. "Skye, grass! Use Leaf Blade!"
The attack hit Apex's Ryhorn, but as Ash's attention was diverted, a Murkrow hit Pikachu from behind with a Sky Attack.
"Pikachu! Are you ok?"
"I'm fine," said Pikachu, glaring at the dark-type, "alright, bird brain, you asked for it! Thunderbolt!"
The fried Murkrow was returned by one of the grunts.
"Watch out!"
Ash ducked just in time to avoid being hit by a bubble beam from an Azumarill.
"Thanks, Latias!" Ash called as he turned his attention back to the Ryhorn. No matter how many Pokémon he and his team defeated, there always seemed to be more. Ash guessed that each of the grunts probably had a full team of 6 Pokémon. Even if they weren't that strong, the sheer amount of them would eventually overwhelm them.
"So you won't listen to reason," Apex sighed. "The hard way it is, Ryhorn, use Sand Attack!"
"Skye, use Ice Beam!" The Ice Beam froze the cloud of sand, falling to the ground as harmless chunks.
"Ash, we can't keep up with all of them!" Latios called.
"Ok," Ash took a deep breath. "We'll use Mega Evolution. Try to get back to me,"
"I'll be right there," replied Latios.
"Skye, return!" said Ash, "Pikachu, use Electroweb!"
The Electroweb couldn't damage the ground-typed Ryhorn. But, a web was still a web, and it could still keep Ryhorn trapped.
"Enough this!" shouted Apex, "I'll show you what real power is! Crush them, Tyranitar!"
Ash grimaced as the Armor Pokémon came out of its ball. It looked even more terrifying with the purple gas and its narrow red eyes.
Ash noticed Latios beside him. "Alright, ready?"
Latios nodded and tapped his Mega-stone.
"Right," said Ash, tapping the keystone on his wrist, "alright, Latios, let's do this!" The room was flooded with a blinding white light as beams of energy shot between Ash and Latios. "Combine our hearts as one and Mega-evolve!"
Ash felt their minds connect as he was wisked into Latios. He was himself, and he was Latios. Mega-evolution made them one.
"Tyranitar, use Dark Pulse!" Apex didn't hesitate to attack.
"Use Dragon Pulse!"
They fired a blast of draconic energy at Tyranitar, and their attack quickly overpowered Tyranitar's. The Rock-type grunted, swayed, and toppled onto the floor.
"Return!" Apex growled. "You may have won this time, but next time you won't be so lucky! Squadron Delta, retreat!" Again, every single grunt pulled out a psychic Pokémon and used Teleport so quickly that neither Ash nor Latios was able to react in time to stop them.
"How are we supposed to catch them if they keep disappearing so fast?" Ash groaned, returning to his own mind as the mega-evolution ended.
"At least we won," said Latias.
"Yes, but now they know about our Mega-evolution." Latios scanned the area for any remaining members of Team Void. "They'll be more prepared next time,"
"Don't worry," Ash smiled. "cause we'll be stronger too!"
"Oh," said Ash, "almost forgot. Skye, come on out!"
The Eevee shook herself off as she came out of her Pokeball. "Did we win?"
"Yep!" Ash rubbed her head. "Thanks a lot, Skye, you were great!"
Skye wagged her tail. "Do we get to crush more evil dudes now?"
Latias giggled, letting Skye climb onto her back. "I'm sure we'll get to do that again very soon,"
"Speaking of which," Latios hummed in thought. "I think we should try to find their base. It has to be somewhere near here."
"Why is that?" asked Ash.
"Those psychic Pokémon weren't very powerful," said Latios, "I felt them just before they teleported. They can't have gone more than a few miles."
"So somewhere between Silver Town and Ecruteak City?" said Pikachu.
Latios nodded. "It's a good place to start,"
"Right now?" asked Latias.
"How about a quick trip to the Pokémon Center first?" asked Pikachu, "I don't know about you guys, but Skye and I need a little healing."
Ash reached for his Pokedex, but remembered he had left it with Misty and Brock. "There's one nearby… I think," He scratched his head. There should be one in Ecruteak City.
~~~
"How are we supposed to find their base if it could be anywhere between Silver Town and Ecruteak City?" Ash complained after he, Latios, and Latias had been flying in a zig-zag pattern over said area for about 2 hours.
"Didn't Arceus say something about using your abilities or something to find their base?" asked Pikachu.
"It can't be our regular abilities," said Latios, "That just lets us levitate, turn invisible, and use telepathy."
"Unless Arceus meant we're supposed to fly around until we spot it," Ash hoped that wasn't the case.
"Hold on," Latias held up a paw. "I think I'm getting something,"
"What is-" Ash paused mid-sentence as he felt something coming from the forest below.
Latios closed his eyes. "It feels like some kind of vibration."
Ash, Latios, and Latias double-checked their invisibility before flying into the forest below.
"Is that it?" said Latias, pointing to a purple V on the side of one of the hills, which was almost entirely overgrown with ivy.
"I think that's it," said Latios.
"How do we get in?" Ash tapped the letter to see if it would open. "Do we have to blast a hole somewhere?"
"Maybe the door?" Ash looked down to see Pikachu standing next to a metal handle sticking out of the hill.
"Oh," That did seem easier than his idea. Ash turned the handle. Or at least he tried to turn the handle. "It's locked," He glared at the door.
"Let me try," said Latios. His eyes glowed, and after a few moments, he pulled back. "It's no good, they've protected the door to keep psychic attacks from opening it from the inside."
"That took forever! Why would Crypto send us so far without food?"
"I wonder if they'll let us have an extra meal."
"Don't be silly, they never do,"
Ash quickly grabbed Pikachu, and he, Latios, and Latias flew behind some bushes.
Three men wearing Team Void uniforms walked into the clearing. Ash leaned closer to get a better look at them, but accidentally snapped a branch on the bush.
"What was that?"
"Probably just some wild Pokémon,"
"We should check it out anyway. We don't want anyone discovering this place."
The other men agreed and slowly approached Ash, Latios, Latias, and Piakchu's hiding place.
"What do we do?" asked Ash telepathically, "Pikachu can't turn invisible."
"We'll have to fight," said Latios, "there are only three of them; if we take them by surprise, they might not be able to call for help in time."
Ash nodded. "On three. One, two, three!"
Before the men could so much as make a noise, three rocks shot through the air, hit them on the forehead, and fell to the ground. The men followed suit.
"That was fast," Ash surveyed the unconscious bodies.
"What do we do with them?" asked Latias.
"Hmm," Pikachu stuck a paw into one of the men's pockets.
"What are you doing?" asked Ash.
"Ah ha!" Pikachu said triumphantly, holding up something flat and rectangular. "I knew it!"
Ash blinked. "I don't get it."
Pikachu slapped his head. "It's a key card, you dummy. You know, so we can open the door.
"Right, I knew that," said Ash, "Let's get these guys out of the way and go!"
Ash, Latios, and Latias used Psychic to quickly move the men out of sight before tapping the key card on the door. Sure enough, the door clicked and swung open with ease.
A chill ran down Ash's spine as he stepped into the room. This was no normal hideout.
~~~
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