Chapter 23
So he knew. But how?
"You can't hide from me forever," A Dark Ball expanded in Nigel's hand. "Haven't you read the prophecy? Only a wish can save you now, Latius, and Hoenn is far away from here."
"I don't know what you're talking about, but I won't let you win!" Ash quickly returned Latias to her Pokeball before surrounding himself in a bright shower of light, transforming into Latius.
Nigel threw his Dark Ball "Go Ho-Oh!"
Ash gasped as the Dark Ball opened, revealing the legendary Rainbow Pokémon. Like the other Dark Pokémon, it was covered in black smoke, and its eyes were blank and empty. Unlike the others, Ho-oh radiated an immense power unlike any Ash had ever felt, even in legendaries like Mewtwo and Lugia.
"How did you capture Ho-oh?" He demanded.
"I threw a ball and caught it," Nigel paused. "Well, it wasn't that easy," he admitted, "but did you really think I sent my grunts to Tin Tower just to distract you?"
~~~
Meowth jumped in surprise. "Da twerp's a Pokemon?"
James' hammer fell to the floor with a thud. "And he has to fight that thing?"
Jessie's jaw dropped. "What Pokémon is that?"
After a moment of silence, James pulled out his handbook and flipped through the pages until he found the one he was looking for. He gulped. "That's Ho-oh, the legendary Rainbow Pokemon. Legends say this Pokémon flies the world's skies on its magnificent seven-colored wings."
"Well, da twerp is a legendary too." Meowth started nibbling on his claws. "Maybe he can win?"
A minute passed before Jessie broke the silence. "Well, don't just stand there! We need to help the twerp! James, Meowth, finish loading the cannons! I'll get the nets!"
"Team Rocket's on the double!"
~~~
"That was a close one," Oak let out a breath as the bridge crumbled into pieces.
"Too close," Brock panted as he set his ball on the ground. "What now?"
"We're almost there," Birch glanced at his map, "it's just down this way."
The group walked further into the cave, their flashlights revealing ancient pillars. But aside from the occasional Zubat or Geodude, they walked in relative silence.
Misty stopped as her light bounced off a reflective surface. "There's another message over here," she pointed to a metal plaque nailed to one of the walls.
You did well to pass the test,
Your work is almost at a rest.
But before you proceed, before you go on
Solve this final code; don't get it wrong.
Solve it quickly, be honest and true,
For the Chosen relies on you.
If you find it fast, and make your wish quick,
You just might make the time in a nick.
You must find 8 numbers, and use them on the door,
To help you find them, we give you clues four;
The numbers are letters, hiding words two,
Each has four letters, which is your first clue.
The first word you know you can trust,
It describes that which contains no falsehood or lust.
The second word lies in two whom you know,
They guard a city of water, and themselves rarely show.
This final clue you may not understand,
It's the start of a story, before the first action lands.
Before 'some people', even the 'hello',
Some people, though not you, will see this and know.
"The numbers are letters? What does that mean?" asked Misty.
"I've seen that before," Birch flipped through some files on his phone. "It's referring to the order of the alphabet. 1 is A, 2 is B, and so on."
"I'm pretty sure the second word is about Latios and Latias," Brock frowned. "But their names have six letters, not four."
Misty thought for a moment. "Maybe it's just Lati?"
"The first word might give us a clue," Professor Birch punched some numbers into his phone. "What describes something we can trust?"
Before any of them could answer, a bright light engulfed them as the cave vanished from under their feet. For a moment, they saw nothing but darkness. Suddenly, the area around them lit up. Their attention was drawn to two Pokémon on a battlefield several feet away: an orange Latios on one side and a Ho-oh on the other.
"What's happening?" said Professor Oak.
"I think this is sight-sharing," said Brock, "It's a special ability of Latios and Latias."
"But who's doing it?" Misty looked around. "I don't see either of them."
"Shh," Professor Birch put a finger to his lips. "I think we're seeing something important."
The group fell silent and listened to the conversation between the Latios (who they recognized as Ash) and a strange man in a black suit with a purple V.
"How did you capture Ho-oh?" Ash's mental voice sounded.
"I threw a ball and caught it," came the reply, "Well, it wasn't that easy, but did you really think I sent my grunts to Tin Tower just to distract you?"
~~~
Ash took a deep breath. This was it, just him against Nigel and Ho-oh. It was all or nothing. "Dragon Pulse!"
"Phantom Force," Nigel commanded.
Ash's attack passed harmlessly over the spot where Ho-oh had been as the Rainbow Pokemon phased into the ground.
Ash closed his eyes and concentrated, trying to predict where Ho-oh would come out. After a few seconds, he was able to make out a faint outline of Ho-oh directly below him. At just the right moment, he put up a Protect as Ho-oh shot out of the ground. Ho-oh was backing up for another attack when a thought occurred to Ash, and he secretly used Future Sight. Why? He felt like it.
"Sunny Day,"
Ash was about to try to stop the attack when he felt a surge of unfamiliar energy. Beams of sunlight streamed through the room, but instead of attacking, Ash swayed back and forth. As Sunny Day reached its full brightness, the sun suddenly faded and was covered by small dark clouds. Ash stopped moving. Was that Rain Dance? He didn't know that move. Shrugging, he turned his attention back to the battle.
"Use Thunder,"
To his surprise, Ash found himself launching a Thunder of his own. Instead of colliding in the air as he expected, however, the attacks simply bypassed each other, striking both Pokémon with powerful bolts of lightning. Ash gritted his teeth as the attack hit him, but it didn't hurt very much. Ho-oh, on the other hand, didn't take the attack nearly well and almost fell out of the air from the super-effective attack.
"Roost." Nigel didn't hesitate to recover Ho-oh's health.
Ash tried to launch another Dragon Pulse, but instead, his body faltered, crackling with electric energy. With horror, he realized he had been paralyzed.
Nigel had realized this too, as he gave an especially nasty smirk. "Calm Mind."
Ash sighed in relief as he found himself able to move again. Just then, another strange feeling came over him. He went with it again and found himself charging at Ho-oh with bright white energy.
Whatever Nigel was expecting, it was not a blur of orange feathers smashing Ho-oh to the ground. "Roost again!"
Facade. He didn't know that move either… Ash's thoughts were interrupted as Ho-oh shot a Hurricane at him. Ash knew he couldn't dodge, so he quickly launched a Dragon Pulse at it. The two moves collided, canceling each other out, and launching dust and rain in every direction.
"Calm Mind again."
Ash knew he had to end this fast, otherwise Ho-oh would easily overpower him. Praying the paralysis wouldn't take effect, he charged at Ho-oh with a Dragon Claw.
"Flamethrower,"
Ash brushed aside the temptation to dodge and braced himself as he charged straight through the stream of fire. Pushing aside the immense heat, he flung himself directly at the Rainbow Pokemon's chest, slamming it into a wall.
Ash prepared for a counterattack, but instead of ordering one, Nigel pulled a crystal orb from his pocket and threw it at Ho-oh. Ash shielded his eyes, and crystal-like beams shot from the ground, covering Ho-oh. After a few seconds, the crystals burst into fragments, revealing a very different Ho-oh. Its body still glowed with dark energy, but looked… crystallized? The most notable feature, however, was a crystal heart with two gemlike wings that sat on Ho-oh's head. Ash didn't know what was happening, but as Ho-oh gave a battle cry, fairy-type energy emanated from the crystal on its head.
~~~
Another challenge: Can you solve the riddle in this chapter before moving on? You'll either get the answer right away, or drive yourself crazy, depending on whether or not you noticed something in an earlier chapter...
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