Chapter 195 (Patreon)

Extremely long chapter today. Make sure you have the time to read it.

Also, there's an important announcement today. Make sure you to check it out here.
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How does one introduce a Legendary Pokémon to a group of trainers? Turns out, when Ash is involved, you can literally walk up to them and say, “Hey, this Legendary Pokémon is my friend.”

Bringing Diancie to the group was exactly that simple. All I had to do was exit the villa’s back doors and say literally that. It made the brief moment where I paused to stress about the exchange feel ridiculous in hindsight. I should have known Ash and everyone else were used to Legendary Pokémon at this point.

“So...” Iris said as Diancie happily floated around to wave and shake hands in greeting with all of the Pokémon here. “Diancie is a Fairy Type Pokémon, right?”

“Yup,” I said. “I met her through sheer random chance when I was in Kalos. After helping her take care of some ‘squatters’ in her home—”

“Wait, Kalos?” Ash asked, interrupting me.

“A region filled with wonderful locales and even more wonderful foods!” Cilan replied, holding his hands together while he stared off dreamily. “Croissants, crepes, ratatouille, escargot—”

“Wait, escargot?” I asked. “Like, with snails?”

Cilan blinked at me in confusion. “What do you mean?”

I shook my head. “...Nevermind.”

As we talked, Diancie continued to meet and greet the Pokémon here one-by-one, receiving a lot of respectful nods and bows in recognition of her royal position. Carbink stuck to her side all throughout it, serving as both a bodyguard and a friend, intent on protecting her from any untoward advances. I'd like to say that it went uneventfully, but Ash's Dewott went beet red when Diancie approached, and it had to turn away from her just to save face.

Carbink kept a close, careful eye on Dewott after that.

Honestly, as Diancie was friendly, and as everyone else was open to having a new friend, the Pokémon here mostly just treated her as a new companion. Not even a minute passed, and it was already like she was another member of the group. It was nice.

But then, I saw it.

While lowering herself closer to the ground to talk to Ash’s Pikachu and the much larger Dedenne, Diancie paused for a moment, and her eyes flicked up to the sky. She casually went back to greeting the other Pokémon, but I noticed how she kept glancing at nothing at all. Once everyone had been greeted, Diancie paused, and she stopped right in front of an empty spot of air.

"What's wrong, Diancie? Is everything alright?" Ash asked.

I stayed silent. If she was looking at who I thought...

"Hello!"

Her telepathic voice seemed to echo out over the area. Most of the Pokémon here were confused as there was no one in particular who Diancie was talking to.

However, she was speaking to someone, and a faint, somehow cautious, shimmer unfolded to reveal another surprise Pokémon here.

It was white, human-like, and had flowing green hair. Two bright blue eyes stared with curiosity as Diancie bowed her head in greetings. A moment’s pause, and Diancie smiled at the new Pokémon floating in front of her as she tilted back up.

"Dia, Diancie!" she said, actually communicating out loud.

The newly revealed Pokémon blinked, stilled for a second, and then it smiled as well.

"Melo, Meloetta!” it said with a flowing, melodic voice.

Everyone here froze at the sight of a second Legendary Pokémon. Ash actively gaped.

"Meloetta?" he asked in surprise.

The little Legendary Pokémon, with a height no longer than an arm, lit up when Ash acknowledged her. She rushed away from Diancie, pausing for only a moment to wave goodbye, then she finished her dash to go right up to Ash's chest and give him a big hug.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were going home,” Ash said, hugging back.

Meloetta smiled and spoke her name several times over, as Pokémon tended to do. Despite all the other humans unable to process her words, Ash nodded along as if he completely understood.

"So you told your friends you were heading out then followed me because you wanted to," he said, rubbing his chin.

Iris shared a look of exasperation with Cilan. I had no clue how Ash got any of that.

Out of all of the other Pokémon here, Dedenne was the first to approach. Moving alongside Pikachu, he scurried over to Ash, but he stopped at the teen’s feet instead of climbing up his clothes.

"De!" Dedenne squeaked. He then brought up a paw to give Meloetta a two-fingered salute.

Meloetta blinked then floated down to greet him as well. Of course, he then started to flex as if to show off his own power.

Then, a squeaking shout. Within a moment, Ash's Dewott was there, pushing Dedenne to the side. The Pokémon froze at its own action, blushing furiously, but it forgot all embarrassment as Dedenne hopped to his feet to snarl at Dewott out of anger.

It took Pikachu to hop down and break up the fight. The pair of Pokémon crossed their arms and faced away.

"That was—"

"Really dumb?" Iris offered.

For once, we were in agreement.

However, their little exchange was enough to break everyone out of their surprise.

As the Pokémon here began to talk again among themselves, sharing their surprise at the two new Pokémon, Diancie moved over to Meloetta’s side. She gracefully took up one of the Normal Type’s hands to sweep her over to the side. Rather conspiratorially, the two fell into an exchange of giggling whispers. Carbink looked perturbed as the two began to repeatedly glance Ash’s way.

"I'm surprised to see they're getting along so well," I said.

"I'm surprised Meloetta's here at all, let alone Diancie!" Cilan added.

It took only a half minute for the pair to pull back apart. A wide grin formed on Diancie’s face as she leaned down for one last whisper. Meloetta nodded along, still giggling slightly, then she paused, looked at Diancie, almost aghast, but that expression gave way for a mischievous smirk as the pair turned to both Ash and I.

"What are you two..."

In unison, both Diancie and Meloetta struck a pose, putting a hand on their hips and using their other hand to point forward. Meloetta aimed at Ash, and Diancie aimed at me. While they spoke their names, their intent was clear:

"You're challenging us to a match?" I asked.

Of course, Ash wasn’t one to turn them down.

"Alright! Let's do this! I'm always up for a Pokémon battle!"

Off to the side, Iris called Ash a kid as Ash immediately ran to move to where one of the free fields was set up behind Cynthia’s villa. Meloetta chased along, and Diancie followed. The Fairy Type Legendary paused briefly to wave me along, and I moved to follow after a sigh.

I could tell I had no choice in this matter, but a battle against a Legendary Pokémon wasn’t one I could justifiably turn down, either. However, with the threat of Team Rocket looming above us, jumping into a fight that could potentially weaken these two would be a dumb move without proper preparation.

Silent signals were passed along to my Pokémon. Ninetales subtly moved off to the side of this space to keep an eye on the surrounding forest, and Gardevoir casually walked over to the center of this area, where his telepathic senses could cover the most area to detect anyone approaching.

Dedenne tried to move to the edge of the area, too, but I held out a hand.

"Stay near the rest just in case, alright?" I whispered.

With my current team composition, I had two of my "weaker" Pokémon with me: Togetic and Eevee. I wanted to make sure they wouldn’t be threatened.

Moving to the field, for this match, Ash shouted for his Krookodile to come over, and I let out a whistle to summon Altaria from the sky. A cloud of dust puffed up from where the draconic bird almost crashed into the ground, but his wings flapped hard to let him come to a last-minute, surprisingly soft landing.

"Ready you two?!" Ash shouted excitedly as both Meloetta and Diancie positioned themselves across from us. Ash's fists were clenched in excitement while Krookodile crossed its arms to act like it didn’t care.

For most battles, asking the other side if they were ready usually didn't lead to much, but, here, Meloetta actually held up a hand to ask for a short delay. While everyone watched, she seemed to focus, and then she cleared her throat and opened her mouth.

Music. At least, a song. It started with humming, but that humming changed into a melodic tune. As she sang, the Mythical Pokémon floated to the ground, where she landed and began to change form.

Green hair turned to red, wrapping itself around her head. Her natural dress folded up into a twisted skirt to give her legs a better range of movement, perfect for kicking. Not only that, but blue eyes turned red, and what psychic levitation she had before disappeared as the notes resonated around us in a song that continued even after the transformation ended.

When it ended, though, a few Pokémon let out noises of disappointment. Meloetta, however, looked pumped, and she sent forward several rapid-fire punches and kicks into the air.

Information from a faint memory flashed in my mind.

"Pirouette Form," I identified. Her original appearance was called her “Aria” Form.

Meloetta was a Normal Type Pokémon, but her secondary Type and her capabilities depended on what form she was in. Aria Form was part Psychic Type and carried exceedingly strong special capabilities. For this battle, she chose to take part in her Pirouette Form, becoming part Fighting Type and gaining great physical strength.

"Melo!" Meloetta shouted, telling us she was ready.

At her side, Diancie nodded to show she was ready, too.

With that, Ash grinned beside me, and he thrusted a pointed hand forward.

"Alright, let's do this!” he yelled. “Krookodile, use Stone Edge!”

The large, red crocodile on the field was the first to move. It uncrossed its arms to adjust its glasses before drawing back its claws and letting out a roar. It conjured forward a set of jagged stones that levitated in the air, and when it pushed its hands forward, the Stone Edge shot right at where Meloetta was waiting, bouncing on her feet.

The Stone Edge was clearly well practiced. Diancie, however, looked unimpressed. She watched the incoming attack without a speck of emotion on her face, and a simple thrust of a hand down caused every single stone to drop to the floor.

She huffed, smug.

"Me, me, Meloetta!"

The other Mythical Pokémon in the battle acted immediately after. In her Pirouette Form, Meloetta leaped over Diancie's head with a spin, and then she yelled her name in a resonating shout.

The Hyper Voice carried itself forward like a piece of classical music, turned up to 11. The very air itself visibly vibrated from the sheer volume of the noise. Krookodile, shocked still from the sight of Diancie negating its attack, was caught by the move and clutched its ears in pain.

Altaria didn’t move. He wasn’t even under attack. He only stared at where the battle was taking place and cocked his head to the side in a way only a bird could do.

"Want to try that yourself?" I asked as the other three Pokémon fought.

He squawked and flapped his wings in response, agreeing with me as he continued to sit on the ground. With everyone distracted, none noticed as he pulled his head back and opened his beak. This time, the Hyper Voice that came out was neither melodic or music. It was a chaotic mess of noises that shook rather than resonated, and the sound waves managed to catch both distracted Legendary Pokémon.

Despite his Hyper Voice being pure, chaotic sound, Diancie managed to resist the attack just fine thanks to her Rock Type. Meloetta, however, was much less happy about the noise.

"Meloooo!" she screamed.

From where the air was shaking under Altaria's shout, Meloetta jumped up to escape the attack's bounds. Krookodile tried to get in an easy blow with another use of Stone Edge while the Pokémon was busy moving, but Diancie showed why such an act was pointless once more with another simple flex of her hands.

Upon landing on the ground, Meloetta rushed forward into a jog, her tiny legs bringing her towards him at an incredible pace. Altaria didn’t fly, but he flapped his wings for the start of a new move. As he prepared his Hurricane, Meloetta crouched for what was likely a powerful Fighting Type attack, and I had an idea to win us this match.

"Altaria, try—”

It didn’t happen. For a moment, it was like we were in the eye of a storm. The area went perfectly still, but every tree in the forest shook, and both Altaria and Meloetta froze where they were about to unleash their attacks.

An explosion. One too far off for Gardevoir to detect before it happened. The ground shook as a shockwave pulsed through the trees, and all of our heads snapped to its origin.

A plume of smoke began to rise up in the distance.

Was that... Cynthia?

"Altaria, to the sky! Dedenne, join him! Eevee, Togetic, I need to return you two for your own safety. Everyone else, be on guard!"

Ninetales immediately stood up and began to much more intently stand on guard. Gardevoir moved from his position in the center, using Teleport to quickly bring Eevee and Togetic to me to let them be returned to their balls. As for Carbink, they immediately rushed over to protect Diancie, who lingered on the field and stared at the smoke rising into the sky.

"Alex! What's going on?" Iris shouted. I was the only one making explicit moves as it stood.

"Team Rocket. They're up to something, and we have two Legendary Pokémon here!"

Her expression hardened, and Ash looked absolutely enraged.  I continued to call out commands, and many of the other Pokémon here were returned for their own safety as well.

I turned to my partner on this field, Ash.

"Ash. Meloetta. Can you—"

CRK!

Diancie shouted and pushed Carbink to the side, a complete reversal for Carbink’s intended role. Her arms jerked to the sky as giant, pink crystals burst from the ground in a conjured wall. Several loud explosions rang out on the other side of them, Cilan let out a shout as Diancie braced herself to ensure her sudden defenses remained in place.

Ninetales ran over to move to my side, ready to defend me if needed. As she did, from the other side of the wall, I heard a gruff, unfamiliar voice shout out a command.

"Bring those walls down with Earthquake, Golem!"

"Can anyone use Grassy Terrain?!" I tried to quickly reply.

It didn't matter. Whimsicott and Florges weren't here. When the ground shook, it was at full force, and many of us lost our balance and fell to the floor—me included.

"Take Meloetta and run!" I yelled at Ash.

The walls didn’t completely surround this area, leaving a small gap for someone to run through right where Ninetales had been previously standing. With Ash constantly getting up to encounters like this, he was in better shape than me, and he hadn’t fallen at all.

He was able to take this moment of delay to rush forward and scoop up the surprised Meloetta in his arms. The pair disappeared into the forest as I pointed after him, telling Ninetales to use Agility to give chase. If Team Rocket was attacking here, it was best to send Ash and Meloetta off where they couldn’t be found. Ninetales’s illusions would help with that.

"Diancie!" I called out next. "Carbink! Stall our foes! Don't let them follow!"

Cilan and Iris shouted commands at their own Pokémon as the crystal barricade fell only a second later. Three coarse, stone Golem sauntered forward with uniformed individuals marching behind them.

Dust was in the air from the three Golem’s heavy attacks, causing the approaching trainers to initially appear as only silhouettes. However, it was blindingly clear what organization this group belonged to. Only Team Rocket would so brazenly display those giant, red R's.

"Golem. Explosion,” one of the grunts ordered.

I didn't get a chance to shout.

Intent on eliminating us before anything happened, one of the Golem curled up into a ball and rolled forward with surprising speed. From between the stones that made up its body, light began to glow in a slow build up, preparing itself to use an attack that would take out everyone here.

Carbink was faster, somehow. Failing to protect Diancie earlier, they were more than prepared to throw themselves forward to stop the Golem where it was trying to roll forward. Carbink hastily put up a Reflect around the pair to cover the attack. Diancie let out a shout right when the Golem released all its built up energy, and then the other two Golem began to roll forward as well.

"We have to—!"

"CAR, CARBINK!" my Pokémon yelled.

They weren't done just yet. Two more sets of Reflect came forward, enclosing the space around both themself and the incoming Pokémon once more. They were halted in place, sealed by the conjured Reflect. Upon hitting the walls, a click, and then the area within the screens turned white.

It was simply too much, but Carbink’s plan worked. The last two Golem failed to get any closer, and the three aggressor Pokémon became nothing more than charred boulders. As for Carbink, unfortunately, even though they resisted the moves, Carbink hadn't had any time to set up their usual levels of defense. While Carbink had protected the rest of us, with attacks as powerful as Explosion, three of them had been enough to take the little Rock Type out.

The arrogant expressions on the approaching grunts faded at the sight of their failed bombardment. They started to reach towards more Pokéballs at their belts, but they never got the chance.

Altaria served as the perfect aerial delivery mechanism for Dedenne. The yellow rodent, riding on the bird’s back, jumped down and released all of his electricity. The three grunts shouted in pain and locked up from the electricity. With the lightning striking their bodies, they fell to the ground, paralyzed, and no further Pokémon were sent out.

Iris had her Axew out, and it, alongside Cilan’s Simisage, moved to collect the grunts’ Pokéballs before they could recover from Dedenne’s attack.

I pushed to my feet.

"They're after Meloetta," I called out as I moved over to where Carbink lay fainted on the ground.

Carbink lacked any serious wounds, but taking those attacks had caused serious exhaustion. Diancie drifted over after creating crystal prisons that bound the trio of Rocket Grunts to the floor, and she stared down at her fallen friend.

Silently, she ran a hand through Carbink’s fluff. They didn’t stir.

"We'll get revenge," I said to her. "I promise."

Diancie looked me in the eyes and gave me a single, firm nod. An accord was struck.

As I turned to the rest of the group, they stared at me, bewildered. To be honest, that had happened extremely fast, and my team had been far more prepared than they expected. Thankfully, no other Team Rocket grunts arrived, but with Ash hiding and my displayed confidence, both Iris and Cilan looked to me for directions.

"We should check to see if there are any other grunts nearby," I said. I did my best to pretend I wasn’t scrambling to come up with a plan.

"Are you sure we shouldn’t go find Ash? You just sent him off with Meloetta!" Iris said.

"Yeah, but I trust Ash. He’s been able to travel this long for a reason. He should be able to get away if we occupy everyone else.”

Iris rolled her eyes at my words, crossing her arms as she did. The sheer level of disbelief in her stance was impressive, and I actually shrunk back out of unsure embarrassment.

"Alex," she said slowly. "I understand your reasoning, but I think you're missing something."

I felt my throat tighten up at her words.

"...Yeah?"

"You sent Ash to escort Meloetta. Do you understand? Ash. Do you really think he’s going to be able to escape without anyone chasing him?"

I froze.

"Oh, no."

I yelled Gardevoir’s name as soon as I could, and, detecting my panic, he appeared at my side.

“To Ash,” I said as fast as I could.

Understanding the rush, he disappeared, and I only caught the briefest glimpse of both Cilan and Iris ordering their Pokémon to seek out and capture any other Team Rocket grunts before we were gone.

A flash.

An instant later, and Gardevoir and I appeared in the middle of a forest. The air was chilled as if ready for cold weather, but no snow fell from the sky. I quickly identified a battle playing out in front of us, as both Ninetales and Pikachu fought off a pair of Pokémon going after Ash in the back.

I did not see Meloetta. She was likely invisible.

"Power Gem," a completely new voice spoke.

Ash's Pikachu, one of the strongest Pokémon I knew, took a crystalline laser beam right to his face, and he was knocked back to bounce over the forest floor, landing feet away from Ash.

Ninetales let out a growl, and I glared at the Pokémon she was facing. A strong-looking but heavily injured Rhydon stood with its horn crackling with static and body covered in frost. It panted, close to fainting, and I could tell that if it was alone, Ninetales would have easily won. Unfortunately for her and us in general, right next to the burly Ground Type was a slender, tan cat confidently licking its paw. A red gem in the center of its head sparkled from the lingering energies of Power Gem, and it casually looked at where Gardevoir and I just appeared.

That same voice spoke again, and I craned my head up towards the sky.

"Guests? You'll do fine as hostages. Tell me, Meloetta, do you really want your friends to be hurt just because you refuse to comply?"

The voice was surprisingly normal. It itself didn’t carry any special volume or noise. However, the tone used with the words was that of complete confidence. The man knew for a fact he would win in the end. After all, he wasn’t one to not follow through with his threats.

"Giovanni," I said.

A middle-aged man with a permanently furrowed brow imperiously stared down at us from above. His gaze was harsh, as if he was staring down at mere ants, and he was dressed in a neatly kept suit that had an emblazoned “R” on one side of its chest. His position in the air came from a strange, floating device he stood on, hovering via the use of powerful fans. I could tell the floating platform was incredibly hi-tech, and he stood on it as if it wasn’t anything special at all.

Since I had said his name, Giovanni’s eyes flicked towards me for just a second before he returned to looking over the forest’s impromptu field.

"Ah, now I see who it is. The unexpected variable—a member of the League’s so-called ‘Wandering Elite.’ You have my thanks for bringing Diancie here. Once I've collected my prize, Diancie will serve as a decent tribute."

I signed a command behind my back towards Gardevoir, and I could feel him stiffen as he prepared himself to go along with my plan.

"...You're kidding, right?" I said.

Giovanni paused.

"Excuse me?" he said with a frown.

"Are you even hearing what you sound like? I mean, come on, man. This is just so... generic! There’s nothing original at all about you! You’re acting like such a cartoon villain that you’re coming across as kind of pathetic."

The clearing went utterly silent. Everyone, and I mean everyone turned to me as if they couldn’t believe what I just said. Ninetales, however, snickered, and Giovanni almost seemed to inflate with rage at the sheer gall I was displaying here.

"You dare?! I work to protect the world! Team Rocket is—"

"A criminal organization directly under your thumb whose whole purpose is to increase your own power. Yeah, yeah. You don’t have to lie to me. I get it."

The Persian was openly gaping at me right now.

"Like, did you really need to monologue at us like that?" I asked, continuing. "You're not even clever. I'm really unimpressed."

“Yeah!” Ash then chimed in. “I’ve heard that kind of speech at least five times before!”

"Urgh, you...” Giovanni clenched a fist. “Persian! Power Gem! Do not let their words persist!"

The nimble cat leaped forward, and the red gem on its forehead glowed once more. Pikachu just barely managed to push to his feet in time, releasing another Thunderbolt Persian's way. Ninetales did the same with Ice Beam, but their combined attack was unable to block the incoming move.

Rhydon’s presence and injuries were made clear; despite it being a slow, lumbering Pokémon, it was somehow just fast enough to move in the way of the attacks. Not only that, but its Lightning Rod ability meant the Thunderbolt was attracted to its horn, and Persian was able to completely avoid our Pokémon’s moves.

The beam from Power Gem carved across the ground. It struck Ninetales, then Pikachu, and both Pokémon were knocked back.

Ninetales especially suffered from the move, as the Rock Type energy was super effective to her Ice Type. At her cry of pain, Persian licked its lips. It seemed to enjoy seeing her suffer.

"Is this the power of a so-called Wandering Elite?” Giovanni said. “And your Pikachu? Have all the stories I heard about it been false? Pathetic. Disappointing. You’re just average trainers like everyone else."

I grinned. Ash must have caught on my plan, because he confidently swiped a thumb under his nose.

"Actually..." I said, drawing out the word, "You’re missing something rather important."

Giovanni's resting frown deepened at my words.

"Oh?" he said, leaning forward on the handle that controlled his floating platform.

"You're a guy who likes to hear himself talk. It’s pretty obvious with how you like to monologue. Unfortunately for you, it’s clear you don’t get out enough. After all, you’re just dumb enough to not recognize a distraction when it's happening."

"What?!"

There was a reason I had given Gardevoir those silent orders at the start. Meloetta was invisible, and Gardevoir had been using the delay granted to him by my taunting words to locate her where she hid. He Teleported over to what seemed to be a random point before scooping up nothing at all in the air. Meloetta flickered back into visibility, and Giovanni’s eyes widened.

"Get out of here!" I yelled.

Gardevoir didn’t bother to acknowledge my words. One second, he was holding Meloetta, and the next second, the pair were completely gone.

Giovanni looked stunned, but only for the briefest of seconds. He schooled his expression with an annoyed click of the tongue, pressing his lips together out of annoyance a moment later.

"No matter. We have her song. It seems Dr. Zager was right. We will have to resort to spoofing, after all."

"...Spoofing?" I paused. "Her song?!"

Of course, Giovanni didn’t linger. He quickly returned both Rhydon and Persian, and he took off on his weird, floating platform far faster than Ninetales could give chase or attack. Ash and Pikachu cheered as if in victory besides me, but my gaze tracked Giovanni as he disappeared to the east.

“We did it!” Ash said. “We saved Meloetta! We win!”

He and Pikachu laughed, but when they noticed my stiff expression, any sense of merriment faded.

“...Alex?” he asked.

“We didn’t win. Giovanni is still going to go through with his plans.” I silently cursed. “We might have saved Meloetta, but if he goes to those sunken ruins...”

"Is Meloetta safe?" he asked nervously.

I stared at the gap between the trees Giovanni had escaped through.

"If Giovanni succeeds with his plans, no one will be."

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Meloetta might have been saved, but Giovanni still needed to be stopped. Honestly, any plan involving Legendary Pokémon was doomed to fail, and I was surprised he had actually gone through with it here. However, since we knew where he was, we needed to both stop and capture him.

Unfortunately, I had no clue where Cynthia was, and since whatever Team Rocket had done had taken down the phone lines, I was in charge. Out of all the clues I had, I knew Giovanni was likely to be in the watery ruins, which was supported by the fact I had seen him fly eastwards. Given that information, I could assume the ruins were in the ocean, and my assumption was proven true when we all reconvened at Cynthia's villa, as I could see the peak of a structure just past the water’s horizon.

I knew for a fact there had been nothing there before.

"Ash, Iris, with me. Cilan, do you mind staying behind and trying to contact the League?" I asked.

"Phone lines are down, but Jervis is working on them. I'll make sure he stays safe and the shore is protected, no problem at all!" Cilan replied.

He smiled at me, and I turned to Diancie, whose gaze seemed to be stuck on the aforementioned, unfamiliar structure. As she stared forward, her lips pressed together in a thin line. As a Legendary Pokémon, she would be most at risk of being targeted out of all of us, but, seeing that expression, I knew she’d refuse to stay behind.

I sent her a nod. She smiled back.

There was no reason to delay.

"Let's go.”

Transport was awkward. Iris had some sort of heart-to-heart with her Dragonite, and her Pokémon allowed her to ride on its back. As for the rest of us, we found spots in Altaria’s basket. It was cramped when split between Ash, Diancie and I.

Suspiciously, no one attacked us as we approached, and there were absolutely no defenses in the sky. No boats circled the ruins nor was there anyone keeping watch. Our method of transportation should have been too obvious, yet no one responded. It was nerve-racking.

Team Rocket was acting far too confidently.

"Sky's getting dark," Iris said from where she flew on Dragonite's back nearby.

I only grew more and more concerned as heavy rainclouds condensed over the ruins. What made it worse was that Altaria’s Cloud Nine didn’t cause those clouds to go away. He let out several unhappy squawks as we approached, as I knew he preferred to fly in clear weather (and caves).

As we approached, it became obvious that I’d forgotten something major about this place. The mysterious, lost ruins that had sunken off the coast had risen up to sit above the ocean, as I had predicted. However, it wasn't just some large, single structure, but it was an entire, massive city complex, complete with destroyed houses all across it. At its very center, a large temple pyramid stretched up into the sky. I could see movement at the top, and the clouds seemed to be densest above it.

Notably, several large helicopters were parked at the pyramid’s base.

"We're landing," I ordered.

Altaria pulled down to the city’s edge, and Dragonite clicked its tongue when it was forced to follow. We touched down on an empty side street, hidden behind a broken building. As we quickly disembarked, I had to hold back a shiver. Winds were beginning to whip around, chilling the area and causing it to be dangerous to stick to the air. I made sure to return Altaria, just in case.

"A plan. We need a plan," I mumbled.

I got us this far, but even after everything else, I felt like I was scrambling to respond.

"We go up there and beat Team Rocket!" Ash shouted.

"Shh!" Iris hissed. "Keep it down."

I hummed.

"Actually, he may have a point," I said.

Weighing my options, Carbink was out of the picture, Ninetales was injured, it was too dangerous for Altaria to fly in this storm, and Gardevoir was out with Meloetta. That left me with just Dedenne to fight, though Altaria could still participate if he stuck close to the ground.

"I don't have my team," I said. "Not all of them, at least."

Ash and Iris looked over as I grimaced.

"I don't like asking you this, but with your healthy Pokémon, I need you to serve as a distraction. The only thing I can think of is getting to the top of that pyramid and taking whatever artifact Giovanni has before he can use it."

I didn’t like sending people younger than me out to fight, but if there was anyone in this world prepared to fight a villainous organization, it was Ash. In response to my suggested plan, Ash just grinned and pressed a fist in his palm. Behind him, Iris gave me a smile that would better fit a Dragon Type.

I can see why Drayden is recommending her.

"You can count on us!" Iris said.

"Thank you. I imagine you've done something like this before."

"I've been fighting Team Rocket for years and my Pokémon have never let me down! Come on, Alex, what's the worst that could happen?"

“Really?” Iris mumbled at Ash’s jinx. “What a kid...”

Both of them ran off towards the central structure after that, moving down the obvious, main road that connected to an exterior staircase. As for me, I glanced over to Diancie, who had stuck behind. She sent me a comforting nod.

“I support. Fight with you,” she said.

"Thank you,” I said. “Will you be able to Mega Evolve?”

I received a sharp grin in reply.

Diancie and I moved through the city, keeping quiet and using the buildings as cover. Our trip was uneventful outside of a single wild Duskull who tried to give us a scare. Diancie simply knocked it out with a single stone to the center of its skull, and we continued on towards the center of this city.

We neared. Loud booms began to ring out as Ash and Iris started their fights. I could see where Iris’s Dragonite was attacking from the sky, roaring and forcing itself through the harsh winds of the growing storm. I imagined the rest of their Pokémon were enjoying letting loose below.

Not only that, but it seemed the pair were succeeding, too, as Diancie and I were forced to press ourselves behind a crumbling wall when a duo of Team Rocket grunts approached. However, their radios soon went on, requesting backup, and the patrol ran off to join the fight against Ash and Iris.

"Kind of brings back memories," I said quietly.

"Not good ones," Diancie replied.

The only stairs on this structure were in the front, so when Diancie and I reached the edge of the pyramid, we were forced to climb. Each block that formed a level was taller than my head, and it took me a full minute just to figure out I didn’t have a way to climb over the first one.

Diancie ended up being the solution. After all, she was incredibly skilled when it came to the manipulation of stone. After watching me struggle for several long moments, she giggled and broke a chunk of the platform out from the ground. I sighed, stepped on, and she levitated it upwards, bringing me along.

Thanks to that, we reached the top relatively quickly and unnoticed. I clutched Dedenne’s Fast Ball in one hand.

As we neared the top, the sounds of fighting grew louder and louder. I started to be able to hear the sounds of Ash’s and Iris’s voices and their Pokémon using moves. Krookodile roared, Pikachu burst with lightning, and Iris’s new Druddigon shouted its name. However, what drew my attention was not the sound of their battles. Diancie slowed our approach as we listened to a faint, familiar melody that soon became clear over everything else.

It was a song—Meloetta’s song. I could feel something mad rumble in my gut as I recognized it as the very same song she used to change forms.

Team Rocket had recorded it. They were playing it here.

“Damnit. If we hadn’t sparred—”

Diancie shook her head to remind me of our plan. Meloetta would have sung eventually, regardless of our presence. However, since she had done so while we were here, we at least had the chance to save her—successfully—and we had the chance to capture Giovanni, too.

When we reached the very top of the pyramid, Diancie paused and had us linger just beneath a ledge. We crouched down to ensure we wouldn’t stick out, and we peaked our heads up by the barest amount to see what was going on.

The fighting stopped. At least, there was no fighting going on at the peak of this pyramid.

Giovanni was here, standing in front of a plinth and clutching a decorative mirror. It was about twice the size of his head with carvings representing each of the four seasons around its sides, and he held it up to the sky and laughed.

"Yes! This is it! So long spent planning, and I have finally obtained the Reveal Glass! Nature itself will bow to my whims, and Unova will be forced to relent to my demands!"

"Jeez. Generic, much?" I mumbled.

Diancie suppressed a laugh besides me.

Outside of Giovanni, there were a few more points of interest on the platform. Behind him, a large, diamond-shaped opening was indented in the ground, and several large cables and tubes were connected to a machine attached to its center. Those cables originated from a desk-sized computer situated at the platform's side, and an old man with a chaotic frizz of white hair furiously typed on the device’s keyboard.

“Dr. Zager, I presume,” I whispered, gesturing to the mad scientist and repeating the name Giovanni had casually mentioned earlier.

Thankfully, Ash and Iris arrived at this moment, and they clutched Pokéballs as they faced off against the mad Team Rocket Boss. Giovanni let loose maniacal laughter as he continued to hold the mirror to the sky.

A tap on my shoulder, and Diancie pointed upwards. Pausing, I craned my neck towards the clouds. I cursed at the sight.

“He did it,” I whispered. “He actually did it. We were too slow.”

Giovanni had summoned three beings from the sky.

Three burly humanoids sat on wispy clouds, hovering over this central platform. Harsh yellow eyes stared down below with an intense glare, even more imperious than Giovanni’s before. From the trio’s backs, strange, tail-like tendrils curled out and wrapped up and over their bodies and clouds. The trio looked like gods of nature or some sort of unbound genie. They came in three colors, and I recognized them all.

Green—Tornadus, master of the winds and a Pokémon capable of creating billowing gusts that could knock down even the sturdiest of structures.

Blue—Thundurus, master of the storm and a Pokémon capable of summoning lightning that carried the power of the heavens themselves.

Orange—Landorus, the master of both land and sky, only ever summoned by the combined presence of both Tornadus and Thundurus. Cynthia had talked about it on the flight over, and, apparently, it was able to ensure bountiful harvests in any lands it “blessed.”

Each of these three Pokémon were incredibly powerful Legendaries. I knew Landorus was especially strong for a multitude of reasons just on its own. None of them should have been acting so impassively around one another, yet they were all silently waiting above this temple, not fighting at all, seemingly waiting for orders from the one holding the Reveal Glass: Giovanni.

“This is getting complicated,” I mumbled, though, the Forces of Nature being present wasn’t wholly out of expectation. As I held back a grumble, my eyes flicked around. Soon, they settled on the Reveal Glass itself, and I pressed myself closer to the stone. “...Diancie, I might have an easy solution in mind.”

I began to silently signal to Diancie, discussing my plan involving both Giovanni and the doctor off to the side. The recording of Meloetta’s voice continued to loop around us, and I could see the wires attached to the strange crystal in the center occasionally spark with electricity.

"Mad doctor or main villain?" I offered.

"Villain," Diancie sent, continuing to glare forwards.

“We’ll move in the moment we have an opening.”

She nodded and braced herself, preparing.

On the platform itself, Giovanni continued to rant, mostly monologuing about his plans. Apparently, he considered himself to have won, so he wasn’t bothered by revealing his end goal.

With the power of the Forces of Nature, he planned to take over Unova not through literal force, but through the force of their special capabilities. Tornadus and Thundurus could destroy food stores and conjure storms that made shipments impossible. Landorus could let him grow an immense amount of produce on land.

He intended to starve Unova into doing his bidding, gaining a stranglehold on both trade and harvest. Though the three genies were Legendary Pokémon, there were enough strong trainers in the region that the Forces of Nature could eventually be defeated. That’s why he wanted to attack everyone where it hurt—their pockets. With their combined powers, even the strongest of Grass Types wouldn’t be able to help offset the scouring of the land.

“There’s a problem with your plans, Team Rocket guy!” Ash shouted.

I tilted my head.

Does he... Does he not know Giovanni’s name? Didn’t I just say it back in the woods?

“Oh? And what is that, you snarky child?”

“There aren’t three Forces of Nature, there’s four!”

Giovanni looked bewildered at the statement. To most people, such a claim was entirely nonsensical. For me, however, my eyes widened.

After all, Ash had mentioned that Enamorus, the lost Legendary Pokémon he encountered in Sinnoh, had been following him for some time.

“Now, Diancie! Dedenne, you too!” I cried, taking this opportunity for what it was.

The two of us jumped out from where we were crouched in the back, and Giovanni turned around, completely surprised.

“Tornadus! Thundurus! Stop them!” he yelled.

The round, decorative mirror he held in his hands shone, and the two named Legendary Pokémon rushed down from the sky. Diancie had only a moment to react, and she chose this moment to begin to glow.

As lightning struck down around her and harsh winds blew, Diancie’s form shifted with a fully self-controlled Mega Evolution. Using her innate connection to stones themselves, her form grew upwards, and she gained a vast dress of pink crystals while the gem on her head enlarged. The sheer threat she posed caused all the attacks from above to be drawn her way, but Diancie was able to conjure solid Reflects and Light Screens that blocked their moves.

As that happened, I moved.

“Dedenne!” I shouted, throwing his Fast Ball forward. The little fat rat appeared in the air, sailed over to where the old scientist was working, and he landed right on the keyboard of the computer.

“W-what?” The doctor stepped backwards out of shock.

“Discharge!” I yelled.

The Totem-sized Pokémon grinned, and then he burst with almost every bit of electricity in his body.

Not all pieces of technology were able to resist Electric Type moves. The machine he stood on was definitely advanced, but it seemed to be hastily made, in parts. It crackled and fizzled; as for Meloetta’s voice, it stopped. Both the good doctor and his invention were fried, with Dr. Zager himself falling to the ground, zapped into unconsciousness by Dedenne.

As for the indent that all of the technology connected to, something popped, and smoke left the diamond shape. The attacks from the flying Legendary Pokémon against Diancie began to slow, but Diancie wasn’t going to risk them going berserk. Even with their control fading, the two Pokémon continued to recognize her as a threat and attacked. Given that Thundurus and Tornadus were liable to attack one another if left alone, Diancie continued to serve as a distraction to ensure the fight did not become worse.

In her Mega Evolved form, she was even holding them back, too. A crystalline Ancient Power was sent into the sky to jab both of the flying Pokémon in their chests, sending them back with super effective damage. Not only that, but Diancie was infused by the power of her own attack, becoming stronger in every degree. Given enough time, she’d win.

“I still have the Reveal Glass!” Giovanni shouted. “I still control—”

A pink blur. Ash shouted in excitement. By having Dedenne stop the music, apparently, it allowed our fourth guest to finally appear.

A pink variant of those trio of Legendaries swooped down to yoink the mirror right out of Giovanni’s hands. The act of the theft knocked him back, and he fell to the ground and stared up at the sky in shock.

“No... It can’t be. That Pokémon has been missing for millennia!”

“That’s your fault for underestimating Ash. You should have researched the nonsense he gets up to,” I shot back.

The leader of Team Rocket opened and closed his mouth, staring at the sky in complete disbelief at the sight of the pink, flying genie above him. Enamorus looked much like the other three Legendary Pokémon, except it had a much thinner, almost feminine humanoid body, and its tail was a snake that wrapped around its neck.

The pink, Fairy Type Legendary held the mirror in its hands and stared down at the raised platform. It gained a smug grin and winked at Ash, then it glanced down into the mirror.

I felt like my heart skipped a beat out of fear. Enamorus suddenly froze. It stared into the mirror, completely enthralled, and I could already picture what would happen next.

“He called that the Reveal Glass,” I realized. “Diancie, that artifact can let them shift into more powerful forms!”

I could already see Enamorus beginning to shift. Its serpentine tail moved to wrap around its body as well in preparation to enter its alternate form. What was worse was that Landorus, above, stared down at Enamorus, but when I looked closer, its eyes were locked onto the mirror as well.

“You... you fools,” a hoarse voice said from the ground. The smoking Dr. Zager glared at us from where Dedenne attacked him. “The Reveal Glass was used by the ancient civilization of these ruins to control the Forces of Nature! Without Meloetta’s stabilizing song—”

“Doesn’t matter,” Diancie interrupted. “I solve.”

Before the transformation could continue any further, Diancie demonstrated just why I wanted to bring her along. She held her hands close to her chest and conjured a single, pink, crystal shard. It resembled a dagger in its design, and she focused on it intently, causing it to sharpen and become denser by the second.

She was satisfied with her creation within only a few seconds, and her gaze snapped up towards Enamorus. Thrusting forward her hands, the dagger sailed into the sky.

“Support!” her voice shouted in our minds.

“Pikachu!” Ash yelled.

“Dedenne!” I added.

“Thunderbolt!”

Pikachu had been sitting on Ash’s shoulder, and Dedenne had been resting on the ruined remains of Dr. Zager’s computer. With the two of them given orders, they shared a single glance before immediately jumping into the air.

Two electric rodents squeezed their bodies, and two electric rodents sent out their own force of nature—lightning. The paired Thunderbolts struck the flying, crystal dagger, supercharging it and causing it to travel at literal lightning speed.

With that, the stone hit the mirror and then continued all the way through. Coming straight through the center, the legendary artifact shattered in Enamorus’s hands. With the item breaking, the Legendary Pokémon shook its head, coming to its senses, and four, equal shards of glass fell from the sky.

Enamorus had the bright idea to scoop one up before it fell.

The Fairy Type wasn’t the only one to have that idea, as Thundurus and Tornadus sent one another a glare before rushing forward with incredible speed to grab shards for themselves as well. As for Landorus, a deep, echoing huff escaped from its mouth (somehow almost sounding like a laugh?), and it practically fell out of the sky to grab the last of the shards right before it shattered against the pyramid’s peak.

To that end, the four Forces of Nature now held shards of the Reveal Glass in their hands. They spent a moment, getting lost in its reflection, but in its broken, weakened state, the Reveal Glass lacked the power to fully constrain their minds. They all were able to snap their gazes away.

Then, they left, as simple as that.

Thunderus turned to lightning and disappeared into where the weather was densest. Landorus shoved its shard into its cloud and floated back up into the sky. As for Tornadus, it brought its gaze back to its shard, and I got worried it would attack. Instead, its body shifted out of its humanoid genie form, becoming a great, green bird, and it flew off with casual flaps of its wings.

“Huh,” I said. Enamorus stayed in the air above us, smiling out of amusement.

To our side, Dr. Zager laughed.

“To think the Reveal Glass would shatter in such a manner. It takes Legendary Power to usurp Legendary Power. With those limited shards... The Legendary Pokémon won’t lose control. I’ll posit that they’ll now be able to change forms at will.”

He let loose a mad laugh before I sent a sign to Dedenne and one last, weak shock sent the doctor into true unconsciousness. Looking around, it was clear the battle ended, so I stepped forward to finally do the one thing I came here to do.

“Giovanni,” I said. “You lost.”

The man's eyes widened. Now, Ash and Iris stepped forward too.

It really seemed like this would be a complete victory. Giovanni would be captured, and Team Rocket would meet its end. It seemed so easy, so simple to do. But, of course, it didn’t exactly work out the way I wanted.

"Cofagrigus!"

"Jellicent!"

"SHADOW BALL!"

A pair of ghostly attacks slammed into the platform, sending darkness into the air and causing all of us to stumble back. Not only that, but gas was somehow mixed into this attack, giving everyone here a coughing fit, rendering us unable to give any commands and our Pokémon unable to use any moves. As Ash and Iris tried to wave the smoke out of their face, I was just barely able to recover to look up in time to see what had happened.

Giovanni was no longer on the platform. Instead, he was being carried off in the sky. A certain trio had been conspicuously absent, but now, they made themselves known. Jessie and James themselves had swooped down to rescue their beloved Boss with jetpacks, of all things.

"Nice try, twerps!" Meowth shouted as he trailed behind his human partners with a jetpack of his own. "But Team Rocket isn't going to go down that easily!"

We still had an out, though. We still had a way to win.

What Team Rocket didn’t realize was that Altaria was still in his ball and was unaffected by their gaseous attack. His ability, Cloud Nine, would let him clear out their smoke, and his flight would mean he could catch up. With his efforts combined with Iris’s Dragonite, it was still entirely possible for us to—

A hand clasped me on the shoulder.

"No. Let them escape."

Cynthia, who had been missing this whole time, stepped forward to watch them leave, and their catchphrase felt like poison to my ears.

"Team Rocket is flying off once again!" the trio shouted.

Ash and Iris grumbled as if they expected this to happen, but I'd never felt so betrayed in my life.

Years.

That was how long the League knew this would happen.

And at the last minute, Cynthia stopped us from capturing Giovanni?

"Why?" I whispered. I found myself unable to put much more emotion in my voice.

"What do you mean, Alex?” she replied. “We saved Meloetta. We won."

"But Giovanni escaped! We could have captured him! We could have taken Team Rocket out right here and now!"

She looked at me, smiling, as Ash moved off to chat with the descending Enamorus. There was a story there, somehow, but it was one I couldn't bring myself to care about right now.

"Where have you been?" I practically accused.

Cynthia turned away and hummed, watching the Team Rocket leader board one of the escaping helicopters.

"When it comes to what Pokémon are on my team, do you know what I have?" she asked me.

"Garchomp, Gastrodon, Roserade, Lucario, Milotic, Togekiss, and Spiritomb,” I easily replied.

I didn't like Spiritomb. I didn't like how the stone in her pocket laughed when I said its name.

"You’re correct, but that's not all," Cynthia said. "I also have a Braviary and Eelektross I keep in Unova and a Glaceon I'm in the process of training up."

"So?" I asked. "Why bring all this up?"

"Because," she said grinning. "I have one more."

I wracked my mind for clues, but, for the life of me, I couldn't remember what her mysterious, final team member was. Somewhat exasperated, Cynthia pulled up her arm, exposing a Pokétch, a piece of technology from Sinnoh, and then she tapped its screen before pointing at the helicopter.

When I still didn't get it, she let out a sigh.

"Porygon-Z," she grumbled as if I had spoiled her joke.

At that, my eyes widened. All the clues fell into place.

Cynthia’s absence made sense. She likely had a stealth mission of her own. Capturing Giovanni would have been a crippling blow to Team Rocket but not a fatal one. The organization would be hurt but not finished from his absence. It had too many independent, secret projects going on—too many secret cells—and I doubted Giovanni would ever give up the true depths of his plans.

However, if Cynthia had her Porygon-Z secretly tag along with Giovanni...

"Porygon is going to be feeding you information about them for years," I whispered in realization.

"Not only that," Cynthia continued, "but we'll be able to slowly hunt down and take out all of their projects and secret hideaways even if Porygon is found out within an hour! He works fast and has had years of practice defending me against personal hacks. I imagine Giovanni wont find out for quite a while, and, even then, the amount Porygon will have revealed will be too much for the organization to ever recover.”

A groan rang out from our side. Turning my head, I realized there was that old man still on the floor. Cynthia grabbed Spiritomb's rock and tossed it forward, the Ghost Type landing on the scientist’s chest. One Hypnosis later, and Dr. Zager was rendered unconscious once more, no longer in danger of waking up and escaping.

"Another piece of good news,” she added. “It seems you've captured the infamous Dr. Zager. He’s not that well known outside of Kanto, but he is one of Team Rocket's head engineers and lead scientists. This alone is a major win."

I felt like I was in a daze. I had whiplash from the back-and-forth of revelations Cynthia was giving me. I watched silently as Ash and Iris waved goodbye to Enamorus, who held up its own shard of the Reveal Glass to change its form. Where once it had a humanoid body with a snake coiling around its neck, it was now a turtle poking out of a cloud, and its serpentine tail had taken the shape of a shell on its back.

Enamorus left as if swimming through the air. Iris and Ash continued to wave goodbye even long after it disappeared.

"We won?" I asked.

"Yes, Alex, we won,” Cynthia replied. “Not only that, but we have all of these ruins to explore at our leisure!" She sighed. "It’s a shame I’ll need to return to Sinnoh soon to manage the upcoming Conference. I would have loved to spend more time here."

With the disappearance of the last of the Forces of Nature, the clouds finally started to part, and Diancie moved over to my side. She was no longer Mega Evolved, but she was staring up at the clear skies and smiling brightly to herself.

“Good job,” I mumbled.

“Victory!” she sent.

Ash came over, and so did Iris. Everyone who had come to these ruins reconvened, with Team Rocket defeated in the end. With Cynthia’s reveal, it was clear that this had been a victory. It was a mess, but it was a victory. Knowing what I knew, with all the plots I knew left, there was now only one last, big thing I still had to do.

With this over, I was set to return to Alola. There, I’d need to complete my job for the League, protect Lillie and Nebbie, finish going through all the islands, and, hopefully, I’d be able resolve that entire situation involving Necrozma, the Aether Foundation, and the Ultra Beasts.

Yeah.

An easy task.

============================================================
Author Note:

A bit of context for this chapter: when the Unova anime was first coming out, Team Plasma was set to debut in an episode where they attacked Castelia City. That episode never aired due to worries about improper timing with the recent, major earthquake in Japan. As a result, the region lost its chance to introduce Team Plasma as its villainous threat.

However, the animation studio didn't give up there. If they couldn't have Team Plasma, they'd have Team Rocket, instead. Unova was the first region where Team Rocket became proper threats (outside of some movies), with the classic trio gaining jetpacks and a level of competence not seen before. This all concluded in this arc, here, where Giovanni personally appeared to capture Meloetta and summon and control the Forces of Nature.

Unfortunately, the end of this arc marked Team Rocket returning to their classic, goofball state afterwards, but a bit of that threat always lingered from then on.

(Giovanni also praises the Team Rocket Trio at the end of Unova. I loved that moment.)

Pokémon (and people) mentioned in this chapter (contains spoilers):
Cofagrigus
Dewott
Diancie
Enamorus / Forces of Nature
Jellicent
Meloetta
Persian
Porygon-Z
Rhydon
Thundurus / Tornadus / Landorus

Dr. Zager
Giovanni

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