Chapter 29
Nigel cursed under his breath as he picked out a few pieces of fur from the site of the explosion. Pikachu and Eevee fur. But it was fine. He had already sealed every exit to the base. It was only a matter of time before he found them.
Security camera footage showed Nigel exactly how Pikachu had escaped, but, unfortunately, the cameras couldn't keep up with Latios and Latias' speed or track them when they were invisible. He made a mental note to talk to the 'security' grunt later.
But before he went anywhere... he took out Ho-oh's Pokeball and returned to his machine. There was enough power left to make one more Dark Ball. Nigel leaned back in his chair and put the rest of his Dark Balls inside the healing station. He could wait.
~~~
"Where are we going?" Ash asked.
"We're trying to get out of here." Latias' wings felt like piles of bricks, and she hadn't been in an energy-draining machine recently. Ash must be exhausted. "I know you don't remember much, but we can't stay here." "Have you found a way out yet?" she asked her brother.
"All the exits are blocked," replied Latios, "We'll have to find a different way out of here. Stay there for a second, I'm coming over to you,"
"What should I do about Ash?"
"Keep him with you. Talk to him or something, maybe he'll get some of his memories back,"
Latias glanced around the nearly empty room and knocked down the camera in the corner. They were invisible, but she didn't feel like taking any chances. The camera shattered on the concrete floor, breaking into thousands of tiny pieces. "So, what do you remember, Ash?" she asked.
"Not much," Ash hung his head. "But I do remember talking to Latios after we had a battle, and I remember talking to you at the Pokémon Center, I think it was about traveling together or something."
Ah, that conversation. Latias smiled at the memory. "Do you remember what battle we had before you talked to Latios?" She prodded.
"We were fighting an Azumarill and a bunch of other Pokémon. Oh yeah, there was this guy named Apex and, um…"
"Bell Tower?"
"Yeah, that's it, we were fighting Apex at Bell Tower!" Ash, "Wasn't Apex part of Team Void?"
Latias nodded. Come on, Ash, please remember how bad Team Void was.
"And then-" Ash sighed. "I can't remember anything else,"
Well, that was more than Latias had hoped for. "It's okay," She brushed her wing against his. "I'm sure you'll get your memories back,"
Ash's eyes lit up. "Really?"
"Promise,"
Ash smiled. "Thanks, Latias,"
~~~
"Jirachi, we're ready," Brock said, setting down the paper.
"Go ahead," Jirachi's second wish tag began glowing.
"We wish," said Brock, "That Ash and his Pokémon would have courage."
"And that they will triumph over Team Void," Misty continued.
"That they can free the innocent Pokémon,"
"And they have everything they need to do it."
Jirachi's remaining two wish tags glowed, and a flap on his belly opened, revealing his third, true eye. The group shielded their eyes as the light flashed every color of the rainbow, dancing off the reflective crystals in the chamber. After a few seconds, the light gathered itself into a ball and shot out of the cave, causing several Zubat to fall off the ceiling and screech at them.
Jirachi smiled. "Good luck," The Wish Pokemon wrapped himself back in his shell of purple crystals. When they looked again, the crystal cocoon had already set itself back on the floor of the cave.
"Thank you," said Misty.
"Yes, thank you," said Brock.
The crystal gave off a pulse of light as if to say, 'You're welcome' before the light inside dimmed, leaving only Brock's flashlight still shining in the room.
~~~
Nigel grabbed his Pokeballs and threw Ho-oh's Pokeball into the air. The ball hovered in the air for a second before it opened, revealing the Rainbow Pokemon crackling with dark energy. Nigel took in the flying and fire type for a moment. It was perfect. He laughed. No more flaws, no more weakness in the darkness. Latius couldn't pull his trick again. Nigel could only imagine how powerful he would be when he finally controlled the mythical Latius.
Nigel returned Ho-oh and sent out the rest of his Pokémon. The 4 Dark Balls opened, revealing a Dugtrio, a Houndoom, a Kangaskhan, and a Pinsir who looked at Nigel with red, expressionless eyes.
Nigel pointed to the image of Ash and his Pokémon on the screen. "Find them and attack them. Kill them if you have to, but leave the orange one for me."
~~~
Ash followed Latias into another dark, concrete room. He wished there was something in these rooms besides giant metal racks of potions and Pokeballs. Like food. Food sounded really really good right about now.
"Ash!" A Pikachu ran to him as he flew into the storage room.
Ash tilted his head. "Hi?" He felt like he should know this Pikachu. Stupid amnesia,
"Ash, remember me? You know, your partner, your best buddy?"
Pikachu… Pikachu, Pikachu! The jumbled-up puzzle suddenly flew together, the picture growing faster than Ash could take in. The dots finally connected.
Latios. Latias. Altomare. The Soul Dew.
The Ruin of Eons. Skye. The Silver Conference.
Team Void. Nigel. The Dark Ball.
Ash rushed to hug his partner. His best friend in the entire world. "Pikachu!" Soft fur collided with his chest as trainer and Pokémon locked in an embrace. This is what Nigel had taken away from him, and Ash swore he would make that villain pay. He grinned, looking at his Pokémon, his friends. "You can stop worrying about me. I'm back."
Latios, Latias, and Skye joined in the hug, and Ash found himself in the middle of feathers and fur and love. He could stay here forever and-
CRASH!
Ash whirled around as half of the wall collapsed. A Kangaskan roared at them, charging through the opening.
Ash turned around, only to find a Houndoom blocking his path. Skye yelped, barely dodging a surprise attack from a Dugtrio. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Latios fending off a Pinsir. They were surrounded.
"Pikachu, Electro Web! Trap Dugtrio underground! Skye, help Pikachu! Latios, Aura Sphere on Kangaskhan! Latias, use Dragon Pulse on Pinsir!" commanded Ash as he turned his attention to Houndoom. Despite the attack, he smiled.
It was good to be back.
~~~
Thank you for reading!
If you've enjoyed this story so far, consider leaving a review and joining my Discord server! You can stay updated on my stories, chat with me and other fanfiction writers, or just hang out! (discord.gg/eX4k3bV2au) (link on my profile page if it doesn't work)
P.S. If you are reading this version of my story on any platform other than webnovel.com, you are at risk of a malware attack, or this story has been stolen, or both. If you wish to read this story in its original, safe, form, please go to https://m.webnovel.com/book/true-eons_33457776008937305. Thank you.