"Earth Power."
Just as Ace was about to finish off Deoxys, a voice carrying a faint sense of authority rang out.
In the next moment, Ace and the others saw a Nidoking charge out. The ground beneath them seemed to be struck by a huge bomb, with massive amounts of dirt and shattered rock blasting skyward, completely engulfing Ace and his allies!
"That's way too much!"
Green quickly retreated, staring at the sudden enormous crater in the ground, easily twenty to thirty meters wide. She couldn't believe her eyes.
"Boom!"
Aerodactyl shot out like the wind. With a fierce beat of its wings, a massive tornado, dozens of meters tall, instantly formed. Large quantities of dirt and shattered rock were sucked into it, minimizing the impact of Nidoking's Earth Power!
"Crackling…"
The dirt and rock were instantly churned into fine sand by the tornado. After the whirlwind dissipated, the fine sand drifted down.
At that moment, a Beedrill shot toward Ace like a meteor. Ace saw it but didn't command the Tao Dragon to dodge, remaining silently in place.
"Clang!"
A crisp sound rang out. A thick Psychic barrier materialized in front of Ace. Beedrill's twin stingers struck it but failed to penetrate the shield.
Gardevoir, nearby, was momentarily stunned. She hadn't consciously deployed a Psychic barrier for Ace. Where did it come from?
As Gardevoir wondered, a figure suddenly phased into existence beside Ace. Wielding a spoon, it swung the implement, batting Beedrill backward.
"Mewtwo..."
Giovanni stepped out of the shadows. Looking at the familiar figure standing beside Ace, he offered a faint smile. "I've been waiting for you."
Before Mewtwo and Ace could exchange pleasantries, several streaks of light suddenly shot out from an unknown direction, rapidly heading toward Mewtwo.
"Tao Dragon!"
Ace's eyes quickly scanned the objects shooting toward Mewtwo, realizing they were pieces of armor-like apparatus. These were suppression suits specially developed by Team Rocket researchers on Giovanni's orders, designed to suppress Mewtwo's Psychic power.
The Tao Dragon raised its claws. Fusion Flare and Fusion Bolt erupted from its claws, shooting toward the streaks of light.
"Sizzle... Boom!"
The attack instantly blew up several components, but two streaks of light still shot toward Mewtwo. Mewtwo tried to defend, but found its Psychic power had absolutely no effect on them.
Even blocking with the spoon condensed by its Psychic energy, the apparatus broke through the defense. The armor pieces expanded and, to Mewtwo's astonishment, instantly attached themselves to its head and right arm.
Mewtwo immediately felt its Psychic power drop by at least half; it simply couldn't exert its full strength.
"Blue Flare."
The Tao Dragon opened its mouth, a blast of fire forcing the charging Beedrill back.
But while Ace's attention was focused on Giovanni, Deoxys seized the opportunity, violently tearing off its own four limbs and escaping the hold of Metagross.
The light of Recover shone, and the torn limbs rapidly regrew.
"Buzz!"
A focused Psycho Boost instantly exploded, forcing Metagross and Gardevoir backward.
Seizing the chance, Deoxys quickly fled the spot and returned to Giovanni's side.
"You've become much stronger, kid."
Giovanni looked at Ace and said calmly, "But now, I don't have time to play with you for too long. I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to step aside."
With that, Giovanni opened his Poké Balls. Instantly, a large number of Ground-type Pokémon appeared around him.
Giovanni said faintly, "If you don't leave, then this island will completely sink into the sea."
As Giovanni's words fell, the numerous Pokémon exerted their power simultaneously. The entire Five Island began to shake violently. Everyone on the island was thrown to the ground, looking in shock toward the direction of the battle.
Ash's group's faces instantly turned grim. Such overwhelming, unreasonable power, coupled with the threat to the lives of everyone on the island, showed that Giovanni had grasped their weakness.
"Do you think I care?"
Ace stood on the Tao Dragon' head, looking down at Giovanni. "It's just one island."
With that, the Tao Dragon made the first move. An extreme cold Ice Burn directly struck Mewtwo's helmet. The powerful attack instantly shattered the entire helmet.
Although the strong impact made Mewtwo uncomfortable, Recover flared, and Mewtwo quickly returned to normal. With the vital helmet destroyed, Mewtwo's power instantly returned to eighty percent. Using its left hand, it forcefully ripped off the armor on its right arm.
Seeing Ace remain completely unfazed, Giovanni's usually calm face showed a rare hint of solemnity.
But before long, Giovanni and Deoxys suddenly looked up. A rare smile appeared on Giovanni's face. "They're here."
Following Giovanni's gaze, Ace and the others looked into the distance.
In the sky, another Deoxys was rapidly charging toward them.
Ace looked at the suddenly incoming second Deoxys. A sudden thought from the original plot flashed in his mind, and he immediately yelled, "Stop them!"
As Ace's words rang out, Ash and the others looked at him confusedly, but at that moment, Giovanni laughed.
The next second, Deoxys carried Giovanni away with Teleport, leaving behind only the Ground-type Pokémon.
In the distant sky, a previously cloaked airship rapidly became visible. Before the second Deoxys could react, a capture net instantly seized it.
"We were too late."
Ace said with a frown. Just as he was about to pursue the airship, the Ground-type Pokémon left behind by Giovanni all simultaneously used Earthquake.
The entire island began to shake even more violently. This time, it was far more intense than before. Large areas of Five Island began to crack open, and huge waves surged from the nearby sea, crashing toward the island.
"Damn it, save the people first!"
Seeing this, Ash instantly abandoned the pursuit of Giovanni. He left Venusaur and Poliwrath to deal with the Ground-type Pokémon, then ran toward the residential area of Five Island.
The residents of Five Island had already been forced to evacuate when the Team Rocket base was discovered. However, a large number of League personnel were still on the island. If they ignored them, these people could very well die here!
Gary and Green made the same choice, leaving some Pokémon behind and immediately going to rescue people.
Ace, however, had fewer concerns. He left Aerodactyl behind to deal with the Pokémon, recalled his other Pokémon, and took the Tao Dragon and Mewtwo to chase the Team Rocket airship.
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