Chapter 18
"What the-" Ash stared at the Magikarp. Or rather, something that resembled a Magikarp. The 'Magikarp' was a corpse. It had the body of a Magikarp but the spirit of a Gengar. Ash shuddered. At least a Gengar had emotions.
"I can't look," said Latias, shutting her eyes.
"That is not a Magikarp," said Pikachu.
"Can you tell what happened to it?" Ash telepathed to Latios.
Latios hesitated for a second. "I don't know… I can't sense anything in it. It seems devoid of all life. It doesn't give off that presence that living things are supposed to, and yet, it's still alive."
Ash knew that it was beyond help, unable to live properly again. "Latios?"
"Yes?"
"Can you come back?"
Latios nodded, ending the sight sharing. "Be right there,"
"What's the plan?" asked Pikachu.
"Treating Pokémon like that is terrible," Ash gritted his teeth. "If Arceus said there's a way to stop them, we're going to find it!"
Latias looked at Ash. "I know we have to, but…"
"Something wrong?" asked Ash.
"It's just- I was okay fighting their shadow Pokemon, but these seem… different."
"Don't worry, Latias," Ash stroked her head. "We won't hurt them unless we absolutely have to,"
Latias smiled. "Thanks, Ash,"
"I'm back," Latios flew up to them. "Sorry I took a while; it was hard to get out of there unnoticed."
"That's fine," said Ash. He looked around. "Where should we go next?"
"There's a sign here that says 'Research Room,'" said Pikachu, "Maybe we should go that way?"
Ash nodded. "Alright, let's go."
~~~
"How long is this hallway?" groaned James, "We've been walking forever."
"My legs can't take much more," complained Meowth.
"Quiet," Jessie whispered, "someone's coming." The three of them quickly ducked behind a few trash bins.
Meowth's eyes widened. "It's da twerp!"
"What's he doing here?" James peeked through a gap between the bins.
"He has a Team Void uniform on," said Meowth, "Do ya think he joined them?"
"Not the twerp," Jessie shook her head. "he's probably spying on them too,"
Ash suddenly turned around.
"Uh oh, I think he saw us," James whispered.
~~~
"Hold on a second," Latios closed his eyes. "Someone's here."
"They're right over there," Latias pointed to a stack of trash bins.
"Get ready in case it's a trap," Ash walked over to the trash bins and pushed them aside. "Team Rocket?"
"Prepare to get rid of all this trouble."
"And when we're done, we'll make it double!"
"To protect the world from the nasty Void,"
"To unite all peoples that are paranoid!"
"To denounce their team when they think they've won,"
"To extend our reach and fight as one!"
"Jessie!"
"James!"
"Team Rocket being stealthy at the speed of light,"
"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"
"Meowth, that's right!"
"Why are you guys here?" asked Ash.
"Weren't you paying attention?" said Jessie, "It was all in the motto!"
"So these are the guys you were talking about," Latios suppressed a laugh. "You're right, they are hilarious."
"They don't seem that bad to me," Latias giggled.
"They aren't," said Ash, "they're just annoying and try to steal Pikachu all the time."
"Well, twerp, since we're here for the same thing, why don't we team up?" asked Meowth.
"Um…"
"We promise on our honor that we won't try to steal Pikachu," said James. The three of them nodded their heads to signify the point.
Pikachu rolled his eyes.
"They're telling the truth," said Latios, "they should be fine as long as they don't get in our way."
"Oh, they will," Ash glared at Team Rocket. "You'd better keep that promise."
"We will!"
Ash nodded and continued along the hallway.
"Hey twerp, where are we going?"
"And how did you get here?"
"Do you know anything about Team Void?"
Ash sighed. This was going to be a long walk…
~~~
Nigel frowned at the camera feed. This was supposed to be just him and that Ash kid. Who were these clowns, and what were they doing here? He sighed and shrugged the screen off. They shouldn't be too much of a bother…
But back to the plan. He knew exactly what he would do as soon as the kid walked in the door. It was all planned out; he had his Pokémon and his battlefield. He would defeat that boy, fair and square, proving he was the stronger trainer. After that, Ash and his Pokémon could easily be manipulated for Team Void's purposes. It wouldn't be easy, of course, but good things were rarely ever easy to obtain.
Nigel laughed. "You may have beaten all my men, but you'll find I don't fall so easily… Latius."
~~~
"We're here!" Pikachu hurried over to the door.
Ash let out a breath. "Finally,"
"Why do we always end up doing stuff like this?" James complained.
Ash rolled his eyes. "Because you keep following me."
"Oh,"
"I got a bad feeling about this," Meowth nibbled on his claws.
"Relax, Meowth." Jessie put her arms behind her head. "The twerp has dealt with this stuff before."
"So, are we going in or what?" Pikachu tapped the metal door impatiently.
Ash nodded, took a deep breath, and turned the handle.
The group stepped into a stadium-sized, completely dark room. The walls echoed the tumping of their footsteps as they made their way in, Pikachu lighting the way with several sparks of electricity. But they had only gone a few steps when the door shut behind them and locked with a loud bang.
Before they could react, the lights turned on, revealing a battlefield with a pokeball shape in the center. Rocks and other objects were stuck at random on it. Ash noticed a man standing on the other side of the field. His dark hair covered most of his face, and he wore a dark cloak around his body.
A voice filled the room. "Well, well, you finally arrived."
~~~
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