Chapter 73: Ilex Forest, Time Channel
"Return, Volcarona," Bugsy said as he recalled his ace Pokémon. "As expected, you're still just a bit stronger than me. Your Pheromosa has been wonderfully trained. This is proof of your victory—the Hive Badge."
Ryan healed Pheromosa and accepted the badge, smiling, "Thanks, Bugsy. Let's battle again sometime."
"Absolutely," Bugsy said, extending his hand to shake Ryan's.
Ryan left the Azalea Gym and prepared to head to Ilex Forest. Whether he could save Celebi depended on this one chance.
Celebi then emerged from the Ultra Ball and flew onto Ryan's shoulder, complaining that he wouldn't let her out during the gym battle. Ryan tapped Celebi's small head with his finger and smiled, "Sorry, some situations aren't suitable for you to appear. I'll buy you something delicious later."
Celebi then forgave Ryan, humming a melody while feeling joyful. It sensed that it was almost home.
In Azalea Town, they bought some Poffins that Celebi enjoyed, and Ryan hurried with Celebi toward Ilex Forest.
Deep within the ancient forest, inside a weathered shrine, strange temporal waves distorted a small area of space, revealing five Celebi. Three of them were elderly, their weathered appearances showing the Weight of countless years, while the two younger ones waited anxiously.
"Excellent! What fortune! Five of them have appeared!" a gruff, aged voice rang out. A figure clad in a black Team Rocket uniform and wearing a strange ice-blue mask appeared before the five Celebi.
The five Celebi looked at the newcomer warily, uncertain of his intentions.
"Aren't you afraid of me?" the masked man chuckled coldly. "You truly are legendary Pokémon, aren't you? But I hope you can remain so composed. Attack!"
"Yes, sir!" Multiple voices echoed from throughout the forest.
Large pieces of equipment were wheeled in—twenty-four machines in total, surrounding the shrine. These devices activated, and invisible electromagnetic waves swept across the entire area. The five Celebi suddenly weakened: their psychic powers were being suppressed!
"Surprised? This is the result of years of research, designed specifically to neutralize your time-travel abilities," the masked man declared. "The wait has been worth it!"
He then pulled out two unusual Poké Balls. If Professor Oak were here, he'd surely recognize them. These were two GS Balls!
"After years of searching, I finally obtained feathers from Lugia and Ho-Oh. Using their power, I've crafted these Temporal Capture Spheres. You cannot escape now!" the masked man shouted, hurling the two GS Balls toward the five Celebi.
"Pheromosa, stop them!" Ryan shouted.
Pheromosa descended from above, launching a barrage of High Jump Kicks, sending both GS Balls flying away. Standing protectively in front of the five Celebi, it faced down the masked man.
"Haha, you're finally here! Did you think I had no contingency plan? My operatives spotted you long ago," the masked man sneered.
A Crobat suddenly slammed into one of the elderly Celebi at breakneck speed, then produced two more GS Balls from a hidden compartment, successfully trapping both an old and young Celebi within the spheres.
"This is bad!" Ryan cried. Dragonite landed beside Ryan, but couldn't prevent the attack. Crobat had struck from Pheromosa's blind spot, and even the Ultra Beast's incredible speed couldn't stop it. Fortunately, Ryan had strategically positioned his team, otherwise all five Celebi might have been captured.
The Crobat delivered the two GS Balls to its trainer, who caught them with a regular Poké Ball's retrieval beam. When he released them again, the two GS Balls containing the Celebi were already in his hands.
The masked man glanced at the Celebi on Ryan's shoulder and smiled coldly, "Boy, you're luckier than me, having bonded with a Celebi. But you cannot stop me now! Celebi, open the time portal and send me back to the past!"
One GS Ball was placed into a specialized device that began pumping continuous energy into the machine. Ryan shouted, "Pheromosa, Dragonite, destroy that contraption!"
"Don't act rashly!" the masked man warned, clutching the other GS Ball threateningly. "I have hostages. I can't guarantee their safety if you interfere."
Ryan stopped Pheromosa and Dragonite; he couldn't risk the captured Celebi's lives. Ryan shouted desperately, "Pryce, stop this madness! Even if you could travel back in time, what could you possibly change?!"
"I don't know what you're talking about," the masked man—Pryce, the Mahogany Town Gym Leader—replied coldly.
As they spoke, a swirling temporal vortex began to form. Pryce burst into maniacal laughter and declared, "Finally! At last! Wait for me—I'm coming to save you!" Clutching the GS Ball containing a Celebi, he leaped into the time portal.
Ryan immediately called out, "Pheromosa, Dragonite, destroy those machines! Gengar, Alakazam, subdue these Team Rocket grunts! Celebi, help us too. We can't contact the Pokémon League about this—Pryce is just consumed by grief, not truly evil. I'll go after him."
Pheromosa and Dragonite quickly demolished the suppression devices. Celebi, its power restored, summoned the guardian spirits of Ilex Forest and defeated the Team Rocket operatives within minutes.
After destroying the temporal stabilizer, the elderly Celebi collapsed weakly to the ground. The young Celebi cried out in distress, urging Ryan to rescue their family members.
Ryan stared at the fading time portal and asked the remaining Celebi, "Can you reopen the tunnel? I'll go retrieve Pryce and the other Celebi."
The two elderly Celebi sighed and communicated telepathically, "Young trainer, please understand—our powers cannot interfere with the timestream carelessly. Only one Celebi should enter the portal at a time, or we risk creating temporal paradoxes."
The young Celebi flew over, beating its chest confidently and chirping determinedly.
"No, you haven't mastered time travel yet. You could all become lost in another era," one elderly Celebi warned telepathically.
"Actually, let it try," said the other elder Celebi. "Once we rescue them, we'll take action immediately. They'll only be stranded for a month at most in their timeline. But from our perspective, we can enter the timestream one minute after they do, locate them, and bring them back to this exact moment. They'll be safe."
"Then don't hesitate—I trust my Celebi completely. It has grown stronger!" Ryan declared.
The young Celebi was still hesitating when the two elder Celebi combined their powers to open a new time portal. Looking at the swirling dimensional gateway, Ryan recalled all his Pokémon without hesitation, checked his equipment, and plunged into the time vortex with Celebi in his arms.
The portal closed, and the elder Celebi said, "Regardless of whether they succeed, we will enter the timestream in exactly one minute. We'll observe from different time periods first to ensure there are no complications, then retrieve them."
"I'll summon more of our kind. It will be easier to locate them with additional help," the young Celebi said. "I hope the human child will be alright."
"He's a good trainer. Our young one will not be mistreated while traveling with him," one elder agreed.
The young Celebi supported the weakened elder, opened another temporal gateway, and departed to gather their tribe.
The two remaining elder Celebi felt the minute pass, opened their own time portal, and began their search.
(End of Chapter)
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