Ash dragged Dr. Namba to his feet, shoving him against the wall, then kneed him in the stomach and slamd his face against the control panel.
"Talk. Where is the control panel for the robots?" Ash demanded, holding him up by the hair.
Namba laughed through bloody teeth. "Ha! Never! I'll succeed, and I'll take both Lugia and that baby!"
Ash's gaze hardened. "Wrong answer."
Pikachu leapt to his shoulder, cheeks already sparking. "Pika."
"I'll ask one more ti," Ash said coldly. "Where is the override?"
Namba wheezed. "You wouldn't dare..."
Ash didn't blink. "Pikachu."
"[Thunder Wave]," Pikachu said, and a wave of electricity surged through Namba's body, not enough to stop his heart, but enough to make him scream and writhe.
"Gah... you... you'll never stop it. The robotic Lugia is already on its way. You'll never stop it!" Namba gasped, breathing heavily.
Ash rolled his eyes and smirked as he dragged Namba over to the computer. "Wrong answer." He put his phone to the machine, and Porygon-Z entered, taking control of the submarine.
The screen flickered to life, showing the front cara of the sub. Floating in the water was the robotic Lugia's head, ripped clean off, its jaw torn apart, while Blastoise and Gyarados were tearing up the rest of the body.
Ash tilted his head, lips curling into a smirk as Dr. Namba stared at the screen in horror.
"Looks like your toy broke," Ash said, tightening his grip on the back of Namba's head and slamming it into the console again, not enough to knock him out, he wasn't done with him
"No... impossible...!" Namba croaked, blood dripping from his lip. "That unit... was supposed to be unstoppable..."
Ash crouched beside him, his tone low and dangerous. "You're not the first monster I've put down. And you won't be the last."
On the monitor, Blastoise and Gyarados finished the job, the robotic Lugia now a floating husk of twisted tal. Gyarados gave it one final crunch and swam off, leaving debris drifting into the dark. Blastoise followed, coolly turning his back on the wreckage.
Ash stood, brushing off his shirt as he threw Namba to the floor. He turned to the computer and spoke to Porygon-Z. "Disable all external comms. Shut down the robots. And whatever that thing is around Wallace's wrist, turn it all off."
The digital duck glitched on the screen, then chirped:
[Roger, roger. Access confird. Data flow rerouted. Room secured.]
The lights dimd montarily as Porygon-Z's code spread like a virus through the submarine's systems. One by one, external links shut down, red error ssages flashing across every terminal:
[Remote signals: BLOCKED.]
[Neural override: TERMINATED.]
[Wallace control band: OFFLINE.]
[Ergency protocol: LOCKED.]
Dr. Namba stared at the flickering monitor as his life's work collapsed line by line, byte by byte. His lips moved, but no words ca out.
Ash stepped away from the console, his voice icy. "Ga over." Then he looked over at Silver. "Unlock the restraints," he ordered, dragging Namba behind him.
The computer flashed as Silver, the baby Lugia, was freed. It let out a soft cry. One wing was too injured to fly, so it could only look at Ash with a mixture of fear and hope.
Ash threw Namba against the control panel, then picked up the baby in his arms. "I've got you. You're safe now."
Silver looked up at Ash with tears in its little eyes as he gently set it down. Vee and Pikachu nuzzled against the baby Lugia, comforting it with soft chirps and warmth.
anwhile, Ash turned back to Namba, towering over him as the scientist tried to crawl away. Ash grabbed the back of his head and hauled him to his feet, then seized him by the throat and slamd him down against the table where Silver had just been strapped.
Porygon-Z understood Ash's intent without a word. The restraints reactivated, this ti wrapping around Namba's wrists and arms, locking him firmly onto the table.
Ash stared into Namba's wild, terrified eyes, his expression devoid of rcy.
"How's it feel?" Ash muttered. "Being strapped down? Powerless? Terrified?" He leaned in closer, voice dropping to a dangerous growl. "Ever think about how they felt? Now you're the one on the table."
Namba thrashed against the restraints, face twitching with rage and panic. "You... you self-righteous brat! I was building the future!"
"Nah. If you're so desperate to run your experints, then maybe you should feel it," Ash said, picking up the device Namba had prepared for Silver and pointing it directly at him.
Then Ash turned and walked over to retrieve the Sea Spirit Gem. He placed it carefully on Silver's back and cradled the baby Lugia in his arms. Pikachu and Vee flanked him on either side, keeping close.
As Ash approached the door, he spoke one final ti without looking back. "Z, turn on the machine. And install a virus, wipe everything."
Porygon-Z's voice chirped again: [Roger, roger. Installing virus. Powering on machine.]
The device humd to life, its lights glowing as it locked onto Namba.
Dr. Namba thrashed violently. "You don't know what you're doing! That machine, it's not safe! It could, NOOOOOO!"
Ash was already walking away. He stepped through the door, closing it behind him.
The machine's glow intensified.
Then Namba's voice tore through the steel walls, echoing down the corridors, as he scread
—-
{Above the Water}
Brock grunted as he dove behind a shattered lifeguard tower, his Steelix crashing beside him with a pained roar. Sparks danced across its segnted tail, residue from a cha drone's last blast.
"Steelix! Hang in there, buddy!" Brock shouted.
Yellow wasn't faring much better. She clutched Chuchu to her chest, struggling to heal the little Pikachu fast enough. Dody stood by protectively, while Gravvy tried to rush to Golem's side, separating their group.
"Brock, what do we do?" Yellow cried, voice trembling as she looked across the battlefield.
Team Rocket agents were everywhere, each one masked, and their Pokemon had this strange headband that made them vicious than usual.
And Yellow could hear them.
Whatever those strange headbands were, they weren't just enhancing power, they were flooding their minds with rage. An unnatural, overwhelming fury that made them stronger.
Above, Cloyster and Tentacruel drones scanned for targets. One of them locked onto Yellow's position, limbs clicking with chanical precision. Its energy cannon charged, glowing blue—
Zzt—SKRRK—
The drone jerked midair, its red eyes flickering. Lines of corrupted code scrolled rapidly across its HUD.
[ERROR: SYSTEM BREACH. REMOTE OVERRIDE TERMINATED.]
The drone froze.
Then sparks erupted from its chassis, limbs spasming.
Brock's eyes widened. "What the—?"
With a hiss of static, the drone dropped straight out of the sky, slamming into the sand with a hollow, tallic thud.
"What... did it..." Yellow mumbled, her grip on Chuchu loosening slightly.
Around them, the once-confident grunts froze as the robots powered down. Confusion spread like wildfire, and panic quickly followed. The Rage Crowns on their Pokémon flickered, then fell off, clattering to the ground one by one.
The affected Pokémon collapsed instantly, too exhausted to even lift their heads. Without the artificial rage driving them, they were drained, weak and disoriented.
That was the mont the tide turned.
The officers and trainers surged forward, taking the opportunity. Team Rocket's lines broke. Grunts were tackled, restrained, arrested, so even taken down by their own Pokémon turning on them in confusion.
One desperate grunt looked around and shouted, "Retreat! Get to the robots, we can activate them manually!"
Scattered like rats, a handful of them slipped past the frontline chaos, making a beeline toward the remaining dormant machines.
But just as they neared the robots—
"[Moonblast]."
A radiant pink beam sliced through the air, striking both machines dead-center. The blast pierced their heads, energy surging through their circuitry. Both robots sparked, then collapsed into the water, detonating monts later in a dazzling spray of mist and shattered steel.
Everyone turned to the source of the attack.
Wallace stood tall on the battlefield, his cloak billowing in the wind. At his side, Milotic coiled with serene power, eyes glowing faintly from the last attack.
"I apologize for the delay," Wallace said calmly, walking forward with poise. In one hand, he held the shattered remains of the control bracelet that had once bound him. "But it seems I'm no longer held back by your tricks."
He let the bracelet fall and crushed it beneath his heel.
"I don't know what caused the deactivation," he continued, voice steely, "but it doesn't matter. If I'm no longer being monitored..." he smiled slightly, "then I'll be taking full advantage."
He stepped past the stunned trainers, placing a firm but grateful hand on Brock and Yellow's shoulders.
"You've all done well," he said. "But now, it's my turn to return the favor. Leave the rest to ."
Wallace raised his hand, his fingers slicing through the salty air, "Milotic, let's give them a real show. [Surf]."
—
Below, inside the submarine...
Misty's sneakers pounded against the slick tal floor as she sprinted down another corridor. Maya's Sea Priestess robes billowed behind her, the ocean-blue fabric flickering in the ergency lights. Nessa followed close behind, alert for ambushes.
But the halls were oddly quiet. Most of the grunts had already moved topside. The few they passed were in retreat, likely heading for whatever exit Butch and Cassidy had ntioned earlier.
"We're almost to the core chamber," Maya panted. "The Sea Spirit Sapphire should be—"
A loud crash cut her off.
The door at the end of the hallway was suddenly blasted off its hinges. Misty raised a hand instinctively, shielding her face from flying debris.
Out stepped Pikachu and Vee, smoke curling off their fur. Behind them, frad in the glow of the chamber lights, stood Ash.
The soft blue light of the Sea Spirit Gem pulsed from his satchel. In his arms, he carried Silver, the baby Lugia, its wings limp but eyes wide with cautious hope. Pikachu and Vee stood proudly by his side.
"Ash!" Misty gasped, a rush of relief and disbelief crashing into her all at once. She wouldn't put it past him to swim through the ocean to get here.
"Ash?" Maya blinked, stunned at the sight of the boy holding the mythical creature.
Nessa's brows drew together. She'd never t Ash before, but she knew what she was seeing. "Is that... a baby Lugia?"
Ash gave a tired nod. "Yeah." He glanced at each of them with a weary smile. "He's safe now. Dr. Namba won't be hurting him again."
Misty closed the gap in a heartbeat, flinging her arms around Ash so hard it nearly knocked the air out of him. Silver let out a soft chirp of protest, squished gently between them.
"You dummy," Misty muttered, pulling back just enough to wipe a tear from her cheek. "Did you actually swim to the bottom of the ocean to break into a submarine just to save us?"
"He..." Ash started, rubbing the back of his neck, "When you say it like that, it makes it sound worse. But... yeah. Kinda."
Nessa and Maya both just stared at him, looking like soone had slapped them.
Nessa blinked. "You what?"
Ash shrugged, completely casual. "It wasn't that deep once I found the right current. I just held onto my Pokémon and went for it."
"You're insane," Nessa said flatly, though her tone was equal parts disbelief and awe.
"Welco to my world," Misty sighed with a fond smile. "This doesn't even crack his top ten."
Maya's gaze dropped to the faint blue glow pulsing from Ash's satchel. She stepped forward slowly, voice hushed. "That's... the Sea Spirit Sapphire..."
Ash t her eyes and gently reached into his bag, pulling out the gem. It shimred as he held it out.
"I think this belongs to you."
Her hands trembled as she took it. The mont her fingers touched the surface, the light pulsed brighter, warm and soothing. A soft, lodic hum filled the room. Silver perked up, letting out a happy chirp, nuzzling toward the glow.
"Thank you," Maya whispered, her voice thick with emotion. "You don't know what this ans."
"Yeah, I probably don't," Ash admitted. "But that creep Namba wanted it real bad. From what I could tell, it had sothing to do with this baby Lugia."
"Wait, wait," Nessa interrupted. "We are not glossing over that, why is there an actual baby Lugia here?"
Ash adjusted Silver in his arms. The baby cooed, pressing its head closer to his chest.
"It's a long story. Short version? Namba was using this gem, and Silver here, to lure and capture the adult Lugia. Why or how... don't ask ."
Maya stepped forward again, her hand resting lightly over her heart. "The Sea Spirit Sapphire is an ancient relic... It resonates with oceanic energy and is said to be tied to Lugia's lineage. That may be how they planned to call it, or control it."
Suddenly, the entire submarine lurched violently, the tal groaning under the pressure. Everyone stumbled, Ash twisted mid-fall to shield Silver with his body.
They scrambled to the nearest window.
Outside, slicing through the blue depths like a living storm, was Lugia. The real one. Its wings were spread wide, eyes glowing with fury, its roar muffled but unmistakable through the thick water. It was circling the sub.
Silver chirped nervously in Ash's arms.
"Welp," Ash muttered, deadpan. "Looks like Lugia woke up. And it's not happy about losing its baby."
"But... we didn't take it," Nessa said slowly. "We were saving it. Right?"
"You try explaining that to an angry parent," Ash shot back as the sub rocked again from another impact. "Not good. We're trapped down here. Anybody got a plan, I'm very open to suggestions."
Maya's eyes darted to the chamber's walls, scanning the ergency markings. "There might be an escape pod large enough for all of us, if we can reach it before Lugia tears this place apart—"
"And then what?" Misty said grimly, pulling herself upright. "If we get to the pod, what's stopping Lugia from ripping that apart too?"
"Can't you get Abby?" she asked Ash quickly.
Ash shook his head. "Not an option. Teleporting through water is like trying to get through lead. You think I wanted to swim down here?"
It felt like there was nothing they could do. Nessa frantically scanned the chamber, her breath catching, until she felt sothing.
A tug. Subtle but insistent.
She looked down at her wrist. Her Dynamax Band, dead. Of course it was, they were hundreds of feet underwater, far from a Power Spot.
But then her eyes flicked to Ash's wrist.
He had one too, but his Dynamax Band glowed, it was charged. it had Dynamax energy, she had no idea how, but it did
Nessa's eyes widened. "I don't know how you're carrying Dynamax energy right now," she said, stepping closer, "and honestly, I don't care. Can you give it to ?"
Ash blinked, then looked at his band. "Uh... sure?" He held out his arm.
Nessa mirrored him. The energy surged between them in a flicker of red light. Her Dynamax Band lit up instantly, charged.
She gave a breathless, excited laugh and imdiately returned Drednaw to its Poké Ball. Then she turned to the others.
"Hold on to . And hold your breath."
Ash raised an eyebrow. "Why, what are you—"
"We're about to do sothing really stupid."
She poured the Dynamax energy into the Poké Ball. It glowed violently, then expanded.
–
{Above water...}
The battlefield had quieted.
Waves lapped gently on the shore, littered with the wreckage of disabled drones and fallen Rage Crowns. Officers and trainers were finishing the final arrests. The chaos had passed, leaving only calm and questions in its wake.
Wallace stood on the sand, Milotic's coils protective around him. Not a bead of sweat touched his brow.
"That should be the last of them," Brock said, helping Yellow up. She cradled Chuchu gently, safe at last.
"But Ash... and the others, they're still down there, right?" Yellow asked, her voice tight.
Wallace nodded. "You're right. I'll go after them. I'll bring them back, no matter what—"
WHOOM!
The ocean erupted.
A geyser of water exploded into the sky, the force of it shaking the beach.
"GET DOWN!" Brock yelled, throwing himself over Yellow as a wave of steam and spray blasted across the sand.
And then—
A massive shadow soared through the air.
Gigantamax Drednaw.
It roared, bursting from the sea like a living battleship, water crashing off its armor in waterfalls. Atop its shell, braced against the wind and spray, stood Nessa, arms spread like a conductor.
Clinging to her were Ash, Misty, and Maya, Silver curled safely in Ash's arms, wings tucked and chirping in confusion but otherwise unhard.
Drednaw crashed down onto the beach with a monuntal splash, sending sand and seawater flying in all directions.
Everyone stared, stunned into silence.
Then, with a flick of her wrist, Nessa canceled the transformation. The titanic Drednaw shrank down, panting slightly, but grinning.
Ash stumbled off its back, still holding Silver close. Pikachu and Vee leapt beside him, both soaked and frazzled but standing tall.
"Okay," Misty coughed, pushing wet hair from her face. "That might've actually cracked the top ten."
"Told you it was stupid," Nessa muttered with a crooked grin, stumbling slightly, but absolutely glowing from the thrill.
"Stupid," Ash agreed with a tired smile, "But it worked."
Before anyone could even try to approach them, a cry echoed across the sea, deep and powerful, as another burst of energy erupted from the ocean.
Everyone looked up and saw Lugia, the real one soaring above them with wings outstretched, its eyes scanned the beach below, gaze sharp and unreadable. It circled once, massive and majestic, then slowly descended, landing with a trendous stomp that shook the sand beneath their feet.
Silver chirped, stirring in Ash's arms, Ash helped the baby Lugia up gently, his own heart thudding. "Easy..."
Lugia stepped forward, lowering its head slightly. Its body radiated fury, power restrained only by recognition. Its eyes locked onto Ash. For a mont, the tension in the air was thick enough to cut.
Then it rembered. The sa boy who once helped it during the Orange Islands incident. The sa Aura, and everything
It didn't attack, but it didn't let its guard down either.
Everyone held their breath.
Ash knelt, slowly setting Silver down onto the damp sand. "Go on," he whispered. "It's okay. They're here for you."
Silver looked back at Ash once, uncertain, then waddled forward on shaky legs. Lugia lowered its head further, wings folding in, bringing itself low enough to et its child.
Their foreheads touched.
A pulse of soft, oceanic light rippled out from between them, washing over the beach like a calming wave. Silver's wounds shimred, and vanished. The baby chirped, renewed and joyful, then flapped its wings and flew up, landing on Lugia's back and nuzzling in close.
Lugia exhaled. That seed to calm it down. It turned back to Ash, eyes eting his one last ti. It gave him a quiet nod as its eyes looked down to Ash's chest
Then, with a beat of its enormous wings, Lugia turned and launched itself back into the sea, Silver still riding joyfully on its back. They vanished beneath the waves in a burst of foam and mist.
Silence settled across the beach.
Then Misty breathed out she didn't even know she was holding, "Holy crap..." Misty breathed. "Did that just happen?"
"Yeah," Nessa said, stunned. "It... it really did."
Ash stayed kneeling for a mont, watching the sea. Then he let out a long breath and slumped back, lying in the sand.
"I'm so done," he said, voice hoarse,
Pikachu climbed onto his chest, ears drooping, and Vee curled up at his side with a tired sigh.
From farther back, Wallace walked toward them with a slow, almost reverent pace, as he looked over at Ash's body, "Well, I'll say that was quite impressive, if I do say so myself, so may I have your na?"
Ash gave a tired sigh, and looked up, "Its Ash, Ash Ketchum,"
—-
Far away, near the middle of the ocean, although most grunts had escaped or weren't even in the sub when it happened, so hadn't been so lucky, including Dr. Namba.
From the water, a few Team Rocket grunts surfaced, coughing and gasping for breath as they clung to floating debris. In the center, Dr. Namba erged, grimacing in pain, a fresh scar carved across his chest that burned like hell, but he survived, sohow.
One grunt looked at him. "Sir, it looks like this mission was a failure. I imagine most of our mbers have been captured."
Dr. Namba took a ragged breath... and smiled.
"No. We got exactly what we were after," he said, reaching into his soaked jacket and holding up a shimring Silver Wing. "This is all we needed. Getting Lugia was always just a side project."
He paused, wincing as saltwater touched his wound. "Now, can sobody please get out of this damn ocean? I never want to co near this place again."
---
If we get to 2000 stones you get another Chapter tomorrow
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