Chapter 32
Ash opens his eyes to find himself… nowhere. He is still Latius, but the cave is gone. White nothingness surrounds him. "Am I dead?" he wonders out loud.
"Oh, you're not dead,"
Ash spins around. "Who said that?"
The voice giggles. "I'm Jirachi. And you are?"
Jirachi. The name sounds like a distant memory. "I'm Ash,"
"Great!" says Jirachi, "Because I'm here to help you."
"Help me? With what?" What had happened to the battle? To Ho-oh? His Pokémon?
"Beating Nigel, of course," says Jirachi, "you're doing very well, but you can't do it alone."
"But how did you know I needed help?"
"Misty and Brock asked me," says Jirachi, "you have some really good friends."
Ash smiles, making a mental note to thank them later.
"Any more questions?" asks Jirachi.
Ash shakes his head. "No, I don't think so,"
"Then it's my turn to ask you something. Do you think defeating Ho-oh will make Nigel give up?"
Ash thinks about the question. "Probably not, but won't it stop him?"
"Will it?" says Jirachi, "What do you think you should do?"
Ash's brain is much too tired to think. "Um… I don't know?"
"Think about it, you keep on defeating Nigel's Pokémon, but they just come back."
"Do I have to defeat Nigel?"
"Exactly," Jirachi smiles. "Fear has taken complete control over Nigel, but your attack is powerful as well. Instead of attacking the leaves of the darkness, attack the darkness at its root."
"You mean attack Nigel?" asks Ash.
"Aim for him," says Jirachi, "but only attack what's inside him."
"But… if my attack is so powerful… won't it kill him?" Ash shudders.
"It will," says Jirachi, "but sometimes you have to let something inside you die to be truly alive."
Ash blinks. "Huh?"
"You'll understand, when you're ready," says Jirachi, "Now, hold on!"
"What do you mean hold- Whoa!" Ash yells as Jirachi grabs his claw and shoots forward. He is spinning. Everything is blurry and-
~~~
Ash nearly fell out of the air as he was thrown back into the battle. Ho-oh's attack was an inch away, but he didn't panic. Jirachi was gone, but he could still feel the Wish Pokemon's presence, a soft blanket covering him with calm. Ash pushed against Ho-oh's attack and felt a new power rush through him as his beam of light easily pushed Void Vengeance back like it was nothing but a sheet of paper.
But at the last second, Ash redirected his attack directly at Nigel. Nigel had no time to react as the attack wrapped around him, covering him with a blanket of light.
Without Nigel's commands, Ho-oh stopped attacking and simply hovered in the air, looking at Ash with blank red eyes. Ash sighed in relief. He was too exhausted to keep fighting.
Ash's attack was still swirling around Nigel, so, with nothing else to do, Ash flew over to check on his Pokémon. They were all still unconscious, but other than a few scratches and bruises, they seemed okay.
Ash pushed aside some rubble, hoping to find some potions or revives for his Pokémon, when a flash of light caught his eye.
~~~
Of all the things that could happen, Nigel certainly didn't expect Latius' attack to overpower Ho-oh's so suddenly. Least of all for the orange eon to suddenly attack him instead.
Nigel braced himself as the wave of light hit him. He screamed in agony, but soon realized he wasn't the one screaming. Something inside him was screaming, roaring in pain. Nigel cautiously opened his eyes. Instead of hitting him directly, Latius' attack was swirling around him, trapping him in a vortex of energy. Little bits of hazy black gas flew out of him, feeling like a scab being ripped off a wound.
The pain intensified, and Nigel was forced to shut his eyes again. He could still feel the gas being sucked out of him, draining his energy. The pain was the only thing keeping him conscious. Eventually, he gave in and fell to the ground. Before he blacked out, he noticed a bright flash of light, then… all was still.
~~~
Ash flew over to see Nigel on the ground, unconscious. Was he dead? He pressed his ear against Nigel's chest and, to his relief, could make out a faint heartbeat.
Ash knew he had every reason to want him dead. After all, he had enslaved hundreds of Pokémon, terrorized the Johto region, hurt his Pokémon, and captured him in a Dark Ball. But he knew that killing Nigel would only make him feel worse. Ash had never killed before, and he didn't intend to start. People like Nigel deserved to be punished, but not killed. Being killed was a terrible experience he felt no one, not even the cruelest person in the world, deserved. Ash knew; he had died before.
After a few minutes of searching, Ash found a bag with a few revives and potions in it. With nothing else to do, he applied them to his Pokémon. Once this was over, he would give them a whole week off. They needed their well-deserved rest.
"Ash!" Pikachu picked himself up. "Did we win?"
"Why isn't Ho-oh doing anything?" asked Skye.
"Is Nigel dead?" said Latios.
"Are you ok?" asked Latias, "You look exhausted,"
"Everything's fine," said Ash, "I don't know what Ho-oh's doing. No, Nigel's not dead, and yes, I am tired, but I'm ok." Ash smiled at his Pokémon. "I think it's finally over."
"But don't we still have to free the Dark Pokémon?" asked Latias.
Ash nodded. "I know I said that I knew how to earlier, but I guess I didn't."
"Then how are we going to free them?" asked Pikachu.
"We have to use Nigel."
~~~
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.