Our Time and Space

Chapter 1

"WHAUGH!"

The man with orange hair threw his glasses down with frustration. He fell to his knees and screamed in agony as his goal, his opportunity to make a better and more beautiful world, was foiled. He looked at his knocked out Gyarados beside him and then at the one boy who beat him, Ash Ketchum.

Ash was standing beside his friends Serena, Clemont, and Bonnie, all looking at Lysandre. They were all in the deepest part of the secret headquarters of Team Flare. The room they were in was dark with light coming only from a large machine lying in the center. There formerly laid the legendary Pokémon Yvetal until Ash awakened and befriended the being. Yvetal joined them in the fight against Lysandre despite having been drained of its power by the machine. The legendary stood behind the group, watching all of them carefully. Ash's group stayed silent, unsure how to respond to Lysandre's burst of anger and anguish until Bonnie broke it with a quiet voice.

"Hey, you know what I think?" she asked Lysandre. "Even if there's only a little bit of something, it's still best to share it. Even YOU managed to use Mega Evolution . . ."

Her brother, Clemont, was shocked she understood that; not even he realized it until now.

"That's because Gyarados shared its power with you, didn't it?" He continued for her. "And not just Gyarados but your other Pokémon as well . . ."

Ash finally spoke, "You can't use the ultimate weapon anymore, right? You don't have to worry about the future all by yourself. I think everyone should work together to make a better, beautiful world."

"If that were possible," Lysandre retorted, "all wars would have ended long ago!" He stood up with his eyes closed and fists tightened.

"I can only see one future! One where selfish, foolish humans think about no one other than themselves and steal more and more from one another . . . it's a tragic future!

"The original purpose of this device was to bring a Pokémon back to life. But the ancient king transformed it into this ultimate weapon . . . hmm. When the Legendary Pokémon awakened, it disrupted the machine and much of the drained energy—its power— became unstable and uncontrollable. Most of it either bursted through the headquarters or was released to the sky. There's not much power left . . . but there IS enough to use it at least once . . ."

His eyes opened, filled with rage.

"Ash! Sycamore's pupils! The ultimate weapon is a flower that bloomed to no avail . . . just like me . . . but this ends here! I will show what its remaining power can do!" With that, Lysandre ran to the control room.

"I won't let him do that!" Ash said before giving chase to him.

"Ash! What are you doing?" Clemont shouted.

The boy turns his head. "If he sets off the ultimate weapon, who knows what will happen to Geosenge Town and its residents. Get to safety!" Soon he became too far to be stopped.

"Ash! NO!" Serena screamed. She wanted to go after him but a hand grabbed her shoulder. She turned to see Clemont's hand.

"Let's get going!" he said.

"But Ash-"

"Can take care of himself. We have to warn the people above."

"He only has Pikachu by his side!" she argued. "Who knows what kind of tricks Lysandre has up his sleeves?" Her eyes closed, imagining what could happen to him.

"Serena," Clemont starts, "in all honesty, I should have gone; I have the most knowledge of technology among us. But with my physique, there's no way I could keep up with him. At this point, I don't think you can catch up with them anyways without getting lost.

"He made his choice. If he fails, he wouldn't want us to be hurt along with him. We just need to have faith in him."

Serena was a bit unsure, but she reluctantly said, "Let's warn the townspeople."

They began to head off but Serena soon stopped in her tracks.

"Wait a minute. What about Yvetal?" Clemont and Bonnie stopped as well.

"That's right. Yvetal needs to get out of here," said Clemont, "but how?"

"I know!" exclaimed Bonnie. "Catch Yvetal and once we're out of here, release it. Simple transportation!"

Serena brought out a Pokéball. It was definitely worth a try.

"Yvetal!" She shouted out. The legendary Pokémon acknowledged her cry.

"We need to get out of here! If you let me capture you, I promise to release you as soon as we get somewhere safe" She brought out her hand, waiting for Yvetal's move. Yvetal brought its head forward as it continued to stare directly at Serena. The more it looked at Serena, the more intimidated she was getting and it didn't help that the massive Pokémon was moving towards her. Her raised arm started to shake. A loud noise came in the room and she couldn't tell if she flinched or if Yvetal poked at the Pokéball, but it turned red and went inside. The ball turned three times before finally clicking, meaning that the Pokémon was caught.

"I caught an Yvetal . . ." Serena quietly said to herself.

Clemont yelled, "Serena! Bonnie! We need to get out of here," before running off to the exit, followed by the two girls of the group. As Serena ran with the Pokéball in her hand, she was still deeply concerned about leaving her crush behind. The courageous, selfless boy who chased after the genocidal madman.

Ash had risked his life on several occasions. Some by simply trying to save someone from danger, other times by facing catastrophic danger and having everyone's lives on the line. This situation was closer to the latter.

"Get back here!" shouted Ash.

The boy and his best friend, Pikachu, ran after the mad man attempting to blow up the entire building. As he followed him, he couldn't help but think about their adventurous journey together. They've been brought to the brink of death before and this might be one of those times. Even if the entire world was no longer in danger, they still needed to protect the town above along with its residents.

No matter the danger, Ash thought. No matter the odds, we have always been able to come through. Lysandre! I will not let you harm anyone!

"You can't stop me now!" Lysandre yelled back.

As Lysandre entered the control room, he pressed a button that immediately shut the door behind him. It was a metal door—something that couldn't be tackled through. This wouldn't stop Ash though.

"Oh no you DON'T!"

With that last word, he charged into the door with all of his force. The collision only resulted in his shoulder getting hurt. He slid down momentarily before he stood up, holding his arm.

"Pikachu, Electroball!" he commanded to his friend.

The yellow mouse twirled its body, forming the yellow ball on his tail before yelling "Pika pika chabam!" and tossing it forward. A small explosion formed in front of them, but the smoke cleared showing that the door was still intact.

"Again!"

Meanwhile, Lysandre went busy on the computer in front of him as he typed in commands for the weapon. Despite hearing loud bangs on the door, he remained there, typing away. Once he pressed the 'send' button, the door finally gave in.

BOOM!

The door slid on the floor until it stopped in front of Lysandre. As Ash and Pikachu entered the room, they saw the man in front of them grinning.

"You're too late!" He boasted. "It won't be long before this place is blown into oblivion, along with the two of us!"

Ash was never the one to give up though. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt on the computer!" As Pikachu charged up his attack, Lysandre held up his hand in front of them.

"That won't make a difference. Who knows? It might even cause the building to explode instantly." He was satisfied seeing the boy look so troubled.

"This is the end of the road for you Ash Ketchum!" he exclaimed. "I guess you won't become a Pokémon Master after all." He placed his hands on his sides as he laughed.

Ash had enough of his babble. He ran out of the room, leaving the laughing man, with Pikachu right by his side.

Darn it! Ash thought. I couldn't make it in time to stop the weapon. Hopefully, the others have enough time to get everyone away safely. Getting out of here will take some time, I can tell it's going to be close.

Ash traced his steps to find the way up. As he made his way to the first set of stairs, his shoulder felt immense pain.

POP!

It was enough for him to fall on his knees, his weight painfully twisting his right ankle and tearing his ligaments.

"Pika Pika!" his concerned partner said. Pikachu stood in front of Ash's face as he winced from the pain.

"I think I dislocated my shoulder from before," he said sadly. Ash began to take off his Pokéball belt. His fainted Pokémon rested inside of them.

"Pikachu, go on without me." He handed his belt to his partner.

Pikachu was shocked to hear this.

"If you use quick attack the rest of the way, you might make it out of this. Don't let my stupidity take your life." Ash didn't want his best friend to die with him; at least Pikachu could make it. However, the yellow mouse stayed where it was—perhaps a bit upset his trainer would suggest something like that.

"What are you waiting for?" Ash pleaded. "Get out of here while you can!"

"Pika pika!" Electricity started to appear from Pikachu, some of it stinging Ash. It didn't hurt as much as other attacks but he still flinched from it.

I'm not leaving you! I'll be with you until the very end! Pikachu told Ash. He was able to understand this due to the close bond between them.

The boy became very teary-eyed. "I guess you got that stubbornness from me," he said. He brought his arms out towards Pikachu.

"Come here buddy!"

Pikachu leaped into Ash's arms as he nuzzled into his chest. As the boy stroked Pikachu's back, he thought about all of their adventures leading up to this point.

"We sure went through alot together, huh?" He was looking up when Pikachu turned to at Ash and nodded.

"Made lots of friends," he continued. "Pokémon and people."

A chuckle came from his mouth. "Misty, I hope you become the best water-type trainer ever. Tracey, learn as much as you can from Professor Oak. You and Professor Oak, take care of my Pokémon please. And my mother, sorry Mom! Gary, surpass your grandpa as a researcher." Tears dripped down his face as he thought of all of his close friends.

"May, good luck at becoming a Top Coordinator. Max, become the Pokémon Master I couldn't become. Dawn . . ." his breathing was getting heavy.

"I guess I won't see you later now will I?" The tears came down faster.

"Iris, be that dragon master you wanted to be and Cilan, same with you as a Connoisseur. I guess I really am a kid to be as reckless as to..."

Noises soon filled the hallway as Ash hugged Pikachu tightly. Seeing his trainer the way he was, Pikachu stretched himself to reach his cheek and lick it. The crying stopped, his eyes opened to see his starter express concern towards him. Ash responded by bringing Pikachu closer to him.

"You're the best friend anyone can ever have!" he stated.

"Pika!"

A thunderous boom came in the hallway. Ash assumed the weapon finally sent its final blast.

"Oh, I almost forgot! Clemont, Bonnie, and Serena! Please don't blame yourselves for this; you guys did the best that you could. I hope Serena can push this aside for her next performance." He smiled with sorrow. "Clemont will be there. Hopefully, he can comfort the girls."

Ash closed his eyes, imagining he was in Professor Oak's corral. It's a sunny, windless day. He can clearly see his mom, the professor, Gary, his Pokémon, and the rest of his friends; old and new together. Everything just seemed to be in harmony.

With a soft voice, Ash said, "I'm glad to have met such good friends!" and he let silence fill the room. He pet Pikachu, waiting for the Ultimate Weapon's shot to make its landing.

Finally above the Team Flare headquarters, Serena, Clemont, and Bonnie stood in front of the main gate of Geosenge Town. The three of them were able to warn the townspeople and they were all evacuated and at a safe distance from the weapon. They all waited, concerned over their friend still in the underground base, as the gigantic weapon in front of them began to charge. Serena was the most distressed as she clenched her jacket and flooded her eyes with tears.

"Clemont, I'm scared," Bonnie told her brother.

Before he could give a response, Serena began to move forward but Clemont reached out and grabbed her arm.

"Serena, don't," he quickly stated.

"But Ash is still down there!" Serena pleaded.

"Ash's always the risk-taker," Clemont responded, "but he's always made it. I have faith that he'll do it again—"

Suddenly, the Ultimate Weapon finally fired. They all gawked at the red laser beam fire upwards to the sky, only for it to fall back down. It landed with a hard crash and a wave of air sent all of them backwards.

As the clouds of dust cleared, they saw the weapon collapse and sink downwards to the ground, leaving behind a huge crater at the center of the town. Despite the hard fall, Serena got up as fast as she could and ran towards it. There wasn't any movement of any kind as she looked at the bottom of the crater.

"A-ASH?! ASH!" she cried out. She kneeled down in despair as her gut feeling told her that the boy didn't survive.