Malde and Deoxys clashed again while the people below tried to get everyone they could out from the debris.
At this point, they had managed to get out the majority of people, including Yuko. Everyone was mostly unharmed, but there was still one last person unaccounted for, Professor Lund. He was still down there somewhere.
"Over here! We found another gap!" Sid yelled as he shoved aside a bent support beam.
Rafe and Damian quickly moved over, grabbing chunks of broken concrete and dragging them out of the way, while Nora helped one of the injured researchers sit down nearby.
"You sure Professor Lund never made it out?" Damian asked quickly.
Yuko nodded weakly while holding her arm, "We all got trapped. The last time I saw him, that...thing hit him and threw him through the monitors."
Nora grimaced, "Of course. So he's missing and probably hurt."
Another tremor shook the area as a beam of psychic energy tore across the sky overhead. Everyone instinctively ducked as the pressure rolled over them.
Above them, Malde got slammed through the side of a nearby building, only to burst back out a second later with a screech, tendrils whipping wildly. Deoxys flashed into Speed Forme again, vanishing and reappearing behind him almost instantly before shifting to Attack Forme and striking at his chest again.
Just by looking at this battle, you could tell that regular Deoxys was winning. The main difference was that Deoxys had access to its other forms, giving it more variety, and its regeneration was better. Meanwhile, Malde was stuck in his base form, if you could even call it that, since he couldn't transform.
"At least they're staying focused on each other…" Sid muttered nervously.
"Don't jinx us," Nora immediately replied.
Then they heard something from beneath the rubble. Faint but unmistakable, the sound of metal banging against metal echoed up.
"Help!"
Nora's eyes widened, "Professor Lund!"
They all rushed toward the sound.
"There!" Rafe pointed toward a partially collapsed lower section where a heavy slab had fallen diagonally, creating a tiny pocket underneath.
Damian dropped to one knee and shouted into the gap, "Professor! Can you hear me?!"
"I'm here!" Lund's strained voice called back, "My leg's trapped!"
"Okay, don't move!" Tony yelled back quickly, "We're getting you out!"
The group immediately started lifting debris away piece by piece. With everyone's help, they managed to shift the large slab, and finally, they saw Lund again.
Since the group was busy holding the slab up, Yuko quickly stumbled forward and helped guide Lund out. Once he was clear, they let the slab drop, relieved to know everyone was safe. Tony pulled Lund into a tight hug, the reunion filled with relief. Happy ending, right?
Well...not quite.
At that moment, the battle above them reached its climax. As Malde and Deoxys charged at each other again, Malde aimed for Deoxys's core. But just as he got close, Deoxys shot out its tentacle-like arms and wrapped one around him.
Since only one of Malde's arms was mutated, the other was useless, but Deoxys's wasn't.
Deoxys raised its arm and intertwined the tentacles together, forming a sharp, spear-like point. Then, with everyone watching, It thrust forward, driving the spear straight through Malde's face and out the other side.
Even that didn't make Malde stop moving. What did was that, now that he couldn't move, Deoxys's core started glowing, and Deoxys fired a [Hyper Beam] point-blank.
The blast shot out and tore through Malde's chest, and the beam kept going, slamming into another building and causing it to collapse. Thankfully, that one didn't have any people inside, since it was in the center of town.
After that, Malde's squirming stopped, and his limbs went limp. Deoxys assumed the imposter was dead, since it knew that if it had been hit like that, its core would have been destroyed and it would die.
Though it was confused about why Malde's body wasn't dissolving, it figured that was probably just because he was a fake. So Deoxys simply let go and allowed Malde's limp body to fall to the ground.
Deoxys relaxed and refocused on its original plan. That meant waiting for the incoming boat to see if Deoxys 2 was there. So it flew up into the clouds and started heading toward the docks, now moving casually since there was no longer a threat.
Meanwhile, Malde's body fell. Since they had been fighting over the lab, that meant Malde crashed down into the rubble near where Nora, Damian, Lund, and the others had just finished celebrating getting everyone out.
Now Malde lay there, unmoving, and by all means, he should have been dead. But here's the thing: he isn't a Deoxys. He doesn't have some core in his chest that will kill him if it's destroyed. The real way to kill him would have been to completely destroy his brain, and Deoxys didn't do that, it just stabbed it.
So while everyone looked at the body, getting a clear look at it for the first time, they saw an older man who appeared mutated. Lund and Yuko even recognized him as Malde.
The holes through his chest and head slowly started closing, and his limbs began to twitch.
Yuko's face went pale, "That's...impossible…"
Lund looked equally horrified. He didn't know how this had happened, but he could tell something had transformed Malde into this half-Deoxys man.
Sid nearly tripped over a broken chunk of concrete, "Why is it moving!?"
"I thought the alien killed it!" Rafe shouted.
"Apparently not enough!" Nora snapped, really wishing that Celebi's Poké Ball was working right about now.
Then they watched Malde stand. Once the hole in his chest fully closed, he rose and stood there for a moment. The fall had knocked some sense into him, not enough to make him understand everything, but enough that he wasn't completely mindless anymore. He could think. He could process.
And he realized something, he was the fake. As he tried to process that, and what to do next, no one dared to move. Then they heard the sound of shoes on stone.
They turned and finally saw Ash. Most of them didn't even know who he was at the moment, but that didn't matter.
Ash had finally made it all the way there, and he was more than a little annoyed. Seeing Malde standing there, so close to Damian, he gritted his teeth so hard it felt like they might break.
"Get away from that thing!" he yelled as he whistled, and Pikachu jumped up onto his arm, ready to fire a [Thunderbolt] the second Ash gave the command. Vee ran up as well, preparing to copy Pikachu with a [Mimic].
They didn't need more of a warning than that. All the researchers and civilians immediately started running as fast as they could to get away. The only ones slower were the injured and the people helping them move.
Malde's head snapped toward them as he finally noticed everyone. And then he thought, if he was the fake and didn't have his own "2," then he should just make his own.
That's when his eyes locked onto the nearest group: Nora, Damian, Tony, Yuko, and Lund. Any of them would do.
Malde started flying toward them, but Ash didn't waste a second. He snapped his fingers, and immediately Pikachu and Vee both fired a [Thunderbolt] straight at Malde.
Malde couldn't dodge. This was the first time he'd seen an attack like that, he didn't know it was coming. The blast struck him, launching him back into the rubble, where Pikachu and Vee kept the electricity flowing for a solid ten seconds for good measure.
When they stopped, they let out small breaths but stayed ready to attack again if Ash commanded it. Ash himself paused, breathing hard, running across a city at full speed wasn't easy.
Sure, he could regenerate with Aura, but he'd still feel the fatigue, and that's what was catching up to him now.
By then, most of the injured researchers had gotten far away, or at least as far as they could, watching as the creature lay in a smoking crater.
Then suddenly, Malde's eyes snapped open. He shot forward again.
This time, Nora was the one in his path. As she saw the creature extend its tentacle-like arms toward her, she froze in fear.
But Damian moved. He shoved her out of the way, putting himself directly in Malde's path.
Malde wrapped around Damian, capturing him. To Malde, it made no difference whether it was Damian or Nora.
"Ash saw it and immediately pointed, "Again!"
Pikachu and Vee fired another [Thunderbolt], but Malde was ready this time. He barely dodged, then shot upward, dragging Damian with him.
"Ash commanded Pikachu and Vee to fire again.
Damian struggled, but he was too weak to break free. With his hands still free, he reached down to his Poké Ball belt and unclipped it. Before Malde could fly too high, he threw it down toward the ground, because in his mind, Shaymin mattered more than he did.
Malde kept flying, heading out toward the ocean.
Ash gritted his teeth and turned toward the others, who stood there in stunned silence. He didn't even think about Damian's Poké Balls, Nora could grab those. Instead, he looked at Lund and Yuko.
They started to speak, but Ash raised a hand and cut them off, "I don't care what you're about to say. You built this place, so get the Poké Balls working again. Now!"
Then, without waiting for a response, he took off after Malde. And honestly, they understood, they were safe now. But Damian was being kidnapped, and that took priority.
As Ash ran after Malde, it was worth noting that Malde did not have Deoxys's super speed. So actually, Ash's running speed with Aura was faster than Malde's flying speed, meaning he would eventually catch up.
However, Ash had a limit: he couldn't run over water. Malde could still fly over it and escape, so Ash had to bring him down before that happened and get Damian back.
Now, since Ash could close the distance, it was already established that Malde was at least fast enough to react to lightning. So if Ash wanted to hit him, he needed to strike faster, which he could do.
If he grabbed Pikachu and threw him with enhanced strength, Pikachu could propel himself midair using [Volt Tackle], then cut off Malde's arm and free Damian. But he would only get one shot.
So while Ash chased him, he carried Pikachu in his arms and held Vee, letting Vee fire a few potshots with [Thunderbolt] to keep Malde from flying too high. As long as everything went according to plan, he should be able to get Damian back.
But, oh my Mew, if only he could use his Pokémon properly, this was getting annoying.
—
{Meanwhile, on the ship}
The massive ferry finally slowed as it approached the docks of LaRousse City. The passengers had no idea anything was wrong. Why would they?
Green sat at the railing near the front, wearing her Sygna Suit. It was comfortable, and honestly, she really liked the jacket, but that wasn't the point.
Right now, she was casually swinging her feet over the edge, thinking about how to tease Ash when she saw him. It had been a full six months since she'd had the chance, which was completely unacceptable and needed immediate correction.
Green smirked to herself as she imagined his reaction.
Maybe she'd sneak up behind him. Maybe she'd hug him from behind just to watch him panic. Maybe she'd flirt with him in front of whoever he was traveling with now just to make him suffer.
All excellent ideas, in her mind.
A loud horn echoed as the ferry finally docked. Workers began lowering the boarding ramps while passengers started lining up.
Green hopped down from the railing smoothly and stretched.
"Finally," she muttered, "If I had to listen to one more tourist talk about the ocean, I was gonna jump overboard."
Behind her, one of the passengers laughed awkwardly, not realizing she was only half joking.
Green didn't immediately get off. She was waiting on someone, and besides, she knew it would take way too long to unload everyone. She'd rather just jump off and land on the dock, but she couldn't, since she wasn't alone.
Off to the side, absentmindedly fidgeting with his fingers, was Wally. She had run into him earlier, and since they were friends, she had quite literally dragged him along with her to catch up. And since she was already heading to see Ash, it was a convenient coincidence that Wally wanted to see him too.
Green stood on the deck, waiting for people to move, but the line was going way too slow for her liking. She shoved her hands into her jacket pockets and rocked back and forth on her heels impatiently.
"C'mon, c'mon…" she muttered, "Move faster already."
Behind her, Wally adjusted the strap of his bag nervously.
"Um...there sure are a lot of people here," he said softly, "LaRousse City seems really popular…"
"Yeah, yeah, tourist city, science city, whatever city," Green waved off, "The important part is Ash is here."
Wally blinked, "Y-you really missed him that much?"
Green immediately whipped around.
"What? No! I just haven't messed with him in, like, six months, that's all."
"…Isn't that basically the same thing?" Wally asked innocently.
Green pointed accusingly at him, "You've been hanging around Ash too much. You're getting sassier."
"S-sorry!"
"Heheh, don't apologize, it's funny."
As Green laughed carelessly at Wally's nervousness, idly wondering how he had already gotten five badges, a streak of color tore across the sky so fast they didn't even see it.
But for some reason, Green's instincts screamed at her. She stopped laughing and quickly looked around.
"What the—"
She didn't get to finish.
In front of them, something moved so fast it looked like it had materialized. Standing on the railing where Green had been sitting moments ago was Deoxys, looking over them and everyone on the ship, analyzing.
Green and Wally didn't know what this Pokémon was, but when one suddenly appears in front of you, your first instinct isn't exactly to pull out your Pokédex.
Green immediately got serious and turned to Wally, "Wally, move—!"
She was about to grab his arm and start running, but it was too late.
Deoxys vanished from sight and reappeared directly in front of them.
Wally froze, "Ah—!"
Before either of them could react, tendrils shot forward. One wrapped around Green's waist, pinning her arms to her sides, then slithered up and coiled around her neck.
Wally cried out as the same thing happened to him, his arms locked, a tight grip closing around his throat.
"G-gh—!"
Green's eyes widened as she was yanked off her feet.
"Hey what do you think you're doing?!" she snapped, immediately struggling, "Let go! I'm not into this kind of welco—"
The grip tightened, cutting her off mid-sentence as Deoxys began choking them with its tentacles.
Wally kicked helplessly in the air, "I-I can't-breathe-!" It was especially bad for him, he had asthma, so being choked was even worse.
Not that it made much difference right now. Both Green and Wally were being strangled as people around them panicked and tried to flee.
Deoxys looked them over as if inspecting toys. It noted they weren't who it was looking for, but it didn't let go. Instead, it turned its head, analyzing the rest of the passengers, still searching while Green and Wally dangled helplessly.
Green gritted her teeth, forcing herself to think past the pain, "Th-that's it?" she choked out, still managing a smirk, "You grab people and choke them? Pretty lame moveset if you ask me-"
The tendril around her neck tightened sharply.
Her breath hitched, "…Okay—less talking—got it—" she rasped.
Wally's vision blurred, his voice weak, "G-Gallade—" He tried reaching for his Poké Ball belt to send it out, but his fingers fell just short.
Green tried to fight back. Since she couldn't reach her Poké Balls, she kicked at Deoxys's lower body a few times, even if it didn't seem to do anything.
Then Wally started going limp. And Green felt her vision beginning to darken as well, her consciousness slipping. Right now they were completely helpless.
-
Just then, over with Ash, Ash was still running across the dock. He had managed to chase Malde all the way over here, and finally Malde was over the water, still holding Damian.
This was his chance. He grabbed Pikachu and quickly activated his Victory Sight. To him, time seemed to slow down, letting him analyze the situation.
He already knew he had one shot, so he saved it for right now to get his best chance. With this, he analyzed the best way to throw Pikachu. Pikachu would fly through the air and slice off Malde's arm with an [Iron Tail], then Damian would be free and fall into the water.
Just as he was about to throw Pikachu to end this, he heard screams. Then his eyes turned to the source, which was the ship, and his eyes widened.
At the same time, he saw Deoxys choking Green and Wally, and right now he had a choice to make.
The problem with this was that his mind was moving fast, but his body couldn't keep up. If he could call his other Pokémon, this would be easy, but he couldn't because of the stupid locking field that this stupid town had.
In case you hadn't noticed, Ash was getting progressively more and more angry, and this made his blood boil.
Because in this situation, he knew he could only go after one. If he threw Pikachu after Malde, then Deoxys would keep choking Green and Wally, and just in case you don't know how dangerous strangulation is, well
Depending on how long and how hard they were being strangled, even if Ash saved them now, they could still die from carotid artery dissection and strokes, or even suffer full cardiac arrest, and that's not even mentioning everything else.
But on the other hand, if he went after Deoxys, then Malde would get away with Damian, and Ash knew what was going to happen.
And just for anyone who might think to throw Pikachu at Malde to make him drop Damian and then run up to the ship to save Green and Wally, one, that would still take time, seconds that Green and Wally might not have, and two, if Malde saw Ash go somewhere else, he'd just fly down, grab Damian again, and fly off anyway.
So right now Ash had to choose, and unfortunately, as much as he liked Damian, he couldn't ignore this.
So time moved normally again, and Ash turned on his heel, switching his throwing stance, and hurled Pikachu at the boat.
Pikachu hadn't caught up yet to what was happening, so for a second he was confused, but then he saw who he had been thrown toward and what it was doing to Green and Wally, and he understood immediately, igniting his body with a [Volt Tackle].
Pikachu shot forward and slammed directly into Deoxys, sending it flying and crashing into the water. The force of the hit made it release Green and Wally.
As it happened, Ash climbed the railing and jumped off it, launching himself high enough to catch the railing of the ship and flip over it, catching Green and Wally before they hit the ground.
"Hey, talk to me," Ash said quickly, starting to massage their necks with Aura flowing through his fingers to heal them.
Green's eyes fluttered open, and she saw it was Ash. For a moment, she wanted to talk like usual, but other things took priority. Green raised her hand and pushed Ash's hand away from her throat, not hard, because she couldn't.
"I'm fine," she rasped, her voice rough and uneven even as her chest heaved for air. Then she pointed weakly, "Wally first."
Ash clicked his tongue softly, because she had a point. Wally was in worse shape because of his asthma. He was already limp in Ash's arms, his breathing shallow.
"Hey hey, stay with me," Ash muttered quickly, shifting him down and checking his pockets, "Where is it…"
Then he found it, the inhaler, "Got it." He slid an arm behind Wally's head, lifting him slightly.
"Hey, stay with me," Ash said firmly, pressing the inhaler into Wally's mouth and activating it, "Come on, just breathe."
Wally's chest hitched weakly as he inhaled.
Once
Twice
A third time, shakier, "Ghh—!" Wally coughed, his body jerking as air finally filled his lungs properly again. His eyes fluttered open, unfocused at first, "A-Ash…?"
"Good, you're up. Shut up and breathe."
Wally nodded faintly, still trying to steady himself, "Th-thank you...I...I thought I—"
"You're fine," Ash cut in, a little sharper than usual, but not at Wally, "Just focus on breathing."
Ash could check them properly in a bit. For now, what mattered was that they were alive. Give it ten more seconds and Wally would've been dead. Thirty more, and Green would've been too.
He looked off the ship, past the useless passengers who had done nothing, though that wasn't important right now. His eyes searched the horizon, hoping maybe he could still catch Malde, but he was already a figure disappearing into the distance, and he still had Damian.
Ash grit his teeth and clenched the metal railing hard.
Then, to make things worse, from the water where Pikachu had launched Deoxys, the Psychic-type burst upward and hovered in the air, staring down at him.
Green and Wally flinched, looking up at it while still clutching at their throats on the ground.
Ash slowly lifted his head. His eyes started glowing a deeper shade of red.
"You know," Ash said, his voice going deeper, "I have had a REALLY bad day, and I am NOT in a good mood right now. So you wanna fight? Because all I want right now is to hit something really, really hard. So make my day."
Deoxys stared at Ash like it recognized something, and somehow looked confused. Not because of his words, it couldn't understand them, but something about Ash himself seemed familiar to it.
But right around then was when D caught Deoxys 2, and Deoxys 1 sensed that Deoxys 2 was no longer sending a signal, which only made it even more confused.
After a moment, it shifted into its Speed Forme and shot off into the clouds.
Ash huffed and released the railing. The metal had actually bent under his grip.
He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, but he was still furious.
But right now, Green and Wally took priority. He was a doctor, after all.
First, though, he needed to get off this ship since people were staring, and he also probably needed to get back to everyone else to tell them the bad news.
Because there wasn't anything he could do about the Malde and Damian situation right now except prepare. And seriously consider not ripping Malde in half with his bare hands when he gets his hands on him