Ash stepped forwards. Behind him his Pokémon were ready for battle, while Mew and Mewtwo stood, ready to fight for their friend. In front of him was a force of Pokémon stronger than had ever been assembled in one place. As he looked over them he felt calm. He had trained for years, and if he failed here, he would at least go down bravely. Ash was very aware of the cameras mounted on the stadium that were tracking his movements. Whatever happened would be broadcast to the entire world.
Zapdos, Moltres and Articuno floated just above the ground. The air around Zapdos crackled with electricity, while it was snowing around Articuno. As the snow reached the air around Moltres it melted almost instantly from the heat of the bird. Underneath Moltres, Entei stood glaring out, with Raikou under Zapdos. Articuno was glaring at Espeon, who met the gaze levelly. Over the group Lugia and Ho-Oh hovered, glaring down at the trainer who had hurt the Pokémon that they were closely linked to.
Across the field, Regigas stood with his three guardians in front of him; Regice, Registeel and Regirock. Near them floated Celebi, with Latias protectively placed in front. Both were glaring at Tobias who still had their partner in a Pokéball. Azelf and Mesprit were stood next to the wall where Uxie was implanted, looking over the Pokémon. Cresselia, Manaphy and Shaymin were all staring across the field. However, of all the Pokémon, the two that caught Ash's attention the most were the last to arrive. There was a roar and the battered ground shook. Groudon rose from the rubble, while a section of the field collapsed into water where Kyogre appeared. The sight of the two ancient Pokémon was intimidating to say the least.
Ash turned to Mewtwo. "Sure this is all of them? Think we're missing a few."
Mewtwo just looked at the trainer in shock. Faced with the most powerful group of Pokémon ever seen, twenty legendary Pokémon, and he was making jokes? "I think this might be it. Any ideas?"
Ash nodded. "One. And I really hope it works. Even if we could win this battle, the damage is going to cost a lot."
Ash turned back to the Pokémon in front of him and took a deep breath. The fact that they hadn't attacked yet meant that he at least had a chance.
"After Suicune goes on the rampage, 'Champion' ended the battle." the voice screen showed a studio where two men and a woman were sitting. Two were instantly recognizable as ex Gym Leaders; Whitney, and Roark. The second man was called Zane Zito. He was an analyst, well known for the shows that he ran alongside every major tournament.
"We're here to analyse the battle, which although cut short was still spectacular" Zane said. "But first, Whitney, was 'Champion' right to end the battle?"
"I think so." Whitney answered. "The priority has to be the safety of the spectators. If that can't be guaranteed, the battle has to end."
"Was there a danger?" Zane asked.
"Yes." Roark answered bluntly. "Suicune was totally out of control. It was a good thing that 'Champion' was able to stop it, but given that Espeon had to effectively destroy a battlefield to win, it shows that Suicune was too dangerous."
"Fair enough." Zane said with a smile. "Now on to…" he broke off, turned away from the camera. After a few moments he turned back. "I'm sorry folks, but something is happening. We are returning to the World Stadium. Bear with us."
Sam Fernandez frowned. He turned away from the screen. "Mellanie? Professor? You might want to see this." He turned back to the screen and froze. Two large groups of Pokémon were facing up to each other, with a human stood between them. Ash.
Mellanie arrived at a run, while Professor Oak walked in at a more sedate pace. Both stared at the screen in disbelief.
"No way…" Mellanie said.
Professor Oak was able to recover slightly quicker. "This is what he feared." He said quietly.
"What he feared?" Sam asked.
"Yes. When I was speaking to him yesterday he said that there was a danger from fighting Tobias. I didn't realize this could happen though." Oak said.
"Do you think he knows that this is being broadcast to the world?" Mellanie asked quietly.
Oak nodded. "He knows."
Ash took a few more steps forwards, before kneeling down. There was a slight rustle through the Pokémon facing him, a rustle that grew louder as he held his position of supplication. After a few moments Ash stood up and started to speak.
"I understand why you are here." He said, his voice easily loud enough to carry to all the Pokémon, to the microphones attached to the cameras on the stadium and to the people outside the stadium who were being ushered away as quickly as possible by the stewards and Gym Leaders. "I understand the pain that you feel. The sense of danger. The anger at your kin being attacked. Being used."
There was a growl from the assembled Pokémon, but still no movement. Ash took a deep breath and continued.
"No apology can make what happened better. No apology can make up for the disturbance of the balance that this has caused. All I can say is that human society is changing. This cannot happen again. This will not happen again."
There was still no reaction from the Pokémon in front of him.
"But we still have to share this world. And if you run riot, the world could be damaged, potentially irreparably. And while mistakes were made, humanity is not inherently bad. Humans have proven many times that we are capable of putting Pokémon first."
Ash turned and gestured to Mewtwo and Mew. The two Pokémon moved forwards to stand at his side.
"Mew is the ancestor of all Pokémon. Mewtwo, her clone, was initially mistrustful of humans. Mew has always been a constant source of interest for us. They both have good reasons to hate humans. And yet when I came to them and asked for help, they didn't dismiss me. They knew the danger that the world faces. And they know that as Pokémon, they have to live here as well. And so the actions I have taken today, they agreed with. And they promised to stand by me. And if at any point they disagreed, they could just walk away. That is the kind of cooperation I hope we will eventually be able to build with you. And anything you do could hurt our chances of ever managing that."
"Tobias has caused pain. Long ago, humanity knew the dangers of trying to trap certain Pokémon. Over time, this has been forgotten. As the leader of humanity, I will restore the ancient traditions; Pokémon will be valued and protected. Long ago, when humans abused Pokémon, humans decided their punishment. Pokémon accepted this. I will ensure Tobias is punished for his crimes, but I will take into account all facts."
Ash stopped speaking and waited. For a long minute, nothing happened. Then there was a roar and every single Pokémon facing Ash attacked.
Cynthia ran out of the stadium, Lance and Steven at her side. 'Champion's' voice was still echoing in her ears, as he spoke to the Pokémon that had appeared. There was a large group of gym leaders stood watching the last of the spectators move away. Cynthia headed straight for them.
"We need to get away from here, now." Cynthia said as she reached them. As a few started to ask questions, she held a hand up for silence. "We will explain later. I want you all to get away from here. Once Lance, Steven and I have ensured that everybody else is moving, we will follow you."
There was a moment's pause, before Lance shouted. "Move!"
The vast majority of them started to run away, but a small group remained. Misty, Gary and Brock all approached Cynthia.
"What's going on?" Gary asked. "Can we help?"
"Just obey instructions." Cynthia answered, already looking around. There was a roar from inside the stadium and she froze. A glance at Lance and Steven showed a look of horror on their faces, fear as to what might have just happened.
"Cynthia." Gary said. "Trust us, we've had a lot of dealings with legendary Pokémon, Brock more than any of us. Let us help."
Lance gave them a quick look before nodding. "They are right Cynthia. We could use a hand."
"Alright." Cynthia said, thinking quickly. "Let's split up, in pairs. Gary, go with Lance. Brock with Steven. Misty, you're with me. We need to get everybody out of here. Steven, go that way around the stadium." Steven nodded as Cynthia pointed in one direction. "Lance, you take the other direction. Misty and I will go inside the buildings to make sure nobody is there. Let's move."
They all started to run, trying to ignore the roars coming from inside the stadium.
Instinctively Ash threw up a shield as the wall of attacks fired straight at him. Deep down he knew that he had no chance of resisting the attacks of such powerful Pokémon, but instinct overrode such logical thoughts. As the attacks hit his shield of energy, he realized that they hadn't broken it. He felt the energy drain, but not as much as he had expected. A glance to either side showed Mew and Mewtwo concentrating as they helped to deflect the attacks. Behind him, Espeon and Alakazam were doing the same. As the attacks ended, Ash blinked. He hadn't expected to survive. Another quick glance told him that while they had deflected it, it had taken a great deal out of the Pokémon around him. Before he could do anything else, there was a huge roar and Charizard leapt over him to land in the ever shrinking gap between the two forces.
Charizard glared at the legendary Pokémon in front of him before roaring again. And again. The Flame Pokémon continued to berate the legends in front of him, completely ignoring their strength. Ash smiled slightly, before a mental nudge from Espeon made him turn around. He hurried over to where Tobias was stirring, before his erstwhile opponent slowly sat up, rubbing his head. Ash crouched down next to him, blocking his view of the confrontation.
"Are you alright?"
Tobias considered the question before rubbing his head again. "I think so… What happened? What's that roaring?"
Ash grimaced. "You know I said you had no idea what bringing legendary Pokémon to a battle could do?" He stood up, and stepped aside slightly, so Tobias could see the array of Pokémon against them. Tobias whitened, before looking up at the Pokémon Master.
"I swear, I…"
"I know." Ash said, cutting over him. "But now I need you to help. They might listen to you."
Ash held a hand out to Tobias who accepted it, and was pulled to his feet. They walked back to where Charizard was still roaring, and Ash put a hand on his Pokémon's flank. Charizard looked down, and Ash gestured Tobias forwards.
Tobias stood in front of the Pokémon, like Ash had a short while before and opened his mouth. But before he could say anything, the legendary Pokémon attacked again. And this time Ash's responded.
Cynthia and Misty ran into the administration building, and sprinted straight for the security office. As they got there they started scanning screens. Checking nobody was inside. Once they were certain, they turn and ran back outside again. As they started to head away from the stadium, another round of roars rang out. Misty looked at Cynthia who seemed to be having an internal debate.
"Cynthia?" Misty asked.
"I can't just run." Cynthia said quietly.
Misty froze, staring at her companion.
"Cynthia, you can't go back there." Misty said. "I've faced up to legendary Pokémon before. I was at Shamouti Island when Lugia took on Moltres, Articuno and Zapdos. I tell you, there is no way you can help him. 'Champion' is alone here."
Cynthia nodded sadly, but didn't move. "When I was captured, 'Champion' hunted for me. He tracked down where I was and came for me. The fact that Lance reached me first makes no difference. If I run away from this I will regret it for the rest of my life. You leave."
"No." Misty snapped. "I will not let you kill yourself for this."
"That wasn't a request Misty." Cynthia said, turning back to the stadium. "I am still a ranking member of the Pokémon League. Do not disobey me."
Before Misty could say anything else, there was a shout. Running towards them were Lance and Gary.
"Why are you still here?" Lance called as he got nearer.
"I can't run." Cynthia replied, her voice carrying, before she waited out a deafening roar from the stadium. "I couldn't stand and face 'Champion' afterwards, and I couldn't face the world if he didn't…" Cynthia trailed off, as Lance and Gary reached the two girls.
"Cynthia…" Lance started.
"No. Get out of here. I was a Pokémon Master once, and I will show my strength." Cynthia said, before running towards the stadium.
Lance turned to Misty and Gary. "I know you think you're prepared for this, but you're not. Get out of here. This is our job."
Before either of the two could say anything, Lance had turned and followed Cynthia.
Ash rolled sideways to avoid a large torrent of fire that was aimed at where he had fallen. As he leapt to his feet he saw Ho-Oh rammed by Charizard who sent the Pokémon flying into a wall. As the two Pokémon emerged, the hole in the wall started to melt from the heat that was being produced by their fight. Ash started barking out commands, and his Pokémon instinctively listened. They started to move back towards him, fighting as a group, circling him, defending him. As the legends poured attacks in, they were able to fight back, using the fact that they fought as a unit. Despite the Pokémon they were facing having the edge in numbers, Ash knew his own Pokémon could face up to anything. He had trained them to be the best they could possibly be. He had spent his life training to be as good as he could be. And he would back his team against anybody.
"Espeon, Alakazam, Mew, Mewtwo, you've got to keep these attacks off us." Ash shouted. "Send them anywhere. Don't worry about protecting the stadium."
The Psychic Pokémon got to work, deflecting attacks around the stadium. Ash froze for a moment as a Hyper Beam shot just past him, barely missing. A quick glance at Espeon showed the concentration on her face. She was trying to deflect attacks as little as possible to prevent her getting too tired, but it meant that they would only just miss their targets. Ash didn't bother to say anything, there wasn't really a lot he could say.
"Sharpedo, Aggron, Ninetales, Meganium get here now." Ash called. The four Pokémon rushed to his side, and awaited his orders.
"Target Groudon. He's too big a target to dodge." Ash ordered. "Sharpedo, Hydro Pump."
As the attack shot away, Groudon roared and fired a Solar Beam which crashed into the Hydro Pump. As Groudon's attack started to make progress at pushing through, Ash gritted his teeth.
"Hang in there Sharpedo. Ninetales, Fire Blast at Kyogre, Meganium Solar Beam at Groudon. Aggron, help Sharpedo out."
Ninetales' attack fired, and Kyogre immediately responded, turning from where he was moving to help Groudon to retaliate. Aggron was quick to add his own Hyper Beam to the contest that was building between the two sides, forcing Groudon to focus completely on fighting back. When the Solar Beam fired out, nobody was there to protect Groudon. With a loud, deafening roar, the Continent Pokémon reeled backwards from the force of the attack. His own attack wore out, and the attacks from Sharpedo and Aggron crashed into the exact same spot on Groudon's now totally unprotected chest. As the roar got even louder, Snorlax reeled up and fired an Ice Beam and Sceptile added a Bullet Seed to the attacks. There was an explosion, and as the smoke cleared, Groudon's form was obvious, laid out flat. The combination of the attacks had knocked out yet another legendary Pokémon.
Instead of celebrating, Ash started barking out more instructions.
"Mew, Mewtwo, Espeon, Alakazam, keep it up. Give us time to work. Target Kyogre next."
As the next wave of attacks rang out towards the group in the middle of the stadium, they started to be redirected, while the response was all at Kyogre. Just like Groudon he was caught by an attack, unable to dodge as the rest arced in.
Cynthia and Lance sprinted onto the field. Attacks were flying all over the place, and Lance dived to the ground as an attack was deflected towards him. He reached for a Pokéball and released Dragonite, while next to him Cynthia released her Garchomp. Suddenly a Pokémon turned and charged at them, causing both trainers and their Pokémon to dive out of the way. Cynthia saw Registeel crash into the wall next to them, before Garchomp crashed into the legendary Pokémon. Registeel threw Garchomp away before smashing Dragonite off his feet. Both trainers whitened as they realized the power they were up against; Pokémon that could crush theirs without even trying.
"We need to get out of here." Lance shouted over the noise, while Dragonite charged in again to protect his trainer.
"No!" Cynthia shouted. "We shouldn't abandon him! Even he can't fight all this!"
"Cynthia, if we don't go now we will die here." Lance barked. "We can't fight off these Pokémon. They are too strong."
Suddenly there was a screech and Garchomp and Dragonite fell away from Registeel who turned towards the two humans. Cynthia screamed, but the attack never came. Registeel was knocked away, and another voice rang out.
"Cynthia, Lance, get out of there!"
Cynthia didn't move but suddenly lifted into the air and flew away, Garchomp on her heels. Lance sprinted after her, while Dragonite fired one last attack before following. As they left the stadium, they turned to see that Registeel hadn't followed, but had returned to the fight in the middle of the field. Panting, Lance turned to Cynthia.
"Happy now?"
Cynthia fell to her knees, before looking at Lance. "I…"
"You are idiots. Both of you."
Lance and Cynthia looked up to see Steven striding towards them, Metagross at his side. "How did I know you would go back to try to help him? Now let's get out of here."
"I… we should try to help…" Cynthia said, although her voice lacked conviction.
"We just did." Lance said, wincing as another roar echoed from the stadium. "We are lucky to still be alive. This is too big for us."
Cynthia slowly nodded, and accepted a hand from Lance to pull her to her feet, before recalling Garchomp. She turned to Steven.
"Thank you."
"Don't mention it. Now come on, we're getting out of here."
Ash roared in anger as he saw Aggron caught out by Regirock. Forced away from the group, Aggron was being targeted and was struggling to get back. Before any of his other Pokémon could react, Ash leapt forwards, his fist sending Regirock reeling backwards. Aggron ran back towards the rest of the group while Ash blocked another attack then followed. As they reached relative safety, Aggron turned and immediately started fighting again, while Ash put his hands on his knees panting. His team were battling as hard as possible, but their opponents were just too strong. They couldn't beat them all.
Around him, another legendary Pokémon fell, not to rise again, and Ash felt a glimmer of hope. His team had put three down, but it had been hard work. Each of his Pokémon were tiring. As he forced himself to stand straight, he felt rain landing on him. He looked up to see snow falling, before being replaced almost instantly by hail. Ash groaned as the weather started to go through progressively weirder patterns, and the wind started to pick up even more. Ash looked back down to see that Espeon had fallen back to his side, although she was still fighting.
"We can't win." Espeon said in his mind. "There are too many of them."
"If we can't win, we will die trying." Ash said quietly. "The world is watching us, we cannot fail. And in their eyes, it looks like we're winning."
Despite herself, Espeon chuckled quietly as she continued to defend. Her trainer was quite something. If it was time for her to die, she was glad she would do it at his side.
On Mystery Island, Sam, Mellanie and Oak were sat in shock. Ash was not only taking on a horde of legendary Pokémon, he was somehow winning.
"How is he doing this?" Mellanie asked, her voice utterly awestruck. Sam didn't even bother trying to answer. He had no idea.
"He is the best Pokémon trainer of his generation." Oak said simply. "People don't always understand what that means. He is virtually unbeatable. His team is staggeringly powerful, and he has a successful strategy against the power he faces. Coupled with the way they work as a team… Even so…"
Suddenly the screen turned black.
"What happened?" Sam shouted. No answer came from his companions, neither of them knew.
All attacks suddenly stopped. There was an eerie silence over the stadium. Ash looked around at his Pokémon. Surrounding them was a huge dust cloud that seemed to stop just before it reached any of them. Somewhere inside the cloud Kyogre was down, along with Groudon, Regigas and Regirock. His Pokémon had done incredibly well but they were exhausted. They had very little more to give.
Mewtwo turned to face Ash.
"Where is Tobias?" Ash asked.
"I do not know." Mewtwo answered. "I cannot sense anything."
"Nothing? Not even a body?"
"No. I can't sense anything away from us."
Ash blinked in surprise. "Nothing at all?"
"No. Neither can Mew"
Ash turned to Espeon and Alakazam who both indicated the same. He glanced around again, watching his Pokémon protecting injuries or trying to recover some energy. A quick glance at himself showed that he hadn't come off much better. His hat was gone, he had no idea where. His clothes were ripped, and he felt utterly exhausted. He had very little energy left, not enough to cover his scars. But he forced himself fully upright, and gestured for his Pokémon to fan out around him.
Suddenly a voice boomed throughout the stadium, seeming to be coming from all directions at once.
"Step forwards, leader of humans."
Ash didn't move, and the voice echoed out once again.
"Step forwards. I will not ask a third time."
Ash glanced at his Pokémon before slowly walking forwards. The dust cloud swallowed him in seconds. Espeon leapt forwards to reach him, but was repelled by an unseen force. She landed and hissed, before throwing an attack after her trainer. The attack vanished into the dust, with no effect. Espeon screamed into the wind and swirling storm, but no reply came. Her trainer was beyond her.
Tobias opened his eyes to darkness. He was confused, and tried to stand, but couldn't feel anything. In front of him, as if it were a huge screen, he saw an image of a much younger version of himself. The image was working with something on the ground. As the image stood up and moved away slightly, Tobias realized what he was watching. A young, nervous Tobias was waiting. As Darkrai moved in and glared at the trainer who was there, the trap struck. Electricity flowed around, stunning Darkrai long enough for Tobias to get a Pokémon to attack the Nightmare Pokémon. Tobias was watching himself capture Darkrai, a memory from years ago.
Tobias blinked and the memory changed. This time it was the battle between him and Suicune. The first one, where the Aurora Pokémon had escaped from him. Latios and Darkrai were battling hard, and Tobias was concentrating. Trying, battling, working. He recognized the effort that was going into his endeavour, even if he knew it was ultimately flawed. As indeed it was, as Suicune stood panting hard, while Darkrai and Latios were on their last legs. Suicune had glared at Tobias before leaping away, escaping. Something that had made Tobias accept that he was never going to capture more than two legendary Pokémon.
The next image was Tobias pouring over books. He was studying hard, reading Cynthia's research. The research that had shown him the way. But watching from the outside, Tobias could see a difference. When he had captured Darkrai, it had been almost a test. Struggling to see if it would work, he had decided to simply try it, to see if he was worthy. And the way that he had fought, using all of his Pokémon, nearly losing everything to his opponent, he had overcome the test. At that moment he hadn't planned to capture any other legendary Pokémon. He had always had a fascination with Darkrai, and was happy with that Pokémon alone. Yet when he had come across Latios by mistake, he couldn't pass up the chance. And after another gruelling battle, Latios was his. But the change from when he first set out to when he was feverishly studying to find a way to capture more Pokémon was scary. His childhood fascination in legendary Pokémon had been lost. He was only interested in a need to get more power.
When the image showed Tobias battling for Rayquaza, his fifth capture, it showed the change. Instead of simple fascination, he was only concerned with power.
"No…" Tobias said, his voice almost silent in the darkness, yet somehow echoing around. "This isn't me… I'm not like this"
"You are not the first to undergo this." Another voice spoke, drowning out Tobias' voice, invading his mind, overwhelming him so completely he shut his eyes and clamped his hands over his ears to try to block it out. "Other humans have gone down your path. They have paid the ultimate price for their arrogance. Humans need to learn that some Pokémon are not to be controlled."
"I didn't mean to do wrong!" Tobias protested, his voice feeble against his accuser. "I see now! I…"
"It is an irrelevance." The voice said, completely overriding Tobias. "You cannot comprehend the damage that you have done."
The image in front of Tobias changed from his past to a view of the world. Weather patterns were changing, storms brewing and the sea itself looked unstable. As he watched, a storm formed over the ocean and started to move towards the Hoenn region. Tobias gasped as he realized the size of the storm; if it hit the region it would devastate it.
"This is your doing. By ripping the balance so totally, you have brought danger upon the world." Tobias cringed as the voice spoke.
"I didn't know…" Tobias said, his voice trailing away.
"Your punishment has been laid down in history. For the ultimate crime, you pay the ultimate price."
Tobias screamed, but no sound came out. His eyes shut and then snapped open. He was lying on the ground, in the centre of a circle some fifteen feet wide. The circle was surrounded by a dust cloud, with flashes of lightning shooting out of it. Bursts of flame flew over Tobias' head, as rain thundered down. He didn't even attempt to interpret it, as his eyes were drawn to the Pokémon in front of him. There was only one. A white Pokémon, with a body similar to a centaur, and a golden wheel around the body over its legs. The Pokémon was glaring at Tobias, before its eyes glowed blue. Tobias felt an invasion in his mind, something that was overwhelming. And at that moment, another voice rang out, clear despite the raging storm all around.
"Stop."
The Pokémon looked away and Tobias fell back to the ground, clutching his head. Slowly he struggled to his feet, only to find that the Pokémon was glaring at the man that had walked into the small area.
"Leader of humans." The Pokémon said, its voice speaking both into Tobias' mind and out loud. "Stay out of this. This creature has threatened the destruction of the world. He must not go unpunished."
"I cannot permit you to kill him." Ash said calmly. "It is not part of my remit as Pokémon Master to take lives."
Ash's words seemed to anger the Pokémon even more. "Pokémon Master?" it spat. "You are not the master of me. And I rule Pokémon."
Ash nodded. "You do. And I rule humanity. Yet I wouldn't ask for the life of a Pokémon. Or try to kill one."
"You haven't cause or right." Arceus spat. "None of my kin would ever endanger the world. The Pokémon that this creature tried to capture exist to protect the world. I created them for that."
Ash considered this for a moment before nodding again. "Yes. You created Mew who led to the spawning of Pokémon, including the Pokémon that we call legendary Pokémon. These were created to protect the world. And yet, ask yourself why today happened."
"Because humans interrupted the nature of my creations."
"And because those creations went on a rampage. We both share the blame." Ash said calmly. "I do not wish to argue with you, I do not consider myself worthy of the right. But I cannot permit the murder of humans, like you have done throughout history."
"Because humanity does not learn." Arceus snapped, his attention fully focused on Ash. "I have existed for longer than you could even imagine, human. I created the world, I created the Pokémon that inhabit it. And multiple times, humans have tried to abuse my creations, try to control nature for themselves."
"And it will happen no more." Ash said. "I have taken steps to ensure this. And the destruction today will not soon be forgotten."
"But it will." Arceus spat. "Many times humans have done this, and many times they have worried about the dangers of incurring my wrath. And yet they always do it again."
"And you have murdered all of them." Ash said simply. "If you try the alternative, you don't know what will happen."
Before the Pokémon could speak Ash pressed on.
"I have feared for the events of today, the eventuality that could be unavoidable. I did not want to see today turn out the way it has, but I have been unable to avoid it. I did everything I could, but ultimately I fell short. I will admit that humanity fell short; we could not prevent the disaster that unfolded today. And it would be easy to blame the man at your feet, but he did not know what he was doing."
Ash stepped forwards, then knelt down in front of Arceus.
"If you wish to exact a penalty for the damage done, do not exact it on Tobias. As Pokémon Master, or as you put it leader of humans, it is my job to help humanity, protect humanity, and if I must, die for humanity. I cannot let a man die for something I do not believe was his fault. I will take his place."
Arceus looked down in surprise at the human kneeling at his feet. He turned to Tobias, before looking back at Ash.
"Why would I accept your life instead?" Arceus asked.
Ash smiled grimly. "If you're interested in punishing humanity, which would make a bigger impression; a trainer or the leader of their society?"
"Why would you offer this?" Arceus asked.
"I protect humans and Pokémon." Ash answered. "I have died for Pokémon before, I can do no less for my own kind."
"I do not wish to kill you." Arceus mused. "I have never killed any creature for crimes they have not committed. But I cannot accept no punishment; there must be a retribution. If I take you instead, what will happen to this creature? You expect me to let him walk free?"
"He will be put on trial." Ash answered. "I have left instructions to be given out upon my demise as to what should happen. However, I do not have control of the court. His punishment could range from anything from imprisonment, to death. Or he may not be punished at all. It will be down to a jury."
Arceus nodded, before striding away then back again, seemingly thinking deeply.
"I cannot kill you." The Pokémon said. "But I cannot accept that this creature will be allowed to interact with Pokémon again. He is a danger to us. Pokémon are not tools for him to use."
The ghost of a smile flashed across Ash's face. "Then I can have his license revoked. He will never be allowed to capture a Pokémon again."
Arceus looked past Ash, and blinked. There was a sudden break in the dust storm, there for a moment before vanishing again. Mew and Mewtwo had appeared, summoned by their leader's will.
"Mew, Mewtwo." Arceus said, looking past Ash. Ash turned, rising in surprise as he saw the two legendary Pokémon that had agreed to help him. "Why did you help this human?" Arceus continued. "You in particular Mew? You are old, you know the danger that humans present, even if your younger brother does not."
"I trust Ash." Mewtwo answered. "In a world where humans have proved to be devious, manipulative and evil, he has remained constant in the way he supports both Pokémon and his own kind."
"You know where I first encountered him." Mew added. "Ash was willing to die for somebody else then, and he is still willing now. I have trusted few humans, and befriended fewer. He has earned both."
"Then your suggestion?" Arceus asked. "Mew, you have been by my side from the start. You have agreed with the punishments each time, but now, I sense a difference. Your opinion has changed? Should he be allowed to go free?"
"Yes." Mew answered. "Tobias is plainly guilty, but when he received the warning from me, he desisted from any further capture attempts. He has been manipulated by the Pokémon he tried to control. Uxie made a conscious effort not to inform him of the dangers, she let him continue on a path that could and did endanger the world. We must take our share of the blame. Allow Tobias to be punished by humans. Ash will ensure his punishment is fair. I trust him."
Arceus nodded, then turned back to Ash, and raised a hoof. Before Ash could move, the hoof touched his forehead, and for a moment Ash had the impression of a mind vast beyond comprehension. Then the hoof was gone and Arceus turned away.
"I will reprieve him." The Alpha Pokémon said. "If Mew trusts you, then I will do so. If her trust isn't misplaced, I trust that Tobias will be treated according to your laws. I also expect him to be prevented from contact with Pokémon. He has forfeited that right. And I hope that I do not have to regret this decision."
Before Ash or Tobias could say anything there was a flash and Arceus was gone. The dust cloud began to settle, and the weather seemed to have returned to what it was before the battle started. Ash looked around to see Mew and Mewtwo still floating there, but all other legendary Pokémon had vanished. He saw his Pokémon see him and move towards him, their slow speed reflecting their exhaustion. Ash turned back to Tobias who seemed in utter awe of the man who had just stood up to the Pokémon the world considered a god.
"Still think you can do my job Tobias?" Ash said with a grin that caused his erstwhile opponent, despite all that had happened, to burst out laughing. Ash levered himself back to the ground as his Pokémon reached him and Espeon threw herself at him, while the rest of his Pokémon crowded around in a mass hug.