Ash's POV:
"What do you think I should do?", I asked Lucario and he simply shrugged his shoulders spinning an Aura Sphere on the tip of his finger.
Sceptile motioned me to meet him while Greninja and Infernape agreed with him. It couldn't be THAT bad, could it? Plus, my Pokemon would be there by my side to protect me when required. I was a little uncomfortable about meeting the boss of the strongest villainous team all alone, especially on the top of the tallest building in Kalos.
"Even if something happens, I do have my secret weapon, don't I?", I asked Charizard giving him a sly grin which he returned puffing his chest proudly.
Time Skip
Yet another 8 hour journey later, I stood at the bottom of the Prism Tower. Thanks to my luck, I reached there at midnight while there were no signs of Bonnie. Her squeal could attract anyone in a 300 metre radius which pretty much bums you out when you are in a mission involving a large amount of stealth.
I climbed up the tower using the shortcut we had found out nearly 9 years ago and thankfully, Clemont was forgetful enough to leave it open as it was all those years back.
I expected to find a half-asleep grunt standing all alone on top of the tower waiting for me, but to my surprise Lysandre and 15 heavily armed grunts were present there. I had to give it to him, it was a good plan. There was no way I could trick him, and no place where I could hide or bait another grunt.
"Nice place for a meeting", I told him and released 6 of my Pokemon to protect me - Infernape, Charizard, Torterra, Greninja, Lucario and of course, Raichu. I had sent Sceptile to Vaniville Town to watch over Grace and Serena. If this guy was shrewd enough to trick a guy like Alain, he would definitely do something when I was in a position to threaten his existence. Seeing my Pokemon, the grunts raised their weapons and I raised my hands showing them that I wasn't in a mood to attack.
"They're just here for my protection, in case you decide to.....play unfair", I told Lysandre and he nodded his head looking at us suspiciously.
"I called you here to finish this once and for all. This can end in two ways, one....you join me in one of my ranks and I'll show you the true meaning of heaven or two.... I blow this tower up, killing you, me, and SEVERAL innocents, including that inventor friend of yours and his annoying sister", he told me walking around the roof.
"Or 3, we pretend this conversation never happened, and we leave. You surrender, and I leave you alive", I told him and he folded his fist.
"Choose wisely, Ash. The lives of many people depend on a single nod or shake of your head! I don't care if I die! The living children of the dead bosses, of course by your courtesy, are taking care of my plans. Death doesn't frighten me now, Ash! I repeat, choose wisely", he told me folding his hands behind his back.
I slowly walked towards him and he smirked at me. The grunts lowered their guard slightly but I couldn't take advantage of the situation...not yet. The first few grunts gave me some space to stand, but I walked right past them towards Lysandre.
"Ambitious, are we? Fine! Development goes hand in hand with ambition. We'll find you a good spot in my organization", he told me, and moved to the side. To his surprise, I walked right past him and stood near the opposite edge of the Tower.
"Your offer, your reasons, all sound good from.your point of view. Even a Malamar can quote scripture to suite it's needs, Lysandre! I believe we are done talking", I told him and the grunts began to take their aim.
"You know what to do", he told his grunts and walked to the exit door.
"Have you said your goodbyes?", a grunt asked and the rest of them sniggered.
"FIRE!!", the same grunt yelled and at the exact moment, I released Snorlax from my shotgun. The bullets were really fast and made impact.
Unfortunately for them, the bullets were slowed down by Snorlax's fat belly, and the second he thrust his belly forward the bullets returned the same way they had arrived, possibly even faster. Each and every bullet went back into the weapon effectively destroying the firing pins rendering the weapons totally useless.
"Our fists are more than enough for you, boy!", the same guy yelled and charged. But his attempt was cut short by Lucario who shot an Aura Sphere straight into his face relieving the body of its soul. Suddenly, I heard a large screech and I saw a Mega-Blaziken and a guy who was dressed just like the Pokemon, it was him - Blaziken Mask.
With his help, I snapped the necks of most of the grunts in a short while and my Pokemon took care of the rest of them. When we got ready to chase Lysandre, we heard clapping and saw the red-haired devil sitting on top of the same shiny Mega-Gyarados.
"Good show, lads! A few of my associates will be arriving to have a little chat with you while I plan my next move towards the liberation of this cursed world", he told me and Gyarados began to swim away in the artificial river that went smack in front of the Prism Tower.
"You take care of him, Blaziken and I will deal with these fools", he told me and I left thanking him for his help. I returned my Pokemon to their Pokeballs and immediately called out Charizard to help me go after Lysandre. Garchomp was too unstable and Charizard had the ability to focus more easily.
"LYSANDRE!! WHERE ARE YOU RUNNING OFF TO? TOO SCARED TO FIGHT ME?", I taunted but I could see that he simply rolled his eyes.
"THOSE TAUNTS MAY HAVE WORKED WITH THOSE FOOLS! THEY WON'T WORK HERE!", he yelled back and Charizard managed to catch up with Gyarados due to the shape of his wings.
Halfway around a deserted region in Lumiose City, I caught him. He was not shocked however.
"Brilliant, you caught the so-called bad guy. But I too, have some tricks under my sleeve!!", he told me and released a Mega-Pyroar and a Mega-Gardevoir.
"Think you are the only one whose Pokemon who have Mega evolved on their own? Think again! There are.... artificial ways of doing this, my friend", he told me when he saw my shocked face.
"Gardevoir is a new addition to my squad. She's cute, isn't she?", he praised her causing the psychic type to blush in embarassment.
"I too, have a new trick under my sleeve, Lysandre", I told him and took out a Charizardite X stone, took a deep breath and pressed it as hard as I could. When the light died down, I saw the gaping face of Lysandre and the uncomfortable faces of his trio.
"Mother of Arceus! H..How?", he faltered looking at my Charizard who was currently a mixture of his X and Y Mega evolution forms. He had the raging blue fire in his mouth but retained the central horn on his head, and was completely coloured in a dark shade of blue.
"All of you, ATTACK SIMULTANEOUSLY!!", Lysandre yelled at his Pokemon and they nodded their heads. Pyroar attacked with a powerful Flamethrower, but Charizard overpowered his attack with a Flamethrower of his own. Pyroar grunted in pain, while the remaining two attacked together. Gardevoir attacked with a Moonblast and Gyarados attacked with a Dragon Rage.
"Hit the Moonblast towards Gyarados with a Steel Wing. Counter the Dragon Rage by using a Flaming Dragon Rage combined with a Seismic Toss!! Bring the whole attack towards Gardevoir!!", I yelled and he carried the attacks with perfection.
Gardevoir stood no chance against the A-grade attack combo, and fell down nearly unconscious, while Gyarados was just slightly wounded.
"Gardevoir, Future Sight followed by Dream Eater!! Gyarados, Hurricane!!", he yelled at his Pokemon while Pyroar prepared for a Giga Impact.
Gardevoir was trained in such a way that she was able to tap into the dormant dreams of a Pokemon even when it wasn't asleep. But it wouldn't on my Charizard, as I had already trained him to come out of the Dream Eater zone with the help of Sceptile, so that wasn't a problem at all. The other ones however, were highly problematic.
"Time to use the move we've practiced, Charizard! Ultimate Explosion!!", I told him and he began to concentrate blowing a Flamethrower into his hands, which were lit with the help of a solid Dragon Claw. When the ball of flame grew to size of a football, he tossed it up and smashed it down into the ground with the help of an Iron Tail followed by a Flare Blitz the second the ball hit the ground, and this resulted in a humongous torrent of flames
Charizard stood in front of me protectively while the attack did it's magic. Pyroar coming smack in front of the attack, took it head on and collapsed on the spot while Gyarados took a major amount of damage. Gardevoir dodged most of the attacks due to Future Sight, but her previous wounds restricted her movements, and she too collapsed unable to take any more hits. What wasn't so great was that this attack totally drained Charizard's strength, and Gyarados was still strong enough to carry out another Hurricane.
"Your Charizard is really strong, but not strong enough! Gyarados, use your imagination! Finish him!", he yelled and Gyarados charged up for a final Flamethrower, while the two of us braced for impact.
To be continued...