Pokemon: Fire and Ice

Chapter 23

It was Team Plasma. It was Team Plasma behind Ash's kidnapping. The shock couldn't properly set in as the helicopter pulled away to the other side of the building, dragging the dying Hyper Beam along with it. Once the chopper was out of sight, the room shook and multiple booms could be heard. They were attacking the entire building!

Ash tried to get up, only to realize it was Pierce that had thrown himself on top of him, in a loyal attempt to protect him. The man leaped to his feet, his co-workers following in suit. Debris had stopped falling, but the once elegant ballroom now looked like a warzone with people running in every direction. The defenseless citizens screamed and hurried for the exit, wanting to be as far away as possible. Team Rocket members were also running, most of them were heading towards their quarters so they could change into proper war clothing and obtain their gear. The rest were already in uniform and charging into action. Then there were the ones with no life who were tearing their expensive clothes to reveal their uniforms underneath. During the chaos, Ash swore he saw Giovanni storm off, surrounded by what looked like fifty bodyguards. Humph, obviously didn't care to look for his nephew.

Finally the trainer unsteadily made it to his feet, cautiously looking around. His search came to a naught when an overjoyed voice cried, "Ash!"

"Iris! Cilan!" he hollered in kind.

He turned around to see his two best friends racing towards him, relief and joy in their eyes, despite the current situation. He stepped into a sprint to meet them, where they joined in the center of room. They all laughed and embraced each other, finally reunited. Ash cut off his current hug when a familiar voice reached his ears.

"Pika!"

The young trainer whirled around to see his tiny yellow partner looking up at him, practically bouncing up and down in excitement.

"Oh, Pikachu!" Ash wailed, emotion welling up in his chest.

He opened his arms wide, allowing Pikachu to scramble onto his chest with a single leap. With a laugh, he tightly wrapped his arms around the Pokémon in a tight hug. Pikachu only squeaked in pleasure.

"I'm glad everyone's happy," a woman's voice praised.

Ash looked up from his hug to see Professor Juniper and Agent Looker nearing, their masks removed. The boy greeted them both, happy that there was extra help. The reunion was drawing to a close when suddenly another roar came.

Everyone left in the torn room yelped and twisted around to the opening that was once the main window. A large shape of a helicopter the same size as the previous one came down into view, this one holding a more dreadful sight. While the first only held two passengers, this one was crammed with at least a dozen Team Plasma members. They glared hungrily at their target as the helicopter drifted to the building as close as it could get. Once it was possible, the mini-army took a single leap as one into the ballroom, all screaming battle cries.

The second they landed, they all tossed their deadly Pokémon, who let out screams of battle. Team Rocket replied in the same manner and the real war broke out. The innocent bystanders screamed and dived for cover, quickly realizing they were in the middle of the crossfire and had no protection.

"What do we do?" Iris wailed.

"We need to get out of here!" Looker announced.

"I would love to but I don't think we can right now!" Cilan screamed.

"Then we're just going to have to battle our way out!" Ash declared. He jumped to his feet and pulled out a Pokéball, expanding it in his palm. He actually thanked Giovanni for letting him keep his Pokémon, on the condition he wouldn't try any tricks. "Come on out, Oshawott!"