Love in the Time of Tomorrow

Chapter 19: An Explosion

Little known fact here: the fanfiction mobile app is very unhelpful for writers. When you guys review with it, we don't know. And when the site glitches like it is right now, we don't get to see your reviews until it's fixed. Bottom line: please use your phone's web browser...or any web browser, not the app, and PM me your review alongside it, if it's getting anywhere close to 2000 characters. Well, now it's time for some explosive action in Chapter 19!

Chapter 19

An Explosion

"Pikachuuuuuu!" Ash kept his head low, the searing bolt of electricity colliding with some more incoming drones and flying Crobat, scorching them with its voltage. Charizard immediately followed up with a blistering Flamethrower that cleared the path ahead.

"Swift!" Serena called from behind him, still gripping tightly. Using one ribbon to hang on to her trainer's wrist, Sylveon flicked her other one from Charizard's side, sending golden stars out to collide with those sneaking up from behind. It didn't do much to clear them away, but it did allow for a distraction that was covered up by Alain and Mairin roaring through on his own Charizard, dropping their attackers down to the ground.

"It's getting thick up here!" Alain yelled over to them. Ash looked up at his old rival, the man pausing for a moment as his Charizard flapped in the air, nodding at Ash's own. "You haven't found Deirdre yet?"

"Nothing so far!" Ash yelled out. A loud popping noise was heard, and it forced all of them to swivel their heads in its direction, seeing a line of drones firing missiles out for them.

"Seed Bomb!" screamed the voice of Jessie from above. Before either Ash or Alain could react, a barrage of green-glowing seeds fired out, mixed with a Psybeam that intercepted all of the missiles. They exploded in midair, sending the drones with them. Ash looked up to see the Team Rocket balloon floating above them, the magenta haired woman leaning over the side.

"Get your head in the game, twerp!" she screeched over at him. "And twerpette, I expected more from you! If you love him, you keep protecting him! Now's not the time to get distracted!"

"What Jessie said!" James agreed wholeheartedly. Ash couldn't help the chuckle that escaped from his lips, reaching up and rubbing at his nose. They were right; he couldn't afford any manner of distraction at that moment. Knowing that, he gave them a thumbs up, while Pikachu grinned over at Meowth.

"Alain, keep watch on the skies up here! We're heading for the hotel," Ash told him. The black-haired man looked at him with a slight confusion in his eyes, not quite understanding what Ash was planning to do. Not bothering with that, Ash took out his walkie talkie, patting Charizard to have him head for the Ancien Grand. "Better vantage point!"

"Got it! Charizard, Dragon Claw!" Alain roared out, holding fast to his own Flame Pokémon while Mairin and Chespie clung to him. His Charizard's claws glowed a bright green and soared into the mess of Crobat, slashing powerfully and knocking them to the ground. Ash's own turned around and headed right for the hotel that sat in the center of the city.

"You're going to tell them about the others?" Serena asked, leaning over to speak into his ear. Ash nodded quickly, giving that as the simplest answer. He raised the walkie and fiddled with it to the specified channel, even if he was unsure whether anyone would be paying attention in the heat of battle.

"Everyone, this is Ash! IDEAL is definitely here! Kahili and Nanu are fighting Alastair somewhere on the ground, and I'm pretty sure we saw Louise and Toll somewhere else in the city, flying off towards the castle or stadium. Not really sure which," Ash communicated over the lines. While he waited for a response from the command center they were heading towards, Ash looked to the screens around the town, noticing the shots of different areas of the city. Dawn and Misty looked to be putting up a hard fight at City Hall, while those battling it out in the square (still including Maka, Keoni, Kukui and the ever-graceful Miss Akela), seemed almost overwhelmed, some trainers having already fallen.