Capítulo 285: Masked man....defeated?
You know what, have another long chapter and give me your stones, I'm in a good mood
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As the light faded, the masked man's expression darkened. The crack on his mask seemed to grow a little bigger, with a chip falling off where his eye should be, revealing that there was truly nothing behind the mask—just a husk being controlled.
The masked man's hand, which was being stepped on by Ash, began to morph. Ash quickly moved his foot as the hand transformed into a spike that tried to puncture his foot.
Ash jumped back suddenly, and the masked man lunged at him more violently than before, no longer caring about restraint, as he yelled, "All of you, back to me, NOW!"
Gengar was breathing heavily, struggling to keep up. Thanks to its intangibility, it managed to escape some dangerous situations that could have meant its doom, but it was still standing.
On the other side, Brock and his Pokémon were also getting tired. Even though it seemed like they were winning, it was taking everything they had, and it was a toss-up whether they or Gengar would go down first.
Just as they prepared to attack again, Gengar heard something—a muffled yell. Frowning, it stared at Brock before going intangible and phasing through the webs, leaving Brock alone. Was this a victory… or something else?
—-
Yellow was helping the boy, and his Farfetch'd lean against a tree. Meanwhile, Houndoom was being tag-teamed, choking on its own smoke from Chuchu's [Submission], or being drenched with water from Omny.
The constant hard hits from Pikachu and Gravvy were taking their toll on the fire dog. Just as it seemed overwhelmed, Houndoom suddenly heard a muffled yell.
Houndoom glared at the Pokémon around it. Though it couldn't shoot fire, it had another plan. Gathering the smoke it had accumulated, it unleashed a thick Smokescreen.
As the team struggled to see through the smoke, a sudden cry from Chuchu came from the left. They turned to see Houndoom tackling a tree, using Chuchu as a cushion. The force loosened her grip, allowing Houndoom to escape.
Without wasting time, it bit down on one of Omny's tentacles, ripping it off and slamming the Pokémon down. The group braced for an attack, but none came. When the smoke cleared, Houndoom was gone.
Yellow quickly ran over after securing the boy, and Farfetch'd, healing her team as she looked around. "So… did we win?" she asked.
—-
Misty could feel the momentum shifting. Ariados was getting thrashed around by Gyarados and Starmie while Psyduck rested nearby, nursing its massive headache.
When Gyarados sent Ariados crashing into the ground, Starmie followed up with a [Power Gem], hitting it hard in the chest then the bug was greeted by another tail slam from Gyarados, leaving its movements shaky and slow. Its exoskeleton was cracked, and it could barely zip away.
Misty smiled at the sight, and Ariados felt a shiver run down its spine. It wanted to run, but its orders were to hold the line. A saving grace arrived when vibrations in its web signaled an order from the masked man: retreat.
Ariados didn't hesitate. It zipped to the web, loosening parts of it to fall on its pursuers, creating a distraction before escaping into the walls.
Misty watched the bug retreat and, for the first time, left an encounter with a bug feeling victorious. "I'm counting that as a win," she said with a smile. Picking up Psyduck, she returned her other two Pokémon to their Poké Balls. "Now, let's find everyone else."
—
Delibird was being pushed back by Mega Venusaur and Blastoise. Earlier, it had held them off, but now it was taking damage—even if it was just chip damage.
As Delibird tried to shoot a [Freeze-Dry], Venusaur launched a [Drug Seed - (Model stun)] that wrapped around its beak, releasing a paralyzing spore. Before it could react, Blastoise charged in, cannons glowing, and delivered a solid [Double Iron Bash], slamming Delibird into the ground.
Before they could finish it off, a [Shadow Ball] hit Blastoise, sending it sliding back. Gengar floated over, tired but grinning.
Meanwhile, Houndoom fired a weakened [Fire Blast] at Venusaur. While it didn't do much, it forced Venusaur to turn and see its attacker.
Ariados dropped down from the trees, pulling webs to lay sticky threads along the ground, immobilizing Venusaur and jamming Blastoise's cannon.
Now, four Pokémon faced off against the two Megas. Instead of attacking, they clung to Gengar, turning intangible, and retreated toward the masked man's location.
Venusaur and Blastoise exchanged a worried glance. They had to get to Ash. If they didn't, who knows what would happen? Desperately, they began forcing their way through the webbing. Even Blastoise's [Rapid Spin] couldn't break the sticky threads. Progress was slow, but they had no choice.
—-
Ash dodged one frenzied attack after another from the masked man. His cheek and right hand were already bleeding, but the masked man didn't let up. Each strike was more aggressive than the last.
Despite his injuries, Ash wasn't retreating aimlessly. He was leading the masked man somewhere. As he glanced around, he noticed the webs were starting to loosen, a clear sign that Ariados was no longer actively maintaining them. This meant the webs would soon collapse—but it also meant Ariados was likely returning. Time was running out.
Ash's back hit a tree as he dodged another slash. When the masked man lunged at him, Ash rolled away just in time, causing the blade to stab into the tree. The masked man ripped his arm out of the trunk with ease, the force splitting the wood.
Ash's biggest challenge was his lack of a way to fight back. He needed the masked man to stop moving, even briefly. He knew what he had to do, but it would hurt. Leading the masked man to a specific tree, Ash pretended to stumble over a rock and fell backward against it.
As he looked up, the masked man's blade was already descending toward his face. At the last moment, Ash shifted his head, but the blade plunged into his shoulder instead.
"GAAAH!" Ash cried out.
"Finally, you brat!" the masked man spat venomously, twisting the blade to cause even more pain. "I wanted to make this quick, but that's too good for you. Instead, I'll do this."
Ice began to form where the blade entered Ash's shoulder, spreading rapidly across his arm. The cold was unbearable, far worse than any winter Ash had endured. He summoned his aura to slow the frostbite, but the freezing grip still immobilized him.
The masked man glared down at Ash through the hole in his mask. His voice dripped with malice. "You should have taken my offer when you had the chance. Now look at you."
Ash gritted his teeth through the pain. "Heh… too bad I've never been good at—GAAH!" He winced as the masked man twisted the blade again. "You know, you could at least pick one—twisting or freezing. Doing both is overkill."
"You insufferable pest!" the masked man snapped, his voice laced with fury. "I guess it's true what they say—get rid of pests before they grow."
Ash let out a weak laugh. "Heh, you're right. If I get out of here, I'm dedicating every hour to figuring out new ways to annoy you. I'm going to hate you like it's my full-time job."
The masked man's grip tightened. "Enough! This is farewell. Maybe in the next life, you'll learn."
Ash chuckled softly, his voice barely a whisper. "Sorry, been there, done that." Then, louder, he added, "But you forgot one thing."
The masked man froze as Ash gave a weak snap of his fingers. "I have more Pokémon out."
From the top of the tree, Abra appeared, her fist blazing with fire. She leaped down toward the masked man, who turned in shock to see the small Pokémon.
"ABBRAAA!!! [Take this, my Infernal Sun-Devouring Fist of the Eternal Abyss' Wrath!]" Abra cried dramatically.
But as she punched the air, the air itself seemed to heat up as when she punched down, it looked like her fist created a dome-shaped blast of energy, a shockwave erupted outward of pure heat and fire.
The Masked man saw this and was taken by surprise even more from the attack, previously he didn't try to dodge, but now this was a problem, he was in danger, he tried to move, but it was too late.
He was caught in the dome created by Abra's impact, the heat and flame starting to actually melt him, or at least this clone's body, as he fell over.
Ash got up as he spread some aura, breaking his shoulder free from the ice, but he was still bleeding, as he got up and stumbled, as the Masked man was struggling with the heat, Abra finally fell and punched him directly in the mask, sending him falling back down.
It looked like he was trying to reform, but the heat was stopping him from doing it, at this point, the webs fell as his Pokemon finally reappeared, shocked at the situation,
At the same time, as the webs fell down, Brock, Misty, and Yellow were reunited, but before they could celebrate, they saw Ash clutching his bleeding shoulder as his hand and cheek were also bleeding, and the Pokemon they were fighting were also there.
Brock, Misty, and Yellow immediately called out their Pokémon to hold off the masked man's team and protect Ash. Just as they charged forward, a sudden [Flash Cannon] blasted near the Masked man's Pokemon, forcing them to halt.
Turning toward the source, they saw Venusaur and Blastoise finally arriving, stepping forward to block the way to Ash, adding their strength to the fray. With their imposing presence, the battle shifted.
As the clash escalated, Gengar turned intangible, weaving through the chaos in a direct line toward Ash. But just before it could reach him, a [Shadow Ball] came out of nowhere, striking Gengar and forcing it back into its tangible form.
Everyone turned toward the source of the attack. Emerging from the shadows was Gastly, laughing mischievously as she joined the fight. She had been hiding, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. With her arrival, the tide began to turn.
What had seemed like a hopeless situation moments ago was finally shifting in their favor.
—
Ash stumbled forward, Abra teleporting onto his shoulder as they approached the masked man. The man now slumped on the ground, looked like he was struggling to maintain form. In a final desperate attempt, he raised his hand, reshaping it into a jagged spike that extended toward Ash's head.
"Pika!" Pikachu cried out, dashing in with [Extreme Speed] and intercepting the attack. His tail gleamed silver as he used [Iron Tail] to smash through the spike, severing the arm once more.
Ash gave a weak smile as he crouched down, gripping the mask in his hand. "What was that? Didn't you say I lost? Looks like you're the one losing now."
"You brat!" The masked man's voice echoed from the mask, full of rage. "This isn't over! This isn't even the real me. Next time, I'll make sure you suffer slowly!"
Ash scoffed. "Maybe. But you wouldn't be the first, and you probably won't be the last." He dropped the mask to the ground and stomped on it, crushing the hidden camera and speaker inside.
The moment the mask shattered, the masked man's Pokémon stopped fighting. They exchanged glances before nodding to each other. Gengar conjured a mist, enveloping the team. One by one, they stepped into it, becoming intangible and vanishing through the ground. The enemy had escaped.
With the battle finally over, Brock, Misty, and Yellow let out sighs of relief. But their calm quickly turned to alarm when they saw Ash collapse against a tree. They ran to him, finding him slumped and bleeding, already using his Aura to try and heal himself.
"Hey, guys," Ash said weakly, a faint grin on his face. "Guess we technically won, huh? Heh…" His trembling hand rose to press against his injured shoulder to try to heal it with Aura.
Misty's eyes filled with frustration and worry. "Ash, why do you always have to do this, you idiot? If you weren't so hurt, I'd shake you by the collar right now!"
"Not the time, Misty," Brock said, kneeling down and pulling out medical supplies. "Ash, how bad is it? Can you heal yourself enough to stabilize?"
"I should be fine, as long as I—" Ash's voice faltered as Yellow knelt beside him, grabbing his hand.
"Ash, please," Yellow said softly, her hands glowing with healing energy, Unshed tears brimming in her eyes. "Let me help you."
Ash froze, his mouth opening to protest, but he stopped when he saw the raw emotion on her face. She gently touched his shoulder, then his cheek, channeling her energy into his wounds.
"Why do you always act like you have to do everything alone?" Yellow's voice trembled as she worked. "We're here. We can help you, I can help you, Please stop pushing yourself to this point."
Ash looked at her, then closed his eyes. "It's not like I wanted to fight him by myself," he murmured. He met her pleading gaze and sighed. "Alright. I'll try to let you help more next time… but I can't promise anything. All I can promise is I'll try."
Yellow let out a small, shaky smile, seemingly satisfied with his response. Once she finished healing him, she wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. "Thank you. Please… I don't want to see you hurt like this again."
Ash hesitated for a moment before leaning into the embrace as Pikachu also walked over and nuzzled into him, "I'll try, that's the best I can do," he whispered.
"Yellow is right—you do this a lot, you know," Brock said, crossing his arms. "Look, I get it. You're not out there looking for trouble, but when it shows up, you always try to fix it yourself."
"Yeah, it's something noble and stupid about you," Misty added, noticing Ash still had blood smeared across his face. She rummaged through her bag and pulled out a handkerchief, holding it out to him without meeting his eyes. "Here. At least clean yourself up."
Ash sighed, taking it with a faint smile. "Thanks, but I'm not sure how much good that'll do," he said, gesturing to the gaping hole in his jacket before wiping the blood off his face.
"I'll patch up your jacket for you," Brock offered. "But you should take off your shirt too so I can—"
"No, it's fine!" Ash cut in quickly, his tone unusually firm as he began to stand, albeit unsteadily. "I've got another shirt. One shirt isn't that big of a deal, but I'll take you up on the jacket. I've only got two of these left."
"Didn't you say you had three?" Brock asked, narrowing his eyes. He couldn't help but notice Ash's odd reluctance to remove the shirt.
"Yeah, well, I left the third one at home and forgot about it," Ash said, brushing the question aside. "Doesn't matter. Anyway, we should get that boy back to his home, right? Where is he?"
"I-I left him over there," Yellow said, letting go of Ash and pointing to a nearby tree.
"Alright," Ash said, patting Brock's shoulder. "Looks like you're on carry duty for both of them."
"Wait, why can't I take the boy, and you carry Farfetch'd?" Brock asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, my arm's hurt," Ash replied, giving him a cheeky grin. "And you guys told me I should rely on you more, right? Consider this my first act of generosity. Aren't I great?"
Before Brock could respond, a rustling sound came from the bushes. Everyone immediately tensed, preparing for another fight in case it was one of the masked man's Pokémon. But instead, a boy with white hair and light green eyes stepped out, holding what appeared to be offerings for the shrine.
He blinked, looking surprised to see them. "Uh, hi?"
"Who are you?" Misty demanded her guard still up. Her posture was defensive, but she didn't reach for a Poké Ball—yet.
The boy raised his hands in a panic. "Uh, just wait a second!" he said, quickly running to the shrine. He placed the offering down, clasped his hands as if in prayer, and then turned back to them with a polite bow.
"Hello! My name's Horace. Nice to meet you," he said, trying to appear friendly despite Misty's glare.
"Well, Horace," Misty said sharply, "You've done what you came to do. Now leave us alone."
"Wait, Misty," Brock interjected, stepping in front of her. "Sorry about that. Our friend just got hurt, and we're all a little on edge."
"Oh, really? I'm sorry to hear that," Horace said, looking genuinely concerned. "Hey, how about I take you to the nearby town? Oh, but first, can you help me with something?"
Brock raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"
"I'm looking for someone," Horace explained. "The son of a charcoal maker went missing a few hours ago. His name's Sylvester. He has black hair, a blue shirt, and a Farfetch'd with him. Have you seen him?"
Yellow hesitated, glancing toward the tree where the unconscious boy lay. "Um, actually… he's right over there."
Horace's eyes widened as he spotted Sylvester. "Oh. Well… mission complete, I guess," he said, looking both relieved and a little helpless. "Alright, let's get going. Seems like both your friend and Sylvester need help. Give me a hand carrying him, will you?"
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