Dragon Rage

"Take them down!"

"It's just a bunch of brats!"

"Seize those Pokemon!"

Several cries came from Team Rocket's side as they commanded their Pokemon to attack the Pokemon Center that everyone had taken refuge in.

"Not on my watch! Go combusken!" May declared.

"Keeeeeeeeeen!" Combusken cried as it shot forward to delivered a barrage of Blaze Kicks.

"""Sneas!"""

The sneak of Sneasel cried as they were scorched by Combusken's intense flames and fierce kicks.

"You too Piplup, Bubble Beam!" Dawn ordered.

"Piplupupupupupup!" Piplup cried as it bombarded the Houndour on the opposite side in an endless stream of bubbles.

"""DOUR!"""

The entire pack of Houndour exclaimed as their sleek fur was drenched.

"MagneTON!" Ace's Magneton cried as it fired off a powerful Thunder Shock, electrocuting all of the damp Houndour to deal even more damage than it normally would've.

"""MURKROW!""

A flock of Murkrow cried indignantly as they all swarmed Magneton.

"Am!"

"Fee!"

Ampharos and Flaaffy declared as they covered Magneton's back, combining their attacks.

"Magneton."

"Flaf!"

"Ros!"

Magneton said its thanks, while Ampharos and Flaaffy nodded in affirmation.

Meanwhile....

"Geo geo ge-Geodude!" Geodude explained his plan to Cranidos.

"Cran!" Cranidos nodded in agreement.

"Geo!" Geodude declared as he curled his arms around his body and shot forward to use Rollout.

First Geodude rolled a ways away from Cranidos as he built up speed, before making a sharp u-turn as he barreled right towards his comrade. Cranidos meanwhile lowered his head and prepared his stance as Geodude approached him.

*CRASH!*

The sound of the two impacting echoed out as Geodude crashed into Cranidos' head.

"What the-?!"

"Are those two fighting NOW?!?" Misty demanded irritably.

But what happened next stunned everyone, as Cranidos proceed to LAUNCH Geodude into the air with his head.

"DOS!"

"GEODUDE!" Geodude cried as he soared right through the thickest swarm of Zubat and Murkrow, barreling right through them to make them all rain from the sky.

Soon Geodude reached the peak of his flight, before he came crashing back down to the ground while bringing as many flying type Pokemon as he could with him. Instead of stopping or slowing down though, Geodude continued his charge as he turned back towards Cranidos for another flight.

"That's...creative?" May said confusedly, as SHE would've never come up with such a tactic.

"CraniDOOOOOOS!" Cranidos cried as he similarly charged towards Geodude, bashing any and all Pokemon in his way aside until he impacted Geodude once more. After a clash more intense than their previous one, Geodude was once again sent flying through the air to take down several flying type Pokemon.

"Taaaank!" Miltank cried excitedly, as she too used Rollout and charged at Cranidos, before he sent her flying as well.

"A flying Geodude and Miltank.... That's a new one." Wendy said while looking to her Staraptor curiously.

"Ace's Pokemon are so cool..." Kate uttered in awe as she watched them all fight.

Even his newly evolved Raticate were dominating their part of the battlefield, using both speed and teamwork that far surpassed anything Team Rocket's Pokemon were capable of. All three of them were darting about with extreme precision as one played the bait, while the other two would attack from a blind spot.

"You all think you're so tough? Try this on for size!" One grunt declared as he pulled out what looked like a rocket launcher, but then began firing nets to capture the fighting Pokemon.

"Twig! Twig! Twig!" Turtwig cried out while repeatedly using Razor Leaf, which sliced through the nets as it they were warm butter.

"Turtwig!" Turtwig cried out while daring any who were brave enough to challenge him. But then...

"Twig!" Turtwig exclaimed in surprise as his body began to glow, before growing several times larger.

"GROTLE!" The newly evolved Grotle roared out as the light faded, before it unleashed a storm of Razor Leaf attacks from the two bushes growing on its back.

But Grotle wasn't the only Pokemon to evolve.

If Ace were present he'd call the current battle a perfect example of an 'experience farm', as his Pokemon worked together and with the girl's to take down as many opponents as possible.

Shortly after Grotle evolved Geodude was also enveloped in a bright light, before he grew several times larger into a form with four arms and two legs. Graveler. And after Graveler was Zubat, who evolved into a Golbat.

"Look! A bunch of Ace's Pokemon are evolving!" Joy exclaimed in surprise after the three rapid evolutions.

"Well with the training he puts them through, it'd be more surprising if they didn't evolve already..." Misty muttered dryly.

Soon however another Pokemon also glowed with evolution, though not one of Ace's.

"Piplup?" Dawn's lovable little penguin uttered in surprise when it too started to glow.

"PRRRRRRRRRIN!" The newly evolved Prinplup trilled proudly from its new form, before unleashing an even stronger Bubble Beam upon the Rockets.

"Oh Prinplup! You finally evolved!" Dawn declared happily at her starter's growth. Personally, she had started feeling a little left behind since both Ace and May's starters had evolved already, and her little Piplup hadn't. Not that she'd ever mention that to Piplup of course.

Almost immediately another Pokemon became the center of attention, but for entirely different reasons.

"Runt!" Tyrunt declared as he fearlessly charged into the fray, not at all worried about his personal wellbeing. He was just excited about all the new chew toys that were in front of him.

Now the only problem was choosing which one he wanted...

Tyrunt continued his way through the battlefield casually without a single care as he looked around for a good choice, unaware that something was creeping up on him.

"Sneasel!"

One of the enemy Sneasel cried out as it buffeted Tyrunt with an Icy Wind attack.

"TY!?!" Tyrunt exclaimed form the sudden attack.

"Sneasel, snea sneas!" The Sneasel taunted him cockily.

"Ty......RUUUUUUUUUNT!"

Indignant from the cocky Sneasel, Tyrunt used Roar for the first time in his life.

All over the battlefield Team Rocket's Pokemon froze, fear filling them from the terrible Roar as the urge to flee filled them. The one who got the worst of it was Sneasel, who had been the direct target of the Roar.

But that wasn't all.

As it glared hatefully at the Sneasel, Tyrunt's entire body was enveloped in a strange and ancient energy that strengthened all of its attributes while pulling numerous chunks of rock up from the street, before hurtling them at his target. And without even being able to fight back, the Sneasel was completely buried under the rubble.

"Ancient Power!" Dawn exclaimed in awe from the display, but she wasn't the only one.

"Get that Tyrunt!" One of the Rockets declared, as he and the others forced their Pokemon to attack despite their lingering fear.

"CHARBOK!" An Arbok cried as it launched itself at Tyrunt to use its Wrap attack.

Tyrunt however had been trained by Ace, despite still being a baby. So dodging the flying Arbok was a piece of cake for him, before Tyrunt proceeded to grab the cobra by the tail.

"Charbok!" The Arbok cried in pain from being bitten on the tail, but Tyrunt wasn't finished just yet.

Without loosening his hold on the Arbok's tail, Tyrunt proceeded to swing it around like a flail to attack all of the other Pokemon surrounding him. Not even the remaining Sneasel were able to get close enough, or have proper aim to use their ice attacks on the small dragon in the chaos.

The rampage continued until Arbok was too battered for Tyrunt to continue swinging around, so he released the poor serpent Pokemon and sent it flying into a nearby building.

"TYRUUUUUUUUUUUNT!" Tyrunt used Roar once more, daring any of the remaining Pokemon to challenge him, the (pre-evolved)king of the ancient world.

"Damn it! Don't challenge it directly!"

"Koffing, Weezing, Smog attack!"

At the command, all of the remaining Koffing and Weezing expelled a massive toxic cloud that enveloped the entire town.

"GEOOOOOO!" Pidgeot cried as he summoned a powerful Hurricane, immediately clearing the entire town of the toxic Smog. But despite his efforts, several of the defending Pokemon had already become poisoned.

"Go now!" A Rocket cried as their Pokemon surged forward to take advantage of the mass poisoning.

But as they did so, the chime of numerous bells could be heard across the battlefield.

"Hope you don't mind, but healing Pokemon is OUR specialty!" Declared the matron of the Lavender town Pokemon Center, as she and the other Joys directed their Chansey in using Heal Bell. Also helping them was mini-Joy's Chansey, as well as Ace's Happiny.

"Matron! I brought it just like you asked!" One of the Joys announced as she appeared from within the Pokemon Center.

"Excellent." The matron Joy stated, before taking the item and approaching Ace's Happiny.

"Here. We can use all the help we can get, so this is for you." She said to Happiny, while offering her an oval stone.

"Piny?" Happiny asked curiously.

"Take it Happiny." Mini-Joy suddenly said from the side. "It'll evolve you into a Chansey, and then you'll be a lot stronger. You could help Ace even more as well!"

"Piny? PINY!" Fired up at the idea of becoming stronger, Happiny quickly accepted the oval stone before she too was enveloped in light.

"ChanSEEEEEEEEY!" The newly evolved Chansey cried out with more fire and power than the other Chansey,

Her voice reverberated off of all of the buildings around them, before shattering the windows while making all of the opposing Pokemon recoil.

"Echoed Voice!" Mini-Joy exclaimed in awe, even as she clamped her hands over her ears.

The Echoed Voice continued until Chansey ran out of breath, but then she followed up by using Gravity on a wide area, thanks to all of the training she had been doing with it for Ace and Lucario.

All of the flying Pokemon belonging to Team Rocket around her were quickly brought down by the force of the Gravity, making them easy picking for the rest of the other Pokemon.

"Take that Chansey down!" One of the Rockets yelled. But Chansey wasn't completely defenseless.

An ear-splitting roar shook the very air when some of the Pokemon tried to attack Chansey, as three Gyarados and two Milotic made up the final line of defense for the Pokemon Center, easily took care of any Pokemon that tried to get at the healers.

"Amazing..." The matron Joy uttered as she watched all of the Pokemon battling. Particularly the Pokemon belonging to Ace.

Even without their trainer here, they were all doing the most at keeping Team Rocket's Pokemon at bay while using techniques unlike anything she had ever seen. The flying Graveler and Miltank were evidence enough of that.

Even at that moment, matron Joy watched as the pure white Charmeleon darted about while spouting powerful flames, and as the Tangela used a multitude of vines to Bind and Vine Whip numerous opponents at once. Plus there was the alpha Vespiquen, who was commanding her hive to act on defense by having them form living walls as they pieced themselves together, which significantly raised their defensive power while allowing them to cover their allies blind spots.

And then there was the Nidorino and Nidorina pair, which were a couple of terrors on the battlefield as they fought side-by-side. Grovyle, Wartortle, Buizel, Meowth, Persian, Sneasel, Lickitung, Mightyena, Houndoom, Exeggutor, and that strange blob that turned into a Lucario...

ALL of his Pokemon were so amazing, to say nothing of the Pokemon being commanded by the girls that traveled with him.

"Baltoy, Confusion!" May commanded her Pokemon, which sent a strong psychic attack at a group of Ekans that were trying to get close to her.

"There's no end to them!" Dawn exclaimed behind her, even as her Rosalia danced its way through the battlefield while whipping vines with poison-tipped thorns on them.

"Doesn't matter! We just have to keep going!" Misty declared as her water Pokemon hosed down the opposition, before Luxio, Pikachu, Magneton, Flaaffy, and Ampharos all worked together to deliver the mother of all electric attacks onto them.

Together, the three of them continued commanding their Pokemon while keeping Team Rocket away from the Pokemon Center, while Kate and Wendy tried to organize the rest of the trainers. But then, they were all surprised as a blade of darkness tore through the battlefield, separating the two sides.

"ABSOOOOOOOOOL!"

As one, every eye turned towards the source of the attack and cry, only to see a quadrupedal Pokemon covered in white fur, with a black horn atop its head that was curved like the crescent moon.

"Is that-!?"

"It's an Absol!" May exclaimed in awe.

"An Absol? Aren't they native to Hoenn?" A Rocket demanded.

"That means it's really rare!"

"Get it!"

Immediately the consensus of Team Rocket seemed to be capturing the Absol, but May practically shrieked at them,

"ARE YOU ALL MORONS!?!"

Every eye turned towards her and blinked a couple times in confusion, before she continued, "Absol are heralds of doom! They only appear to warn people of impending disasters! If one is here now, then that means something bad is about to happen!"

"Sol!" The Absol cried after May spoke, as if to give credence to her words.

She then turned towards the matron Nurse Joy, and continued, "whatever's about to happen, all the town's people NEED to get out of here!"

Matron Joy turned her attention between May and the Absol for a moment, before nodding her head in affirmation.

"Got it! Everyone, we need to leave now!"

Immediately taking control, she and the other Nurses Joy began herding all of the townspeople that had been hiding and spectating the battle in and around the Pokemon Center away.

"What about you?" She asked the girls while getting as close as she dared.

"We're staying." Misty stated immediately.

"Ace isn't back with Cubone yet." Dawn added.

"We won't leave without him." May declared.

"That's just how it is!" Mini Joy finished as she too joined the three girls, prepared to stay with them and wait for Ace till the end.

"Us too. We have a duty to see this through till the end." Wendy said as she and Kate moved to join the four girls.

Matron Joy looked around and saw the same resolution in all of the Pokemon around them, as they all even bunched up a bit more to protect the girls specifically.

"Very well. Stay safe." She said, before turning to join the rest of the town in fleeing.

"Hey! Who said you lot could go!?" Demanded one of the Rockets that prepared to give chase.

*SLAM!*

"Grrrrrrrrrrrrr!"

Instead, Ace's bull Gyarados slammed his tail down in front of the guy while growling menacingly, before it was joined by Tangela, Mightyena, and Houndoom.

"You all can stay here with us!" Wendy declared, as she and the girls prepared to fight once more.

***

"What is this...?!" Proton practically growled as he watched his forces get beaten back bit-by-bit.

When the battle began Ace and Cubone had been entirely on the defensive, while his Lucario fought against their Mega Evolved Houndoom. And then Proton's victory appeared at hand when Ace was scratched by one of their genetically modified Beedrill, poisoning him as it did so.

But then something happened that Proton hadn't anticipated, the arrival of a member of the Kouga clan.

The Kouga clan was a group of ninja that directly served the League of both the Kanto and Johto regions, with the Gym Leader Koga being their current head.

Though skilled in all forms of ninjutsu, the Kouga clan's specialty was the poison typing as their Pokemon consisted only entirely of that variety. Or at least that was what the dossier the Boss compiled on them stated.

As for WHY a member of the clan was here, that was obvious to Proton after less than a moment of thought. Their current mission must be to keep Ace Ketchum safe.

This was probably the League's answer to the bounty that Team Rocket had placed on his head, which was high enough to make even the most hesitant of assassins move.

The problem was that with the female ninja's arrival, the tide had completely turned against Proton in an instant.

He was watching as his Beedrill were swiftly being taken down by the ninja and her Pokemon, while Ace and the baby Cubone were in turn making short work of the Houndour. Meanwhile the Lucario was also steadily gaining ground on the Mega Evolved Houndoom, as it repeatedly used long range attacks like Aura Sphere and Vacuum Wave to rapidly wear down Houndoom's energy reserves.

Clenching his fists so hard that they started bleeding, Proton swiftly pulled out his gun and pointed right at the back of Ace Ketchum's head. He would NOT be defeated here!

He quickly lined the sights up and put his finger on the trigger to shoot, not even bothering to turn off the safety since he never turned it on to begin with. Then, just as Proton began squeezing the trigger to kill Ace Ketchum once and for all...

"!!!"

*BANG!*

Fire erupted in Proton's hand right as he pulled the trigger, making him jerk the gun and make the bullet go wide. But he didn't care at that at the moment, instead focusing on the throwing star embedded in the back of his hand.

That fucking ninja bitch!

Even as Proton looked up to glare at her hatefully, all he saw from her was brief indifference before she returned to fighting his Beedrill.

How DARE she dismiss HIM like he was nothing!

Fury and indignation rising up within him, Proton forgot all about the mission as he focused solely on making sure Ace Ketchum and the ninja bitch lost this battle.

Turning around, Proton stormed up to the mask on the shrine with madness in his eyes, alerting the still distressed Mr. Fuji as he did so.

"Wait! You can't!" The old man cried as life seemed to fill his limbs once more, but Proton ignored anything he had to say while throwing him to the ground.

"Out of my way old man!" He snarled as the Houndour that had been guarding against Mr. Fuji stood over the old man, keeping him from getting back up.

Proton grabbed the mask without any hesitation, which was as cold as ice and felt as if it were draining his very life force with each second he was holding it. But he didn't care.

"Stop it...!" Mr. Fuji cried out as he lifted it up over his head.

"Wait! Don't!" Exclaimed Ace Ketchum as he too realized what Proton was about to do. But it was too late.

But if he couldn't win, then nobody will!

*SMASH!*

"Kekekeke..... KEHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"