Ash was naturally very surprised to see Xia You too. He shouted, "Xia You! Help me catch that Poké Ball! My Pikachu is inside!"
Even Pikachu, who never went into a Poké Ball, had been caught by this strange black one?
Xia You waved a hand. Understanding his intent, Gardevoir used Confusion to open the Poké Ball and release Pikachu.
"Don't panic. I've rescued not just your Pikachu, but the other Pokémon too!"
"Thank you so much!" Ash scooped Pikachu into his arms, then ran over to Charizard and Squirtle. Seeing that they were both unharmed, he finally felt relieved. "Is everyone all right?"
Xia You asked, "How are things up there?"
At the mention of this, Ash looked both reluctant to accept it and deeply dejected. "We lost. We were completely outmatched by those cloned Pokémon. But that Mewtwo went way too far! It actually used these strange Poké Balls to steal all our Pokémon!"
"It summoned us to this island for that very purpose," Xia You said. "But I've destroyed the equipment here, so its plan is going to fall through!"
Only then did Ash belatedly look around. Seeing the mess everywhere, he inwardly marveled. "I was wondering why I didn't see you earlier. But Xia You, how did you know this equipment was hidden here?"
"Well..." For a moment, Xia You had no idea how to explain, so he could only change the subject and urge him on. "All right, now isn't the time to talk about that. Let's hurry upstairs and help!"
Taking the Pokémon with them, Xia You and Ash left the room and hurried back up the stairs to the first-floor hall.
When they retraced their steps and reached the battlefield behind the wall, they saw Misty, Brock, and the others confronting Mewtwo. There