Sinnoh. Out in a Swamp. Nightfall.
Somewhere in the Sinnoh Region, a Desire had awoken in the middle of the night. It was somewhere in a swampy area, the air was humid and the ground was soft. Many trees and rocks were seen as well as a few boulders and a lake nearby. The Desire flared to life, sending a pillar of energy into the air.
The energy was dispersed, going far and wide, flying across the land to find unfortunate victims as always. The source of this Desire was unknown since it came from deep in the woods. Even the Pokemon resting here had no idea who's Desire this was. One thing was for sure, it came from the Swamp and most likely from another Pokemon.
This Desire would already take effect, one of the energy having reached the region of Kalos in a span of 40 minutes before the Sun could rest. At this very moment, before the crack of dawn, Officer Jenny was currently in hot pursuit of a criminal, riding a motorbike down a mountain road.
The criminal grimaced when looking back at Jenny, fearing that he might be caught. Officer Jenny was catching up to him easily. This was looking to be a successful mission for Jenny. But that's when it happened.
The Desire had struck. Officer Jenny looked up to see a purple light flying her way, only to be blinded by it as the energy engulfed her body. Her eyes were glowing brightly as her Desire had taken effect. At that moment, Jenny was suddenly moving in slow-motion. The criminal would drive off, escaping Jenny.
"Wh-What...?!" Jenny was confused, noticing that she was moving slowly, as if time itself was slowed. "Am I...slowing down?!"
"Lucky break for me! See ya!" The criminal laughed, waving goodbye as he drove off. Officer Jenny tried pursuing him, but not only were her hand movements slow when using her motorcycle, but so was the motorcycle itself.
"N-No! C'mon!" She exclaimed, trying her best to move at top speed, but no matter what, she kept moving at slow-motion. As a result, the criminal was getting further and further away, eventually leaving her behind. "Curses!"
Equestria. Ponyville. Day.
The next morning came. Over at White Tail Wood, a young pony was about to have her first Gym Battle ever, taking on the first gym here at Equestria. The Grass-Type Gym, with its Gym Leader Roseluck. The young mare had an eager look on her face, ready to go.
"Welcome to the Grass-Type Gym. Are you here to challenge me?" Roseluck asked, having been waiting for the young mare and really anyone else. It has been a while since new trainers have shown up.
"I sure am. My name is Daisy Bloom. And I'm ready to have my first gym battle ever!" She exclaimed, grinning.
"Well, good luck to you." Roseluck smiled, preparing for the battle.
"Alright, Roseluck. This is it. Time to show them the power of my team." Daisy thought to herself. Daisy was ready to begin her first Gym Challenge, ready to take on the Grass-Type Gym. Both Trainers threw their Poke Balls out, summoning their first Pokemon.
"Go, Cinccino!"
"Roserade, it's your turn!"
"Cincinno!" Cinccino was the first Pokemon out, and so was Roserade right afterwards.
"Roserade!"
"Hang on! I thought they said you wouldn't use your Roserade in the Gym Battles!" Daisy Bloom pointed out since Roseluck's Roserade was so strong.
"A-Ah, my mistake." Roseluck grinned while chuckling. "Force of habit. I can't help myself a lot of the time. But I promise you, Roserade can hold back. Just watch."
"Rose!"
"Alright, we'll begin the battle at once." The referee stated, raising his hoof and bringing it down. "Battle Start!"
"Alright, let's get this started. Cinccino, start off with an Ice Punch!"
"Ci, Ci!" Cinccino charged forward, her paw covered by a layer of ice, building up her strength.
"Now, Roserade! Use Poison Jab!
"Rade!" Roserade would do the same, her hands were coated with purple poison.
Both Pokemon would run towards each other, ready to throw the first punch. However, at that moment, the Desire had reached here, landing on all four of them, affecting their bodies. The effect kicked in instantly as both Roserade and Cinccino were moving in slow motion, their bodies going slower.
"Cin?!" Cinccino's eyes widened, her Ice Punch moving at an incredibly slow pace.
"Roserade?!" Roserade was confused, her Poison Jab being moved as slow as a Slugma.
The two trainers were confused as to what just happened, the entire battle slowing down. Roseluck was just about to say something, only for the entire stadium to become slow-mo, the air feeling thick as if it were a solid object.
"What's going on?! Why is everyone moving so slowly?!" Daisy exclaimed, noticing how slow her Cinccino was.
"I-I have no idea!" Roseluck cried out, unable to comprehend the situation.
The battle had slowed to a crawl as Cinccino and Roserade were stuck in place, moving slowly. Daisy and Roseluck would be the same way, unable to do anything at a normal place. Confused, they tried switching out, only for their hooves to move at a slow pace as well.
"I feel so sluggish...!" Roseluck whined, unable to understand the situation.
"This is weird!" Daisy frowned, also feeling the effects.
"What's going on here...?!" Even the referee was affected. All four of them were currently victims of this Desire and its slow effect.
Cloudsdale.
Over at Cloudsdale, all the pegasi that were currently flying about would suddenly slow down, the weather and everything else around them were affected as well. They all had glowing eyes as the Desire was now affecting them.
"Why's the wind blowing so hard...?!" A pegasus cried out, feeling a strong pressure in the air. "Wait, this isn't the wind!"
"T-This isn't my usual best! What's happening?!"
"I feel like a stone...!"
All the Pegasi were panicking, trying to make sense of what was happening, but they would have no answers. This was the work of a Desire, but none of them knew it. None of them could get anything done or get anywhere because of this, causing the clouds and the sky itself to slow down, as if time had slowed to a stop.
Not every Pegasus had been affected as the ones who were still fine gasped when seeing their fellow Pegasi moving slower than normal. For a pegasus to move this slow is unheard of. Mass confusion and panic would rise over Cloudsdale, no one knowing the source of this madness.
Over at Rainbow Das's home, she was one of the few pegasi who were unaffected, the Desire hadn't gotten to her. She was eating her breakfast when she suddenly heard a all the commotion from the outside.
"Huh?" She tilted her head, wondering what was happening. She got up and looked out the window, her jaw dropping at what she was seeing. "What the..."
Cloudsdale, which is known for being a rather speedy place, was now slow, as if time had been slowed to a crawl. Clouds were barely moving, and even the pegasi were affected.
The pegasus stood there for a moment before taking out her Xtransceiver, knowing that something was terribly wrong. She had to make sure her friends were aware of this. She had a strong feeling that a Desire was behind this as she would call Twilight immediately. "Uh Twilight..."
"Are you calling about the slow motion?" Immediately, Twilight already figured it out.
"Huh? You already figured it out?!"
"Yeah...Pretty soon, actually. Right now, a lot of Ponyville's experiencing it too. Everyone's moving so slowly. No doubt, it's another Desire. Not sure what kind of Desire this is though. Who on earth would want something to be in slow motion?"
"Beats me." Rainbow Dash shook her head. "But it doesn't matter! All we gotta do is take down that Desire like we always do and everything will be just fine! And we'll figure out who's the one responsible for this. I'll be right there!"
"Don't!" Twilight bellowed, her voice making the Xtransceiver shake. "Rainbow Dash...I'm going to need you to stay where you are and don't move at all. Whatever this Slow Motion Desire is, it's created some sort of field around those who have been affected. Anyone that gets near them will be affected as well. That's what I've discovered so far."
"So, if I move, I'll get affected too?"
"Most likely. You can't really see the field, but it's there. I've had Cold Colt use his Rift Magic to see it and it's a massive field. When one person gets affected, it creates a field around them that's as big as the average Lairon. If you try going in there, you'll get caught and the field will expand by grabbing you. Then we'll be in a bit of trouble."
"Gah. So, what now?"
"I'm gonna have the others and myself get to the field and try to find the source of the Desire. Just stay there and don't move." Twilight suggested before hanging up.
"Phew...Guess I can't go anywhere, huh?" Rainbow Dash sighed, hanging her head low. "Guess I'll have to wait here and relax until this all blows over."
"Zera!" Zeraora thought otherwise, forcing herself out of her Poke Ball. "Ora! Zeraora!" Zeraora wanted to get out there today and be as active as possible.
"Hey, hold on, Zera! You know that if you go out there, you'll be affected by that field too."
"Zera-!"
"Nope. Not today. We're gonna have to stay put. Let's just relax until this is all over. No running or anything like that for now. That field's gonna slow us down if we get near it."
"Ze...!" Zeraora grimaced, facing the window as she was yearning for action.
"Don't worry, it'll be over soon. Just have faith in Twilight and the others. They'll definitely have this solved." Rainbow Dash assured, sitting down and relaxing. Zeraora didn't doubt that at all, but she desperately wished to do something right about now. In her eyes, Zeraora believed that she could be fast enough to outrun this supposed field. Obviously, she can only do so on solid ground. Any attempt in the air was pointless since she can't fly or stand on clouds.
Ponyville.
Speaking of Ponyvlle, the whole town had garnered a large slow motion field thanks to it being such an active town with ponies and Pokemon constantly moving around. So many of them had stuff they wanted to do or get done in time, only for them to be moving slow. So many of them had stuff they wanted to do or get done in time, only for them to be moving slow.
"This is the worst...!" Lyra groaned, her head hanging low. "I was supposed to go to the store today to get groceries...!"
"How could this have happened?!" Berry Punch asked, her head slowly looking around. "I'm gonna miss the berry picking...! Those Patrat are gonna beat me to it!" All of them started complaining and ranting about their current predicament.
"You know...it's probably a Desire again. It's not the first time, after all." Derpy stated. "Plus, this isn't the worst thing we've had to deal with."
"You're only saying that because you don't have to work today!" Carrot Top pointed out, her face moving in a slow motion. Derpy just shrugged right afterwards. Right now, the town was at its absolute slowest. Even slower than when it was first founded. On the bright side, at least no damage was being done and no one was getting hurt. It just seemed to be one massive inconvenience.
"If Pheromosa were here...if she were here, none of this would be happening!" Rarity bellowed, already tired of all this slow motion. "Pheromosa! Please get well soon!"
Over at the Pokemon House, it caused an even larger inconvenience to those working on the upgrade. Fluttershy wailed, seeing how slow everything was moving since the Desire managed to affect a good chunk of Pokemon. "Why'd it have to come to this?!"
"Man, this is one strong Desire!" Ash growled, currently in a running position. He tried running as fast as he could but even that was negated via the slow motion effect. Right next to him were Spike and Applejack, who fell victim to the Desire as well.
"Who do you think it belongs to?!" Spike exclaimed.
"It's gotta be a really slow Pokemon!" Ash stated.
"Like a Slaking, Slowbro, or maybe even a Slowpoke!" Applejack added. "Gotta be one of 'em!"
"Pika!"
"How are we gonna complete the Pokemon House in time with this speed?! We're gonna run out of time at this rate!" Spike shouted.
"Well, it's not all that bad. Could be worse." Appleajack sighed. Compared to all the Desires they've dealt with, this was by far the tamest out of all of them, albeit annoying and inconvenient.
"Yeah! Besides...if we just focus on moving, we can make some progress still!" Ash grinned, focusing on moving forward. "Plus, I'm sure Twilight and the others figured it out already, so we could be back to normal soon! Let's focus on finishing these upgrades!"
"At this pace?" Fluttershy uttered. "That'll take forever and I'd have to feed all my Pokemon while letting them rest! But it'll all be in slow motion! This is a disaster!"
"Oh well. At least it can't get any worse." Spike sighed. Alas, it did get worse. While they were moving to the best of their abilities, trying to get somewhere, a cawing sound could be heard all of a sudden.
"Ah...!" Ash turned his head, looking to the distance as his eyes widened. They all recognized the flock of Pokemon appearing.
It was the Honchkrow gang, led by Honchkrow himself and all of his Murkrow underlings. Honckrow and the Murkrow were all moving at a normal pace, unaffected by the slow motion.
"Not them!" Applejack gasped. "I thought they left somewhere a while ago!"
"Honch! Honchkrow!" Honchkrow cackled as he and cronies were here to do what they do best. Steal. Honchkrow had a devious look on his face, knowing very well that many others were rather slow at the moment, unable to get anywhere at a regular pace. Thus, he was about to take full advantage of that. "Krow!"
With his order, he had his goons aim for anything valuable in the Pokemon House with very little Pokemon being there to stop them. Most of the Pokemon were too slow to stop them, but thankfully, some were still free and able to move at their normal speeds.
However, Honchkrow, while being a downright criminal, was not a fool. He knew that something was up with everyone moving so slowly. He had already seen others fall victim to some sort of effect when getting too close to others. Thus, he had his cronies juke the Pokemon that tried stopping them, tricking them into falling into the slow-motion fields.
The Pokemon were unaware of the slow-motion fields, falling for the Murkrows tactics. It was an easy win for them, seeing the other Pokemon enter slow-motion state. They would take this opportunity and rob the place. They had no problem taking advantage of the slow motion.
"No! We just got started making such excellent progress!" Fluttershy shouted, unable to do much since her body was still sluggish. "You put those down at once!"
"Krow...!" Honchkrow smirked. All they could do was see the Honchkrow steal as if they were kids in a candy store, taking anything they could get their wings on. The Murkrow were laughing, flying around with whatever they could carry.
"Honch, honch, krow!" The boss cackled, laughing while perched up on a tree. Of course, they could get absolutely everything since some items were near Pokemon that were in the slow-motion fields, but they got a sizable amount. And of course, they wouldn't stop here at the Pokemon House. They would target Ponyville itself, going around and stealing anything they could.
Once they got enough from the Pokemon House, they took flight, heading straight for Ponyville. "Come on...! Gotta go...faster!" Ash growled, now having a reason to really start moving at his best speed. He would try turning around, attempting to head in the direction of Ponyville along with the others.
But it was certainly going to take a while.
A long while.
The Honchkrow Gang had already arrived at Ponyville, flying above the entire town. This wasn't their first time attempting to steal from here. Or even their second or third time. The ponies of Ponyville all heard that familiar cry in the distance, recognizing the Honchkrow Gang immediately. While they could raise their heads fast enough, they could at least move their eyes quickly.
"You're kidding...Right now?!" One pony exclaimed.
"Are you serious?! Right now, of all times?!" Berry Punch cried out.
"Honch...!" Honchkrow grinned once more as he was ready to pay Ponyville back. For too long they've been managing to defeat his gang and now that he's spent an entire year away from them, it was time for some sweet revenge. He would have his Murkrow storm the town while it was at its most vulnerable.
Of course, the ponies that could still move normally would try and retaliate against the Honchkrow gang, doing their best to protect their stuff. They sent their Pokemon out, but the Murkrow had the vast number advantage. Normally, Ponyville and the Honchkrow Gang were usually equal in numbers here and there, always matching each other. But since the Desire came into play, a good my ponies were all rendered useless.
Thus, the Murkrow gang were dominating the place, stealing and looting wherever they pleased. Honckrow watched with a proud grin, seeing this as a golden day. The day he finally wins and gets all their stuff. Well, most of it that's out of the range of the slow-motion field anyway.
The ponies that could still fight back just couldn't handle all these numbers and were overwhelmed, finding themselves even knocked back or pushed into the fields.
"Honchkrow!" Yelling Honckrow's name out of frustration was none other than Mayor Mare. Honchkrow reacted to this shout, knowing that voice all too well. Mayor Mare and Honckrow were sworn enemies after all. The second the two looked at each other, they both narrowed their eyes.
"Honch." Honckrow scoffed.
"Why am I not surprised you'd pull this off when this is happening?! You just love doing stuff like this!"
"Honch, Honch, krow!" Honchkrow smirked.
"I've had just about enough of you! I swear, I'll make sure you and your crew will never get away with this!" Mayor Mare grit her teeth, revealing that she was also slow. "As soon as I get my pace! Argh, this is so slow! It's so hard to even move!"
"Honch-Krow!" Honchkrow taunted her, mocking her with a laugh. To see his enemy in such a state was just humorous to him. It was priceless seeing her so mad when she couldn't do anything as Ponyville was being stripped of its valuables.
"You'll see! Just wait!"
"Krow!" Honchkrow rolled his eyes, scoffing before flying off. He would have his Murkrow gang fly off now that they had gathered a plethora of objects. The ponies could do nothing but watch them flee.
Almost all of them. There were still a few ponies left who could do something. Such as Twilight Sparkle, who could move normally. Currently, the Princess of Friendship was taking flight, staying airborne and away from the fields. "Stop right there! All of you!"
"Murk?!" The Murkrow gasped one they saw Twilight flying their way, charging up a magic attack. The Murkrow knew it was time to scram. Even with the number advantage, Twilight can prove to be a problem and bring this all crashing down. Refusing to let this fail, Honchkrow flew forward, charging up his own attack.
From her horn, Twilight unleashed a ray of magic while Honchkrow had used Hurricane. Their attacks would collide with each other as a result. Honchkrow managed to tie with Twilight, the attacks cancelling out and causing a strong wind pressure through the area.
Twilight flinched as all the Murkrow managed to fly off, getting away with the loot. The princess frowned, gritting her teeth. It was rather annoying that she failed to stop them at the moment, but Twilight knew that wasn't important right now. What truly mattered was everyone else.
"Please tell us you have something, Twilight..." Amethyst Star said, groaning.
Twilight being completely free and mobile meant only one thing. She was already thinking of a way to help them all. And it had to be soon. Despite this being the least harmful Desire, it was the most frustrating Desire that just left everyone vulnerable.
And of course, it's not just Ponyville that has to deal with this nuisance and the consequences that can come from it, as the journey continues.
Chapter 496 End.