Continuing their journey to Applejack and Rarity's home town of Applewood and Flash's fourth gym challenge, our heroes were now heading to the Everfree Forest. But as they finally exited the woods, they found themselves at the top of a hill overlooking a small town. "There it is! Gem Town!" Rarity cried in joy at the sight of the village.
"It sure looks like a nice place," Applejack commented before turning to Twilight. "What's this place known for again?"
Twilight opened her mouth to explain, only for Rarity to leap in front of her, "I told you, darling, this place is famous for its gems! Why, it has it in its name! It has stores that sell gem themed items of all shapes and sizes along with clothes, toys, clothes, battle items, clothes and so much more!"
"That does sound awesome," Flash replied as he looked down at Springer, "Maybe we'll be able to find something we can use in our next Gym Battle."
"Ri!" Springer added.
Rarity was practically vibrating as she started into a sprint, "Come on! Let's get down there!"
"That girl can really move when she wants too," Doc commented as they saw her run into the distance.
"Come on!" Spike yelled as he ran after her, the others following behind as they soon reached the bottom of the hill. It wasn't long till they reached the town, soon seeing a barrage of stores everywhere.
"Battle Gems here!" A stall owner called out as Flash and Twilight walked past him, "Get your Battle Gems here!"
"Battle Gems?" Flash asked as he went over to the store, now seeing several small boxes littered around a table, each holding a different colored gem on a tiny cushion.
"They're special gems that increase the power of certain Pokémon moves," Twilight explained as she pulled out her journal, "I must say...this has several of them. Should I-"
"Here!" the owner interrupted as he held up a mauve colored gem, "Maybe you'd be interested in getting a Fighting Gem for your Riolu. It'll double the power of any Fighting-Type move it'll use, but only one time."
Flash and Springer stared at the gem, only to share a glance before nodding at one another. "Sorry, but no thanks. We'd rather win using our own strength."
"That's fine," the owner told him with a shrug. "To each their own."
Rarity and Applejack now walked by another store, Rarity gasping as she saw the gems in the window display, "Oh! Applejack, you should take a look in here."
Applejack raised an eyebrow, "Why?" Her answer came when someone walked out with a huge smile on his face, holding a green stone with a lightning bolt symbol on it.
"I just got a Thunder Stone!" He announced before pulling out a Pokeball, "Eeletrik!" The ball opened before unleashing a weird looking eel Pokémon.
"Eel," it said while wiggling, only for the trainer to tap the Thunder Stone on it.
"Evolve!" Eeletrik suddenly started glowing before it changed shape and size, the light soon vanishing to reveal a larger eel Pokémon with arms. "How do ya feel Eelectross?"
"Tross!" The newly evolved Pokémon cheered before it and its trainer walked off.
Rarity nudged Applejack while pointing at the leaving trainer, "That's why. This store sells Evolution Stones."
"So?" Applejack asked.
"So?! Applejack, you have a Pokémon that can evolve with a stone!"
"Ah do?" Applejack replied with a raised eyebrow.
Twilight walked up next and said, "She means your newest Pokémon. Your Lombre evolves into Ludicolo with a Water Stone."
"Huh...Ah had no idea." Applejack responded as she scratched the side of her face.
Rarity nodded in agreement. "You shouldn't hesitate Applejack. Even if you don't want to evolve Lombre yet, if you get the stone now, you won't have to wait to get one when you eventually decide to evolve him." Applejack crossed her arms as she started to think about it as Rarity pulled out a Pokeball. "Alright Opal, come on out!" The ball opened and released her Opaline, the trainer bending down to pick up the cat. "Are you ready to do some shopping deary? I'm sure we'll be able to find you something beautiful to wear."
"Line," Opal purred in its trainer's arms. But before it could get comfortable-
"THIEVES!" Everyone spun to the voice, only to see three blurs flying past a stall. They were colored brown, which they then hopped onto another stall, the owner yelling, "HEY! Get off my-"
"Augh!" Rarity yelped as the blurs flew off the stall and right into Rarity, knocking her over. Opal was flung upward, only to easily land on the nearby sidewalk. As for the trainer, she now felt a new weight on her lap, making her look up and see the thieves. They looked like they were crossed between a baby and a rabbit. Their skin was dirt brown and had large ears that you could almost mistake for bird wings, which each had four tips on them. They had stubby little arms and large feet, with a dark brown rock-like encasement around the tips. On their foreheads were kite-shaped diamonds, with similar gems on the tips of their ears and each one had a different colored bindle wrapped around their neck, one red, one blue and one green.
"They're Diamalem!" Twilight gasped.
"Stop them!" They heard another voice call out, turning to see a peach skinned girl with yellow hair in a ponytail. She was wearing a pink shirt with white sleeves and collar with a pink skirt over cream colored pants and pink boots. "Don't let them get away!" But before the others could even register this, the three Diamalem leapt off Rarity's lap.
"Dia!" They all cried as the crystals on their foreheads started to glow. Red beams of light flew out of them, hitting the street before causing an explosion, one that kicked up a dust cloud. A volley of coughs happened next as everyone started to swat at the smog. And as the dust settled, the Diamalem were gone.
"No!" The girl screeched before glaring at the group, "Thanks a lot, you useless morons! I told you to not let them escape!"
"Sorry," Spike replied as Rarity picked herself and Opal up. "It all happened so fast we didn't know what to do."
"What is going on?" Doc asked as he dusted himself off. "What were those Diamalem doing here?"
"Diamalem?" Rarity pulled out a purple Pokedex and typed the Pokémon's name into it. Seconds later, the image of the creature that had just run into her appeared on screen, but it didn't have the bindle around its neck.
Name: Diamalem
Category: Crystal Clear Pokémon
Type: Normal/Rock
Info: This Pokémon's body is always in a state of flux, which allows it to absorb any unusual energy to let it evolve in a special way.
"What that Pokedex won't tell you is that they're also a bunch of terrible thieves!"
"I'm guessing you've had issues with these things before," Doc asked, only to get a glare from the girl.
"You bet!" she growled while crossing her arms. "The name's Topaz and my family runs the town's main jewelry store. Over the last few weeks, those three have been coming into town and stealing any gemstone they can get their grubby little hands-on..." Her eyes went red in anger, "Those little twerps have already hit my store three times and you all let 'em get away! Grrr…when I get my hands on them, I'll make 'em wish they never stepped foot into this town!"
The six teens all slowly started to backpedal, all creeped out at her outburst. But before they could comment, another stall owner yelled, "Hey! All my gems are gone!" They turned and saw it was the owner of the gem booth that Flash and Twilight had been at, the duo gasping as they saw the boxes were now empty.
"Whoa! How did-"
"It's those Diamalem!" Topaz screamed, "They were right next to this booth when they fired that Power Gem! They obviously used the dust as cover to swipe 'em!" She leapt up onto the booth, raising her fist to the air, "Alright everyone, listen up! Are you all tired about having your merchandise stolen by those little crooks?!" The people all nodded, Flash and friends all gulping at the sight, "Then let's stop waiting around here and go find them! Once we do, we'll make those thieves pay for every single gem they've stolen. WHO'S WITH ME?!"
The townspeople all let out roars of agreement before beginning to close up shop. As they did this, Flash commented, "Man, these guys are seriously mad."
"No kidding," Doc added. "I wouldn't be surprised if they pulled out the torches and pitchforks next."
"So what do we do?" Spike asked next.
"Ah say we help them out." Applejack replied while tipping her hat, "Ah know if it was mah farm's stuff being stolen, ah'd wanna make the little varmint pay for it."
"I'm with AJ," Flash pulled out his Pokeball. "Skyler, come on out!" He tossed the ball into the air, soon unleashing the Wingust.
"Wing!" It cried before flying down to his shoulder.
"Alright bud," Flash held up his Pokedex as it showed the image of their target. "I want you to try and find something that looks like this." Skyler scanned the image and nodding, soon taking to the skies.
Topaz saw this and smiled before walking over. "Thanks. Any of you other guys have any Flying-Types we might be able to use?" Doc and Twilight pulled out their Pokeballs, unleashing Steeledge and Owlicious. They were given the same instructions and took off to search, just in time for everyone else to finish packing for their search. "Alright everyone, let's get out there and find them!"
"YEAH!" The townspeople roared before running out of the village, Flash and his friends following behind.
"It's probably better to split up," Doc suggested as he reached into his backpack and pulled out a box. Opening it up, he showed them a bunch of radios that they all took. "These'll let us keep in touch. If we find them, we should contact the others." They all nodded and headed off in different directions, Twilight and Spike being the only ones staying together.
One hour later...
Nobody had found the thieves. Despite the whole town searching, they had found nothing in that past hour. As such, Rarity and Opal were now currently sitting on a large rock in an open field. The girl was resting, Opaline laying in her lap. "Good grief...it's like those three just vanished."
Opal said nothing, too busy grooming herself to reply. But as she licked the back of her paw, a glint suddenly caught her eye. Turning to it, she saw something hidden in the grass that was reflecting the sunlight into her face. "Op?" Opal jumped off Rarity's legs, surprising the girl as she saw her Pokémon run through the grass.
"Opal? What is it?" She got up and followed as she crossed the field, only to see the cat start to play with something on the ground. She knelt down and saw it was a small gemstone, "Could this be?" She turned to the direction of the town, then did a one-eighty to where she now suspected the three had gone. "Must be." With that, she and Opal headed in that direction, soon finding themselves at the edge of the forest they had previously left. "Hmm...this would probably be a good place to hide out until they attempted their next robbery."
She then stepped inside and saw that the brush was so thick that it blocked her from seeing the sky, "Is this how they evaded the Flying Pokémon?" she asked herself as she trudged through, only to start hearing some voices in the distance. "What's that?"
"Dia,"
"Die die!"
"Malem!"
Hearing this, she tiptoed towards the voice, pulling into a stop as she hid behind a tree. There, her and Opal saw a small clearing, this one showing a patch of beautiful flowers next to a pond with the three Pokémon in question. The Diamalem were sitting around a pile of gems and rocks, all with big smiles on their faces as they dug through them.
This made Rarity growl as she pulled out her radio...only to hear a loud cry. "DIAMALEM!" She looked back and now saw the one with the blue bindle was crying, the one with the green bindle moving over to comfort her while the red one kicked the pile before throwing their loot over to a bunch of rocks. Rarity narrowed her eyes at the pile, now seeing that they had made a cave-like dwelling that she was betting had the rest of their stolen goods.
"I don't understand. Why are they upset?" Rarity whispered as she saw the one with the green bindle go over to the pond. It then placed the bindle in the water, pulling it back while using it as a cup before pouring the water onto the flowers. The blue one just stared at the water longingly as the red one hopped onto some rocks and did some punches and kicks into the air. It took a deep breath next, letting out air as Rarity assumed it was trying to breathe fire.
Rarity just blinked at the sight, making her pull out her Pokedex and type Diamalem into it. Once the page opened, she started to scan it over, looking at all the facts on the Pokémon. The first was the species were all female, and had a variety of moves that were considered unusual for a Rock-Type.
But then she got to the bottom of the page, which got to their evolutions. Touching the link, she gasped, "No way." She now found herself looking at her family heirlooms: The Power Ruby, Emerald and Sapphire. She clicked on the emerald, only to be sent to another page with a new Pokémon appearing onscreen. It was a human-shaped Pokémon that looked like a woman with light green skin, wearing robes that appeared to be made out of sewn together leaves with different colored flowers. On its forehead was a large emerald, with a bunch of smaller gems that mimicked hair, mainly in a distinct pair of pigtails. It also had the same ears as Diamalem, only they weren't as large and the diamond tips were replaced with emeralds.
Name: Herbarald
Category: Grass Emerald Pokémon
Type: Grass/Rock
Info: The evolved form of Diamalem. The gems in this unusual Pokémon's body grant it Agrokinesis. It manipulates vines and trees in order to catch its prey.
She hit the back button and touched the ruby this time. This one showed something similar to Herbarld, a human-shaped Pokémon that looked like a young woman. This one's skin was bright orange and it was wearing red cloth robes with yellow flame patterns on the arms and around the bottom. On its forehead was a large ruby, with a bunch of smaller gems around its head that mimicked quaff style hair, its style resembling a flame while its ears were now tipped with rubies.
Name: Pyruby
Category: Fire Ruby Pokémon
Type: Fire/Rock
Info: The evolved form of Diamalem. The gems in this unusual Pokémon's body grant it Pyrokinesis. It enjoys juggling fireballs around, but often times loses control and may set everything around it on fire.
She repeated the process and pressed the sapphire, the final one looking like the last tow. Its skin was light blue and was wearing dark blue robes with wave patterns. On its forehead was a large sapphire, with a bunch of smaller gems around its head that mimicked a natural wavy hairstyle. As with the others, its ears were now tipped with sapphires.
Name: Aquapphire
Category: Aqua Sapphire Pokémon
Type: Water/Rock
Info: The evolved form of Diamalem. The gems in this unusual Pokémon's body grant it Hydrokinesis. It can find water in even the driest of areas, and as a last resort, it will force the water to spring up through the ground.
Rarity put her Pokedex away as she stared at the Pokémon in the meadow, "So that's it..."
As she watched them, Skyler was just above her, gasping as the bird spotted the trio, "Wing!" He chirped before flying off, soon returning to his trainer, "Wing! Wingust!"
Back on the ground, Flash heard Skyler and looked up, "You find 'em?"
"Wingust!" Skyler nodded before doing an about in the air, Flash and Springer following suite.
"Guys!" Flash yelled into his radio, "Skyler's found something! It looks like the Diamalem are in the forest!"
"Alright, we'll head there now." Twilight's voice replied.
"Same here," Doc added.
"Ah'm on mah way," Applejack finished as she turned around, completely unaware of Topaz standing nearby.
"Payback time..." she said while pumping her fists.
"Rarity! Rarity, yah there?" Applejack spoke into her radio, "Come on, answer."
Rarity had switched off her radio as she and Opal tiptoed up to the meadow. Despite this, the Diamalem heard her footsteps and turned to her, gasping as Blue and Green started to backpedal as the Red landed in front of them. "Diam!" Red roared as it got into a battle stance.
"Hold on there. Calm down...I'm not here to hurt you," Rarity assured them, holding up her Pokedex as it showed the image of the Power Gems. "This is what you're looking for, aren't you?" The three shared a glance, all three leaning as Rarity bent down and showed them the device. "Look. Here's what they'll do to you:" She flipped to a page showing all their evolutions, the three looking awestruck at the sight.
Rarity giggled at their reaction before putting the Pokedex away. She then moved to the pond, dipping her hand into it. "The water feels amazing." She turned to Blue, "You want to feel it, don't you?" Blue looked down at her comment, Rarity then adding, "Since you're a Rock-Type, simply touching water must be very painful. That why you want to become an Aquapphire, so you'll become a Water-Type and get to be in water without hurting you."
"Dia..." Blue replied as tears began to form in her eyes, Green stroking her head in response.
"And you're a very caring Pokémon." She patted Green on the head before glancing at the flowers, "Those are beautiful. I'm guessing you want to become a Herbarald since that'll make you become closer to nature, am I right?"
Green nodded rapidly, leaving Rarity to turn to Red. This Diamalem still glared at her as Rarity flashed her palms, "Relax hot head, I'm not gonna do anything. It's clear you want to become a Pyruby since I saw you trying to breathe fire earlier." Red's face started to turn into a tomato blush as she looked away, not wanting to admit it.
Rarity did a small giggle again before crossing her arms, "Listen you three, you all want to evolve..." she then pointed at their den, "But you shouldn't steal to do it." She saw a look of shame appear on Blue and Green's faces, while Red just looked away. "I understand that this is something you all really want, but that doesn't give you the right to steal. And think about it, do you really want to evolve that way? If you did, you would end up feeling bad that you did such a bad thing and it would ruin the experience."
The three all looked away now, making Rarity reach into her bag as she continued, "So here's what we're going to do: You three are going to return everything you stole and apologize." She then pulled a box out. "And in exchange, I'll give you these." She opened the container, making all three gasp as their hearts came to a stop at the sight of what was inside. It was the gems they had seen on her Pokedex.
"Dia..." Blue's eyes grew wide like a kid at Christmas.
"Malem," Green gasped as she started up at Rarity.
"Diamalem!" Red yelled as she reached for the Power Ruby, only for Rarity to shut the box.
"No!" She snapped the box out of the Pokémon's reach, "I may be generous, but I'm no pushover. You have to earn these by doing what I said. Deal?" The three shared a glance before eagerly nodding. They then ran up to their loot, putting them in their bags as Rarity got back up. And as she smiled at the sight, her ears perked as she heard someone yell her name.
"Rarity!" Everyone turned to see Flash, Springer and Applejack rush into the clearing, frowning as they saw the Diamalem with the items they stole. "What are ya'll doing here?!"
"Yeah, why didn't you tell us you found them?!" Flash added as he put his hand to the Pokeball on his belt.
"Ri!" Springer got into a battle stance next, "Ri, Riolu!"
"Hold it!" Rarity spread her arms in front of them. "It's not what you think. They-"
"I FOUND YOU!" They now saw Topaz step into the clearing, a death glare on her face as she pulled out a Pokeball. "Time to make you thieves pay. Kadabra, GO!" She tossed the ball out, unleashing a strange yellow Pokémon carrying a spoon.
"Kadabra!" It roared as it pointed its spoon at the trio.
"Psybeam!" Kadabra's spoon unleashed a burst of multicolored lights, the three rock Pokémon backpedaling at the sight..
"DIA!" They all cried, hugging each other in fear.
"Opal!" Rarity yelled, Opalescence leaping in front of the attack. The beam hit her, only for no damage to be dealt to the Dark Type Pokémon.
Topaz's jaw dropped before pointing at Rarity, "What are you doing?!"
"Stopping you from hurting them," Rarity replied as she moved in front of the trio. "You don't need to attack them. They're going to return everything they stole and apologize." Flash and Applejack shared a glance at this, raising an eyebrow before seeing the fear on the three Pokémon's faces.
"Who cares?!" Topaz screeched, "We can't just let them get away with things scott free! We need to make them learn to never do it again, and that means beating them till they learn! So step aside, or I'll go straight through you!"
Rarity glared back as she got into a fighting stance. "Then you'll need to go through us. Ready Opal?"
"Line!" Opal hissed, ready to do battle.
"Fine! Don't say I didn't warn you!" Topaz growled before pointing at Rarity, "Kadabra, let's tear her apart!"
"Rarity!" Applejack yelped as she reached for her own Pokeball, only for Rarity to flash a palm at her.
"No. Stay back Applejack. I don't want her saying I cheated." She glared back at Topaz, "This will be an official one on one match. And if I win, you and your townspeople will let me decide how to handle the Diamalem."
Topaz grit her teeth before staring at the trio, "Fine. But when I win, I get to do whatever I want with those three."
"I won't let that happen!" Rarity announced as she pointed at Kadabra, "Use Snarl!" Opalescence opened her mouth as a black sphere of electricity appeared, firing it at the Psychic-Type.
"Light Screen!" Kadabra's eyes glowed before five shining yellow walls appeared to form a box around it. The black sphere struck the box and exploded, pushing its inhabitant back a few inches but barely doing any damage.
"That's gonna make damaging it with Special Attacks tricky," Flash commented as the box disappeared.
"Guys!" They all turned to see their friends with the townspeople, the many store owners now spotting the Diamalem standing next to a pile of their stolen stuff.
"Hang on!" Flash jumped in front of the group as they tried to charge at the three, "Before you attack them, you have let this battle play out."
"Why?!" A townsman barked back, Flash quickly explaining what was going on.
Looks of surprise followed this as Flash said, "So if Rarity wins, you can't do anything. That's the deal Topaz made, alright?" The people all shared glances, only for Flash to then say, "If you don't, we'll gladly use our Pokémon against you so you don't interrupt the fight. We don't need this to get ugly." They began to murmur to each other, soon nodding in agreement to the duel. "Good."
It was here Twilight stepped up to Flash, their friends soon joining as Flash asked, "What do you think? Does uh...does Rarity have a chance?"
"Rarity should have the advantage," Twilight replied, "Against a Dark-Type like Opaline, Kadabra's at a big disadvantage."
"How so?"
Twilight gave him a flat stare, "Flash...you should know all types now. I've been teaching you-"
"I don't use Dark or Psychic."
"I..." Twilight opened her mouth, only to sigh, "Yeah, I guess that's true. You do use a Fighting Type...but barely fight any Dark Types. Anyways, Opal has an advantage because Psychic moves won't affect her."
"Oh...right. Thanks."
"You're still learning rookie." Twilight commented as they looked back at the battle.
"Power Gem!"
"Line!" The gem on its collar started to glow before firing off a red beam, only for it to be blocked by the Light Screen.
Doc rubbed his chin at the sight, "That Light Screen's gonna make doing damage difficult. And getting in close for a Scratch or Bite attack will be just as hard. Luckily, as Twilight said, none of Kadabra's Psychic Attacks will hurt her."
Hearing this, Topaz just laughed. "Don't be so sure," she pointed at Kadabra. "Miracle Eye!" Kadabra's eyes began to glow purple as Topaz the ordered, "Now use Psybeam!" Kadabra held up its spoon before unleashing a burst of psychic energy.
"Dodge it darling!" Rarity cried, but Opal just blinked at the command. Not understanding, the beam struck her, making her cry out.
"LINE!" She screeched as she flew backwards.
"OPAL!" Rarity gasped as the Opaline landed at her feet, "Are you okay?"
Opal hissed as she picked herself up, "Opal..." she growled as she clinched her claws.
"Ha! How'd ya like that?!" Topaz barked back, the three Diamalem all shaking as they saw the angry look in her eyes.
"Wait...why did Psybeam work?" Spike asked. "I thought Opal was immune to Psychic-Type Attacks."
Twilight shook her head, "Miracle Eye removes that immunity. Now Rarity needs to be extra careful."
"Psybeam again!"
"Snarl!" Opal unleashed the hissing sound, firing a ball of black energy right at Kadabra's beam of light. The two attacks collided in midair, exploding into a dust cloud that blinded everyone. "Bite!" Opal shot out of the smoke and leapt at Kadabra, opening her mouth as a white aura appeared around it. The aura then reshaped itself into a set of teeth, which bit into Kadabra's arm.
"Kadabra!" It moaned in pain, staggering back as Opal let go.
"Scratch!" Opal's claws began to shine as it then slashed the Pokémon's face.
"Kadabra!" It yelped while holding the scratched area.
"Use Psybeam again!" The goat-fox-man Pokémon pointed its spoon at Opal before unleashing another burst of light, Opal this time dodging the beam. "Again!"
"Kadabra!" It fired once more, only to miss the cat again.
"Don't stop!" Kadabra kept on firing, the cat easily evading each attack.
"We have to beat that Light Screen! Snarl!" Rarity ordered next.
"Opal..." Opal created the blast sphere in her mouth, "LINE!" The ball slammed into the Light Screen, exploding on impact as it pushed the Kadabra back.
"Dab!" It moaned as it began to stagger, cracks now appearing in the Light Screen.
"Psybeam!" Kadabra pointed its spoon at the Opaline, this one striking the cat as she recovered from firing the Snarl.
"Line!" She cried as she sent upward, only to land on her feet with ease.
"Again!" Kadabra fired once more again, this attack hitting Opal's side.
"LINE!" She hissed as she was blasted back, rolling across the dirt before stopping right next to the pond.
"Opal!" Rarity cried as she saw the Pokémon try to pick itself up.
"Now's our chance! While it's recovering, use your ultimate move." She pointed at Opal, "Focus Punch!"
"Dab!" Kadabra clenched the fist that didn't have the spoon, the hand now being wrapped in a blue light.
The others all gulped as Doc commented, "This is really bad."
Twilight nodded in agreement, "If this attack hits, it'll be all over for Rarity."
"Really? Is it that strong?" Spike asked next.
Flash crossed his arms at this, "It's the strongest Fighting-Type move the is. If it hits her, it's game over."
"Rarity!" Applejack called out, "Ya'll gotta get her out of there!"
Rarity grimaced at the sight of the incoming attack, her eyes going back to her Pokémon as she said, "Opal darling, I know you're in pain, but you need to be strong. We can't lose. Do it for the Diamalem!" The Pokémon stared at the trainer with wide eyes, all gasping as they saw the cat start to get up.
"Oh no you don't! Those three are gonna pay right now! FIRE!" Topaz ordered, Kadabra lunging at the cat with a fully glowing fist.
"Dabra!"
"Use Snarl at its fist!" Opal heard this and opened its mouth, the black orb forming as Kadabra reached her. His Focus Punch struck the sphere, causing it to explode. The force of the attacks sent both flying, Opal into the water while Kadabra was sent hurtling across the field. The Light Screen also flared up, more cracks as Kadabra started to recover from the blow.
Topaz shined a huge grin as she stared at the pond, confidence brimming as her Pokémon stood up. "Looks like I win. Now, hand those three rotten thieves over and-"
"OPALINE!" Opalescence cried as she flew out of the pond, a huge splash following this as Rarity shined a huge smile before pointing at Kadabra.
"Use Power Gem now!" Opal fired the red beam from out of her collar gem, Kadabra pointing his spoon at her.
"Psybeam!" Kadabra fired its own beam attack, both colliding as Opal's started to push his back. But as this went on, the cat's attack hit the Light Screen. The attack began to make more attacks, Kadabra trying to push the Power Gem but to no avail. Before anything could be said, the Light Screen shattered, knocking the Psychic Pokémon back.
"Use Bite!" Opal land as the aura appeared around its mouth again, taking shape as she charged at the Kadabra.
"Psybeam!" Kadabra unleashed another beam, Opal responding with her Bite attack. The two attacks collided in midair, exploding as Opal jumped in the dust cloud that was formed, only to appear out other side and into Kadabra's face.
"SNARL!" Rarity yelled, with Opal forming the black sphere right into Kadabra's face.
BOOM!
Kadabra let out a mighty cry of pain as it was engulfed by the attack. With no Light Screen the shield it, Kadabra fell over instantly, the smoke clearing to show it laying in the dirt with swirls in its eyes. "Ka...kadaba…."
"Kadabra!" Topaz cried as she kneeled down and rubbed her Pokémon's head, "Are you okay?" She glared back up at Rarity, "You meanie! You cheated! Your Opaline should have been finished in that pond!"
"No, she won. She believed in her Pokémon while you were wrapped up in your revenge to care about yours." Flash announced as he walked in front of her, Twilight and the others all nodding in agreement.
Topaz just growled at Flash as the villagers all gathered around her. As they did this, Rarity picked up Opal and began to stroke her, "Thank you darling. You were amazing."
"Line..." the Pokémon replied while grooming itself.
Rarity then turned to the three Diamalem, "It's time to return everyone's things." The three all nodded before going back to their den, soon making a pile of gems. As they did this, Rarity glanced back at the townspeople. "Everyone, please form an orderly cue." They did so and slowly, the Diamalem began handing the stolen goods back to their rightful owners while bowing to apologize.
Eventually, only a few items remained, which all belonged to Topaz, "Alright, hand them over." The Diamalem all glared at her as they held the jewels up, "Kadabra." The now awake Psychic-Type used its abilities to lift the gems out of their hands before Topaz went up to Rarity, hissing, "Don't think this is over. If they try to pull this again, and they will, I won't let you get in my way. They will pay for what they've done!" With that, she disappeared into the woods with the townspeople.
The group of friends could only sigh at the sight as Rarity turned back to the trio, "Well, you three held up your end of the deal." She reached into her bag and pulled the box back out, "Now to hold up my end."
"Watcha talkin' bout?" Applejack asked her, only to see Rarity pull out her families treasures.
"I'm giving them my Power Gems."
Twilight gasped at this, "Wait...you're gonna help them evolve?! But if you do that, your gems will-"
"I know," Rarity replied before looking down at the jewels. "Evolution items vanish once the Pokémon evolves. But...I'm alright with that as long as these three get to fulfil their dreams."
"Yah sure Rarity?" Applejack asked her, "They're yer families treasures."
"And that's all they'll ever be to us. If I keep them, they'll just be...well, pretty gems that are also useless items. But to these three, they're so much more." She held box out, "Take them. You deserve them."
The three's eyes all went wide before cheering, "DIA!" They each reached into the box and grabbed the gem they wanted, all admiring them as the gems began to glow.
The glow then spread around the Pokémon holding the stones, causing them to glow blue before they all began to change and shift. Everyone awed at the sight as the three grew taller, each one beginning to morph into different a shape. As the light faded, the trio looked down at themselves, gasping as they all now stood at four and a half feet tall.
"Herba..." Green muttered as she looked down at her new body, a quaint smile appearing on her face.
"Pie!" Red cheered as she spun around, admiring every bit of her new form.
"Phire..." Blue started tearing up, only to quickly jump into the pond. "Aqua!" she joyfully cried as the water didn't hurt her, now happily splashing around. She then came to a stop, holding her hands out as the large gem on her head started to glow. Seconds later, a bubble of water floated out of it, which began to fly around as she moved her hands.
The newly evolved Herbarald moved over to her flowers and did the same as Aquapphire, the gem on her head glowing as the unbloomed flowers began to open up, displaying a variety of beautiful colors. "Barald…"
Meanwhile, Pyruby put her hands together and focused as her head gem glowed. Seconds later, a small flame appeared between the hands, slowly growing before she extinguished the flame. "Ruby!"
With that, the three all moved back to Rarity. The girl smiled at them, only to see tears in all their eyes. "What's wrong?" The three then leapt at her, causing her to fall as each hugged a different part of her.
"HERB/PIE/FIRE!" They all cried, their tears now in full force as they gave Rarity their thanks.
Everyone laughed at the sight, soon helping Rarity up as she replied to the trio, "You're welcome. I'm happy you got to have your dreams." The three then let her go, the gems on them shining like stars. The sight made Topaz's words to repeat in Rarity's head, making her gasp as she leaned down as asked, "You three...will you be staying here?"
They each shared a glance, all three shrugging as Twilight asked, "Rarity? Why are you asking them that?"
Rarity looked back at her with a small frown, "Looking at them reminded me of what Topaz said. You saw how angry she was." Rarity went back to the Pokémon, pulling out her bag as she took three Pokeballs out, "Listen, do you three...want to come with me?"
The three Pokémon all gasped at this, now seeing the three spheres being put on the ground as Rarity continued, "I'm asking because...well, I believe you shouldn't have to hide yourselves away in this forest, not with how beautiful you've become." She looked away while sighing, "To be honest, I'm still not sure what I want to do with my life..." she glanced back as a small smile began to form on her face. "But I do know I'd love to have you there with me when I finally figure it out."
She turned to Herbarald, "We're going to a place called the Everfree Forest. It's supposed to be a mysterious place that'll probably have lots of strange plants." She then glanced at Pyruby, "And I could sure use a strong Pokémon like you to protect me when I'm in trouble." Pyruby giggled at this as Rarity now went to Aquapphire. "And I promise whenever I come across a body of water, you can play in it for as long as you want."
Aquapphire gasped at this, new tears forming before turning to her sisters. The three all seemed to have a mental conversation before turning back to Rarity.
"So...what do you say?" The three didn't say anything, instead stepping over and each reaching out to tap the balls. Rarity gasped at the quick motion, putting her hands over her mouth at their instant decision. Before she could say anything, the balls slapped shut, dinging a split second later.
That sound made a huge smile appear on Rarity's face before she held the three balls into the air, "Oh my goodness...I just caught a Herbarald, Pyruby and Aquapphire!" She put the Pokeballs to her face as she let out a squee, "Oh...I can't believe I caught three beautiful Pokémon just like that! Not only that, they're a perfect fit for me!" The others all chuckled at her excitement, Rarity quickly shutting up as a huge blush appeared on her face. She then let out a 'ahem' before doing a small cough, "Sorry about that. That was...out of character for me."
"Eh, its fine." Applejack told her, "Ya'll shouldn't be embarrassed."
"Yeah! You deserve them!" Spike added, Twilight nodding in agreement.
"Agreed. It's not every day you see someone catch three Pokémon at once," Doc commented.
Rarity did a small nod before looking down at the Pokeballs. "Thank you all. I promise, I'll look after you three no matter what."
Rarity might not have a clear idea of her future, but as long as she got to make new amazing friends like the three evolved Diamalem, then she was happy and content. Now, with Applewood City getting closer by the day, one can only wonder what adventures await our heroes next.
You'll have to stay tuned to find out