The quest to defeat Spiritomb continues.
With Spiritomb lurking around Canterlot, avoiding Darkrai with every opportunity it can find along with the Shrine Maidens having the solution to this problem, the clock is ticking as Spiritomb slowly builds its way up to 108 spirits and possibly even beyond that. Their hope lies within Fairy-Type magic and Ash's Aura.
"Where are you...?" Darkrai was on the hunt for Spiritomb who was proving to be fairly elusive, even to a Pokemon such as Darkrai himself. Each time it felt like he was nearing Spiritomb, the Forbidden Pokemon had managed to get away by using a heavy amount of Smokescreens. Darkrai followed the traces of Smokescreen, but yet, Spiritomb evaded him still.
"Hiya, Darkrai!" A pony waved at Darkrai, seeing his phase through their home. But Darkrai was too focused on finding Spiritomb to even notice.
"Afternoon, Darkrai." Fleur de Lis greeted him, but yet again, Darkrai's concentration was too intense.
Everypony watched as they saw the Pitch Black Pokemon moving around Canterlot in order to find Spiritomb. They also witnessed odd smokescreens popping up, unaware that it was the move Smokescreen.
In the classroom where the students learn about Pokemon, Hollow and his Mimikyu stayed with the foals in case Spiritomb decided to come after them as well. His Mimikyu had one powerful Dazzling Gleam waiting for Spiritomb if it ever spotted the Forbidden Pokemon.
In Celestia's throne room, her Arcanine kept his guard up, prepared to protect his trainer along with Passion. While she didn't have any Fairy-Type moves on her yet, she was prepared to do whatever it takes to defend Celestia.
On the other side of the spectrum, the Shrine Maidens, joined by the remaining members of the Mane 7 along with Mayor Mare were tracking down Spiritomb thanks to maidens being able to see shadow trails. They found out that Spiritomb's trails led straight to Canterlot.
They had taken a train to Canterlot, making it much more efficient that just walking there. They couldn't afford to lose any more time. They fear that Spiritomb might be near 108 spirits already.
"Here we are. Canterlot. Are you sure that the shadow trails lead here?" Rarity asked as they all finally arrived at their destination.
"Positive. Spiritomb's shadow is too immense to ignore." The maiden nodded. "However, there's a second shadow trail somewhere here that is greater than Spiritomb. Why is that?"
"That's probably Darkrai! Don't worry about it. He's a real chum." Pinkie Pie explained.
"Enough with the chit-chat. Let's hurry and save everypony else!" Applejack was already ahead of them all. They were completely unaware of the pursuit that Darkrai was on for Spiritomb.
Very soon, the Forbidden Pokemon would eventually have to come across both opposing sides in an attempt to seal it back in the keystone.
"Have you found it yet, Darkrai?!" Luna flew to her partner.
"Not yet. It's managing to evade me with ease at the moment. But it can't keep this up, that's for sure."
"We'll need assistance to catch Spiritomb. The guards are having a difficult time spotting it..." Luna shifted her eyes, thinking of a way to make this easier. That's when she spotted Applejack and the others approaching Canterlot, alongside the maidens and the Pokemon. "Or maybe our assistance is already here!" Her frown transformed into a smile, prompting the moon princess to teleport directly to the spot where Applejack and the group stood.
Once there, her sudden teleportation had startled the ponies, causing the maidens to almost attack since they were on high alert at the moment.
"Princess Luna!" Fluttershy exclaimed.
"You're all here! I trust that you have arrived to help with the Spiritomb situation?" Luna asked.
"Right. That thing absorbed most of Ponyville's spirits. It's just us and few others left now." Applejack explained.
"So it didn't stop at the Crystal Empire or Canterlot..." Luna said quietly. "I see that Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle are not present with you. Did the Spiritomb take them as well?!"
"Twilight's gone to find Ash. Apparently, his Aura can separate the spirits from Spiritomb, along with Fairy magic. As for Rainbow Dash, she was unfortunately taken by Spiritomb as well." Rarity gave Luna her answer.
"So...there really is a way to separate the spirits. Then quickly! Spiritomb is loose somewhere in Canterlot! Even Darkrai is struggling to find it."
"Darkrai won't need to try and find Spiritomb." The Shrine Maiden spoke as her and the other maidens shifted their eyes east. "We see it..."
"You...see it?" Luna raised an eyebrow.
"Clear as day." A maiden took her bow out, aiming it at the spot that she and the others sensed Spiritomb. They could see Spiritomb leaving shadow trails, rapidly zooming across Canterlot. But it wasn't anything the maidens couldn't handle since they were trained for this. She fired the arrow filled with Fairy magic as it zoomed towards Spiritomb's location.
The arrow broke through the wind itself, causing strong gusts to kick up from the force it exhibited. And just like that, the Fairy arrow connected with Spiritomb's shadow, stabbing it.
"SPIRIT!" The Forbidden Pokemon let out a horrifying yell, feeling the mystical magic arrow pierce through its own shadow, forcing the Dark-Ghost-Type to emerge, coming out of hiding finally.
"There it is!" Fluttershy exclaimed.
"Tomb!" Spiritomb let out an echoing roar at the group, turning all of its frustration and anger towards them. It was both terrified and annoyed that the maidens had managed to find it.
It noticed that one of the maidens was holding the keystone, only further increasing Spiritomb's fears. But this time, Spiritomb was determined to make sure it would never be sealed away again. So what the best solution to this. Destroy and absorb at the same time.
"Spiritomb! Release the spirits you've stolen and return yourself to the keystone! That way it'll be less of a struggle." A maiden commanded.
"Tomb! Spirit!" Obviously, Spiritomb wasn't going to listen to a word they said.
"No surprise that it would try and resist. Then in that case...we'll restrain it by force." A maiden held up a fan embedded with Fairy aura as the other maidens did the same.
"So, Fairy-Types work best against it? Then out you come, Florges!" Luna sent out her strongest Fairy-Type. That being Florges.
"Flor!"
"Ooh, look at that!" The little ponies inside the classroom squished their faces on the window, spectating over the scenario that took place on the streets of Canterlot.
Many other ponies who stayed indoors to avoid Spiritomb were also spectating, hoping for the better outcome in this situation. Their spirits were on the line after all.
"Give our friends back! Treecko! Dragon Breath!" Applejack commanded, instantly targeting all her anger towards the Forbidden Pokemon.
"Treecko!" Treecko held his breath in, building up latent draconic energy from within. With a mighty exhale, the Wood Gecko Pokemon had let out a light blue beam surrounded with dragon flames as it raced towards the opposing Pokemon.
Spiritomb had used its wisp-like body to avoid the breath as the attack instead blew off the roof of somepony's home, causing them to jump in shock. Spiritomb had sent a Shadow Ball towards Treecko's direction as a response to the attack.
"Cko!" Treecko had been hit, feeling the black blob of shadows knocking him back to Applejack as his trainer caught him.
"Ah! Treecko!" Applejack held her partner in her hooves as she saw that he fainted from that single Shadow Ball.
"Florges! Moonblast!" Luna exclaimed. "And Darkrai! Use Ice Beam!"
"Flor..." The Garden Pokemon had borrowed the power of the moon itself, forming the energy in her hands. "Ges!" An orb of pink energy had been shot towards Spiritomb, hitting its shadow.
As a follow-up, a beam of cold ice had frozen Spiritomb in place since it didn't have much time to recover from Moonblast. And Ice Beam was just generally a fast move anyways.
Rainbow Dash's Altaria had joined in since she was her trainer after all. The move she went for was none other than Disarming Voice, sending a spiral of pink sound waves that gaped from its beak. Pinkie Pie had commanded three of her Slurpuff's to use Fairy Wind, kicking up a pink storm as tiny little pink stardust flew alongside the soundwave.
Spiritomb, realizing that multiple Fairy moves were headed its way, whilst it was frozen, decided to improvise. By using Frustration, it broke out of the ice out of pure force alone.
The Forbidden Pokemon had contorted and twisted its wisp-like body, causing it to avoid the Fairy moves that were thrown its way. "Tomb!" Spiritomb having avoided the moves, sent out black tendrils in the form of Lash Out, forcing Altaria, Florges and the Slurpuff's to be pushed back a small bit.
"Right where we want you!" A maiden had blown her fan, sending a gust of pink wind towards Spiritomb, essentially having her own version of Fairy Wind packed within a simple fan.
Spiritomb had been pelted with the sparkles coming from the wind, causing it to echo out in a resounding cry. As if that wasn't enough, the other maidens had used their weapons as well, shooting more Fairy covered arrows towards its shadow and body, forcing the arrows to stick onto its eerie wisp-like form.
The Forbidden Pokemon was completely stuck in place due to how many arrows were pinning its shadow down to the ground, causing it to be immobile.
"Excellent! Now! Let's finish this!" A maiden held out the keystone that was surrounded by Fairy magic, ready to put an end to this situation once and for all.
But not Spiritomb. Its 108 spirit count had yet to be reached. As such, it will not submit until it is satisfied. To break free from the Fairy arrows, the Forbidden Pokemon had used Will-O-Wisp to free itself, causing a haunted blue flame to burn away the arrows.
"Spiritomb!" Once it freed itself, it quickly let out a Frustration, forcing the ponies and Pokemon to back away from it a good few distances. And thanks to Frustration being linked to anger, it left them all a bit stunned afterwards. "Tomb!" With much more frustration packed with its vengeful body, it unleashed Lash Out, sending multiple black tendrils that flew into the air.
These black tendrils rained down from above, bombarding Canterlot as they were powerful enough to break off bits of ponies' homes and structures.
"Leavanny! X Scissor!" Rarity commanded her Leavanny to attack as the Leaf Wrapped Pokemon crossed both its leaf bladed arms together, bolting towards the Forbidden Pokemon.
"Spirit!" Spiritomb being the stubborn and vile Pokemon that it was had shot a Shadow Ball towards Leavanny, easily overpowering its X Scissor.
The black tendrils continued to rain down with some almost making direct contact with the group, leaving behind smoking hot craters once they hit the ground. Darkrai had sent all the tendrils into the nightmare real with Dark Void, protecting the others from any more harm.
"There is no chance that it can avoid multiple Fairy moves at once!" Luna exclaimed. She, Pinkie Pie and Starlight had each unleashed three mighty Fairy moves at the same time along with Altaria and her Disarming Voice. The maidens chimed in by using the fan and the arrows along with what seemed to be a spear covered with Fairy magic.
Hatterene had used Dazzling Gleam, extending her claw, sending out rainbow coloured rays that shot forward. The rays of rainbows had merged with the Moonblast, Disarming Voice, weapons and Fairy Wind, creating a unison of Fairy magic powerful enough to even surprise the mightiest of Pokemon.
From the looks of it, the unified Fairy attack had connected, striking Spiritomb as a huge smoke cloud with pink stardust emerged from the impact, causing both a destructive and beautiful sight to behold.
"Did you get it?!" Fluttershy leaned forward, widening her eyes. Everypony watching from the inside had leaned forward as well, hoping that it was finally over.
But it wasn't.
Spiritomb had used Protect. A green and purple barrier surrounded its also green and purple covered body, shielding it from taking any damage whatsoever.
"You're kidding?!" Applejack gasped.
"URGH! Why is Protect so convenient!?" Pinkie Pie pulled her mane.
"Tomb!" Spiritomb let out its hollowed cries once more, laughing at the ponies and maidens due to their struggle to defeat it.
"It's mocking us..." Darkrai hovered down next to Luna.
"Spiritomb has improved greatly from the last time it was sealed. It is far more cunning this time." A maiden said.
"Spiritomb!" Spiritomb looked over those that would dare oppose it, planning on a way to defeat every last one of them and take their spirits as well. Then it hit the Forbidden Pokemon. Since it's a part Ghost-Type, it can do the one thing that every Ghost-Type Pokemon is capable of doing.
Shadow Possession.
"Tomb!" By using Smokescreen, Spiritomb had thrown everypony's vision off causing, the Forbidden Pokemon to hide without worry.
"Where'd it go?! Try sniffing it out Slurpuff!" Pinkie commanded her Slurpuffs to try and sniff out Spiritomb since their smell was so excellent. However, Spiritomb doesn't have a smell. Its scent is non-existent.
Spiritomb hid itself in Pinkie Pie's shadow causing it to become apart of that single shadow. Like every Ghost Pokemon, Spiritomb has the power to do so. Not only that but if it wanted to, it could possess their bodies at any point in time. But it wasn't looking for body possession. It just wanted spirits.
"Audino!" Audino could hear Spiritomb moving in the shadows, wondering where it could've gone. Unfortunately, her wonderful hearing isn't really effective when it comes to situations such as shadow possession. If only she had advanced eyesight as well.
Once it hid in the pink pony's shadow, she could feel herself being affected by the Forbidden Pokemon's presence. This shadow hiding technique was very useful for Spiritomb since it would allow it to absorb a spirit in secret. The only reason why it never uses this technique that much is mostly due to the fact that it only works on one individual whereas its usual dark spiral works on multiple.
Pinkie's body had been dragged into the body Spiritomb along with her spirit. She let out a horrifying scream as it grabbed the attention of the others. They still couldn't see through this smokescreen, but what they could see was Pinkie Pie easily falling into Spiritomb as it had now added an extra spirit to its count, slowly reaching its full power.
"Pinkie Pie!" Applejack gasped.
"TOMB!" Spiritomb had sent out a powered up Lash Out, striking every single one of them. As its spirit count grew, its attack grew more aggressive, increasing in strength and size as well. Even a Pokemon such as Darkrai felt a bit overwhelmed.
"Let's see you escape from this!" A maiden held up a Fairy covered spear, swinging it towards Spiritomb's body.
The Forbidden Pokemon in all its mischief, contorted its body once more, avoiding the swings from the spear. However, the fairy dust from the spear sprinkled onto its body each time the spear was swung, causing Spiritomb to move back.
"We'll do this with other moves other than Fairy-Type moves! Stoutland! Fire Fang!" Mayor Mare commanded.
"Land!" The Big-Hearted Pokemon lunged up, covering its fangs in blazing flames. The Normal-Type had sunk its scorching teeth into Spiritomb's body, causing an explosion of flames to erupt afterwards.
"Hold it there, Stoutland!"
"Stout!" Stoutland kept his teeth inside Spiritomb's body, making sure that he wouldn't let go of the Forbidden Pokemon at all.
"Now's your chance to seal it away!" Mayor Mare turned to everypony else whilst Stoutland kept Spiritomb still.
"Right!" The maiden who held the fairy covered keystone tossed it directly at Spiritomb with all her might.
The keystone began spinning about, passing Stoutland, but hitting Spiritomb's eerie body. Once it made direct contact, the inevitable happened. Spiritomb had felt its entire body being pulled inside of the keystone. Purple chaotic lights shot out of its body and the keystone, blowing Stoutland back as a horrifying scream came from Spiritomb's body.
The Forbidden Pokemon had finally become one with the keystone it was bound to for so long ago. Its powers had been restrained once more.
"Tomb?!"
"Yes! It's finally restrained!" The maiden exclaimed, proud of her excellent throw.
"Now all we have to do is knock it out! With its power restrained, it shouldn't be able to withstand another Fairy-Type move!" Another maiden spoke.
"Spirit...Spiritomb!" And despite this. Despite its power being restrained due to the keystone, Spiritomb just wouldn't give up. In order to save itself, the Forbidden Pokemon used the one move that would throw everyone off guard.
This one move, in particular, was so powerful, that even if you hit the Pokemon, it wouldn't stop the move from going off. But as a drawback, this move would normally take out a Pokemon, causing it to become unconscious or even a forgotten memory. However, Spiritomb knew of a way to work around this and had enough spirits to withstand the explosion.
This move was Explosion.
Possibly the strongest Normal-Type move there is. Even a Steel-Type Pokemon would fall weak to its overwhelming might.
The Forbidden Pokemon's body suddenly started to glow, preparing to take everypony out in one go. The maidens had all stepped back, realizing what move this was. Even if they were to use their Fairy weapons, that wouldn't stop the Explosion from going off. It always goes off, no matter what.
"That's Explosion!" A maiden gasped as she and the others ran away in fear.
Darkrai had shielded the ponies by covering them all with its Pitch Black body whilst Luna placed a barrier around them for protection.
Hollow looked outside, recognizing Explosion instantly. He gasped, shielded the little foals as he prepared for the absolute worst.
All of a sudden, a violent dome-shaped explosion occurred, spreading across this one single area as a booming sound echoed throughout Canterlot, shattering even the windows themselves whilst also blowing the clouds back.
The force of the Explosion had almost ripped the buildings of Canterlot off the ground itself, scaring off any nearby Pokemon that may be living near Canterlot, mostly near a wildlife area. High up in the skies, the Flying-Type Pokemon flew away, retreating in fear.
The Pokemon on the ground level, unfortunately, had been hit. The barrier that Luna put up wasn't enough to fully protect them, as a result, Luna and the Pokemon had been hit by the devastating Normal-Type move. Darkrai was the only one who managed to fully withstand as he kept the ponies safe. The maidens, while they weren't hit by the explosion, had been blown back by the sheer force of it.
The only good thing to come out of this was the fact that since Spiritomb had its power restrained, Explosion wasn't as powerful as it could've been when it was free from the keystone. Meaning that the buildings around them were only slightly affected by Explosion.
Celestia held her two Pokemon close to each other as they both felt the magnitude of the explosion going off.
The aftermath had come. What was left was a gigantic crater that sat in the middle of Canterlot. The dust had settled with absolute silence. All of the Pokemon besides Darkrai had fainted along with Luna who was barely conscious at the moment.
"I-It took itself out...?" A maiden groaned as she was on the ground due to the force of Explosion reaching her and the others.
They believed that Spiritomb had decided to take itself out with Explosion, but the truth was shocking to them all.
Spiritomb had used its Ghost-Typing to its advantage. When it activated Explosion, it had made itself intangible, causing it to phase right through the destructive Normal-Type move, surprising everypony.
"Tomb!" Spiritomb cackled. It had outplayed them all. This Pokemon was punished long ago in the past for a good reason. It was so cunning and sly that it could perform tricks that would leave even an Alakazam befuddled.
But oh...it got worse. The Explosion wasn't just meant to deal stupid amounts of damage to them all. It also had enough power to shatter the keystone that kept Spiritomb restrained.
Just like that, the keystone that had been made specifically to hold back a Pokemon as dangerous as Spiritomb had been freed from its seal. Possibly forever.
"No...The seal!" A maiden gasped.
"Spiritomb!" Now that the Forbidden Pokemon was free forever, it was time to go crazy and absorb the remaining spirits and also cause chaos across the world.
"It's not over yet..." Darkrai, who was badly injured from Explosion looked up at Spiritomb who's body size grew, casting a shadow over Canterlot.
"Stoutland! You have to get up!" Mayor Mare ran over to her Stoutland who had fainted from the attack. Every other Pokemon were unable to battle, leaving only Darkrai as their saving grace. Is what they thought until Spiritomb was giving the knowledge of another magic threat.
One in the form of Equestria's benevolent ruler.
Princess Celestia.
A Flamethrower from her Arcanine struck Spiritomb's back, forcing the Forbidden Pokemon to turn around. It saw the Princess of the Sun standing there with Arcanine and Passion by her side. And judging by how narrowed her eyes were along with her intimidating demeanour and how Arcanine was growling, she was not happy in the slightest.
"Darkrai," Celestia spoke to the Pitch Black Pokemon. Take Luna and everypony to safety. Now."
"R-Right." Darkrai nodded. He was rightfully intimidated by Celestia since she wasn't here to waste any time. The Pitch Black Pokemon had picked up Luna and Altaria, carrying them to safety as everypony else made a run for it. It was all Celestia this time.
"Spiritomb..." Spiritomb loomed over Celestia, cackling at the Sun Princess.
"I may not have a Fairy-Type move on Passion to deal super-effective damage. But that won't stop me from defeating you!"
"Tomb!" Spiritomb admired Celestia's confident attitude, sending black tendrils in the form of Lash Out towards her and the Pokemon.
"Passion! Jump above and use Thunderbolt! Arcanine! Dodge with Extreme Speed!" Celestia commanded as she shielded herself with a magical shield.
The Emotion Pokemon and Legendary Pokemon nodded in understanding, splitting up in different directions. Passion had used her light body to jump up high, appearing above the Forbidden Pokemon whilst holding a Thunderbolt in her tiny little hands.
Arcanine had used a move quicker than even Quick Attack. He left behind a white trail with afterimages coming out as he effortlessly dodged the black tendrils. A bolt of thunder shot down on Spiritomb via Passion, shocking the Forbidden Pokemon.
"Don't let it rest for a second! Flamethrower and keep on using Thunderbolt!"
"Kirlia!" Passion had shocked Spiritomb once more, unloading 100,000 volts on the stealer of spirits. The force of the Thunderbolt was enough to send Spiritomb down to the ground, causing it to minimize, returning to its normal size.
"Canine!" Arcanine had mixed both Extreme Speed and Flamethrower together, appearing next to Spiritomb at blinding speeds whilst breathing a blazing hot flame on the Forbidden Pokemon's body.
"Tomb!" Spiritomb felt two different heat sources pour onto it. The heat of flames and the heat of lightning itself which was hotter than the sun. Out of desperation, Spiritomb blew them all back by using Frustration to gain a safe distance. It worked for a moment, but as Celestia said, she wouldn't let it rest for a second.
Passion had combined both Thunderbolt and Mystical Fire together, creating its usual plasma with its hands. Obviously, she still wasn't too capable of controlling such overwhelming power, but that overwhelming power was perfect for dealing stupid amounts of damage.
The Emotion Pokemon fired a beam of plasma forward, engulfing Spiritomb whilst ripping through the already destroyed ground.
Spiritomb's wisp-like body had launched a fairly far distance, causing the Forbidden Pokemon to hit a wall.
But, thanks to it being free from its keystone, Spiritomb could take as much punishment as possible, making it a difficult Pokemon to take down.
The Forbidden Pokemon stared Celestia and her Pokemon down as the atmosphere intensified. Spiritomb realized that in truth, Celestia was the biggest threat here at the moment. Everypony else paled in comparison. So if it could defeat her, then nothing would stand in its way.
However, shifting away from the scenario in Canterlot, Twilight's search for Ash had proved to be successful. She found him and Goh hanging about in Vermillion Harbor as they just had a small run-in with a certain Electric-Type Pokemon. That was a story on its own that occurred. Twilight gave them the run-down on what has happened so far.
"So that's what happened, huh...?" Ash spoke.
"Pikachu..."
"That's right. We couldn't do much against it. It was so crafty and unpredictable." Twilight sighed. "But then again, it's a Ghost-Type so I should've seen it coming.
"W-What's a Spiritomb?" Goh asked.
"Don't worry about it, for now, Goh. You said they were headed to Canterlot to stop it?"
"Right. And I don't know if they made it in time before Spiritomb reached 108 spirits! Ash! You know how to deal with Spiritomb using Aura right?!"
"Hm...I don't know anything about separating with Aura...but Pikachu and I defeated a Spiritomb and sealed it away in a tower. So I can help you out with that. You said that it would either be sealed away in a shrine or an ancient tree?"
"Mhm." Twilight nodded.
"Alright then. We'll make a stop to Canterlot and free our friends from Spiritomb!" Ash exclaimed.
"Pikachu!"
"Great! Let's just hope we're not too late. Everypony, please be alright." Twilight said as she worried for her friends and their current condition.
Spiritomb is now a free Pokemon. With it managing to overwhelm the group and causing the Pokemon to faint, it is proving to be a foe that is difficult to handle. With Celestia doing her best to fight back against the Forbidden Pokemon, Ash, Goh and Twilight are now making their way towards Canterlot to save their friends as the journey continues!
Chapter 209 End!