Kalos. Near Anistar City. A Balance of Day and Night.
The Black Crusade raged on. However, plans to prepare for it had been made in advance as seen by the struggle near Anistar City. Thanks to Olympia, Anistar City was currently safe, especially for those who lived there. She foresaw this happening after all and had enough time to prepare. But even with this foresight, the Dread League were still menacingly troublesome. Flashes of light and darkness went off on the outskirts of the city, leaving in intact as the conflict against the vampires in this area raged on. Leading this charge was the fearsome and cruel Opal Vivacity.
A Shadow Cage from Opal Vivacity and the Vampires had been made, trapping Olympia, Luna and the others in it for the time being while also using the shadows as weapons. And all of this was done without the Pony of Shadows being present. Darkrai flew back after deflecting an attack from the Dread League while also protecting Olympia's students from fierce attacks. The Pony of Shadows wasn't the only one who had the shadows at his control. However, the Shadow Cage was starting to weaken, having wider gaps that made it less of a cage and more of an obstacle.
"Are you alright, Darkrai?!" Luna asked after seeing Darkai barely reflect that powerful Shadow Strike.
"I'm fine," Darkrai replied, shaking his arm. Shadow steam flew out of it, showing how powerful that previous hit was. He narrowed his eyes, focusing specifically on Opal Vivacity. That massive mane of hers was certainly a hassle, helping her evade crucial hits.
"We've done well to keep them this occupied. But it doesn't seem to be getting us anywhere." Olympia commented. "They don't seem to be getting tired either."
"What now, Miss Olympia? Our Light Screen plan didn't pan out like we wanted it to." One of her Psychic students asked.
"All that matters is that we get rid of that annoying mane," Luna suggested, going for what truly mattered. As long as Opal's Fate Changing Mane was around, it was night impossible to stop her advances.
"I don't have time for this...I need to bring out Xerneas!" Opal would rather be all said and done with this. She was desperately trying to destroy Anistar City's residents and all those who were near or far, just to force the Legendary Pokemon Xerneas out. The loss of life in such a cruel way was seemingly the only way to do so. However, Luna, Olympia and everyone's efforts were keeping her from pulling it off, even with the Shadow Cage around them.
"Maybe we should call for the Pony of Shadows, Miss Opal." A vampire suggested, seeking assistance from the Pony of Shadows. A majority of them were in agreement to call upon him since they were having quite the trouble with this group.
"Maybe...But I have something better in mind." Opal's cruel eyes glistened for a moment. "This will surely work. It's the only way to get these annoyances out of the way. But don't start complaining when I pull it off."
"What?" The other vampires collectively said, unsure of what Opal was referring to. Opal's smile wasn't easy to read. It was vicious but the intention behind it was mysterious when it comes to this unknown plan.
"I haven't exactly given up on Light Screen. We had time to prepare for it previously but in this case, we'll have to make do with the light screens we can make." Olympia stuck to the Light Screen approach. It worked wonders and the only reason why it didn't fully pan out was thanks to Opal's mane. But if that massive mane is out of the way, then the Light Screens, especially at a close distance could seal the deal at last.
"Leave that to us," Luna replied before stepping forward, startling the vampires for a moment. "Aurorus! Earthquake!"
"Auro!" Aurorus would make the first move. By slamming her legs into the ground, she would manipulate the earth and summon tremors. These tremors would appear as golden shockwaves, rapidly zooming across the earth and further weakening this cage, leaving more of it open. Easily, the vampires would simply take flight, avoiding the golden shockwaves. However, Luna expected this, leaving the next attack to the Psychic-Type students, who got Luna's message via eye contact.
"Bronzong! Use Gravity!"
"You too, Starmie!"
"You as well, Porygon!"
"Bronzong!" In unison, these three Psychic-Types would collectively use Gravity right as the vampires ascended. Multiple black circles of energy come out of their bodies, taking to the sky. They would instantly bypass the Dread League, only to hover above them, forming into something larger. Opal and the others gasped, raising their heads to see these black circles form a field. And that field would instantly hit them with gravity. Heavy amounts of it since the move was used by multiple Pokemon.
They attempted to retain their airtime but the gravity said other side, forcing them back down to the ground where another Pokemon move was waiting for them. This time from the combined efforts of Luna and Olympia.
"Aurorus, use Ice Beam! Manectric, Dicharge!"
"Meowstic! Light Screen and Thunder Wave!"
"Meow!" In unison, the two Meowstic would flip over Manectric, who was building up plenty of electricity within his body. That electricity would fly out in a frenzy, missing the two Psychic-Types completely. With their bodies elegantly moving through the lightning, they would use two moves in succession with Manectric's Discharge.
Meowstic tossed a wave of thunder that merged with Manectric's Discharge, adding power to the attack while also giving it a higher chance to paralyze. And that was exactly the approach here. Opal's eyes widened as she tried reaching for her mane, only for the gravity to weigh down her hoof as well.
Her only option was to use her Dark Magic and this time, it emerged from her mouth. Opal would suddenly breathe out a wave of darkness, attempting to repel the lightning that flew her way. The other vampires did the same, breathing out the destructive magic together and showing off what more they were capable of.
The magic met with the lightning, holding it back while the vampires were still descending. A spark of energy flared in the air once the two sides clashed. However, it would not last forever once Darkrai got involved. The Pitch Black Pokemon ascended, staying away from the field of gravity and preparing a Dark Void.
In his claws, he formed a powerful void of darkness which was then thrown out with Dakrai's full strength. It then multiplied, appearing as various orbs of darkness. Unable to stop this due to their current situation, Opal and the rest of the Dread League would find themselves being struck by Darkrai's Dark Void.
One by one, they were all consumed by Darkrai's Darkness, which swallowed them whole, putting an end to their attacks instantly. This then allowed the Gravity to finally bring them back to the earth without any resistance. But before that, the Male Meowstic had used Light Screen, throwing it out along with other Pokemon from the Psychic Students.
A collection of Light Screens were thrown out, landing on the floor for each of the vampires to drop on. With their bodies, asleep they would crash into the light screen floors, hitting the ground fairly hard even with the screen there to protect their fall. It felt like crashing into unbreakable glass even if they couldn't feel it.
"Alright! That worked like a charm!" A student cheered. From what was just done, it looked like they sealed the deal. The vampires were asleep and paralyzed at the same time now the electricity managed to reach their bodies. On top of that, they were lying on the Light Screens which took advantage of their greatest weakness.
"I believe we might have done it!" Luna also thought the same. Many of them were about to start celebrating for making such a successful assault. Granted, it wasn't over since that troublesome mane was still active. And even with the Light Screen on Opal's body, the mane wasn't burning up as fast as they expected.
"Now to just cut that mane off." Darkrai was ready to truly put an end to it. The Fate-Changing Mane had to go. WIth his claws out, he was prepared to use Poison Jab, approaching the downed Opal Vivacity.
"...Wait!" However, while everyone else believed this to be the end, Olympia saw something else. Her foresight kicked on as she had a different reaction to this. A reaction that made her gasp. "It's not over!"
Just as Darkrai was ready to slash at Opal's mane, he was met with a shocking retaliation. Opal, with her vampiric strength, blocked Darkrai's Poison Jab. The cheers from the students came to an instant halt once this was done. They couldn't believe their eyes. Opal was moving.
She was fully awake. The smiles faded away once Opal woke up as her underside was starting to burn up thanks to the light. But that didn't seem to slow her down as an enraged looked appeared on her face. She would then used her strength to grab Darkrai's claws, keeping him here.
"T-That's not possible! She's awake?! How?!" A flabbergasted Luna said as Darkrai tried pulling back from Opal's grip.
"I used the Parasite Demon on a lot of Pokemon...And Insomnia is one of the abilities I picked up!" Opal revealed why this was the case. Among the many abilities she managed to steal, Insomnia was one of them. "I expected to run into Darkrai a few times! He's too notable not to encounter eventually, so I had this planned ever since our previous encounter! How's that?!"
Just then, Opal would breathe Dark Magic out of her mouth, blasting Darkrai with it. The Pitch Black Pokemon went flying as the blast had a weightful impact behind it. Darkrai was bewildered by the attack, going far enough to crash into some Aurorus and other Pokemon.
"So she's immune to something like Dark Void?! That can't be!" A student bellowed out in disbelief.
"I wish I got a few more abilities when I had the chance...but the Box will be ours once more, so I'm not too worried." Opal then stood back up despite having so much light around her body. Her stomach and hooves were burning up, making her groan in pain. However, that was when things quickly took a turn, shifting in her favour.
Shadows appeared underneath her hooves, covering the light from Light Screen. These shadows protected Opal Vivacity, staving the pain away from her. She still had smoke coming out of her body since she was incredibly close to it. But it wasn't as bad as the other vampires who had been downed.
Or at least, they were down for a while. The same shadows rose out of their bodies, covering the Light Screen shields that they landed on as they would suddenly stand up. Luna and the others couldn't believe their eyes. The vampires got back up thanks, ignoring Darkrai's Dark Void.
"And with the Pony of Shadows on our side, they don't have to worry about falling asleep." Opal grimaced as this was the result of the Pony of Shadows getting involved. "Or even having all this light be a massive hindrance to us. It is still annoying though."
"All that work..." Luna grizzled her teeth, annoyed that their efforts were nullified by these two inconveniences. "It's not over yet though! We can still try this again! This time, without any returns!"
"Our previous assault didn't work at all when trying to keep them down," Olympia added. "But...it seems that the light has greatly harmed them." Despite this sudden awakening, Olympia saw how the vampires were injured badly. They still took the damage and were exposed to the light from underneath.
The vampires, aside from Opal Vivacity, could be seen twitching, trying to ignore the smoke coming out of their bodies. It was only because Opal had better durability than them that she appeared to be in a better state. Their attack did matter in a way but it wasn't over yet.
"Then, let's hit them before they can make a turnaround! Go for it, Darkrai! Poison Jab! Manectric, Wild Charge! Aurorus, use Aurora Beam!" Luna would try and strike while the iron was hot. So would everyone else. They couldn't let the vampires try anything else.
"Meowstic! Psyshock!" Together, the Pokemon would go for one more strike. Ranged attacks from the Psychic-Types were thrown out as well as a beam that was as beautiful as the Aurora. Darkrai and Manectric led the charge, going in for an up-close strike.
It was a swift attack, not allowing the vampires to think of their next move. If they wanted to act, they would have to come up with something on the spot. But judging by the looks on their faces, they didn't have anything at all. Except for Opal Vivacity. The plan she brewed up earlier was still up for grabs. And now was the time for her to use it. Most likely, it involved her Fate Changing Mane.
However, there was another part to it that neither Dread League nor even Luna's group expected. All of a sudden, right as Darkrai and Manectric got close, Opal Vivacity would suddenly push a few of the vampires forward with her hooves, sending them in front of everyone else.
An absolute shock for these vampires and even Darkrai and Manectric who saw it for themselves. At the same time, Opal already had her mane in her hair, throwing it at one vampire's back the moment she shoved her. In the little time that they had, the vampires tried looking back at Opal, trying to process why she suddenly did that. But it was too late to finish doing so as the light from the mane went off, enveloping the vampires as well as Darkrai and Manectric.
Luna and everyone closed their eyes as the light reached them too. It was a massive chunk of Opal's mane so the fate was definitely something crucial that Opal would have to use so much of it. While it was shocking how Opal used her fellow vampires as a way to intercept the attacks, what happened next was worse.
Once the light faded and fate had been changed, Luna's eyes slowly opened to see this outcome for herself. What could have possibly happened? One of the worst possible outcomes. The eyes of the Moon Princess widened as her pupils dilated, shrinking after what they had just witnessed.
Darkrai had been struck. Gravely struck. A sharp shadow had passed through the Pitch Black Pokemon, going through his chest. On top of that, the other vampires also had the shadows pass through their bodies, receiving the damage as well. Manectric tumbled on the ground, failing to land his Wild Charge as the other attacks from each Pokemon hit their target. But it wasn't just the vampires. Darkrai took the hit too.
"DARKRAI!" A bloodcurdling shout came from Luna's mouth. She saw Darkrai take an absolutely horrific sight that left her stunned. Olympia and everyone else were taken aback by this as well but Opal had a different reaction. She kept that devious grin on her face, cackling at this.
"Miss...Opal?" The vampires looked back, calling out Opal's name as they were in disbelief. Opal used them as shields to save herself but to also change fate to where Darkrai took a heavy hit from both sides.
"I told you! Don't start complaining when I pull it off! Now, explode!" Opal commanded, raising her hoof as she made the shadows that went through them all combust. Darkrai and everyone else that had been hit by the shadows found themselves enveloped in a dark explosion. And the worst part was that it happened within them too. Not just on the outside.
Darkai's eyes suddenly darkened as he would drop to the ground once the explosion went off. All the other vampires would drop as well. However, Opal's plan didn't stop there. The rest of it reached the other Pokemon since their attacks were involved. The paralysis she received from them was suddenly around their bodies as well.
The Psychic-Types were paralyzed as Opal sent some of it from the vampires onto the Pokemon. The students watched as their Pokemon felt a strong paralysis go through their bodies, sending out sparks of electricity. And it wasn't just the Pokemon. Very soon, the Trainers took the paralysis too. Opal was certainly going above and beyond for this attack. Olympia was unfortunately paralyzed as well, dropping to her knees.
"Ngh...!" Olympia groaned, struggling to stand up. "She...used her own group as a way to send it on us. And deal a devastating blow to them and Darkrai."
"I'm surprised you haven't been paralyzed either, Luna," Opal smirked. "It must be that protection your parents gave you when you struggled with all of that Gravity. Lucky...But now, it's just you, isn't it? What good are you since your Ace Pokemon is now down and out!"
"You monster!" Luna's rage was unleashed after what Opal Vivacity showed. Her eyes flared up along with her ethereal mane. Lunar Ire was being unleashed as well but Luna still had control over this power. In this instance, she and Lunar Ire shared the same sentiment. Her magical aura would furiously fly out, followed by her taking flight. She would go straight for Opal Vivacity herself, no longer staying back and keeping her distance.
"Now! You can finally show up, Pony of Shadows!" Opal called for the Pony of Shadows. And immediately, right as Luna was approaching, the Pony of Shadows showed himself, bursting out of the grounds themselves. He intercepted Luna's actions, forming a wall of shadows which she crashed into. The shadows would then repel Luna, causing her to tumble away.
Arriving at the scene was the Pony of Shadows, towering over everyone else with his elemental form. His face was the only part of him that was easy to make out. He practically became the sky itself, blending in perfectly with the dark clouds. Luna growled, looking up to see the Pony of Shadows for the first time. This was the being that surrounded the Castle of Two Sisters right after Nightmare Moon had been defeated.
In a way, history was almost repeating itself. Olympia and all those that received that paralysis struggled to move, feeling the volts punish their bodies relentlessly. The Pokemon had never felt paralysis on this level before and the Trainers were certainly having a harder time since they lacked the same durability that their Pokemon possessed.
"This is my opportunity! With my magic and yours, we'll destroy Anistar City and all those around it!" Opal took flight, joining the Pony of Shadows in the air. The other vampires who weren't shoved forward would look at each other for a moment with shocked expressions. But soon, they would join Opal Vivacity in the air, continuing their plan.
The Pony of Shadows was now also controlling the clouds himself. The shadows were used for that as it was hard to tell if they were even influencing the clouds due to how dark everything was. But his magic was definitely there and the added strength of the Dread League would only boost that. Their magic was added to the array of clouds, putting their all into it. After the clouds were filled up, the Pony of Shadows could gather them all up into one massive Shadow Cloud.
"I will see the city be levelled. I only want those in the city for my control." The Pony of Shadows expressed how he merely wanted to control the citizens of Anistar City. He'd much rather keep them alive than destroy them even though he helped make this massive Shadow Storm Cloud.
"If you can even find them. I want to see them all gone! Starting now!" Opal approached the Shadow Storm Cloud, being the one to initiate it with just a hoof tap. Dark Lightning crackled within the clouds as a form of destruction so potent was about to go off, certain to demolish Anistar City and even other areas near or far from it. "So long, Anistar and all those near and far!"
"Princess Luna..." Olympia said to Luna while still on her knees. The force of this cloud was building up, creating a wind pressure that felt like a hurricane was about to appear. "You must leave at once."
"W-What?!" Luna gasped. "I can't leave! Not when this is about to-"
"It's fine. We did our best to keep the city safe. The citizens will be safe. They will make it. I promise." Olympia guaranteed the safety of Anistar City's citizens.
"But what about you?! You'll be destroyed by that!" Luna pointed out.
"We'll try our best to do something about this." Olympia then used her full strength to stand up, twitching uncontrollably thanks to all of this paralysis. But she wouldn't let it keep her down. Her Galaxy Cape blew elegantly once she stood back up. So did all of her students who joined their Teacher. "We've come this far after all. We can still make a difference. And if we can't, you must be the one to warn the other Gym Leaders. Please. It'd be such a waste for you to fall here, princess."
"I...I refuse!" However, Luna would not run. She would stay behind instead. She didn't come out here for nothing as well. The Princess of the Moon stepped up to the plate, standing her ground. She would then use her magic to return Darkrai and all the others to their Poke Balls, making sure they were safe. All except for Florges. Florges was paralyzed but she still had enough energy to continue. "I'll protect this city and all those from perishing. I could never live it down if I left!"
"You all are fools choosing to stay behind! You should've run while you had the chance! Farewell!" Opal taunted them as the attack finally went off. It appeared in the form of a massive Black Beam that shot down right in the centre of Anistar City. It was a direct attack.
Once the centre was hit, it would set of a volatile and fearsome black explosion that spread out, enveloping the buildings in darkness. All items outside would be blown away as buildings shattered in an instant thanks to the approaching darkness and the pressure it gave off. The destruction spread fast as all the vampires would fly away, not wanting to be struck by the attack they caused.
Luna and everyone watched as the city was fully consumed, losing all of its beauty in a matter of seconds this Black Beam which even summoned dark flames. From above, it looked like a ring of darkness had gone off, overlaying Anistar. Darkness was all that could be seen. It was so abundant that the city of Anistar might as well be invisible. But in the state that it would turn out, it was far worse than being invisible.
All those near and far would receive the destruction as well as the darkness was not stopping. Not until it reached a certain distance. Luna grit her teeth in the face of this darkness, ready to retaliate in the best way that she can. So did Olympia and everyone else even with their paralysis.
Luna tapped into Lunar Ire's magic once more while using her natural alicorn magic, facing off against this destructive force once it got close. And in an instant, a flash of magic went off from Luna's horn while the darkness enveloped her and everyone else. They had been consumed too. And right as their bodies were taken by the darkness, a flash of Luna's magic plus a small bit of blue lightning went off for a moment.
The darkness carried on, going further and further, destroying everything in its wake. Nature was not safe from this as the grass died out just by the mere presence of this beam. Opal Vivacity, who managed to escape it by using her mane to reach a far distance, laughed maniacally at the destruction she caused. It was lovely to the eyes. Absolutely euphoric to see. Splendid to her sick and twisted pleasures.
Equestria. Lapras Lake.
Meanwhile, Ash, Applejack, Fluttershy, Roseluck and some Timberwolves were at Lapras Lake, facing off against the Half Lich Half Vampire Dimstar. Everyone else would return to Ponyville before their home could be turned into a new spot for Magehold. All luck was thrown to Ash's side by his many friends from that lovely town as they were counting on him to defeat Dimstar, the one who caused the Dark Tsunami which greatly harmed Ponyville.
Lightning cracked in the sky as the eyes of Ash and Dimstar would narrow when looking at each other. They've battled once before but their battle never concluded. And now that the Black Crusade was in full swing, they had the opportunity to do so.
Pikachus' red sacs flared with electricity, the Timberwolves snarled at an enemy that was more fearsome than them while Audino stood behind her allies, prepared to protect them. Roseluck was readying her hidden thorns, just in case and Ash's jacket blew in the wind once the lightning cracked in the sky.
"Oh, I see them."
"You do?!" Applejack gasped. She believed that Fluttershy couldn't see it at all and needed Aura or those Golden Eyes everyone back at the Sea Temple possess.
"It's the Fairy Magic here." But the answer was Fairy Magic. The eyes she had were equal to Valerie's allowing her to see certain things. And it looked like Dimstar's tentacles were among these many things. "I'll be just fine."
"So what if you can see them? Can you stop them?" Dimstar uttered, making the first move. Her tendrils would suddenly move so fast that they became a blur. But they didn't escape the sights of Ash and Pikachu.
"Quick Attack, let's go!"
"Pika! Pikachu!" Pikachu would move at an equal speed, taking off into the air so fast that he left behind afterimages and a white trail. The Mouse Pokemon and the Body Tendrils would clash, resulting in a surprisingly heavy collision, especially since Quick Attack was involved.
A white flash went off when they both clashed. And inside the light, Pikachu was already striking against the tendrils even if he couldn't see them. He used Iron Tail while in the light that was expanding in the shape of an orb, swinging frantically. Dimstar couldn't see either, only squinting her eyes. But once the light cleared, she capitalized on this. Immediately, Pikachu was hit in the face by a tendril which he couldn't predict at all.
It was a heavy hit too. These tendrils were heavier than they looked, causing Pikachu's body to shake as they indented themselves in his face for a moment."Pi!" Pikachu cried out before receiving another hit, this time ot the chest which made his face puff up. Pikachu's ears were then grabbed by the tendrils, holding him there just to land some free hits. "Pika?!"
"Get out of there, Pikachu! Thunderbolt!"
"Pika...!" Pikachu built up some electricity within his body, only to receive multiple hits to the body from the tendrils while they restrained him. Consecutive strikes from tendrils interrupted Pikachu from doing anything else, laying the smackdown on him with heavy hit after heavy hit. "Pi! Pi!"
"Sceptile! Frenzy Plant!"
"Scep...Tile!" Assisting Pikachu, Sceptile slammed his hands together before vigorously sticking them into the ground, causing giant roots to rise. The roots kicked up plenty of sand, quickly rushing to Pikachu's aid. Right as the next batch of tendrils were about to strike him, the roots from Frenzy Plant wrapped around Dimstar's tendrils, intercepting her next attack.
"Hm?!" Dimstar grunted as she felt the heavy roots touch her tendrils. They were still a part of her body after all. She could feel the contact even at such a distance. The roots would then force the tendrils off Pikachu, giving him the opportunity to break free.
"Pikachu!" And also the chance to use his Thunderbolt at last. Once he was freed, while in midair, Pikachu released a blast of 100,000 volts which passed by the roots and only locked onto Dimstar. Dimstar tried taking flight, only for the Thunderbolt to hit its mark, dealing damage to her and exposing her to light at the same time.
Dimstar slid on the sandy hill she stood on, nearly falling off but she was able to keep her balance and position, making sure she was above her enemies. The roots from Frenzy Plant stayed but they were only here to assist everyone else. The Timberwolves would start using the roots as a platform, wildly running on them to try and approach Dimstar's high advantage point.
"Raboot!" And joining them were Raboot and Sceptile. Sceptile ran on his own roots, outspeeding everyone else as he got the closest to Dimstar in time.
"Leaf Blade, Sceptile!"
"Sceptile!" With the blades on his arm extending, Sceptile went in for a strong slash, one that was focused on the head. Dimstar looked up at the incoming slash before putting on a grimace. This was followed up by her using the tendrils as a shield, placing multiple of them in front of her to block Sceptile's Leaf Blade. The blade dug into parts of the tendrils, making Dimstar squirm a bit.
"Off me!" She would then push Sceptile away with the strength of her tendrils, only to meet with Raboot who leapt over the Forest Pokemon. Raboot came from above, using High Jump Kick as his first attack. And it was a rather successful one, hitting its target square in the face. "Gouh!"
"Boot!" Raboot's attack was a hefty one, making Dimstar put on a rather silly face while her head turned from the initial strike. However, right after she took the kick, the Half Lich Half Vampire would retaliate by wrapping her tendrils around Raboot's leg. He was vulnerable in this instance and Dimstar did not hesitate to take advantage of that. "Ra!"
After grabbing onto Raboot, she would swing the Rabbit Pokemon, sending him flying into Sceptile. Sceptile's arms were wide open when Raboot came his way, attempting to catch him. However, the force that Dimstar used knocked Sceptile over the second he tried to save Raboot. Both of them went flying, crashing into one of the roots.
Dimstar scoffed, knowing what was next. And it was the Timberwolves. Without wasting any time, the Timberwolves lunged in, baring their fangs. Dimstar tried dealing with all of them at the same time, only for the Timberwolves to actually succeed in reaching her before the tendrils did.
Their fangs bit into Dimstar's hoof and back and even some tendrils that they just couldn't see at all. Dimstar felt the Timberwolves bit into her body, surrounding her from all sides. An average pony would find themselves in an ugly and unfavourable position with something like this. But not Dimstar. After being bitten, she merely used the other tendrils to knock off the Timberwolves.
These creatures from the Everfree whimpered after being knocked away. They left the sandy hill with some of them bumping their bodies against the roots when falling. Seeing this, Audino would rush to their side for some immediate healing, being the one to ensure everyone was healthy enough to continue battling.
"No you don't!" Dimstar noticed this advancement from Audino, already aware that was the healer of the group. Refusing to let anyone be healed up in this battle, her tendrils would fly out, passing by the roots and moving over the sand, kicking it up from the pressure alone.
"Pikachu, use Iron Tail!"
"Chu...Pikachu!" Pikachu interrupted her advancement, cutting the tendrils in half with Iron Tail. This saved Audino from any harm as the tendrils would on the lower levels would drop to the sands, leaving Dimstar to twitch and groan. Having her tendrils be sliced off was rather painful.
"Quick Attack into Iron Tail, let's go!"
"Pika-Pika-PIka!" After slicing off Dimstar's tail, Pikachu would advance on Dimstar with yet another Quick Attack. This time, he moved along the roots instead of zooming through the air. But there would be some of that as he leapt off the roots, becoming a meteor in the air.
Dimstar gasped, looking up to see Pikachu's tail glimmer in the air from how shiny it was now that it had been hardened with iron. Right as they were growing back, the tail had been swung on her, prompting the vampire to use her vampiric strength in this instance. She held her hooves up, catching Pikachu's Iron Tail right as it got near her face. It was a close one. Just one inch away from her face.
"Heh!" Dimstar grinned after catching Pikachu's tail. But suddenly, Pikachu grinned back at her followed by Ash's own grin.
"Electroweb!"
"Pika!" Pikachu used this to his advantage. He wasn't that restrained at all. His tail would let off a flash of light which harmed Dimstar. The vampire hissed, losing her grip on Pikachu's tail which was then followed by a web of electricity flying out. DImstar would her body caught by this web while Pikachu did a backflip to escape.
"Thunderbolt!"
"Pikaaaaa!" Knowing that Electroweb wouldn't hold someone like Dimstar forever, Pikachu would just focus on dealing as much damage as possible. A flash of lightning came from his body which then turned into a bolt, flying down at lightning speeds.
The attack hit the Electroweb, causing it to go off. Dimstar was covered in a fierce outburst of lightning which obliterated the sandy hill that she stood on completely. Pikachu stuck a landing on the roots while watching the explosion go off with sparks of lightning flying into the atmosphere. That was a lot of light that hit Dimstar and it was sure to do something to her.
However, seconds after it went off, flying out of the smoke were Dimstar's tendrils. Ash gasped after seeing the tendrils appear but Pikachu certainly couldn't see them at all. "Dodge, Pikachu! Look out!"
"Pika?!" Pikachu would leap into the air, dodging in the best way that he could since the tendrils were invisible to him. That was the right move to make as he managed to avoid the tendrils from below. But they instantly redirected themselves, shooting upwards just to uppercut the Mouse Pokemon.
"P-Pi!" Pikachu cried out before being slapped back to the ground by the tendrils. He was sent so far at such speeds that he broke a part of the roots. The Electric-Type rolled on the sandy ground once he returned to the earth, grunting with each roll.
With the sandy hill gone, Dimstar would fly through the smoke, deciding to get up close and personal with her foes. The Hybrid Vampire closed in on them with her dark wings, baring her menacing fangs as Ash, Applejack and Fluttershy saw her tendrils grow back.
"Here they come!" Applejack held onto her hat. "Sceptile, use-"
"I got this! Roserade! Petal Blizzard!" Before the others could say anything, Roseluck took action along with her Roserade.
"Roserade!" The Bouquet Pokemon slid into the scene, already having her arms out. Multiple pink petals circle in front of Roserade's body before they were fired out at these tendrils that she couldn't see but knew were coming.
The pink spiral of petals met with the tendrils, forming another powerful clash. The blizzard held back the tendrils for a moment, keeping Dimstar from making her next opportune strike on everyone else. However, one of the tendrils struck the ground, digging through the sand just to get an advantage.
This tendril would approach from a lower level, tunnelling through the earth before rising up again. Roserade took the next strike from above. Much like Pikachu, she received a nasty uppercut from the tendril, knocking her back. "R-Roserade!"
"Roserade! Are you okay?!" Roseluck gasped. The Bouqeut Pokemon would recover after that heavy uppercut, still in this. That wasn't enough to put her down but she'd be lying if she said it didn't hurt badly.
"Man, you're tough," Ash commented, complimenting Dimstar's toughness even though she was on her own. "I guess being a Lich and a Vampire at the same time helps with that, huh?"
"You haven't seen anything yet." Dimstar scoffed, descending to the sands at last and meeting everyone at their level. "These tendrils are not the extent of my power. You have yet to witness what I am truly capable of before it's far too late for you."
"We'll see." Ash adjusted his hat while also showing his Mega Ring. "I've got all my friends working hard right now. It's all to protect everything they love so we're gonna be ready for the worst. Even if we don't see it coming!"
"Bold words," Dimstar replied. "You've done a good job backing it up. I must say, you are definitely a formidable foe. I have to give my respects. But I won't encourage you any further. The next moments will be utterly painful for you." Right as Dimstar said that, the lightning above would hit the ground, causing plenty of sand to rise up.
"We'll see about that." Ash grinned at the Hybrid Vampire, strong in his view of winning this. When it comes to the lives of those he loves, victory was only within his sights and nothing more compared to his many Pokemon Battles.
The battle against Dimstar had begun and was raging on. But that wasn't all that was raging on. Elsewhere, not many knew of what had become of Anistar City or even those near it. And no one else would predict the incident that would happen later on. But this incident, and which side it originally comes from, has yet to be seen.
As the journey continues.
Chapter 155 End.